A/N I don't own anything MHA. All rights belong to their respective owners

TW:

Child Abuse

Child Neglect

Violence

Blood and Injury

This story is dark. When you give a bunch of celebrities flashy superpowers and turn saving people into a popularity contest, the line between heroic and villainous shift. Add to that the pressure of quirks and the society becomes even shittier than it was.

Pro Villain - Chapter 1/Izuku Shigaraki: Origins part 1

-Pro-

The entire tower shook from the impact. Various awards and pictures that the top hero accumulated over the years fell or shattered from the sheer power that rocked the building. All Might arrived less than an hour earlier and was still dealing with paperwork when said paperwork was suddenly scattered across the entire floor he was on. Toshinori rushed out of his room and grabbed the nearest person, who was busy panicking.

"What's going on?!"

"We… He… There… We're under attack!" they finally screamed before promptly fainting. What could possibly cause someone working directly for All Might to faint in fear?

Toshinori got his answer when the nearby TV (the only one still functioning) displayed the news transmission.

"We're here, live, from near Might Tower, where an unidentified man is attacking the building. He appears to be using an incredibly powerful quirk, causing unbelievable collateral damage." The video showed a man in his late thirties, with white hair and red eyes that burned with pure power. He was standing in the air in his now-ragged suit that still looked like it was of the finest quality. His right arm was bulging as yet another blast of air slammed into Might Tower, causing it to shake. The giant planet on the top was long gone, now laying cracked on the nearby street.

All Might couldn't believe what he was seeing. All for One has arrived. In broad daylight. To the most observed place in entire of Japan. And now, the people were suffering because he lived here.

Tapping into the power of One for All, All Might leaped out of the building right at All for One. He tried to tackle him in the air, only to be blasted away by a lightning bolt.

"So you finally arrive!" All for One growled. "I thought I would have to knock the entire thing down before you dared to show your face after what you did."

"You're getting delusional! Has old age finally caught up with you?!" All Might tried to hide his fear. He fought All for One before. This was something else. Never before had the villain acted like that. He was… unhinged.

"Me? Delusional? For the first time in the longest time, I might actually be thinking clearly. The memory of my brother has blinded me for so long. I clung to the hope that his legacy could've been salvaged. That his Quirk could've been saved. But you… you and your cursed band of misfits… You've cost me everything!" The villain roared and fired more quirks at All Might, who had to push himself beyond the limits of his quirk to avoid it. The devil himself has come to earth. And he was not playing.

"What are you talking about, foul villain?!"

"You know very well, All Might. You've sent that old fool to hurt me. You have their blood on your hands too. You have her blood!" All for One leveled three buildings with just one attack, trying to get the hero, who retaliated by sending airwaves at him. The two powerful forces collided in the air, creating an explosion of force that broke any remaining windows of Might Tower.

"Who's her?" All Might tried to pause the fight, but his opponent was relentless.

"My wife!" All for One roared and leaped from his place high in the air, wanting to get close and personal now. "Your little wrinkled gremlin has killed her! He killed Tomura! And now, I'm going to kill you!" The villain laughed, the glint of madness in his eyes was clearly visible. All Might couldn't believe what he was hearing. And seeing. He didn't doubt for a moment that All for One believed in what he was saying. And there was… chaos in his actions. He wasn't being himself. He was… grieving. All for One tried to hit him, but his moves were sloppy. He was now openly crying. Slowly, the devil himself descended from his place in the air until he touched the ground and found himself face to face with All Might. Tears streamed freely down the villain's cheeks. All for One fell on his knees, crying.

But… it meant nothing in the face of danger he presented. Tens of thousands probably lost lives in today's attack. He had to put an end to this. All Might drew onto a hundred percent of his power.

"United" He pulled his fist back, preparing for the final attack. He would need to put everything into it. Eight generations of One for All fought for survival. Fought back against all odds. "States" They were all willing to give their lives to protect the world from the threat of All for One. They would walk any distance to ensure lasting peace. "Of" He would end it. Today. "Smash!"

The punch connected with the open eyes of All for One. All Might could hear the sound of a cracking skull.

"See you... in hell, bastard." Were perhaps the last words of All for One. Not even said, as much as echoing through the destroyed city. His very spirit leaving the body when an unknown number of quirks were released. Point Blank. At All Might's stomach. And then, both the hero and the villain fell to the ground.

Only which was really which that day?

-Pro-

Three hours earlier

"Are you sure?" Gran Torino looked at the police report Sir Nighteye presented to him.

"It could've been a random mutation, a genetic fluke. But… there are too many inconsistencies." Sasaki pointed to the highlighted sections of the documents. "Father 'working overseas', never specified where. During police interviews, the answers are always practically the same; as if rehearsed. There is also that there are no indications of just why those questions were asked in the first place. Someone powerful is covering them. Someone with enough influence to make entire investigations vanish."

