AN: Still feverin because flu, still writin because I'm going to go insane if I hold still without doing something for one second longer.
Alright, lets boogie.
"It's not gonna happen."
Words that struck like hammers through glass, smashing his world to smithereens. When the doctor said he'd never be a hero, never have a quirk... all he could do was sit there and stare straight ahead. Days, weeks went right on by and he didn't say anything to anyone. He just remembered finding that clip, that one clip of All Might, the first clip.
The rest was already a teary blur, all he remembered was asking his mom if he had a chance of ever being like All Might. All she could do was hold and weep, apologizing over and over.
The day that followed All Might's death... he couldn't do much more than sit there and stare again.
Cameras, teary eyed reporters with lines on their faces from fear, so many voices all at once.
Questions he couldn't answer, anxieties he couldn't soothe. All the while his mother sobbed, inconsolable at the death of his father. Little Izuku just felt... numb. Like his whole body had been motionless for far too long, circulation no longer flowing. Eventually, they just wandered home. Lines of houses, all with bright and paint that hadn't chipped. Lush green trees, bushes and grass trimmed and hedged. Windows were clean and clear, cars polished and repaired. Roads were smooth and dark, the lines painted bright and fresh.
So idyllic a place to go home to, and be miserable. Phone calls came in, in the days that followed, one by one. Angry, bereft relatives and his father's parents blaming her for letting daddy die. Izuku just hugged her, squeezing her tight. "It's okay, mamma... if All Might couldn't stop it, how could anyone?"
The first reasonable or sensible thing anyone had said to her in almost a week, and it was from her own baby. Her response wasn't much more than picking him up and squeezing until both their arms hurt. Eventually, when she'd fallen asleep, Izuku let his blanked out mind decide what he did next. A long walk, with no destination in mind.
Little feet in red shoes carried him along, candle-light vigils all around. Just folks carrying candles, singing and crying, worrying for the future. Maybe he wasn't so different, but they were trying to make themselves feel better. He wasn't. It wasn't easy to decide if that was a good or a bad thing, so he didn't try. Mental energy was in short supply right now, better to save it for things that really mattered.
Hours passed, his body wasn't in a place where it could tell how tired it was anymore. It was only after it got dark that he went home and curled up on the couch next to mom. When morning came, he got up on his own, dressed and had cereal, then walked to school. Just like every other day now, he couldn't really hear what was being said by almost anyone.
Considering it was their first day back since All Might's death, the teacher just decided to ease them back into the swing of things. Of course, when recess came, things did not stay so lax. Two sets of little arms grabbed Izuku and started dragging him, before he knew it he was behind the shed and staring down Bakugo.
Quivering shoulders, bared teeth and piercingly furious red eyes that burned holes into Izuku's face. His voice wasn't any different. "It was your fault..."
Izuku blinked, "h-huh?"
Bakugo snarled, "It was because of you!" Tears pushed themselves out of his eyes, little explosions popping in his palms. "You're the reason All Might died!"
His jaw dropped, eyes fluttering and going wide as his heart cracked. "N-no! That's not-!"
"SHUT UP!" Bakugo's fist flew like an arrow, hitting his face almost as hard. "If he didn't have to protect you, then he would've won and been fine! Shut up and take your punishment you, stupid, WORTHLESS DEKU!"
With every punch and blast of Bakugo's quirk, a cold desperation pooled in Izuku's chest. Pain in his ribs, face and jaw, the other two boys gripping his arms so hard he'd almost certainly have bruises. Stars flashed in front of his eyes, blood dripping from his lips and nose. Bakugo only hit him harder, used his quirk more and more. Izuku's clothes were burned, his flesh singed and charred and his hair smouldered.
Electricity moved through his body like ice through his veins, wondering if Bakugo was going to kill him. The harder he hit, the louder the explosions, the more that seemed to be likely. Struggling to get away, finding it to be a useless gesture, desperation began to claw at Izuku's brain. He had to do something, had to fight back! But how could he? He didn't have a quirk or the strength to do that!
Why don't I have a quirk!? Why is life...
Bakugo pulled his fist back again, roaring like a lion as he went for the killing blow. "DIE!"
SO UNFAIR!
A flash of light, a shockwave pulsing outward and all four boys went flying in different directions. Izuku was left lying on his back, Bakugo's stooges groaning as they rolled weakly on the ground. Red sparks -like electricity- flickered between Izuku and the other two boys, but not between him and Bakugo. Groggily, with the worst headache of his life, Izuku forced himself to sit up.
Sitting up as well, Bakugo blinked. "What just happened!?"
One by sniffled, his eyes shining with water pooling in them. "I... I don't..." then he started sobbing into his palms.
When the other boy did too, Bakugo snarled at them. "What the hell!? Why are you babies crying!?"
Neither of them could answer, far too busy being overcome with... something. Not one to wast an opportunity, Izuku took this as his moment to flee for his life. Bakugo was screaming for him to come back, but Izuku was done listening to him. Red sneakers skidded and scuffed along the ground as he ran, no concept of time in his skull. Heartbeat hammering away, cold sweat on his skin he fled and thought not about the destination.
Eventually, chest heaving as he leaned against a wall to stay upright, he finally felt calm enough to stop.
My... fault...
A fist clenched. No, that made no sense. All Might hadn't even known he was there, neither had the villain. Izuku wasn't the reason their hero was dead, he couldn't be. All the same, palms to his eyes, he started sobbing. He just stood there, against the wall and crying, for the longest time.
Then, as he slowly quieted, he still heard someone sobbing uncontrollably.
Sniffling, Izuku looked up and tried to find the source of that voice. Wiping at his nose and eyes, Izuku cautiously wandered over. The person talking was just another boy, shaggy ice-blue hair and the rattiest hoodie, jeans and sneakers he'd ever seen anyone wear. When he looked up, with his bloodshot and glassy eyes, he saw a mole just under the right corner of his lips. He couldn't be much older than Izuku, just a couple years at most.
