Four year old Izuku "Deku" Midoriya let out a cry of pain as he fell to the floor, the scrapes forming on his hands being minor compared to his other injuries. "You're such a weakling Deku." He heard the voice in front of him taunt.
Izuku looked up and timid green eyes met malicious crimson ones as he stared back at his "friend", Katsuki "Kachan" Bakugo. "Kachan… I won't let you pick on anyone." Whimpered Izuku. He wanted to protect people, even if it was at his own expense.
Katsuki blinked before smirking. He then put a fist into his palm while creating an explosion, while his goons activated their powers as well. "You wanna pretend to be a hero? You don't stand a chance without a Quirk." The fight began, though it was less of a fight and more of a one sided beatdown while the kid they'd been picking on managed to run away.
By the time it was over, Izuku found himself lying on his back staring at the sky, the bright sunlight burning his eyes. He clenched his teeth and his fists, as tears began to spill from his eyes. If only things were different. If only he wasn't Quirkless.
Izuku couldn't wait to learn what his quirk was! Fire Breath!? Attraction!? Both!? Then reality hit him like a truck. "Your son is quirkless."
Izuku had taken it pretty hard, he spent days just staring at the recording of All Might. He looked at his mother, a smile forced onto his face as tears spilled down his face. "Mom…? Can I be a hero too…? Even without a Quirk?" He asked.
When his mom answered, she didn't say what he needed to hear. She just hugged him and apologized.
Izuku groaned and forced himself to his feet, ignoring the stinging pain he was feeling everywhere. He managed to drag himself back into the school after recess, and if the teachers noticed the obvious burns and bruises, they didn't say anything. Why would they? He was Quirkless, a minority. It didn't matter to him though. He would become a hero, no matter what it took.
One night, when Izuku was five years old, he vanished. Nobody noticed as he reappeared mere hours later, unaware of what had changed about him in his absence.
"My Magic! Is never giving up!" Screamed the near white haired boy on the TV. Izuku's eyes sparkled as he watched the boy, Asta, take down another bad guy. Izuku thought he was incredible. Asta, a boy with no magic in a world filled with it, continued to push forward. Even if he lacked power, he never quit, and because of that, he was rewarded with a power unique to him.
"Maybe my Quirk is never giving up…?" Wondered Izuku as continued to watch, unaware of the fact that what he was seeing would one day become a prominent part of his future.
As the years passed, Izuku got invested in more franchises like the one Asta was from. He'd seen characters like Goku, Luffy, Naruto, and Ichigo, each of them living in different worlds, with different types of power systems, but they all had one thing in common: they were heroes. (Even if Luffy insisted otherwise).
Izuku had even picked up the occasional piece of merchandise from these popular franchises. Or, formally popular anyway, not only were these franchises over a hundred years old, but with the emergence of Quirks, they quickly faded into obscurity. At first Izuku could only get random episodes that were being streamed on a single channel, but when he was ten, he learned how to scour the internet to find websites with all of the episodes for him to binge watch. Though he did nearly put a virus or two on the computer on more than one occasion, and had nearly been taken to some very bad websites on even more occasions. But those are stories for another time.
When Izuku was twelve, he decided that he wanted to be stronger, so he started to train. He knew that he could never fire Ki blasts, or stretch his body like it was made of rubber, and Stands were obviously out of the question, regardless of their cool factor. Even if their users had… a unique fashion sense.
"As third years, it's time for you to decide your plans for the future." Said Izuku's teacher as he held up some papers. "I could pass out these handouts for your future plans, but…" He tossed the papers into the air. "You're all planning to go into the hero course, right?" The majority of students went wild as they started using their Quirks, with barely a reprimand for illegal Quirk usage.
"Hey, don't lump me in with these losers!" Shouted Katsuki smugly. "I'm the real deal, all these clowns are gonna do is become sidekicks for some D lister." The rest of the class expressed their displeasure, but Katsuki just shouted back at them.
"That's right, you're aiming for U.A. High, right Bakugo?" The teacher asked. The students decided to take a break from being angry as they talked amongst themselves about how great U.A. was.
Katsuki wasn't done either. "That's exactly why it's the only place worthy of me. I aced all the mock tests, and I'm the only one here who even stands a chance of getting in. I'll be more popular than All Might himself and be the richest hero in the world. The whole world will know me and it all starts with U.A.!"
"Doesn't Midoriya want to go to U.A. as well?" Asked the teacher without even glancing at the green haired boy in question.
