I do not own the property of Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia. This is simply a fan based project.
Season 1: Prologue – Death Knell
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
That was the thought primarily running through Izuku's mind.
Less than ten minutes ago he'd had the snot and blood beaten out of him by Katsuki Bakugo and two of his favorite lackeys, whom Izuku resentfully dubbed Wings and Fingers.
This was after Izuku had confronted Katsuki for the umpteenth time about bullying those weaker than him.
He found Kacchan's actions appalling considering he claimed to want to be a hero when he grew up. There was nothing heroic about bullies. Not to mention he had both a strong and dangerous quirk.
It allowed him to make explosions from the nitroglycerin he sweated from his palms. Izuku had unfortunately experienced their potency first hand.
And so, he'd made it his mission to save his friend from himself.
In his ideal scenario he was a true hero. He, Izuku, seeing that his best friend Katsuki was straying down the path of villainy, it was his job to set him straight. A job that he would absolutely not fail at.
After all, real heroes never faltered, no matter the task. Right? They always managed to succeed in the end.
Or at least that's what he'd been led to believe.
However, as he lay battered on the ground in the alleyway near his favorite arcade, Izuku could only feel like he'd been deceived.
His plan had been a failure from the start. He should have known when he woke up with a bad feeling in his gut this morning.
Things were fine at first when he ran into Kacchan on his way to the arcade. It had been a long time since either sought the other out for any reason. The last time they had hung out purposely was two days before his quirkless status was made known to everyone at school.
As usual Kacchan had made insulting remarks, calling him that hated nickname, Deku. The other two laughing along like the idiots they were. Still they let him tag along after bearing their verbal abuse for a bit.
Every step the way there Izuku's stomach had roiled with unease making him wonder more than once during their excursion whether he should go home before he embarrassed himself. Yet he had trudged on muttering that if just made it to the arcade he'd be fine as there were more than a few stalls at the place. Of course, he'd been chewed out by Kacchan for his muttering. Luckily the blonde had played no attention to the content of his words or he'd have been further ridiculed.
It was only four years ago Kacchan had been his best friend, his closest friend, his…only friend. Where ever Kacchan went he had followed dutifully, enchanted by the blonde's easy confidence, fearlessness, and ambitious nature.
A complete contrast to everything Izuku himself was. How could he not be drawn to someone who shone so brightly? Being the follower to his leadership seemed natural.
Yet, that had been a lifetime ago.
The moment Kacchan had gotten his quirk and Izuku's had failed to appear was the mark of the end of an era.
He'd gone from being Izuku in Kacchan's, no, Katsuki's eyes to Deku. From a dutiful follower to an unwanted and despised interloper.
Useless, broken, and defective. Otherwise known as quirkless.
Worse the change had come at a time when he was coming to grips with the fact he was unlikely to ever get a quirk. Granted it was common knowledge most quirks manifested at four years old, or even younger in some cases like at birth, there was still a chance until the age eight for one's quirk to appear. Of course, the catch was one's chances of doing so grew slimmer the older they got.
But Izuku had held on to that thin sliver of hope…until last week. When he'd turned eight and…nothing. Just like when he turned four.
The gods had rendered their final verdict. He was to remain quirkless. His final salvation had been snatched away.
Or so he thought.
In the years he'd been waiting for his quirk to manifest, Izuku had come to many realizations.
The most pressing was that in a society where most of the populace had a quirk of some kind, being in the unique minority that had none was a curse.
The other realization? Having a quirk could change some people for the worst.
Katsuki was a prime example of this.
Before getting his quirk, he'd never been the kindest person, but he had also never been a bully. Nor someone who used his power to intimidate others and saw himself as above everyone else.
Which came back the reason why he'd currently been beaten almost to a pulp.
Izuku's uneasiness had persisted every step of the way but by then he'd concluded what he was feeling wasn't the kind of stomach problem he thought it was.
Things had gone well enough with Katsuki dominating all of them no matter the game and rightly bragging about it to anyone who would listen. Izuku had enjoyed himself as much as he could in Katsuki's company. Knowing his friend could turn on him at any moment had killed whatever comfort he'd once felt in the other's presence. So he took what little pleasure he could in the experience.
Of course the congenial atmosphere didn't last long. It ended the moment another kid about the same age as them soundly beat Katsuki in several rounds of Street Fighter. If you thought Katsucki would be the better man and accept his defeat with grace…well obviously you didn't know him that well.
He'd ranted and raved about cheating bastards throughout the entire ordeal, both belittling and cursing his opponent. Though Izuku had to give the other kid credit for pretty much ignoring Bakugo's bad attitude.