"Who are you?" Izuku said, kneeling beside him.
Reddish brown eyes stared into Izuku's green ones, searching for something like a frightened cat. Not seeing anything alarming, the other boy murmured, as he relaxed. He wiped at his face with a hand stained by old, dry blood. The lack of visible injuries on his skin somewhat telling. "Tenko..." he spoke with a small voice, pitiful enough that Izuku couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "my name is Tenko..."
Smiling, the green haired boy offered him a hand. "I'm Izuku."
Cautiously, a hand reached out and grasped his, making sure to leave his pinky far away from Izuku's skin. "Nice to meet you..."
After shaking his hand, Izuku shuffled around and sat next to him. "So... why are you crying?" Looking the other boy over again, he saw no small amount of dust covering his clothes. Blood stained the fabric and his skin in a few places, and there were bruises just beneath his collar. "Did someone hurt you too?"
Thinking about this for a moment, Tenko nodded. "Yeah..." His hands balled up, tightly, so much so his knuckles went white.
Not knowing what else to say, Izuku went with his feelings. "Can I help?"
Tenko shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore..." Standing up, sniffling and wiping at his face some more, he sighed. "That questline is cut... can't be completed without the npcs anymore." Izuku stood up too, not quite getting what Tenko was talking about. "What about you? Who messed you up?"
Laughing nervously, Izuku mumbled. "My friend Kacchan... his name is really Katsuki Baku-"
"No he's not."
Izuku blinked. "Huh?"
Tenko was glaring off to the side. "If someone hurts you that badly?" he pointed at the various cuts, bruises and burns on Izuku's skin and clothes. "They're not your friend. They're a villain. A jerk, an enemy worth only farming XP from."
Scratching the back of his head, Izuku gave a lopsided frown. "What's XP?"
The bluenette sighed. "Just... he's not your friend, okay? Friends don't hurt each other without saying sorry."
Feeling his heart sink, hugging himself and staring at the floor, his next words weren't even really a squeak. "...oh."
Reaching forward with a closed fist, Tenko offered a small smile. "But I'll be your friend."
Immediately, Izuku's face lit up. "Really?" Tenko nodded, still smiling. "Even though I'm..." the green eyed boy gulped. "Q-quirkless?"
With a shrug, Tenko replied. "Eh, just less chance of you using a dumb quirk to hurt people with. Trust me... you're kind of lucky..."
Looking at Tenko's fist, just waiting there, Izuku reached out and did the one thing that made sense. He made his own fist and tapped his knuckles against those of the other boy. "Yeah, maybe I am lucky." he smiled, "but not because of that."
Snickering, Tenko put his hands in his pockets. "Lame and gay."
Taken aback, Izuku's face flickered with shock, confusion and then indignity. "wh- nuh uh!"
Now Tenko was laughing. "Yeah, a little." Pouting, Izuku crossed his arms and Shigaraki smiled. "Thanks for cheering me up."
Now it was the green eyed boy's turn to smile. "You too, Tenko."
Seeing that the sun was setting, Izuku decided he'd better get going home. They said their goodbyes and went in different directions. Izuku would go home to a sobbing mother, worried sick about him leaving school like that and would go to bed feeling terribly guilty. School, the next day, would be met with an apologetic teacher and two very depressed students who didn't so much as nod all day. Bakugo's friends were very torn about something, but no one could make them say.
When recess came, they just sat there, watching the other children play with their quirks. All the yelling, screaming and goading in the world from Bakugo wouldn't make them move. They just stared with eyes full of cold, mindless envy at their classmates while Izuku sat at a table and drew in his notebook. When school ended for the day, Izuku would wander home and find Tenko waiting for him on the front steps, talking to mom.
It was the happiest he'd seen her in a month. "Welcome home, little Izu!" She bounced to her feet and picked him up, hugging him close.
Laughing up a storm, Izuku hugged her back. "Thanks mom."
Petting his little head and kissing his cheek, she plopped him back down on his own two feet. "When were you going to tell me you made a friend?"
Bashfully, Izuku scratched the back of his head. "Um... well..."
"We just met yesterday." Tenko explained. "I was all sad and junk, he cheered me up."
Inko -mom- turned and gave her boy a smile, eyes twinkling with pride. "Well, of course he did." While Izuku blushed, Inko ushered them inside. "Come on you two, dinner will be ready soon, and I think... Tenko?" The bluenette nodded. "Has something he brought over."
Grabbing the strap on his shoulder, the older boy adjusted his backpack. "Yeah, it's just my gaming consol- OH CRAP!"
At the touch of all five fingers, the strap turned to dust and the backpack dropped. Only by leaping forward, his palms outstretched and snagging under the falling bag, did Izuku save the precious cargo. His stomach hit the ground and the wind was immediately knocked out of him, stars in his eyes as his wounds from yesterday ached.
"Izuku!" Inko leapt to his side. "Are you hurt?" She pulled him up and dusted him off, checking him over for any sign of further injury.
Embarrassed, Izuku shook his head. "I-I'm okay, mom... really."
Making sure not to touch it with all his fingers this time, Tenko picked up the backpack with a timid, sullen expression. "Sorry..."
Izuku shook his head. "Don't worry about it." Grinning he gave a thumbs up. "Is everything okay?"
Unzipping the back, he looked everything over. "Yeah, looks fine." Zipping it back up, he shyly added, "thanks for the save... can't exploit and clone this stuff if it breaks."
Both Midoriyas blinked. "What?"
Feeling self conscious, Tenko slung the bag over his shoulder. "Nothing, never mind."
With that they went inside, and Izuku noticed how Tenko was doing his best not to touch anything with all of his fingers. "So... your quirk turns stuff to dust when you touch with all your fingers at once?"
Sighing, putting the backpack down, Tenko nodded. "Yeah, it's awful. I have no other way to control it either."
After some thought, a light bulb might as well have gone off over Izuku's head. "I've got it!"
