True to Inko's word, the family of two soon moved to a modest house on the other side of town. It was closer to where Inko worked, a quieter neighborhood, and most importantly it was free of one Bakugou Katsuki.
Once Izuku had recovered mentally and physically, he began online school and found that he enjoyed it immensely. Izuku had always loved learning, but it was indescribably better when it was unhindered by classmates who didn't feel he belonged. It was also an online school that allowed the students to set their own pace, and as such Izuku blew through it in record time. Now he could fixate on any given subject he wished and learn absolutely everything that the school's database had to offer, all without being called a freak.
For once, life was peaceful. Any issues with Kacchan had been buried-definitely unresolved, but stamped down until they couldn't bother Izuku. Inko had wanted to take the Bakugou family to court, but Izuku had talked her out of it. He had never told his mother the full extent of the bullying, so he was able to downplay a lot of it. Strangely enough, he had forgiven the boy for everything, and he just couldn't shake the feeling that Kacchan had the potential to be a great hero one day. Even if that wasn't Izuku's future, he didn't want to take the chance away from his former friend.
As much as Izuku knew that Kacchan could be good, he didn't trust it to just happen. Izuku would be watching his hero career closely. If Kacchan didn't improve himself, he would have Izuku to answer to, one way or another.
Izuku enjoyed his new life, at least for now. He knew the charm of it would likely fade sooner rather than later, and that such a solitary lifestyle would only hurt him in the long run. He had accepted that heroism wasn't a possibility for him, but nothing had diminished the desire to help people. He still felt the overwhelming need to prove the world to be a safe place.
It had been a tough pill to swallow, but now Izuku saw that everything that All Might had said was for the boy's safety in the long run. A part of Izuku's mind whispered that he could've been a hero regardless, but maybe finding a different path wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. He would just have to do some exploration before he decided what that path would be.
As he settled into his new life, Izuku quickly found that if he didn't force himself into some sort of schedule he forgot to eat and sleep. He also figured that blowing through an entire semester of school work in three weeks might not be the healthiest option.
With this in mind, Izuku began working towards being healthier. He had never been very athletically inclined, but he realized that if he were stronger, faster, it would be easier for him to help people in the future. It began with the boy going on runs. At the beginning Izuku felt like he was going to die, but each day he ran a bit farther than the last, and a bit quicker as well.
On one of these runs he came across a dojo that advertised several different fighting styles. Remembering all the times Izuku had felt completely defenseless in his life, the idea of the dojo stuck in his mind. He hesitantly brought it up to his mother, who agreed more readily than Izuku had expected.
A few days later the two Midoriyas walked in to the dojo to find the owner cleaning up after the latest lesson. He was an older man who wore his scars and his wrinkles with equal amounts of pride, a lifetime of fighting evident in his every movement.
Izuku gasped before immediately throwing himself into a bow. "You're the former pro-hero Valiant! It's an honor to meet you, sir!"
The man chuckled, a bit surprised. "It's rare that I meet anyone your age that has even heard of me, let alone recognizes me not in costume. What can I do for you, boy?"
At Inko's nudge, Izuku eased out of his bow, admiration still clear on his face. "I'm Midoriya Izuku, Valiant, sir. I would like to be trained at your dojo - if you're okay with that, that is. If not I'm sure I could find somewhere eventually, but this really is my first-"
The torrent of words calmed when Valiant placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well, young Midoriya, I'd like to get to know you a bit and then we can decide if my dojo would be a good fit for you."
Gesturing for the two to follow him, Valiant led the way to a small office, where the former pro hero listened to Izuku stammer about himself, offering complete, if somewhat rambling answers. Overall, though, Valiant couldn't help but be impressed with this boy's character and determination, as well as his mind.
"I would love to take you on as one of my students, young Midoriya. For training purposes, though, I need to know what your quirk is," Valiant said, absentmindedly beginning paperwork for the boy.
At the man's words though, both Midoriyas froze in place, afraid of the reaction their answer would provoke. In a small, quivering voice, Izuku nearly whispered, "I'm quirkless."
Valiant's years of training as a pro had taught the man how to disguise his emotions, so there was no surprise on his face when Izuku spoke up. He had fully expected a mental quirk of some kind with how perceptive the child was, but if anything he was more intrigued after learning that Izuku was quirkless.
Clearing his throat, he said, "That makes my job, easier. It can be difficult to find a fighting style to suit a certain quirk, but this means that you have an entire world of possibilities before you."
It warmed Valiant's heart to see his newest student straighten up, beaming brighter than the sun itself. But the image of Izuku's tragic resignation to his fate made the retired pro feel like his heart was in a vice grip, squeezing tighter than he thought possible.
