Chapter Text
Midoriya Izuku
Izuku and Kachaan were four years old, playing in the local park with their cheap, bouncy imitations of footballs. Green for Izuku; orange for Kacchan.
Kacchan was proudly showing off all the tricks he could do with his ball, bouncing it on his knees, to his chest, to his feet, and back to his knees again. Izuku watched in amazement and adoration. ‘Sugoi, Kacchan!’
‘Heh, this is easy,’ Kacchan responded smugly.
Izuku tried to copy Kacchan but somehow ended up tripping and falling on his bottom, letting out a cry of pain.
Kacchan leaned over where he was wincing on the ground and said, ‘Izuku, you really can’t do anything, can you?’ He reached out a hand for Izuku who gratefully accepted, and Kacchan helped him to stand. ‘Guess I don’t have a choice but to teach you.’
By the time the sun had begun to set and it was time to head home for dinner, Kacchan had managed to teach Izuku to bounce his ball on his knees six times in a row. Six!
***
Izuku and Kacchan were joined today with three other kids in their neighbourhood. Kacchan was holding Izuku’s bucket, labelled by Izuku’s mother with his name. Kacchan pointed at the second character in his first name.
‘You can read the characters for “Izuku” as “Deku” you know.’
Izuku, unaware where this was heading, gasped in joy and pride for his best friend.
‘Kacchan, you can read kanji?!’ Izuku exclaimed.
‘What? You can’t?’ Kacchan said smugly with his gaze averted. ‘And “Deku” means someone who can’t do anything!’
Izuku’s beaming face dropped. ‘Stop that…’ he said half-heartedly, reluctant to show how hurt he was.
It’s okay, Izuku reassured himself. Kacchan didn’t mean to be mean. He was just showing us he can read kanji.
Later, when the other neighbourhood kids had headed home, and Kacchan and Izuku were alone, Kacchan turned to him and said, ‘Hey Decchan, we should go to the lake tomorrow. I bet I can skip pebbles the best!’
Izuku stopped in his tracks, face heating up. Decchan?
‘What is it? You don’t want to go?’ Kacchan asked, head tilting to the side in confusion.
‘Eh?! Oh, uh, n-nothing, K-Kacchan!’ Izuku responded frantically, hand waving in front of his face in embarrassment. ‘It’s just… you called me Decchan…’
Izuku noticed Kacchan’s face turn a little pink as he quickly turned his head to the side. ‘Huh?? Well you have a nickname for me, so it’s only fair I have one for you! If you think it’s dumb, just say!’ Kacchan yelled out, embarrassed.
‘No, no!! I like it! I was just surprised!’ Izuku frantically responded, not wanting Kacchan to change his mind about giving him a nickname.
‘Hmmpf, well are you coming tomorrow or not?’
‘Of course, Kacchan!’ Izuku beamed.
Kacchan didn’t respond, but had a little trouble fully hiding how pleased he was.
They reached Izuku’s home.
‘Bye bye, Kacchan!’ Izuku beamed to Kacchan, waving.
‘See you, Decchan.’
***
There was a frantic pounding at the front door. Izuku and his mother glanced at the door in confusion. Izuku’s mother stood to answer it. The moment the door opened, Izuku and his mother were met with the excited voice of Kacchan.
‘Auntie Inko, Auntie Inko! I got my quirk! Where’s Decchan?’
‘Quirk..? Decchan..?’ Izuku’s mother mumbled in confusion.
Izuku jumped up from the sofa at the sound of Kacchan’s voice and felt excitement rise in him at the mention of quirks.
‘Kacchan, you got your quirk?! Can I see?! What is it?!’ Izuku ran to greet Kacchan.
‘Decchan! Decchan, look, look!’ Kacchan jumped up and down eagerly upon seeing Izuku. He held out his hands whilst Izuku looked on in excited curiosity, eyes wide. Small explosions erupted from Kacchan’s hands.
‘Kacchan, sugoi!!’
‘I’m going to be the best number one hero in the world with this quirk!’
The following day in elementary school, Kacchan was showing his classmates and teachers his quirk, tiny explosions popping from his hands. The best combination of his parents’ quirks he could have inherited.
‘Lucky!’
