This fanfic is dedicated to my best friend, willowfield! Go check our her recent fic "Burn Us Down" as well!
A/N: Hello beautiful beans! I've been building on this fanfiction idea for soooo long now, and finally have started to write it! For each chapter I'll be recommending two songs that relate to the events and characters in the chapter.
For this chapter, I've chosen the AmaLee english cover of "Strike Back" by the J-Rock band BACK-ON. It's honestly so perfect for this entire scenario with Izuku, Izumi, their circumstances, and how they feel about it all.
The second song is the AmaLee cover of "History Makers" which I've chosen for pretty much the same exact reason.
So, that's all for my intro to this fic, I hope you enjoy it!
It all began in China, in Quingquing City. A baby was born that gave off light. Ever since then, superpowers were discovered in various places, and time passed without the cause being identified.
The world has become a superhuman society, and around 80% of the population now has some kind of special trait. In this world swirling with chaos, the profession everyone once dreamed about and admired came into the limelight. That profession is...
Sunday Evening - Bakugou Residence
"OH! I know what mine can be!! My hero name can be Mighty Woman!" A cheerful girl with long, curly green hair and big, round emerald eyes shouted out happily as she sat in the middle of her best friend's bedroom on the floor with several peices of paper and some crayons.
"Haaah?! What a stupid name! Don't call yourself that!" The ash blonde, ruby eyed boy in front of her protested with a scowl, looking up from his paper to glare at the greenette.
"Wh-Whaa?! Why not?!" The girl questioned, feeling slightly hurt that he would call it stupid.
"Because, like I said, its fuckin dumb!" The boy shot back, which elicited a shocked gasp from the child next to them who looked almost exactly like the girl, apart from being male himself.
"K-Kacchan..! My mommy said that kids our age shouldn't say words like that..! I think it's a great hero name, Izumi! Don't let him bring you down!" The younger boy scolded Kacchan, before giving his sister words of encouragement. "Actually, if you are gonna be Mighty Woman, then since we are twins, I'll be Mighty Man!"
"HAAHH?! You too?! Don't be stupid like your sister, Izuku!" Katsuki was clearly not having this nonsense.
At those words, the mood in the room clearly shifted. Izumi was looking down at her drawing with tears in her eyes, while Izuku was glaring at Katsuki with an angry frown.
"H-Hey... Izumi, why're you crying? It's just a stupid name, don't cry over it!" A now flustered Katsuki asked, trying to fix his obvious screw up.
"B-But.. I liked it, it reminds me of All Might.. I wanna be a cool hero like him some day.. But.. If you think it's stupid then I guess it was a bad idea.. I'll think of something else.." She rubbed the tears from her eyes with her small fists as she sniffled.
"..." Katsuki frowned at that and looked down for a minute, before huffing out and looking back up at the teary eyed girl, "Well, that's a name for someone like All Might, but you are nothing like him. I could come up with a better name than that without a problem! That's why it's dumb!"
Clearly that was the wrong choice of words, seeing as Izumi started full on bawling at that, and Izuku stood up and grabbed her hand, before stomping with her out of the room, "Come on, Zumi! Let's go play somewhere else, don't listen to Bakagou, he is just being mean!" Izuku could be heard saying to his sister as they went down the stairs to leave.
"Huh?! What did you just call me, Deku?! Take that back!" Katsuki shouted the first insulting name he could think of in response to the boy down the stairs in anger, how dare he call him a baka! Well fine! At least he wasn't useless like Izuku!
The front door slammed shut as the twins left, and Katsuki was left alone to think on what the hell just happened. He huffed out an aggravated breath and turned around, stomping back inside his room before looking down at the papers and crayons that were left scattered on his floor.
"Tsk!" He clicked his tongue angrily at the sight, first Izuku insults Katsuki's name, then he storms out with Izumi and leaves a big mess in HIS room! Fucking Deku...
His train of thought was cut off, however, when he saw what was drawn on the paper Izumi seemed so focused on. It was a picture of Katsuki, or at least... That's what he assumed was him, seeing as the boy's hair was spikey and light blonde, and had red eyes like his. Beside Katsuki on the picture was what clearly must have been Izumi, though it was also very poorly drawn... Figures she wouldn't be very good at something like that. He bent down to pick it up, and upon further inspection, he could see they were holding hands in the picture, and they both had big smiles on their faces.
