Hi, everyone! Quick note from the author here- these next few chapters deal with Midoriya his fellow ex-U.A. students before they leave the school, and explore the origin of their motivations for turning to crime. That said, I know long flashbacks of pure backstory aren't for everyone- if you're just interested in pure villain action, skip ahead to Chapter 4, Down the Rabbit Hole. Either way, hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2: What's Past is Prologue
"A phone call… is here! A phone call… is here!"
Swearing softly under his breath, Yagi Toshinori fumbled in the pocket of his coat for his cellphone, setting down his chopsticks and flushing with color as Aizawa, Present Mic, and Midnight all glanced in his direction with expressions ranging somewhere between annoyance and sullen acceptance. It was the first day of class at U.A., and his first official day on the job as a teacher- he had been trying his best all throughout their planning meetings over the last month to make a good impression with his new coworkers, but his ringtone was one thing they hadn't been able to get over yet, apparently.
"Shit, shit… yes, hello?"
"All Might- it's me. Do you have a moment to talk?"
Toshinori sucked in a sharp breath in shock when he recognized the voice on the line, and a small shower of blood spurted from his mouth, to the dismay of Mic, who had been sitting closest to him.
"Yes, absolutely! One moment."
Abandoning his half-eaten gyudon, he muted the call, grabbed a napkin, and frantically wiped down where the stray droplets had sprayed across the table before turning to the others and clapping his hands together in apology.
"Please excuse me, everyone! I need to take this, I'll be back in a moment!"
Darting outside the door before they could respond, he grew into his hero form as he left the teachers' lounge behind and made way down the hall, unmuting the call and launching back into the conversation with his trademark bombast.
"Apologies for the delay, but I am here now! What can I do for my old sidekick?"
"You don't have to talk to me like that," Sir Nighteye replied, as curt as ever. "For what I want to discuss, I need to speak to the real you regardless, not the Symbol of Peace. I trust that you're adjusting well to U.A. so far?"
Deflated somewhat by his former partner's bluntness, Toshinori lowered his voice back to its normal tone when he answered.
"Well enough- I haven't gotten to see too much of the students yet, but the other teachers have all been incredibly helpful. I have to say, Nighteye…" I didn't think you'd call, he almost said, but thought better of it. "…I wasn't expecting to hear from you." Shit, that's almost as bad!
"If there haven't been any problems so far, I'll skip the rest of the pleasantries." Nighteye blew past Toshinori's last remark completely, and All Might could practically see the lanky man steepling his fingers at his desk as he spoke. "I want to talk about your successor. You still haven't chosen one, I take it?"
"Well, I…" He hesitated for a moment, then let out a defeated sigh. "No, I haven't. For a while after I moved here I thought I might get a head start by hunting for candidates before the school year started, but no one truly caught my eye. The year just started, though, and finding the right one is the reason I'm here, after all." Feeling restless, he set out toward the rear of the school as he spoke, wanting to stretch his legs a bit in the training yard before classes resumed; it was lunch hour right now, so the halls were relatively deserted.
"Hm, I see. I just thought I'd check if you had any candidates in mind so far. By all means, keep watching the hero course students as you settle into your position- the U.A. upperclassmen have some real standout talents in their ranks right now. But if no one grabs your attention, there's a third-year working at my office who I'd like you to meet- I've already spoken to your principal about him, actually."
Throwing open the door and stepping out into the warm afternoon sunlight, Toshinori started to reply, but paused when he almost tripped over someone sitting on the steps. Yagi's mouth fell open in horror when he realized that he'd stepped on the boy's notebook and school folders, and his mind began racing for an excuse to politely end the call.
"That sounds great, but I'll have to get back to you about it later! Class is, uh… about to start! My apologies!"
"…It's 12:37. I looked up your schedule before I called, your next class doesn't start for another-"
Toshinori hung up before Nighteye could finish his sentence, crouching down to his knees to help pick up the scattered papers, but the boy had already snatched them up, and was clutching them to his chest, his eyes wide in… Fear? All Might was used to his presence provoking strong emotional reactions in people young and old, but aside from villains and criminals, fear was rarely one of them. His heart sank further when he realized that a wad of dirt-stained pink gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe had smeared itself across one of the notebook pages in the boy's arms; several of his drawings were wrinkled and torn.
