Chapter 2: Breaking Point

"Wow, how can you possibly look worse than you did yesterday?"

The morning started out with Izuku waking up to an empty room and he allowed himself to slightly hope that maybe today wouldn't be as bad as yesterday was…he was wrong.

Hiroto snatched him away from breakfast and he and his friends dragged him out to the side of the building near the trashcans. Once they got there, they threw him to the ground and laughed at Hiroto's comment.

His roommate kneeled down to where Izuku was and grabbed his hair that was thankfully less tangled than it usually was due to his conditioner that he used last night. "Do you want to know something funny? I asked around a but and learned a very interesting fact about you."

Oh no. No, no, no, no, this can't be happening. He hasn't even been here twenty-four hours yet and-

"Do you want to know guys?" He turns his head to his friends who are nodding their heads with sadistic smiles on their faces. "I heard that little Midoriya here is quirkless."

Izuku stopped breathing. He suspected that this was what he was talking about, but he prayed with every inch of his being that it was something else, anything else.

Hiroto yanked on his hair a bit and brought his head up, "No wonder you didn't fight back last night, you can't."

Laughter filled the alleyway and Izuku knew what was coming. It was always like this. He could feel the sting of his tears welling up in his eyes as he braced himself. This of course led to more laughter and taunts of how weak and pathetic he was.

Deku you're such a stupid crybaby.

If you keep on crying, then I'll give you something to really cry about!

The memories echoed in his head as the tears spilled over and ran down his face.

Izuku hated himself. He hated that he was so weak that he couldn't stop himself from crying in front of these bullies. He hated that he wasn't strong enough to fend them off or at least put up a fight. He hated that he had to be such a failure that he couldn't even have the right anatomy to be quirkless, he had to be the 00000.1 percent that didn't have the toe joint and were still quirkless. He hated that mom wasn't here to pick him up and tell him that everything was going to be okay.

The beating wasn't as bad as it usually was. The worst part was Hiroto's rock quirk. From what Izuku saw, he could turn his body into rock and even shape it into weapons. At the moment he just used big rock hands to pummel people, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the quirk grow to be used like that.

None of the other guys helped too much with the beating, they just sat back and watched and encouraged Hiroto. By the end of it Izuku was left crumpled on the ground feeling like he got run over by a bus and then run over again by another bus. He could already feel the bruises and knew that almost his entire chest and back were going to be covered in black and blue.

At least he had the decency to not hit places that were easily seen. He would only have a couple bruises on his arms, legs, neck, and face. He probably had a black eye, but it wasn't the worst thing that he's ever had and at least nothing was broken…that he could tell.

The walk-or limp-to school was longer than Izuku was used to. His and mom's apartment was only about a six-minute walk away from his middle school, whereas where he was now was at least a twenty minute one and not being able to walk correctly certainly didn't help.

He was thankful (sorta) that he was able to stay at the school until he graduated, it would've been a nightmare to transfer and have to deal with being the new kid only a couple of months from the end of the year.

The bell rang just as Izuku walked through the entrance and he had to rush to change his shoes and make his way up to where his classroom was on the third floor. He tripped halfway up the staircase and had to bite his tongue to stop from crying out due to landing on one of the really bad bruises on his leg.

Once he finally got to class, the teacher was almost done with attendance and he tried his best to sneak to his seat without being noticed, but his classmates had other ideas.

"Hey look, Deku is late!"

"What a loser, can't even make it to class on time."

"Useless."

"Midoriya." The teacher's voice rang out above the snickering of his classmates and Izuku winced at their tone. "Being late to class is unacceptable, you know this."

His chest tightened and he could feel the growing pressure of his anxiety creep up, "Y-yes I know-I just, you see what had happened was-"

"I don't want your excuses. You will stay after school for detention and maybe then you'll learn some time management skills."

"I-" Izuku wanted to defend himself and explain that he had moved and so his morning had been a little hectic, but he knew that they wouldn't listen. It was always like this; he was just too big of a screwup for them to overlook his mistakes like they do the other kids. They all have potential to be heroes and are on paths to greatness and Izuku…wasn't.

