Prologue
Boku no Hero Academia is owned by Kohei Horikoshi
What are quirks?
Quirks were designated to be supernatural phenomena that allowed individuals to gain extraordinary abilities. Some were mundane abilities, meager party tricks, while some allowed people to become special. Superspeed, Superstrength, Telekinesis were all part of a long list of abilities that truly made people "special."
After the first appearance of Quirks, society started to change. Radicals protested against the so-called mutants, asking for their persecution just because of their fear. Some went into hiding, becoming recluses, never showing their abilities to the public. Some went and committed crimes and atrocities, utilizing their abilities just because of their ability to do so. They were called Villains.
While villains first came up, those who chose to combat the villains, Heroes stood in their path to protect the innocent. Heroes in the form of vigilantes stopped said villains and soon became the icon of society.
Even with society gradually changing people still feared those with quirks. Factions grew within the gifted and quirkless and soon revolutions and war broke from the stress of introducing quirks to society. Individuals with quirks fought to either preserve their way of life or fought to change society for their ideals.
Among these Factions, one man grew into power with his ability to give and take away quirks. All for One , the leader of his faction determined who would get quirks and who wouldn't. All under the guise of a benevolent leader, All for One amassed his army, individuals with dangerous quirks living only to serve him, their loyalty, unfathomable.
Soon his very actions became exposed to the public, pushing All for One to become fully a villain.
The Symbol of Fear.
With his rise, a new era seemingly began. Governments rebuilt after Revolutions and wars, implemented a Hero system, allowing for individuals with heroic qualities to register to become a hero and symbols of peace.
Slowly but surely, animosity for quirks became things of the past, mere ramblings of bigots and radicals. With more individuals with quirks appearing, the rate of births without quirks dwindled, and soon individuals without quirks became the minority of the quirk-filled society.
Mere relics of a time long abandoned.
Quirks. What are quirks?
A manifestation of one's soul? Mere mutations that allow for abilities to happen?
Who knows?
However, one theory came across the scientific forum. A Hypothesis pertaining to quirks. If one could know and manipulate quirks, couldn't they in turn be able to control all quirks? Simply, to know is to control, and to understand is to manipulate.
The said quirk theory was quickly scrapped as nonsense and was forgotten. With new quirk research focusing more and more on genetic evolution, most theories on quirks became obsolete.
But nowadays people care more and more about which superhero will beat up another villain, or whatnot. Honestly, it's very disappointing. They have no questions, they have no curiosity, no manner of wanting to push past the limits of current science.
I do hope that in the future, this gets taken seriously.
"Now, now Izuku. We should probably focus on this watch." A hand patted Izuku on his head as he watched his father continue his work.
A mere hobby for Hisashi Midoriya, he eagerly shared his hobby with his young son.
Carefully laid out on the table, a simple fob watch faced Hisashi and his son as they flipped on the light. Intense light shone on the table as Hisashi methodically placed his tools exactly where he would need them.
Drawing the magnifying glass towards the table, Hisashi twisted his head to see the face of his son. His messy white hair curled down his face as he carefully moved his arms around his child.
Izuku was bouncing on his father's lap, excited to see what his father was going to show him. Peeking over the table, he saw his father look at the fob watch and gently bring it up to his ear.
Then, motioning to Izuku, he handed him the fob watch. "Listen, Izuku. The first step to fixing any watch is to understand the problem going on with the watch. A watchmaker first and foremost can tell whether a watch is broken just by the sounds made by the watch.
Izuku scrunched his eyes tight as he tried to concentrate on the ticking of the watch. His father's voice seemed to narrate over the ticking of the fob watch.
Tick.
"Every part of a watch has a purpose and meaning, Izuku. Like all things in life, there is cause and effect, one action coming from one reaction." Izuku focused on his father's words.
Tick.
"The watch has many gears that interact with each other Izuku. Always it is one part of the watch that causes things to happen. For a good watchmaker, understanding and knowing where these gears go, and moving is crucial for any clock worker."
Tick.
Izuku now could hear something from within the fob watch other than the incessant ticking of the watch. His father spoke up again. "Listen deeply Izuku, can you tell me what you can hear?"
Tick. S-
Izuku opened his eyes. Understanding flew into his mind as he faced his father. A proud gleam shines off of Hisashi's brown eyes as he smiles at the excited face of his son. "There is another sound that isn't supposed to be there!" He exclaimed.
Hisashi chuckled. "It's supposed, my little watchmaker. But you are correct. Something with making a sound where it shouldn't be."
Grabbing the fob watch from Izuku, Hisashi placed the watch on the table and turned it around. Picking up the tiny screwdriver he slowly undid the screw that held together with the watch.
Hisashi continued to monologue. "Izuku, watch very carefully. To understand how a clock goes together, one must first take it apart to see how the many components move and interact. Only then, will you fully understand how the watch works." Hisashi popped open the back of the watch. Inside the components of the watch, Izuku stared in wonder as he saw gears slowly ticking away, pendulums moving back and forth, with springs slowly ticking as the watch continued to function.
"Watch, as each gear affects another gear and so forth. All the tiny little pieces fitting together perfectly, as they should, doing their jobs." He grabbed a set of tweezers. "Watch as I pull out even one small cog of this wonderful machine." He gently grabbed the gear, showing his son the outcome of his actions. "Watch the gears Izuku. See how they interact. Learn how they affect one another, either indirectly or directly."
Nodding along, Izuku stared in amazement as he watched his father disassemble all the pieces of the watch. While not truly understanding what his father had stated, Izuku still understood what his father was trying to teach him. In his mind, he could see the little tiny gears and cogs ticking affecting one another. Rapid cause and effects, creating a perfect everlasting machine.
