Chapter Text
Izuku woke up to the sound of his blaring alarm clock.
With a groan, he hit the button on the spot, it's position already ingrained in his brain.
He threw his hand across his face and cracked an eye open, only to be blinded by the light. A/N: As someone w/ small eyes, as long as it's bright enough to fully light up the place, it takes 2-3 minutes to adjust to the lighting. Idk if it happens to everyone tho.
Now that he removed the lingering remnants of sleep, he quickly glanced at the table side clock.
7:01 A.M.
Throwing his bed sheets off himself, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Izuku glanced at a few All Might posters before his eyes landed on a jar full with spider lilies in it on the windowsill.
'They're dying.' he thought sadly. .b|ɿow ɘbiꙅƚuo ɘʜƚ oƚ bɘɿɒqmoɔ ,|uᎸiɔɿɘm ʏ|ƚꙅɘᴎoʜ ꙅ'ƚI .ʞɒɘw ɘɿɘw ʏɘʜƚ ,booᎮ
Now, Izuku knew what spider lilies meant, he would be an idiot if he didn't. But sometimes, it's better to think that instead of insinuating he should die, it was a gift instead. He keeps them because of how beautiful they look, and besides that, the smell is nice. He remembers having to explain to his mom, who was cleaning his room and saw some by the window, that no, he didn't want to die - they were just pretty and had a nice smell.
He stretched his arms and exited his room, and while he made his way to the bathroom, he noticed his mom's room door was open, with a sticky note on it, a sign that she had already left for work.
'Oh... how unfortunate.' ,he thought, mentally shrugging and continuing his walk to the bathroom.
She often had to leave early because of their single source of income and the increased rent, courtesy of his Quirklessness and their greedy, quirkist building owner. Shaking off the thought, he focused on brushing his teeth. He normally avoided looking at the mirror, because when he did, he always felt like something was missing - no, wrong - with him.
.ɘɿɘʜ ǫᴎo|ɘd ƚ'ᴎꙅɘob ɘH
15 minutes later, he's dressed in his uniform, devouring a slice of bread in seconds, and while he has been told by Kacchan several times that he eats like he's starving, although it's simply a habit he developed in elementary school after his classmates kept stealing his food, telling him something along the lines of,"Quirkless don't deserve to eat!" or "Those of us with quirks shouldn't waste food on under-evolved things like you!", and since then he always felt like food would be taken from him, or someone making him choke - which has happened, with no consequences to who caused it, and on purpose at that - would happen at any time.
Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he walked to the door, staring down at bright red shoes that mocked him with their colorful and cheery appearance. With a sigh, he put them on, before hurrying out the door and down the stairs and scurrying down the stairs, and goes down the familiar path to Aldera that luckily intersects with Bakugo's path about halfway through.
10 minutes later, he sees a tuft of spiky blonde hair coming from the path on his right and greets with his usual, "Good morning, Kacchan.", and is responded to with, "G'mornin' broccoli bitch.", with Katsuki barely stifling a yawn during the "good" part.
Izuku gave a small smile at Kacchan's typical gruff greeting, accustomed to his friend's rough exterior. They walked in silence for a few moments, the early morning chill gradually giving way to the warmth of the rising sun. The streets of Musutafu were beginning to come alive with people starting their day. Some stopping to stare at him, his shoes in particular, while others avoided him like the plague, all because of a pair of shoes.
Life really wasn't fair, never had been, all because of his quirk status.
To make it worse, it doesn't help that he's genderfluid. He had an entire gender dystopia at 11, leading to him finding out about different genders, sexualities and etcetera. That explained the thinking random people were hot. The him coming out to his mom as genderfluid and pansexual at 12 at dinner, to which to she responded to with,"Mind my language Izuku-kun, but no shit, you think?" Then she came out as bisexual to him, and she got his nails painted and the rest is history. He really doesn't care which pronouns you use for him, but he likes to think of himself genderfluid mentally at the very least.
Kacchan took it in stride and would occasionally ask which pronouns to use when addressing him. He only ever really told his mom, Katsuki, and his family. Imagine what a partially homophobic society would do to a genderfluid Quirkless. Those who knew from his nails were already assholes before they knew, they just became worse.