Running to the closet, he rummaged around until he found some simple, fabric-mesh gloves. Running and grabbing some scissors from his room, he cut off all but the middle two fingers. Then he turned them inside out, and put some electrical tape around the inside of the remaining fingertips and set them right again.
"Here!" He offered the gloves to Tenko, smiling brightly. "Try em!"
Skeptically, Tenko reached out and accepted them, carefully putting them on. When he made a fist and nothing happened, his face lit up with the biggest smile his face could make. "You're a genius!" He jumped forward and hugged Izuku, both of them laughing up a storm.
When dinner came, they all sat around the table and ate, chatting about various things that held no real meaning. Just laughter, food and pleasant company. Afterwards, the boys helped her clean up and then set up to play the games Tenko brought over while Inko read a book, occasionally looking up and asking them about what they were playing.
It was just some old role playing game, one of the few cooperative games in the collection. For a moment or two, Tenko looked like he wanted to play one of the fighting games, squaring off against Izuku one on one, but decided otherwise. Nothing ruins a friendship like a good competition, so the old saying goes. It turned out to be a game called 'Divinity: the Original sin', and Inko wasn't sure it was exactly meant for children.
Still, she deemed it better to sit there and answer whatever questions they had than saying 'no' outright. They'd likely just find a way to play it anyways, at least this way she could provide good old fashioned parental guidance. When the sun finally started setting, Tenko packed up his games and went home, giving them both a hug goodbye before he left.
Patting her son's shoulder, Inko gave him an affectionate squeeze. "I think giving him those gloves was wonderful idea, little Izu."
"Why that?"
Inko pulled him back into the house, locking up for the night. "Did you see how happy he was?" Izuku nodded and she giggled. "Well, I think you made a life-long friend today."
He almost exploded with excitement. "You think so!?"
Shrugging, smiling coyly, Inko did her best not answer too directly. "Maybe. We'll just have to wait and see, wont we?"
Humming happily, Izuku nodded. "Guess so."
A few minutes later, brushed teeth and washed up face, Izuku was in his room.
...Staring at all the All Might products he owned.
Action figures, bed spread and pillow case, posters, comic books... even a few dvds, relics that they were. Mp4's might have been the way of the future, but copywrite protection and greed practically enforced multiple purchases of the same thing to have it stored on more than one device. DVDs for life, so his-
...So dad used to say.
All traces of joy disappeared, his eyes to the floor and he trudged up to his bed.
Daddy...
Burying his face against his pillow, Izuku wept as quietly as he could. Quietly enough that mom couldn't hear him, and he fell asleep before he stopped. All Might and dad were both just... gone. Erased from the world like they'd never really mattered to begin with. In the months, years that followed, Izuku would find the world a different place than his boyhood daydreams had ever dared to imagine.
Izuku and Tenko. Aged: 8 and 10
"M. Kobayashi here with your morning news. Local police and Hero Agencies have advised that people continue to remain inside after dark. While this group of criminals has yet to target anyone other than heroes, it is still a possibility. Just last week, the hero Shogun was left a crippled mess and hanging out his tenth story window. It is unlikely he'll ever walk again or perhaps even speak. More on the crime report, later tonight."
Taking a sip from his juice, Izuku kept right on scribbling notes into his notebook while the radio played the news. Watching his classmates, seeing how their quirks functioned and carefully estimating their limitations. Drafting up battle tactics, ways to counter their abilities or even compliment them should cooperation become necessary.
He could practically hear Tenko speaking in his ear, even when he wasn't there. 'Remember: good party composition is either balanced, or highly specialized. But all that's worthless without a good tactician making the battle plans for the troops to follow.'
So here he was at recess, drafting up mock battles with his classmate's quirks and seeing how many different scenarios he could create. Results varied across the board at the slightest change, different troop placement, roles assigned to the various players on the map... the possibilities were truly endless. Unfortunately, he needed someone to challenge him. Another mind to test his tactics against.
Nobody like that at this school...
Cheek against his palm, he pouted at the playing students. Bakugo was trying to play with his quirkless friends, the same ones from three years ago, but they were about as lifeless as ever. Something Izuku could sympathize with, quirklessness wasn't an easy diagnosis to live with. Still, it wasn't impossible. Having just one friend was an immeasurable help, and Izuku had more or less made that friend by accident. It wasn't impossible.
Or was thinking that sort of thing dismissive, now that he didn't have it so rough?
Frowning at himself, Izuku sighed and closed his notebook. Recess was about half over, and Bakugo looked to be in one of his moods again and that meant he'd have to fight him.
Although more accurately -and perhaps generously- Bakugo was about to fight him. Once by the green haired boy's side, his hand clasped roughly down on his shoulder. "Move."
Knowing it would be worse if he didn't, Izuku gulped and complied. Bakugo practically threw him, pushing him along until they were both out of sight. Taking a deep breath, Izuku gripped his fists. "What did I do this time?"
Rage flashed across Bakugo's features, his eyes bulging with his anger. "Tell me what you fucking did to them."
Blinking, Izuku actually felt a sliver of curiosity. "...mind clarifying?"
With a growl, Bakugo clenched his fists. "You know exactly what I mean!" Rather than explain, he just launched himself at Izuku. "STOP PLAYING DUMB AND OWN UP TO IT!"
An explosion jostled him, rattling his brain inside his skull, before Bakugo's fist crashed into his face. Tasting blood, seeing stars, Izuku almost toppled right over. "I don't even-"
"ADMIT IT YOU FUCKING DEKU!"
Punch after punch, explosion after explosion and Izuku could probably kiss another outfit goodbye. "That's not my-" An explosion right next to his ear made him scream, falling to the ground and writhing in pain as he clutched at his screaming ear.
"I. SAID." Bakugo was gritting his teeth so hard he'd practically forced them out of alignment. "ADMIT IT, DEKU!"