‘Sugoi!’
‘That’s so cool!’
‘What an amazing quirk, flashy and just right for a hero! Right, Katsuki-kun?’
Praise echoed around Kacchan from peers and teachers alike. Kacchan looked proud with an underlying hint of contempt.
Izuku was trailing behind Kacchan on today’s adventure in the woods. They were talking about quirks.
‘You’re so lucky Kacchan! I hope I get my quirk soon, too!’
‘No matter what quirk you get, you’ll never beat me!’
***
Izuku was sitting in the waiting room of a doctor's surgery. His mother had booked an appointment to see when he would get his quirk. Izuku had been struggling to contain his excitement, his tiny hands fiddling with his All Might figurine (brought for good luck) and short legs swinging on the tall, stiff waiting room chairs.
He struggled to contain his excitement once called by the doctor, and had to will himself to stay still for the x-ray of his foot. Whilst the doctor was pinning the photo from the x-ray on the wall, Izuku couldn’t help to notice he looked oddly serious.
Don’t be silly, he told himself. Doctors always look serious. (Whilst simultaneously trying to force himself to forget the way the doctor was smiling friendly at him earlier and praising him for being brave during the x-ray).
The doctor sat down in his chair opposite Izuku and his mother, sighing. ‘You should probably give it up.’
Izuku’s vision shook, he vaguely registered the clattering of his All Might toy as it fell to the ground.
His mother gasped, ‘Is there something wrong with him after all?’
Something wrong. It is wrong not to have a quirk.
Izuku, in shock, struggled to process what the doctor and his mother were saying, the conversation fading into the background.
Something something, generations, something something, breathing fire, pulling small objects. Quirks Izuku doesn’t have. Quirks - as in something he will never have. Because there was something wrong with him.
‘Previously, when supernatural Quirks started showing themselves in humans, research was conducted. Said research demonstrated unusual results in that it was common for those with Quirks to be lacking in a joint.’ The doctor pointed to the x-ray on the wall. Despite the shock (and the underlying hurt Izuku was feeling as his mothers words),
something wrong
he felt a vague fascination at seeing his bones. “As you can see here, Izuku has two joints. That means he has no quirk.’
The fascination Izuku had briefly felt quickly turned sour.
One joint. One tiny, insignificant joint.
***
Izuku was sitting in the office chair, too big for his tiny body. His eyes glued to the computer screen watching a shaky video of All Might. His favourite.
Behind him, he vaguely registered his mother standing there. He turned, eyes filling with tears.
‘Can I be a hero? Can I be a hero too? Like All Might?’
‘I’m sorry, Izuku. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’
However, Izuku didn’t want his mother to be sorry. What he wanted was…
The next day it was raining. Izuku was meant to meet Kacchan at the nearby park and tell him all about his quirk, or at least when he would be getting his quirk. Izuku couldn’t help but feel glad for the rain, he wasn’t sure how he’d explain to Kacchan his Quirklessness.
The telephone rang, his mother answered.
‘Hello? Oh, Katsuki-kun, how are you?’ His mother glanced at Izuku. ‘You want to speak to Izuku?’
Izuku’s stomach sank a little. He was dreading telling Kacchan the news, hoping to put it off for as long as possible.
He shook his head at his mother. His mother’s smiling face dropped in realisation of his refusal to speak to Kacchan.
‘I’m sorry Katsuki-kun, Izuku isn’t feeling too good at the moment. Why don’t you, uh, call back tomorrow?’
A pause.
‘I think he’d prefer to tell you in person.’
Kacchan’s asking about my quirk. Izuku drew his knees up from where he was sat on the couch, wanting to make himself as possible.
‘Okay, bye bye.’ Izuku felt his mothers eyes turn to him. ‘Izuku…’
A few days later, the rain had cleared up and the sun was beaming once again. Izuku had a feeling he couldn’t hide away any longer. He was right. Around midday there was an insistent knocking on the front door. Izuku opened it and was greeted by his best friend barraging him with questions.
‘Decchan! Are you still sick? What was wrong? Have you found out what your quirk is yet? What did the doctor say? I bet it’s not as good as mine!’
