A/N: Okay, so I'm about to attempt a My Hero fanfic. I've got 3 other stories on this site in the works already(one of which is a little painful to admit to since it's rife with amateur foolishness), but I just finished season 2 of My Hero and I wanted to give it a shot.
I personally love the series as I've seen it, and think Deku is a refreshing main character in this day and age of manga/anime, but in my story he will NOT have a quirk. The whole point of this story is to show that ANYONE can be a hero; even if they don't have powers.
As I explain in my three other main stories(one for Naruto, one for DBZ, and one for ATLA) I am not much for comedy. I want everyone going into this to understand that my story will have a fairly serious tone to it; even Izuku's trademark boyishness won't really be present. However, I explain this through use of his determination to become a hero. After all, with no quirk Izuku won't have time for silliness. The name Deku will still be used though by Bakugo and possibly his love interest later, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna make it his hero name.
Before anyone comments about it in the reviews, yes, I do make certain references to the animated Batman film 'Son of Batman' through use of the motto he picks to adopt but he will not actually become Batman. While my Izuku will be more serious, it will not be to the degree of Bruce Wayne; more than anything it'll lean more towards Robin from the Teen Titan's series.
Anyway, I really hope people enjoy my take on the series.
My Quirkless Hero (Title subject to change should a better one come along)
Ch. 1- Conviction!
"I'm sorry Mrs. Midoriya, but, it looks as if young Izuku does not have a quirk...nor I fear will he ever."
Those words echoed around inside the head of the young Izuku Midoriya as he sat, dejected, in front of his computer screen. The young kindergartner had just returned home from seeing the doctor with his mother and, after a series of tests followed by a single x-ray session, learned he was part of the twenty percent of people around the world to be born without a quirk.
Twenty percent; one in every fivepeople. And both of his parents had quirks!
As the young Izuku sat there his body wracked with uncontrollable sobs. His shoulders shook while his throat swallowed heaves of despair. The boy's knuckles were bone-white as they crumpled the leg of his shorts, and tears left tracks down his freckled cheeks.
And yet, despite all this, when his mother Inko came in to check on her unusually quiet child she found the biggest smile plastered on her son's face.
This confusion gave way to a morose understanding when her eyes found Izuku's monitor. There, expanded to full-screen, was the paused video of her son's idol. All Might; the greatest hero in the world, and renowned Symbol of Peace. Inko knew the video well, as Izuku insisted on watching it at least once every morning before heading to school, and once before bed every night.
Looking at the paused clip of the hero's first appearance Iuku's mother took notice that the man was smiling. It was wide, and showed off all the muscle-bound blonde's white teeth. It was full of confidence and lacked any sort of fear...it was a smile Inko realized her grief-stricken son was trying his best to emulate. Seeing her son so broken by the news that he wouldn't be able to follow in his idol's footsteps caused the housewife to have her own breakdown. Tears soon welled in her own forest-green eyes, and as they began to spill onto her face Inko dropped to her knees and wrapped her son in a fierce hug.
"Oh, Izuku, I'm so sorry."
The words tumbled from her lips without a second thought, but their meaning was not what others would expect. Inko Midoriya wasn't apologizing for her son's crushed dream; the apology was for the part Inko herself believed she played in Izuku's lack of a quirk. It was well known that the more powerful a quirk was, the higher chance there was for any offspring to manifest their own impressive power; sometimes even genetically inheriting their parents quirk. And while Izuku's estranged father was capable of breathing fire, Inko only held the power to attract small objects to her person.
Wracking with sobs of her own, Inko fumbled out another apology, "I-If only I'd h-had a stronger quirk. Oh, I-Izuku, I'm so sorry honey."
Pressed to his mothers heaving chest, Izuku Midoriya's tormented spirit only heard his mother apologize for his destroyed dreams. The pain only letting him hear about how with no quirk he would never become a hero; he would never be like All Might.
In another universe this pain would leave young Izuku silent and whimpering. It would halt the boy for ten long years, but then lead him to become the heir to a power known as One for All...but that was not this universe. Instead, in a desperate act for reassurance, Izuku Midoriya managed to get a single question past his choked sobs that would change his life forever.
