A/N: I really like the Stand THE WORLD, and the world of Hero Academia, so I thought why not combine them? I've been looking for a fanfiction of The World in BNHA that doesn't have Izuku just straight up murdering everyone, but there are very few crossovers with The World anyways. Sorry for any spelling mistakes, follow if you want to stay up to date.
1.「The World」
Izuku Midoriya stood timidly as his role model towered before him. The wide smile stretching across the hero's face didn't distract from the massive steeled muscles of the man, or the hands that pummeled countless villains since before Izuku was even born - - it was a terrifying yet awesome presence that instilled the will to be a hero in many people, including Izuku himself. For a brief moment, his mind was short-circuited, running around in circles while he spaced out as the hero just smiled at him.
"Well, I guess I'll take my leave now." All-Might chuckled awkwardly and turned to walk away.
"WAIT!" Midoriya reached out to the hero, he just had one question that he needed to know the answer to... "Can I be a hero? Even though I'm quirkless?"
All-Might's smile faltered, even if for a brief moment, Izuku noticed it. The green haired boy began rambling about his dreams, not noticing that a blast of steam was released from All-Might's skin, and in the place where the muscular man stood was a frail, skeletal framed man replaced him.
"What happened to you?" Izuku asked.
"This is my true form, it's like how people hold in their gut…" All-Might sat down on the roof, and pulled up his shirt revealing a gnarly scar that covered more than half his body. "A villain did this to me five years ago. My respiratory system was nearly destroyed and my stomach had to be removed completely. My body started wasting away, and now I can only do hero work up to three hours a day. This information has never been made public, you are one of the few who know this so don't go posting about it online."
"But as for your question...I don't think so kid…" All-Might finally answered. "Without a quirk it's impossible to keep up with villains. If somebody managed to do this to me, imagine what they could do to somebody who didn't have an ability to defend themselves? If you want to help people you can still become a police officer, they are always in need of recruits."
Izuku's face fell upon hearing the words of the Number one hero. With the rise of villains of course the police were looking for recruits, the death rate for police officers was the highest it's ever been. Midoriya clenched his fists and looked down as tears began to leak from his eyes. The green haired boy fell to his knees as the sobs became louder and uncontrollable - somebody could completely cripple All-Might like that? It induced a crippling existential crisis upon Izuku, what was he in the grand scheme of things? Just an ant that could be killed without so much of a second thought.
All-Might looked away - ashamed that either way the kid was going to be let down. If he had said yes then the kid's death would be on his hands… but he still felt as if he killed him. All-Might stood over the edge of the building for a second before turning and taking the door to the stairs and making his exit. Maybe after he dealt with the villain in his pocket he'd seek out that kid again - it didn't sit right to leave him like this.
Izuku was feeling miserable, he had lost all his friends over being quirkless, was bullied, hated, it made him bitter, and now the person he looked up to most had destroyed the dream that kept Izuku going for all these years. His mother was in a shitty position because of him - when he was deemed quirkless by his doctor Izuku's father went to work overseas and hadn't been back since so his mother had to work harder than most to pay the bills. Izuku cringed looking back on how obsessed he had been with heroes, it seemed obvious he could never be one in the first place - he just didn't want to see it.
He clenched his fists and ground his teeth as he looked over the edge of the building. None of the people down in the streets knew what was said to him just now, or what was about to happen to him. They would probably go on enjoying their lives without thinking twice about the quirkless kid who splattered himself all over the sidewalk. It's happened before but never really got any news coverage - the quirkless were the invisibles of society.
"Do it!" Izuku yelled to himself. Despite his mind urging him to take the fall, Izuku's body wouldn't move. After a moment his body relaxed, he couldn't do it even if he wanted to. The world hated him but not as much as he hated himself… maybe one day things would change for the better.
"So you won't jump on your own, kid? Let me help you out!" A cackling voice came from behind him.
Izuku turned away from the edge and looked up to see an old hag standing a few meters away from him. He didn't have time to see what she had in her hands by the time he felt something pierce his throat, blood started pouring out of his wound. The force of the arrow sent him tumbling backwards, making him lose his footing and fall over the edge.
