A/N- Hey, so I wrote another chapter of this story. It's still a secondary story right now, but I will try to push frequent chapters out.
And as always, please review so I know how to improve this story and the writing.
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With the sound of his alarm blaring in his ear at the crack of dawn, Izuku woke up for the day. He groggily got up only to see the time was 5:00 am on his alarm clock. Izuku sighed as he looked outside to see it was still dark with the sun over the horizon.
"Fucking Kacchan, forcing me to follow his stupid ass for his daily workout. I'm not the one who will be a hero."
Izuku tried to go back to bed, but he was unaware of the presence behind him that furiously kicked him out of bed. Izuku hit the floor, and instead of getting up, he just sighed and closed his eyes again. While a certain someone just kneeled to his level.
"Wake the fuck up, nerd."
"Can't you just let me sleep for once in my goddamn life, Kacchan?"
"NO!"
Bakugo yelled into Izuku's ear, which earned him a punch to the gut as he fell back to deal with the pain. Looking up, Bakugo saw a completely tired Izuku now standing with his fist extended.
"Well, look at that. I'm up now, thanks for the boost, Kacchan," Izuku said, grinning at him. Bakugo just grunted and grabbed Izuku's workout clothes and threw them at him.
"Now that you're up, meet downstairs so we can go on a run and stretch… Zuku."
Izuku looked at him puzzlingly, "What's with the nickname? You haven't called me that since we were like four; it's always been Midoro or Nerd."
Bakugo smirked at Izuku before heading out the door, saying, "Well, we're older now, loser, and besides, it's a special occasion today."
Izuku just grunted as he fully got up and grabbed some clothes to get dressed in. Izuku grabbed his chain with Inko's ring and put it on around his neck. Izuku upgraded the piece of jewelry from a simple thin necklace to a small chain since he outgrew the necklace. He headed to the bathroom to freshen up a bit. Izuku splashed some water on his face and looked at himself in the mirror.
Over the past decade, Izuku grew up to be a caring person. He could often be seen helping others who needed help. But Izuku was also cold with a short fuse and a hot temper that resulted in a permanent scowl on his face and him getting into a lot of fights, but Izuku never forgot that he should be kind to those who deserved kindness.
Izuku's appearance, however, has changed a lot. Ever since Bakugo started dragging Izuku out of the house to go run and work out with him, Izuku has gotten stronger and bigger. Izuku was pretty well-defined with muscles, which when combined with his scowl made him look intimidatingly angry all the time.
Izuku's hair was mostly forest green, but there were noticeable strands of black mixed in to make it look like he got certain hair strands dyed black, when it was actually his natural hair color.
Putting on a form-fitting tank top with some baggy sweats, Izuku made his way downstairs. Once he reached the living room, Izuku saw everyone there. Mitsuki, Masaru, and even Katsuki were waiting for him on the couch and lounge chair.
"Uh, what is happening here? You two don't usually wake up this early."
"Izuku, sit down. There's something we need to tell you." Mitsuki said it without ordering it, which was weird for her, so Izuku complied and sat in front of everyone.
"Now Izuku, you know you're in the foster care program, right?" Izuku narrowed his eyes at her.
"It's kind of hard to not know when every three months they send someone to do a wellness check on me."
"Right, you are always a smartass. But you will not be in the foster care program anymore." Izuku's eyes shot open at what he just heard, he didn't want to believe it but Mitsuki was sincere. And the fact that Mitsuki and Masaru didn't refute it made Izuku angry.
"What! What the fuck?! WHY?!"
"Izuku, calm down. You'll wake the neighbors." Masaru pleaded.
"Fuck the neighbors! I want to know why, right now!" Mitsuki was about to answer, but Katsuki got ahead of them.
"See, I told you it would fucking backfire, hag!"
"Can it, dumb brat! I'm not finished with Izuku!" Izuku looked on in confusion; Masaru had his head in his hands; Bakugo and Mitsuki were now in a shouting match; and there was a folder on the coffee table.
"Someone just tell me what the fuck is going on!" That got everyone's attention, and Mitsuki cleared her throat before speaking again.
"Well this shit went sideways before it even began, but yeah, you're not in the foster care program anymore." Mitsuki grabbed the folder on the table and threw it at Izuku.
Izuku opened it with skeptical eyes, and then his eyes shot open as he read. Then he looked up at Mitsuki, who had a grin on her face.
"Welcome to the Bakugo family, Izuku."
Izuku just slightly grinned, not noticing the sad looks on his new family. Truth be told, Izuku hasn't smiled happily since the day the house fire took his mom. He hasn't even used his quirk once since that day, even though Bakugo and his new family encouraged him to at least practice with it.
But due to Izuku's stubbornness and self-hatred that added to his anger, they always got the same response filled with fury whenever they asked Izuku about training his quirk.