"M-Mommy...e-even without a quirk, c-can I still be a...can I still be a hero?"
In the tense silence that followed, Izuku's whole world stopped. What felt like an eternity for the wild-haired child was really only seconds, but finally, his mother answered with a single word.
"...Yes."
Inko honestly wasn't sure if her answer was the right one but, when her son tightened his hold on her and she saw his watery smile edged with a fragile hope, she didn't dare say anymore. Instead she would keep her doubts silent, while outwardly cheering her son on. In her mind it was the least she could do after all.
Four years later, Izuku sat in his schools library during his class's lunch period and was finishing the third news report on a hero of in the Shizuoka Prefecture. He had lied to his teacher, claiming a need to use the bathroom, but the young Izuku had decided any punishment was worth the knowledge gained. The last video had been about the Flame Hero: Endeavor. Endeavor was ranked as the second-greatest hero in the world, bested only by All Might, and as his name suggested he had the power to manipulate fire itself.
Izuku watched as the man used his quirk to not only deal powerful offensive blows, but augment his physical capabilities by creating jet-streams of fire to increase his speed and maneuverability. On top of that, the youngest Midoriya saw that Endeavor was also in prime physical condition as well. Meaning that, while the man did indeed prioritize his quirk in battle, he made sure his body could handle the strain of such perilous heroics.
And while Izuku thought the world revolved around All Might, he could not ignore the greatness of the many other heroes that found their way onto the scene with each newscast. So he studied them all; from Endeavor down to Desutegero, a hero with the simple power of super-human strength.
The boy's studies didn't stop once he got home however. Once his homework for the night was finished, Izuku returned to the world of the internet and streamed hours worth of news footage centered around the various heroes of the world. When his mother brought him dinner she found her son's walls littered with notes about those crusaders and their quirks; with a pin-board dedicated to the top five heroes specifically. Inko would look on those sheets of handwritten paper with a mix of hope as well as sadness.
The hope that, through his studies Izuku would find a way to achieve his dream, and the sadness that it would instead lead to the destruction of her son's fragile hope. What if Izuku felt he could never compete with those men and women with superpowers? Inko hated to admit it too, but a small part of her that she kept hidden away, hoped for such a thing. The thought of her son going out there, and either getting hurt or even killed, terrified the protective mother in Inko.
But then she would walk over, a tray laden with a bowl of rice and miso soup in her hands, and she'd see the intense focus on Izuku's face; the likes of which she'd never thought possible for one so young. And Inko just lost all thought of trying to talk her son out of being a hero. She just couldn't find it in her heart to destroy her son's dreams, to bring about the same pain the doctor had when he told Izuku he would never have a quirk.
Instead, she would simply set the boy's dinner down next to him and ask, "So Izuku, who are you studying tonight?"
Then, without looking away from his notes, the determined young kindergartner would answer. "I saw this story on Best Jeanist, and how he used his quirk Fiber Master to trip up these bank robbers in the Okayama Prefecture. That's his hometown, so he tends to make regular visits there from his office in Tokyo."
This news surprised Inko, as Okayama was at least seven hours from Tokyo, but when she questioned Izuku about the distance the woman received another shock at his answer.
"Oh, well Best Jeanist has an agency of sidekicks. They're hand-picked by Jeanist to work below him, and are left to patrol in his place when he's away. He actually has the new rookie, Toguro, working for him; but even then, there's still heroes like Endeavor or Gunhead to help protect the city."
Izuku's response was detailed, and carefully spoken. There was a tint of admiration in his tone too, but Inko noticed that her son did not ooze hero worship like he had in the past. At just eight years old, Inko could honestly say her son was more mature than even some of her own coworkers. But there was something about her son's answer that was missing...
"And All Might's protecting the city too, right?"
The response came slower this time, and Inko could see that her son was taking longer to decide how to answer, but when he finally did Izuku's voice was devoid of the usual flare that came when talking about his famous idol. "Yeah, sometimes, but lately All Might hasn't been around much. He shows up sometimes, but there are days where no one sees him."