Izuku had gone from pure happiness meeting All-Might to anger from having his dreams crushed to complete and absolute terror as he was watching the ground speed closer and he couldn't even scream with an arrow in his throat. Izuku tried to think fast but there really wasn't much he could do considering the situation he was in and no quirk.
'Mom,' Izuku thought. 'I'm so sorry!'
He wondered how much stress he had caused her for not shutting up about being a hero - he had a small idea how miserable it made her that she gave birth to a quirkless boy who wanted nothing more than something she couldn't give him. He didn't blame her, he just didn't know how to tell her that and since then their relationship started to disappear.
He closed his eyes and braced for impact, in the age of so many quirks, statistically there had to be somebody nearby who could heal him, right? Or at least keep him alive long enough to get help? Unless death was instant. Izuku's eyes shot back open at the horrifying thought. He reached his arm out towards the building, if he could just reach a window ledge he might be able to catch himself, but it was just out of reach. He was seconds from death - - he just wanted to be home, tell his mom he didn't blame her.
"I want to live!" Izuku cried out. He didn't know what he wanted to live for yet, but he wouldn't be able to figure that out if he was dead.
Suddenly a ghostly golden arm shrouding Izuku's arm reached out and grabbed a ledge, stopping his descent.
'Is this what she called a Stand?!' He thought. After a second it faded away, dropping Izuku. He let out a brief scream, though it was cut short when he realized that he was already safe on the ground after the short drop. He started hyperventilating when his lungs realized they could work again - - what had just happened? Who (or what) was the power that rescued him… what happened to the arrow that was protruding from his throat? People stared at him while they walked past, but no one bothered to ask why a kid fell off of a twenty-five floor building.
"So you are one of the chosen," A croaking voice said. "If you are alive, that means a stand has manifested itself!"
"W-what? Y-you shot me with an arrow? You tried to kill me?!" Izuku gasped.
"You tried to kill yourself! You were lost, but I merely saw the potential in you. I helped you." The old lady retorted. "I am the great Enyaba the Hag!"
The old woman in front of him was short, even shorter than he was. Her ghostly hair flowed behind her, held back by a purple cloth sash, she was dressed in brown and purple robes, and golden bracelets on her wrists. If Izuku had to guess she was at least seventy-years old, her wrinkled face smiled wide (though unlike All-Might's smile, she had no teeth) she supported her body with a wooden cane but it looked more like a club.
"B-but, you shot m-"
"Listen boy, this is no ordinary arrow," She held up the arrow that just minutes ago was in Izuku - he hadn't seen her take it out of him. "This is the Stand Arrow, anyone pierced by this arrow will either die, or awaken a power that is even stronger than a quirk! And you, boy, were one of the few chosen…"
"O-one of the chosen? So y-you've killed…" Izuku muttered. "Your a-a villain?"
"Yes people have died but I offered them to be part of something greater! You say villain, I say we are beyond simple heroes and villains, and now you too are one of those who stand above heroes." Enyaba encouraged him. "You have awakened a stand, it's similar to a quirk in that it gives a user power, but a Stand is not a quirk, it is a manifestation of your spirit, should it die you will die as well and vice-versa."
This was all too much for Izuku to take in at once, a power different from that of a quirk? The idea made his brain hurt, if anyone could have an extra power just like that, then why hadn't he heard about such a thing before - or why wasn't it in the hands of the Hero Commission? One minute he was quirkless, the next second he wasn't? Well, technically he was still quirkless if an Stand wasn't a quirk, but it pretty much was right?
"That hand that saved you, was your stand, an extension of your spirit driven by self preservation. The stronger your spirit, the stronger your stand but considering…" Enyaba did a quick look over Izuku. "It seems like your stand won't be anything amazing."
Izuku didn't know her, for all he knew she was crazy, but her words still stung a bit… but maybe she was right, if there was a power based on his spirit then it would be weak if he was being real with himself.
