'Today has been such a shit day,' Izuku Midoriya thought miserably as he trudged aimlessly through the streets of Musutafu Japan.
He had always been told by schoolmates and even teachers that he was useless and his dream of being a hero was moronic and impossible. Despite this, he held onto his dream tightly like a child to a well-loved blanket in the dark, stubborn and unwilling to let go in spite of those around him stomping on his pure-hearted intentions.
Today was the day it had finally all come crashing down, the spiteful hope that gave him courage and purpose near extinguished. The impulsive yet heartless words of his childhood best friend turned biggest tormentor, Katsuki Bakugou, ringing painfully fresh in his ears.
"If you want to be a hero that badly, there is a quick way to do it. Believe you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof."
Katsuki had said this with the sole intention to hurt Izuku and deter him from attempting to get into U.A., but even as he said it, Katsuki had to suppress a wince. He had seen Deku viscerally flinch as though reeling from a harsh slap to the face.
Had he gone too far? No, he couldn't have. That was nearly impossible when it came to Deku. He knew that Izuku would never actually do it. He never took people's words to heart, especially Katsukis. His endless determination holding him steadfast to his dreams of achieving what many call foolish and idealistic.
If it were any other day; had the following events not occurred, Katsuki would have been correct.
Izuku walked home on autopilot, preoccupied with mentally scolding Katsuki for his behavior. He took a well-frequented shortcut to his house, unaware of the giant shapeless blob steadily rolling toward him, muttering gleefully.
"Well, aren't you just the perfect little flesh disguise no one would suspect a thing if I was walking around looking like a scrawny pipsqueak." The villain spoke in an irritatingly pitched nasal rasp, alerting Izuku to its presence, "this won't hurt a bit just relax..."
Before Izuku could comprehend what was happening he was seized, unable to fend off his surprise assailant. The more he struggled the faster he could feel his consciousness fading. Tears of desperation pricked at his eyes as he thrashed uselessly in the steadily constricting vice; it was waiting for the perfect moment to steal the middle school boy's body for his own.
Izuku felt the freezing, toxic, green sludge try to pry his mouth open. He felt so violated as the slime prodded and pulsated incessantly, progressively weakening its struggling victim's fruitless attempts at freedom. It was threatening to invade his lungs and consume his whole being.
Black spots danced tauntingly across his vision; his body finally fell limp. So much for being a hero. I'm sorry mum I love you. He truly was pathetic...
Izuku was confused. He was pretty sure he was supposed to be dead an hour ago, yet here he was, on an apartment block roof. A deformed, skeletal version of his beloved hero stood before him, having lost control of his buff form in a puff of smoke. Less than an hour ago he was being slapped awake by the familiar burly figure. He had fanboyed over the hero that was plastered all over his bedroom walls, and latched onto him, literally, because his idol's opinion was all that truly mattered. If the symbol of peace said he could be a hero then he would be a hero, screw anyone who thought otherwise.
But now he was here; the unforgiving emotional rollercoaster he'd been on all day was becoming faster and increasingly disorienting.
In what was intended to be a cautionary tale, All Might spoke of a powerful villain, one capable of destroying half his organs and rendering him a glorified talking corpse that sputtered blood every few sentences.
Izuku gasped in horror as All Might lifted his baggy t-shirt to reveal angry, red scar tissue populating a crater-like wound on the side of his torso.
"Nasty right? I got this from fighting a big villain 5 years ago. Even after multiple surgeries and quirk therapy, I lost my stomach and now I can only do hero work for around three hours a day before I become this," All Might made a sweeping gesture toward himself.
"Was it Toxic Chainsaw?" Izuku offered.
"Wow kid, you really know your stuff," All Might released a wry chuckle, a look of surprise briefly painting his features.
"Heh- yeah I'm a huge fan, I kind of know about all your fights," Izuku stuttered, abashed.
"No, I made sure this fight," All Might said, indicating his wound, "was kept under wraps. The media and public don't know about it, even now. If people knew that this is what had become of their symbol of peace, the very foundations hero society stands on would crumble. If people find out how vulnerable I am now, all hell would break loose."
Wow, this was a lot to process, too much even. He felt like his whole life had been a lie and now he was entrusted with this information in secret because if this were to get out, villains would run rampant. Despite all these whizzing thoughts, a part of Izuku was honoured to be privy to such a mammoth secret.
Izuku was beginning to see just how flawed the system was. During all this, a brief but poignant thought that would stick with Izuku crossed his mind. Maybe part of the reason why hero society was so fragile was because it fell on the shoulders of one man to protect the entire world. But this was only the beginning.
All Might turned to leave the rooftop, the encounter having come to an end.
"Wait!" Izuku called in frantic desperation. "Can I still hope to be someone like you, a hero even without a quirk?"
All Might paused midstep, sighing heavily, not even bothering to turn around, "I cannot simply say you can be a hero without a quirk ... it is not bad to dream but you must also consider what is realistic, kid. Perhaps becoming a police officer would be better suited to you. They usually show up after heroes have dealt with the situation just to clean up but it's still a respectable profession."