A hum of curiosity came before Inko's own reply, "Well, maybe he's saving someone far out-land from here. After all, you don't get to be the number one hero for only saving one city, right?"
"Yeah, you're probably right mom."
Inko could tell from the resignation in his voice that Izuku didn't believe her. But what could she do to balm her son's emotional wound? It's not as if she ad the hero's number, and she could just call him and ask him where he was. So instead, she turned the conversation in a direction she knew always helped cheer her son up.
"Besides, I'm sure once you become just as great a hero you'll know all about what that's like. And speaking of, I've got those applications you asked for, the ones for the dojos around town. You still wanted those, right?"
Izuku's eyes immediately lit up in sheer delight, and a smile bloomed over his face as he spun around in his chair to both grab the small stack of papers, as well as hug his mother. "Yes! Thank you mom, this is exactly what I need to take the first step in becoming a hero. I mean, who's ever heard of a hero who can't fight? Oh man, this is gonna be great!"
Inko felt her own heart's weighted guilt left just a little at seeing her son so happy. She had promised to stop by the various martial arts schools around their town after work, and pick up applications so her son could choose which ones to start with. Inko had promised her son two professional classes, and had offered the idea of buying dvd's to help him learn the styles he wouldn't be taking lessons for. Needless to say, Izuku was thrilled with her idea, and for a moment Inko could see the kid in him again.
xXx
Izuku Midoriya, better known as Deku by his classmates, stared at the busted lip and harsh purple bruise that marred his freckled face. The ten-year-old schoolboy let his forest-green eyes look on the two shots he'd taken at school that day for a second longer, before he fought through the pain and smiled.
In a five-on-one fist fight, coming out of it with only a black eye and bloody lip were cause for celebration. Especially since he'd almost won. His martial arts lessons were indeed paying off.
Izuku was nothing if not a dedicated student, but even at the age of ten he was smart enough to know he was far from invincible. His lessons in Muay Thai and Jujitsu were coming along a little faster than Karate or the American art of Boxing, but even so, against Bakugou's Explosion quirk Izuku always found himself hard-pressed to succeed. The quirkless youth still felt proud of besting the rest of his childhood friend's goons though; even if their teacher interrupted the main event between Izuku and the bullying blonde.
Cleaning away the blood from his mouth, and making sure to staunch the bleeding before exiting the bathroom, Izuku stopped in his tracks when he came face-to-face with his upset mother. With her guilt not eating at her, Inko Midoriya had retained her youthful appearance even in her early thirties. The only true sign of her aging was the tired look she often came home from work with, which was accented by a furrowed brow due to dealing with all manners of customers.
But today, her brow was netted in worry rather than annoyance. And Izuku could only think of one reason why that would be...
"I got a call from school today Izuku, something about you getting into a fight and beating up four other boys. Judging by that nice new bruise you've got I can only guess the principal was telling me the truth. So, rather than try and come up with some crazy story, how about you just tell me what happened?"
It wasn't hard to hear the pure exhaustion in his mother's voice, and knowing he was once again the cause for her distress caused a guilty Izuku to flinch. This was only his first fight this school year, but he'd been bullied ever since everyone learned he was quirkless. 'Figures the first time I choose to really fight back is the day anyone decides to call my mother,' the dark-haired youth thought with a sigh.
"Well, mom, first I just wanna say that I didn't 'beat up' four other boys. I was getting picked on by Ka-Bakugou and his goons again, and this time I just decided to fight back." Izuku had to force himself not to reflexively call the blonde by his childhood nickname, as they were no longer friends, before haltingly continuing his story.
"I-I used my training on them, but Bakugou's quirk is powerful. He used it to stun me before landing a couple of hits; I guess his flash grenade caught the teacher's attention, because just as I managed to block Bakugou's next hit we were being pulled apart." Seeing his mothers face, Izuku made an attempt at lightening the mood by shrugging and offering, "B-But hey, at least your money's not going to w-waste...right?"
