Chapter 1: Thou shalt be found

The only thing Izuku Midoriya ever wanted in life was to be a hero. What he didn't expect, however, was for the universe to grant him that wish in the most roundabout way possible. It was almost comical, really, how he became the most powerful being in existence instead.

It all started with a normal day at school. He rarely went a day without his childhood friend-turned-bully Katsuki Bakugou and his crew tormenting him when the teachers weren't looking – although, frankly, they often were and just didn't do anything about it.

You see, Izuku was quirkless. In a world where 80% of the population had some kind of superhuman abilities, called quirks, being quirkless was practically a death sentence. You were worthless, you had no value, and you were treated as such. It was an unspoken rule that quirkless people took their own lives before even turning 18.

14-year-old Izuku was no exception. He'd actually lasted longer than average. His own mother loved him dearly, but even she had doubts that he would amount to much in life. She feared that one day he just wouldn't come home, only to be found with a cracked skull next to a high-rise building. It haunted her, but she didn't lie to herself either. It was a cursed existence for mother and son alike.

And this is how, once again, Izuku found himself on the floor of his classroom, helplessly watching Bakugou explode his newest Hero Analysis notebook, which promptly landed outside in the water, the Koi fish already attempting to eat it.

"Do you seriously think you could ever become a hero, stupid Deku?!" Bakugou snarled, seemingly more pissed off than usual that day. "I'm the only one who's gonna be a hero around here, you got that?!"

"K-Kacchan…"

He forcefully grabbed his victim off the ground by his arm and pushed him against the wall. Izuku winced and didn't dare look his tormenter in the eye. After years of going through the same routine, he quickly learned that the easiest way out of it was to stay quiet and compliant. That usually resulted in the fewest bruises and burns.

He wasn't lucky that day, however. Bakugou placed his arm on Izuku's shoulder and, while grinning like a maniac, started activating his explosion quirk. The black uniform quickly burned away, exposing the pale flesh underneath to a similar fate. Izuku barely stifled a pained scream as his skin was literally burning away. The smell was traumatising.

Before he could even begin to wonder if maybe screaming would make Bakugou stop sooner, he was released from his pinned position, and promptly collapsed to the floor once more. His tears were flowing freely now, and he clutched his arm and gritted his teeth in a desperate attempt to make the pain go away. He nearly touched his new wound, which made him hiss in agony.

Bakugou and his lackeys on the other hand were howling in laughter, the former practically glowing with pride as the latter showered him with motivational cheer.

"Ha! Look at him! He's so scared!"

"This is what you get for thinking you can be a hero, you freak of nature!"

Finally, Bakugou lifted his foot and kicked the boy in his stomach with vigour, earning him a pained groan. "Oi, Deku," he spat. "You're tired of this, aren't you? Why do you even show up anymore?"

Izuku, still clutching his arm and barely listening at this point, found his hair being yanked upwards. With another yelp, he found himself looking straight at Bakugou's face. Bakugou, in turn, sneered at him, before chuckling.

"I have the perfect solution for you! Take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a better quirk in the next life!"

And with that, it was over. He was finally left alone.

He stayed on the ground for a while to catch his breath. He honestly just wanted to fall asleep and never wake up, but he figured his classroom wasn't the best place for that. Besides, his mum would worry. Well, not like she didn't already.

Finally managing to stand up on shaking legs, he went to grab his yellow bag, which was thankfully left alone for once. He reached into the secret pocket at the back and took some pain meds for some much-needed relief. How on Earth he hadn't developed some kind of immunity to his pain meds was a mystery to him.

Now outside the school, he wondered what he should do. He needed to treat his practically still smouldering shoulder, but he didn't want to go home yet. His mother would be starting her shift in about two hours, so he had some time to kill. He sent her a quick text that he was going to a café to study, which she seemed to accept.

With that out of the way, Izuku quickly made his way to a spot he knew would be safe. It was hidden, and he could have a breakdown in peace. He couldn't do that yet, so he was still operating on autopilot. With his bag slung over only one of his shoulders, he made his way to one of the taller buildings in the neighbourhood.

It was an old building from the pre-quirk era which had fallen into disuse. He knew it would be torn down eventually – he kept his eye on any news so he wouldn't find himself on a crumbling building one day – but for now, it was safe. No cameras, no people. And most importantly – an epic roof.

He'd found this place a while ago and promptly made it his hideaway. He only used a hidden corner of the roof so at to not attract any attention – one of the many habits he'd picked up at school apparently. Some furniture was placed around and the various old blankets and fairy lights he'd brought here made it a cosy rooftop paradise. For a finishing touch, he brought some of the plants upstairs that had been abandoned in the offices below and brought them back from the brink of death. His kindness was repaid in kind by their presence alone.