"If you still don't believe me…" Enyaba took a step back. "Then BEHOLD! JUSTICE"
The hag raised her hands and a white fog started growing, as it began swelling upwards a crowned skull and two skeletal hands on either side. The massive size of the ability made Izuku's knees tremble. The onlookers in the area started running away, something Izuku's fear stricken body wished it could do. A skeletal hand reached out and grabbed somebody who didn't make it away in time, bringing them closer to Enyaba.
"Does this look like a quirk to you?" She asked - and the answer was yes it did look like a quirk to him.
"W-What are you going to do to them?" Izuku asked. The Hag smiled and brought out a knife, Izuku never noticed before but she had two right hands which put him off. She brought the knife down and stabbed the man once, then twice, then after four times she stopped. The fog went through the stab-wounds and the skeletal hand dropped the man. His body moved awkwardly, as if he was being controlled. Enyaba must've been manipulating the fog to use the man as a puppet.
"Stop!" Izuku demanded.
"This is the power of a stand, the power to stand above those who put you down. Their quirks are useless under our strength. Don't you hate these people?" Enyaba exclaimed. "Now watch!"
The man started twisting, bones grinding against each other to the point they were starting to snap like dry twigs. Adrenaline started coursing through Izuku, of course he was angry at society, but could he really stand by and watch a man get murdered in cold blood?
"I said stop it, please?" Izuku begged. Enyaba looked at him in disgust.
"These people are the dregs that make up society, it is our duty as greater beings to use them as stepping stones for our ascent! Tell me boy, has society not abused you enough? A poor useless boy hated by everyone in his life, beaten by his peers? I see you for what you truly are. Will you not join me in my ascent to power?" Enyaba made a point, Izuku was more than unhappy with his life, and he would change society if he could but...
"I'm not asking anymore, let him go." He clenched his fist, a bright light shined behind him. Enyabas eyes grew as wide as saucers, and her stand disappeared as she fell to her knees. She began sobbing, groveling on the ground.
"Oh my GOD! It's the most beautiful thing I've seen in my life! Such power! Such magnificent!" She cried out, groveling at Izuku's feet. He took a step back and bumped into a wall. He could feel a heat behind him, and a rippling sound like burning coals. It must've been Endeavor, he slowly turned around.
A man just a bit taller than All-Might was standing over him, his slate-gray skin ripped with muscles that rivaled the number one hero, and gold clothing and armor adorning his body. Izuku couldn't tell if the armor on his head was actually armor, or actually part of his face but the red eyes burning from behind made Izuku's blood run cold. The intimidating aura from this man rippled outwards from him invisible heat waves - his presence was like that of the sun. He levitated a few feet off the ground, his arms crossed and his face scowling as if he were pissed.
Izuku snapped his head back toward the old hag when Enyaba grabbed at the base of his shirt and started pulling on him.
"Please, let me train you to use your Stand, I was wrong about you, your power, it is supreme compared to the others!" She moved her wrinkled right-hands further up his chest and grabbed his face. Izuku had no idea what was going on anymore, everything was happening so fast. She brought her face close enough that he could smell her wretched breath. "Together we coul-"
She was cut off by a golden fist colliding with the side of her face and sending her sprawling to the ground. Izuku followed the fist to see the golden man had reached around him and hit the old lady.
"I'm sorry! Forgive me, your stand is indeed strong." She cried, groveling once again. She pulled a deck of cards out from the depths of her robes. "Please choose one, the card you choose has already been chosen by fate, and will name your stand."
Izuku looked behind him, at the Golden Man who he guessed was his stand? He nodded slightly. Izuku reached out and pulled out a random card, he turned it over and revealed his card.
「The World」
Enyaba clasped a hand over her mouth, and at this point Izuku assumed being overly dramatic was a core part of her personality - despite the situation he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming wave of second-hand embarrassment.
"The four elements of the material world, water, fire, earth, and air, are arranged to look like a bull, lion, eagle, and angel. In other words, it is a card that shows the perfect thing, the completion of everything, and the entire universe." Enyaba explained. She took a moment to regain her composure, and looked Izuku in the eyes.