The disappointed look he got wasn't what the fumbling schoolboy was hoping for, and had Izuku dropping his head in submission as he muttered out an apology.
Inko looked at her son for a moment in sadness before sighing. "Honey, I'm not paying those instructors to teach you how to beat up your classmates; one of which used to be your best friend. And while I have a pretty good idea why you two don't talk anymore, that doesn't excuse your behavior. How can you want to be a hero, but then turn around and fight those you say you want to protect? I want you, right now, to promise me that I'll not be getting another phone call like the one I got today from school. Because if I do, you can say goodbye to your lessons, and I'll be forced to confiscate the gear you just received in the mail today."
Izuku was just about to tell his mother he didn't get any of his new gear yet when he watched her reach behind the couch and pull out an armful of shipping boxes. The ten-year-old's dark-green eyes lit up with excitement, but the fire was quickly dowsed when he remembered his mothers warning.
Looking from the packages, to his mother, Izuku could clearly see she was completely serious.
As if reading her son's thoughts, Inko Midoriya's own eyes hardened with conviction as she firmly repeated herself. "I mean it, Izuku Midoriya, I want your word that you'll learn how to control yourself. What is having those skills, if you don't show the proper discipline to know when to use them? All today did was make you look like another bully; and I for one don't consider a bully to be very heroic."
Izuku's mother's words stung. Yet the young schoolboy knew she was right; his actions had been anything but heroic. They had been shameful, as had his pride in delivering what he now realized was vengeance rather than justice. And so, it was with a remorseful look in his eye that Izuku bowed deep at the waist, and both apologized as well as recited his promise to his mother.
Later that night, long after dinner and his mother had gone to bed, Izuku stayed up and was going through his new list of equipment. Of the few new gadgets he'd recently acquired though, his favorites were no doubt the tonfa he'd saved up for. Hours of walking dogs, and riding his bike to garden the homes of the elderly, had earned him a brand new set of wooden tonfa.
Even at the young age of ten, Izuku proved in class to be a well educated and easily taught student. He payed attention, and if he didn't understand something he made sure to research the topic and study it until he did. So dedicated was he to becoming the worlds first quirkless hero. This dedication and studious nature lead the young boy many called Deku to take notice of his short reach; something that, while it would increase with age, would never be as long as many of the Pro Heroes. And so, to make up for this both in close and long-range combat, Izuku devised that he could use support material.
Or, as they were better called by their creators, gadgets.
Gadgets came in many different forms; from jet-packs to speed-shoes, and were quickly becoming staples to the less powerful heroes. However, Izuku soon found there was a snag in his plan after learning of these delightful little tools...they were exceedingly expensive!
Even the throwing disks he'd purchased alongside his tonfa, which had the added bonus to be linked to return to his gloves, had taken him almost a month to afford; and he'd only bought two.
However this didn't stop Izuku from believing his goal was possible, it just meant he would need to either find a better way to make money, or find an aspiring Support Class student at U.A. who'd be willing to aid him in his quest. Yes, becoming a great hero without any fancy quirk would be difficult, but Izuku Midoriya was bound and determined to do it!
And yet, as he lay in bed that same night readying to fall asleep, his mothers scolding played over in his mind again. His thoughts then turned to his own realization upon the end of the lecture, and how he chose to use them as his own personal hero code.
'Justice, not vengeance,' Izuku thought before finally falling into his dreams.
xXx
At the age of fourteen Izuku Midoriya knew that, if they were caught, both he and Mr. Urameshi would get into trouble; as no one under the age of 15 was allowed to be employed on a payroll. But Izuku had formed a friendship with the retired detective-turned-grocery owner during his days of doing yard work, and when he'd told the man about his dream Mr. Urameshi was all too willing to risk the fines that would come with hiring the then thirteen-year-old Izuku.
Now, after a little less than a year, Izuku stood in front of his boss's grocery store finishing up sweeping away the dirt for the afternoon. On days he didn't have school Izuku was allowed to work earlier, and longer, in the day. However, this day in particular he informed Mr. Urameshi that his time at the store was at an end. With the U.A. entrance exams ten months away, Izuku explained that he wanted to spend as much time as possible preparing. Thankfully, the retired detective was understanding, and had handed over the young teen's last envelope of payment. One that, as he opened it to again marvel at the sight of his dreams in paper form, Izuku noticed that there were twice as many bills inside than normal.