"My apologies, young man, I didn't see you there!" He put on a winning smile, doing his best to cheer the startled boy up. "Don't worry, I'm sure I can find someone in the staff room whose quirk can help us make that notebook look good as new!"
To his shock, his words had the exact opposite effect than intended. Tears started to well up in the boy's wide green eyes, which he quickly dropped to the ground. When he answered, his voice was shaking.
"I-it's all right, sir, don't w-worry about it. I'll be ok."
Something's wrong. All Might's protective instincts kicked into full gear, and he gently placed one hand on the boy's shoulder- the child flinched away from his touch.
"Are you sure you're alright, young man? Why are you out here all alone, and not in the dining hall? Lunch Rush prepared a delicious menu for everyone's first day, why don't you and I go get some?"
The boy's gaze stayed fixed on the concrete stairs beneath him, and his reply was barely above a whisper.
"Y-you don't remember me?"
Oh, shit. Everything clicked at once in Toshinori's mind, and he realized with a start why the boy's untamed mop of green hair had seemed familiar. The one I who accidentally saw my true form, of course! You damn idiot, how could you possibly have forgotten?!
"Ah, that's right- from the day that sludge villain attacked! You were instrumental in helping me bring that vile criminal to justice, young Midoriyo!" Please let that be right, please let that be right. The minor incident had been ten months ago, but Yagi always made a conscious effort to remember his fans' faces and names whenever possible, and that encounter in particular should have been memorable. "It's thanks to you that I was able to secure him in that bottle so quickly, and keep him from attacking anyone else!"
"It's M-Midoriya, Midoriya Izuku." Shit. It took all the discipline Toshinori had to keep smiling unflinchingly as Izuku lifted his watery eyes up to meet his. "Do you remember what else you told me that day?"
Finally, Yagi's smile broke, the corners of his mouth drifting down to set in an uneven line.
"I… do, yes." I cannot simply say 'you can become a hero without power'. He winced slightly as he recalled the words."I'm sorry I couldn't say more to you that day, or give you a happier message. But look how well for yourself you've done- you're here at U.A., with the best of the best! That's fantastic!" Toshinori quickly regained his optimistic demeanor, and his smile returned.
"Yeah, I guess… in the general studies program, though." Midoriya sniffed and wiped away his tears with a sleeve. He forced a trembling smile, but Yagi couldn't help but think that there was something hollow in his eyes- a pang of guilt shot through his heart. "I trained and studied really hard to get here, and everyone seems amazing so far…" He trailed off, and the smile faded.
"You still haven't told me why you're out here all alone." All Might said quietly, dropping a bit of the bombast from his voice again. "Are you adjusting alright? Did something happen?"
"No, nothing bad happened, it's just…" he paused, and the tears started welling again. "The other kids at my table were all introducing themselves by talking about their quirks, and when they got to me, I… I just c-couldn't look at them anymore." He was trying desperately to wipe his eyes even as they were overflowing, shrinking away from All Might with every passing moment. "I'm so sorry you have to s-see me like this, I should go…"
He stood abruptly and rushed through the door with his head down; Toshinori rose and started after him, but they both froze in their tracks when a loud crash sounded from down the hall, and smoke started to filter out of the Development Studio. Breaking into a sprint, All Might was at the door in a flash, and nearly yanked it off its handles as he opened it.
"Is everything alright?! Is anyone hurt?!"
"No worries, All Might-sensei!" A girl with bright pink hair and a pair of goggles fastened on her head strode out confidently from the cloud of smoke, holding a sparking, half-charred rocket boot in her hands. "Baby number three is just having some growing pains- I must have crossed a wire or two wrong somewhere in there. The name is Hatsume Mei, by the way, first-year in the support course! It's such an honor to meet you!"
Before he knew it he was shaking her hand, though the exact details were still processing.
"I… well, it's good no one was injured, but you should be more careful, young Hatsume! Where's your teacher, though? And why aren't you in the dining hall?"
"Power Loader-sensei said after class this morning that I could use the studio during my free time if I wanted, so I just came here instead of eating! I've finished three babies already!"
Already building support items on the first day? She really moves fast, huh? Toshinori opened his mouth to praise her for her initiative while admonishing her for being careless, but he was cut off by Midoriya, who had caught up to them and was staring at Hatsume's creation with wide-eyed amazement, his tears forgotten.