"What do you want then?" Torino was officially retired, but he never gave up on the promise he made. He swore to Nana that he would one day spit on All for One's grave. And by his quirk, he refused to rest until he did.

"If I managed to get close, I could use my quirk. With enough time, I could get us our first solid lead in years." Mirai begged. "It's the slip-up we've been waiting for."

"Fine. If I didn't know you, I would've probably dismissed it as a coincidence, but maybe there's something more to it after all. Still, it's flimsy at best."

"That's why I need you there. Going alone would leave me vulnerable while using my quirk. But if you cause a distraction, I can freely search for what we need."

The pair arrived in front of an unsuspecting house in the suburbs of Musafu roughly forty minutes later. At first, it looked like any other in the neighborhood. There was nothing outstanding about it. No obvious shows of wealth that one would expect from the direct family of 'emperor of villains'. Only a closer inspection would reveal the little details. The lawn was perfectly mowed, the fence in impeccable condition. There were no signs of wear and tear anywhere. Everything was taken care of.

The heroes approached the front doors. They had to bear the feeling of being constantly observed, which only added to Sir Nighteye's suspicion. When they knocked on the doors, a moment later they were met with a green-haired woman. From the files, this would be Into Midoriya.

Only instead of the kind smile she usually wore before everyone, she was openly scowling.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" There was no warmth in her voice.

"Miss Midoriya?" Mirai began, only to be interrupted

"It's Mrs. Midoriya. My husband took my family name." Into felt compelled to correct the 'hero'.

"Forgive my mistake." Nighteye bowed. "I was hoping me and my colleague here could take a moment of your time…"

"Sadly, that wouldn't be possible today. My nephew is celebrating his birthday and we're having guests shortly. I still need to prepare a few things."

"We won't take long." Gran Torino grumbled.

Both heroes had to resist a wince from the glare she sent them.

"It is early morning hour and I already told you that it is an important day. I urge you to leave before I am forced to call my lawyer."

Nighteye was about to try and placate her when a young boy, around nine, appeared in the back. Gran Torino's eyes widened and for a moment, he appeared stunned.

"Kotaro…" he murmured the name.

Instantly, there was a fire in Inko's eyes that could only be matched by that of a lioness when her cub was in danger: primal and unchained.

"We're done here." She said coldly and tried to close the doors, only for Gran Torino to leap forward and try to tackle her.

In a snap, the tense meeting turned into a fight. Inko, despite not looking like it, was fast and strong. While Gran was able to get the first hit, he was unable to follow it up. Her quirk, Attraction, was undersold in all files on Inko Midoriya. She was able to manipulate only a limited size of an object, but nowhere near it was mentioned the speed with which she did it, which Gran painfully found out when she telekinetically threw several knives at him. There was also another crucial part: while she could only attract small objects, nowhere was said that said objects couldn't be attached to something bigger. While at first, it doesn't look like much (she could perhaps turn on and off the stove with her quirk), in reality, when an object is moving incredibly fast, even small alterations of its trajectory can be damning.

Gran Torino learned that when his glove was pulled mid-flight and caused him to stumble. Midoriya used the opportunity to stab him with two knives, one in each leg.

"Tomura! Grab Izuku and run! Don't look back! Get to Kaachan!" Inko shouted while engaging Sir Nighteye in combat. The man was able to activate his quirk, but it could only help him so far when fighting such a skilled opponent. He found himself on the defensive for the larger part of the battle. It was until Gran, with herculean effort, managed to crawl over to the fight and grip the woman's legs that Nighteye was able to grapple her and look her straight in the eyes, pulling on the full power of his quirk.

Instead of the expected images, he only saw a short image of her moving and the vision ended abruptly. The shock was big enough for him to violently push Inko away. With her still being held by wounded Gran, she fell over and hit her head into the nearby coffee table. Blood started to leak from her head.

For a moment, the two heroes stared at the picture in front of them. The woman. Dead from a simple struggle.

"Auntie!" The boy from before ran suddenly from the far end of the room. He tried to reach her, only for Gran Torino (finally standing) to catch and restrain him. "What have you done to Auntie!?"

"What's your name, boy?" Mirai asked.

"Tomura… Shigaraki Tomura. You are… you…" he started to cry.

"Your real name, brat." Gran was on edge.

"That's my real name. I don't want to be Tenko anymore!" Seeing the grumpy pro glare at him, Tomura wilted and tried to control his tears. "I… I was… He called me Shimura Tenko."

