"Sorry boy, it won't happen. You will never be a hero."
Those simple words destroyed young Izuku Midoriya's world at a young age. In a world in which 80% of the population is born with an ability or a power, called 'quirk' or 'kosei', Izuku belonged to that other 20% who will never be able to have one.
Izuku's dream was to become a hero, to be able to protect and rescue others, just like his idol All Might was. In order to be a professional hero, though, he needed to obtain a hero license from a specialized school... but quirkless people like him couldn't even apply at them.
At first, Izuku tried to pretend that everything was fine. He was being strong for his mother, so that she would not see him cry and suffer because of this... but on the inside, Izuku saw with jealousy all those other boys showing off their powers, training to be heroes, feeling as envy and sadness consumed him.
Many years passed, and while Izuku seemed to grow up into a happy young man, deep down he knew there was darkness lodged in his heart. Izuku promised himself that he would never let anyone see that darkness, that he would remain the same person he ever was, and that he would manage to become a hero no matter what.
One day Izuku was in his classroom, sitting in his chair desk and reading his notes, while his classmates were making a ruckus like always. Not without some effort, their teacher managed to calm them down and draw their attention. "Well, kids, we just got the application sheets for UA academy's next semester. Yes I know, all of you have impressive quirks" He remarked, as all the students sans Izuku showed off their abilities among each other. "In any case, those interested can go through..."
Before the teacher could finish his sentence, an explosion was heard from the back of the class. It was Bakugo Katsuki, a childhood friend of Izuku who had become arrogant ever since discovering his quirk: the power to make explosions with his sweat.
"Alright, listen up you extras!" The blonde kid yelled threateningly. "Don't even bother to pick one, you all know that the only one that is hero material is me." Some of the kids chuckled in complicity, while Bakugo took the sign-up sheet and headed back to his chair.
Trembling slightly, Izuku waited until Bakugo had passed his seat to stand up. planning to reach the teacher's desk and pick a sign-up sheet before Bakugo would notice. Unfortunately for him, however, he stumbled on his desk, dropping everything he had in his desk, and caughting Bakugo's attention.
"Hey you, Deku! Where do you think you are going?" Izuku froze in place, while Bakugo headed towards him. "Are you headed to the bathroom? Or are you telling me that you REALLY are foolish enough to go for a sign-up sheet?"
The whole classroom was now silent. Despite not having powers, Izuku was actually liked by everyone else, but no one wanted to mess with Bakugo and his explosive temper tantrums. N-No, Kacchan, I was just going to... I mean, I wanted to, and the teacher just said..." Izuku tried to answer, getting highly nervous around his friend's powerful quirk.
Bakugo made an explosion in his palm to silence him instantly. "I already told you, Deku! Those who do not have quirk like you are not worth the hero training!" He menaced him, while Izuku tried to reach his desk back, but failing to avoid Bakugo's deathly glare. "Stop wasting everyone's time and get out of my way. It's NOT. GOING. TO HAPPEN!" He declared.
"You... you don't know that! I can be a hero!" Izuku started to defend himself, while everyone else around him just rolled their eyes. Midoriya was the only one in the class fool enough to argue against Bakugo, even the teacher turned a blind eye to his antics.
"You know there's only one way for you to be a hero, and that's to pray really hard to get a decent quirk in your next life... and take a swan dive from the roof of the building." Bakugo remarked with a cruel smirk in his face.
In his mind, Deku thought of different ways to answer his threat, between smart-talking him, challenge him, returning the insult, even considering the idea of sucker-punching him and make him swallow his own words (even if that would risk him being expelled). He was fed up with the way his supposed friend treated him, and he had to do something about it, just like his favourite heroes would do while facing a villain...
Yet he remained silent and standing in place. looking like a trembling mouse standing in front of a particularly violent cat.
Bakugo pushed Izuku aside, making him land painfully on the floor, after which he turned around and went towards his seat to pick his backpack. In that moment the bell that signaled the end of the school day rang, prompting everyone to leave the classroom except for Izuku.
Making sure no one was left, he reached the teacher's desk and took one of the sign-up sheets, putting it in his backpack before leaving.
"Kacchan... I don't know how, I don't know when, but I'll make you pay for this." Izuku grumbled... just not that loud that anyone else could have heard him.
In the same city, a couple hours later, a pair of thieves broke into an antique store to rob them clean and then ran off. Answering the silent alarm that the owner activated, two professional heroes named Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady arrived at the scene, chasing after them.
Izuku was on his way home when he found himself in the middle of the commotion, watching Mt. Lady grow huge to grab one of the thieves, while Kamui Woods used his extendable branches to imprison the other one
"Wow... that was a pretty quick arrest!" he exclaimed, remembering the notes he had written about them: two of the best crimefighters in the city. While the heroes were handcuffing both thieves, Izuku noticed a suspicious individual grabbing one of the bags that the thieves had dropped and sneaked out amongst the crowd. Izuku had a hunch and chased after him.