Opening his eyes, feeling the world come back into focus even as his ear rang out in a high pitched shrill, Izuku started to stand up. "That's..." Bakugo charged at him, roaring savagely. "Not..." Izuku turned and glared at him, his own eyes burning with anger. "my..." He jumped up, his palms outstretched and shouted in defiance of the schoolyard bully. "NAME!"
Before Izuku's palms even touched Bakugo's body, before the living warhead could even set off his quirk something happened. A burst of force, an airborne shock wave sent them both flying as red sparks crackled along the length of his arms. It felt familiar...
As Izuku picked himself up off the ground, Bakugo clutched his bleeding shoulder, having scraped himself on the wall of the tool shed. Tears were in his eyes, he was blubbering too much to be heard as he ran away to the teacher. Just like any bully, he could dish it out but couldn't take the punishment he served. So, naturally, Izuku was reprimanded and Bakugo was coddled while his injuries were treated.
All the while, the school faculty ignored the obvious wounds on Izuku.
So only he gets to act like that, huh?
Hands stuffed into his pockets, Izuku quietly sulked as he wandered home. He kicked a stray can, hearing it rattle and clatter against loose bits of street as he plodded along. Graffiti sprinkled along street-side walls, groups of people dressed in rather rebellious looking attire gave him the occasional odd look. Not that he really noticed, unless the police were busy chasing after one of them.
Storefronts were damaged, glass had been shattered, literally boarded up in some instances. Doors had been smashed in, people working to replace the locks or the entire door. At one time, Izuku saw a man in a trench coat open it to let another peruse his wares. Ziploc bags with white-ish powder, some other things he didn't really recognize.
Even he knew that was a drug sale, so he swallowed his nerves and just walked along.
It's a wonder the police can even keep up...
They couldn't. But they were trying.
Grumbling and sighing to himself, he completely failed to notice when Tenko had joined him, walking by his side. "Another fight with the jerk?" Izuku nodded, and Tenko sighed. "Need to vent about it?"
Shaking his head, Izuku shrugged. "Kept calling me 'Deku' again..."
Tenko rolled his eyes. "How original..."
"RIGHT!?" Deku fumed, his outburst drawing some attention from passer's by, before he took a deep breath to calm himself. "You'd think he'd come up with something new by now."
Tenko raised an eyebrow, "did calling you that make you fight back?" Somewhat self consciously, Izuku nodded. "Crap... he's just gonna do it more now."
Groaning Izuku pushed his palms against his face. "Darn it... how do you even know that?"
Face flinching with sadness, Tenko drew his hood up over his head. "...I just do."
Not quite sure what he'd just seen there, Izuku fished about for something else to say. "...I have a quirk."
Tenko's hands flew to Izuku's shoulders, stopping him in his tracks as he grinned wildly at him. "SINCE WHEN!?"
He was so overjoyed the poor green-eyed boy almost forgot to say anything back. "I don't know!" He blurted out. "It just... happened?"
Rubbing at his chin, Tenko thought about this. "Okay, lets go to your house. I have a plan."
...
"M. Kobayashi again, for the evening report. Starlight Brigadier had this to say when asked about the armed assault that took place at the city center: 'it was... horrible. We cannot let these people run free... but I'm so tired now. It feels like the world got a lot heavier, these last two years...' Not sure how well she's holding up there, folks. Poor Miss Naviad has been running herself ragged these last two years. The same can be said for most heroes, but she's not looking as young as she used to. Send her prayers and well wishes, folks. To her and all our Heroes, still fighting the good fight."
Inko wiped the sweat from her brow, frowning at the radio as the news played. Dinner was almost ready, but the boys were still outside playing. Setting everything aside, she went to the sliding door to the backyard and went to call them. That was, when she saw what they were doing. Tenko was standing behind Izuku with a notebook while Izuku...
Was standing there, with his palms outstretched and aimed at loose cans and empty bottles lined up on the fence.
Izuku was making faces, concentrating, trying to make... something happen. Tenko, it seemed, was there to help. "So... what'd you do when it happened?"
Her son fidgeted where he stood, flexing his fingers about. "I don't know. I got all mad and lashed out, my muscles just kind of... did stuff."
Leaning against the doorframe, Inko watched intently as the boys carried on. "Hmm... well, do you remember what it felt like?"
Giving this some thought, Izuku nodded, then turned toward Tenko. "Punch me in the face."
"What!?" Both he and Inko yelped, taking involuntary steps toward him.
Blushing, shrinking into his own shoulders a bit, Izuku mumbled. "Well that's what Bakugo did before it happened..."
Somewhat lost, Tenko looked to the only adult in the scenario, his eyes pleading for an answer. With sigh, Inko stepped outside and sat down on the patio. "Izu, Ten... what are you two trying to do?"
Tenko mumbled, but she still heard him. "Trying to get his quirk to activate..."
Inko was up to her son and lifting him into the air in less than a second. "YOU HAVE A QUIRK!?" The smile on her face was impossibly wide, and she laughed with joy as she spun around, hugging him tight. "My little baby! you must be so happy!"
As they continued to spin, Izuku felt his brain loosing track of the planet. "Dizzy... DIZZY!"
Blushing, clearing her throat, Inko set him back down. He wobbled so badly Tenko had to catch him. With a vigorous shake of his head, Izuku regained his balance. "Anyway, that's why I asked him to hit me. Because I was only able to activate it after Bakugo... attacked me."
With an expression of forced neutrality, Inko drew in a long breath. "And what did your teachers have to say about his behavior?"
Hands to his pockets, Izuku grumbled. "Nothing. I was the one who got in trouble..."
A shaky, menacing, joyless smile perched itself on Inko's lips and she stood up with chilling slowness. "Children, mother will be right back." Then she went inside and dialed the number for the school. This was not going to stand in the least, not if she had anything to say about it.
So, with that, Izuku turned back to Tenko. "Will you do it?"
