Three Years Ago
It only took a matter of minutes for Midoriya Izuku's dream and entire plan for his future to be shattered. He had spent the first twelve years of his life surrounding himself with everything he could find about heroes, devising various ways to become one without a quirk.
Izuku's dream was the dream of many, but his motivation was considerably more pure. Rather than seeking fame and fortune, Midoriya Izuku merely wanted to help people, to use his smile to reassure people in the darkest of times, remind them that the world still held light.
But in the boy's darkest time, his hero failed him, offering neither verbal reassurance,nor the smile he was famed for. Midoriya Izuku did not die that day, but his sense of purpose did.
The boy stumbled away from the rooftop, silently wondering if he should heed his classmate and stumble off of it instead. Tears he didn't realize he'd shed coursed down his cheeks as he pondered the truth of his hero's identity, as well as all that All Might had told him.
Without realizing, the boy's legs had carried him to yet another crowd, a villain fight. It didn't seem like much of a fight though, and it felt empty to him.
Then he took in the details of the fight, the villain who was all too familiar and the red eyes pleading for help, red eyes that Izuku could never forget.
The sludge villain had Kacchan.
Before Izuku knew what he was doing, his legs carried him forward, slinging his bag at the sludge villain's eye, his one vulnerable spot. The villain recoiled, giving Izuku just enough leeway to start pulling his classmate out of the sludge.
For the second time that day, a single punch from All Might took down the sludge villain, bringing immense relief to the crowd. People murmured amongst themselves, acting as judge and jury over what had just happened.
"What was that scrawny kid trying to accomplish? He just made more work for the heroes," a particularly venomous woman asked.
"I think he just wanted attention," another woman said. "Some kids are so pathetic."
Every instinct was telling Izuku to run, leave this place, but the cruel words froze him in place.
"What do you think you're doing?" a rough voice asked, an equally rough hand grabbing the boy by the arm.
Looking up, Izuku was peering into the face of Death Arms. The man was a passable hero, bur Izuku could have told him numerous ways the man could maximize his quirk. Unfortunately the man was held back by his idolization of All Might.
"I-I just wanted to help," Izuku stammered.
"If you're going to interfere, you better have the quirk to back it up," Death Arms growled, shaking Izuku a bit.
"For real kid," Mount Lady interrupted. "I'm just starting out, do you want my career to be ruined because of you?"
"Mount Lady, Death Arms, stand down," said a much more logical voice. Izuku raised his eyes to see none other than Kamui Woods, who gently put his hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Listen kid, your intentions were noble today. I understand that you were just trying to help out your friend, and that's admirable. But it was incredibly dangerous. We've trained for this for years, we're the experts, so until you have the training to joining us, trust us to handle it, okay?"
The hero's words were kind, but more than anything Izuku wanted to go home. Disgustingly enough he could still feel a layer of slime coating his esophagus, and part of him wanted to cry even though he didn't have any tears left.
A part of his mind whispered that he should ask Kamui Woods if he could become a hero, but All Might himself had already counselled him against his dream. It was generally unwise to blatantly ignore advice from the world's top hero.
The image of his mother apologizing to him flashed through his mand. He'd been told it was an impossible dream his entire life, but it was finally starting to sink in.
Izuku Midoriya really was just a useless Deku.
Mind numb, Deku stumbled away from the scene, aware of the heroes still yelling at him, but not caring. His legs started on the way home, everything in him screaming to go home, go to where it was safe.
He was stopped on his way by the last person in the world he wanted to see.
"The other heroes already lectured me," Izuku said before All Might could say anything. "Thank you for saving me and Kacchan. It's clear now that I'll never be a hero."
All Might was taken aback, the change in the child was drastic enough that for a moment he wondered if this was the same boy. "Young man, I-"
"Oh," Deku said quietly, green eyes dull. "Your secret. It's safe, I swear I won't tell anyone."
Izuku shuffled on, leaving a shocked All Might in his wake. Gone was the determined young man that had impressed All Might, and the pro hero couldn't help but feel that he had had a hand in it.