Izuku looked up from his notebook, the duplicate of Asta's headband he was wearing kept his hair out of his eyes as he wrote down trivia about the newest heroes, Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods. "Oh boy, here we go." Thought Izuku sadly. He glanced over at Kachan, who was currently standing frozen on his desk. "Incoming explosion in three, two, and-" He rolled out of his seat and to the side as Bakugo added another explosion mark to his desk. He ignored the goading and laughter of the people around him as his former friend glared at him.
"Listen up Deku!" Roared Kachan as smoke rose from his palm. "You're even worse than these damn rejects, you wannabe anime nerd. You think they'll let you in when they could have me!?"
Izuku grunted as he forced himself to his feet. In another world, he would've just stayed on the ground and continued to whimper as Bakugo gave him a verbal whipping. But this wasn't that world.
"I never said that Kachan." He said as he stared at Bakugo. "But I will get into U.A. With the removal of the rule preventing Quirkless students from getting in, I have a shot."
"What was that!?" Screeched Bakugo. "Don't even think about trying! Defenseless Izuku! You'll die in the exams, you won't even get to be a hero if you try! So if you do, I'll kill you myself!" Izuku looked over Bakugou's shoulder at the teacher, who just watched the whole mess with a bored expression on his face. He wasn't going to stop this. What. A Shocker. "Don't ignore me!" Shouted Bakugo.
"Whatever Kachan." Said Izuku as he sat back down.
"DEKU!"
"Bakugo, sit down." Said the teacher tiredly. Bakugo growled as he took a seat.
Izuku hurriedly packed his bag. "Better hurry home so I can finish writing." He mumbled. Then his notebook was swiped from his hand. "I don't know what you think you're doing, Deku, but we're not done talking." Bakugo furiously said, holding his notebook hostage.
"Huh?! Don't tell me you're taking notes on how to be a hero?!"
"Seriously?"
"That's so pathetic"
Bakugo's two followers laughed mockingly at his hard work. Izuku tried to keep calm while trying to reach his notebook. "Kachan, give my notebook back." His eyes widened as the notebook was caught in one of Bakugo's explosions. It wasn't until Bakugo had tossed the thing out the window that he finally reacted. He ran to the window and looked over the edge, seeing his notebook flowing in the koi pond. "Why…?" Asked Izuku.
Bakugo suddenly grabbed Izuku's shoulder, forcing him to look at the bully when he started speaking. "Most first string heroes show potential early on. People look at them and just know they are destined for greatness. When I'm the only student from this garbage junior high to get into UA, people will start talking about me like that. They'll realize I'm legit, the next big thing."
Izuku's shoulder began smoking. "Here's a word of advice, nerd. Don't even think of applying or else."
Bakugo and his cronies laughed walking away when the main abuser stopped and turned to him maliciously to speak. "You know you can't be a hero Deku, but there's actually another way for you to help people. Just take a swan dive off the roof of the building and stop being in people's way. Who knows, maybe you'll get a better quirk in your next life."
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Izuku slowly walked over to Kachan, before stopping in front of him. "What, you want to go?" Asked Bakugo maliciously as explosions crackled in his palm. He didn't exactly expect Deku to follow through as a solid punch to the jaw sent him to the ground. Izuku was willing to put up with a lot, but suicide baiting was officially too far, even he didn't mean it, had it been someone else, this could have ended poorly for Bakugo.
He stopped in front of the pond and grabbed for his notebook. "C'mon, that isn't food." He said to the koi.
Izuku reached up and gripped the headband as he walked home. He reached a tunnel and stopped. He stared for a moment before sighing. He clenched his fists and shouted. "You can say whatever you want! I refuse to quit! My Quirk is never giving up!" He charged through the tunnel.
Only to be stopped when a villain made of sludge wrapped part of his body around his foot. "A villain!?" Izuku cried as the villain claimed he'd make a "perfect skin suit" which he hardly liked the implications of. The villain began traveling up leg and engulfed his entire body before forcing himself into every opening he could find, his nose, mouth, and ears. Izuku couldn't tell which was worse, the taste or the smell. The villain was saying something, but it was muted due to the sludge in his ears. Izuku thrashed around in a desperate attempt to free himself, but it was useless. In a desperate attempt, he reached his hand out, and for a brief moment it felt like he could grab something, but then the feeling faded as his vision began going dark.
"Mom… I'm sorry…" He thought. Even with how strong he'd tried to make himself, he was gonna die here. Helpless and alone to a nameless villain. His gaze wandered over to his fallen notebook, and he could see a doodle for an idea for a hero costume. The irony tasted almost as bad as the sludge.