Scratching at his neck, squirming in place a little, Tenko's face twisted with anxiety. "I- I dunno... why would I hit you? I like you, you're my friend. I-"
Sticking out his tongue, Izuku crossed his arms. "Dragon Quest is a dumb game."
While Tenko growled and stamped his foot, he did not hit him. "Hey! No it's not!"
"Aww..." Izuku frowned. "You didn't hit me..."
"Yeah! Because I like you, you idiot!"
Puffing up his cheeks, Izuku stomped his foot. "Well then stop calling me an idiot and hit me!"
"NO!"
Summoning his anger in a blur of motion, Izuku turned his palms on the cans and bottles. Rewarded for his efforts, his arms once again crackled with that crimson electricity, as a burst of rippling air lanced from his palm. A bottle shattered, the fence shook, and Tenko only blinked while Izuku panted for breath to calm himself down.
He took a long moment to just inhale, before releasing the air again with deliberate slowness. "That works too... thank you, Tenko."
"That was cool." The other boy breathed with a smile. "Didja figure out how it worked?"
Nodding slowly, Izuku turned his palms back toward the cans and bottles. "I think so." Focusing, his eyes narrowed, the red sparking of light coiled around his arms and the shockwaves blasted forward, sending cans flying along with just as many of their glass brethren.
In the place of his green haired friend, Tenko scribbled down his observations into the notebook. "Looks kinda like you can focus it?"
Izuku nodded, staring at his palm. "Hard to say... it was kind of a burst earlier. Like a shockwave or..."
Tenko smirked. "An explosion?"
Rolling his eyes and sighing, Izuku put a hand over his face. "Yeah..."
Snickering, the bluenette scribbled down some more notes. "So what's with the red lightning? Do we know?"
With a puzzled expression, Izuku looked at his arms. "Not really. I guess it shows up whenever I activate my quirk?"
Not having any better idea, Tenko wrote that down, putting question marks at the end of everything. "Good a guess as any for now..." Then he grinned. "Looks like that doctor who said it wasn't gonna happen was full of it." Then the smile vanished when he saw Izuku's face. "Wow, you are really bleeding."
Raising an eyebrow, Izuku looked himself over for any sign of injury. "Where?" Then he tasted the blood. Blinking, he raised a finger to his lips and felt it dripping down his face. "A nosebleed?"
Tenko nodded. "Could be your quirk's drawback... not exactly great, but it could be worse..." chewing on his lips, he put his eyes to the notes and started thinking it all over. "Looks fairly cut and dry, but I don't know the first thing about physics or quirks. Not nearly enough points in my intelligence score to be a wizard, like you."
So I'm a wizard now, huh?
Izuku smiled. "So what class are you?"
Shrugging, Tenko gave an offhanded answer. "Eh, probably just a rogue. Not burly enough for a fighter, not enough charisma to bard, cleric or be a sorcerer, my constitution definitely isn't high enough to be a barbarian." Holding up a finger, he almost looked bored. "Only one option left, really. Not that my dexterity is really all that great either." When he noticed Izuku giggling, he raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"
Smiling wide, Izuku just spoke plainly. "You're such a geek."
Tenko blew a raspberry at him. "Takes one to know one, quirk nerd."
As timing would have it, that was that. Dinner was ready, the school had gotten no small piece of Inko's mind and -hopefully- Bakugo wouldn't be much of a problem. At least for a little while...
Izuku and Tenko. Aged: 14 and 16
"Morning, folks... Kobayashi here. Enrollment at UA High is expected to take another plunge this year, with so much of its funding lost in recent times. While the school has always successfully found teachers for its student body, it has been difficult over the last decade to keep it fully staffed. 'With so much attention required to just keep the peace these days, less and less heroes find the time to teach and instead see only merit in continuing to try and restore the peace we once had nearly ten years ago.' A quote from Eraser Head... not often he deigns speaking to us worth anyone's time. A man of few words can often be trusted to say something worthwhile whenever he does speak, so my mother used to say."
"Um... here's Toji with the weather."
The final bell of their middle-school careers rang, students leapt up and cheered, racing out of the room and on to freedom. That was everyone except Izuku, who stayed a moment longer to finish packing up his bag and staring out the window at the city. Where once stood glistening spires, skyscrapers so pristine they were a thing of envy to other cities, stood those same buildings with color washed out by the sun.
Rust had come home, claiming its place upon the metal. Scorch marks from fires around the bases, from when smaller structures had been set ablaze and broken glass caught the eyes of many on the ground. Nine years, and society was still picking up the pieces. In so burdening the amount of fear he had, All Might had left the world weaker, arms too atrophied to uphold the load without him.
Even from this vantage point, he thought he might've seen members of the Yakuza patrolling the streets in place of police. Their presence was more or less ignored by the police, hell they even waved at each other. His fingers curled into fists, anger flashing on his features.
"Just the way things are now." Izuku turned around to see Bakugo, a listless glare directed at him. Just that slight edge of constant anger that was always there. Nothing to be concerned about. "You know... I didn't used to think this could happen."
Turning back to the window, staring out at the city, he felt his hand unclench. "None of us did."
Slowly, Bakugo approached, hands in his pockets and stood by his side. "Back when we all thought heroes were invincible. When the world seemed like it would never change."
Then 'Superman' was slain, and no one was there to take his place.
"Used to wanna be just like him..." Bakugo sighed, running a hand up his face, fingers pushing through his hair. "I don't think that's really changed."
Izuku didn't say anything, he just stood there, watching. Like so many were content to do these days, as a fistfull of daggers twisted up in his belly.
"You should apply for UA." Shocked, Izuku's face abruptly turned to see Bakugo looking at him, looking as serious as ever. "You don't like the world is either, right? So do something about it." Then the walking warhead turned and left. "See ya."
Feelings of conflict were coiling up inside him, not sure he could really believe Bakugo's apparent sincerity. All the same, he did reply. "Bye..."