Finally, Hisashi seemed to find the one piece that was giving the watch trouble. "Ahh," Hisashi muttered as he lifted the broken gear out of the cavity of the watch. A slight notch at one of the teeth of the gear was missing. Showing the piece to Izuku, Hisashi reached over into one of his cabinets on the other side of the table.
Opening up the cabinet, thousands upon thousands of gears, all orderly sorted, was visible. Closely examining the gear through the magnifying glass, he let Izuku look at the gear too, letting him closely examine the broken part. Izuku shifting his eyes to the cabinet Izuku wowed at the many gears that were beautifully organized.
Hisashi sat back as he handed Izuku the tweezers. "Now try finding the perfect replacement for this broken part." Izuku carefully examined the broken gear before letting his eyes roam around the cabinet. Carefully examining each gear with his eyes, Izuku tried to use the tweezers the same way his dad had done, slowly but delicately grabbing his desired gear.
Hisashi smiled at Izuku who was currently watching as he used the gear given to him by Izuku to completely put the watch back together. Slowly but surely, the gears and pendulums of the watch came together beautifully, each serving its purpose as a cog in one grand machine.
Izuku gawked at how flawlessly Hisashi seemed to put the watch back together. Amazed at his father's skill, he looked up at his father. "Can I learn how to do that too?"
Hisashi chuckled. "All in good time, Izuku. As my father had taught me and my brother how to fix watches, you will also learn from me."
Suddenly, the knocking of the door behind the duo turned their attention to the door. "Honey?" Inko Midoriya's voice rang through the door, alerting the husband and son of the person behind the door.
Hisashi grinning at the prospect of greeting his wife from her hard day of work, stood up and opened the door. Izuku continued to sit on the stool of the table watching as the fob watch continued to tick. Suddenly hearing nothing behind him, Izuku turned around.
A cold feeling slowly enveloped him as his eyes locked onto a closed door. No light shone from underneath the door. The darkness of the room seemed to buzz with the shadows dancing in the corner of his eyes.
Suddenly the light shining down on the table flickered, terrifying the young Izuku Midoriya even more.
Tick.
A sound softly echoed in the background. Startled, Izuku looked around. His eyes watering as he continued to look for the source of the sound.
Tick.
This time a louder sound came all around him. The distinct thrum of noise resonated through the room.
Creeeeaaaaaak~
Before Izuku's very eyes, the door to the room slowly opened up. Swallowing up the door itself, the dark exit seemed to call out even more as things began rattling around in the room.
Tick.
Almost to the rhythm of the sound, Izuku couldn't help but recognize the distinct ticking noise. It was a clock, ticking… ticking… ticking endlessly. The watch on the table seemed to vibrate as the tools rolled off of the table into the dark corridor. Honestly, Izuku couldn't help but feel helpless.
Terror overrode every sense Izuku had. Where was his daddy? Where was his mommy?
Tick.
From the dark corridor, more ticks came out, each tick more deafening than the last. Soon Izuku was clutching his head in pain from the loud ticks the door seemed to present.
Tick.
Tick.
Izuku could feel it rattling his bones now. Everything hurt as blood dripped from his nose. Looking back up, he crawled back in shock and a single pale hand seemingly appeared out of the door.
"Whaa?" Izuku stammered out as he looked at the hand. All the ticking noise disappeared and left Izuku alone.
Suddenly from behind him, a single voice spoke out.
F͇͕̰̣̺͔͓̝̗̏̎̐̿͌͢͞͝͡͠ẽ̛͚̮̺̲̝̱̰̣̀̑̏̉̍͆̕͢e̢̧̖̹͓̻̩͕̙̻͈͉̔̌̑́̍͗̒͗̿͂̋̚͞ͅͅd͓͘ ̘̒M̭̯͉̙͉̺̠̦̰̤͕̒̏̈́̇̉͛́͆́̐̓͟͡ẻ̼͍͙̖͎̬͎͈̣̱̪̈́͊̉͗͂̄̃̐͌̍͋͢ͅ
F͇͕̰̣̺͔͓̝̗̏̎̐̿͌͢͞͝͡͠ẽ̛͚̮̺̲̝̱̰̣̀̑̏̉̍͆̕͢e̢̧̖̹͓̻̩͕̙̻͈͉̔̌̑́̍͗̒͗̿͂̋̚͞ͅͅd͓͘ ̘̒M̭̯͉̙͉̺̠̦̰̤͕̒̏̈́̇̉͛́͆́̐̓͟͡ẻ̼͍͙̖͎̬͎͈̣̱̪̈́͊̉͗͂̄̃̐͌̍͋͢ͅ
F͇͕̰̣̺͔͓̝̗̏̎̐̿͌͢͞͝͡͠ẽ̛͚̮̺̲̝̱̰̣̀̑̏̉̍͆̕͢e̢̧̖̹͓̻̩͕̙̻͈͉̔̌̑́̍͗̒͗̿͂̋̚͞ͅͅd͓͘ ̘̒M̭̯͉̙͉̺̠̦̰̤͕̒̏̈́̇̉͛́͆́̐̓͟͡ẻ̼͍͙̖͎̬͎͈̣̱̪̈́͊̉͗͂̄̃̐͌̍͋͢ͅ
Shizuoka Prefecture
6:30 A.M.
Izuku suddenly awoke from his bed. Sweat dripped down his face as he lurched forward gasping. Clutching his hand to his face, Izuku let out shaky breaths as he tried to calm himself down from his nightmare.
This was the first time he had such a vivid nightmare, especially with one with his father.
No. A memory. Rather than a dream, Izuku remembered the day which his father taught him how to disassemble and reassemble a clock. Izuku fished out a watch from his pocket. 1999 made Stuhrling silver fob watch stared back at Izuku as he opened up the watch.