As they approached Aldera Junior High, Izuku could already see a few classmates milling about. His stomach twisted slightly as they entered the school grounds. Despite the years of bullying, he had never gotten used to the looks and whispers that followed him and Kacchan at school, no matter how few they were. The second they stepped on school grounds, they were known as the Quirkless kid and the kid with the dangerous villain quirk, Deku and Detonator.
Getting to the classroom, they were relieved to find it empty. Izuku practically flew to his desk, ready to be met with the usual barrage of insults on his desk. Unfortunately, there were no spider lilies to take home, just the usual scribbles, writing and some drawings of his dead body, more specifically, his dead body after taking a swan dive off a roof.
Animal
Die
Under-evolved
Take a swan dive
Quirkless
Creature
Deku
Trash
Izuku quickly pulled the wet wipes out of his bag, taking some and furiously scrubbing at the table. Kacchan had taken one too and started cleaning the desk as well. His graffiti had stopped after a few warning pops to those who did it (How they found out the people that did it, let's just say Aldera needs to improve their digital security.). Kacchan tried to scare of Izuku's harassers - and it's not like Izuku can't fight, he's the top of his martial arts class, especially after his mother guilt tripped him into it - but since Izuku usually doesn't resort to violence, they stayed like cockroaches in a dumpster.
They basked in their usual comforting silence while cleaning, grateful that school started around 8:20 (Most of their classmates were slackers and tended to come in late or last minute). Izuku was so lost in cleaning that he didn't notice someone stepping in until a pitch black hand grabbed a wipe and cleaned the last bit of graffiti.
"Good morning, Ms. Kurogane!"
"Mornin'."
"Good morning, Midoriya, Bakugo." A warbled but cheery voice said.
Izuku turned his head to look at the teacher's podium and saw a person with pitch black skin, detached limbs with a white light coming out of them, pure white eyes with long eyelashes, their white hair was in a high ponytail, they were wearing a white dress shirt, and long black pleated skirt.
They brought the wipe to the trash bin using the same hand that helped them clean the writing, brought it back to herself, and said, "Again? Midoriya, you know this isn't tolerated. With all of the threats they give you, they should be expelled." She said, annoyance clear in her voice. He knew it wasn't directed at him, but it almost felt like all the other teachers that would dismiss him, saying his classmates were just joking.
"I know. We've tried, we really have, but the principal just said "It's just a joke." ",He said, making his voice deeper and making quotation signs with his hands. He and Kacchan had already sat down, him taking his seat at the back of the class next to the window, and Katsuki being in front of him.
"Joke my ass," Kacchan grumbled while sinking deeper into his seat.
Ms. Kurogane sighed, her luminous eyes softening with understanding, "It's not right, and you know it. I'll speak to the principal again. This kind of behavior shouldn't be tolerated."
"Thank you, Ms. Kurogane, but... just don't bother. It's not that I don't appreciate it - I really do! But we know the principal won't listen, not for me. And he's already threatened to fire you because of last time, right? If you go and complain again, he probably won't hesitate..." Izuku said, his voice trailing off towards the end.
Ms. Kurogane's expression tightened, a mix of frustration and resignation. "It's not fair, Midoriya. You shouldn't have to deal with this everyday."
Izuku offered a small, sad smile. "I'm used to it."
"It shouldn't be this way though," she said softly, her voice tinged with sadness, "There are people who care about you."
Izuku nodded, his eyes faking a look of gratitude. "Thank you, Ms. Kurogane. Your support means a lot."
Izuku knew he was lying to her, but lying and faking expressions are practically second nature, especially when someone is sad or concerned for him, he can't help it. He always felt broken, wrong, incomplete and he was. .ɘuɿƚ ꙅ'ƚI He's Quirkless, useless why wouldn't he be? He's the bottom of the societal chain, below literal trash itself. Although he still wanted to become a hero, it was really just to anger his enemies and say 'Fuck you!' at this rate. And really doubted that people really cared about him though, - apart from his little fistful though, and well, plus 1 - and he's 99.9% sure that Ms. Kurogane was a victim of bullying herself, hence all the concern.
