A/N: Flashbacks are in italics and centered. Character thoughts are only in italics. No manga spoilers in this chapter.
CHAPTER THREE: THE LEGEND OF THE QUIRK THIEF
There's a knock at the door. Midoriya gets up from his bed to see who it could be. It's peculiar to him that anyone in this age would come looking for him physically instead of just sending a quick text.
When he opens the door, he's horrified to find his homeroom teacher standing on the other side.
Midoriya lets out a high-pitched yelp. "AH! Aizawa-Sensei, hey! What are you-uh-what can I-uhhhh…"
"We need to talk," Aizawa begins calmly.
Midoriya's heart drops in his chest. "What could he want to talk about?" He worries to himself. "He must still be upset after what I said yesterday. This is it! I'm finally going to be expelled…!" Midoriya clenches his eyes tight, afraid of what might transpire next.
"Can I come in?" Aizawa asks politely.
Midoriya's eyes shoot open, surprised by his teacher's relaxed demeanor. "Oh, yeah, sur—"
As he opens the door wider to let his teacher inside, he looks behind him and realizes his overwhelming plethora of All Might merch is out on full display. Midoriya lets out a strained gasp, mortified at the situation. "Oh, uh, it's not what it looks like! Really! I just- uh- someone gave these to me, yeah! Yeah, that's it! They were a gift and I couldn't just say no to such a nice gesture, you know, so, yeah, heh heh heh…"
Aizawa pays no mind to Midoriya's ramblings. Just a quick eye roll is about all he can muster, considering he really isn't all that concerned with it.
"A-anyway, you wanted to talk? I You must be mad because All Might told me about what's going on, right? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have meddled in your business. And I probably shouldn't have opened my mouth like that either, especially after he told me not to." Midoriya looks down at the floor, ashamed.
"No, probably not. But I haven't come here to lecture you." Aizawa pauses for a brief moment, then sighs. "I came to apologize".
"Huh? For what?"
"The fact that you went to All Might looking for answers, proves that I haven't been fulfilling my duties as a teacher. It's my job not only to make sure I train you students to the best of my ability, but also to keep you protected. That's my responsibility not only as your teacher, but as a hero as well. Keeping this information from you all, though I initially thought would be in your best interest, was a major oversight. It didn't protect you at all. All it did was make you worry."
"So, then was All Might's hunch true? Do you really know this Adachi guy?"
Aizawa hesitates for a moment. "You mind if I sit?"
"Oh, y-eah, sure."
Aizawa takes a seat at Midoriya's desk, ready to unload his thoughts. "Yukio and I met long before UA. Believe it or not, I spent most of my childhood in an orphanage".
"Oh, you don't have to—"
Aizawa simply raises a hand in the air to stop him. "The least I owe you is the truth".
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A young Aizawa sits huddled in a corner, shaking. His mother is laying on the ground, crying in pain. A man, who is definitely not his father, stands over the woman. His hands are clenched into fists and appear to be made of a solid crystal-like substance.
"How many times do we have to do this before you understand?" The man growls, menacingly.
"I'm s-sorry. I'll-I'll do better next time, I promise!" The woman shudders.
"That's not good enough!" The man bellows, using his Quirk again before hitting her.
Shouta clenches his eyes shut and holds his palms against his ears to drown out the sounds of his mother crying and pleading. And then…
"STOP IT!" He screams, his eyes now wide-open and glowing red with anger. His hair stands on end.
The crystalline man turns to the boy, stunned. "What did you say?" He lifts his hand and attempts to activate his Quirk… but nothing. "What the hell?" He looks back to the boy, noting his teary, glowing red eyes and raised hair. "What did you do to me?" He storms over, grabbing the boy by the shirt and lifting him in the air. Shouta closes his eyes tight once again in fear, and his hair falls. Before the man can get a punch in, Shouta's mother lunges from behind and grabs onto the man. He flings her across the room, and she hits the wall, knocking her unconscious.
The man walks back over to Shouta, grinning devilishly. His fists turn to crystal once again and he grabs Shouta by the shirt. "Say goodnight, kid," he chuckles before knocking Shouta unconscious as well.
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"My mother didn't have the sort of Quirk that she could use to defend herself. But I was just a kid… and I couldn't protect her forever..." Aizawa trails off, then continues his story.
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Shouta sits alone in the backseat of a car, pouting with his arms crossed. But this pout isn't a childish one, it's entirely warranted. He's without a home, without his mother. He truly feels he has nothing now.
He stares out the window, unwilling to talk to the two adults in the front that he doesn't know. The woman in the passenger seat turns around to look at the young boy, a sincere smile on her face.
"Don't worry, Shouta. You're going to like your new home, I'm sure of it. They'll take good care of you there".
"Hey, new kid, what's your Quirk?"
"Yeah, we wanna see!"
"Uh… well…" Shouta responds hesitantly, though the excitable boys don't acknowledge his response.
One boy, who is too stimulated for his own good, interrupts Shouta. "My Quirk lets me bend my fingers backwards! Neat, huh?" The boy gloats, demonstrating for him.
"My Quirk's really cool too! Watch!" The gap-toothed boy activates his Quirk, and suddenly his hands begin to crystalize, much like the frightening man from before. The sight of this immediately frightens Shouta.
"N-no, get away!" Shouta yells, backing away from the boys. As he continues to back away, he trips over a rock, and ends up falling backward. In the same instant that he yells out, his eyes glow a burning red and his hair stands on end. The gap-toothed boy looks to his hands, realizing his Quirk has somehow been shut off.
"Whoa, what the heck?" The boy gasps, bewildered.
"What did you do?" The other boy asks. As they look to Shouta, they notice his sudden change in appearance and yell out, afraid of him.