‘Kacchan… hi. I just had a cold for a few days but I’m feeling much better now’, Izuku greeted his friend quietly. He felt strange; small. Anxious.
Kacchan didn’t pick up on the usual way he was behaving and paid no mind. ‘Let’s go to the park and play “heroes and villains”! You have a quirk now, right?’
Kachaan began pulling him out the door by his hand.
‘Wait, wait, my shoelaces…’
Kacchan barely paid any mind amongst his excitement. ‘Don’t tell me your quirk yet, let me guess.’ Kacchan's hand let go of Izuku’s and went to his chin instead, pondering. ‘So if your mum’s quirk is pulling small objects, and your dads quirk is breathing fire…’ Kacchan turned around, finger pointing upwards in a eureka moment. ‘Aha! I think Decchan’s quirk is controlling fire!’
Izuku didn’t say anything, and just began to feel more and more miserable.
‘Well??’ Kacchan demanded. ‘Am I right? What is your quirk?’
‘W-well uhh, you see’, Izuku stuttered. ‘The d-doc- doctor s-said that I don’t ha-have a quirk’. Izuku’s misery only rose, having finally said it out loud. He turned his gaze to his feet.
stupid pinky toe
‘Huh?’
‘I’m Quirkless, Kacchan.’
Silence.
‘Quirkless? Is that even possible?’ Kacchan sounded… confused? Izuku wasn’t certain.
Izuku nodded slightly. He felt small, too scared to look up at Kacchan’s face, unable to read where Kacchan’s mind was going. ‘20% of the population are quirkless.’
‘You really are a Deku, huh Decchan? Guess it’s up to me to be the hero and protect you, huh?’
Izuku’s face snapped up to meet Kacchan’s. Kacchan’s face didn’t look mocking, nor did he sound like he was being totally mean
yet.
‘Huh?’
Kacchan still liked him..? Kacchan still wanted to be friends with him?
‘Come on, let’s go play! I’ll be the hero and you can be the citizen who needs rescuing!’
Granted, Izuku had been downgraded from being Kacchan’s sidekick to Kacchan’s damsel in distress, but it was more than he was hoping for. More than he expected. At least Kacchan was still his friend.
***
Ever since everyone in school found out about his quirklessness, Izuku couldn’t help but notice Kacchan calling him “Decchan” less and less, and calling him “Deku” more and more. He tried not to think about it.
Izuku and Kacchan were on another adventure, along with a few other boys in their neighbourhood. Today, they were pretending to be heroes part of Kacchan’s hero agency; the “Bakugou Hero Agency”. They were walking in a single file line with Kacchan in the front, and Izuku last.
Suddenly, Kacchan slipped and fell into the river below, letting out a scream of surprise.
Everyone gasped.
‘Kacchan!’
‘Katsuki-kun! Are you okay?!’
‘He’s fine, Katsuki-kun’s real strong!’ Kacchan’s body popped out from the water. ‘See! Hurry up and get back up here!’
Kacchan waved up to them. ‘Okay!’
Meanwhile, Izuku had run off the bridge and down to the river in concern for his best friend. He waded into the river and reached out a hand to Kacchan.
‘Are you all right? Can you stand?’
Kacchan stared at him, his carefree smile slowly slipping off his face.
‘It would’ve been bad if you hit your head,’ Izuku continued, unaware of the rising indignant anger flaring up in Kacchan.
‘I don’t need help from a useless, quirkless nobody like you, Deku.’
***
‘That’s mean, Kacchan. Can’t you see he’s crying? If you keep going, I-I-I’ll never forgive you.’ Izuku’s voice was shaking, but he refused to stay quiet.
Katsuki stared at him blankly for a second and then smirked.
‘Even though you’re Quirkless-’ Katsuki let off a warning explosion. ‘-you’re pretending to be a hero, Deku?’
Izuku had time for one thought to flash inside his head before the onslaught of attacks. One feeling, in fact. Confusion (in addition to the adrenaline-fueled combination of righteous anger and fear he was already feeling).
Why do I need a Quirk to be a hero; to do the right thing?
It hit him then, what he had wanted his mother to say all those months ago on the day he found out he was quirkless.
A hero isn’t just someone with a quirk. A hero is someone who does the right thing and helps others.