As one of the many hobbies of Hisashi Midoriya, Izuku liked to feel that he was in a way still connected to his father if he kept up with his hobbies. Watchmaking/watching fixing was a hobby of Izuku, one which he took great pride in.
Sadly, nearly seven years ago, Izuku and his mother lost contact with his father. Opening up the fob watch, a note was seen nestled in the watch. The last gift his father ever left him, before disappearing. Izuku made sure to read the message every night before going to sleep.
Every action has a cause. Every cause has a reaction. I hope you find this watch as useful as my father did before me.
Sighing, Izuku rolled off from his bead, getting ready for a new day. Switching on the lamp to his desk, he stared at the fob watch he placed on the table.
While an heirloom watch, the watch itself seemed not to work, as its hands continuously showed the time of 7:37 P.M. Izuku stared at the watch time and time again, not wanting to actually take it apart. The last gift his father ever sent him, Izuku was hesitant to actually mess or fiddle with the watch.
He sighed as he opened the drawer to his desk before playing the fob watch snugly within a foam imprint. He closed the drawer before locking the desk with a key he retrieved from his desk.
This was one thing that he did not even dare to show his best friend/bully, in fear of it becoming destroyed.
"I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late!" Izuku muttered as he quickly ran off the station to his school.
He knew he shouldn't have stuck around the fight in front of the train station, but Izuku couldn't help himself. By his side, a journal with the title For the future: Hero Analysis #13 could be seen as he dashed into the school.
A quickly sat down at his seat and prepared to make himself as small as possible. Quietly opening his journal, he quickly jotted down his observations of the fight that happened in front of the train station.
Mt. Lady seems to have a quirk for gigantification. Wonder if it has any applications to certain situations? Can she control how big she can get? Do her clothes grow alongside her, or is it a special fabric created to stretch alongside Mt. Lady? Where does she get the extra mass for the growth? Would come from the energy she eats or from the air around her? Will the massive growth in size affect any of the biological systems inside her body?
H͕̣̱͓̓͊̄͘͜͞ȏ̤̜̳̘̪͉͈̭̩͎̎͑͊̍̆͌̍̄̌ẘ̢̯̞̲̪͚̿̽̌̆͝ ̨̭̳͔̯͓̻̰͚͑̇̋͑̓͘͞͞͠d̛̳̻o̖̠̻̜̓̌͋͐̅͜͝ͅe̝̣͓͐͌̓͟͝s ̛̺̘̼̳̠̿̒̃̓̂͜i͙̠̒̈́t̨̗͍̝͇͓̖̹̠̋̐̒̏͆́̉̂̕ ̢̛͍̪̞̰̤̘̈́̑̊̒̚͞w̛̦̥͙͖̝͎̯̤̏͒̾̍̾̄͡ǫ͔̳͎̱͚͇͎̇͐̐͊͆̋͛̕ŕ̮͉̻̠͇̱̐̿͗͋̔ķ̛̞̪̞̜̹̝̊̃͂̂͘͟͝͡?̛̦̦̜̲͔̺́̑̋̑
Flinching, Izuku looks up. Did I mumble that out? Did someone just answer me? Thoughts raced around his mind as he looked for any sign that might indicate that someone had just talked to him.
Relief filled his mind as none of the students paid any attention to him. The classroom filled with rowdy students paid no mind to the loser, the loner, the quirkless Deku.
In the corner of the room, the popular boys grouped together laughing as they showed off their quirk use. Small explosions could be seen as Izuku recognized the explosions made by his one-time best friend.
Nitroglycerine sweat, with sparks to set off any explosions, Kacchan sure does have a wonderful quirk.
His thoughts drifted as he waited for the homeroom teacher to come into the class. Coming into the room a pot-bellied man smacked a pile of papers on his desk as he shut the class up.
He grinned. "You guys are all in the third grade now." He selected a piece of paper from the pile. "It's time that you guys think about your future." His stare sharpened. "I will now hand out your career aspiration documents. This will be the starting milestone for your life here on out." He grinned. "Ah, what the hell. For the most part, you all have the ambition to go into the Hero course, no?"
A hubbub of noise rang out from the classroom as every one of them showed off their quirk. Excited faces could be seen through the classroom as many of the students raised their hands showing who was going to apply for a position in the hero department. All the students raised their hands including the meek hand of one Izuku Midoriya.
Nodding at the quirks his students activated in the classroom, the teacher waved his hand to calm the class down. "Now, now. I know all of you have wonderful quirks, however, just know that the use of it outside the establishment is against the rules."
Suddenly a cry from one of the student's desks drew the attention of the whole class to one individual. "Hey teach, don't put me in the same bag as the others!" Katsuki Bakugou leaned back on his chair as he addressed the teacher. "I really don't have any intention to be buddy-buddy with those," He snorted. "Weak quirks you know?"
Suddenly an outcry of rage came from the classroom as everyone stood up from their seats to confront the pomeranian.
"Hey, What the hell!"
"What do you mean by that!"
"Take that back!"
Bakugou simply cackled as he made fun of his classmates. "Shut up, you fucking extras!"
The teacher simply nodded as he looked down on his classroom sheet. "Ah yes, Bakugou. You want to go to Yuuei Academy, don't you?"
At that, the student simply gasped in surprise. Whispers flooded the room as they started talking about Bakugou.
"Holy shit, he wants to go to Yuuei?"
"I heard it takes somebody to get a 95 on the exams just to apply this year!"
"I also heard that the entrance examination is really cutthroat!"
Jumping on top of his desk Bakugou shouted. "I'm not like you fucking extras! I got an A on the exams! Me! I'm the only one who will be going to Yuuei from this school this year!" He clenched his fists. "I'm going to become the Number One Hero and surpass All Might! I'll leave my name in the annals of the richest heroes in the world!" Lost within his own fantasy, Bakugou was soon snapped out of it by what the teacher had to say.
