This AU follows Izuku Midoriya who never meets All Might or saves Bakugo from the sludge villain. He has grown through high school and still does not seem to have a quirk. Class 1-A and B have continued training and the LOV has proceeded to attack just like in the manga. However, everything that happens during the Overhaul arc has not occurred yet. The characters are just older and time has shifted. It's time to find out what Izuku's been up to all these years...
There will be OC's introduced, special chapters dedicated to other characters, but most of all, Izuku's journey to becoming a hero in his own way. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter One – Izuku Midoriya is a School Teacher?
Izuku woke up on the first day of summer school after having only slept an hour or two. He had been up all night alternating between finishing up his lesson planning and feeling horrible for having raised his voice at his mom. Just remembering her pained expression hurt him. He hadn't meant to get so upset, he was just frustrated at himself for not doing enough to meet his mom's standards. Inko Midoriya deserved better.
The first time he had ever felt like she was disappointed in him was after the doctor told him he was Quirkless. She hadn't said anything to make him think so, but he knew that's how she must have felt. Now nobody would be there to pass on the Midoriya family quirk. To defend their family and make her proud. Their quirks weren't the strongest but would die out with him.
The second time was after he didn't get into UA. Izuku didn't like thinking about the rejection, yet he found himself slipping back into the moment whenever he was feeling extra stressed or tired. It crept up on him like an assignment he had been meaning to do but always forgot about. And it was never-ending. No matter what he did, where he went, he could never stop thinking about UA.
He remembered hating Kacchan for laughing at him after he told everyone he tried the entrance exam.
How could he be so mean? How could he be so cruel?
Those were the things he used to wonder as Kacchan called him names, but now, Izuku was well aware that he had been right all along. Izuku was the one being cruel to himself for believing in such unattainable desires anyways. Even if UA would have let him in, he would have never been able to become a hero. They had done the right thing in keeping him out.
So why did it still hurt?
He always tried telling himself it didn't matter anymore. That he was well past the age of training and had graduated high school. But even now, he still couldn't watch the sports festivals like he used to. Or read newspapers about the Big Three, and any of the other amazing students. It was hard to coexist in the teacher's lounge because that's all they seemed to talk about too and he struggled putting up a front trying to show like it didn't bother him.
Izuku remembered when the League of Villains had attacked the USJ during his freshman year of high school. He had been so invested he had lost sleep over trying to figure out if everyone was okay. Then, came the attack at the camp the UA students were staying at. Izuku also remembered staying up late to check on any reports of villain activity after the incident. And when it finally seemed like everything was okay and everyone was safe, the students started getting their licenses and Izuku didn't want to keep up anymore. He thought he could be happy for them, for those he knew like Kacchan, but watching them live out the life he wanted, hurt. It hurt real bad. All while he sat learning in a boring, high school classroom, with kids who wanted nothing to do with him.
The bullying never really stopped either, he just learned how to avoid it. High school was bigger so there were more places to hide. Apparently, UA rejects liked taking out their frustration on him and the other weakest students on campus. And even when he thought he could make friends, his own self-doubts and low self-worth kept him from making any meaningful connections.
Izuku had spiraled into a life of questioning and uncertainty. He had spent his whole life certain he was going to be like All Might, but he would never come close. Yet he still couldn't stop analyzing and obsessing. He even made it a goal to not think about heroes for a whole day and had gone one week, the final week of junior year, successfully doing just that.
But then it happened.
Izuku remembered he had been hiding from the bullies in the restroom until nighttime, only to walk out and find smoke-filled skies with helicopters circling the downtown area. Apparently, that night, All Might had fought his last battle. Izuku had rushed home to watch the footage and had spent all night grieving. Ever since All Might started teaching at UA, Izuku had had a hard time keeping up with his idol because it was too painful to see all the other kids interacting with him. But he regretted everything after that day. He wasn't sure what to make of All Might's last appearance on screen and the way he had weakly, but confidently pointed, but Izuku figured it was important.
This only made his depression worse, however. Izuku was once again reminded that there wasn't anything he could have done to prevent this outcome. The past years had seen the rise of new heroes like Le Million, Suneater, and Miss Surge, but the League of Villains had also become much more powerful. While Endeavor was slowly being accepted as the new number one, with Hawks and Mirko at his side, society grew restless for a true symbol of peace or a symbol of anything at all that would make them feel safe.
Despite everything though, Izuku had found a way to be happy again. When it came to hero notes, he had given up on learning for himself and had decided to help the next generation. The concept of developing a Hero Analytics course had started off as an excuse to spend more time thinking about heroes but soon became something more. Izuku realized he could go on and on about so many things, he might as well put his observations to good use for society. And when Principal Mori had accepted his proposition, Izuku had immersed himself into his newfound activity without realizing how much he would grow to love it.
Even when his students started asking him questions about his favorite hero, school, or anything about the current status of the world, he was never able to lie to them. He told them all about UA, his admiration for All Might, and sometimes gave them updates on his predictions for the Big Three before they had been confirmed. He only ever let himself give in to the excitement of being a fanboy for their sake. It was the only time he allowed himself to be honest with himself about the desire he still held to be involved with all things, heroes.
After closing his eyes for five minutes and thinking about the past like he always did every morning, Izuku found the strength to get up and dragged himself into the shower. He had never been one for caffeine because it made him jittery but had built up his tolerance to it during the last year. He knew that if he took a couple of sips from the leftover mug on his desk, he'd be back on track to feeling like himself again in no time.