"Tsk.. damnit.." He cursed again, before carefully placing the picture in the drawer of his nightstand, and went on to clean up the rest of the floor in silence.
Next Morning - Kindergarten Class
The Midoriya twins arrived in their classroom an hour early, as they always did. Their parents both worked a lot, so in the mornings their mother would have to drop them off early, and after school they would always ride home with the Bakugous and stay there until she could get off work and pick them up.
"Oi, Nezumi!" Izumi jumped at the sudden loud voice from behind her, not expecting anyone to be there yet other than her brother.
"H-Huh? N-Ne..zumi?" Izumi responded as she turned around and looked at her best friend in confusion.
"Yah, Nezumi, that's what your hero name should be. I told you I could come up with a better one no problem!" He answered with a proud grin.
"Huh?! Izumi-Chan isn't a rodent! why would you want to call her something like that!" Izuku protested at the name, stepping between Bakugou and his sister protectively.
"TSK! This is exactly why you are so useless, Deku!" Katsuki shot his retort back at the boy venomously, before turning his sights back onto the young girl in front of him. "Nezumi. Like in the Chinese Zodiac. It is the first Zodiac to make it to the emporers party, Making it the leader of all the rest, right? They are also clever, successful, and quick thinkers, as well as quiet and peaceful.. If you wanna be a top hero like All Might, then you need a name to go along with the #1 title... Mighty Woman wouldn't fit you at all though! You aren't big and bulky and loud like him, you are more quick, small, smart, and quiet like a nezumi. But still, don't get ahead of yourself and think you could ever even hope to surpass me! You may be at the top some day, but I swear to you now, I'll be the one to take the indisputable first place, even above you and that useless brother of yours! If he even makes it in the running to begin with, that is! If you're the Zodiac leader, then I'll be the damn emperor himself, baka! HMPH!" Katsuki stormed off in a fit of irritation after making that final decloration, leaving the two twins behind to stare in bafflement at what all he had just said.
"... How long do you think he spent researching all that last night? I don't think someone like him would just carry arround that kinda knowledge for no reason. I've got 5 packs of cookies on him falling asleep during recess!" Izuku said after a few moments of processing, a smirk on his face as he watched their friend stomp off towards his desk.
"Nezumi.." Izumi repeated the name to herself again fondly, as if testing it out, her cheeks tinted in a slight blush as she hesitantly started to follow Katsuki's lead, sitting in the desk right behind him with a small smile forming on her lips.
"... I've got 10 packs of cookies that my sister has lost her mind." Izuku mumbled to himself with wide eyes as he reluctantly followed suit and plopped into a chair to the right of her.
Tuesday at Noon - Class Lunch
"WOOOOW! Katsu-Kun, your quirk is so pretty and cool! It's like fireworks! I hope my quirk is that great when it shows up!" Izumi gushed over Katsuki's newly developed quirk as he let off little pops and sparks in the palms of his hands during class. Izuku could practically see the stars of admiration dancing in his sister's eyes as he watched from the back of their classmates.
"Haha! I know right?! I'm so awesome! And don't call a man's quirk pretty, Nezumi!" Katsuki continued to let off the tiny explosions in his palms as he grinned proudly out to the class.
"Daddy has a fire quirk, so maybe me and Izuku will have one that's like yours too! then we could be matching!" Izumi jumped up and down in excitement at the idea, but Katsuki didn't share the enthusiasm to her words.
"Haaah?! As if I'd wanna matching quirk with someone like Deku! And anyway, fire wouldn't suit you, Nezumi. You'd be better off with that floaty quirk aunty Inko has, if you ask me. but no matter what quirk it is, nothing can beat a quirk as awesome as mine!" Izuku frowned a bit at that, but his sister didn't seem too bothered by the underhanded insults. Yep, Izuku was gonna treat himself to those 10 packs of cookies later...
Wednesday Afternoon - Recess
"Hey, Zuku Nii-Chan! Wanna play Hero Tag with me and Katsu-Kun?! He said that if I really wanna play, he would make extra room for me and you in his BakuSquad!" Izumi grabbed onto her brother's hand excitedly with a bright smile, dragging Izuku towards the group that was gathered to play Hero tag without even waiting for his response.