"It is extremely rare for a stand of this caliber to manifest, of the handful of people bestowed a stand from this arrow, none have the claws to reach The World." Enyaba explained. "Each Stand has a unique ability tied to it, but first we must train you to pull out your stand at will. Come with me lord - things are changing fast."
Enyaba turned to lead Izuku somewhere but halted herself when the green-haired boy made no indication of following behind her. The sound of sirens grew closer, Izuku wanted nothing to do with all this craziness, he just wanted to go home and think things out for a little while - all this just made his brain hurt too much to think rationally.
"Heroes are on the way, we mustn't be here when they arrive." Enyaba went to grab Izuku's hand but The World raised it's fist high above its head, ready to punish the old hag. Izuku wondered if the Stand reacted to his feelings even if he didn't realize them himself.
"I-i, I really think I need to go home." Izuku blurted, he grabbed the shoulder straps of his book bag and held them tight. Nausea rose from within him, threatening to make him throw up. "We can talk about this… Stand stuff later."
"Both the League of Villains and the Hero Commission are after the Stand Arrow, if you've ever felt insignificant before, a war is coming!" Enyaba profused. "If either of them get a hold of this everything will fall apart. We have the chance to change the world for the better as long as we hold this, heroes and villains alike can be put in their place!"
He took off, not bothering to look behind him, but he did hear the old woman cry out for him not to reveal his power to the world. He just needed to get out of there before he started panicking again. He saw the golden man with his own eyes, a power that was actually his own. He could become a hero now if he learned how to use it - but now he wasn't so sure being a hero was the path for him.
He didn't stop running until he came to a large crowd of people standing around what looked to be a battle zone, smoke rising high into the air. He slowed down to a walk to catch his breath, this crowd was a good place to hopefully stay out of sight for now. As soon as his heartbeat slowed down to a more manageable pace, he got ready to continue heading back towards his home until he thought he heard a familiar voice. He took a moment to listen and confirm his thoughts, and sure enough..
"I'll fucking kill you"
Bakugou was definitely in the area, and considering there was a warzone just beyond this crowd... Izuku squeezed his way through, his shaky hands pushing through the onlookers. His eyes widened, his childhood friend was busy getting slimed by a villainous sludge, attempting to choke the life out of the boy. It was the same one that had attacked Izuku when All-Might saved him earlier in the day. Any heroes in the area were already caught up helping in other ways, or were useless against the slimy villain - they relied so much on their quirks that they would rather let the boy suffer than try to do anything at all.
"Where are the heroes?"
"That boy is dying! Someone help!"
The onlookers chattered, worried about the safety of the dying kid but no one really wanted to do anything. At one point in time Izuku would've been worried for his old friend's safety but… Bakugo always made it clear he never needed help. He always made it clear that he HATED Izuku, constantly calling him Deku, relentlessly bullying, which led to others bullying Izuku as well. In short, the blonde boy - while not the only reason - was a major contributor to Izuku's misery. Izuku wished he could feel joy in watching that asshole suffer, almost wished that the hothead could feel even a fraction of the pain Izuku suffered for years… almost.
By the time Izuku came back to reality he had already closed half the distance between the crowd and Bakugou. His body was moving but his mind felt like it was in the back seat - as if he were watching himself in third person. He swung his backpack from off his back and threw it at the sludge villain as hard as he could, which isn't saying much but anything to slow down the villain was better than doing nothing. As he got closer he jumped with his hand out. He could hear the people behind him asking if he had a death wish or what he was thinking - even Izuku didn't know what he was thinking.
Bakugou was trying to yell something despite the slime trying to force itself inside of him, probably 'what the fuck are you doing Deku!'
"The World!" Izuku exclaimed, if he really had a Stand somehow, now was the time to use it - but nothing happened and suddenly he was regretting his actions. He maneuvered himself to land in front of the sickly villain and tried to scrape the sludge away from Bakugou's face to keep him from suffocating.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Bakugou screamed.
"You look like you needed saving?" Izuku half stated, half asked - he was beginning to wish he did die falling off that building. He grabbed Bakugou's arm and pulled as hard as he could, but the Sludge was too strong.