With a sigh of relief, Izuku practically collapsed on the couch. He wanted to break down. He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream! And yet his vocal cords failed him. It was stupid, he knew that. There was no one else around that could possibly hear him, but all he could do was to bury his face in a somewhat clean pillow and sob. And sob he did.

He couldn't help but ask himself the same questions over and over again. Why?! Why was this his life? Why did he have to be born quirkless? All he wanted was to be a hero. To help people. To risk his life in an effort to save countless others. It was a noble endeavour, wasn't it? Something only the bravest and most dedicated people out there could do. He was all of those things, so why couldn't he do it? If people wanted him to die so desperately, why couldn't he at least do it in a meaningful way?

In an effort to make up for his disability, Izuku spent his entire life analysing heroes. He analysed their quirks, of course, but also their fighting style and their gear. Over the years he found many heroes that had quirks, but they could hardly be considered flashy, which meant that they basically fought quirkless. Even heroes like Midnight, who could produce sleeping gas from her body, could easily be replaced by simple gas bombs!

But that realisation which once motivated him meant nothing to him now. As Izuku unbuttoned his uniform and started patching up his burn with a first-aid kit he had bought a long time ago, his mind started to wander back to what Bakugou had said.

Take a swan dive off the roof, huh? To think you even know what a swan dive is, Kacchan.

He turned his attention to the fence near him. If he vaulted that and jumped, like his bully had suggested so poetically less than an hour ago, he really could end it all. There was no way he would survive that – even a Deku like him could manage that. But… was that really what he wanted?

His dreams of becoming a hero were becoming more and more elusive. It was a pipe dream at this point. Maybe he really was useless.

Was there anything else that he could see himself doing, though? He considered the support course at one point. It was more realistic, and he was sure he could pick up the skills if he wanted to. If he couldn't help people directly, then his inventions could do so via other heroes!

Ha. As if.

He'd quickly realised that even that was pointless. Everyone in the support industry had amazing quirks too. Technology ones, metal manipulation, you name it. There was no point.

It was the same in other industries. The police, hospitals, literally everywhere there were people who had some kind of quirk to help them.

Quirkless people were useless. That's just how it was.

With his shoulder treated to the best of his abilities and the pain more manageable now, Izuku groggily stood up and made his way over to the fence. He wasn't going to jump, just… look. The height was dizzying, the wind in his hair just adding to the effect. And yet, he felt strangely at peace. Nobody knew he was up there. He was free, albeit momentarily. He could forget about his nightmares, even if just for a moment.

Izuku closed his eyes. He let the wind guide his imagination. He imagined the world and all the places he'd love to see one day. He saw blue waterfalls, green forests, golden desserts, dazzling cities in the night. He swam with dolphins, he flew with birds, he ran with cheetahs. He felt liberated.

Until he opened his eyes again with a sigh.

Letting his imagination run wild and detach himself from reality was one of his favourite coping mechanisms. It offered some reprieve which he desperately craved.

Looking down at the people of Musutafu once more, he thought about society and how it treated him. He should hate it, really. In another life, he was probably a villain at this point, taking out his grief with all he had, to make others suffer as he had. And yet… he couldn't find it in himself to even consider that path.

Izuku always tried to see the best in people. Even if they were obviously mean people, he wanted to be kind. The world doesn't need more villains and punishment. Sure, villains should go to prison, but more needs to be done to prevent that from even happening. Villains wouldn't be a thing if people were treated with kindness and respect. That's why Izuku could understand villains, to a degree. He understood their pain.

His train of thought was interrupted by a loud thump at the other end of the roof. The green-haired boy turned around only to find… All Might?

What is happening?!

Too dumbfounded to believe what he was seeing, Izuku stood there voicelessly. All Might, the number one hero in Japan, had jumped onto his roof. But he was steaming, and the next thing he knew, All Might was replaced by a scrawny blonde man hacking up his lungs.

"All Might?!" Izuku finally shouted as he made his way over to the man. "Is that you? Are you okay, Sir?"

The man in question looked at him like a deer in the headlights. He sighed.

"I'm fine, Kid."

"But, you're clearly injured."

"It's an old injury."

With that, All Might lifted up his shirt to show the boy his nasty scar on the left side of his abdomen. Izuku gasped and put his hands on this mouth.