From afar, Izuku watched as the two heroes grabbed his favorite cousin and dragged him away. He slowly crawled out of his hiding spot when the first police sirens came. He couldn't stay here. He had to run. His mom said to run to Kaachan. He had to run.

-Pro-

When Izuku arrived near Bakugou's house, he saw his best friend in the front garden, doing his morning exercises. He dashed toward Katsuki faster than he ever did before. Unnoticed to anyone, miniature green lightnings jumped on his skin. It died as soon as he crashed into Bakugou.

"Stupid Deku!" Katsuki yelled. "I told you not to interrupt my training!"

Izuku, being nine and recently seeing the death of his mother, was unable to truly put the situation into words. His tears and stutter only made Bakugou angrier.

"Useless nerd! Talk like a normal person, not a moron!" Katsuki, to no surprise, only got angrier. "If you can't even speak, get lost!" The boy yelled, letting out a small explosion. His former best friend stared, terrified.

Izuku heard police sirens in the distance. The sound was nearing the Bakugous'. Making a split-second decision, he got up from the ground and started to run. He ran fast. He didn't stop until he was far away from anything he knew. At some point, he dashed through some bushes, later through a hole in a fence in a back alley. Izuku had no idea where he ended up. He caught himself in an unknown ward, in an unknown neighborhood. It was still day, but the sun was high in the sky. He paused near one of those public TV screens where the news was played for all to see.

"...the rescue services are already trying to look for the survivors of what is quickly starting to be called 'fight of the century'. The rescue heroes on site are doing their best, but confirmed casualties are already off the scale. Had one looked at the statistics, it would be closer to a natural disaster than a battle. We've received confirmation from the Hero and Public Safety Commission regarding the identity of the villain. The man, Hizashi Shigaraki, better known as Emperor of Villains, had been the shadow figure behind most of Japan's organized crime." Izuku watched with terror in his eyes as the images of his father, battling All Might, appeared. "The villain is perhaps the only one to ever receive an Omega rating. Due to the HPSC's ongoing investigation into the events of today's morning, we're unable to provide any further details…"

Izuku was unable to watch further. While he stared into the pictures of his father fighting All Might, he could only passively register the world around him as everything he ever knew, everything he ever loved, shattered. His parents were taken by the heroes. His best friend didn't want to talk with him anymore. His cousin was missing. He couldn't even come home anymore. He didn't have a home anymore.

"Kiddo? You okay?" Someone placed a giant hand on his shoulder.

Izuku looked up to see one of the most recent sidekicks to a local hero. Death Arms barely graduated from his hero school. For now, his boss mostly sent him on solo patrols in the peaceful parts of the city.

In his panic, Izuku unconsciously reached into his quirk. It only manifested two days ago. The boy himself was yet to realize he even had a quirk. Hizashi promised to sit him down and talk with his son during the weekend, but that wouldn't come to pass.

Green and black lightning danced around Midoriya for a second before the hero found himself bereft of the warm feeling that used to be his quirk. In turn, Izuku was now sensing something new inside him. It was impossible to explain unless one experienced it themselves, but the kid could now activate or deactivate the new addition with a flex of invisible muscle. It was there, waiting to be used, waiting for a call.

Death Arms stumbled back. Izuku stared at him for a moment with eyes wide open before he started to run. Once again, black and green lightning danced on his skin. The power this time was much more pronounced. He passed people in full sprint, toppling some while he himself was like an unstoppable snowball rolling down the streets.

When he stopped this time, he was exhausted and barely able to move. Every bone and muscle in his body ached and he tumbled as soon as his legs gave up. It wasn't until a bit later that someone noticed him and called an ambulance.

-Pro-

When he opened his eyes, Izuku was momentarily blinded by the oppressive whiteness of the room he was in. He registered the clinical smell he always associated with hospitals. As his eyes slowly readjusted to the light, he noticed that indeed, he was most likely in a hospital. The room had a single window that let the sunlight in, white walls, and some electronics that Izuku didn't understand. He did notice an IV in his hand. A panic slowly started to encompass him. He was in the hospital. Public hospital. The government pays for public hospitals. The government also pays for heroes. Heroes attacked his parents. The government could tell heroes where he was. Heroes could attack him too and finish the work.

His heart rate jumped and an alert went out. In less than a minute, a doctor arrived with a nurse.

"Hey! Hey! It's okay. You're safe. You're safe now." The man reassured her while the nurse tried to approach Izuku, who for his part was frozen in fear. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. He was still a kid. What could he possibly do?

The nurse knelt next to the boy and reached her hand slowly. "Hey, little guy. We're not gonna hurt you. We just wanna make sure you're okay. Could you tell us your name?"