"M-Mr. Urameshi, t-this is a whole two extra weeks of payment. Please, I appreciate the gesture, b-but I could never-"
"Take it," Mr. Urameshi laughingly halted the boy's oncoming refusal. Then, the elderly man's face took on a more serious note than Izuku had ever seen as he elaborated. "I know it's a lot, young Midoriya, but please take this money and use it to accomplish your dream. In all my years I have never seen one so young with the same fire that I see everyday in your eyes. There are many, too many in my opinion, heroes in this world...but I hardly ever see one who does the job for the right reasons. For many of them its about the money, or the recognition, but I can see it clear as the sun shines in the sky that you young Midoriya truly wish to be a hero for the pure desire to help those in need.
That's why I didn't laugh at you all those years ago when you showed up at my doorstep, sweaty and out of breath from the bike ride over, asking if I needed help with my lawn. It's why I came to you with the offer of a job here at my grocery store the day you turned thirteen...and it's also why I'm okay with giving you this envelope today. So please, as one quirkless man to another, I ask that you take that money and show the rest of the world that we quirkless folks still have a say in what goes on in this world."
Green met with black as Izuku stared into the pleading, but determined eyes of his former employer and friend. It was with a hesitant nod that Izuku silently accepted the large wad of bills, before firmly shaking hands with Mr. Urameshi.
What neither of them knew was that this would be the last conversation the two would ever have.
It was the next morning, as he was just finishing getting ready to go out and begin his training, that Izuku found his mother sitting on their couch with a pained expression on her face. She held a hand up to her mouth in horror, while her other held the remote to the television. Being an avid watcher of the news, Izuku could only assume something bad had happened the night before; yet nothing he imagined hurt as bad as the reality that met him when he himself walked over to see what it was.
It took seconds for Izuku to work through the headline, and when he did the young teen's body dropped like a lead weight onto the couch. From his new seat beside his mother Izuku re-read the headline a second time, as if hoping he'd read it wrong. But when nothing changed the youngest Midoriya was forced to accept the truth: Mr. Urameshi was dead.
Izuku took the remote from his mother and turned off the mute button.
"It seems that sometime around 2:30AM the grocery store owned my local resident Yusuke Urameshi was robbed by a couple members of the Purple Dragon gang; officers know this by the graffiti tagged along the inner walls of the sacked establishment. The criminals made off with a little over ¥ 200,000 and unfortunately one used their quirk to end the former detectives life; I'm being told the quirk used is called Spike, which fits with the way Mr. Urameshi was found run through with one a few meters long.
Police are avid in their pursuit of these criminals, as Yusuke was a long-standing member of the force for the majority of his life, and assure us that the men who did this will indeed be caught. Unfortunately, there has been no word from the various hero agencies about who among them will be helping with the case, I can only assume they are all-"
The man on the screen was gone in an instant as Izuku angrily smashed the power button for the remote, before chucking it onto the coffee table with a scoff. Beside him, the teen's mother looked at him with a look of both worry as well as confusion.
"Izuku, honey, I know you're upset but I'm sure they'll catch the villains responsible-"
"No," the angry teen cut his mother off. "They won't; because if they really meant that those scum wouldn't have been on the street in the first place. I'm not saying there's never going to be a crime committed ever again, but the Purple Dragons are organized crime. They're a structured organism with their own hierarchy...if someone was really looking into this they'd be disbanded by now."
Inko reached over to take Izuku's hand before trying to speak with her son again. "I understand your anger dear, but you of all people should understand that there are times when a hero just isn't going to be there to help. It's a terrible thought, what with the world we live in now, but it is still the truth...not even All Might-"
"It didn't have to be All Might mom!" Izuku's outburst was punctuated by his ripping out of his mother's hold, and shooting to his feet as he raised his voice. "I'm not the same blind kid I was when I was four years old, I know there are other heroes out there besides All Might; and that's what's making me so mad! How could there not have been a single hero out last night? The only explanation I can find is that, to them, the robbery of a little corner grocery store wasn't going to be enough glory for them. No cameras, no heroics...just like Mr. Urameshi said."