"Sensei! Sensei!" The two boys scream, running in the opposite direction. Of course, as soon as Shouta blinks, he goes back to looking normal. The boys come back with an older woman, frantic as can be.
"He-he stole my Quirk!" The gap-toothed boy yells, pointing at Shouta, who is still on the ground.
"What?" The teacher responds, unable to comprehend what's going on.
"He looked like a demon!" The other boy yells, hiding behind the teacher. This hurts Shouta's feelings, and a look of shame forms on his face.
"Children, that's no way to talk about someone…!" The teacher chides the boys, defending Shouta. But he's too upset to hear it. All he feels in this moment is solitude and disgrace. A feeling he knows all too well.
This was the start of a legend at the orphanage: The legend of The Quirk Thief.
"Did you hear about the new kid?"
"What about him?"
"I hear that if you lock eyes with him, he steals your Quirk from you."
"What? No way!"
"I don't wanna lose my Quirk!"
"We should stay away from him then."
"Stay away from us, Quirk Thief!" Shouta looks up from the ground at the boys who just pushed him down, blood trickling down his nose. The fierce-looking boy in the middle scoffs at Shouta's pathetic looking face, and then kicks sand into his eyes. The boys all begin laughing hysterically as Shouta aggressively rubs at his eyes.
The boys' laughter begins to subside when they hear a rustling in the tree above them. They look up, curious as to what's up there. The rustling stops for just a moment then, suddenly, a young boy jumps out of the tree, falling toward the boys. "SCATTER!" The falling boy shouts. The other boys try to get out of the way as quickly as possible; some of them tripping over themselves. The boy from the tree lands on all fours and then stands heroically in front of Shouta. "Begone, villains!" He exclaims.
"Not this freak again," one boy groans, with a little bit of fear in his voice. "Let's get out of here". The boys all disperse, leaving Shouta and the tree-dwelling boy alone.
"Ha-Ha-Ha!" The boy laughs like All Might. "You're no match for me, evildoers!" With another hearty laugh, the boy turns around to face Shouta directly. He has shaggy, white hair and grey eyes. "Don't worry about those guys. They think they're tough, but they're not really all that". Shouta looks to the boy, a little wary of his presence. "The name's Adachi, but my friends call me Yukio. Nice to meet ya, kid!" The boy extends his hand to Shouta, but he slaps it away and gets up on his own.
"I didn't ask for your help," Shouta sneers, dusting himself off. "I can take care of myself".
"Sure, but that doesn't mean you have to". Shouta pauses- he's right after all. "You want to keep having no friends? Be my guest, kid".
"I don't need any friends," Shouta professes coldly. For just a moment, though, he softens. "But thank you".
"No problem. That's what heroes do!" Yukio exclaims, a wide smile plastered on his face.
"Heroes?" Shouta scoffs, the concept foreign to him. "Yeah, right. All you did was fall from a tree. You coulda got hurt doing that."
"It stopped those bullies, didn't it? Heroes have to take risks to help those in need".
"Okay, but you don't even know me. What's in it for you?"
"Nothing. It's just the right thing to do. You were in trouble and I wanted to help, that's all."
Aizawa lets his guard down. He's never been shown this level of sincerity before. "Why are you being nice to me? Aren't you worried I'll steal your Quirk?"
"Nah. Those guys are scared of something that's not possible, after all. Plus, you seem like an okay kid to me."
Shouta's whole being relaxes now. "M… My name's Aizawa. Er, Shouta. I guess you can call me Shouta."
Yukio grins. "Okay! Shochan it is!"
"No. Please don't call me that," Shouta urges, embarrassed.
"You got it, kid!"
"It's not 'kid', either!" Shouta retorts, not in an angry way, but in a way that brothers would bicker with each other. "It's Shouta. Just Shouta."
"Okay, 'Just Shouta'!"
"Ugh!"
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"From that day on, Yukio and I always had each other's backs. He was someone I could rely on… and someone I looked up to". Aizawa looks up and sees Midoriya is choked up, with tears welling in his eyes. "Why are you crying?"
"I'm s-o-rry! It's j-ust a re-ally mo-oving sto-orry!" Midoriya wails in-between his over dramatic sobs.
Aizawa sighs and decides to move on with the rest of his story. "After we both got into UA, he started struggling with using his Quirk properly. He didn't meet the standards that were expected of first years, as I'm sure you're well aware. And when he realized he wasn't doing well in school, he started to change. He would act out all the time and get angry over nothing. I couldn't even get through to him by that point. He wasn't the same person anymore. Eventually, he was expelled, though I don't know the details regarding why. Ever since his expulsion, I haven't seen or heard from him. It was almost like he had disappeared. Truthfully, I thought the worst had happened. Turns out I was right." Aizawa looks to Midoriya who has nothing to say in response. "So yeah, I do know him. But I honestly don't know why he ended up on the other side, or what he and his group are after now. I know All Might's been pushing me for information, but I really don't have anything that would help the police with their investigation. That's why I didn't say anything".
"Then, why did you decide to tell me?"
"When you asked me if I knew Yukio, you had this look in your eyes. A look that told me you might do something that would put yourself in danger. I've seen that look too many times. And not just from you. Like I said, it's my responsibility to protect you. I figured telling you the truth was the best way to do that".
"Sensei…"
Aizawa stands up, having said everything he needed to say. "Now then. I'll let you carry on with your day. I have a lot of things I need to tend to myself".
"Yeah, sure thing". On that note, Aizawa leaves Midoriya in his room alone. Overwhelmed by what he just heard, Midoriya falls back onto his bed. "Is that really the answer I was looking for?" He asks himself. He sighs deeply, staring up at the ceiling. "Aizawa-Sensei…"