~"FUCK OFF AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"~
Mitsuki and Masaru had hoped that Izuku's being adopted into the family would at least make him smile just a bit, since they knew Izuku loved them all like family. But all they got was a grin from the distressed punk boy.
They could tell Izuku was still hurting after the fire claimed Inko's life. A sign of that was how he never used his quirk for anything. At this point, people at school doubted Izuku had one. But no one asked since he was so intimidating. Except the bullies didn't care and saw Izuku as easy prey initially.
At first, bullies would attack him, but once Izuku learned how to put up a damn good fight thanks to Mitsuki telling him he's got to stand on his own two legs, eventually, they stopped physically abusing him.
Whoever came up with the phrase "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." was a fucking jackass. Words can hurt more and last longer, but Izuku learned to never let some of them get to him.
That was partly Bakugo's doing by beating the shit out of the bullies alongside Izuku. Eventually, they ran out of bullies to fight, and Izuku had gained a reputation for being a notorious punk who beat the crap out of bullies. As a result, the physical and verbal abuse eventually stopped, and only the most ignorant people attempted to mess with Izuku. But since there was no one left to fight Izuku and Bakugo, they ended up fighting each other most of the time.
Strangely, the two bonded deeply by beating each other up. One could look at their relationship from the outside and say they were dysfunctional. But to Izuku and Bakugo, it was just a part of their bond. After all, they were closer than friends; they were practically brothers. And the fighting was even therapeutic for Izuku since he got to use some of his pent-up emotions.
Izuku even tried therapy to let out some emotions, but after a year he just refused to go, saying they were just trying to tell him who he was. Because Izuku was always tight-lipped about it, the Bakugos never broached the subject again.
But enough about his past. Izuku sat there on the couch with a phantom grin as he looked at the adoption documents.
Mitsuki came over and hugged him, and Masaru did the same. Katsuki, annoyingly, came over and slung his arm over Izuku with his other hand in his pocket. Izuku just chuckled at the sight but also felt sad to be a part of a family again.
"Alright, I get it. Damn, that's a bomb to drop on a guy this early in the morning. Thank you, guys. Seriously, thank you. So what now? Do I call you mom instead of Auntie?" Izuku asked, straining to maintain the act.
"Well, do you want to call Katsuki brother?"
"Bleh, Nah, that leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
"Hey, fuck you dipshit."
"Can it punk! And Izuku, if you're not ready to call me mom, then just Mitsuki or auntie."
"Nah, I'm not going to pussyfoot around this." Izuku got up from his seat and started to go to the door, and he nodded his head to have Bakugo follow him. "OK, we'll be out for a while... Mom."
Mitsuki smiled at the boy as he left with his new brother. But she just hoped that one day she could help him. As far as she knew, Izuku had no idea what he wanted to do after middle school. She knew Katsuki wanted to go to UA, and he recently began pushing Izuku to go there, even if it's just for general studies.
Deep down, Mitsuki thanked her son for his efforts. Those two always did everything together, so why not go to high school together?
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Izuku and Bakugo were stretching to go on their regular run in the morning. Soon they were off to run around the neighborhood. They ran in comfortable silence with Izuku making an emotionless face, but it was Bakugo who started a conversation.
"… Hey."
"… Yeah?"
"… So, you thought about what you're going to do in the future?"
"No... Why?"
"You know why."
"For the last time, I'm not using my quirk. And I'm not going to UA." Izuku said while scrunching his face up more, showing he was annoyed since he didn't want to talk about this topic this early in the morning. But Bakugo was not backing down this time.
"Stop giving me that shit, you're holding yourself back."
"… Stop."
"No, I'm not going to. You're wasting your potential. I know what happened sucked, but you can't keep living like this. You can't reject yourself."
"Shut up."
"No not this time! You've been rejecting a part of yourself for years, almost a decade, and I want to know why! You've never told anyone!" Bakugo was fuming at Izuku's stubbornness.
"Stop it right the fuck now!"
"No, you stop! Tell me what the fuck is going on! Why don't you use your quirk!? Why do you shut us out!? Why don't you ever tell us anything!? Let me help Izuku."
At this point, Izuku's anger got the better of him, and he just stopped and socked Bakugo in the face, knocking him down onto the street. Bakugo looked up to see an angry Izuku with his fists clenched and shaking. Izuku was also drawing his fists back to throw another punch.
"I said to fucking stop, dumbass! It's my goddamn life, so fucking leave me be!" Bakugo just got angrier and began shouting.
"You're fucking life involves us dipshit! So fucking tell me what the hell is going on! I'm not backing down again, either you tell me or beat the shit out of me!"
"Fucking stop it!" Izuku shouted while throwing some more punches, but Bakugo didn't block or attack; he just took it, which pissed off Izuku more. Soon the punches stopped and Bakugo had scratches and bruises on his face, along with a bloody lip, but he wasn't showing any emotions of pain.