______________________________________________________________________________________
The school day passed by in a blur. It really wasn't that hard to zone out on the world if you asked him. Think of it as pressing pause on a video game with no menu screen, it's just frozen. Izuku can get lost in all the fantasies he wants and still get amazing grades (If they weren't changed to the average passing grade). A/N: Is this a good or bad thing? I mean the zoning out. I genuinely don't know.
The zoning out, he realized, was both a shield and a cage. It protected him from the harshness of reality but also trapped him in a world of his own making, where progress was still. He needed to find a balance, to use his fantasies as a source of strength rather than an escape.
Then during lunch, he and Kacchan went to their usual spot on the roof with, fortunately, no one else there.
Now, it was 3:21 P.M, and Izuku was face first to his desk in an empty class.
Unfortunately, Ms. Kurogane had to go attend to something, and today was the day that they announced everyone's possible future high-schools.
When it was announced that Izuku and Kacchan chose U.A, they became the laughing stock of the class, and Izuku's contradictions fell on deaf ears as they proceeded to laugh at them. Then it escalated when Yamamuro said,"Maybe in some other universe Bakugo would be able to become a hero, but a Quirkless like you? Hah! You'd be lucky if you ended up making to U.A's front gates before they turn you away!" And then Kacchan lunged at Yamamuro with his quirk activated, escalating it into a fight, which ended up with bruised Yamamuro and Kacchan in detention.
With a sigh, he lifted his head off the desk, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. The echoes of laughter and taunts still lingered in his mind, gnawing at the edges of his resolve. He hated being laughed at, hated being doubted, but most of all, he hated feeling useless.
Izuku then glanced at the clock on the wall.
3:21 P.M.
He had a few minutes before he had to leave for home, but the thought of facing the outside world, where he was always reminded of his Quirklessness, was unencouraging. He shot a quick text to Katsuki saying to meet him as his house after his detention, then he pulled out his notebook, the newest one to his collection, No. 13 and began to doodle and analyze the new hero he saw last week absentmindedly.
Izuku was so lost in his analysis that he didn't notice Koga, Kimito and Kurisu walk into the classroom until Koga snatched his notebook from him while he was mumbling,"What's this? The Quirkless is stalking people too now?" She sneered while holding it with the tips of her fingers like it had some sort of disease on it.
His heart sank as he saw her sneer, holding his precious notes and drawings with obvious disdain. He reached out instinctively, but his hand hesitated mid-air. Confrontation was not his strong suit, especially when it came to the K's. Koga Hotaru, Kimito Anju, and Kurisu Chiyuri. They were some of the richest and privileged in the school, and they had good quirks. Think The Heathers but in anime.
"Give it back, Koga," he said softly, trying to keep his voice steady.
Kimito and Kurisu stood on either side of her, their faces twisted in amusement. Kimito snickered, "What kind of freak spends all it's time scribbling about heroes? You'll never be one, you know."
Izuku's cheeks flushed with anger. That notebook was more than just paper, it was the product of countless hours of work! He needed it back.
"It's not stalking," Izuku managed to say, trying to muster some courage, "It's research. I'm studying heroes so I can become one."
Kurisu laughed mockingly, "A Quirkless hero? Get real, Midoriya. You'll never make it to U.A."
Izuku's hands balled into fists at his sides. He wanted to stand up to them, to shout that they were wrong, but the words caught in his throat. Instead, he took a deep breath and forced himself to meet Koga's eyes.
"Please, just give it back." he repeated, his voice firmer this time.
Koga's sneer deepened, and Izuku didn't notice her wave a hand at Kimito and Kurisu, making them move behind Izuku and stay on his left and right with some distance between the three of them,"Want it that badly? Here!" She threw it at Kurisu who used her quirk - Levitation - to catch it and adjust her glasses, silent in the process. Then she threw it at Kimito, who also used her quirk - Photomorph - to turn light into a solid slide and catch it. "I'd toss it to you Quirkless, but oops! Silly me! Looks like you don't have a quirk to catch it! My bad, here, Koga! Show 'em how it's done!" She said as she threw the book to Koga.