"H-Hey, Zumi..! Wait a minute I-" Izuku didn't even get to finish his protest before Katsuki punched his fist into his palm with an explosion to add effect to gather everyone's attention.
"Well, Since Nezumi and Deku wanted to play, I've decided to change up the rules of the game a bit! Nezumi can be my hero servant, and Deku can be the victim, I'll be the hero and the rest you extras can all play the villains! I call it Hero Tag Remastered: Extreme Bakugou Edition!" He grinned maliciously at all of them, before another explosion was set off in his palms to signal the start, not giving anyone any room to protest against his decisions.
"H-Huh? What's a 'hero servant' do, Katsu-Kun?" Izumi asked with innocent confusion, tilting her head slightly as everyone started running around.
"Obviously, they follow the Hero's every command and do whatever they are told! Servants refer to their heros as 'master' so if you wanna stay in the game, you hafta follow those rules!" Katsuki answered proudly, and Izuku felt himself visibly snap at that.
"She isn't some sort of possession that you can order around, Kacchan! Don't treat her like she is lower than you! If anything you should be the one doing what she wants, after everything she puts up with from you each day! Isn't that right, BAKAGO?!" Izuku shouted with all his might at the overly prideful boy, before taking off at a run in his direction.
"Oi, extras! He is supposed to be a victim, right?! Do your jobs as villain and put him in his place!" Katsuki yelled his demands to the rest of his BakuSquad, and they obeyed without question, turning on Izuku and knocking him down before he could even reach Bakugou. Some used their quirks against him, while other simply used their strength to team up on him.
Izumi sobbed out loudly, running over to the group and trying to pry some of them off of her brother desperately, which only earned her a backhand to the face with enough force to make her fall to the ground on her back. She squealed in shock at the sudden pain in her cheek, her eyes tearing up and blurring her vision as she covered the red spot on her cheek with her hand.
"OI, WHO THE FUCK TOUCHED HER?! NO ONE GETS TO LAY THEIR HANDS ON NEZUMI BUT ME! I'LL KILL YOU!" Bakugou could be heard shouting in complete rage at the group, before he jumped into the fray and started throwing explosive punches at the lot of them.
Suddenly there was a loud eruption of what sounded like flames coming from the very center of the pile up, before the whole group was blasted back a few feet by the force. They all looked towards the source of the sudden power, when they saw Izuku, covered in brilliant green flames from head to toe, looking like he was absolutely SEETHING with his own boiling rage.
"NO ONE LAYS THEIR HANDS ON MY SISTER PERIOD, LEAVE HER AND ME ALONE, WE DON'T NEED PEOPLE LIKE YOU BEATING US DOWN LIKE THIS! THAT GOES DOUBLE FOR YOU, BAKAGOU!" He screamed at all of them, before stomping over towards Izumi and reaching out to grab her, before pulling her up against him protectively, causing her to be engulfed in the green flames as well. But, for some reason... She didn't seem at all affected by the fire, in fact, her touch just seemed to strengthen his flames even further.
"Z-Zuku Nii-Chan! Katsu-Kun didn't do it! It was my fault for getting so close to the fight! Please calm down, they stopped so you don't need to be mad anymore, right?" Izumi did her best to calm her brother down, hugging him closely. Thankfully, at her words the flames started to die out, and Izuku fell to his knees, feeling completely drained from the effects of his newfound quirk, before fully losing conciousness.
"ZUKU-NII!" Izumi's panicked voice was the last thing he heard before his surroundings went totally black.
Friday Evening - Doctors Office
"Sorry kid, you should give it up."
A doctor that Izumi's mother had scheduled her with when her 5th birthday started drawing near with still no signs of a quirk manifesting had finally delivered the news of her worst fear being realized... Izumi, unlike her twin brother, was quirkless. She was born with one toe joint on her right foot, and both joints on the left... It's not a case that is heard of in past studies, but it seemed to be that both her and her brother had the same peculiar development. Unfortunately for Izumi though, it seems she wouldn't be getting so lucky... With one toe join, the Doctor concluded that the chances of them developing their quirks were only half as high as normal, and while her brother had developed his not long after Katsuki, Izumi apparently never would...