"Whoa, is that rocket boot modeled off the ones used by the Buster Hero, Air Jet?!"
"It sure is!" She turned excitedly to her classmate, practically bouncing. "Are you a fan of his too? I'm Hatsume Mei, in case you didn't hear, first-year in support!"
"He's one of my favorites, yeah! I'm Midoriya Izuku, first-year in general studies, it's great to meet you! Have you seen the one move where he…"
The two were quickly engrossed in a discussion of famous hero support items, and for once in the past few decades, All Might was completely in the background- it was a refreshing feeling. Doing his best not to interrupt them, he politely shooed the two toward the cafeteria, then made his way back to the teacher's lounge, a broad smile on his face. It seems like things worked out after all!
"I'm sorry, but my answer is no."
Shota Aizawa did his best not to sound too harsh- an impressive effort, given how frustrating his students had been today- as he sat with fingers steeped across the table from Midoriya Izuku. The sports festival had been an exhausting affair, and with internships and midterms approaching soon, he already had more than enough on his plate without figuring out the logistics of how to allow a quirkless student to take the hero course transfer exam. On top of all that, his face still ached where he had removed the bandages from the USJ attack days ago; each movement of his eyes and mouth set off a dull twinge of pain.
"But… what?" Disbelief was plain on the boy's face, and he rose to his feet from the couch. "Sir, you've seen what I can do, you watched the videos Hitoshi and Mei took of me using the enhancers in the studio! Do you need a live demonstration? I can book the space for after school on the first available day to show you!" As he spoke, the boy gestured frantically to the support items he wore across his body: on his feet and back, rocket boosters for flight, on his fists, metal gauntlets connected to shock absorbing arm braces for strength, on his head, a pair of goggles with nightvision and rangefinding capabilities, currently hung around his neck.
"No, that's quite alright- I've seen enough. The videos were fairly impressive, actually." Aizawa cut his panicked motions short with a wave of his hand, then leaned forward across the table. "But they still do not make you suited for hero work. The fact remains that your performance would depend on these support items almost entirely."
Izuku seemed prepared for this argument, sitting straight up and reciting names from memory, his face set in determination.
"Air Jet, Ingenium, Backdraft, even Present Mic here at U.A.- plenty of amazing heroes rely on support items, and that doesn't-"
"Wrong." Eraser cut him off midsentence, shaking his head. I hate to be the one to burst his bubble, he mused, but someone has to make him face reality before he gets himself hurt. "They do not rely on their support items. I've heard a good bit about you from your teachers, Midoriya, including how knowledgeable you are about heroes. You of all your classmates should know best, then, that support items are meant to complement the wearer's quirk or address a specific weakness, never to be the primary source of their power and ability. Even if you take Present Mic's speaker away, for instance, his quirk is still more than powerful enough to shatter eardrums without it- he only uses it to control where his soundwaves flow. The same concept applies to the other heroes you mentioned. It is a poor hero who grows too reliant on technology as anything more than a stopgap. I'm sorry, but passion alone cannot change that fact."
"I can integrate them into my own unique fighting style, I promise I won't depend on them too much! If you want I-I'll do it without them!" Stoic until now, Izuku's eyes were wide as saucers, and beginning to well with tears. He was struggling to detach his enhancers as he spoke, tearing the braces haphazardly off his arms. Aizawa raised a questioning eyebrow. He's emotionally unstable too. A bad combination.
"I'm afraid that's also out of the question. Going up against other students and the obstacles we put in your way without a quirk to hold your own… the risks to your personal safety are too great."
"A-All Might, please, help him understand! I just want to be like you! I want to save people with a smile!" Struggling to contain his tears, Midoriya turned to the other teacher in the office, taking a tentative step forward. Toshinori had been standing at the back of the room for the duration of the meeting, mostly keeping his gazed fixed out the window. He was reverted to his weakened form; as far as Aizawa knew, Midoriya was the only student at U.A. aware of the nature of his condition, a frustrating coincidence given Izuku's request. Yagi was silent for a long moment before he finally spoke.
