A/N: Hey guys! It's been a while since I've posted anything on here, huh? Anyway, I'm back with a new story! (Which I will hopefully finish this time around.) I might be a little rusty in terms of writing fanfiction, but I'm still going to try! Also, this is my first time writing a My Hero Academia fanfiction and I'm still trying to get caught up with season 3 and have yet to start the manga (I'm busy with school, all right? I can't put my time into obsessively researching and watching/reading series like I used to), so if I get any terminology or facts wrong, I'm sorry. This is going to be an AU, which means things are going to be different. As of now, I'm not sure how many people have had the same idea for this version of Villain!Deku, but I might as well put my take on it out there.

Anyway, enough with my rambling, on with the story!

(Izuku's P.O.V.)

For as long as I can remember, all I've ever wanted to be was a hero. Maybe it was from that video of the world's greatest hero pulling civilians out of a disaster area, maybe it was seeing so many heroes out and about in town, or maybe it was just something every kid wanted to be at some point or another. After all, in a world where eighty percent of the population has some sort of super power known as "quirks", it's a given there would be those who would want to use them to help others, become famous, or bring smiles to the faces of total strangers.

But unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky. Not all men are created as equals.

I was born apart of the twenty percent of humanity lacking any quirk at all. "Quirkless" they call it. The adults around me say I should consider myself lucky. I wouldn't have to deal with getting a license just to use my quirk in public. I wouldn't have to deal with any physical changes certain quirks may include. I would just be a normal human, probably with an average job like a cashier, bust boy, or police. It angered me.

Any kid could just say they wanted to be something that didn't include a quirk, and they'd be perfectly fine, quirk or not.

But not me.

Being a hero was all I thought about as a child. The neighborhood kids and I would run around pretending to be heroes. We would explore forests on property we weren't allowed to go on in order to fight monsters, rush around the playground as we pretended it was a city in peril, and even pretend to save each other or our parents if they were willing to play.

As we got older, other kids began to develop their quirks while I stayed plain. There were some who eventually decided that having a quirk meant you were ultimately the boss of others. One of them ended up being Katsuki Bakugo, Kacchan for short. We used to be friends, but looking back, he wasn't the nicest. I guess I was just too naive to realize.

He didn't bother me for a time, though there were hints of him being mean to me, such as giving me the name Deku as a way to mock me. After I defended a younger kid from him and his group, that's when the real bullying began. He would threaten me with his quirk, Explosion, where he would use his nitroglycerin-like sweat to create explosions from his hands. He would put me down every time I tried to do something. His friends even joined in. My confidence worsened even more whenever I would be reprimanded by heroes just for trying to help while Bakugo got applauded for doing the same thing. All just because he had a quirk, he could do no wrong in their eyes.

But you know what? I'm going to change that.

By chance, when I was around ten years old, I had met someone while lost in the woods. I ran in there without thinking after another taunt and put down session from Bakugo. Any place was better than where he and his group were. I didn't see his face, or at least his human face. His entire body seemed to be made out of dark mist with only two eerie flashes of yellow to represent his eyes. He said his name was Kurogiri.

He was apart of a group I had never heard of before called the League of Villains. He wondered why a kid my age was that deep in the woods without an adult. I don't know why, but I told him. After all, he was an adult besides my mother who was willing to listen, something that happened rarely.

"I see…" he said, staring at the ground. "So you were born with no quirk, and thus it seems like the whole world has turned it's back on you."

"Yeah…" I nodded, "Even the heroes can't help with this one… though even they tell me to just give up."

"That isn't very hero-like." Kurogiri stated, "What if I told you that you could obtain a quirk, one that could even rival that of All Might himself?"

My head shot up, staring at his mist-like form with wide eyes, "Wait, how?"

"My- shall we say- employer has the ability to take and give quirks as he sees fit as long as the recipient is willing to cooperate with him in exchange. I'm sure if there was something you could do in exchange for him and our organization, he would grant you a quirk of your own."

"Organization?"

"We are known as the League of Villains, though we have decided to remain underground until we are able to grow our numbers. And you seem like a good candidate."

"Me… a villain?" I asked, warily. A million thoughts were rushing through my head. I had never thought of being a villain, only a hero. If he were telling the truth, would he let me go free if I said no? Probably not. He wouldn't want some kid to go to the police or to the hero agencies blabbering about his organization. But if he was telling the truth, then was there a chance I could get a quirk of my own, villain or not? I wouldn't have to be sidelined as the only kid in class without a cool or strange ability. I wouldn't have to settle for some dumb job any old person could do.

"Yes. Being a hero is great and all, but they always have to keep up appearances for the media. They hide any negative thoughts down to make the public see them as the perfect human beings, when in reality we're all flawed. Those of us in the League of Villains know this to be true and wish to show society." He explained, "So… Izuku Midoriya, was it, do you wish to join?"

I looked up to him, "You're not going to let me go free if I say no, aren't you?" I smirked, showing my answer.

He chuckled a bit, "You're a smart kid."

He used his quirk, Warp Gate, to take me to his organization's hideout and introduced me to his boss who called himself All For One. I told him what he needed to know: That I was known as the quirkless kid who grew up worshipping heroes, but lately the heroes I looked up to didn't seem very heroic. When he asked what I could offer in return, I explained that my teacher told me I was smart for my age. I had wanted to go to UA, a hero school everyone wanted to get into since all of the famous pros graduated from there, once I was old enough. I could get information on the school and it's faculty for them; no one would suspect someone like me, especially if I pretended to still be a timid know-it-all.

To them, the only things I wanted in return seemed small compared to the promise of knowledge that not even the most persistent news stations could obtain. I didn't want to kill anyone out-right, especially since I would have to explain myself to those I was trying to deceive if it ever happened or I was caught prematurely. I also wanted a quirk of my own; I'd need one if I was going to make it past UA's practical test. Lastly, I wanted to be sure no harm would come to my mom. She's the only one, save for one or two teachers, who actually cares about me, who supported me even if I was a quirkless kid who would never amount to anything she'd be proud of.

They agreed. The only conditions were that I would have to get into UA at all cost by the time my high school career began since the mission would depend on it. I would also have to keep my quirk a secret until the practical exam, but All For One said Kurogiri would allow me to come back to their hideout to train and hone the power of my newly obtained quirk.

Right now, I'm doing just that. I only have a few months until the entrance exams, and so far no one suspects a thing. Right after school, I meet with Kurogiri in a secluded alleyway nearby; my mom just assumes I go to the library to study. Bakugo is the same as ever, but I still call him Kacchan to keep up the charade. Instead of being put down by his attacks, they only fuel my drive. Soon, I'll begin my mission.

"There's news." Kurogiri arrived.

"It had better be useful. I'm getting bored waiting for Deku to begin." I looked over to Tomura Shigaraki, All For One's protégé and the one who would be coordinating any attacks. The name Deku didn't sway me as it used to, instead I had decided to use it as my villain name- a reminder of why I'm doing this, of all the resentment I've held over the years.

"Both of you may find this interesting." Kurogiri said. Though I couldn't see any facial expression, the gleam in his yellow eyes seemed to show he was sure we would enjoy it, "All Might was just spotted chasing a bank robber made of sludge near your town, Deku."

Shigaraki smiled under his unkempt hair, "That is interesting. I guess your mission will have a lot more meaning than it was originally going to have."