The third thief soon realized that he was being chased, so he ran through the streets avoiding pedestrians left and right. Finally, the thief turned around and reached a dead end, so in order to escape he grabbed the duffel bag and threw it at Izuku, after which he used a bouncing quirk to jump onto the rooftops and escape.
Upon impacting Izuku. the backpack tore open, spilling a large amount of money all over the alley, alongside a few gold ornaments, some strange figurines, and a strange black wolf-shaped mask. While Izuku was crouched collecting the money and putting it back on the bag, the police arrived.
Thinking that he was one of the thieves, two officers pointed their guns at him and detained him. Right as the cops were about to put him on handcuffs, Kamui Woods arrived to explain the situation. The wood-themed hero delivered them a video showing the captured store thieves, who were already headed to jail, and showing that the missing thief was an adult of a different complexion and height from Izuku's.
"Sorry kid, it was a mistake on our part", said one of the police officers, while Izuku returned the duffel bag with all the stolen items from the store. However, Izuku noticed there was one item missing. "Excuse me officer, but I think there's an item missing... Some sort of black mask, did anyone see it?"
"I don't think so, kid... Maybe the thief took it with him while you weren't looking?" He replied while shrugging. "In any case, we'll need you to come with us and make an statement regarding the theft. Just a couple of questions we want to ask you".
"Okay, I guess..." replied Izuku. "I have to get back home soon, though, so I hope it doesn't take long."
Hours later, Izuku was able to get out of the police station. It was already nighttime, the light of the full moon illuminating the city. The police was very thorough with the questions, but in the end they just let him go on.
As he made his way to his house, Izuku felt something strange, as if someone was watching him from afar, despite the fact he was completely alone. Making sure there was no one behind him he continued in his way. Suddenly, he spotted a shadowy figure with a pair of bright yellow eyes watching over him before disappearing in the corner of the street.
"Hey, you, what do you want?" Izuku yelled, as he decided to chase after that mysterious shadow. As much as he tried to reach it, he could only see brief glimpses before dissapearing once again.
After a few minutes chasing after it, Izuku reached an abandoned beach, an infamous location in his city littered with a huge maze of garbage and rubbish that had been left there for years. Reaching a dead end, he decided to catch his breath, just to realized that the black wolf mask that he had seen in the alley previously was laying on the floor.
"I knew I was right!" exclaimed Izuku. "I saw this mask at the alley! But what is it doing here, of all places?" he asked out loud, as he bent down to take the mask and analize it in the moonlight. Looking it up close, Izuku could appreciate the intricate craftmanship of such an unique item. Just by holding it, he felt there was something different and indescribable about the mask. "Wow... it's quite amazing..." he whispered.
Unable to control his body, as if some invisible force was prompting him to do it, Izuku's hands turned the mask around, and slowly directed it towards his face. There was nothing more important in his mind than putting on that mask, as if it was something he had been waiting a long time to do."What... what's going on...?" He grasped, trying to stop himself.
Finally, the mask leapt from his hands and onto his face, as if both were magnetized. As soon as that happened, a purple aura covered his body, and he heard a deep and evil voice coming out of nowhere.
Izuku Midoriya ... I can feel the darkness in your heart ...
Izuku looked around him, but there was nothing but garbage surrounding him.
For years they despised you ... they called you weak ... useless ...
Years of anger and hatred accumulated inside you ...
"Who are you? What do you want of me?" Izuku asked, but he received not the answer he expected.
I want you to take that darkness, and use it as a weapon ...
I want you to accept the dark power that I offer you to take revenge on your enemies!
"Wait... Revenge?" Izuku asked in disbelief. Sure, he would sometimes resent his situation, but he would never enact revenge on anyone. "I don't... I don't want to hurt anyone! That's not who I am"
You can't lie to yourself, Izuku Midoriya ...
Deep down, you want to show them all that you are better than they would ever be...
"N-No! I don't... I would never..." Izuku babbled. He didn't like where the conversation was going... but at the same time, he was unable to stop listening to it, as if some part of himself would do such a think without a second thought.
You want to make them respect you ...
You want to make them fear your presence ...
You want to make them suffer ...
Izuku resisted those thoughts. His first instinct was trying to remove the mask, but despite how much he pulled the thing away from his face he could not take it off. "S-stop, I don't want any of this!"
Do not resist ...
In the end, you will accept the deal that I'm offering you ...
You'll become powerful ...
You'll become indestructible ...
You'll prove the entire world you are superior ...
Including Katsuki Bakugo.
"K ... K ... Kacchan?"