"Young Midoriya… I'm sorry, but Aizawa is right." All Might was clearly struggling to find the right words, and his eyes remained averted from Izuku. "It's always been my belief that a hero must be able to stand on the merit of his own power- that's why I've never taken to using support items. Your situation is clearly a special case, and maybe with enough dedication, you could successfully shape these enhancements like others shape their quirks, but there are some things we as your teachers would not be able to ignore. What if you encounter a villain who warps metal? Disables electronics? What if young Hatsume's creations malfunction at a critical moment? If we could count on support items to be as foolproof in every encounter as quirks, then all heroes would wear rocket boots and fighting gauntlets and every other upgrade they could fit onto their costumes. But at the end of the day, we just can't, so we don't. You wouldn't be safe going on like this, Midoriya, and what kind of hero would I be if I let you put yourself needlessly in harm's way to try and follow in my footsteps?"
Surprisingly wise words, from him. Aizawa noted Toshinori's reluctance to give the boy an unambiguous rejection, and with a heavy sigh, turned to Midoriya to deliver the final blow.
"Safety is more paramount than ever here at U.A., especially after the USJ attack, and the revelation that villains are beginning to organize again. This is not the right time for a trial period on an educational experiment. All Might has spoken to me about his previous conversation with you on this topic, but while you cannot be a hero as you are, that doesn't mean you can't do something heroic. You are still capable of pursuing many career paths in line with your ideals- don't let this setback affect your goals. Have you considered applying for transfer to the support course instead? I'm sure that with your friend Hatsume's guidance, you could develop a talent for mechanics quickly. There are a wealth of possibilities within general studies too, of course, which would allow you fulfill your urge to help others- police or rescue work, for instance. You have many options, Midoriya, but your request for permission to sit the hero course transfer exam is denied."
Izuku had frozen up by the time Aizawa finished, his mouth contorted in a grimace somewhere between despair and defiance. His eyes were fixed on the floor, and his body was shaking with emotion.
"I… you… how could you…"
Before he could complete his thought, the door to the office swung open; All Might grew back into his muscular form in the nick of time as Shinso Hitoshi and Hatsume Mei burst through.
"That's completely unfair, Aizawa-sensei!" Shinso cried, exasperated. "Can't you tell how much he wants it? He'll do anything just for the chance to sit the exam, it's no cost to you just to let him take it!"
"I've been working so hard on making the perfect combination of babies for him!" Hatsume added, picking up Izuku's discarded arm braces and fastening them back onto his body as Midoriya stood between the two, speechless. "He's my special project! I'll fine tune them as much as you want, make sure they run perfectly with as close to a 0% malfunction rate as I can get! And I appreciate your suggestion, but even I can tell that he wouldn't really be happy in Support!"
"And I know that he's not happy in General Studies," Hitoshi continued, "we've been talking about this since we met the first week of class. He and I both want to transfer to the hero course- but for me to get the chance and for him not to- you're all failing him if this is what your response is! If not even U.A. can be bothered to try and help him live his dream, what is he supposed to do?"
"Find another," Aizawa snapped, his patience finally at an end. "You two were eavesdropping, weren't you?" His eyes shot to Hatsume, who hesitantly produced a dish-shaped listening device connected to two earbuds from her pocket- no doubt one of her countless creations.
"We just wanted to make sure everything went ok for Izuku, we didn't mean any-"
"Detention, three days, both of you. Hastume, rest assured that I'll be speaking to Power Loader about cutting back your time in the Development Studio for the rest of the week. And Shinso, I frankly don't care how well you did at the Sports Festival- one more word out of you and I'll revoke your permission to take the transfer exam as well." The two sank into a shocked silence at that, their cheeks flushed red.
"Wha- don't punish them, this isn't their fault!" Midoriya suddenly remembered how to speak again, and was waving his hands back and forth vigorously. "I could have stopped them, I should have made sure they didn't come! Aizawa-sensei, you can't…" He realized his mistake too late, and screwed his eyes shut as he waited for the inevitable rebuke.
"Oh really, Midoriya? I can't?" Shota cocked an eyebrow, wincing at the pain the simple motion caused him. "Do you want to join them? Because you're about to."
Izuku glanced to his friends; when he looked back, all the fear and sadness in his eyes had been replaced by anger.
"I might as well. Seems like they're the only ones who care about me in this school anyway."
"Bullshit. This whole thing is just… such a load of bullshit."