Izuku's mother tried again to reach for her son's hand in an effort to console him, but the teen's fury would not be quelled, and with that heavy emotion weighing down his every step Izuku stomped his way out of the apartment before taking off in a run to reach the gym.
It wasn't until he was drenched in sweat and his muscles felt like they'd been torn apart that Izuku allowed himself to call it quits. The dark-haired teen had long since stripped away his sleeveless shirt, and stumbled through the automatic doors in just his sweatpants and large sneakers. Checking the sun, Izuku guessed it was around four in the afternoon. Just enough time to go grab an after-workout snack before going home to dinner. Tomorrow was weapon training, and Izuku knew he would need to be well rested for that.
However, all thoughts of rest or exhaustion were washed away when Izuku noticed a pair of teens exiting the convenient store he was just about to pass. While the hero-in-training normally wouldn't acknowledge the rowdy twosome, the purple dragon head peeking out from under the taller one's long sleeve caught his attention.
Izuku felt the rage from that morning burning in his chest again. It didn't matter whether or not the two gang members in front of him were the same responsible for Mr. Urameshi's murder; all that Izuku Midoriya could see was the tattoo. Making sure not to draw attention to himself, the teen made a point to make it look as if he'd stopped to check his phone. Once he was sure the two thugs hadn't suspected him, Izuku waited until the other teen's had their backs to him before capturing a picture of them with his camera. With this, the dark-haired youth figured if he lost sight of them they would be easier to find again later, and so he began to follow them.
It was a long walk, to be sure, but Izuku quickly realized that the pair he was following were more than likely new recruits. As he followed them Izuku was able to see the shorter of the two periodically check his phone, before looking at the street they were on, and then directing them with a jerk of his head. Aside from that, Izuku's dark-green eyes easily caught the way neither of them had noticed they were being followed; so concerned were they with not getting lost. But that was just fine with the shirtless teen, because it would make it that much easier to find out where the rest of their filthy hive called home.
Izuku's lucky break ran out though when he followed the pair of Purple Dragons out of the heavily populated city street, and into the less dense back lots of the slums. With not as many people to hide behind, the teenage thugs quickly took notice of the lone figure trailing behind them; and try as they might not to show it, Izuku easily spotted their trepidation. Yet he couldn't blame the two for their apprehension, as even at only fourteen and standing no taller than 5'5, Izuku's muscular frame cut an imposing figure to those who either didn't have a powerful quirk or just weren't confident in their own physical power...two things both of these other boys seemed to be lacking.
Their fear got the better of them a moment later, when they spontaneously broke out into a run. Izuku reacted instantly, his anger from that morning's newscast breathing new life into his tired muscles, and gave chase.
The chase would have been short, of that Izuku had no doubt, but one of the boys revealed himself to hold a quirk that allowed him to teleport himself five feet in front of himself. This bode well for the taller thug, but Izuku's keen eye noticed that it did nothing to help the shorter boy; the act possibly needing too much concentration in the heat of the moment, Izuku guessed.
Whatever the reason for the tall red-head's abandonment of his fellow Dragon, Izuku allowed himself to be content with getting his hands on just one of them. It was with a fierce, full-body tackle that Izuku brought down the stubby, purple-haired teen that had lagged behind. However, the moment the two met the ground, Izuku was greeted by a startling surprise.
"Get off!" A long spike accompanied the startled youth's cry of distress, one that matched the image Izuku had seen on the news, and one that sliced through the air before cutting along the still-shirtless teen's cheek. Both boys lay on the dusty, dirt-paved back road; shocked dark-green locking with terrified onyx-black.
And then the other boy moved.
In a mad scramble of his limbs, the Purple Dragon recruit stumbled to his feet before backpedaling away from the boy who'd tackled him. Once he felt he was far enough away, the disheveled punk put up his hands in a feeble attempt at a fighting stance.