"With pleasure!" She said as she caught the book and used her quirk - Pyro Palm - to set his book on fire. All three of them laughed and they cackled once it was thrown out the window, still burning.
Koga, Kimito, and Kurisu laughed behind him, their voices blending into a cruel chorus, "Good luck with your 'research,' Midoriya," Koga taunted, "Maybe you'll find it among the trash where you belong."
"I'd feel bad for the trash if a Quirkless was thrown inside of it..." Kurisu murmured.
"You're right! Maybe you should take a swan dive off a roof instead!" Koga yelled over her shoulder before they all burst into laughter once again as they walked away.
The weight of their words hit Izuku like a physical blow, his chest tightening with a mix of humiliation and anger. He stood frozen, watching helplessly as his precious notebook, another lifeline to his dreams, went up in flames. The laughter ringing in his ears felt like a mockery of everything he had ever hoped for.
His hands trembled with suppressed rage, his nails digging deep into his palms and drawing blood as he fought to contain the overwhelming emotions threatening to consume him. How could life be so cruel? How does life delight in his suffering, in tearing down everything he held dear?
He wanted to scream, to rage against the unfairness of it all, but he knew it would do no good. They had won, as they always did, leaving him to pick up the shattered pieces of his pride once again.
He packed his supplies into his bag and practically ran to where his notebook supposedly fell. And fortunately it was there. Unfortunately, there was the koi pond and the pages where either burnt or soggy and incomprehensible. He blinked the tears away from his eyes, kept the book in his bag and went down the familiar path home.
Every stroke of the pen, every detail, now lost to him. It felt like a piece of his soul had been torn away, leaving behind nothing but emptiness and despair.
As Izuku walked home, his mind churned with a whirlwind of emotions. The encounter with Koga and her friends replayed in his mind like a nightmare on an endless loop, each cruel taunt carving deeper into his wounded pride.
Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed the slimy tendrils coming out of the manhole cover until a deep voice said,"Lucky me, looks like a skin suit has came my way."
Panic seized Izuku's chest, paralyzing him with fear as the slime loomed over him, its toxic fumes choking the air around him.
Desperate for escape, Izuku's mind raced, searching for any semblance of a plan. But his thoughts were clouded by terror, his limbs heavy and unresponsive.
The slime lunged forward with terrifying speed, tendrils of slime reaching out to catch him in his grasp. Izuku's heart pounded in his chest, his breaths coming in ragged gasps as he braced himself for the inevitable.
But just as the slime's tendrils closed in, a random surge of adrenaline jolted through Izuku's veins, igniting a spark of energy within him. He threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the slime's grasp.
Scrambling to his feet, Izuku stumbled backward, his mind racing as he searched frantically for an escape route. But the slime was relentless, his form oozing and shifting as it pursued him.
With nowhere left to run, Izuku's back pressed against the cold concrete of a nearby alleyway, his chest heaving with fear. The sludge villain lunged for him again, successfully capturing Izuku this time, entering his nose and mouth, cutting off his air supply in the process.
The slime felt cold and slimy, and his legs and arms felt stuck. He tried to move but it was like you're in sleep paralysis, able to watch, but unable to move an inch. His vision was slowly starting to go dark. A/N: Just my own sleep paralysis experience definition! My eyes are normally half open.
'Well, this is how I die,' he thought,'Disgusting... but perhaps, life would be better without me.' He closed his eyes, preparing for the warm embrace of death.
But it never came.
"What the hell..." He heard him murmur, and for a second Izuku wondered what he meant until the villain started floating away from his body."What the fuck?!"He yelled, but Izuku wasn't focused on him, he was busy violently coughing his lungs out, vomiting and taking in shaky breaths.
Then the slime just dropped and went splat on the concrete.
Izuku would have ran, but he felt like when you stay too long in a pool and gravity is against you.
The slime was slowly coming back together, reforming into the menacing figure of the villain. Izuku's heart pounded in his chest as he watched in horror, voice forgotten with his body still weak and trembling from the ordeal. He knew he had to do something, but fear rooted him to the spot, leaving him feeling helpless once again.