Once more, Izuku's mind went into overdrive. He remembered how his father sat him down when he was five and started to teach him things. Back then, Izuku thought it was mostly jokes or trivia, oftentimes connected to watching cheesy hero movies as his father explained how things work in the real world. How to really do things people did in the movies. Fake identities, infiltration, figuring out intentions. It all appeared like innocent fun. His dad had a somewhat jaded look at reality, so it made sense that father/son bonding time was making fun of things. Now… Now Izuku would need every single lesson from his father. It wasn't fun and games anymore. Despite being only nine, he knew that mortal danger now awaited him at every corner, with no way to get a support net anywhere. "Akatani Mikumo." He said, trying to act slightly dazed. It helped that he was dazed by everything going on around him.

"How're you feeling, Mikumo-Kun?" The friendly nurse smiled at him, trying to ease some answers.

"I… Um… Okay? I'm tired and… hungry? Thirsty too." The first thing Izuku needed was to regain strength. He could plan the eventual escape after his basic needs were fulfilled.

"Anything unusual?" The doctor pressed, happy that his patient was now responding. "Anything's hurting?"

"No… Where am I?" Location.

"Manda General Hospital. You were brought here unconscious after a passerby found you on a street. Your body was showing multiple bruises and overall muscle strain."

"I… Uh… Well… There's… Can I get some food?" Izuku quickly changed the subject. He saw that neither the doctor nor the nurse were fooled, but with a nod, the man allowed food and water to be brought to him. While they waited, another round of medical questions followed. All in all, it looked like Iz- sorry, Mikumo was in almost perfect health now.

Izuku was almost finished eating when a man wearing a tan trenchcoat and a matching hat entered the room.

"Hello. My name is Detective Tsukauchi. On behalf of the Mustafu police department, I wanted to ask you some questions."

"Mustafu? I thought I was somewhere in Manda…" Midoriya tried his best not to show he was afraid.

"With the disaster in Tokyo, much of the emergency service was called in. I was one of the few police officers currently free." Izuku could sense that there was something not right with this, which made him guarded. He looked at the man and focused. He seemed ordinary enough, but… Izuku had some strange, unexplained feeling that he shouldn't directly lie to the man. It would've been a bad idea. "Can I get your name for the record?"

"I thought I told the doctor already." Izuku did his best to look as confused as possible. He had to word it right.

"Yes, but I just want to confirm."

"You can call me Akatani Mikumo." Midoriya gave a tentative smile to the man. He had to sell it as just a figure of speech and not intentional wording.

Tsukaichi, for his part, didn't pay enough attention to the wording, which was a mistake. His quirk couldn't discern intention, only if the speaker considered what he said true. Midoriya had absolutely no problem with the police officer calling him by the fake name, so what he said was true.

"Okay. What's your quirk? The doctors said that your injuries were somewhat similar to quirk overuse." Izuku stiffened at the question. "You're in no trouble. We're just trying to assess what exactly happened."

"It's not that…" The boy gulped before speaking again. "I… well… I'm quirkless." He admitted. It was always painful. Whenever he revealed that little tidbit, everyone became more hostile and less understanding.

This, once more registered as truth. Izuku wasn't aware of his quirk. In his distraught state, he didn't register using his quirk and he considered the 'incident' just a bad prank. He never learned he had a quirk. Which now came as a boon.

Tsukauchi looked at the boy in front of him and sighed. An image was already forming in his head. The boy's clothes were worn out and badly damaged. He had bruises both old and new, as well as several scars that were possibly quirk-based. The discrimination against quirkless was more and more widespread each year. People shunned those they considered 'lesser'. Still, he still needed more details before he could really figure things out.

"Can I get some contact information to your parents? I'm sure they're worried about you."

"They… They were killed. By bad people." Izuku considered the heroes bad people. "I… I don't really have any other family." He wouldn't cry. Crying could leave him vulnerable. Why were his cheeks wet. Damn it. He was crying. Bad Izuku. Don't cry. Yeah, he couldn't do anything about that.

The detective knew then and there that he wouldn't be able to ask more questions at that moment. They weren't really necessary anyway. Any investigation into the death of the parents of a quirkless kid would end rather quickly. Given the state of the boy's clothes, it was quite likely his parents were from the lower class. Quite possibly killed for giving birth to a quirkless kid. Or not. There could be many other options that no one would bother to investigate anyway. He had seen it too many times already. Before coming here, he tried to research the name Akatani and came with nothing solid. It wasn't exactly an unpopular surname and triggered no red flags. No recent confirmed deaths or even missing person report, but there often weren't. The stigma of being quirkless affected the entire family.

The problem was the kid would end up in the system. Tsukaichi hoped they would be maybe at least a bit kind to him. He seemed like an okay boy.

-Pro-