Shinso kicked a stray rock along the street for effect as he spoke, his hands stuffed in his pockets. It was past nine on a Thursday night, and he, Midoriya, and Hatsume were walking home together from their third and last session of detention. Aside from the gentle chirping of crickets and the sound of their voices, most of the neighborhoods they passed through were silent and still.
"Seconded," Hatsume seemed drained of her usual energy, and was conspicuously lacking the usual smears of grease on her face and arms. "I haven't been allowed in the studio outside of class all week- I'm about to die from withdrawal." She took a turn at kicking Shinso's rock when they caught up to it, sending it sailing over a nearby home's fence. "I know we shouldn't have talked back to Aizawa-sensei, but aren't they always telling them to go plus ultra to help others in the hero course? At the end of the day, isn't that what we were trying to do?"
"I… I just don't get it. First, they stack the entrance exam in favor of combat quirks, and now they pull this with the most enthusiastic applicant they could ever ask for? I don't know if I even want to go through the trouble of trying to transfer anymore."
Assigned to the same homeroom class, 1-C, Shinso and Midoriya had met during the first week, and quickly bonded over their mutual desire to switch to the hero course. Izuku had introduced him to Mei shortly after, and half a semester later, the group was practically inseparable, spending countless hours after school together in the Development Studio as Hatsume worked on her babies, in the gym as Midoriya and Hitoshi trained, or simply out exploring the city. Since grade school, Shinso's classmates had mocked him for his quirk, told him that it was only good for criminals, and in response he generally tended to shy away from attempting to befriend others. But there was something so intense about Izuku and Mei- their drive to achieve their goals was so strong- that he couldn't help but be drawn to them, like a moth to two shining flames. It wasn't that they were particularly popular, or funny, or strong- Midoriya was a quirkless nerd and Hatsume an obsessive gearhead- but he found himself opening up to them all the same; he couldn't remember the last people he had felt this comfortable around.
A few weeks into their friendship, Midoriya had opened up to them about just how serious he was about his desire to be a hero, about his childhood, his bullies, his parents, his fascination with All Might- everything. Hatsume leapt at the chance to build a new set of combat augmentation babies, and after a month of trial and error with different combinations of support items, on top of Izuku's already strenuous physical training regimen, they'd recorded a demonstration of his abilities. Spurred on by Hitoshi's fourth place finish at the sports festival, where he'd brainwashed three hero course students to make it to the semifinals before Tokoyami Fumikage caught on and refused to answer his question, they'd talked him into calling the meeting with Aizawa and All Might, reasoning that the hero course teachers might be more willing to consider transfer candidates in general after how well Shinso had performed. Now, in the aftermath, they still weren't sure how to pick up the pieces.
"Don't give up for my sake, Hitoshi."
Shinso and Mei both started, and traded a glance. Midoriya had been withdrawn and quiet all week, pushing away most of their attempts to console him. Aside from simple answers and requests in class and at lunch, it was the most he'd spoken the entire day.
"Just because they don't understand my dream doesn't mean that you should cut yours short. I know that you can be a great hero, Hitoshi. I just need to make them understand… if the video wasn't enough… but what more could they…"
He quickly devolved into one of his bouts of unintelligible muttering, and after exchanging another knowing look, they fell back behind him and let him ramble on, making their own small talk as they continued homeward. As each streetlamp they passed bathed Mei in its dull yellow glow, Hitoshi couldn't help but think that she looked different, somehow, without her usual aura of grease and sweat. Almost cute, in a strange, 'I'll never love you like I love my monkey wrench' sort of way. And while it showed less skin than her usual workshop attire, the school uniform had a funny way of accentuating her curves. Huh. This is new. He blinked, surprised at himself, but unable to look away. Has her chest always been that… well-shaped? But then her crosshair-pupiled eyes caught him staring, and he quickly snapped his head forward, stammering for a conversation topic.
"God, yeah, I can't believe they have someone like Aizawa teaching first year hero candidates. Talk about a stick up your ass. I swear, sometimes I'm tempted to just brainwash the whole administration. Too bad my quirk lets them know it's happening, it would solve a whole lot of problems."