Ouch. If Toshinori had been looking at him he would have seen that he had just ripped out the already broken heart of Midoriya Izuku.
"Someone will come up and get you eventually," was the last thing All Might said before leaving the distraught teen reeling and stranded on the rooftop. This was even worse than the day he was deemed quirkless.
This wasn't fun anymore. It was never fun to begin with. Izuku wanted off this damn rollercoaster.
Across town, Katsuki strolled through the streets with his 'friends'.
"Katsuki, wanna head to the arcade to let off some steam?" Extra 1 said.
"Sure, I guess," Katsuku said, giving a noncommittal grunt and kicking a random soda bottle on the ground.
"Nah let's sneak into the station bar and pick up some chicks," Extra 2 sleezed, elbowing Katsuki.
"Get the fuck off me, loser. You know I can't have that shit on my record or I won't get into UA."
"Uhh man… killjoy"
"The fuck did you say?"
Before anyone could reply, a giant sludge loomed above them, having emerged from the soda bottle Katsuki had kicked moments earlier.
"Perfect. I like a skin suit with some fire."
Katsuki let off an explosion and the villain surged toward him.
It had taken 2 hours for Izuku to be let down off the roof. He replayed the conversation with All Might over and over, partially in disbelief about the whole experience. His words about Izuku never being a hero hung in the air, suffocating him like a poisonous fog.
His thoughts were like a turbulent swamp. Lethargic but uncontrolled. This was it, huh? All Might had finally crushed his dreams. And that had been preceded by the world's heaviest infodump and followed by insult. A police officer, really? If All Might says I can't be a hero, is that it for me? These thoughts looped through his head, spiraling his mood into the depths of despair.
One clear thought cut through the noise. "Could this day get any worse?"
Oh honey, never say that. You're a smart boy. You should know; it can always get worse. You've got a big storm coming.
Izuku trudged aimlessly through the town, his feet automatically taking him in the direction of the boom he'd heard shortly before being rescued from the roof. He peered through the crowd and locked eyes with Bakugo, in the clutches of the sludge villain.
Izuku — already in a vulnerable state of mind and grappling with whether he should or could truly give up on heroism — watched as his friend struggled with the same sludge monstrosity that threatened his own life mere hours earlier. This was all his fault. If he hadn't grabbed onto All Might like that and forced him to land on the building, the villain wouldn't have escaped to now have his best friend in its grasp.
Because that's what he was. Regardless of all that had happened, Kacchan was still his best friend and he couldn't let him die without trying to save him.
His quick scan of the heroes standing uselessly off to the side let him know that none of them had compatible quirks for the situation, but they should still be trying to help, not just standing and watching a child suffocate.
Before he knew it, he was shrugging off his backpack as he ran toward the villain.
Hero Notebook No.12, page 25: Make the opponent flinch.
Izuku tossed his backpack, the contents spilling and a textbook hitting the villain square in its eye. Kacchan took a much needed breath as the distracted slime loosened its grip.
He stared at Izuku, "what are you doing here shitty Deku?!"
"I don't know, my legs moved on my own. I couldn't let you die!" he clawed uselessly as the slime reformed around Kacchan. He couldn't do anything, Kacchan was going to die and it would be his fault.
Then, All Might appeared, back in his buff form, a strained expression on his face as he said something about living up to his ideals and the true test of a hero. Why wasn't he getting rid of the villain already?
"Detroit Smash!"
Once they were alone, Kacchan stormed over to Izuku and yanked him up by his t-shirt. Words spilled like poison from his mouth, "listen here you little shit. I would never fucking ask for a pathetic weakling like you for anything. You're nowhere near my level. Don't think you can look down on me. Got that? Huh, you got that, you useless, pathetic waste of a human life. I was fine by myself. You're just a quirkless failure who won't even cut it as a rent‐a‐cop. You didn't fucking help me. You did nothing. You could never be any help to anyone. Your hero-crush All Might would never even give you the time of day. No hero ever will. You know your dad isn't around because he can't cope with having a genetic failure like you for a kid. You're just a worthless try-hard with no quirk, no dad, and a depresso mum who knows you'll never be a hero. And don't forget it. I don't owe you a fucking thing!"
Izuku didn't even notice Katsuki releasing his shirt, fresh burn holes in it, and leaving. He didn't notice the tears starting to run down his face. He wouldn't notice them not stopping either. Numbly, he got to his feet and started walking.
For the third time that day, he arrived somewhere without really understanding how or why he was here.
He made his way up to the roof, his second one that day. But this one he would not be rescued from. The rollercoaster was approaching the station. He could get off here and not have to go again. Tears continued to drip from his chin.
The words of both Kastuki and All Might from earlier that day, and memories of his pathetic past melded together, creating a dangerously toxic fog of depression and self pity. The kind of fog that numbs you to any consequences, rational thoughts fading into the background.
As he took his last breath before taking a step forward, off the roof of Aldera Junior High, the words of his mother from the day he found out he was quirkless — useless to society — echoed mournfully throughout his whole being, her voice thick with sobs and heartbreak...
"I'm sorry Izuku. I wish things were different."