"Oh!" He looked down on the classroom roster. "It also looks like Midoriya wants to go to Yuuei!"
Cracks seemed to appear in both Bakugou's and Midoiriya's forms as they both processed the bombshell the teacher had landed onto the class.
"Shit."
The whole classroom suddenly turned their heads towards Izuku, taking a moment to finally put together that the quirkless nobody, wanted to enter the most prestigious Hero School of the nation.
"Pfffffffffff-" Laughter erupted from all the students as they pointed at Izuku. "What the hell? Midoriya's looking to enter Yuuei? You know that someone who only knows how to study can't enter into a Hero School!"
Suddenly feeling defensive about his choice, Izuku stood up. "I-I-It's not set in stone! It doesn't say that a quirkless-"
A large explosion cut off Izuku as his desk and body got flung to the side of the room. "FUCKING HELL DEKU!" Another explosion sent Izuku flying. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN YOU ARE TRYING OUT FOR YUUEI!"
A crazed look was on Bakugou's face as he interrogated the quirkless boy. "You don't even have a "weak individuality" do you? SO WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO GO AGAINST ME?"
Stumbling on his words, Izuku looked up at his long-time friend/bully. "Wait … It's not what you're thinking!" Taking a deep breath he started. "It's not that I want to go against you, It's just that I always wanted to go to Yuuei, and you know what they say! Nothing ventured, Nothing Gained."
An annoyed look struck Bakugou's face as Izuku muttered on. Suddenly the teacher decided that this was enough and smacked his ruler across the desk. "Hey, Hey! Get back to your seats!"
The piercing glare from Bakugou made Izuku wince knowing what was coming later.
"What the fuck was that Deku!" A hand pushed Deku into the side of the building as students began to walk out of the grounds to go home.
Izuku, desperately trying to convince Bakugou that it was just a misunderstanding, could only watch as he was hopelessly blown off by the more powerful student.
Bakugou stared at the crumpled form of Izuku and scoffed. Reaching down he picked up the Journal Izuku had been holding in his hands. "With a raised eyebrow, he read the title. "Hero Analysis #13? What the fuck?"
Panicking, Izuku fumbled over his words trying to get the notebook back from his tormentor. "Hey, give that back!"
Saying nothing else, Bakugou simply clapped his hands together before setting off an explosion destroying Izuku's precious notebook. Izuku simply stared in horror as he watched Bakugou toss the remains of the notebook into the trash can.
Suddenly Bakugou grabs his throat, slamming him against the wall. "You listen here, you little shit. I'm going to pass this school in the first place, and enter into Yuuei in the first place. So for the moment being, forget your fucking dream of trying out for Yuuei." An innocent smile adorned Bakugou's face as he patted Izuku's face.
He started walking off joining his group as they started the journey home. "Oh, I forgot." He turned his face back to Izuku. "If you want a quirk so badly, maybe you should go jump off of the roof and pray to god that in your next life, You will be born with a much better quirk!" Laughing mockingly, he sauntered off with his friends.
Shocked at what Bakugou said, Izuku slumped over bringing his knees to his face. "Kill myself. Huh." Izuku looked up at the sky. It seemed so calming to see the clouds simply float by in the sky. Shaking his head he got back up to his feet. "No, All Might said that anyone could become a hero if they tried hard enough."
Y̧̜͈͕͔͎̩̪͉̒̂̅͋̄̂̐̑͘ǫ̨̗̹̹̃̽́͌̈́ǘ̹̹̭͗͞ ̛̖͓͔̠̗̲̖̞̼͖̝̉̋̋͛̽̐̊͐̐̌̕͟͢c̺͔̦̘̟̮͉̭̫̟͑̐͋̎̄̈́̈͋͑͢ą̢̥̰͔̼̹͆̇͒̓̉͢͠͝n̖̭̬̬̠̩͑̉̒̍̈́͊ ̡̧̟̗̻̤̒̒̒̊͂͠a̳̝̅̆l͈̠̗̩̇̌̉̕̕͜͟͝l̨̟̙͖͎̤͍̮̯̬͈̾̂̉̒̏́̂̑̕͠ ̘̙͚̝̪͈̝̓̍̋͛̑̕͝ẗ̺̠͔̟̲͈̙͔͓̩͓̒̔̊̇͐̐̈͛̓̆̂͜͢͝h̠͑e̢͓̭̲̩͚̙͂͌͊̐̾̈́͛̚͜ ̖͓̠̻̫̫̖͒̈̆̿̐̑̚q̢̧͈͚̭̖̗̜̺̓͒͌͒͌͘̚̚͘̚͜͜u̞͡i̛̟̜̗̼̲̱͉͒̌͛̇͛̅̈́͟ȑ̲̲͉͎͖͍̠͑̎͂̕͝͞k̨̢̢̛͙̹̗̥̹͚͎̮̗̫̔̄̒̍̍͌̒̿̋̚̕͢͞s͕͙̤̣̠͊̔̔̉͐̑͜ i̫͕̩͙̰͙̼̪͔̔̈́̅̒̔͂͗̊̇̐̒̕͜͜͜͡ͅn̯̪̱͓̱̮̘͆̊̋̍̊̐̐ ̢̨̢̜̤̬̠͓̹͕̼̤̦̃͗̿̓̈́͐̑̽͗̾͂̂̈́̕͟t̠̄h̢̞̺̄̏̚ë͚̭̘̰̮̬̬́̒̄͆͐̔̚͡ͅ w̞̫̤̑͋̚ơ̧̭͙͖̗̹̻̞͓͒͑͗͌̑̿́̈́̉̿̚͟͟͟r̦̠̤̘͍̰̹̦̥̘͈̫̙̗̃̄͗̓̀̿̓͛̃̌̃̚̚̚͢͡l̡͓̬̺̘͇̰̬̲͈̦̮̈́́̎̈̿̇͂͋̒̒̕̚͞ͅd.̼̟̞̭̔̾́ ̘̠̘̒̊̔J̨̧̝̖̟̯̤͚̬̝̭̌̅̅̌͆͒̑̐̂̒͘͟͝u̢͕̟̱̥̻̝͙̪͙̣͒̈̒͊͂̅́̎͌̈̈́͘͟͞ͅş̬̘͚̝̙̰͒͛͊͋͘̚̚͘͢͜͝t͇̙̯̳̠͔͚̟̦̯͓̠̩͉̾̽̑͑͒̂͂̃̇̌̾͘͝ ̢̢̢͍̯͚̠̤̮̱̎̈̐̈́́͑̒͐͂̚l̛̛̟̞͍̺̪̟̦͚͊͆̐̈́̃͐͜͟͞é̞̲͔̩̤͗͛̓̽̾͂ͅͅt̡̡̛͙͙̲̯̔̓͗̄͑͟͠ ̧̛̰̟̫̩͙̪̣̬̳̻̜̦̎̑͆̈̄̊͂͑̽̇̚̚͡ͅm̧̧̛̰̬̪̞̝̞̤͇̼̠̃̀͒͊̐̾͗̍͆̓͘ȩ̡̛͎̯͈͋͒̋̚ ͓́f̧̮̣̣̼̥̌̄̃̓͛̈́r͔̺͉̪̿̄͑̿̀͟ĕ̹̝̅̅͟e͈̭̞̓̅͞.̢̛̣͓̱̩͔̜͎̩͈̖̹͉̲̉̊̈́̏̊͆̂̒̂̄̕̕͘