Not long later, and he was walking home. Being a hero... that had always been his dream, for as far back as he could remember. A hero just like All Might. While that certainly hadn't changed, it didn't carry the same optimistic, happy-go-lucky feeling it did when he was smaller. Back then, heroes may have had to step up and deal with powerful villains on occasion, but now?
Now it wasn't so cut and dry.
The money wasn't in the hero business anymore, now that it wasn't safe or guaranteed to be at least a partial cake-walk if you made it into the business. Criminals and super villains were becoming much more common now, people who just took what they wanted. As he walked along toward home, he saw the effect it had on the city and its people. Worn down buildings, broken glass of all sorts that hadn't been cleaned up yet, civilians fearfully peering out windows.
Yakuza going door to door to collect their 'rent', protection money or whatever they called it these days. Extortion, by any other name, would be as sweet. Speaking of such wonderful specimens of humanity, Izuku would just be lucky enough to run afoul of some nasty looking thugs.
A hulk of a man with the head of a great-white-shark, smiling at him with row after row of jagged fangs. "Hey there, little man. You lost?"
Tensing up, eyeing the surrounding area, Izuku did his best to keep his expression neutral. "No." His face was stoic, but his voice could have been better.
Behind him, a tall, muscled man with wild, spiky, black hair chuckled as several small, metal pellets swirled in a circle above his head. "No? But you're walking right through our turf. That just can't be right, because you haven't payed the toll for using our road." Somehow, when he smiled, the blue, tribal tattoos on his face looked demonic.
Izuku felt sweat on his forehead, sliding down his face. "Isn't this Yakuza territory?"
The shark laughed, as did the man with an anchor for a head. "Who the hell do you think we are, kid?"
Fuck.
Now Izuku gulped. "Don't middle schoolers get a free pass?" He chuckled, smiling nervously.
The shark's grin somehow became even more sadistic. "You graduated today. So, I don't think that applies to you anymore, does it?"
Izuku's eyes darted about the area. No sign of the police, no sign of any heroes... he was alone here. "I don't have any money..."
"That's cool." said the tattooed one, "we'll just take your stuff then. Betcha those text and notebooks will come in real handy for next years students."
As Izuku, tensed, preparing to make a break for it, all of them heard someone clapping. Very slow, ominous clapping. All of them turned and saw non other than Tenko, looking incredibly unimpressed with what he was seeing. "So, got bored going after people who were worth your time, huh guys?" His look of displeased boredom remained, even as he started taking off his gloves.
The blood flowing in Izuku's veins went cold, opening his mouth to speak when the shark just started laughing. "Precious. What's a toothpick like you gonna do to us?" Tenko just smiled darkly, the shark laughed louder. "What? Gonna kill me?"
"If I did, they'd never find the body."
Making as soft a motion as he could, Izuku tried to get Tenko to calm down. "Can we all just take a step back and-"
"No." Said the tattooed one, turning around to face the bluenette, the objects orbiting his head spiraling faster now. "He thinks he's a man." He grinned, and Tenko smirked. "Lets see if he's really all that."
It was completely instinctual, but Izuku threw himself at the tattooed man. His arms hooked around his middle and he tried to send him toppling to the street. In any other circumstance, that would not have worked, but surprise was on his side. While the thug tried not to fall over, cursing loudly, one of his metal pellets shot right at Izuku's face.
As the metal tore across his cheek, right at the corner of his jaw, he yelped and his quirk activated. Red sparks flared, a shock wave sent them all flying. Tenko, who was more than used to this kind of thing, simply cartwheeled back to his feet. "All those sparring sessions payed off, eh partner?" Tenko quipped, not that Izuku could answer, charging at the shark.
It took a moment for Izuku to climb back to his feet, but perhaps that was lucky. The man with an anchor for a head threw his mutated skull at him in a vicious headbutt. When Izuku rolled out of the way, the street he'd been lying on was left a cracked, shattered mess. As soon as he stopped, he aimed his palm at the man and blasted him with a shock wave, sending flying into a wall.
While the man's head was made to withstand such things -literally being an anchor- his spine was not, and his strong back muscles could only cushion so much. Of course, now Izuku felt his nose dripping blood all over him along with the cut on his cheek. To say he was starting to feel light headed may have been a bit of an understatement.
Luckily, the fight was already over. All Tenko had to do was slap the shark's shirt and let his quirk do the rest. When it completely disintegrated after so little contact, the mutant went pale and the bluenette just grinned menacingly. Raising both hands, he flexed his fingers like the writhing legs of a dying spider and slowly reached for the mammoth of a man.
"Fuck this!" The shark spun on his heels and ran for the hills, leaving his unconscious comrades behind.
Laughing, the taller boy put his gloves back on. "Pathetic..." When he looked at Izuku, his bravado shifted aside and was immediately replaced with wide eyes. He knelt by his side in a flash, inspecting the injuries closely. "Come on." He grabbed under his arm, pulling him up. "Let's get you home."
He handed Izuku and handkerchief, which the poor boy used to cover his bleeding face. "For a second, I thought you were gonna kill those guys."
The bluenette shrugged. "Eh, no one woulda missed em." Then he ruffled Izuku's hair. "But you were there, so, I couldn't do that."
Not sure if he was being serious or not, Izuku left it at that. "Thanks for saving me..."
Tenko grinned. "What're friends for?"
It wasn't too much farther, to get to the old neighborhood, not that they would have minded walking further. The roads were cracked with faded paint, trees with broken branches and no leaves while the grass browned and the hedges decayed or overgrew. Cars fallen in disrepair, paint on all the houses chipped, cracked glass sat in almost every window frame and the doors all had bigger locks now. More than a few of them had 'for sale' signs out front, with smaller and smaller prices printed thereupon.
Frowning at the one sitting by his own mailbox, Izuku trudged up to the front door. He barely got inside and his mother, waiting to hug him and congratulate him, deflated from joy almost immediately. "Izu!" She ran up to him, inspecting his face. "What happened?"
