Chapter Text
“I can’t say that someone without a quirk can become a hero.”
Those words echoed in Izuku Midoriya’s mind over and over again on his walk home. His idol, the number one hero, told him that he couldn’t be a hero because he didn’t have a quirk. He was just like all the others, like Kastuki Bakugo, his bully, who told him every single day that he couldn’t be a hero. Like his mom, who, when found out Izuku didn’t have a quirk, simply cried and apologized. She didn’t even say he could still be a hero.
As Izuku turned the corner home, he realized that everyone had given up on him. He had no one left. Nothing to live for; no hopes, no dreams, no friends.
“I can’t say that someone without a quirk can become a hero,” said his idol. The best hero. All Might.
“I’m so sorry, Izuku!” said his mom, who had given up on him, too.
“You know, if you really want to be a hero that badly, there actually might be another way. Just pray that you’ll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building,” said his bully, Bakugo, earlier that day.
Come to think of it… Why was Izuku still here? As he opened the door to his apartment, he overheard his mom watching the news in the living room.
“Middle school boy held hostage by sludge monster as pro heroes rush to the scene. Stay tuned for updates.”
I wonder if that’s Kaccha- no, Bakugo. Even if it is, I guess I don’t really care. Izuku thought as he trudged to his room. He opened the door and saw all his All Might merch, he really had been obsessed. He had All Might figurines, posters, stand-up cutouts, and collectable cards. He sighed with disgust.
I don’t need these anymore, he thought to himself as he took down the posters one by one, put them along with everything else in the hallway, with a sign on top of it that said “DONATE.”
He had no more purpose in life. Maybe, tomorrow, it’ll be his last day. That’s what he’s decided. He’ll go to bed for the last time. And then he’ll do what Bakugo said.
The next morning, Izuku woke up early, wrote a letter to his mom saying he went into school early to study for an upcoming test. In reality, he was wanting to get to school already and get it over with quickly. He had stayed up all night last night writing letters to the people he was leaving (only his mom) and his will of the rest of his All Might merch. As Izuku climbed up the stairs to the roof, he started to cry.
He hated this world, for being so quirkist, for turning a blind eye to his bullying. He hated his dad for leaving, for never saying goodbye. And most of all, oh, how he hated All Might. And all the heroes. The system was rigged: the people with strong quirks always made it to the top. And the people with weak, or (god forbid) no quirks were thrown under the bus, like they were just a waste of oxygen.
Suddenly, Izuku wondered if he should be doing this. His mom would be really sad, he was sure, but no one else would… care. He bet his dad forgot he and his mom existed, too. Bakugo would be happy to have him out of the way, and no one else would even notice.
Well, Izuku was fed up with the world’s shit. As he put down his yellow backpack, he looked around. He stood on the edge of the building, and saw Bakugo walking in the school. And then he jumped. The rest was a blur.
Bakugou was in a daze. He was minding his business, walking to school, when he saw someone falling. Before he could react, they hit the sidewalk and blood spattered all over him and the building. Holy shit, he thought, is that Deku? Did Deku just-? Why would he- his thoughts were interrupted by a patrolling hero coming up and reassuring him, telling him to just call 911. But he wasn’t going to. He knew Deku was dead.
It was announced that school would still go on, after all, why stop it for a worthless extra like Deku? As soon as it crossed his mind, Bakugou instantly regretted thinking about it. Deku was dead. There was no doubt. Shit.
The school day flew past and Bakugou walked home, as usual, except this time he got home earlier without someone to bully.
Dinner with the Midoriyas was extremely tense, it seems that Inko had chosen to ignore that her son had committed suicide.
This left Bakugou to reflect on what he had said to him only a day before. “Just pray that you’ll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building,” was what he said, probably. Ugh, why was he so stupid? He shouldn’t have said that… but then again, shouldn’t he be glad that Deku’s gone? He was conflicted.
Then, a knock came from the front door. Who could that be?
Inko got up to open the door. And it was… All Might?
What was he doing here?
“May I come in?” He said sadly.
“Of course, of course, to what do we owe the pleasure, All Might? Come in, make yourself at home!” Inko responded with a fake smile and tear-stained eyes.
“I’ve come to talk to you about Izuku Midoriya, and the unfortunate events that have taken place since I met the bright young boy.”
“Y-you met my boy, Izuku? Then, why did he look so sad?”
“I believe I can explain that. Yesterday, Izuku was attacked by the slime monster that also attacked this young boy,” he pointed to Bakugo, “and being a hero, I jumped in to save him. After I made sure he was safe, I put him on the roof of a nearby building. He asked me if he could become a hero without a quirk; I was rash and stupid and said no. When I heard of him jumping off a roof, I couldn’t help but feel that this was my fault. Sometimes heroes can’t save everyone. I’m sorry,” and for the first time Kastuki had ever seen, possibly ever, All Might wasn’t smiling.
As he opened his eyes, Izuku wondered where he was. Hell? Heaven? He doubted Heaven had old, beat-up couches with beer stains.
“He’s awake,” a strange voice said, raspy and annoying. It sounded like a kid who spent all his teenage years playing video games.
“Where am I, and who are you?” Izuku asked as he looked around the room. It was a bar, a strange man wearing a tuxedo and had a dark purple mist surrounding his exposed skin, tending to the bar. His eyes were his only facial features, glowing yellow eyes.
“I am Kurogiri,” said the man working the bar, “and this is Tomura Shigaraki,” he continued, pointing to a man with blue hair and looked like a man-child.
Izuku started churning out questions, “How am I alive right now? Do one of you have a healing quirk? Why did you save me? How did you-”
“Calm,” Kurogiri said. “We will explain everything in good time. But for now, I suppose we can answer a few of your questions. Let’s begin. We caught wind of you jumping off a building, even though the news said nothing, and we thought you deserved a second chance. We have a healing quirk in our group, but even with that, you’ve been unconscious for about,” he checked his watch, “four months.”
“It took you long enough to wake up,” the man who Izuku assumed was Shigaraki said while playing a game on his console. “But Sensei said we should keep you, so here you are.”
Izuku suddenly felt really nervous, “I-I’m sorry, I don’t really- don’t really h-have control over that.” Wait - who was ‘Sensei’?
“It was a joke, newbie, and we have a few questions of our own.”
“O-okay?”
“First, what is your name?”
“I-Izuku Midoriya.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m f-fourteen years old.”
“What’s your quirk?”
Izuku didn’t respond. He was afraid these people would mock him for his quirklessness, just like everyone else had.
“Kid, what’s your quirk?” Shigaraki said, sounding very annoyed.
Izuku hesitated for just a second, then responded with a quiet, “pass?” with sadness in his eyes.
“You don’t get a ‘pass,’ Broccoli Hair. Answer the question or I just might k-”
Kurogiri stepped in, saying with a firm tone, “Enough, Tomura. If he doesn't want to share, he doesn’t have to. He’s already told us enough of what we need to know.”
And with that, the conversation came to a close. Kurogiri showed Izuku to his room, saying something like they “had a big day tomorrow,” and that he’d need to get lots of rest if he wanted to fully recover. So, Izuku got into his bed, closed his eyes, and waited for sleep to come.