Izuku once again whipped his head around looking for anything that might have said anything. No one was around him and the students started leaving the classrooms for club work or just going home.
Sighing, Izuku shook his head again. "I must be losing it."
Walking into a tunnel, Izuku gripped his hand. I'm going to try to reach for the goal that I have set myself! I won't let anyone get In my way! Not even having a quirk will deter me!
Ĥ̢̪̟͊̾Ü̢̧̨̡̦͙͙̪͚͍̠̯̖͇͓̊̒̃̃̋͛̅̓̍̑̄͡N̢̟͉̣͓̿͆̍̾̕G̡̡͓̜̥̤͛̋̈̄̒R̗̜̆͂̚ͅY
Flinching again, this time due to sharp pain from the bruises that formed when Katsuki pushed him against the wall, Izuku didn't notice the slowly accumulating goop creature that rose from the sewers.
"An invisibility cloak, size Medium…." The goop creature growled out alerting Izuku to the villain. Sudden tendrils of liquid surrounded Izuku.
"!" Izuku suddenly realized that the villain was trying to take over his body. The villain in question started in Izuku's form as he forced himself into Izuku's throat. "Hey, kid, stop wriggling, it's going to be alright. Man thanks, you're my hero. I didn't think he would show up here but… Anyways just wait for 45 seconds and all of the pain will go away!" The villain cheerfully stated as he forced himself down Izuku's throat.
He's going to kill me! He's going to kill me! Izuku tried wrenching the liquidus villain away from his mouth to no avail. The corner of his eyes began to grow dark as he struggled to breathe. I'm losing air… I don't want to die! I don't want to die! Somebody, please help me!
Thunk!
A sudden pop of the manhole revealed a large man crawling out of the sewers. His hairs in twin spikes, and with a smiling expression the Hero shouted proudly. "Do not worry Kid! I'm here!" Clenching his fist back the number one pro hero, All Might, roared out.
Texas Smash!
Izuku watched as the villain immediately got blown away. The darkness continued to creep up the edge of his vision as he passed out.
All … Mi … ght?
Izuku woke up inside the tinkering room. His mother was shaking his shoulders. "Izuku honey, I know it hurts, but come sleep in the bed not in here…" Inko Midoriya stumbled off as she saw the desolate face of her son. She knew it was hard on Izuku currently, but the latest news that her son was quirkless seemed to crush him.
A call rang in the living room causing Inko to go accept the call. Although in hushed voices, Izuku could perfectly understand what was going on.
"Hisashi, honey, Izuku just came back from the doctor today."
"..."
"No. They say that he is … Quirkless."
"..."
"Please honey, could you talk to him?"
"..."
"Oh. Well, I guess we'll see you then, Hisashi."
"..."
"Goodbye."
Inko walked back into the room as she saw tears dripping from her son's eyes.
"Mom?" Inko, surprised by Izuku's sudden use of words, rushed in to listen to what her son had to say. "Is… Is… dad going to leave us because I'm quirkless?"
A sudden coldness rushed over Inko as she listened to the dead tone her son spoke in. She intensely clutched her son. "No, Izuku, it's just that he has busy work to do over in the states."
A little light came back into Izuku's eyes. "R-really?" Tears welled up in Inko's eyes as she clutched Izuku even tighter. "Y-yeah."
Izuku stared at the fob watch. "He'll come back, right?"
Inko lightly wacked Izuku in the head. "Izuku Midoriya, never say that your father is going to leave us. He really does have busy work over in the states and that's why he can't be here with us right now."
Izuku continued to look at the watch. The time read 7:37.
"Hey, Kid! Hey, Hey!"
Izuku woke to the sound and the feeling of someone slapping his face. "Wha?"
"Ah! You are awake!" The looming figure of a smiling giant caused Izuku to panic as he literally had the number one hero in front of him. "Thank god!"
Izuku kept on muttering. "Oh god, oh god, it's All Might!"