Eventually bored with losing Katsuki moved on to another game with he and the others following suit. That should have been the end of it. But it wasn't.
Finally out of money they left planning to head home, unfortunately leaving along with them was the kid who had beaten Katsuki. What happened next was not wholly unexpected but still caught Izuku by surprise.
Katsuki, along with Wings and Fingers had proceeded to accost the poor kid into the nearest alley for a 'little chat.' At least that's what they justified it to themselves as. For Katsuki he felt he had to prove he was superior through his quirk since he couldn't with the game.
The kid was a bit scrawny but was of the same height as Katsuki, a little on the plain side and had no discernable quirk attributes. He appeared bewildered by the whole situation and tried to talk them out of it. An endeavor Izuku had done his best to help with to no avail.
So he'd done his best to minimize the damage like he had done a thousand times before. He made himself the target of Katsuki's ire.
However, things hadn't gone as planned. Seemingly feed up with his interference, Katsuki let the other kid go before unleashing unholy hell on him.
Izuku had been subjected to minor burns from Katsuki's explosions along with bruises from his punches, he'd always known subconsciously that the blonde was holding back so as not to do any serious damage. That wasn't so this time.
This time the explosions had caused deep burns that didn't just sting but hurt in ways he'd never experienced before. There was actual ringing in his ears from the sound of them. His punches felt more punishing causing him to curl up into a ball especially when he began to literally kick him while he was down and unable to get up.
He hadn't been treated like this since the first time he'd put himself between Katsuki and a quirkless kid he had been picking on.
And just like before Fingers and Wings had been assisting him. Bastards.
Like a fool he had ignored the warning he had been given. He and Katsuki's friendship had been over then, for he had never quite reconciled the beating he'd received and the subsequent abuse afterwards, as the actions of a real friend. More he had tried to justify it to himself to avoid facing the reality he was now friendless.
After all at his school Katsuki was officially king of the castle and if you were found lacking in his eyes, good luck making any friends considering just about everyone wanted to be Bakugo's friend.
Though perhaps the worst offenders were his teachers. Izuku had the misfortune of being the only quirkless kid at his elementary school. It was a fact they all treated with scorn, as if being quirkless was a handicap, a contagious disease even.
It never failed to make his blood boil.
If they didn't constantly dismiss him, condescend his efforts to be hero, look the other way when he was bullied by others with their quirks (which was expressly forbidden), then they pretended he didn't even exist.
To describe it all in one word it was: maddening.
All for the lack of a quirk he was persona non grata. He wouldn't have minded nearly as much if it had been because of his personality.
Izuku knew he could be annoyingly over eager, a bit of a crybaby and shy bordering on cowardly. He could understand not liking him for who he was, his mother had taught him not everyone would like you for who you are.
But she had never told him people would despise you for what you couldn't change. That they would hate you because of how you were born.
The world truly was a cruel place.
With great effort Izuku began to pick himself up. Every part of him ached, even his hair from where that asshole with the long fingers had grabbed a handful to hold him place for Katsuki's and Wings blows.
All he wanted to do right now was go home, curl up in his bed and cry himself to sleep.
Anything to avoid having to face reality.
Trudging home gingerly, Izuku tried to think of a way to excuse his injuries to his mother. He was running out of excuses that he wasn't being bullied. If it was a school day it would have been easy to avoid her as she didn't come home until an hour after he was released from school. Plenty of time for him cover any bruises with his mother's makeup or clothes. Not that his efforts seemed to fully circumvent his mother's radar.
There would be no such luck today as his mother didn't work on the weekends and usually stayed home all day.
Izuku received a few curious and pitying looks from strangers over his condition but that was as far as things went. He could have been bleeding to death and people in this neighborhood would have continued about their business with nary a second glance.
Logically Izuku knew his mother knew the truth. Inko Midoriya was by no means a stupid woman. No doubt the reason she was putting up with his lies was she was patiently waiting for him to feel comfortable enough to tell her the truth.
Such a kind and considerate mother he had. He felt like scum for constantly lying to her.
As he finally reached his apartment building, staring up at the window where his unit was located, Izuku wondered if it was time to change.
Maybe he should confide in his mother about his troubles. She loved him right? Surely she would understand what he was feeling better than anyone?
Izuku felt his gut clench at the thought.
Yes, he would tell his mother everything. If for no reason than to stop carrying such a heavy weight on his soul.
Feeling a steely determination come over him, Izuku marched up to his apartment barely feeling his injuries as much as he had before.
His friendship with Katsuki was over but that didn't mean his life was as well.
It was time to pick up the pieces and move on.