All men are not created equal. This was a fact he learned very early in life, and it was not something he was allowed to forget.
Staring at the hospital ceiling, Izuku Midoriya took stock of his life so far and came to some unhappy conclusions. Namely that the adults in his life had failed, rather spectacularly at that, at doing their job.
The problem was that he had no idea who to turn to for help in at least evening the odds, or better yet, insuring that the abuse and harassment would stop.
If he dropped out of school in favor of learning at home, it would feel too much like he was admitting defeat. And he refused to let Bakugo be proven right and win.
What he would win was debatable, but it still felt that way.
When Izuku walked out of the hospital, his arm still broken and his concussion deemed 'safe' now that the danger period was over with, he hoped that the teachers would at least investigate what had sent him to the hospital. Or better yet, that his mother would demand proper explanation.
What he got was a stern chastisement to "be more careful" and how a "quirkless child is more easily hurt". The usual mocking his his hopes to join UA and become a hero were used against him, and he was told "not to rise above his station". Not that the teachers would say as much, but it was obviously implied.
As long as he had the arm cast, Bakugo couldn't risk going after him directly. But his verbal abuse became twice as horrid, and it had only been one day.
Izuku sat on a park bench, silently seething. It wasn't fair! Why did everyone target him because he was quirkless and praise Bakugo for his ability, when it was so obvious that they were encouraging him to hurt others with his quirk?
He was sitting quietly when he heard a conversation that would change his life.
"So I heard Michiru sued the Pro Hero Endeavor...and actually got a really good settlement since they proved his quirk started the fire that burned her so badly."
"I can't believe he let it get that bad. You gotta admit, her lawyer must have some pretty strong guts if they were willing to go after the second best hero."
"More like it was a joint civil suit. Heroes like that are the worst, and the only time they listen to complaints from people like us is if a lawyer is involved," scoffed the first woman.
Izuku went home, making no sign he had overheard the conversation.
However it got him to thinking, mostly when he realized his mother was unwilling to investigate further about the harassment for fear of what she would find.
During the weekend, Izuku went looking for the closest lawyer that might be interested in his case.
It took him two hours, and he had to take a train for twenty minutes, but he was able to reach their office once he made a brief appointment.
The woman on the other end was willing to hear him out for free, but made no promises to actually take on his case.
Ms. Tenoh was a nice woman who could have passed for a man at first glance.
"So Mr. Midoriya, what exactly is it that you think my office can help you with?" she asked.
"I want to file a civil suit against my school and possibly one of my classmates," said Izuku flatly. He had steeled himself into at least trying, so there was no point backing down now.
"That's a pretty big order. May I ask why?"
"The teachers at the school do nothing about the harassment I've been getting from one of my classmates and are actively encouraging villainous behavior. I know for a fact it's illegal to use quirks frivolously in public, but the students in my class are always showing theirs off without reprimand. I've even seen one of them use his to flip the skirts of some of the girls and no one has said anything beyond a general scolding."
She frowned.
"That's a pretty big allegation. Do you have any evidence?"
Izuku lifted his arm slightly.
"I was recently hospitalized with a concussion and a fractured arm, and the teachers wrote it off as an 'accident' because the one responsible has an impressive quirk and an almost guarantee of getting into UA later," said Izuku bitterly. "My own mother didn't bother to delve deeper into why I was put into the hospital and if nothing is done he's more likely to become a villain than a hero."
"Right now I have nothing but hearsay and the possibility you're trying to sue a classmate over an accident. However, something tells me you're an honest kid, so here's what we're going to do," said Ms. Tenoh. "I'm going to give you a body cam to attach to your cast or something else you'd carry with you everywhere. I want you to record your daily interaction with the class for a week, then come back here so I can see exactly what we're dealing with."
It wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a dismissal either. At this point Izuku would take what he could get.
Ms. Tenoh showed him how to attach the camera to his cast, and it blended it well enough that it would go unnoticed by the rest of the class. She assured him that the camera was programmed to filter out bathrooms unless he deliberately turned it on to record audio.
One week later...
Haruka originally believed this was a schoolyard accident gone bad, and that the kid was overstating things because he felt the other party had gotten off too lightly.
Then she saw the video, and discovered that if anything, the kid was understating how bad things were at the school. It was a complete nightmare, where the kids were using their quirks without regard for the law or who it was used on.
And the worst instigator was the same person Midoriya wanted to file a second suit against on top of the school. From what she could tell the arrogant brat was the ringleader in this mess.
"Mr. Midoriya, I'd be happy to take your case," she said seriously.
It seemed to her that no one had been properly looking out for Izuku's rights as a person for quite some time. And she didn't believe that the fact he was 'quirkless' to be a real excuse for the sheer level of abuse and neglect she saw on the video.
For the next month, Izuku quietly worked with Ms. Tenoh on his case. Every day he went to school, he collected more evidence against his soon-to-be former classmates and teachers. Once his arm was healed they were going to do something rather drastic so that they could serve notice to all the parties involved that their behavior wasn't going to cut it anymore.
More importantly her plan to serve notice would also hopefully instill some self-confidence in her poor client. Years of verbal abuse and harassment had caused his self-esteem to drop to depressing levels. It was a miracle he had worked up the courage to come to her on his own with no input from his mother.
Haruka fully planned to introduce the kid to a boxing and mixed martial arts gym she frequented herself to blow off steam.
The day it happened was like any other. At least the students and teachers thought it would be.
Izuku's cast had come off a week ago and it was obvious that things were going to go back to exactly how things were before.
Which was why Izuku was going to forcibly change the dynamic in a particularly violent fashion.
