Dilemma of the Living

This world is an unfair place, always has been, even before the Great Pirate Era. However, in this world, there also exists a balance. An intricate web of existence is weaved in the loom of reality and in this tapestry woven by time, there also exist concepts, ones that define almost all of existence. 'Almost' being the keyword, for some devils defy all logic and with it the rules that apply to their peers.


"Kacchan was acting really aggressive today," Izuku mumbled to himself while cradling his half-burnt notebook. The words Quirk Analysis for Future were still legible on the charred cover.

Izuku Midoriya was a 14-year-old boy with a height of about 5'4'', an average height for his age. He had messy green hair that was slightly curly at the ends. His eyes were a similar shade of green, and he possessed a freckled face and a thin, slender frame that gave him an almost bony look. He was currently wearing a school uniform, which was slightly singed at the cuffs and the shoulders.

He was walking back to his house after school, actively avoiding any alleyways and sudden turns in his path. After all, Musutafu was a place well-known for its above-average crime rates and Izuku wasn't strong like "Kacchan." After all, he didn't possess a quirk of his own.

'I'm sorry, Izuku! I'm so sorry I couldn't give you a quirk.'

Just thinking about it made him wince. He pulled himself out of his musings before he could go any further. Just remembering the day he had been diagnosed as quirkless made him slightly teary-eyed even after all this time.

As he was walking past yet another dark and foreboding alleyway, he heard a sharp noise. Izuku jumped backwards with fright as he turned to look at the source of the commotion.

"Meow."

He sighed with relief when he saw a cat jump out of a trashcan, most probably looking for food.

"Thank God it was only a cat. I thought I was done for!" Izuku sighed with relief.

The cat was walking towards him now. He bent down to better look at the cat. "I'm not touching you!" he mumbled to himself as he spied the filthy coat of the cat, probably from scouring through all the trash.

"You poor thing, you must be really hungry right now." The cat just hissed at him.

Weirdly enough the cat reminded him of himself—a helpless little thing that nobody was happy to help. After thinking that he started to look at it in a different light. Feeling sad for it, he started to reach for some of his lunch that he didn't get to eat because he had his hands full with Bakugo and his lackeys.

All of a sudden, the cat jumped back from its previous position as if it were trying to get away from something when he felt something crash down on the back of his head.


The first thing that Izuku felt when he finally came to was a massive headache along with a stinging feeling on the back of his head. He let out an involuntary groan of pain as he pressed his head against the cold and hard concrete surface to subdue the pain somewhat, but it was all in vain.

"Finally awake, are we?" came a rough voice from above him.

Immediately, his body went stiff as a board the moment he realized his predicament.

Someone had attacked me from behind, he remembered. With this realization came a sudden rush of adrenaline and Izuku, ever the analyst, started to look around for clues as to where he was.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, you brat!" came a violent shout.

By the look of things, he was in an alleyway, the same place he was before he was attacked.

Then out of nowhere, his assailant planted a boot in his gut. Hard.

"Ahh-!" His scream was cut short, however, as the assailant, a male by the look of his hands, covered his mouth roughly to stop him from making any noise.

There had been drills about how to deal with a hostage situation in school before, but being an actual hostage was a petrifying experience and nothing that the school taught him seemed useful right now.

That is, everything other than- "I'm sorry! I'll be compliant!"

The thug just grunted at him and lifted him back to his feet. The grip was as strong as ever though, relentless in its nature and leaving no room for escape. Izuku then got a good look behind the thug and was barely able to stop the bile that rose in his throat. There was a cat there. A dead one.

His captor glanced at where he was looking and just chuckled.

"That will be you if you don't do as I say," he mumbled next to his ear. Izuku could feel the warm breath on his neck making him shiver in terror.

It was then that Izuku realized that this wasn't an ordinary criminal at all! It was a well-known villain wanted for various crimes all across the country.

There had been news headlines about him about an year ago, really unpleasant ones.

He remembered that urgent news telecast like it was yesterday. He had been watching a documentary about AllMight with his mom when--

'This program is momentarily being interrupted, please forgive this interruption.'

'Breaking news! A villain by the name of Plasmamba has avoided capture just minutes prior!'

He could hear his mom gasp besides him.

'This villain is a high priority target who is responsible for the death of a pro hero!'

A picture was shown of a man with sunglasses whose long raven-black hair reached his shoulders.

'The witnesses claimed that this individual managed to escape from the hands of Edgeshot! A top 10 hero!'

'The name of the pro hero who was killed in action is S-'

Then his mom had turned off the tetevision.

'Izuku dear it's time for bed.'

"Y-You're Plasmamba!" Shouted Izuku.

"Shut up! If you shout one more time, I'll show you exactly what my quirk does."

"S-Sorry, I—"

But Izuku was once again cut off by the Villain.

"Only speak when you are told to! Understand?" he barked at him.

"Y-Y-Yes," came the reply.

"Good. Now listen to what I say or else you die," the Villain ordered restlessly. "If you even try to use your quirk then I—"

"I don't have one," Izuku whispered, scared beyond belief.

"What?" came the eloquent reply.

Sensing his confusion, Izuku elaborated, "I'm Quirkless."

The villain's eyes widened marginally and he pulled out a device from his pocket and pointed it to Izuku's forehead.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude! I'm sorry, I will be quiet from now on! Please don't hurt me!" By now Izuku had lost all composure and was well and truly afraid for his life, as was to be expected when at the mercy of an infamous villain with a ruthless record.