The hero debated with himself for a moment before deciding it was best to just leave. He wasn't equipped to deal with the boy's emotions, after all. At least, that was what he told himself.
His second (or did that count as third?) encounter with All Might barely even registered in Deku's mind. Almost nothing registered in his mind, though. He was nearly home when he heard pounding footsteps on the sidewalk beside him.
"DEKU!" Bakugou howled, fury emanating from him. When Izuku turned around to face the irate blond, it was an explosion that greeted the boy.
It was the biggest explosion Bakugou had used on him yet, burning his face and chest as well as throwing the boy to the ground.
"What was that?" Bakugou seethed. "Do you think you're better than me or something?" When Izuku didn't respond, the blond kicked the fallen boy. "ANSWER ME!"
Izuku opened his mouth to say something, but another voice rang out.
"KATSUKI BAKUGOU. Step away from my son, now," Inko Midoriya yelled, exiting her house looking like the embodiment of rage itself.
The blond boy stiffened, unused to being caught or reprimanded. Red eyes glaring at the smaller boy, he spat, "You better watch yourself, Deku. Remember you're worthless."
"I know," the boy said faintly, finally glancing up at his former friend.
Bakugou stared for a moment, shocked by how dead the boy's eyes were. Before, they always held that stupid, inextinguishable shine to them. But now Izuku Midoriya sat before him, broken.
It wasn't nearly as satisfying as he thought it would be.
Inko caught Katsuki by surprise, bodily shoving him away from her son. "Stay away from Izuku," she snarled, collecting her dazed and injured child into her arms. "Come on Izuku, you need to go to the hospital."
"I'm sorry, Mom," the green-haired boy mumbled, but he was promptly shushed.
"No Izuku," Inko said. "I'm sorry you've been dealing with this alone until now. You shouldn't have hidden it from me, but it's in the past and it's time to move forward."
The mother and son shared plenty of tears as they took a cab to the hospital. The cab driver discreetly wiped away a few tears himself when he heard the boy begin recounting the day's events. When the reached the hospital he waved away Inko's payment, instead wishing Izuku a quick recovery.
Luckily inside the hospital they weren't kept waiting for very long. A kind female doctor came into the waiting room only minutes after they had signed in, calling, "Izuku Midoriya?"
Izuku pushed himself to standing, feeling close to fainting from the pain. Following the doctor, a host of worries plagued his mind, the foremost being the explanation he would have to give to yet another person. He was exhausted in all aspects of the word, wanting nothing more than to collapse into his bed and sleep for days.
Thankfully the doctor was kind, listening attentively and only asking the questions she absolutely had to before beginning her examination. Other than an unpleasant throat swab, the procedures were quick and painless. The kind woman gave Inko very detailed instructions on what to do, which was good because Izuku retained none of it.
The mother and son decided to walk home, and Izuku kept shooting "discreet," worried glanced at Izuku. Most of the walk passed by in relative silence until Inko asked, "How long has this been happening? The bullying, I mean."
Izuku merely shrugged, which only served to make Inko more worried. The two trudged in silence once more.
"We're going to move," Inko blurted out. "And we can enroll you in online school if you want. You're smart enough you could probably finish early. I'm sorry I didn't see it until now, Izuku, but you've been living the wrong life. I know my son, and he's not meant to waste away being bullied. My son is the kindest, bravest person in the world and he's meant for a life where his smile makes other people feel better. Whatever you decide to do, Izuku, I fully support you."
Tears were slipping down the woman's cheeks as she made her bold declaration. He didn't know when it had happened, but tears were slipping down Izuku's cheeks as well. The first emotion he'd felt in hours sparked in his mind and then he was flinging himself at his mother, sobbing.
"I'm never going to be a hero," Izuku sobbed, clutching Inko even tighter.
"You're already a hero," Inko said though tears of her own. "You're my hero and so much more. One day you'll see what I see."
A/N: Hello from college, everyone! I'm really excited about this story and I'm incredibly encouraged by the response I've already gotten for it! Please leave a review if you feel so inclined, they let me know if I'm writing well and that the story is interesting!