"AHH! Why do you fucking care so much anyway!? I've gone years without bothering to tell you! So what gives you the right to demand answers out of me!?"
"Because Izuku, you're my friend and brother, so tell me," Bakugo said without any yelling and a serious face as he stood up and faced Izuku. Izuku just looked down, frustrated and angry, then turned away before he took a deep breath.
Izuku turned around, and Bakugo could see the pain and hurt in Izuku's eyes as he stopped the emotion-filled tears from falling from his eyes. But eventually, Izuku just walked off, and Bakugo knew he should just let him go since Izuku liked to be alone. So he just continued running while grabbing his jaw, forgetting how strong Izuku was while he let the nerd punch him.
"Damn, the nerd can throw a punch. I'll give him that. Why the fuck won't he tell me or anyone what he feels? I can see it eating his heart every day. And for fucks sake, we're going to be third years soon at our shitty middle school. The nerd needs to get his shit together so I can surpass him!"
Izuku stalked off somewhere in the neighborhood while Bakugo continued his workout.
Izuku was walking with his eyes facing down, not looking where he was going. Why would he need to look where he's going? No one is up and about doing things at this hour. He was wrong this time, though.
Izuku smacked right into a tall, lanky guy and fell back, landing butt first on the ground. He got mad that someone got in his way, and so did the guy he ran into. The guy spoke in a gruff, dry voice that had some annoyance in it.
"Hey, watch where you're going, brat. I was walking here." Izuku scrunched his face up since he got annoyed too, so he looked straight up at the guy. Only to have his eyes widen in shock and surprise.
The guy he ran into had spiked black hair that also served as his bangs. His eyes were an ocean blue color, and he even had rings at the top of his ears. But his most striking features were the burnt lower eyelids and the burnt skin that served to cover his entire lower jaw and neck. And it was being held there by staples.
His clothes were ratty and shredded, along with his white t-shirt. The guy looked like a bum, but he wasn't. And at this sight, only one thing came out of Izuku's mouth.
"… You've been burned."
"What was that punk? I couldn't hear you over your muttering."
Dabi was just going on a morning walk since there were fewer people around to look at him so he could have his hood down. And now he ran into some brat with black and green hair wearing sweats and a tank top. The kid wasn't anything too impressive, but the kid thought differently about him somehow.
"I said you've been burned."
"Yeah... and? Are we playing a game of spot the obvious?"
"No, it's just I'm sure it hurts," Izuku said while getting up, only to still have to look up to meet the stranger's eyes.
"Of course it hurts; they're burns, not birthmarks. Now out of my way, you're wasting my time." Dabi said, walking past Izuku.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry you got burned."
"It ain't worth much, and what shit do you know about burns? I don't exactly see you running around with any." Izuku looked down in sadness before he responded.
"… My burns are more emotional than anything else."
"Oh how tragic, but I don't want to listen to some kid's sob story. Now listen to these words of advice: fuck off."
Dabi walked away, leaving Izuku, who just took a deep breath and continued his walk with his hands in his pocket. Izuku felt that he understood that guy's pain, if only a little. Izuku did not think further into it. He pushed it to the back of his mind and went on to finish his workout in silence.
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On another street, Dabi continued his walk and disliked that he had to talk to someone since it was such a hassle. But he was a bit curious about that kid since he wasn't freaked out by his appearance and instead he felt sorry that it happened and was interested in him.
"That's a first... but who cares?"
Ignoring it, Dabi went on his walk and just spaced out while walking, wishing he had more cigarettes.
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The rest of Izuku's morning went as usual. He finished his routine and worked up a good sweat while his muscles were sore. Then he went back home and got ready for school by taking a shower, getting dressed, and eating a meal.
Izuku had a run-in with Bakugo, who had makeup on his face. They didn't really talk and just continued getting ready for school. Leaving the house after saying goodbye to Mitsuki, Izuku began walking to school with his thoughts all over the place.
The morning had been interesting, that he was sure of. Izuku was glad he was adopted, but now he was more unsure, anxious, and paranoid than ever before.
'I killed my mom with my quirk. What happens if I do it again to my new family? What happens if I burn someone? Well, I won't have to worry about that since I won't be a hero anytime soon.'
Attempting to reassure himself of this fact, Izuku breathed deeply and calmed his mind. But guilt was eating away at him as he tried not to think about that stuff. Izuku told himself it would never happen again because he doesn't use his quirk at all.
But Izuku would be interrupted from his thoughts by an explosive blonde running to catch up to him.
"Damn Zuku, always leaving me behind! I thought we would always walk to school together, dumbass!"
"Ah, sorry Kacchan, I was lost in thought and went on ahead."
"Well don't let it happen again, you hear me! I already went for a run and I don't want to go for another. Even if I did, I would do it faster than you!"
"I understand. Let's just go to school, okay?"