When a knock sounded at the door, Valiant abruptly realized what time it was. His interview with Midoriya had taken longer than necessary, and now his next student was here for his private lesson.
Rising from his seat, Valiant opened the door to his office. "Thank you for being patient, Ojiro. I would like you to meet my newest student, Midoriya Izuku."
Izuku craned his neck to see the boy around the teacher, a blond boy that looked overwhelmingly kind. He would have been a bit plain looking if it weren't for his massive tail. He immediately smiled at Izuku. "It's nice to meet you, Midoriya. Is this your first time in martial arts?" At Izuku's nod, the boy said, "Well, I look forward to sparring with you."
The smaller boy nodded, inwardly lamenting that Ojiro would likely refuse to talk to him once he found out that Izuku was quirkless. Until that day, however, he planned to bask in the boy's kindness as long as it lasted.
Soon enough, Izuku's martial arts lessons became a bright spot in his weeks. Valiant's quirk was a slight enhancement of his physical abilities. He was stronger, more flexible and dexterous than the average human being, but it was just barely beyond what a quirkless person could achieve. Valiant had never been in the top few heroes, but he had been successful, and Izuku had always respected the man. (He had also followed Valiant's hero career closely, as the man was as close to a quirkless hero as Izuku had ever found.)
Just as Izuku respected his teacher, the man grew to respect the boy in return. He had instantly been drawn in by how bright and genuine Midoriya was. However, Valiant was consistently impressed by how the boy managed to excel at everything he was shown, not through some innate ability, but because the boy tirelessly practiced everything he was shown.
Midoriya had a whole host of others who he impressed as well. In order to give his students variety, Valiant often brought in other instructors to introduce different fighting styles. Many of these were pro heroes who Valiant had helped train years ago, and almost every instructor asked about Midoriya. Gunhead was especially impressed by the boy. That was not to mention the other students, who were inspired by the boy's determination and drawn in by his kindness.
And so it was in Valiant's dojo that Izuku slowly found a place to be comfortable, a place to belong. The day that Izuku had dreaded came and passed without incident, the other students barely reacting to the fact that Izuku was quirkless. Ojiro, Izuku's closest new friend, especially didn't care, he had merely shrugged and said, "I hope you don't expect me to go easy on you, because I won't." And true to his words, Ojiro had held nothing back, leading to a particularly spectacular loss.
The new neighborhood also quickly adopted the mother and son. Inko made the best food and gave freely, and Izuku could usually be found offering help of some kind, be it weeking Mrs. Tachibana's flower beds or watching Mrs. Kyoto's children when she needed to run to the grocery store.
But Izuku wanted more. He felt like there was something he needed to be working towards, and the feeling haunted him day and night. One day a few weeks into his new training, the feeling was almost tangible within Izuku, distracting him as he sparred with Ojiro, and the distraction was enough that Izuku didn't see the tail coming, leaving the green-haired boy sprawled on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
The amicable blond immediately dropped his fighting stance. "Are you okay, Midoriya? You normally see that move coming from a mile away."
Izuku stoved himself to his feet with a groan. "I'm fine, just a little distracted."
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, it's fine. I'm actually happy lately, like happier than I've ever been. Things are really good right now." Izuku smiled bitterly. "I just… The U.A. entrance exams are soon, right? When I was younger that was my dream."
"Midoriya, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. But you could probably still-"
"I'm fine, Ojiro. That dream is officially dead. I just miss the sense of purpose it gave me, you know? I know I want to do something in life that helps people, I just don't know what."
After thinking a moment, Ojiro said, "You know, Midoriya, I saw something about EMT classes being offered a few blocks away. It's probably not what you want to do with the rest of your life, but you would be learning valuable skills that would make you more equipped to help people."
As Izuku pondered his friend's words, he visibly brightened. "That's a great idea, Ojiro! I'll have to look into that tonight! And I probably won't see you again until after it's over, so good luck on U.A.'s entrance exam. I know you'll do fantastic!"
Valiant shook his head as his two favorite students parted ways. Those boys were good for one another, they each balanced the other out. Somehow Ojiro was able to slow Midoriya's hectic mind so that others could understand what the boy was trying to say to others, and Midoriya brought Ojiro further out of his shell than ever before. The two were on different paths in life, but Valiant could feel that they were both pursuing greatness.
That night Izuku brought up the possibility of EMT classes to Inko, and once more the mother was easily persuaded. It was rare enough that Izuku asked for anything, so when he did Inko always found a way to make things happen. Besides, medical knowledge was always a good thing to have. The two decided that they would go to get the necessary paperwork and such tomorrow afternoon, once Inko was off of work.