"I'm glad to see that you are alright young boy." All Might stood up. "I'm sorry that you got caught up in this removal of the villain. Normally, I don't make beginner mistakes like this, but however, it seems that being in a new land and being off-screen made me a bit sloppy. Ha Ha!"
All Might lifts a bottle. "Anyway, thank you, my boy! Thanks to your help, I managed to capture the Villain!"
All that was going through Izuku's mind however was the fact that he was meeting the hero of his dreams and worship. Holy shit! It's All Might~!
"Anyways, young boy, I must get going to turn this villain into a post." Stunned at the sudden dismal of All Might, Izuku shot up, grabbing onto his notebook, and lunged forward to All Might.
"Wait-"
"I'm sorry, but I must get going now. Thank you, and I hope you continue to support me!" All Might squats, getting ready for a massive jump, and leaped into the sky.
"Wahh!" Izuku held on tight to All Might's leg as he and All Might flew through the sky. The wind blows harshly against Izuku's face as he holds onto dear life.
"Huh? What are you doing, get off of me!"
"If I do that, I might die!"
All Might stopped trying to pry Izuku off his leg. "Ah, you got a point there."
Izuku's face, blown back from the wind, barely got out what he wanted to say. "I have a question to ask you directly!"
"Seriously," All Might shook his head. "What were you thinking grabbing onto me like that?" Steam started rising from All Might's muscular form. " Shit. I don't have much time." Looking down the side of the building, All Might began preparations for another jump.
"Wait! I have to ask you a question!" Izuku shouted hoping to get the opinion of his most venerated idol. "Please, I-"
"I'm sorry, young boy, I must get going now." This time, coughing All Might grimaced as he felt his form decreasing.
"I just have one question to ask you! Can I become a hero even if I am Quirkless!"
"?" All Might looked back in disbelief. " Shit. Kid this is not the time…"
Izuku reiterated his question. "Is it possible, even for a quirkless individual like me to become a hero!" Clenching his eyes shut, he waited for an answer from his idol.
All Might coughed once more. "Quirkless?"
Izuku started fiddling with his hands. "It's just that, everyone else has amazing quirks that all allow them to become heroes. I mean they all laugh at me for wanting to be a hero…" Izuku took a deep breath. "It's just that… I really want to help people! I find it really cool to save people with a huge smile like yours All Might!"
A sudden gush of steam and wind surrounded All Might's form, revealing a scrawny man. Nearly half of All Might's height, the scrawny man looked sickly, his cheeks sunken in almost resembling a skeleton. His back was hunched over with his enormous clothes, barely covering the man's thin sickly frame.
"Whaaa!"
"Shit." The scrawny man stared at Izuku.
"YOU'RE SOME SORT OF IMPOSTER AREN'T YOU!" Izuku shouted out, taking a step back in fear.
"The scrawny man shook his head. "No, I am All Migh-" Blood suddenly gushed out of the man's mouth splattering the roof they were residing in.
"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" Izuku shouted once more.
The scrawny man shook his head once more. "You know those people at pools who puff up their chest with air to look bigger right? It's sort of like that."
This time, Izuku's whole world was crashing down. Muttering to himself, entire theories in his mind were eliminated and created at the same time.
All Might sat down. "Anyways, you want to save people with a smile like mine?" He sighed. "I'm sorry to say kid, but don't trust everything that is put on the internet." All Might lifted his shirt revealing a hideous scar encompassing his entire torso. "I got this wound from a villain five years ago. All the haggard looks, the sunken cheeks, and blood are from the multiple surgeries I've had to keep me alive." He coughed. "At most, I can only be in my Hero form for 3 Hours."
"Wait If you mean from five years ago…" Izuku mentally recounted all of All Might's fights. "Toxic Chainsaw did this to you?" He muttered.
All Might chuckled. "As if I would let such a weak villain get the drop on me like that. No, the villain that did this to me was never publicized due to the danger he posed to society." All Might rubbed his scars. "As a Symbol of Peace, I can never back down or bow to the Forces of Evil. That is why you must keep this a secret young man." He sighed. " After years of keeping this secret…" He shook his head. "And if you see me smiling or laughing in my battles… It's to distract me from the fear and pressure I feel when battling my opponents."
Izuku could feel the cold feeling well up once more. "What…"
All Might shook his head. "I'm sorry Young boy. In my line of work, professionals easily get hurt, and without an advantage with a unique ability, I have to deter you from the work of heroes."
Izuku felt the ground crumble from beneath his feet. All Might continued. "If you wish to help people, then working with the police and other public service departments are good too. They have an important part in helping people too." All Might tried to be supporting the young boy, however, nothing seemed to filter through Izuku's mind. Leaving for the door, All Might turned to face his young fan once more. " I'm sorry to say this kid. You can't become a hero without a quirk." He left Izuku in shock on top of the roof.
Izuku didn't register this as his thoughts started to turn dark. Memories and years of abuse from his peers started to well up.
Useless Deku!
Waste of space!
If you want a quirk so badly, maybe you should go jump off of the roof and pray to god that in your next life, You will be born with a much better quirk!
It's not fair.
It's not fair.
Izuku felt tears slowly pour out of his eyes. All that promise, all that worship. And for what? Izuku felt his stomach roll and nearly threw up what remained of his lunch. What was the point? In this whole world full of extraordinary abilities, why was not gifted with such power?
Was it fate? Destiny?
Izuku tried. He tried so hard to stay optimistic about his chances of becoming a hero. His mother doubted him, His friends doubted him, and even his idol said that without a quirk, he couldn't become a hero.
Why wasn't he given a quirk?
Dark whispers began to cloud Izuku's thoughts.
Let's follow Kacchan's advice. Maybe we'll get lucky next time around.