The two would walk in silence as they made their way to school for the start of their third and final year. Along the way, they passed a few students who looked at Izuku strangely. After all, he was the resident villain among them.
Along the way, Bakugo attempted again to get through to Izuku, "... Hey Zuku," but Izuku was not going to do this again.
"For the last time, Kacchan, I'm not telling you anything."
"I'm not asking you to tell me anything! I know it is hard on you to have to relive the events of the fire every time someone mentions it. But when you're ready to talk, come to me. I'm not any good with this emotional stuff, but at least I'm better than you at it. I want to help you."
Izuku stopped mid-walk, making Bakugo stop as well. Bakugo turned around ready to get punched again, but this time Izuku just grinned and looked at Bakugo with sincere eyes.
"This is why I know you'll be a great hero one day, Kacchan. You're persistent and you don't give up. So go and be a hero for both of us."
"… You… You. YOU ASSHOLE!" Bakugo went over and smacked Izuku, and Izuku looked up to see Bakugo's raging angry eyes. "You make it sound like I'm giving up on turning you into a hero! I NEVER GIVE UP! You always say you don't want to be a hero! I don't buy that shit for a second! You don't give up like that, dumbass! I know you'll be a hero one day, because you want to be! But you won't be a better hero than me!"
After he yelled at Izuku, who looked flabbergasted, Bakugo took a few breaths to refill his lungs. Then Izuku began to chuckle, and he looked at Bakugo.
"See, I told you you'd be a great hero one day."
Izuku just stepped past Bakugo, who didn't say anything, but Bakugo did notice the hurt in Izuku's eyes as he said that. 'Deep down, the damn nerd still wants to be a hero. I know it. But because of what happened, he believes he can't be one. SHIT! WHAT NOW!? THE FUCKER IS SO STUBBORN HE WON'T LISTEN TO ME! What will it take for you to realize you can't reject yourself, Izuku!? I refuse to let you give up on your damn dream, shitty nerd.'
Bakugo grunted and walked the rest of the way to school while thinking about how he could get Izuku to accept himself and let go of the past. As Bakugo walked, he noticed the stares Izuku was getting and it pissed him off that people still treated him like some villain when he wasn't anything like a villain.
"Fucking hell, this is going to be a shitty day isn't it?" Bakugo predicted.
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Everyone was in the class, and Izuku was sleeping on the desk while Bakugo had his legs up on the chair. Finally, the teacher walked in and everyone sat at attention except for Izuku and Bakugo.
"Now class, settle down. It's a new year and you're all third years, so you need to make your future career plans."
Everyone deflated at that, but then the teacher began again while throwing all the papers in the air. "Oh, what's the point? You all want to be heroes anyway!"
The class erupted into cheers because they did want to become heroes, but then an explosion caught them off guard while Izuku stayed still as he awoke.
"Don't make me laugh teach, don't lump me in with these extras; I'm going to be the number one hero one day and Izuku is going to be the number two!"
Everyone groaned at Bakugo's antics, but then one of them had something to say.
"Yeah right, your jokes suck, Bakugo. You may have a chance to be a hero, but don't think the villain has a chance. We heard all about what he did."
"What was that extra?" Bakugo growled as he stared at the kid. He didn't recognize the boy, so he assumed he was a transfer student.
"Oh don't play dumb, Izuku the villain, being a hero? That's hilarious. From what I hear, he never uses his quirk and he already has a kill under his belt, that being his mom. He's going to be a villain."
Murmurs and whispers of unease and fear began erupting from people, as what the student said was technically true, but everyone also knew Izuku wouldn't let this stand. Micro explosions were going off in Bakugo's hands. Bakugo wanted nothing more than to beat the ever-loving shit out of this guy. But then everyone heard a chair move back and they saw Izuku awake and putting his chain back in his shirt.
Izuku got up with a calm grin on his face and spoke to the teacher. "Hey teach, sorry for what's about to happen." The teacher looked at Izuku curiously and then watched as Izuku walked over to the student.
"So you want to insult me? At least have the decency to tell me to my face." Izuku said with a grin still on his face.
"Why should I talk to a villain?" Izuku just grinned wider and wider and then grabbed the student's head and smashed it into the desk hard. Everyone looked on in fear as Izuku just effortlessly attacked a student without a care in the world. The student was knocked out and the teacher was about to yell at Izuku, but Izuku beat the teacher to the punch and spoke to the whole class.
"I don't care if you call me a villain all that much, but when you take it too far by mentioning my mom." Izuku glared at them all, and everyone froze. "I'll kick your teeth in."
Izuku turned his back to them and picked up the knocked-out student and slung him over his shoulder, then looked at the teacher with a disinterested look that radiated intimidation. "Hey, teach, I'm going to go get suspended again now, and I'll take his dumbass to the nurses' office."
Izuku walked out and dropped the student off at the nurses' office, where the nurse looked at the knocked-out student. "What happened to him?" Izuku looked back and grinned at the nurse.