Both boys sighed and droned out the same word. "Idiots happened."
Without another word, Inko pulled them both into a tight embrace. "I'm glad you both made it home..." At the mention of 'home' Tenko scowled and squirmed out of her arms. Inko frowned after him, as he dropped himself on the couch, and Izuku trudged to the bathroom to treat his injury.
Definitely going to scar...
"Need help, sweetie?" Inko asked, peeking her head in.
Izuku just shook his head. "It's nothing I haven't dealt with already."
Unsurprisingly, this didn't exactly make his mother stop worrying. But she nodded and left it at that, walking back out to the living room, where Tenko was listening to the news.
"Kobayashi again... New legislation looks to restrict the deployment of heroes even further, as the cost of their actions continues to prove to vast for the tastes of most taxpayers. The owners of hero agencies and Police Commissioners across the country are being strongly urged to treat heroes as 'riot police'. Only to be deployed as a last resort."
Tenko was sitting there, elbow on the arm of the couch and cheek against his palm. Gingerly, Inko sat down beside him. "Feeling alright?"
Grunting, shrugging, he just shook his head. A rather jumbled reaction, all things considered. "You didn't even ask if we called the police... if anyone helped us."
With a wince, Inko rubbed at one of her arms. "We all know how useless they've been lately..." She glaced over, her gloomy mood darkening all the while as the newswoman spoke.
"Now, I know what you're all thinking. 'What sane person would mind paying a little extra to have heroes around'? Well, I don't think it was 'taxpayers' who want this law pushed through. There's another bit I'm not supposed to go over until tomorrow. It's about how a few of our Nation's most influential heroes, our Number One Hero Endeavor among them, who are... pushing to privatize the hero industry. Rather than allowing for funding off of public tax money, agencies will exclusively be funded private investors. Implications? Unpleasant..."
The teenager sighed, slumping back into his seat. "I guess we do..."
Inko glanced back toward the bathroom, seeing no sign of her son, she scooted closer and whispered to Tenko. "I... got a call from your school?" Tenko froze. "They called me asking for your parent's phone number. I gave the one you gave me and they said that number was no longer in service." He couldn't look at her, his fists quietly clenching. "In fact, they said no number anyone had given them had panned out."
"Inko..." His body tensed, face turning even further away from her.
"The teacher they sent by the address you gave... found no one." His eyes squeezed shut, head bowed. "Tenko... do you not have a family?"
Shaking shoulders and a scrunched up face, he stood slowly and started for the door. Just as Izuku came out of the bathroom, and saw the pained look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Don't." He snapped, unlocking the door with shaking hands.
Izuku stepped forward, Inko slowly standing, watching after them with worried eyes. "Tenko... I just want to help you." He put his hand on his shoulder.
A hand Tenko grabbed, making the poor boy flinch. "How can you help... even if I told you what was going on, you'd never understand."
Sharp pain lanced through Izuku's skull, images flashed before his eyes that he was powerless to control.
A cut on his lips, disoriented, blurry vision. Blood dripped from his face into little puddles on the floor.
"Your fault..." the trembling voice of father, beside himself with grief and wrath. His little head looked up, seeing the half decayed corpse on the floor.
Open rib cage, throbbing internal organs that were flaking into dust before his eyes. Blood pooled onto the floor, more than he thought a body could hold, as her muscle and skin rotted and flaked away. Mother's body... turning to dust before his eyes.
"Why couldn't you have had a different quirk than your worthless brother..." Strong hands gripped his throat, picking him up and slamming him into the wall. There he saw father's face, bloodshot eyes and wearing the look of a man who's mind had been swallowed in darkness. "THIS WAS YOUR FAULT! YOU KILLED HER!"
Strong hands threatened to crush his windpipe, smashing his spine and the back of his skull repeatedly into the wall. Things started go black, panic set in, and little hands in a ratty hoodie reached for his father's face. When the rot set in, the hands gripped harder, then his little hands grabbed father's wrists. His hands turned to dust, his little body fell to the floor as he gasped and gagged for air.
Bloody stumps sprayed blood all over their home, and the skin covering the muscle of father's face slid off. It sounded like pancake batter, spilled onto the hardwood floor as the muscle and eyes started melting too. When his jaw fell off, tongue hanging out uselessly, the screaming turned to gurgling and father fell to his knees... then little Tenko screamed, and bolted for the door.
A jolt seemed to force the boys apart, crackling of red electricity between them both and a blinding pain enveloped Izuku's brain. With every pulsing throb of his circulatory system, his mind exploded with pain, threatening to burst his skull like an overfilled balloon. Forcing his eyes to open, the light only made the pain worse, but he saw the horrified look on Tenko's face. Somehow, through that-... whatever that was, he knew that he'd seen it.
Reaching a hand toward his friend, Izuku's voice wasn't much more than a whisper. "Tenko..." The door was unlocked and swung open faster than any of them thought possible, and Tenko ran off into the night. While he tried, he really did, to go after him, the throbbing pain in his skull proved to be too much. "I'm sorry..."
Mom walked up beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Come on..." she pushed the door closed, locking it again. "He has the key. He wont have to stay out there if he doesn't want too."
Slow to accept this, Izuku nodded and massaged his aching skull. Dragging his feet to the bathroom, he brushed his teeth and hated every second of it. Every little noise that the toothbrush made inside his mouth just made his skull split open all over again. Before he went to bed, he grabbed a handful of painkillers and gulped them down. His first ever migraine, making thinking completely impossible.
When he did eventually drop into bed, his sleep was plagued with nightmares. Memories of Bakugo and his friends dragging him behind the tool shed.
Tell me what you fucking did to them...
The way they just held him there, Bakugo's fists and quirk bruising and burning his skin.
Admit it, Deku!
Red electricity crackled between them, Izuku and Bakugo's friends. Shortly before a shock wave sent them all flying, and the two boys who's names he'd never learned started crying.
ADMIT IT!