Then when he thought he was done for he, heard a very familiar voice yell,"STOP VILLAIN! BECAUSE I AM HERE!" And then within a few seconds All Might appeared in a blur of speed, his fist colliding with the sludge villain with immense force. The impact sent shockwaves through the air, dispersing the slime into a hundred pieces that scattered across the alleyway. Izuku's eyes widened in awe and relief as he witnessed the No. 1 hero in action, his larger-than-life presence filling the space with an aura of undeniable power.
All Might turned to Izuku, his trademark grin beaming down at him. "Fear not, young man! For I am here!" His voice was reassuring, a stark contrast to the terror Izuku had felt moments before.
Ohmygoshit'sAllMightIthinkIMayPas-
The adrenaline finally wore out and Izuku passed out.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Izuku woke up to someone rapidly hitting his face, only to see All Might's beaming smile.
"Ah! There you are young man! You were out for a few minutes, had me a little worried there!"
Izuku groaned, his head pounding as he tried to piece together what had happened. The last thing he remembered was the suffocating sludge and the overwhelming sense of despair. Now, he was lying on the ground, staring up at the blinding smile of his idol.
“All Might?”, Izuku croaked, his voice barely a whisper. His throat felt raw from coughing and the taste of the sludge lingered, making him feel nauseous.
“Yes, young man! I saw you in trouble and came to help!” All Might said, his voice booming with the usual confidence, “Sorry you got caught up in this, but thanks to you, I captured the villain!" All Might showed him a bottle with the slime villain in it. "Well! I'll be on my way now!" He said while squatting and stretching, like he was about to run a marathon."That was reckless, child," the pro says, walking to the edge of the roof, presumably preparing to leave again.
Wait what?
Izuku just nearly drowned, vomited and passed out, and he was going to leave? Izuku was no medical expert, but he was sure he was supposed to take him to the hospital.
Wait!
“Wait! I just want to ask you one question!” Izuku said, struggling to stand.
And before he knew it, he was gripping onto All Might's leg for dear life. "Hey! What are you doing?" He said, trying to shake Izuku off.
"If I let go now, I'll die!" And it was then All Might seemed to remember that they was over 200 feet in the air. "All right, hold on!" All Might grabs onto the back of Izuku's shirt.
Izuku had now kept his head down, but he could have swore he heard All Might mutter a quick, "Shit."
After they land on a rooftop, Izuku collapses to his knees, sucking in air through his mouth while shaking like a leaf.
"That was reckless, boy. You could have died." All Might says, walking to the edge of the roof, Izuku assumes he's about to leave again.
"Wait! Please, All Might, just one question!" Izuku can't let All Might go. He needs to know.
"Fine. I will answer your question, but make it quick, I have duties to attend to." All Might says, coughing into his fist.
"Of course! I know it's stupid to ask, but–" He took a deep breath, "Can I be a hero? Even without a quirk? Everyone doubts me. They say I can't, and I know I'll never be as powerful as you, but I'll be able to help someone, right?"
Izuku stared, with his eyes wide and speechless, at the figure that had replaced his idol. The man before him bore only a passing resemblance to the muscular, invincible hero he idolized. Thin and sickly-looking, this was not the All Might he knew.
"All Might?! Wh-what happened to you?" Izuku stammered, unable to hide the shock and concern in his voice.
All Might sighed, "It's a long story, young man. Let's just say, I'm not invincible." He his eyes were now serious. "It's partially related to this," He lifted up his shirt to reveal a nasty looking scar, "But that's all I'll say, I just need you to promise me you won't reveal this to anyone or anywhere."
Izuku nodded, "Of course! I would never!"
"Now, about your question..." Izuku perked up, this was it! The moment where All Might says he can be a hero! Although it wasn't in his normal media appearance, he was sur-
"No."
What?
Izuku's whole body freezes, smile slowly slipping off his face. No?
"In my years of experience, I've seen some villains that can't be beaten without power, and seen my comrades pay the price for it. If anything, you would be a major weakness and liability on the field."
Izuku felt like he had been hit by a brick, and he knows how that feels - it hurts. But instead of it being a physical pain, it felt like someone had ripped out his heart, stepped on it, and set it fire. The symbol of peace, All Might, that says, "Anyone can become a hero!" Told him no.