"He tripped."
Then he went to the principal, who already had the teacher there, and the principal just sighed and looked at Izuku. "Midoriya, I know this isn't the first time this has happened, and I'm not stupid enough to think it'll be the last time, but can I at least ask why?"
"Sure, he insulted my dead mom, and insulted me." Izuku said in a tone that made it sound like this wasn't something new.
"Look, I'll take care of him and suspend you, but this has to stop. I understand your mother's death was unfortunate and accidental, but you have to overcome this. You're ruining yourself with this. Maybe if you talked to the counselor or someone else, they can help. Think about your future and the future of this school, please."
"I'll think about whatever I fucking want." Izuku just got up and aggressively opened the door, but he was stopped by his teacher, who asked him a question.
"Midoriya, you never turned in our future career paper, I need it."
"The only thing you need to know is that I plan on doing whatever I want after school." Then Izuku stomped out of the school while the teacher and principal sighed and the teacher started.
"Why can't he just get over his mother's death for once? He can't keep assaulting students like this. And why isn't he expelled yet?"
"Because if we help him get over his mother's death, then we can get him to use his quirk and he can be a hero. Bakugo will be a great hero and it will certainly make the school look good, but imagine what two great heroes coming from this school will do for us."
"So we keep him around in the hope he uses his quirk?" The teacher asked, a bit taken aback by this news.
"Pretty much, although his violent tendencies can hinder that."
"Well, I know he's a good kid because he pays attention in school and gets good grades. I also see him helping people. Even when they call him a villain, he just takes it. It's only when they mention his mother's death and his past that he gets violent."
Both adults sighed and then called Mitsuki, who was annoyed that it happened again, and she said she'd deal with it for the hundredth time. She sighed and wondered when she would have a chance to fix her boys. One is an asshole to everyone except his best friend now brother, and the other is a kind soul who has many undealt with emotional traumas that cause him to lash out violently when he's triggered.
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Izuku walked out of the school with his stuff in broad daylight. He had no idea where he wanted to go because he didn't want to go home. Checking his pocket, Izuku had some money and decided going to the convenience store would be good enough.
Going to the nearby corner store. Izuku walked in and was met with cool air. He immediately went to the snack section and chose something. Then the door opened and he looked over the shelving to see a familiar lock of black hair.
"Can I get some smokes, the ones on that shelf there?" Izuku walked out of the aisle to see the same tattered clothes he saw in the morning and walked up behind the man. The man turned his head slightly and saw it was Izuku.
"Well, if it isn't the punk."
"Hey... uh... how's it hanging?" Dabi looked on in interest. He didn't know why, but something was interesting about this kid. He paid for his cigarettes and saw Izuku with a snack.
"Hey kid, if you get me a snack, I'll give you a few of my smokes because I didn't have breakfast today." Izuku looked at him to see him grin with his burnt and stapled jaw. Izuku didn't want the cigarettes, but he doesn't have anything against this guy, so why not?
"Sure, just get something and I'll pay."
"Cool."
Dabi went and chose something, and Izuku paid for it. They walked out together, and Izuku gave him his snack, and Dabi tried to give him some cigarettes, but Izuku turned them down.
"I don't have any problems with you, so consider this a good deed." Dabi grinned at the kid.
"Heh, I like you, kid. What's your name?" Both started walking somewhere, and Dabi opened his snack and began munching it down.
"Izuku Midoriya, you?"
"I go by Dabi right now, so you're a student. Shouldn't you be in school, or are you playing hooky today?"
"I'm not playing hooky; I got suspended because I attacked another student." Dabi's interest was piqued, so he asked away.
"Did you actually attack someone, or are schools still shitholes ruled by the biggest liars and they blamed it on you?"
"Schools are still shitholes, but I did attack him after he insulted me." Dabi had to admit this kid was interesting to talk to now.
"What did he insult you about?"
"He insulted my mom."
"Oh, a momma's boy. She must feel so lucky to have you as a son."
"Yeah... I guess," Izuku said, looking down, and Dabi picked up on it.
"What, did I say something wrong? Don't tell me something bad happened?"
Izuku stopped, and Dabi looked back and was curious about why Izuku stopped, then Izuku looked up with a sad expression on his face. Dabi could tell something was bothering Izuku since he could see it in his eyes. He was, after all, good at reading people. Then Izuku spoke, trying to shove something back down.
"My mom... is dead." Dabi looked disinterested, but inside he felt for the kid because his family situation wasn't exactly the greatest either.
"I know how you feel. My mom isn't dead but she is broken, almost like she's just not there, you know."
"Yeah, I can understand that."
"So how'd she die?" Izuku didn't speak, but he just looked down and felt guilty and had regret shoot through him. But he braced himself and reasoned that now was as good a time as any.
'He's just some random guy I met, and he can sort of relate to me. Maybe he can understand me too.'