It's not like he deserves pity or exceptions anyways. He should've done better this morning. Sure he couldn't have known that he was going to get jumped by those boys, but he could've walked faster or not tripped on the stairs. If he weren't so useless and pathetic then he wouldn't have these problems.

It sucks being quirkless.

"Stupid little Deku has to stay for detention because he can't do anything right. Is that a surprise to anyone? Didn't think so." Kacchan's voice wasn't as quiet as he probably meant it to be and he and his lackies laughed as they passed Izuku's desk. "Try to not be anymore of an idiot than you already are, the teacher doesn't need you bothering them."

He was right of course. The teacher had to stay after class to keep him in detention and that was just more of their day that he was taking up because he was so stupid.

Stupid, dumb, useless, burden, Deku-

Nice going. You were late and now you're inconveniencing the teacher.

"I really am sorry." It was just him and the teacher in the classroom now. He was supposed to finish the stack of extra work that he was given before he could leave and he was trying his best to get through the pile, but he must be stupider than he thought, because it was taking him forever.

The teacher sighed at their desk where they were reading some book that Izuku didn't know. "I don't need nor want your apologies Midoriya. Just hurry up with that work."

"Of course, sorry." Izuku winced and caught sight of the teacher rolling their eyes at their desk. He needed to stop doing that, but he can't help it!

Stupid. Just get your work done and leave.

Thirty minutes later all of the extra work on his desk was completed and turned in and he was on his way to his locker so that he could change his shoes and head home. Mom was probably going to ask why he was late and-

Oh.

Guess I don't have to worry about that anymore…

Izuku's mood plummeted. Dark thoughts and feelings encased him as he slowly walked out of the entrance and down to the gate and so he didn't notice the movement next to him until he was grabbed and dragged away by multiple hands holding him and covering his mouth so he couldn't scream.

It didn't take long for him to recognize the hands and voices of his classmates. They were the ones that always followed Kacchan around and joined in on picking on him. He prayed that today's beating wouldn't be a bad one, all he really wanted to do was crawl in a hole and cry, but he knew that if he started crying now, they would just hit him harder.

So, he would just have to be strong and hold out.

"Guys…maybe today isn't the day. Didn't you hear about-"

"Shut up! No one cares, Deku was late to class and had to stay behind for detention like an idiot and he needs to be taught a lesson."

The other guys grunted in agreement as they continued to carry him to wherever they were going. They had two people holding his arms and legs and then some around to make sure that he couldn't escape.

They talked as they walked, mostly about normal school stuff, some talked about Kacchan and how he was applying to the UA Hero Course and how they thought that he was going to make it in no question. Izuku agreed with them, if anyone was going to make it as a hero out of this school, it was Kacchan.

For one, his quirk was incredibly strong and perfect for being a hero, but not only was his quirk strong but he was just strong himself. He always got what he wanted and had people following and sucking up to him because they knew that he was just that great. He was the best at everything and worked his hardest to stay that way.

Not like Izuku, he couldn't do anything right. No quirk, no strength, no backbone, no mom… Izuku could never be like that.

The group stopped walking and adjusted their hold on him. "Hey Bakugou, we brought him."

"Good." Izuku knew that voice anywhere. The voice of his childhood best friend, of the person who he always looked up to and strived to be like.

Izuku was dropped to the ground without warning and ended up hitting the back of his head on the concrete on the ground which sent spots across his vison for a moment. He wanted to rub the back of his head, he wanted to get off of his tailbone that was most certainly bruised now, but he knew better, and he didn't want to bring anymore pain on himself than was necessary.

"Get up Deku, you look like a slug laying on the ground like that." Kacchan's voice demanded with a hint of a smile. Izuku obeyed and gingerly stood up and saw that he was in an alleyway surrounded by Kacchan and his lackies. He tried not to make eye contact with any of them and kept his head down as he prepared himself for what he knew was going to happen.