However, one quick look around his room filled him with renewed energy and he didn't even bother with the coffee anymore. All over his walls were pictures of his student's final costume designs from last year. They had worked hard on them all semester and their new summer project was going to be a collaborative DIY where they would bring their drawings to life. Of course, they were still kids and their sketches looked more like chicken scratch, but Izuku had gone over each one in his notebook and drawn a cleaner version that he could evaluate. Just thinking about all the new things he would get to teach them this summer made him squeal with happiness as he changed.
While he didn't have a dress code because he was an intern, he still liked to keep things casual. Izuku usually wore plain t-shirts and baggy jeans, but since it was summer, he chose a pair of black shorts, a white shirt, and a navy colored flannel. Then, he slipped on his socks, followed by his yellow backpack that was full of notebooks and lesson plans for the day. Instead of attending college orientations and moving into the dorms like all the other recent graduates were doing, Izuku had spent his first few days of summer creating a new schedule for the year. He knew the quirks of most of his students already and had spent time learning the one for his new student too. Some kid by the name of Kota Izumi.
Based on this information, Izuku had crafted activities that would appeal to every child's interests and abilities. He had spent hours watching hero footage and then making assessments for his students, figuring out how to make each hero lesson entertaining. Even for the student, he didn't know, he made tentative plans for Kota's goals and milestones. And because the students were easily bored, he knew last year's tactics weren't going to cut it so he had come up with new ways to get their attention. Different lesson plans that incorporated their various learning styles. Izuku never stopped thinking, the kids kept him on his toes.
This was his favorite part of teaching though— gaining their trust. Izuku could rave about heroes and their abilities, but it meant nothing if the kids didn't care. He had had to learn how to craft relationships with them, make them feel like he was on their side, and believed in them. Needless to say, Izuku was definitely looking forward to continuing the Heroes Analytics course for the summer. It kept him occupied, and even if it reminded him that he would never be a hero to society, helping these kids come up with their ideals at an early age made him feel like he was doing something right.
As he rushed downstairs and noticed the huge buffet of food on the table though, his mood shifted again. Inko Midoriya was waiting for him and greeted him softly when he arrived. "Good morning honey. I made this in honor of your first day back. There's also a packed lunch waiting for you near the door, so make sure to grab it on your way out."
Izuku felt his eyes start to water and he sniffled slightly. "Oh wow… thanks, mom. You really shouldn't have. Especially after the way I spoke to you last night. I'm really sorry about everything," he looked over at her and bit his lip.
Inko gave him a smile and reached over to squeeze his hand. "It's okay Izuku. I figured it's all the stress of the new term. So that's why, as an apology from you to me, please enjoy this delicious food," she led him to the chair and Izuku had no choice but to let her. He had planned on picking up some pork buns on the way to the school anyway, but would never pass up a chance to enjoy his mother's delicious cooking.
"Thank you," Izuku added quietly as he quickly gobbled down a little bit of everything and then rushed over to the door to put on his favorite red shoes. He probably needed a new pair but they had discontinued the style years ago. Still, he refused to wear anything else and had grown used to the way the old pair fit him.
"Izuku..!" Inko called out suddenly, making him turn back to look at her. She was watching him from the table, a small smile on her face. They hadn't spoken much over breakfast and Izuku could sense there was still some tension between them.
"Good luck today, and remember that I am so, so proud of you," she added shakily.
Izuku felt his cheeks flush and he ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. "Ah, thanks, mom. I'll be back late since it's the first day and all so don't bother with dinner, I can pick something up on the way home—" he called before rushing out and shutting the door behind him.
It was a while before he moved though, as he stood at the foot of the door, staring down at his feet.
Do you really feel that way about your Quirkless son? Izuku wondered as he glanced back at his apartment complex and then started making his way down the steps two at a time.
Whatever. He would worry about that later. For now, he had to get ready to face the first day and the students. The thought of seeing new and familiar faces made him perk up again and he jumped off the final step with an extra spring in his step.
"Let's go, plus ultra I guess," he chuckled quietly to himself as he crossed the street and continued down the hill towards the school in the distance. Izuku surprised himself though. He hadn't used that saying in a while.
He looked over at the streets in front of him. If he took the mountain route, he could get to Masegaki Elementary in 15 minutes, but if he took the busier streets it was a solid 30. And while he had no preference, this morning he settled on the longer route. Maybe it was random, or maybe it was fate, because as he got closer to the convenience store, so did someone he never imagined running into.
—
Dun, dun, dunnnnn. Who is it? Who is he about to run into? Is it BAKUGO? Is it Shigaraki with some chapstick? Guess you'll just have to wait and find out! Anyway, thank you all so, so much for reading this chapter. I'm so nervous to post this story but I'm also super excited to get things going. I promise it's going to get action-packed soon, but I also want to go over a lot of the various character's pasts and what they've been doing throughout the years. I really wanna explore the idea of Bakugo, Todorki, and Momo (also Kendo) being the Big Three and also the lives of the other UA students, especially Shinso because I want him to be a big part of Izuku's life. I also have some OC's I want to write in and I'm definitely going to bring in the LOV and some og side characters as well.
Obviously, smol Deku is still having an identity crisis so he can't be the bubbly ray of sunshine he is in the canon, but he's in there somewhere and I plan to bring him in slowly! I also still haven't decided what pairing I want for him, but there will definitely be some kind of romance coming soon as well, so stick around if you're into that too! As for his quirk and what will happen, you'll just have to wait and see. Does he remain quirkless? Does he get a quirk? Is it All Might's? *insert Todoroki's voice* Is Izuku All Might's secret love child after all? Tune in for more soon! I'll try to update weekly or as often as the chapters come to me. Comments are appreciated, I really want to hear what y'all think so far. Much love, and go plus ultra!