The next morning as Izuku was on his run, he contemplated how much life could change in ten months. He had slowed down his studies to a more casual pace, and as such he was almost finished with the schoolwork for his first year of highschool. Once Izuku had a little more direction on what he wanted to do as a career, he calculated that he could have at least one college degree finished by the time that most kids his age were graduating high school. His prospects were infinitely better than they had during his time in middle school, and Izuku was starting to believe that he might be able to make something of himself after all, with or without a quirk.
The biggest change, however, was that he was happy. Every step that he took was a step closer to helping people. He had friends now, and teachers that legitimately cared about him. Izuku's happy train of thought was not to last, however.
He was first alerted by a tiny cry of distress that he almost didn't notice. Cautiously halting, Izuku monitored the area around him. He was in a less familiar part of town, an old neighborhood that was largely abandoned. In fact, aside from the distress call, Izuku didn't see any evidence of any other life.
Trying to get his breathing under control, Izuku heard yet another sharp cry, making it easier to trace the sound. As Izuku crept towards the alleyway he suspected was the source of the sound, a rough voice growled, "Shut up! You know this is your home now."
A child's wailing nearly stopped Izuku's heart, but it also covered the sound of his approach. Peering around the corner, Izuku found a large cardboard box that hosted a multitude of stained rags that resembled a sort of nest. Cans and plastic food packaging littered the ground, and a man with matted hair stood with his back to Izuku, looming over an only marginally cleaner child.
"I want to go home," the girl cried, her tears making tracks in the dirt that was caked on her face.
Izuku started in surprise - he recognized the girl! She had been a hot topic on the news for the past two days because she had mysteriously gone missing, suspected to be kidnapped. There were no witnesses to it and no leads on the disappearance. The news had proclaimed that the search for the child was beginning to look hopeless that very morning. But here she was, living in an alleyway in an abandoned part of town.
His mind was running a million miles per minute. Izuku knew he should call the police, but he couldn't be overheard, and he refused to take his eyes off of the child. She had suffered enough already.
All of Izuku's hastily thought-up plans were for naught, however, as the captor, enraged with the girl's crying, moved to slap the girl. Unable to stop himself, almost unaware he had even moved, Izuku jolted forward, catching the man's hand before it was able to make contact. In a practiced gesture, Izuku twisted the man's hand behind his back with as much force as the boy could muster.
Initially the man yelped in pain, but it didn't take him long to recover. While Izuku had been training conscientiously, form lost out to sheer strength when the man brutally slammed Izuku into the brick wall of the alley. Stars dotted his vision as he let go of the man's arm solely from pain, and Izuku barely registered the meaty fingers that wrapped around his throat. "Listen here, kid," the man growled. "You're going to leave and forget that you ever saw us if you want to live. Got it?"
Izuku's eyes focused on the little girl, who was sobbing now, pleading, "Please, I promise I'll be good. I just want to see Momma again."
He was aware that his breathing was becoming more and more shallow as those fingers pressed harder and harder on his throat. Feeling faint, Izuku realized that he may have had technique on his side, but the man undeniably had size, experience, and strength on his side.
"So, are you going to walk away?" the man demanded, his fingers seemingly prepared to crush Izuku's esophagus.
Out of desperation Izuku nodded frantically, his fingers clawing at the man's hands. When they did loosen, Izuku gasped, drawing in all the air he could take in. Falling limply to the ground the small boy coughed, every movement causing more pain.
"Consider yourself lucky," the man said, roughly grasping the girl by her forearm. "And don't bother looking for me. With my quirk I can easily crush your skinny neck, and I won't hesitate. Besides, by now disappearing is my specialty. No one can find me unless I want them to."
Part of Izuku wanted to doubt the man, but he had been able to abduct a child without a single eyewitness. He was shaking, and he knew he couldn't take the man in a real fight. Izuku practiced diligently, but nine months of training could only lend him so much help. If he fought and lost, it would only end up worse for the girl, and possibly with him dead. He only hoped the man wasn't very fast.
Struggling to his feet, Izuku was grateful when the man didn't look back. Taking a deep breath, Izuku geared himself up before pushing himself to run at full speed, ducking down lower to the ground to catch the little girl by her torso, relatively easily ripping her from the man's grasp.
The man shouted in indignant surprise, but Izuku was already sprinting with the girl cradled close to his chest, adrenaline pushing his exhausted legs faster than he'd ever run before. He felt like he couldn't breathe deeply enough and he was feeling a bit light-headed, but still Izuku murmured comforting phrases to the child as he held her even closer, fully aware that the man was gaining on them every second.