"I… Uh… Hmmm… I… Killed her." Izuku waited for Dabi to call him a monster or demon and turn him away, but Dabi didn't do such a thing. He just looked at Izuku with expressionless eyes.
"So... you killed her. How?" Swallowing his stress and feelings, Izuku just put it all out there.
"When my quirk first manifested… I was 4… I didn't have control... and... in the middle of the night… I accidentally activated my quirk... and it killed my mom." Squeezing his eyes shut in anxious anticipation, but Izuku only got another question.
"What's your quirk?"
"Um... It's a… fire quirk… called… 'Black Blaze'." Dabi then had some sympathy for Izuku; not only did he understand his mother's passing was hard, but his fire quirk did it.
"I get it, you know." Izuku looked at Dabi, curious about what he meant.
"Fire destroyed your family? Well, it also destroyed mine too. While my family is alive, we're all strangers to one another. It's a fucked up family. Although my issue is that I'm not fully responsible for using fire to ruin my family, you are fully responsible in your case, and you could say I was a catalyst for the destruction to take place. You and I are similar in that regard."
Izuku just looked at Dabi with wide eyes. 'Is what Dabi saying true? Is he partly responsible for letting fire ruin his family? I don't know.' Izuku didn't know how to respond, but Dabi didn't need a response.
"Come on, Izuku, let's go somewhere where we can talk more." Dabi started walking, and Izuku quickly followed behind him.
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A while later, they ended up at the dumping ground of Dagobah beach, and Dabi began moving through the mountains of trash till he found a small pocket with some stuff in it.
"Is this where you've been living?"
"Yeah, don't touch anything."
Dabi sat on the edge of the trash house floor facing the water, and Izuku went and sat next to him but with some distance between them. They stayed like that for a bit before Dabi pulled out some cigarettes and handed one to Izuku.
"Oh sorry, I don't smoke." Dabi just shook his head.
"You know, as a fire quirk user, smoke doesn't really affect us, so it's perfectly safe for you to have one." Izuku looked at the cigarette and put it in his mouth a moment later. He watched as Dabi snapped his fingers and a small blue flame came out of his thumb. He ignited his and then Izuku's.
They sat and watched the water and smoked in silence. Hours passed and they held some small chat, talking about random things, and Izuku noticed how Dabi purposely avoided the topic of family and heroes. But everything else was fair game. Izuku ended up enjoying his time with Dabi.
Izuku learned Dabi's quirk is called "cremation" and that it can hurt him if he's not careful with it. Izuku also learned that Dabi usually just lazes around all day, but when he gets a passion, it ignites his heart and he stops for nothing until that passion is satiated. During his time with Dabi, Bakugo and Mitsuki tried calling him, but Izuku ignored them in favor of the peace and fun he was having with Dabi at the dump.
All Might was running through the sewer system looking for that nasty sludge villain that had managed to evade him thus far. He needed to find him fast because he was running out of time and that sludge villain was dangerous.
"Damn, where could he have gone? I know he was around here somewhere."
All Might rushed through the sewers and eventually found the villain escaping to the surface. Rushing over, he went through the manhole and found the sludge villain nowhere in sight.
Looking harder, All Might saw him down the street and took off while commenting on how bad this was because his limit was being reached.
"Not good, not good, NOT GOOD!"
.
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Bakugo was walking down the street by himself; school had ended and Izuku wasn't waiting for him outside like he would usually be doing when he got suspended. It was odd, so Bakugo wondered what the nerd was doing.
But as he walked, Bakugo decided he should stop at a vending machine and get a drink since it was a hot day. Getting his drink, Bakugo saw the street was vacant and thought nothing of it.
Continuing down the street, Bakugo got a strange feeling and turned around to see nothing behind him. Facing forward again, he was not ready to see a huge sludge villain smiling down at him.
"You should do just fine for me to hide from him!"
Bakugo tried to use his explosions but the sludge villain was faster, and by the time he got some explosions out, they hit the area and started fires, getting more attention there.
Some skinny-ass blonde dude showed up and looked mortified, then pulled out his phone to call for help. Bakugo didn't know why the man looked guilty, but that wasn't what was important.
Then the heroes showed up and were doing absolutely nothing, which pissed Bakugo off. Then he had a singular thought in his head.
'Am I about to die? '
After a few hours of Izuku doing his homework with Dabi watching and even learning a bit from Izuku, they sat in silence, then Dabi broke it because he wanted part two of the story.
"So after you accidentally killed your mom, what happened next? I know there's more to this."
Izuku looked down and tried to find the right words. He'd never talked about this with anyone before. And the only reason he's talking to Dabi about it is that Bakugo said he needed to talk to someone about it. Dabi was a stranger who somehow understood his situation, so it was by chance that Izuku was talking to him.
"After I accidentally killed her… I stopped using my quirk. I haven't used it since that day." Dabi looked at Izuku curiously.
