Deku: The Hero of Smite Chapter 1
By: jungleboy69
Chapter 1: A Strange Encounter
Two weeks had passed since Inko had taken Izuku to the doctor and his mood hasn't improved much since then. He still looked utterly depressed and hardly spoke a word, and when he did, it was barely a whisper and filled with sadness.
School was even worse; word had spread about his quirk-less status. Many of his classmates laughed and ridiculed him, particularly his childhood friend Katsuki Bakugo. Ever since he received his quirk: Explosion, he had become arrogant and violent; becoming a terrible bully to some of the weaker students.
At first, Izuku would bravely stand his ground and tried to stop him from hurting any victims. This resulted in numerous burns and bruises from him. Now, he barely even spoke out whenever Katsuki and his cronies bullied him, which they took full advantage off.
It pained Inko to see her son suffer like this, but she didn't know how to help him. Taking a shot in the dark, she decided to take Izuku to the bookstore and later to the park. She had hoped maybe a good book and some fresh air would be enough to cheer him up.
When they arrived at the bookstore, which was a small building with shelves of books inside. "Look, Izuku." She said cheerfully, resting a hand on his shoulder. "We can find a book for you to read." "Yeah..." Izuku muttered. "That feels nice..."
Inko picked up on his sarcastic tone. This was more serious than she feared. She patted her son comfortingly on the shoulder. "Well, I have to do some shopping from the grocer nearby." She told him. "I'll come later, and we'll head to the park."
"Okay..." Izuku replied, as he quietly went inside the bookstore. Inko sighed as she watched her son enter the bookstore before heading to the grocer.
(5 mins later...)
Izuku sat in the sitting area, the memory of what the doctor said continued to play in his head. "It's not fair...!" He thought as anger and jealously filled his entire body. "Why am I the only one born without a quirk?! All I wanted was to be a hero and help people! Why can't I be a hero?!"
Tears began to well up in his eyes again. "Is something wrong, my child?" Izuku looked up to see an elderly woman looking at him with concern. She had a kind wrinkled face, white hair that fell over her shoulders and lovely grey eyes. What was strange was the white tawny owl perched on her left shoulder and a satchel slung on her right shoulder.
"Nothing...miss." He replied, rubbing his eyes. "I'm just tired, that's all..." The owl hooted and cocked its head to one side. The old lady chuckled as she patted it on the head. "Bubo can sense a person's true feeling." She explained. "He senses that you are...unhappy."
"I'm fine..." Izuku replied, shifting his feet. "It's nothing you would trouble yourself over." The old lady walked forward and placed a wrinkled hand on his shoulder. "My child, I can tell you are in pain." She softly told him. "It would be good to for you to let all that pain out instead of holding in inside."
For some strange reason, Izuku felt relaxed and calm as if soaked in a warm bath. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk about his problem. "Well, it's hard for me to explain." He replied. "I'm upset because...I'm quirk-less."
"Quirk-less...?" The old woman repeated as her owl hooted softly. "I have heard of these quirks..." She added. "It's what gives heroes their powers, is that true?" "Yeah..." Izuku replied, glumly. "Only, I don't have a quirk."
"I see..." The old woman pointed out. "It must be hard for you, being an ordinary child born in a world of superpowered beings." "It's terrible..." Izuku added. "In my school, everyone has a quirk and they all make fun of me for being ordinary."
He swallowed hard. "It's not fair..." He explained. "I always wanted to be a hero and now...I'll never get the chance." The old woman listened quietly. "Tell me, child..." She asked. "What makes you think you need a quirk to be a hero?"
Izuku looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?" The old woman smiled. "You know, heroes have long existed even before quirks were discovered." She explained. "They were brave, strong and compassionate just like the heroes of today."
"They had no need for quirks, their true powers came from their own skills, strengths and hearts." She added. "Each one of them were willing to lay down their lives, fighting for what they believe in."
"I don't understand..." Izuku replied. The old woman smiled. "Maybe this will help." She explained as she reached into her satchel and pulled out a large book, entitled 'Myths and Legends of the World.'
"What is that?" Izuku muttered in amazement. "This book contains stories of all the greatest heroes in myth and legend." The old woman replied. "They come from the far corners of the world, but they all have one thing in common; they never had any quirks."
"These heroes started out as ordinary people like you, but they became heroes when their families and homes were threatened." She added. "They didn't have any quirks, but they relied on their own skills and strengths to fight against evil."
"Here's one of my favorite stories." She explained as she opened the book and showed Izuku a picture a man with a white beard and long white hair. He wore a white and blue toga, with part of his muscular chest showing. He had a gold shield strapped to his left arm while a ball of lightning was on his right hand.
"Who is that?" Izuku asked, a little curious and intimidated by the figure. "That is Zeus," The old woman explained. "Ruler of the Olympian Gods and Master of Storms." "He seemed powerful..." Izuku pointed out. "I can see why he is a king."
"True..." The old woman replied. "But Zeus didn't always start out like this." "It took him many years before he could challenge his father." Izuku grew surprised at that last statement. "His father...?" He asked.
The old woman sighed. "It is a long story, my child." She explained. "Would you like to hear it?" "Well, I read Japanese folktales and a few Greek myths when I was little..." Izuku replied. The old woman smiled. "Well, make yourself comfortable, my child." She replied. "And I will tell you..."
Izuku leaned in curiously as the old woman began the story with the owl perched on her shoulder, listening intently.
Long ago, before mankind walked the earth...the Titans were present, large beings born out of the cosmic energy. They were the first beings in existence, responsible for creating the Earth.