Friday Night - Midoriya Residence
Later that night, Izumi was sitting in her room, the tears somehow still relentlessly running down her face, even after her audible sobs had long stopped. She staired blankly at her computer screen as the debut video of her favorite hero, All Might, played on repeat. Her brother watched from the door, his eyes also overflowing with tears, but he found himself unable to approach her... What could he even say in a situation such as this...? He wanted so badly to comfort her, but he couldn't find the words to do so...
"Hey, Mommy...? All Might is so cool... No matter where people in trouble are... He goes and saves them with a smile... Cuz he's a super awesome hero... Do you think... Do you think I could be one too...?" Izumi's broken voice called out to her mom. Seeking some sort of comfort, some sort of confirmation that her dreams could still live on...
... But what she got wasn't at all what she needed...
"... I'm sorry, Izumi! I am so sorry! I wish things could be different...!" Her mother cried out, falling to her knees as she pulled her daughter into a crushing, heartbreaking embrace. If possible, this seemed to cause Izumi's tears to flow even more, and while the same weak smile somehow stayed on her face, Izuku could see the look in her eyes change to one of hopelessness...
...No, Mommy.. That's not what you're supposed to say... That's not what she wanted to hear at all... what Izumi-Chan really needs is...
"It's okay, Zumi! You can definitely still be a hero! I know you can! Don't forget, we promised to have an agency together! I believe in you, Zumi-Chan...! You can do it!" Izuku spoke the words to his sister without hesitation, finally understanding what he could do, what he could say, to comfort her.
Their mother looked up at him with wide eyes, before turning her head back to Izumi, and Izuku could see the realization flash across her face, followed by regret. She let go of her crying daughter, before letting Izuku take her place in the hug. Izuku wrapped his arms around his sister gently, patting her back with a brotherly smile, after hearing his words of encouragement, she seemed to have regained some of her usual demeanor, and she hugged him back tightly, the tears still falling, but not nearly as heavily.
"Yah.. Me and you will be the most awesome heros ever, just like All Might... Thanks, Zuku-Nii.." Her response was quiet, only just above a whisper, but she was heard none the less.
Their mom let out another sob of emotion, and rejoined the hug, wrapping her arms around both of her children. She felt terrible for the way she responded to her poor daughter's cry of help... And she was determined to never let herself lose hope again, she sealed that determination into a silent promise. From here on, she would support them both, no matter what obstacles came their way...
Sunday Night - Midoriya Residence
"Quirkless?! So you're saying -our daughter- was born without a quirk?! This has to be some sort of sick joke! There is no way that any real child of mine would be born so powerless! I refuse to accept her existance in my family line! I'm leaving! And I'm taking Izuku with me! We will leave for America first thing in the morning, I have accepted a job offer from there anyway, so the timing couldn't have been more right!" Izuku and Izumi were both woken by the enraged shouting of their father coming from the livingroom, along with the sobs of their mother that followed. Izumi began to tremble under the covers, curling into herself as her own sobs began to wrack her body once more. Izuku also began to tremble, but it wasn't out of sadness... It was out of anger. His rage continued to build the more his father spoke, and eventually he felt something inside him snap, and the stand beside his bed lit up in the familiar green flame of his quirk, before disintigrating into ash in an instant.
"H..How could you say something so terrible?! Your own flesh and blood, our baby girl, is hurting now more than ever, and to think you would turn your back on her... On us...! At a time like this...! Father was right! I should have never agreed to marry you! Fine! You can leave! But I will not allow you to take either of them with you! And don't you dare bother trying to even so much as contact us ever again, Hisashi!"
Izumi heard it all, every heart rending word of it, as did Izuku... That was the last day they ever saw or heard from their father again.
Monday Morning - Kindergarten Class
Katsuki walked into class the following Monday morning, finding everyone already in the classroom and chatting with eachother, but he could instantly feel something was off. He glared around the class in confusion for a moment, before picking up bits and peices of the conversations going on.
"Hey hey, did you guys hear what happened to Izumi?"
"Yah, I was told that she was diagnosed quirkless by her doctor after school friday."
"Woah, for real?"
"Yah, pretty pitiful that her twin gets such an awesome quirk and she gets stuck with nothing."
"Lame..."
As Katsuki peiced together the information he was hearing, his eyes went wide in horror as his heart dropped into his stomach.
Quirkless...
Nezumi... Is quirkless...
How..? Why..?
It doesn't make sense..