Suddenly there was a burst of wind that forced the sludge out of him, and sent him through the air. His gaze wandered over to see the silhouette of a muscular man. Then he blacked out. "All Might…?" He thought.
"-EY! HEY!" Deku was awoken to the feeling of a hand repeatedly tapping his cheek. Then his eyes shot wide open as they saw All Might standing over them. "THANK GOODNESS, THOUGHT WE'D LOST YOU THERE!" He said cheerfully.
"All Might!?" Exclaimed Izuku.
"WELL IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE ALRIGHT, SORRY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED BACK THERE, DIDN'T MEAN TO LET YOU GET CAUGHT UP IN MY JUSTICING." Said All Might. "USUALLY I'M BETTER ABOUT KEEPING BYSTANDERS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THIS CITY'S SEWER SYSTEM IS HARDER TO NAVIGATE THAN I THOUGHT!" After saying that, All Might let out a hearty laugh.
Izuku was borderline shell shocked. He could barely believe this was happening. Sure he admired all those characters from the shows he watched, but All Might was still his favorite hero. And he was right here in front of him! "ANYWAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP YOUNG MAN! I'VE CAPTURED THE VILLAIN BECAUSE OF YOU!" He explained as he held up a soda bottle, which held the villain.
Izuku was gonna ask All Might for an autograph, only to be shocked that there was already one in his notebook. He did rapid fire bows to thank All Might for the signature. All Might gave him a thumbs up, accompanied by a little chuckle. "WELP! I'VE GOTTA GET THIS LITTLE GUY TO THE POLICE SO THAT THEY CAN TAKE CARE OF HIM." He said as he gave the bottles in his pocket a little pat. "STAY OUT OF TROUBLE! SEE YOU AROUND!"
"Wait, you're leaving?" Asked Izuku, feeling disappointed as All Might crouched down. "Already?"
"PRO HEROES ARE CONSTANTLY FIGHTING TIME AS WELL AS ENEMIES." Explained All Might.
Izuku wasn't ready to let him go, he had to ask now, before it was too late. He needed to know. All Might took off. It took a second for him to realize he had a passenger. "OH MY GOOOD!" All Might looked down to see the green haired boy clutching onto his leg.
"Did this kid just speak English? And why do I feel like I've heard this joke before? Wait! That's not important!" Thought All Might. "HEY, ARE YOU CRAZY!? LET GO! I LOVE MY FANS AND ALL, BUT THIS IS TOO MUCH!" Exclaimed the hero as he tried to push Izuku off
"Are you crazy!?" Shrieked Deku. "We're flying! If I let go now I'll get turned into a pancake! A very red pancake!"
"OH. GOOD POINT." Said All Might
"There are just so many things I wanna ask you!" Cried Izuku.
"ALRIGHT! JUST CLOSE YOUR MOUTH AND EYES!" Instructed All Might, not able to look at the weird faces the wind was forcing the kid to make. Izuku nodded and hid his face into All Might's leg. All Might coughed a few times as he tried to find somewhere to land, noticing a bit of blood dribbling out of his mouth.
Izuku wheezed. "I felt my life flash before my eyes… there was a lot of anime." He said weakly.
"NOT A VERY SMART MOVE." Reprimanded All Might. "BANG ON THE DOOR, SOMEONE WILL LET YOU IN." He prepared to leave. "NOW, I'VE GOTTA GO, SEE YOU ON THE FLIP SIDE."
"Wait not yet! One second!" Exclaimed Izuku as he started to follow All Might.
"I CAN'T! I DON'T HAVE TIME!" Said All Might.
"I have to know!" Said Deku, then he froze in place, as his memories came back of what had happened when he was diagnosed as Quirkless. The pain from his peers bullying, what his doctor told him, even his mother inadvertently stomping on his dream further. "I'm Quirkless!" This caused All Might to stop. "I'm just a normal, powerless kid... can I ever hope to be someone like you!?"
All of a sudden, a bunch of white smoke surrounded All Might's body, once it was gone, it revealed a deathly thin man in front of them.
People below stopped when they heard the sound of a teenage boy screaming.
AN:
Hope you all like the first chapter. As you can tell, things have changed. Like completely removing Nemo from this timeline. So sad, he will be missed. ALSO! I need your help on two things. If you've read the tags, you'll see the "Readers will have influence at times" one. Well your first, and second, form of influence is coming your way right now: Should I change the layout of classes A and B. In other words, should each class have the same twenty students in each, or should we hit the ol' shuffle button? Either way works for me, but I want your input. As for the other influence: ships! Send me ships you wanna see, and I'll see about making them happen.