'How could anyone go that long without using their quirk? It's hard even for me. I just get the itch to set something on fire, and then it's on fire, but he resists it. You're an interesting and strong-willed kid.'
"Why did you stop using your fire?"
"Well… I promised myself that no one else would get hurt because of me. So I stopped using my fire so I could protect everyone and my new family."
"Do you love your new family?" Izuku didn't answer immediately, and that made Dabi curious again.
I guess... I love them, but they just don't feel like my family, you know? I appreciate everything they've done for me, and I would do anything to protect them, but I just can't seem to look at them like they're family... because I'm afraid I'll hurt them like my mom and they'll hate me."
Dabi just chuckled at what he had heard. This kid was afraid of hurting people with his quirk. It's fire. It's not meant to be safe, but he did understand him. Because there was a time when Dabi wanted the same thing, but he learned that it was an impossible goal.
'This kid is a damn pushover. Even I don't run from my problems, and I may be stuck in the past, but he still thinks things can change the past. How naive is this dumbass?'
"You're one interesting kid, you know that Izuku. So because of some mistake in the past, you refuse to use your quirk and call these guys your family and you think your mom hates you. If you ask me, you're more attached to the past than I am and you have yet to learn that a mother's love will never disappear."
"What?" Izuku felt insulted. He thought he had finally found someone who could understand him.
"What you deaf too? To summarize you're a damn pushover, you run from your problems and you're stuck in the past thinking something will change if you stop dead in your tracks. Newsflash dipshit, if you don't fight for what you want, then don't cry for what you lost."
Izuku felt his anger grow when this random bum talked down to him about his problems. Izuku told him these things because he thought he understood.
"What the fuck, I told you that because I thought you'd understand!"
"I do understand, and I'm telling you, you're a little bitch who is running from the issue in front of you. The difference between you and me is that when faced with resistance, I burn it to the ground. You just sit there with your thumb up your ass."
"SHUT UP! You don't know me! You don't know what I've gone through!" Dabi couldn't believe this kid and his stubbornness.
"Oh come on, don't spew this shit to me. Both our lives are shit. Okay, yours may not be so bad because you actually have people in it. And this whole sob story vibe you've got going on is really fucking annoying. It just screams, "give me attention." I bet that's why you wanted to tell me."
"NO, IT'S NOT! I thought I'd finally found someone who understood my anguish, dumbass!"
"Well, I do understand. I just don't go around telling every soul in the hopes of getting validation! Honestly, the sight of your sob story makes me sick, not because of what happened but because you refuse to do anything about what happened. And by the way, no amount of guilt can change the past. And no amount of anxiety can change the future."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
"HELL NO! I'm sick of all these sad pieces of shit being everywhere! And you don't understand shit! You spew this bullshit about protecting people! Protect them from what? A mistake? That's all that fire in the past was, a mistake! A mistake repeated more than once is a decision. And I don't see your scrawny ass setting fires now do I?"
That managed to shut Izuku up since he was listening to Dabi. Sure, Izuku was still seething in anger at Dabi, but he knew his words were right. Izuku didn't want to admit it because he'd gone so long feeling this way, but Dabi was right.
'He's right, Dabi's right. What am I protecting them from? I don't want to consciously hurt people, and killing Mom was a mistake that I haven't repeated. I can't change what happened, but I can at least change the future and make sure it never happens again. But can I even do that with my flames?'
Dabi noticed the internal monologue Izuku was having, and he hoped he managed to get through his stupidly thick head. Although Dabi knew that it wouldn't be that easy because it never is.
"Hey dipshit, let me ask you this: if you were the only one who could save someone and you had to use your quirk, would you save them? Or just let them die to keep your stupid promise to yourself?"
Izuku looked down, unsure of how to answer, and he opened his mouth only to shut it instantly when he heard explosions. Izuku's eyes went wide as he recognized that sound, while Dabi was uninformed about Bakugo.
"What the hell was that?" All Dabi saw was Izuku rush out of the dump and run in the direction of the explosions. Being curious, he followed the teen to see what had him spooked.
Izuku ran past everyone as fast as he could. Izuku knew Bakugo wouldn't use his explosions in public unless it was life or death. He needed to make sure that it was not Bakugo. His last interaction with him was shit. Izuku needed to make sure everything was fine. Izuku turned the last corner when he saw the scene with wide-shocked eyes.
Heroes were doing nothing as a fire raged and burned several things. A sludge villain was attacking, and the people were being held back. But then Izuku saw it... Bakugo was in the clutches of the sludge villain, and he couldn't breathe.
Izuku stood there shocked and then Dabi showed up out of breath. "Damn, I need to get back in shape." Dabi looked up to see the shocked and worried expression of Izuku, and he followed his eyes to see the sludge villain situation. It pissed him off because the heroes were doing nothing to help.