It's not fair..!
Slowly, he turned his eyes in the direction of where he assumed she would be sitting, and there he saw her... She was sitting down on the floor, staring blankly and dully at the ground, tear stains still clearly evident on her face, eyes puffy and red from crying, looking as if her entire life was crumbling around her.
"Yah, totally, that's not all though! Listen to this, we live in the apartment below them, and my momma said that she could hear her momma and papa screaming at eachother late last night! Aparrently when he heard the news, he totally left them! He is probably landing in America by now at some new job he got."
"For real?! Man, I almost feel bad for her."
"Oh! I've heard of what they called that on TV! She must be the type of girl that has 'Daddy Issues'!"
"Yah, totally pathetic.. Maybe we shouldn't let her play hero tag with us anymore, she'd just slow us down."
Katsuki continued to listen in on everyones gossip until he couldn't handle it anymore. The final straw was when he looked back to the girl in question just in time to see her stifle another sob with her hand and hide behind her brother, visibly shaking with her silent tears that were flowing freely again after hearing all of her classmates cruel words.
"Grrr... OI, SIDE CHARACTERS, WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT BEHIND MY BACK, HAH?!" Katsuki screamed at them, his face contorted into an angry scowl that Izuku would bet his cookies would even make the #1 hero All Might flinch back.
"A-Ah! Bakugou! S-Sorry man! We were just shocked by the news is all! Didn't mean to leave ya out! I-It won't happen again..!"
"TSK!" He clicked his tongue loudly before stomping away from the group to head over to Izumi and Izuku.
"Katsu-Kun.." Izumi's small voice called out his name, filled with all the sadness she felt.
"Nezumi.." Bakugou looked down at her with a conflicted expression, not sure what he should say to solve the situation.
"Back off, Bakagou.. She's delt with enough shit as it is without having you to go adding insult to injury." Izuku growled out at him, shocking both his sister and Katsuki with the foul language he used while speaking.
"What the.. Actual... HELL DEKU?!" Bakugou snapped in rage at Izuku's words, "WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING TOO YOUNG FOR THAT LANGUAGE, HUH?! AS IF I'D DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO NEZUMI!"
"Heh, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if you did. Last I remember she was just a hero servant to you, right? Well, I'm sure someone like you wouldn't want to mess around with someone who is quirkless... You're too 'awesome' for that, right? So instead, she can be my sidekick! We will both be heros! Together! Quirk or not, she will be better than all of you combined!" He directed the last part of that statement to the entire class, before gently grabbing hold of his sisters shaking hand and leading her over to their seats.
"HAH?! HER, BECOMING A HERO WITHOUT A QUIRK?! ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE, DEKU?! THATS HOW SHE'LL END UP GETTING KILLED!" Katsuki protested, seeing nothing but red as he thought about the possibility of her putting herself into danger like that.
"No, that's how she'll become the greatest hero and save everyone. And how she'll surpass people like you and your BakaSquad who only care about power and ranks. Keep your one sided opinions to yourself, this is exactly what I meant when I said you would just add insult to injury." Those last words were delivered with ice cold brutality towards the angry blonde, and for the remainder of the day, neither of the siblings would even give him a second glance.
That evening after school, they refused to ride home with the Bakugous, and instead walked home together without him, hand in hand in silence.
That was the first time they didn't go along with him, and it countinued that way from then on.
All Humans are not created equal. Even at the young age of 4 years old, my brother and I understood that to be the cruel reality of the world we live in.
I was born without a quirk, while my twin brother had one. I was quirkless. Or at least, that was what I was made to believe.. Even if I wanted to be a hero like All Might, I was told I couldn't... My doctor, my mother, my father, even my best friend Katsu-Kun didn't believe in me. But there was one light left shining in the darkness... My brother, Izuku. He was the one who had always believed in me, even after the diagnosis, he never gave up on my dream. On our dream! So I promised myself, as well as my brother, that I would never give up on that dream either. That my arm would keep desperately reaching out for it, no matter what.That was our first and final set back.
And now, thanks to the people who guided and supported us on that tremulous journey, we are here now! Our dream is becoming reality!
This is the story of how I, along with my two brothers, become the worlds greatest heros, and found the meaning of true love and friendship along the way!
To Be Continued in Chapter Two: Enter, Leo Midori