Growing up was difficult for Izuna Midoriya. She was bullied, her father didn't want her, and her mother was never around. She often missed school to help make ends meet doing random jobs and she had nearly no friends. If you could count a hobo she made the occasional meal for a friend. Growing up as she did, it was expected that life would be hard for her. You see, Izuna Midoriya is quirkless. Quirkless: 無個性 Mu Kosei, literal meaning "No Individuality." It is a term to define someone without a superpower. Now, normally this wouldn't be an issue. But in Izuna's world, only 20% of the population is Quirkless.
Society reacts differently to people like Izuna. Discrimination, mockery, prejudice, pity, and often considered weak, worthless, and pathetic. Less than human. So, when she turned four, the standard age for people to awaken their quirk, and nothing happened, her life was decided for her. It would drive some insane. But for others, like Izuna, it would make them stronger.
Izuna was currently on a job. It was a simple package delivery. She expected it to be routine, the same as any other job she has done in the past. It paid well too, though she didn't understand why someone would pay 3,000 yen just to have the package delivered. But hey, 3,000 yen was 3,000 yen, no questions needed to be asked. She just assumed the package was important.
Izuna was in her last year of middle school. She had green curly hair that went to her shoulder blades and often wore All Might theme hoodies. She was a big fan of All Might, but who wasn't? He was the number one hero. Heroics. Now that's an important term. It used to be classified as someone who saved people. Now, it doesn't mean just that. Heroics are now an occupation. A job that can give you money like any other. Ever since Izuna was a little girl, she always wanted to be one. She loved to help people. It's a shame people don't want someone weak helping them.
Izuna was biking to her destination. It was a long ride, but she didn't mind. Being out of the house was nice. It was too quiet back at home. Inko Midoriya, her mother, was often working late to help pay for the house. Ever since her father left, things have been hard. Thus why she is on the job. Money. That was another small reason she wanted to pursue heroics. It paid well. Helping people was always going to be a priority though. Ultimately, the money would be helping someone too. Her mom.
Pain. That's all she felt. Burns covered her body, her clothing burned and charred, barely clinging to her thin form. Thin but strong. Lithe, like a panther. She did parkour and was athletic. The city was burning. A huge crater was burning, metal bars, and concrete crumbling. And in the epicenter was her. Burnt, but alive.
"Ow…" she mumbled, her vision wavering, blood dripping down from her forehead. A helicopter flew above her, a light shining brightly. Getting up, Izuna stumbled. The concrete was glowing red. How was she still alive?
"What happened?" she mumbled, but could barely hear herself. She took in the surroundings. Burnt, molten concrete, burning cars, and a huge crater.
"Oh god." Her ears were ringing. Her clothes were dirty. She held a hand against her stomach in pain.
"Hey, there's somebody alive down there! If you can walk, get out of there. Get to the bridge." A voice rang out. Izuna looked up. A helicopter flew above her.
"Move… I have to move." She got up and began maneuvering herself through the only places she could. Fire and gas lines would occasionally burst around her. Her phone rang. How the hell did that survive?
"Izuna? Oh god, are you okay?"
"M-Mom? What's going on? I think there was an explosion."
"TV says villains are blowing stuff up all over the city. I am driving over to the bridge where survivors are meeting up. Meet me there, I will grab the Bakugous and we'll find a place to meet up." she could hear her mother speak. She walked past some broken electrical wires. Lightning shot out towards her, connecting to her body as it absorbed it. She convulsed for a second, before curling inwards to her own body. She looked at her hands, burnt, but not from the electricity.
"That… that should've killed me?" she kept walking forward, her eyes blinking with tears and her vision blurry. She was terrified. A car fell through the ceiling above her, nearly crushing her. It was then she realized she was in a car parking garage. She needed to get higher.
The ground crushed and fell around her, cutting her off. She tried to turn around only to see the ceiling was collapsed behind her. There was a car bridging across the gap, and she gulped and slowly crawled her way across. When she made it to the other side, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding before moving on. Suddenly, from a broken electrical wire, shot out more lightning, electrocuting her whole body, causing her to convulse once again. Electricity arced off her and blew up a nearby car, the alarm ringing loudly.
"What's happening to me…" The ensuing electrical explosion blew up the floor, giving her access to the road, and she crawled her way down. She made it to the bridge and saw her mother waving for her.
"Izuna!"
"Mom!" Izuna began to run towards her, only for the electricity to arc to her, causing her to collapse to her knees. She let out an agonizing scream, lightning striking down around her, blowing things up. Inko looked on in terror as her daughter convulsed, before finally falling unconscious, electricity racing up and down her body. Izuna heard one last thing before passing out.
"Deku!"
"It's computer time!" A little Izuna screamed happily.
"Already?" A younger, thinner Inko smiled down at her excitable little girl. "Okay, but I don't know why you like it, I think it's scary." she turned on the video Izuna was so excited for, bouncing back and forth with an All Might figurine in her hands. She let out a little excited giggle. The video started playing, depicting a burnt down mall. A booming laugh that was the signature of her favorite hero boomed from the speakers.