Izuku was too shocked to think of anything, but then, all of a sudden, his legs moved.
Izuku ran in and pushed past everyone, including a small, skinny blonde man who looked at Izuku in wonder. Izuku pushed past everyone, and the heroes tried to stop him from going further in, but he ducked under their arms.
Getting closer, Izuku tried to grab hold of the sludge villain to pull Bakugo out. Worry and fear were plastered on his face as Izuku desperately clawed at the sludge. Then the sludge villain swatted Izuku away, and he hit a lamppost before hitting his head.
The crowd yelled in panic as Izuku lay motionless with the heroes just watching. A small blonde man with sunken eyes grabbed his heart since it was telling him to act. But he just couldn't since he was too weak. But then the blonde man saw the teen get up off the floor.
As Izuku got up, he had a memory pop up from the back of his mind. 'I love you, Izuku!' Inko's last words rang out in Izuku's head.
Izuku saw the vision of her being consumed by his flames, and then Dabi's words rang out in his head.
'A mother's love will never disappear.'
'If you don't fight for what you want, then don't cry for what you lost.'
'No amount of guilt can change the past. And no amount of anxiety can change the future.'
Izuku didn't know why, but his mind, all of a sudden, felt clear and he felt calm as powerful angry emotions overtook his senses. Everyone watched as Izuku slowly got up and took out a chain with a ring on it. Then, with a determined face, Izuku took a deep breath, put the chain back on, and yelled out into the sky.
Heat.
Sweltering Heat.
A wave of warmth erupted in all directions, causing everyone to wince and close their eyes in an attempt to protect themselves from the scorching heat.
The old flames at the scene couldn't hold up a candle to the new sensation that was in the air. And when the people looked back at the teenager that was facing off against the sludge villain, their eyes all widened in surprise and slight terror.
A pillar of black flame shot up into the sky and consumed their whole field of vision as the flames surrounded Izuku while he stared down the sludge villain with pure rage and grief in his eyes. Izuku began taking steps toward the villain, and the heat was so intense that it began melting the asphalt with each step Izuku took, and it even turned the old orange flames black once his flames consumed them.
Soon the sludge villain was feeling the heat from the tower of black flame, and as Izuku got closer, he reached his hand out. As he did, the sludge surrounding Bakugo was disappearing and vaporizing. The most concerning thing to the audience and the villain, though, was that the heat was getting hotter and the flames were growing in size and intensity.
Dabi watched, stunned, as the flames grew larger and more intense as Izuku approached. The black flame pillar easily matched the height of a four-story building.
"He wasn't kidding; that is a serious blaze if I've ever seen one!" But then Dabi noticed Izuku was creating more fires with his untrained quirk as it began to consume the surrounding area with its violent flames, and it annoyed Dabi more. "Fucking hell, just run on in and cause more trouble, why don't you."
Dabi decided he was better than Izuku for doing something stupid. He put his hood on and pushed past everyone, and they all moved away at the sight of him. Dabi made his way to the front and called out to Izuku.
"Hey, dweeb!" Izuku, hearing an insult, looked over. Izuku was shocked out of his grief-driven anger and he looked back to see Dabi with his hand out and a smirk on his face. "Why don't you leave the flames to a real pyromaniac!"
Izuku took one look at Dabi and instantly knew what he was planning. Struggling greatly, Izuku forced his flames down to a smaller level. He rushed in and grabbed Bakugo from the weakened clutches of the sludge villain and dove off to the side.
With a hand in his pocket, Dabi grinned maniacally as his hand glowed with blue flames, and then he let off a massive stream of blue fire that impacted the sludge villain and blew him apart all over the street.
The scene was a sludge mess, and the heroes were flabbergasted at what had just happened. Seeing his work was done, Dabi walked over to the boys and saw that Izuku was doing fine, but panting heavily, so he picked him up.
"How are you doing, dumbass?" Izuku just chuckled at Dabi.
"Could be better, but it ain't that bad," Izuku said in between breaths.
"Good because we are in trouble." Dabi pointed to the heroes who were approaching them, then Bakugo got up and looked at Izuku and then at Dabi.
"Who's the freak?"
"Well, that's not nice. I did just save your life, sparkler." Bakugo growled at Dabi, but then looked at Izuku again.
"Hey…" Izuku looked over to Bakugo. "Thanks for saving me, and I'm sorry for making you use your quirk." Izuku looked at him softly and then... He softly smiled, shocking Bakugo to his core.
"It's no issue; actually it was bound to happen and I realize what I want to do now. I may still be... confused, angry, sad, grief-stricken, etcetera... but from now on things will get better, I will get better… brother."
The two shared a smile, while Dabi just shook his head with a disinterested look. Meanwhile, All Might would look on amazed at how Izuku just ran in without a second thought, and he had such an amazing quirk, plus he inspired that random man to jump in and help. All Might knew he needed to talk to Izuku as soon as possible.