"You're going to die bo-" The Sludge Villain was cut off as a bombshell went off right on top of him, blowing him away and splattering his remains all over the surrounding area. Wind tore through the area and parted the clouds in the sky. This was the power of he number one hero, the ability to change the weather with his bare hands.
It all happened too fast for Izuku to perceive, but after a moment the realization that All-Might had arrived both relieved him, and reminded him that no more than an hour or two ago the same man had crushed his dreams - but he did just save his life so Izuku did forgive him if just a tiny bit. Immediately after the wind died down, heroes rushed in to start securing the Sludge Villain before he could reform.
People started cheering, at first Izuku thought it was for All-Mights victory, but they were saying 'You did good kid' or some variation of the sentence.
'Are they talking about me?' Izuku thought. That would be a first. Them? Praising a quirkless kid? Soon after however the thought was erased from his head. The insults started coming in scolding him for being quirkless and running into danger like an idiot, for having a death wish, even for putting Bakugou's life at risk as well… like the blonde wouldn't have died anyways.
It didn't hurt his feelings, it was to be expected, but it did drive a burning fire of anger inside him. Sure it was a dumb action, but they weren't quirkless, none of the dozens of people watching the spectacle had a quirk that could've helped? It would be illegal quirk usage, yeah, but a kid was dying, they would probably be given some slack. He wished Enyaba was there, if he could have used his new quirk then he would be hailed as a hero right now. It made him bitter, almost. Izuku planned on seeking out the Hag, if he wanted to be strong enough to change society, he needed power, he would need to become stronger than people who hated him.
After the incident and getting checked out by an EMT, Izuku continued walking home slowly, thinking about the next steps of his grand plan. He wanted to become strong, and get in to U.A., to prove to the world he wasn't as useless as everyone thought - and if he didn't get accepted into U.A. then he would have to resort to becoming Vigilante.
"But how will that help me be somebody?" He wondered aloud. He didn't know… he knew a lot about specific heroes, but not much about the politics of it, but if someone like All-Might started preaching about quirkless people not being useless then society would probably change overnight.
There were a lot of variable that could change or unexpected surprises that could ruin his plan to become the number one hero - and despite the muscular nature of The World, there was a very slim chance it was on par with All-Might; if it was just a person with super strength then there was the chance someone like Bakugou could beat it with explosions or from a range.
Enyaba did say that Stands were stronger than quirks, and that The World was a particularly strong Stand, could she sense the power of the golden man? Or was it just a guess? And not only that but if they were stronger than quirks, did that mean all quirks or just most, and what quirks did she test Stands against and how many? There were a great deal of questions Izuku had, the final one being, if stands were a spiritual thing, but quirks were biological, could someone theoretically have a stand and a quirk? So if Izuku somehow had the strongest stand but no quirk, could someone with a slightly weaker stand be more powerful than him if they also had a quirk? The gears started turning in his head - if some sort of villain league, and the Hero Commission both were looking for the Stand Arrow, then did that mean they were both planning to use it to make Stand Users that also had Quirks?
Izuku's heart started beating faster at the thought. If either party got the arrow there would end up being heroes and villains (if you counted Stands as a quirk) with pretty much two quirks, or a select few who would pretty much have three. The thought made Izuku anxious enough to make his stomach ache horrible, obviously villains getting the arrow would be the worst case scenario, but heroes could be just as dangerous.
He had the feeling that Enyaba would seek him out sooner or later, and then he would have his answer, but she was just more villainous than he would've liked -though he could admit he felt like she believed in his potential more than anyone had in a while, so maybe she wasn't all bad. He just needed to stay in the know about the stand arrow - if it were up to him he would make sure it was destroyed.
She said that she would help him with his Stand - the sooner he mastered it the better. If each Stand had a unique ability, Izuku would train his ass off to make sure it was at its peak potential so he could at least rival Bakugou.
Izuku collided with someone and fell backwards on his ass. All-Might stood before him, his trademark smile plastered on his face.
"You CAN be a hero!"