Bakugo was reaching for Izuku's bag, likely to destroy another one of his hero analysis notebooks that he kept or any other his personal possessions, when Izuku acted. He remembered the instructions Ms. Tenoh told him, or more like drilled into his head repeatedly.
He grabbed Bakugo's collar, and in a move that would leave everyone deeply shocked, slammed Bakugo's head onto the desk so hard it left him dazed. Then, before the blond could fully react, Izuku slammed his knee into Bakugo's gut, leaving him too winded to retaliate.
Stone cold shock filled the room. No one could believe Izuku of all people would respond with such violence when he had been so submissive for all these years.
The teacher was the first to snap out of it. And his response was predictable.
"Detention! We will be calling your mother about this act of aggression, Mr. Midoriya!"
Izuku gave him a flat expression.
"Oh I'm looking forward to it," he said ominously.
When he came home early, he explained exactly what he had done to his mother and made it clear he wasn't going to apologize for it one bit. He didn't care what it did with his nonexistent friendship with Bakugo, he was sick and tired of being treated like a punching bag simply because he didn't have a quirk.
Three days later, he received a letter in the mail stating that there was going to be a meeting with the principal for his 'uncalled for act of aggression towards another student'. His mother had to ask for the day off, as her presence was mandatory.
Izuku immediately called Ms. Tenoh and told her the day and general time he was given.
He kept his anticipation of what was going to happen as quiet as he could, but there was no mistaking the cheer in his mood.
It certainly irked the principal and his homeroom teacher. Inko seemed to realize something else was going on, so she kept her silence on the matter.
Suddenly Izuku's phone buzzed, and he got up without being told.
"Where do you think you're going, Mr. Midoriya? We're not finished with you yet!" snapped the principal. He was not pleased Izuku had injured their 'prized student' to the point Bakugo had a matching concussion to the one he had given him almost two months ago.
Izuku opened the door...revealing a particularly vindictive Haruka Tenoh, in full professional mode. Her assistant Michiru was right next to her, looking deeply disturbed by what she had seen simply by walking to the principal's office.
"Who the hell are you?"
"My name is Ms. Tenoh, I'm Mr. Midoriya's attorney."
"Attorney?" repeated his teacher dumbly.
"Yes, in the civil suit against this school and against one Bakugo Katsuki for quirk violence against others," she said calmly.
"WHAT?!"
"And before I forget, here's my paperwork to fully withdraw from the school in favor of online schooling," said Izuku. It was all properly filled out, and he had convinced his mother that it was a form for a school trip two weeks before he finally acted out against Bakugo's tyranny.
The principal stared dumbly at the paperwork, then at the attorney who looked far too amused at what was going on.
"Surely there's some way we can resolve this peacefully...there's no reason to involve the courts," he said, trying to salvage the situation.
"Oh, I think there's every reason to involve the courts in this. From what I can see, this school is a complete disaster and has been deliberately leading a student with a dangerous quirk into the path of a villain without a second thought," said Michiru darkly. "All at the expense of someone who was helpless to defend themselves."
"Izuku?" said Inko. She didn't like where this was going at all.
"None of you investigated why I was hospitalized with a fractured arm. You all took it at the word of Bakugo that it was an 'accident' rather than the side effect of him showing off his quirk illegally just to prove he could make a bigger explosion," said Izuku bitterly. "I'm tired of being his punching bag."
"We'll see you in court," promised Ms. Tenoh darkly.
As they were exiting the school, a particularly eager and vindictive blond appeared.
"They finally expel you, shitty Deku?"
Bakugo clearly didn't see Inko behind the two lawyers, or her deeply unhappy frown that appeared when she saw exactly how her son's former best friend spoke to him, even when in the presence of adults.
"Bakugo Katsuki?" said Ms. Tenoh, her expression carefully neutral. It wasn't entirely the boy's fault, but he still had to take accountability for his actions.
Bakugo took one look at her and dismissed her as a pro hero.
"What do you want?" said Bakugo, barely containing his ego long enough to pretend civility.
Ms. Tenoh handed him the necessary paperwork.
"What's this?"
"You're being served. This is your official notice that my client is filing a civil suit in court against you for quirk violence against them. Just to let you know this is mostly a formality...regardless of whether you win the case or not you're still going to end up with a black mark on your record. UA takes a dim view of people who think nothing of using dangerous quirks like yours against others, regardless of the reason."
The reaction was immediate.
"What?! You can't do this to me! Do you have any idea what my quirk is?" snarled Bakugo.
"I could care less if you were All Might himself. Anyone who would use their quirk as brazenly as you did against my client needs a reality check on how the real world works," snapped Ms. Tenoh.
It was only then that Bakugo realized who else was there, and he paled slightly at the expression Izuku's mother was giving him. He had no doubt his own mother would be hearing of this incident before he got home from school.
Once they were home, Inko looked at her son with an ashamed expression on her face. Izuku hugged her.
"I'm sorry mom...but I was tired of the fact everyone ignored the fact that Bakugo was deliberately harassing me because I didn't have a quirk," said Izuku.
Inko cried.
"Izuku...can you forgive me?" she asked.
Izuku didn't answer, just kept hugging her. Inko took that as the answer it was.
Either way, once he went back to his room to calm down after the excitement of the day, she immediately picked up her phone and called her friend.
"Mi-chan, I just got back from the school and there's something you should know about your son," said Inko.
When Bakugo got home from school, his mother was there and she was absolutely pissed. Forget the way he behaved around the lawyer, she was absolutely furious he had been targeting another student...with the teacher's blessing no less... with his quirk!