Jolting upright, his chest heaved, gasping for breath. His body was coated in a thin layer of cold sweat, his face and most of his arms were cold.
Wait... that shock wave...
Slowly, Izuku brought a hand up and stared at his palm.
It only happened after that red energy lashed out...
His eyes went wide, heart thudding in his chest.
I read Tenko's mind last night.
No quirk in existence, no matter how versatile, could explain what Izuku was now capable of doing. Creating shock waves, focused or otherwise, and reading minds that required -at the very least- physical contact. To top it all off, both had decidedly differing drawbacks.
...I have two quirks.
He brought up his other hand, staring at both palms as his body trembled. Focusing, he was able to summon the red energy, making his arms and hands crackle with it by his silent command.
No... this red light, this energy... it was there, linking me to my classmates.
Palms closing, a realization weighed on his hammering heart as his face upturned, staring straight ahead.
I have three quirks. The quirks of Bakugo's friends and the one that let me take them from them!
He leapt out of bed, clawing clothes over his body and running out the door. Down the road he ran, knocking furiously on Bakugo's door. he was knocking for over a minute when the warhead ripped the door open, bellowing in anger. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT!?"
"where are they!?" Izuku pleaded, stepping closer to the angry blond, tears welling in his eyes. Bakugo just blinked at him. "Your friends, the ones we had back in primary school, where are they now!?"
Then anger faded from Bakugo's face, replaced by something sullen, devoid of strength. For a long time, he just stared at the ground beneath their feet. His answer wasn't what either of them wanted.
...
His legs carried him faster and further than ever before, the sun rising slowly behind him. Izuku's lungs burned, his legs ached and he had no energy left to speak of, but he kept on sprinting.
"I haven't heard from either of them in years..."
Even now he heard Bakugo's words, echoing inside his skull. His feet slammed into the pavement, kicking up dust and pebbled asphalt as he tored ahead at breakneck speed. His destination was so close now, he just had to be there!
"One of the guys, well... he just left a note at my house saying 'goodbye'. Then he never came back to school."
Down the alleyway, around the corner, through door, up the stairs. The apartment was right there!
"The other guy, he changed schools. Still lives in the city, I can give you his address."
Izuku flew up to the door and knocked, "Hello!?" He called out. "Is anyone there?" No answer, so he knocked harder. "It's important! I-" the door...
It just... swung open. Creaking with every inch it swung, revealing the dusty, empty rooms beyond.
"Haven't seen him in years though..."
Izuku fell on his knees, falling forward and catching himself only with his palms.
Both boys were gone.
No way to give back what he'd taken...
"I don't think you're gonna find him, Midoriya."
...
"M. Kobayashi here again folks... I'm uh... not gonna be here after today."
Wind blew through his hair, sitting there on the roof of the building, looking out over the city. Izuku didn't know what to think, what to feel.
"What I said last night apparently stepped on some toes. Speaking against the powers that be, I guess."
He was content to just sit there, wallowing in his own stewing emotions alone, but someone joined him. Looking up wasn't needed, he knew it was Tenko, plopping down beside him. They just looked each other in the eyes, not sure what to say for the longest time.
"But I know I'm not the only one who finds this all suspect. Privatizing the hero agencies wont lead anywhere good. It'll just mean heroes will have to please the folks paying the bills for them, to keep the money flowing in. Their work wont be about justice anymore."
Of course, Izuku would be the first to speak. "I'm sorry."
Tenko shook his head. "You didn't even know that would happen..."
"I'm not sure where this country is headed, folks. But I wont be quiet about what I see. I will stand, and I will speak. It's what I set out to do when I first became a reporter. Telling you, the good people of this country about everything going on it."
Both boys smiled, then they hugged, sitting there in silence for a long, long time.
"That said... it's been a pleasure, folks."
The two of them sat together, staring out into the city. looking at the desolte, dreary place it had become. "So..." Tenko said. "What happens now?"
Izuku shrugged, wiping at his teary eyes. "I dunno... but I don't think I like the way things have been going lately. Do you?"
Tenko shook his head. "No... this whole city, country really, is going straight to hell."
Some strength came back into Izuku's eyes, his expression hardening. He gazed out, staring into the center of this crime ridden metropolis and clenched his fists. "I can't just sit here and let that happen." Standing up, Izuku took a deep breath. "Tenko... I think I'm still gonna try to be a hero." He turned to him, seeing him smiling. "Why are you smiling?"
Shaking his head, the bluenette went back to looking out over the city, his smile turned sad. "Because this place doesn't seem to want heroes anymore..."
Izuku's fist clenched harder. "...and if I don't let that stop me?"
Tenko chuckled, smiling warmly. "well, then you'd be the real deal."
"I think I speak for all of us, when I say this folks: I miss All Might."
Gathering themselves up, the boys went to walk away, to go home and see if they could work up a plan. A plan to get Izuku into UA, to graduate and become a hero that would kick this city, this country so hard it would spin on its head and go back to the way things were.
"So... here's some music, before I clean out my office. 'Take us Back' by Alela Diane."
They knew it wouldn't be easy, but then nothing worth doing ever was. If nothing else... Izuku had to make up for stealing those two boy's quirks, so long ago. It was time to start making the world their own.
"Atop the crags and cliffs the air is thin
So we'll find a mountain path on down the hill
Meet me where the snowmelt flows
It is there, my dear, where we'll begin again...
Skipping stones, braiding hair
Last years antlers mark the trail
I've a friend who lives out by the rivers mouth
He knows the fiddle's cry is an old sound
A lonesome bow, the creaks and moans of empty houses
Are songs like falling rain...
Wind blown buildings, muddy ground
The strength of water can sink a man
When the higher hills have turned to blue
And the waves are lapping where the children grew
All that we have known will be an echo
Of days when love was true...
Muted voices, just beyond
The silent surface of what has gone...
Take us back, Oh...
take us back, Oh... take us...
Take us back..."