"Hahaha! Help has arrived! Because I am here!" Izuna beamed, before holding her toy figure up.
"When I get my quirk, I wanna be just like him!" Inko smiled from where she stood at the door. But of course, that moment wouldn't come. Eventually, they went to the doctors to see what was wrong.
"Sorry kid, it's not going to happen." Izuna felt stricken, sick. "Izuna should've already manifested you or your husband's quirks, or a combination of the two. Her X-rays show that she has a quirk factor, but it's dormant. The chances of her ever awakening it is slim to none. I don't think she is going to awaken one. It's a phenomenon that we have only recently discovered. Someone gets a quirk factor, but it's blank or unactivated. Only 5% of the population ends up with one of these, so we have very little clue as to what causes it. We have only two cases of people like her ever awakening a quirk, and in both cases, it's due to a very traumatic experience. Both of them had incredible power, however. Easily S-ranked quirks. Sadly one of them became a villain due to the trauma. But the chances of your daughter ever awakening on is low. I'm sorry."
While sliding into unconsciousness, Izuna could, she didn't know, hear the screams of those dying, thousands crushed by falling debris or burned alive in the fires. Bakugo was there, somehow sure she would wake up. The city where the bomb went off was taken over by villains. A plague struck. Followed by rioting, theft, rapes, civilization committing suicide. Luckily it was quickly contained by the heroes. The plague was strange, but it was quickly discovered to be man-made and dumped into the water supply. The villain who was doing it was apprehended by All Might himself.
When Izuna opened her eyes, she knew something was different. She felt something inside her was different. It was scary at first, but the electricity forming made her understand. She had a quirk. But with time, she began to learn what she could do. How to control it. Went she went back to school, Bakugo was no longer bullying her. She was thankful for that. In fact, she could often see him glancing at her, looking upset or angry about something, but Izuna could distinctly feel it wasn't directed at her. He looked like he wanted to say something.
The school year continued as normal. Eventually, the last day before summer break came. As Izuna was packing her things up, her green hair pulled into a ponytail, she felt a hand land on her shoulder. She glanced back, her eyes curious. Bakugo was the one with the hand on her shoulder. She stood there, patient. Soon, it was just the two of them.
"Deku- no. Izuna. I- god fucking dammit, how do I say this. Why is this so hard?" Izuna could see him struggling to say something. She let out a quiet sigh and smiled lightly
at him.
"It's okay. I am just glad to see you're coming to your senses Kacchan. It's… good to have you back." Bakugo looked shocked.
"Izuchan…" he mumbled. He glared at the floor, before looking away. "Fucking forgiving ass bitch… thanks.." he mumbled the last part, his face slightly red. Izuna knew that he wasn't good at this kind of thing. Bakugo knew it too. He had to say something though. When he saw Izuna on the ground like that, something tore at him. He was genuinely terrified. He also felt something new form in his chest, something he hasn't felt in forever. Guilt. Guilt over how he had treated her.
"I'll see you at Yuuei, Kacchan." Midoriya let out a small smile before leaving the room, Bakugo standing there alone. Izuna wanted to train this summer. She finally had a quirk. She needed to experiment. She needed to figure out exactly what she could do. So when she got home, she started searching for a place she could train her quirk. Then she found it. Takoba Municipal Beach Park. It was only a 20 minute run from where she lived, even lower if she biked there. She plugged in her earbuds, the soft voice of Studio Yuraki playing "Here." The vocals began to fill her ears as she started to jog to her destination.
"Only one, the only one
All alone I am here all alone
Here I am, on my own
This rubble in my heart makes my breathing weaker
The sky is getting dark, quietly the rain begins
If I should try to survive this world in which I live
Then which flowers should I now decorate it with?
Still, I want to believe, though I can't seem to see...
Though I have no power and don't matter at all
Still in my heart, beating and soft, tears start to fall
I can hear, somewhere near, there's a voice calling to me
There is a future waiting for me out there
Nevertheless, so limitless, waiting somewhere
Only one, the only one
All alone I am here all alone
Here I am, on my own
Half of my whole self is all that I'll forgive
Half of my whole self is all that I perceive
If I keep fighting this world until my final breath
Then which song should I sing till I succumb to death?
I'll continue my search, will I ever return?
There is no faith within the chase just to be free
Still here I go, wanting it so desperately
Well aware, without care, faking my lack of knowledge
So I had continued my one search for the light
Nevertheless, so colorless, untouched by night
Only one, the only one
All alone I am here all alone
Here I am, on my own
Surely there's a place just for you somewhere so far away
Though it's hidden, somewhere hindered
behind this radiant, shining, shimmering bright star
Though I have no power and don't matter at all
Still in my heart, beating and soft, tears start to fall
I can hear, somewhere near, there's a voice calling to me
There is a future waiting for me out there
Nevertheless, so limitless, waiting somewhere
Only one, the only one
All alone I am here all alone
Here I am, on my own."
Izuna finally arrived. Her it was. Her new beginning. The place where she would begin her journey to being a hero. It's such a shame it was such a dump. She would make sure that ten months from now, that beach would be as beautiful as it deserved. This is where she would start her journey to being a hero.