Looking up at the clear blue sky Izuku couldn't help himself. What a beautiful day for such a devastating thing to happen to him. It's like the world is mocking me…
Slowly walking towards the ledge of the roof he stared into the far horizon. Buildings upon buildings lined up with several mountains in the background seeming to touch the sky. Izuku fiddled with his hands again. All I wanted was to help people.
You could be special and help people.
Izuku grimaced as he stared down at the pavement. It was a long way down and certainly painful if he came to survive his attempt at suicide. Looking back up at the clouds, he couldn't help but stare jealousy at the puffy white clouds that floated in the sky.
So carefree, nothing to worry about being quirkless or not. Not needing saving, nor needing to be heroes. He remembered the times when he and his mother would cloud watch to pass the time in the park. Just the two of them lying in the grass as they both pointed at shapes that they would find.
His mother. What would his mother say if she saw him wallowing in shame and regret? Probably cry and hug him tight apologizing over and over.
Izuku shook his head. He was getting crazy ideas, and honestly jumping off the side of the building unnerved the young middle schooler. He stepped back from the railing and made his way down the stairs of the building.
Izuku reached his home without any problem. On his way to the station, he had spotted a few heroes that were battling some villain of sorts, however, being rejected by All Might put him out of any joy of observing the fight. He continued to walk on without any care for what transpired in the streets.
Making his way to the train station, he numbly stared at the metallic doors as he blankly waited on his stop.
Stepping inside his home, he blankly acknowledged his mother as he made his way into his room. There, rows and rows of All MIght merchandise littered the room. Figurines, Posters, and Shirts adorned his room. Dropping off his bag next to his desk, Izuku collapsed onto his bed face first.
Tears had long since dried out and Izuku simply felt hollow. Even though he had convinced himself that jumping off the side of a building was not viable, he still felt depressed. Shifting his face, Izuku's eyes landed on the locked drawer that contained his broken watches.
Sighing, Izuku got up and unlocked the drawer gingerly picking up the watch. His sad green eyes seemed to reflect off of the silver. What would you have said, dad?
While staring at a watch in his hands, Izuku finally decided to try a crack at fixing it. His dad used to fix watches as a hobby and a way for him to destress, so Izuku felt like one way to make him feel better was to fix the watch. It certainly sounded way more appealing than doing homework.
Organizing his tools in a meticulous manner, Izuku began fixing the watch.
Listen, Izuku. The first step to fixing any watch is to understand the problem going on with the watch.
Izuku held the watch up to his ear. After nearly 6 years of non-maintenance, the watch still kept on ticking, however, the hands of the watch never moved, constantly stuck at 3:48. Izuku listened to the soft ticks of the watch, imagining the intricate pieces all flowing together in wondrous harmony.
Tick.
Losing himself in the soft ticks of the watch Izuku's world seemed to blur as the only thing he focused on was his watch. No thoughts of being a hero entered his mind. Neither did his status of being quirkless nor the harsh words of All MIght get through to him. It was just him and the watch.
Tick.
Izuku felt like a god, just watching and understanding how such a small and intricate machine worked, how each gear moved to precisely affect one another to create outcomes needed by the watch to work.
Ĝ̤O̡͍͉̳̭̜̜̠̎̾͗́͋͆̊O̢̭͕͎͔̰̜͓͊̈́̌̌̽̈́͘͞D̡̫̺̫̝̭͚̭͚͙͈̯̼͇̽̋̑̃̇̔̌̌̍̔͊̋̄̚͟͞.͖̱͑ ̣̬̪́̄̐̈́͛͟͢M̧̡̛̞̤̣̖̯͎͖̐̅̐͋̊̎̐̓̄͢Ǫ̧̞͕̪̮̻̭͂̿̇̌̓̌̇̐͜͜͡͠R̨͉͈͓̗̥̜̣̹͕͎͇̱̞͌̎̿̄̅̂̊͊̎̏̓̒̇͛E͖̭̠̺̱̫̲̙͉͇̦̫̎̌̀̑̎̈̚͠͝͞
Suddenly flinching at the obscure voice that spoke out to him, Izuku looked down at the watch in his hands. Gasping, he lifted the finished product of a perfectly functioning watch. He hadn't even realized it, but he had fixed the watch in record time. While Izuku had fixed watches before, he had never done so in a trance and so quickly.
It was like he subconsciously knew how the watch worked and what part of the watch was broken. Just one gear in the mechanism managed to jam the hands from moving, however, Izuku immediately felt what was wrong with the machine.
Looking at the clock that sat on his desk, Izuku noted how much time had passed since Izuku opened up the watch.
5 minutes.
This was insane. Izuku never fixed a watch so fast before. Was something different from the watch he had?
No, the watch was like any other watch Izuku managed to fix over the years. Suddenly a knock at his bedroom door turned Izuku's attention away from the watch.
Opening the door, Izuku was greeted with the face of one worried Inko Midoriya. "Izuku, have you seen the news!"
Confused, Izuku shook his head.
"Bakugou was kidnapped by a villain earlier today!" Inko grabbed onto his arm and pulled him into the living room where the local news was reporting the latest hero rescue.
There on the TV, the newsreel of Kacchan being held hostage was playing on the TV. Izuku recognized the street that the newsreel reported, seeing as it was one fight that Izuku passed in his depression. There on the TV, heroes all tried to get close to apprehend the villain, who happened to be the same sludge villain that tried to choke Izuku earlier that day.
Gasping in recognition, Izuku watched the battle with careful eyes. Guilt filled his stomach as he slowly began to realize that this situation was his fault. He was the one that distracted All Might. He was the one that caused him to drop the bottle. The sludge villain must have gotten hold of Bakugo then. Did Kaccahn make it out safely? How did the heroes handle this situation? Already Izuku felt like he could see what was going to happen. However, none of the heroes seemed keen on approaching the exploding teenager.