Out of them, two ruled over them; Uranus, the Titan of the Sky and his wife, Gaia, the Titaness of the Earth. They had many children; some were Titans like them, but others were monstrous like the Cyclopes, a race of one-eye giants and the Hecatonchires, giants with a hundred heads and a hundred legs.
Uranus and Gaia lived in peace and watched over the inhabitants of Earth. However, one of their children was not satisfied with the Golden Age of the Titans. Kronos, the youngest of the Titans wanted to rule over all of Creation.
Greedy and ambitious, he secretly nursed the desire to overthrow his father and become ruler over the Titans. Stealing a scythe from his mother, he murdered his father in his sleep and took his throne from him.
With his father dead, Kronos was free to claim the world. As first act, he imprisoned his monstrous brothers, the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires in Tartarus and made his own sister, Rhea as his wife.
Gaia was devastated over the loss of husband and her children imprisoned but the Oracle foretold that one day, one of Kronos' children would put an end to his rule. However, fearing the Oracle's prophecy, the wicked Titan decided to imprison all of them...in his belly.
When Rhea had a child, Kronos would swallow it whole. One by one, Kronos devoured every one of his children and all Rhea could do was watch in horror at her husband's barbaric rule. This is until, the birth of her youngest son, Zeus.
Rhea could no longer bear losing another child, so she devised a trick to save Zeus. She commanded a white eagle to spirit her son away and was taken to an island far from the eyes of Kronos while the latter devoured a stone wrapped in swaddling cloth.
Thinking that he had thwarted the Oracle's prediction, Kronos continued with his reign while Rhea prayed quietly for the day when her son would return.
As for Zeus, he was cared for by Gaia, his own grandmother. She raised and kept him safe for many years. She told him stories about other gods from far off lands, each with their own powers and pantheons.
When Zeus came off age, Gaia revealed about his imprisoned siblings and about his wicked father. With determination, he vowed to free his brothers and sisters, and put an end to his father's rule. But he knew he couldn't do it alone.
Having heard of Gaia's stories, Zeus travelled far and wide to seek allies in his fight against the Titans. On his travels, he befriended 7 other gods from different lands. With his new allies, Zeus returned to his birth home and freed his siblings from Kronos' belly, with help from a special poison his grandmother gave him.
Thus, the Great War began, Zeus and his allies against Kronos and the Titans. The battle was long and hard, with neither side gaining an advantage over the other. Hoping to tip the scales, Zeus ventured down into Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires from their imprisonment.
In return, they crafted three divine weapons for him and his brothers, Poseidon and Hades. For Poseidon, a trident which gave him command over the seas. For Hades, a helmet that granted him invisibility. Finally, for Zeus, they crafted thunder and lightning bolts.
With these new weapons, Zeus and his allies were able to turn the tide of the battle. However, Kronos had one last trick up his sleeve. From the depths of Tartarus, he unleashed a colossal beast, an unholy abomination, a creature of death, chaos and destruction... Typhon.
Born from Tartarus and Gaia, this creature had no conscience, no remorse, just a desire to destroy. So great was his violence and carnage that Uranus and Gaia had him kept in Tartarus so he wouldn't destroy all of Earth.
Typhon was indeed chaos and destruction incarnate; his power was so great that none of the Gods were a match for him. Only Zeus was able to stand against the beast's power. Their battle shook the earth, rocked the seas and made the skies turn blood red.
Finally, Zeus defeated Typhon and imprisoned him underneath a mountain now known as Etna. With their greatest weapon gone, Kronos and his Titans surrendered. Zeus took his rightful place on the throne.
A few Titans swore their allegiance to Zeus while Kronos and his followers were imprisoned in Tartarus. With the Titans gone, the Golden Era of the Gods began, and they gave rise to the first humans on Earth.
Izuku listened in awe-struck wonder. "Woah...that's some story." He muttered. The old woman nodded. "These myths are more than stories," she explained. "they gave people like you inspiration to be heroes."
"They teach us about humility and courage," she added. "and warn us of the dangers of greed and pride." She looked over at Izuku. "Now, tell me child..." She asked. "Why do you want to be a hero?"
Izuku fell silent and thought for a moment. "Well, there is this guy, All-Might." He explained. "He's the No.1 Hero in all of Japan and he's always risking his life to help people." "He doesn't care about getting famous or money, all he wants to do is help people."
"I looked up to him all my life," He replied. "I wanted to be a hero just like him." "All I want to do his help others, not to be famous but it's the right thing to do." The old woman seemed to contemplate this. "I see..." She replied, before she handed the book to Izuku. "Take this."
Izuku grew surprised. "Me...?" He stuttered. "I can't, it's your book." The old woman smiled and shook her hand. "It's not really my book." She explained. "It doesn't belong to anyone, I just picked it up along the way."
"Besides, I believe it can give you inspiration to become the hero you want to be." She added. "You need it more than I do." "I don't know what to say." Izuku replied as he took the book from her. "You don't have to." she replied. "Consider it a gift."
Izuku opened the book and lifted it up slightly. Suddenly, he saw something drop out of the book and land on his lap. Curious, he picked it up to see a strange looking amulet attached to a golden chain. It had strange carvings on it, a temple with pillars, a scarab beetle with wings, three blue triangles, a pink lotus flower, an eastern dragon, a shrine gate and a golden mask.
"What is this?" He asked, looking at the old woman...only to find that she wasn't there. Surprised, Izuku looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of her but to no avail. "Who was...she?" He muttered before looking at the book and the amulet.
Little did Izuku know that this was the start of his own journey that would set him on the path on being the greatest hero Earth had ever seen.