Chapter Text
Midoriya Izuku
Several days after his sixth birthday Izuku sat beside his mother as she spoke with the doctor. Eventually he would look back and appreciate this moment but right now it felt as though his world had just fallen apart.
Quirkless.
Izuku‘s small body trembled, silent tears streaming down his cheeks as the doctor explained to his mother why Izuku hadn’t shown any signs of a quirk even though he was years past the average age for quirk manifestation. X-rays showed that Izuku had an extra joint in the pinkie toe of each foot. Proof that he wasn’t ever going to develop a quirk. “I’m so sorry baby.” His mother whispered, her arms wrapped around him later that night. Her apology wasn’t what he wanted to hear. It meant that she had given up on his dreams, that she didn’t believe he could be a hero anymore.
Izuku didn’t blame her but it still hurt. Sitting on his bed staring at his favourite All Might poster he heard his mother take the phone into her room. “Hi Mitsuki. Yeah, we went to see a doctor today…” Her voice disappeared as the door closed.
What did that make him? If he didn’t have a quirk…
How would he save people without a quirk? What would Kacchan say? What about all the plans they had to become the best hero team ever?
The next day hurt even more and was so much worse than he was expecting. Kacchan gave up on him too. Tears ran down his face, all the other kids laughing at him, calling him names like freak and weird and loser. Izuku sat silently heartbroken as he watched Kacchan turn his back and walk away.
They weren’t a team anymore.
Izuku still continued to follow Kacchan every day, admiring his friend that would become the best hero ever, only it would be on his own now. Sometimes Kacchan would tell him to go away, sometimes him and their new friends would play tricks on Izuku. It made him sad sometimes. “That’s all you’ll ever be. A useless deku.” Kacchan’s words a few weeks after his eighth birthday would play over and over in his mind every day from then on. Some days the words lashed at him like insults that would always bring tears. There were some days though, very rarely but still there, when the words sounded more like taunts that hurt less and just made Izuku angry. He could still help people, couldn’t he?
He could still try.
“How dare you cheat against me, you cheater!” Izuku froze, recognizing Kacchan’s angry voice on his way home from school. Careful to stay out of sight he peaked around the corner of the building. Kacchan and their two friends were standing over a boy that Izuku didn’t know. He must be from another school. Izuku could see blood on the boy’s knees. He must have been running away and tripped, hurting himself on the hard ground. Biting his lip to keep quiet Izuku flinched as Kacchan’s hands popped with small explosions. He liked to do that to scare people. Mostly just to scare…
The boy whimpered, curled up on the ground. “P-please… I-I didn’t c-cheat.” The boy begged. He looked so scared, crying and covering his head with his arms, trying to protect himself. Izuku didn’t even think before he was running over to help the boy. Standing in front of Kacchan with his arms wide, his body trembled in fear but he would not let Kacchan past. “Stop it Kacchan! I-I won’t let you hurt him.” Kacchan snarled at him while their two friends just laughed. He couldn’t do anything but cry out when Kacchan burnt his shoulder and punched him in the stomach.
It hurt so bad.
Izuku watched as the three bullies walked away, leaving him and the other boy on the ground. “You’re hurt. Why did you help me?” the other boy asked through tears. Izuku winced in pain but helped the other boy up on his feet. “Because I could. I wasn’t going to let him hurt you. You didn’t deserve that.” He realized that night lying in bed, the words that he had said. Because I could. I helped... Because I could.
He hadn’t needed a quirk to help that boy. All he needed was to be willing to do the right thing. Isn’t that what heroes did? Over the next few days he watched Kacchan and his friends. Following Kacchan was different now. It felt different. After school later that week they went to hurt someone again. This time it was a boy from their school. They pushed him down and Izuku didn’t hesitate.
“No Kacchan!” he argued, stepping in front of him again. This punch hurt worse than the last one, this time his lip bled and he lost a tooth. He didn’t care though because he had saved someone again. When his mother saw his face that night she cried and asked Izuku what had happened and who had hurt him.
He wouldn’t tell on Kacchan, Izuku knew that he was still a good person. He was going to be a great hero, Izuku knew that. One day Kacchan would save people and win against every villain he faced. He’d never give up until he was the best. Like All Might. Which is why Izuku would never give up on him, no matter how wrong he was now. Izuku would never give up on himself again either.
He smiled brightly at his mother even though it hurt. “I saved him mum. I can be a hero.”
Had a little play with procreate