Anger started to bubble up in his stomach. Why weren't the Heroes doing anything? Already a plan filled in Izuku's mind. Pro Hero: Death Arms should be able to tank some of the explosions coming his way and if not, Kamui Woods should be able to support as back up to the hero to grab onto Kacchan. Kamui Woods was seen to be cowering from the explosions given off by the body-snatched youth. Just cover your wood in water, the local firefighters could do that, or at least carry around water just in case!
Actually, none of the heroes seemed to want to move forward. Izuku felt anger at the inaction the heroes were putting into saving his friend. Do something!
There, right on the TV, Izuku could see the eyes of Bakugou. His eyes glistened in fear as the liquid surrounding the boy was slowly suffocating him. Waves of nausea erupted from within him as he watched his friend get manhandled by the villain.
Do something!
Why would they? They're too afraid to even get close!
Bakugou's eyes, seeming to be pleading for help, slowly turned lifeless as the oxygen running to his head ran out. Seeing his eyes go limp, Izuku couldn't believe what he was seeing. None of the heroes seemed to take notice and none of the civilians seemed to get that the heroes were failing to save his friend.
Suddenly out in the crowd, Izuku spotted him. The scrawny figure that was All Might was breathing heavily against the pole. All Might can save him, right?
Izuku hoped and believed, but the video recording seemed to cut from right there as the news switched to commentating on the heroes' new debuts.
Izuku's mom was pacing quickly around the kitchen floor as she tried to get in contact with Bakugou's family. Izuku stared at the news as they kept on running numbers about the hero's popularity numbers.
"Hello?" At his mother's voice, Izuku managed to turn his head around looking at his pacing mother.
"..."
Inko breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god."
"..."
Inko shook her head. "Izuku and I will be right there by your side, Mitsuki." Inko closed her phone and immediately rummaged around the fridge looking for some fruits to give to the Bakugou's.
Seeing his mother's relieved face Izuku couldn't help but clench his hand. Kacchan was going to be alright.
No thanks to the heroes.
Izuku shook his head. He sat up from the couch he had collapsed on and went into the kitchen to help his mother pack for the journey to the hospital.
Shizuoka Hospital
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The sleeping form of Katsuki Bakugou made Izuku sick. I can understand his fear.
Almost unconsciously he flicked his eyes toward the written chart at the foot of Kacchan's bed.
Asphyxiation.
Strained Quirk Usage.
Dehydration
Frowning, he sat down next to Katsuki's bed. Behind him, he could hear his mother and Bakugou's mother speaking about Katsuki's condition.
Apparently, one hero had managed to grab Bakugou out before permanent damage was done to the young boy. All Might had appeared out of nowhere, Izuku knew where he came from, and grabbed Kacchan from the grips of the slime villain and managed to punch away the slime villain.
But the paramedics had taken the young boy to the hospital due to the extent of the injuries the young boy had sustained.
Lack of oxygen, overused quirk and dehydration all came from the part that the heroes didn't do quickly enough to save Kacchan in the nick of time.
While the injuries of Bakugou could be healed, the hospital still wanted Bakugou to get a good night's sleep before discharging the young lad.
Izuku clenched his fists. The constant beeping of the heart monitor and the ever so rhythmic dripping of the IV didn't distract Izuku from the fact that his friend could have died today.
And the heroes were too slow to act.
No.
They were being cowardly.
They certainly could have gone in and grabbed the boy from danger, however, they are uncertain how they operated leaving one child in the hospital.
Bakugou didn't deserve this.
Or did he?
It was his fault that he distracted All Might from properly disposing of the villain.
Yes, but think of this as Karma. After all that he did to us…
"Izuku!" Being snapped out of his thoughts, Izuku turned around from his seat next to the bed. Mitsuki Bakugou stood next to her friend, as she stared at Izuku. "Man, thanks for being here to comfort Bakugou." Mitsuki sheepishly laughed. "I know that my Katsuki is a bit of an asshole," Izuku flinched as he pushed down his dark thoughts. "But thank you for being here with him. You're a great friend." Mitsuki walked past Izuku and fondly patted her son's hair. "I have a request for you Izuku."
"Huh?" Confused, Izuku waited for his friend's mother to go on.
"Bakugou's going through a tough time." Mitsuki continued. "I need you to keep being his friend for the while. He really doesn't have any good friends right now. They're more like groupies at most." Mitsuki smirked. "Fuck, I didn't even see a speck of their motherfucking ass here."
Mitsuki faced Izuku. Bowing down, she pleaded with Izuku. "Please continue being his friend."
A sick feeling rose up in Izuku's gut. Why should I let Kacchan keep on bullying me?
Why should I be his friend in the first place?
Tick.
Flinching, Izuku jerked his head. Thinking that Izuku nodded, Mitsuki sighed a breath of relief before tending to Katsuki once more.
That night Izuku couldn't help but toss and turn in his bed. His eyes refused to close as the constant ticking noise in the air bothered him.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Izuku groaned. Covering his head with a pillow didn't diminish the sound that echoed throughout his room.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Not being able to take it anymore, Izuku jumped up from his bed and headed towards the refrigerator in the kitchen. Welcoming the cool air the fridge gave off, Izuku grabbed a glass of water.
Preoccupied with drinking water, Izuku didn't realize the soft footsteps behind him. A shadowy figure with a burlap bag appeared behind Izuku before covering the boy's face with a piece of cloth.
With his field of vision slowly diminishing, Izuku could only think " Chloroform" before passing out.
This is the rewritten version of the original story I had posted before, not much has changed, only a few bits of the narrative that didn't flow well together were partially tweaked.
I'll be releasing part two next week, so I hope I don't disappoint.
Ab Aeterno