"You are Quirkless, correct?"
Izuku wasn't staring at him, he couldn't stare at him, so he just nodded while keeping his gaze trained on the ground.
"I'm sure you would try your best, but honestly? You should leave that dream behind and pick something more...realistic. You need to be powerful to be a hero, to save people, and Quirkless people just aren't...meant for a world full of supernatural beings. I'm sorry."
As he walked past Izuku, he patted him on the shoulder, a gesture that felt more like a final nail in the coffin of Izuku's dreams. Izuku didn't bother to look at him as he left, he just stared blankly at the ground, then his gaze landed on his shoes.
Izuku didn't realize he was laughing until the sound burst out, manic and bitter. The laughter quickly dissolved into uncontrollable sobs, tears streaming down his face as he stayed there, now crouched on the rooftop, hugging himself, dreams shattered.
For what felt like an eternity, Izuku stayed just there. Finally, he looked forward, towards the railing.
Izuku climbed over the railing and looked down.
The street was empty.
He briefly thought about taking off his shoes, but who would care?
He turned around, his back now facing the street, grabbed onto the railing and leaned back. He was just so tired of people telling him to give up, and now he wanted to.
He took a deep breath and let his control on his arms go.
But he was still holding onto railing. His hands, trembling, clung to the cold metal, refusing to let go completely.
He was confused at first, but then he thought about Kacchan, his mom - he couldn't leave them now.
He wants to go home.
What happened next was a complete blur, his legs seemingly moved on their own, and all he heard was "It's going to be okay, your okay." Over and over in his head.
When he came to again, he just, stopped moving in front of Tatooin shopping district, the sound of several explosions easy to hear.
It seemed like a villain was attacking, Izuku didn't have use for his analysis anymore, so he tried to walk away from there, but his leg stopped in mid-air and turned in the direction of the growing crowd.
What the hell?
Izuku didn't even try to stop his legs, he just let them go there until they stopped moving.
It was then that he saw Kacchan trapped in the same villain that had nearly drowned Izuku. But, how?
Then the realization hit Izuku like a train. He did this.
When he grabbed All Might's leg, they fell out. And now Kacchan is paying the price for his stupidity. The guilt and horror flooded Izuku's mind as he stood there, frozen with fear and regret.
Izuku looked at the pro heroes, and they were just standing there, watching him suffocate.
I'm about to do something stupid aren't I?
________________________________________________________________________________________
Katsuki couldn't breathe.
Maybe it was the lack of oxygen talking, but he honestly can't fully remember how he got here.
One second, he's going to Izuku's place after his 30-minute detention, the next he's grabbed by some sort of weird fucking slime and can't breathe. It was suffocating him, its tendrils constricting him from moving. Panic surged through him, he couldn't go on any longer without air.
Suddenly, the slime screamed in pain and staggered back, letting go of Katsuki in the process, letting him cough out some slime and fucking breathe.
What the hell happened? Why-
"Kacchan!" Izuku's voice cut through the haze of fear and confusion. Katsuki's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Izuku sprinting towards him. "Izuku! Why the he-" He was interrupted by coughing up some more slime.
"Long story- blame my legs- Now, let's fucking go!" Izuku grabbed Katsuki's hand and sprinted.
They were almost to the pro heroes before Izuku said, "Katsuki, promise me you'll become a hero... for both of us."
"What the hell do y-" The slime had slithered in front of them, one of its eyes bleeding, and was about to lunge at them. And before Katsuki knew it, Izuku pushed him away, making Katsuki land on his ass. He looked at Izuku, who's fear was clearer than daylight on his face. Then Katsuki heard a loud, "TEXAS SMASH!"
All Might punched right through the slime.
Izuku was behind the slime.
Katsuki watched as All Might's fist went through Izuku's torso.
He saw Izuku's reaction - one of pure, unadulterated horror.
The force of the shockwaves then sent the body parts flying everywhere. An arm flew over a building-
Katsuki did the most logical thing he could think of when your best friend's detached, lifeless head landed in his lap.
He screamed.