Izuku's wide eyes never left the spike that the other boy had broken off, and now held like a sword in his trembling hands. Even as he slowly got to his own feet, and dusted off his broad shoulders, Izuku Midoriya's expression of shock wavered only once...and then it was only to turn into a face of pure rage.
"It was you."
Momiji Sayaja flinched, knowing exactly what the teen standing across from him was talking about; he was the only member of the gang with the Spike quirk. However, seeing that his opponent hadn't shown off any sort of powerful quirk, the Purple Dragon member attempted to bluff his way out of a fight.
"Y-Yeah, I robbed that old man last night, w-what about it? If you wanna f-fight about it I should w-warn you, my p-partner went on ahead to get h-help; when the rest of the g-gang gets here, y-you'll be sorry for messing with a P-Purple Dragon."
If there was any response to his threat the purple-haired teen was expecting, laughter wasn't one of them.
Izuku's chuckle soon turned into a scoff of disgust however, and soon he was popping his knuckles in preparation for a fight. "Yeah, right, I'm sure Hun is just jumping out of his seat to come save a little, know-nothing grunt like you." Dark-green eyes noticed the way saying the gang leader's name caused the other teen to flinch, and this only amused Izuku more. "What, you really don't think anyone paying attention doesn't already know who your leader is? Just because no one's pinned him for anything yet doesn't mean everyone doesn't already know what he's done."
Momiji stomped his foot in denial before crying out, "What do you know!? The Purple Dragons will come for me; we stick together, we're a family!"
"If you were really so close, don't you think your buddy would have stayed to help you? I mean, that is what family does, right? But then maybe I'm wrong...in that case, I hope they won't mind paying your hospital bills for you."
With that Izuku was done talking. The green-haired hero-in-training pushed off with his back foot and rushed the clearly shaken gang member in front of him. With a speed not found in normal boys his age, Izuku closed in fast and was almost instantly in the other boy's guard.
Momiji reacted in fear, stumbling back in fright at how fast his opponent was the purple-haired teen made a crazed noise in his throat before slashing downward with his spike.
Izuku easily blocked the strike with his forearm, and then made swift work of disarming the villain in front of him. The spike clattered to dirt noisily, but Izuku ignored it in favor of using his foot to knock the gang member off balance and set him up to be put into an RNC. The scuffle was over in seconds, but Izuku wasn't satisfied yet. Twisting their bodies around, the quirkless teen threw his opponent to the ground before reaching down to toss him his weapon.
"Get up! You don't get to get away that easy; not after what you did to Mr. Urameshi!"
Down in the dirt Momiji Sayaja coughed and sputtered as he attempted to work air back into his lungs. Reaching up with one of his hands, the frightened teen rubbed at his bruised neck before looking over at his spike-spear that had been thrown to him.
In another desperate move, the young gang member quickly produced a hail of spikes that he shot from the palms of his hands. These were each about the size of a nail, and moved at a rapid speed. The shrapnel-like firing was merely a diversion though, as Momiji quickly cut it off and used that brief moment to lunge for his fallen spear.
With deliberate intent the stout teen hurled his self-made weapon at Izuku's heart; the freckled teen having jumped to the side in an effort to avoid being pelted by his opponent's rapid fire. However, even in mid-air the green-haired youth proved to have supreme reflexes. With what looked like practiced ease, the boy known as Deku deftly spun around the thrown weapon, before plucking it from its flight and turning his dodge into a set up for a counter throw.
That throw was thwarted though, and turned into a parry, when Izuku saw that his foe had created a second spear and was attempting to run him through with it while he was still airborne.
After avoiding such a dangerous blow Izuku struck out quick with his left foot in a viscous roundhouse kick. The blow struck true against the side of the other boy's face, and the force of attack had the young Purple Dragon dropping like a sack of potatoes.