Just hearing his name made Izuku's heart skip a beat. All of a sudden, he recalled all those years of bullying and abuse... All those times that he deemed him worthless and weak, mocking him for his wish to become a hero, burning his notebooks. The fear and bewilderment for his strange situation suddenly turned into anger, which then devolved into pure rage...
That was all the mask needed.
Finally releasing all the darkness in his heart. Izuku screamed in pain, as the dark power of the mask activated, enveloping his entire body.
From now on, Bakugo will never again be able to make fun of you.
You will be much more powerful than him.
Izuku felt the power of darkness changing him and transforming his body, causing his height to increase and his muscles to bulge out. His vocal cords were now shifting, making his voice sound low and intimidating, similar to a canine growl.
Now, every time someone disrespects you, you will make them test the edge of your sword.
If they don't respect you, they will surely fear you ...
In that moment, the mask fused to Izuku's face and shifted it's shape, with a huge canine snout filled with sharp fangs and a pair of pointed ears perched high on his head. Izuku's hair changed from greenish-black to grayish-white, the eyes behind the mask's holes turning yellow and bright, and a huge horn painfully sprouting from his forehead.
At the same time, the darkness solidified around Izuku, forming a sinister black leather armor that replaced his clothes. His now clawed wolf hands were now covered with leather gloves, his arms and legs now had armored protectors, his chest and shoulders now wearing a sturdy chestpiece and shoulder pads, and his feet were now fitted with tall and sturdy black boots.
Izuku looked at his now gloved hands, bringing them towards his head, where he could feel the horn sprouting from his skull and the long snout of the mask. Desperate, he looked around himself for a reflective surface, being a broken piece of mirror the best he could find, only to see in the reflection the gleam of his yellow eyes and the dark armor shining under the moonlight.
"Wait... is that me?" He asked, realizing the reflection moved the same way he did. "Where did this armor come from? And what happened to my voice?" Just before he could find an answer to those questions, Izuku started having a powerful migraine. At first he just placed a hand to his head, hoping for it to fade away, but then realized it was no ordinary migraine.
As of this moment, "Deku" no longer exists.
Your life as a weak human ends here.
You were never a human to begin with.
Shocked by what he had just heard, Izuku shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. His mind began to cloud, as the dark powers of the mask altered his own memories. All his childhood mementos, his memories of praising All-Might, his burning desire to become a professional hero, were beginning to blur. Little by little they felt as if they weren't his own memories, but someone else's.
You are a wolf duke org.
You are, and have always been, an evil and ruthless wolf fighter.
There is not a single warrior on earth who can defeat you.
At the same time, various other memories began to appear in his mind. Memories of hundreds of violent fights and deadly battles. Memories of flute melodies, of the full moon, of entire armies surrendered before him. Memories of wickedness and utter contempt for humanity.
Izuku felt the power of the mask corrupting his soul. "No! This mask... it makes me evil! I must stop this! I must ... resist!" He grunted, but he was weak to fight against the corrupting influence, trying to get a hold on to his very own identity.
From now on, you will be known as the evil wolf duke org, Zen-Aku.
Izuku tried to resist as much as possible, but the darkness in his heart was too strong to be contained. He had a vision of Bakugo, surrendered at his feet, begging for mercy and declaring himself inferior to him. He now felt the impulse to humilliate him, to make him suffer... and somehow, he liked that.
Little by little his resistance to the powerful brainwashing was diminishing. He couldn't even recognize himself anymore, and the name of Izuku Midoriya was losing its meaning and importance with each passing second... instead, he identified himself with the image of a powerful and feared wolf warrior.
I ... I am not a human ... I was never human ... I have always been a werewolf ...
Slowly he began to stand up, while the new memories settled in his mind. He now knew about the enormous dark power under his command, the power of the demon-like beings known as orgs.
I'm an evil wolf duke org ... and the need for revenge boils in my veins ...
The young man no longer offered any resistance, his personality changed as he became a sinister and vindictive monster.
Zen ... Aku ... I am ... Zen-Aku. I AM ZEN-AKU! He roared at the top of his wolf lungs.
The migraine had finally subsided, and just like that the transformation was over.
Where there was a confused and gloomy young man before, now there was a sinister werewolf clad in armor, with a look of deep resentment in his yellowish glowing beast eyes.
"I am Zen-Aku, evil duke org ... and I am here for 3,000 years of revenge!" Reaching out in front of him, Zen-Aku summoned a huge curved sword, known as Crescent Blade, and brandished it against the mountain of trash in his path, blasting it and clearing the way out of the maze.
Satisfied by the reach of only a fraction of his power, Zen-Aku rested his sword on his shoulder, as he always used to. "Too easy. Just like the old days." After that, Zen-Aku noticed a backpack next to him. He crouched to examine its contents, noticing a sheet of paper with curious engravings: it was the UA academy enrollment application that Izuku never started filling out.
"UA Academy ... It will be a good place to start my revenge!"