"You can't go telling anybody about this, you got that, boy? If villains or the public found out about this, there would be chaos. As the Symbol of Peace, I have to keep on fighting."

Izuku hastily nodded.

"Thanks. See you around."

"W-wait!" Izuku stuttered. "Can I ask you something? Please?"

All Might sighed, "Fine. What is it?"

"Can I become a hero even without a quirk?"

All Might didn't answer for a moment. He studied the scrawny boy who had clearly been crying and was sporting an injury.

"No, sorry Kid. You would just be a liability. Maybe become a police officer instead? They always need people. Less recognition, but it's still a noble job. Be realistic."

And with those words, Izuku's world officially shattered.

Izuku couldn't even remember what he said after that, or when All Might left. As the sky turned a dazzling orange and the sun begun to set, he found himself unable to move.

Is this what people feel before they jump?

Slowly, he shifted his feet over to the edge of the roof and looked down. He wanted to jump. Oh, how he wanted to jump. He couldn't take it anymore. The pain, the uselessness, the torment. Seriously, what was he holding on for? The future never looked so bleak.

And yet he couldn't do it, like the coward he was.

He wanted to hate everyone, but he couldn't. He couldn't even hate his worst bully or All Might. Sure, he certainly wasn't his favourite hero anymore. But hate him? Did he? He wasn't sure. He disliked him. He never wanted to see him again. Was that what hate was? He had never felt hate before, it was so foreign to him.

He really was broken, wasn't he? He couldn't ever do things the way literally anyone else would. He couldn't kill himself like other quirkless kids, he couldn't be a hero like people with quirks, nor could he be a villain like others tormented like him.

Oh, what a joke.

Why did the universe decide to play a cruel joke on him like that? Life would be so much easier if he had even the weakest of quirks. Sure, he'd most likely still be bullied, but he wouldn't feel so worthless. Because no matter what quirk you have, you can never be as low as the quirkless are on the social ladder.

And why did his entire being insist on wanting to be a hero, anyway? To help people, when he clearly didn't have the skills or the power to do so? Why didn't Izuku want to be a… an artist? A teacher? Or literally anything else? He couldn't think of any good examples, since even the ones he could think of had plenty of people with matching quirks.

"Why can't I just be a hero?" he asked out loud, not expecting a reply. Except that he did.

"You can."

Huh?

Izuku turned around so quickly it almost gave him whiplash. And what he saw, well, let's just say that he would remember this as the moment where it all began. Where his life changed forever. Where the world changed forever.

Sat in front of him was a creature. It certainly wasn't a creature of this Earth, although in hindsight it could have been an animal with a quirk.

It was a snow fox. Its fur was the purest of whites, and it had some kind of antlers or horns with foliage on its head. Its face, paws and fluffy tail had spots on them in a multitude of different colours, all of which were shining brightly, and its eyes were a brilliant shade of pink. It was majestic, and maybe a little cute, too.

Izuku shook his head. "Did you just speak to me?" he asked.

"I did. I'm happy to finally meet you, Izuku Midoriya."

Again. Huh?

The snow fox chuckled. "I realise you must be quite confused."

"Um, yeah. Do you have a quirk?"

"No, at least not in the way you would think. But it's true that I am more than just a regular snow fox. I have come to find you."

"Find me? Why would you want to find me?"

Izuku, still as dumbfounded as ever, watched as the little creature stood up and jumped up onto one of the crates next to the wall they were standing at. Now that they were a bit closer to eye level with each other, he could better see just how beautiful the fox was. The sun's golden-hour rays added to the picture-perfect sight.

"I have come with an offer for you. And, should you be willing, I am to be your guide. Would you be willing to come with me for a moment? I'll drop you off right back here in no time at all," it said with a smile.

Izuku was mesmerised. It sounded so soft, so kind. It had been a while since anyone had spoken to him like that. Even his mother never spoke with such genuine, positive care anymore.

"Um, okay?"

In hindsight, it was probably kind of weird to just agree to something like that. But as he had just realised, Izuku never really did things as anyone else would. It seemed like accepting offers from random creatures was part of that category now.

The snow fox chuckled again, a bit livelier this time. "Great! Let's get going."

If someone had been watching that roof at that very moment, they would have seen a boy and a fox disappear in an instant, leaving only a few sparkles to twinkle in the sunlight behind. And Izuku Midoriya was no longer on Earth.

Notes:

And so it begins.

Random little creature: come with me and you can be a hero!

Izuku: damn, they taught us about stranger danger but imma trust you anyway

Next chapter: Izuku meets some angels!

Thanks for reading!