Coming down from his hang time, Izuku took a moment to look down at the scum he'd just knocked unconscious. As her stared however the young hero-in-training began to feel that familiar rage from that morning begin to build again. It was like a volcano, simmering beneath the surface, but before long it evolved into a bubbling and burning heat. The raw emotions rushed through Izuku's body like a violent river and in a brief moment of rapture, the seething young fighter raised his stolen weapon in preparation to impale the downed criminal at his feet.
But just as the muscles in his arm tensed to bring down the final blow, Izuku remembered both the vocal promise he'd made to his mother as well as the silent one to himself.
Justice, not vengeance.
In that instant Izuku felt all his anger, all his burning rage, leave him. His body went slack; like a puppet without strings, and he dropped the makeshift spear in his limp fingers. The weapon clattered again to the floor, this time joined by the one that Izuku's opponent had attempted to use to run him through, and in his almost comatose-like state the victorious teen sank to his knees along with them.
He had almost killed someone.
This revelation made the youngest Midoriya sick, and only through knowing that he hadn't actually succeeded kept the young man from letting go of his stomach. And yet, the fact remained...and it frightened Izuku.
Years ago, after his skirmish with Bakugo, Izuku realized that he and the blonde bully shared a very similar facet to their personality's. It was a sort of drive; one that demanded success, and had a thirst for victory no matter the cost. However, where Izuku noticed his former friend used this to an almost villainous advantage, the freckled teen found himself fearful of that side of himself. Because while unleashing that part of his personality seemed to grant him greater strength, the current evidence proved that falling too far was indeed dangerous. He just couldn't control it enough.
'I was lucky this time,' the Izuku thought breathlessly to himself. 'But there's no guarantee that memory will reach me a second time; it'd be best if I kept that part of me in check, at least until I've gotten a better hold of it.'
It was with this last thought that a trembling Izuku pulled his cellphone from his pocket, and used his shaking fingers to dial 911.
The police arrived a few minutes later, along with Izuku's mother, and the quirkless teen watched in somber silence as the murderer of his friend was carted off. And while that darker part of him raged at seeing the scum still breathing, Izuku was able to drown it out with the warm feeling he got when he looked into his mother's proud smile.
So, this is what it felt like to be a hero?
xXx
Ten months came and went, and before the Midoriya family knew it the day of for the U.A. entrance exams had arrived.
Inside his room Izuku was finishing getting dressed when his mother walked in. Upon seeing her son, Inko couldn't keep the gasp of shock from escaping past her lips. Had she not watched him leave for training everyday for the last ten months, the teen's mother never would have imagined that the boy standing in front of her was the same little four-year-old she had cradled in her arms all those years ago.
Izuku was dressed in a fitted, white tee with his hands snugly covered with finger-less gloves. Around the teen's waste was a belt similar to the ones Inko had seen worn by police officers, only with several more compartments. There was a large buckle in the front that held it locked in place, and that helped keep up the young man's dark-blue pants from falling. These pants also held various pockets, and trailed down to where they were stuffed into a pair of black, steel-toed boots. And while still only standing at 5'5, Izuku's mother was sure his muscled physique would be more than enough to ward off anyone wishing to make trouble with him at the academy.
And if the threat of his strength didn't deter them, Inko was sure the fierce look in her son's eye would serve as a decent second warning. The pure determination, and sense of will that Izuku seemed to project with just his gaze alone made the single mother finally, truly believe that her son would indeed become the world's greatest hero even without a quirk.
From the reflection of the mirror Izuku noticed his mother staring at him, his attempt to focus on the day ahead having deafened him to the vocalization of her surprise. And when he looked her in the eye to begin his goodbye's, the wild-haired teen took immediate notice of the emotions that swirled within. Immediately the quirkless boy felt his spirits rise, and confidence soar, and the fledgling hope that had been birthed ten years ago hardened into an unshakable belief.
Quirk or not, Izuku Midoriya would become the world's greatest hero!
xXx
A/N: Well okay, there's the first chapter to my next story. I originally wasn't going to write this because I wasn't sure it'd be well received, but then I thought about the fact that a big part of doing this is the enjoyment of telling your own version of an already great story. So, here's mine.
Anyway, let me know what you think, and I hope everyone enjoyed this first chapter.