This sent laughter throughout the group and someone behind him commented, "It's almost too easy, he's getting to be no fun."

That didn't sound very good to Izuku.

Kacchan scoffed and walked closer to where he stood, "You're so pathetic, makes me wonder if it's even worth it to teach you these lessons."

"I-I'm sorry."

Sound rattled through the alleyway, a warning explosion. "Shut your mouth."

Another guy off to the side sighed like he was bored, "Come on Bakugou, if you're going to rough him up, just do it already."

Kacchan turned around slowly and glared at the guy who made the comment causing him to straighten and take a step back. "Don't tell me what to do." He growled and turned back to Izuku. "He's right though; wouldn't want to make you too late getting home. Auntie Inko would have a heart attack."

"Bakugou!" The unsure guy from before snapped.

"What?"

"You can't just say that!"

Kacchan's expression turned slightly confused as he looked at the guy who's eyes seemed to be two sizes larger than they were before and he kept on darting his gaze back and forth between Izuku and him. "What's wrong with you? You think you can correct me and try to tell me what to do?" Sparks started firing from his hands as he took a step towards the guy, "Want me to teach you a lesson too?"

The guy shook his head and lowered his eyes.

"That's what I thought."

Izuku is sure that he probably said some more things after that, but his thoughts began to roll in on each other like waves. Thoughts of his mother and how he would never get to go home and have her worry over where he had been. He would never feel her too tight embrace or hear her quiet singing as she cooked and cleaned.

At some point a fist collided with his face that jarred him back to reality and he stumbled into one if the alley walls. "Listen to me when I'm talking Deku!"

"W-what? I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

This just made Kacchan's tempter rise more, and he reached out to hit him again, but Izuku's instincts kicked in and he tried to dodge the blow but ended up running into one of the guys beside him who shoved him away and right into Kacchan's exploding fist.

He crumpled to the ground with a hand holding the side of his face where the explosive punch landed. His left ear was ringing, and he could feel some tears roll down his cheeks defiantly.

"Ha, that was pathetic. And you think that you can be a hero? You can't even dodge a punch without screwing up, there's no way that you could ever help anyone."

The words flowed through his right ear (the only one he could currently hear out of) and around and around in his head.

"Pathetic…"

"There's no way you could every help anyone-"

"Useless Deku, you'll never be a hero…"

Each hit was intentional. "That's for ignoring us. And that's for being an idiot. That's for getting detention," Kick after kick, punch after punch, "And that's for the stunt you pulled the other day. How dare you try to save me from some weak villain that even you wouldn't be able to take down? It was pathetic and insulting."

Bakugou hit him with another quirked punch to the side of his head and a fresh wave of ringing washed over Izuku.

Useless, useless, useless-

Deku-idiot-coward-worthless-waste of space-pathetic-weak…

Izuku's chest tightened painfully to the point where he had to physically grab it with the hand that wasn't still holding his ringing ear. The words stung as they swirled and grew. He had heard it a hundred times before, so why was it taking root now? Why was this getting to him so much now?

"I think that you can do anything that you put your mind to baby."

"Oh Izuku, you're kind, and intelligent, and strong, and you care about people. That's what really matters, not having a powerful quirk, but what's in your heart."

"I believe in you."

That was what was different. Mom had always been his anchor, his lifeline, and now she was gone. And she was never coming back.

"Look at him, not even attempting to fight back," Laughter sounded around him and Kacchan began to walk away followed by everyone else. They walked up to him and patted him on the back and one even gave him a high-five for his beatdown saying just how cool he was.

They were all exiting the alley's mouth when Kacchan stopped and turned his head to look back at Izuku, "You're nothing and always will be, why don't you just do all of us a favor and take the swan dive so that we don't have to deal with your shit anymore?"

And with that they were gone and Izuku was left on the ground. Warm tears streamed down his face, but he was numb, no feeling, no pain, it all just stopped, and he knew what he was going to do.

He had made his decision.