Three more blocks. That was all Izuku had to make it, three more blocks and they would be safe.
Ironically, this was the most deserted Izuku had ever seen this part of the city. He had quickly left the abandoned neighborhood behind. Now he was only half a block away from his destination, and there was no one to hear the man's enraged yells or Izuku's cries of help. It was then, when he had momentarily slowed down to turn a corner that he felt a grasping hand barely brush the collar of his shirt.
Yelping at the closeness of the man, Izuku threw himself forward, grateful that the enraged man was too intent on Izuku to realize where they were going. His arms ached from the weight of the child when Izuku crashed through the doors of the local police station. Once in their safe haven, Izuku immediately set the child on the ground for fear of dropping her. It was for the best, as milliseconds later he was tackled to the ground by her captor. Those same crushing hands wrapped around Izuku's neck, and the boy's last fuzzy thoughts were an apology to his mother.
His vision swam in and out of focus as a veritable legion of police officers were surrounding him, taking the man away in handcuffs. Somewhere the girl was crying and the man was yelling and his throat hurt and all the officers were trying to talk to him and-
"Quiet," an authoritative voice rang out, reaching even Izuku. Then someone was helping him into a chair, and the little girl who he had carried was clinging to him, more tears trailing down her cheeks. Then someone else was talking to Izuku, and then the pain lessened. It was still there, but Izuku no longer felt like he was going to pass out, and his mind resumed a fraction of its normal function.
A man in a trenchcoat was looking at Izuku, concerned. "I'm Detective Tsukauchi. I apologize about the chaos, but would you like to tell us what's going on?"
Izuku blinked a few times, his vision still slightly fuzzy. "I'm Midoriya Izuku. I was on a run when I heard… I heard a child in an abandoned part of town. I saw this girl with that man that was attacking me, and she seemed really scared. Then I recognized her as the girl on the news, the one who went missing a few days ago."
Detective Tsukauchi looked up sharply from his notes, and Izuku idly observed that the man would likely have been described as plain-looking, just like Izuku himself. But then the man was talking, and Izuku had to remind himself to listen.
"You mean the girl that disappeared without a trace, Tanaka Kimiko?"
"That's my name," a quivering voice piped up, and every eye turned to the child in Izuku's arms.
"I couldn't remember her name," Izuku said. "But her captor noticed me and attacked, telling me to forget I saw anything. I knew I couldn't fight him, so I grabbed her and ran here." He smiled down at the child that was holding on to him with a death grip. "I know I'm probably in trouble, and it was kind of a stupid move, but I regret nothing."
The detective shut his notebook with a snap. "On the contrary, Midoriya, I want to commend you. You were a hero today, and you should be proud. You exercised your best judgement and because of that I get to call a distraught mother and tell her that Kimiko is okay. And it's all due to a teenage boy."
When the man's words sank in, Izuku's eyes filled with tears. "Really?"
"Absolutely. I need to give your mother a call as well, but before I forget, did you use your quirk at all? I'd hate to have to write you up for illegal quirk use," Tsukauchi said with regret.
"No…" Izuku said slowly. "I'm quirkless." As the words left his mouth, Izuku found himself looking down. He couldn't stomach the thought of seeing the detective's look of pride turn to disappointment as he realized that Izuku was defective, a waste of space.
"That makes things easier, then. Chin up kid, that just makes what you've done even more amazing. If you ever had the inclination, I think you would make an amazing detective."
The last part was added just before Tsukauchi swept out of the room, unaware that he left behind a wide-eyed boy with a growing sense of hope and a new dream blossoming in his hazy mind.
A/N: I'm blown away with how much support and enthusiasm I've gotten for this story! All of your comments have been so kind and excited, it makes me want to write even more! Unfortunately, the chapter after this one may be a bit longer in coming. I have some upcoming exams, and they need to take precedence. The same goes for the next chapter of Arson, for those who follow that. Regardless, I have more of my stories coming, and I'm excited to share them with you! As always, I love to hear from each of you, and constructive criticism is not only appreciated, but encouraged!
fencer29- I have a bad habit of typing my stories after finishing homework, which is usually absurdly late at night (or early morning, depending on how you look at it). Thanks for pointing out my typos so I can fix them sometime! I'm excited to continue on the storyline and reveal all of the things you touched on.
tiguylerobot- I have special things planned for when Inko finally meets All Might. All Might can run, but he can't hide.
Koukatsuno- You don't have to worry about this story being shelved. I'm super excited to write it! I'm glad you like it so far!