"Stay still!" the villain yelled at him and Izuku froze.

Plasmamba then pressed a button on the device and Izuku closed his eyes, silently accepting his fate. Then a beep was heard, and Izuku opened his eyes when he felt nothing happen to him. What he saw when he opened his eyes was the shocked visage of his captor.

"I can't believe it…" he was mumbling to himself, "I had suspected him of being a pursuer but—" Then the Villain looked at him with crazed eyes. "This is even better!"

He then grabbed both of Izuku's wrists in one hand as he used the other one to fetch something out of his belt pouch.

As he pulled it out, Izuku was able to get a good look at it. It was a fruit, a weird one at that, what with its weird colouration and the swirly patterns on its surface.

"Eat it," came the command.

As if he would do something a known villain tells him to if he had a choice. "No," Izuku replied firmly. He was not going to roll over like a scared puppy! He would—

Slap*

"I'm not giving you a choice, brat," came the reply, positively dripping with malice. The slap shocked Izuku to silence as some tears gathered in the corner of his eyes. He couldn't fight his assailant as he stuffed the fruit into his mouth.

"Take a bite and don't you even dare to spit it out."

Unable to fight, Izuku complied with the villain's demands and took a bite out of the fruit. Immediately, he gagged due to the awful taste, but his mouth was firmly closed shut, forcing him to swallow the fruit.

Izuku saw through his tears that something was dripping down the man's hand and on the fruit that was on the ground. The fruit then completely dissolved without a trace.

The man was now laughing. "You are going to use this! This power that I gave you! To help me take—"

A sudden sound of footsteps was heard, stopping the villain in his tracks. His face had gone pale and his hands were trembling ."No! Not now!" he whispered to himself.

Then he looked at Izuku.

"Go and hide in the dumpster and don't make a noise!"

When Izuku didn't listen, he shoved him towards it, looking frantic. "Go or I'll kill you!"

That got a reaction out of Izuku as he scrambled inside the dumpster.

All this while the footsteps had been getting closer and closer until it seemed as if the person was at the mouth of the alley.

"You really are good if you managed to find out I'm following you," came a new voice.

"My Quirk is an extension of me. I knew you were coming the moment it sensed the vibrations on the ground," replied his assailant.

"Ho? Is that so?" replied the stranger. "I didn't know your quirk could be used like that!" The voice then took on a mocking edge, "it really is a shame seeing so much wasted potential."

Izuku could tell he had made the right choice by listening to the Villain (he couldn't believe that he had said such a sentence, or, well, thought) because this new guy didn't seem any better.

"Cut the sweet talk! Tell me why are you following me!" the villain demanded from the newcomer.

"Why, to tie loose ends of course!" came the sickly-sweet reply.

Suddenly there was a hissing sound.

The newcomer chuckled lightly. "Shiro Totsukage, aka Plasmamba. Quirk: Plasmo-toxin. Makes you able to secrete a plasma-like toxin that is hot to the touch and can dissolve almost anything. It can be used as a projectile and apparently, can sense vibrations as if it were a part of yourself."

That level of assessment meant that the new guy was probably a professional, along with being a villain, Izuku thought.

"Hyah!" his assailant grunted, which was followed by a loud hissing sound.

"A strong Quirk doesn't make you invincible!" shouted the newcomer. "Take this!" This exclamation was followed by a loud roar of flames, which puzzled Izuku since he didn't feel hot despite what the loud sound would suggest.

And then there was silence…

…which was broken by the static. Then a beep was heard. "What's the status?" came a warbled voice.

"The mission has been fulfilled, doctor," replied the man in the alleyway.

"What about the fruit?" asked this mysterious 'doctor'.

"Gone — along with the body," came the curt reply.

"Good." and then the connection was cut.

Izuku felt sick to his stomach. The villain that had assaulted him just minutes prior had been killed. And he couldn't do anything to stop it.

He faintly heard the man leave the alleyway before being overwhelmed by his fatigue.


'You should just give up. Your son isn't going to develop a quirk anytime soon!'

'W-what do you mean by that doctor?'

'Exactly what I said.'

And he cried.

'Did you hear? Midoriya still hasn't gotten his quirk.'

'What a freak!'

And cried.

'Don't talk to me, you extra!'

And cried.

When Izuku came to again, it was already evening and the sun was setting on the horizon. He stumbled outside of the bin he had been hiding in for… an hour? Two? Or even more? He couldn't tell. He decided to walk home as he mulled over everything that had happened to him today.


First and foremost, I would like to thank @Burkess for helping me properly flesh-out this random idea I had! This wouldn't have been possible without you!

So, what are your thoughts on this first chapter? Please give me your opinions and reviews!

The characters are going to be as cannon-compliant as possible without hindering their growth. I'm also going to try and have all the characters play a role in the story as well. OCs are going to be few and far in between and won't really play a major role (mostly). I already have an idea of where the story will go but if someone gives a really nice idea then I may incorporate it into the story. As for the devil fruits, there will only be a few of them in the story.

MOST IMPORTANTLY! The pirate era is long gone and it has been lost to time. This part of history will remain that way for the most part and no one will have a weird mindscape-hallucination-dream thingy that will tell them what happened in the past.

As for what devil fruits I am going to use and whether or not I am going to use Haki, these are going to be secret for now.

The journey starts for our aspiring hero!