"Sometimes I'm tempted to make a baby to fix that loophole for ya." She responded with a giggle, but then they both grew silent, thinking about what they'd said. She's joking, right? His gaze drifted up to the moonless sky above them. Would it even be… no, no, it's illegal, that's out of the question.
They came upon Midoriya's block before he could consider it any further- their houses were all in the same general direction, but he lived the closest to the school out of the three of them. Just as they were about to say their goodbyes, though, something flashy and colorful in the dumpster nearest to the curb caught Shinso's eye, and he took a step closer to examine it.
"Wait, Izuku, is that…" Another step, and Hitoshi's eyes widened. "Holy shit, is that your All Might poster?"
"No way!" Mei sprinted up to the garbage bin and peered in. "Izuku, this is your whole collection! All the action figures too, and the comics!"
They had been to Midoriya's apartment a number of times since the beginning of the school year, and never failed to make fun of him for his extreme taste in superhero décor.
"But you loved all that stuff, why would you…" Hitoshi trailed off- he and Hatsume both already knew the answer. Fuck, he's taking this even harder than I thought if he went that far. When Izuku finally replied, his eyes were lowered to the ground, and his voice was quiet. Shinso couldn't help but notice that one of his fists was clenched at his side, though.
"I, uh… got kind of angry the other night, after the meeting. And sad. I might have gotten a little carried away. But I just… I couldn't look at him anymore, not when he was all around me like that. It doesn't feel right anymore. Like I'm just not worthy. I… I don't even deserve his presence."
"Whoa, whoa, hold it right there."
"Yeah, wait just one second."
In an instant Hitoshi and Mei closed the distance to Izuku and wrapped into a group hug with the quirkless boy at the center.
"Don't you ever call yourself worthless, ok?" Shinso ruffled Midoriya's hair as he broke the embrace. "You'll find a way to prove yourself to them. I know you will."
Prove myself. I have to prove myself. How do I prove myself?
Over the next few days, Midoriya Izuku chased obsessively after that elusive, amorphous goal, discarding idea after idea in a manic fervor. At the time he'd been so sure that the video of his performance with Mei's babies would be enough, so confident that All Might would finally see his passion, recognize his capabilities. But he rejected me. He still rejected me. I'm still not good enough for him. They still don't understand.
For a days after the meeting, he'd fallen into a cycle of despair and denial and anger, eating little and talking less, even to his closest friends. His mother was worried sick, and nearly fainted with shock when he threw out his collection of All Might memorabilia, but he hadn't been able to muster up the courage to explain to her, to put his pain into words. Every night since the rejection, the face of the Symbol of Peace, a comforting presence for so many years as it stared down at him from his walls and shelves, had become nothing more than a reminder of his own inadequacy. He'd felt like vomiting every second he spent in his room until it was all safely in the dumpster.
But now, after a week of agonizing over his failure, he finally felt like he had the answer. They don't understand, so I have to make them understand. I have to show them how committed I am. I have to, I have to, I have to…
Those were the words Izuku muttered again and again beneath his breath as he shoved Mei's gauntlets and googles into his backpack after class, covering them up with his gym clothes for good measure. As he darted out of the empty development studio and caught back up with his friends where they were waiting for him at the school entrance, making some innocuous excuse about the bathroom. As he dumped the support items out onto his desk that night, threw on an inconspicuous grey hoodie to hide the arm braces and gauntlets, and slipped out the door while Inko was busy doing the dishes. As he slipped on the goggles once he had walked a good twenty minutes away from his neighborhood, toward the rougher part of town, and pulled up his hood.
If I show them that I can rescue someone from a villain, then that'll prove it to them. Then they'll understand. They'll see how great of a hero I can be. I can save people with a smile too.
Trembling from anticipation, Izuku forced a shaky smile onto his face, and pulled his latest notebook from his jacket pocket- a flash of anger came and went when he saw the torn pages where All Might had stepped on it, just as he'd stepped on the rest of Midoriya's aspirations, over and over.
"I'll finally make myself worthy of you tonight," he whispered, flipping to his most recent notes, a catalogue of known villains and criminals operating in this area of the ward. No longer in neatly walled residential neighborhoods, he was passing bars and brothels and mahjong dens now; red lights glowed all around him, giving the throngs of drunken revelers bustling through the narrow streets and alleys a sinister aura. A month ago he might have felt terrified walking through a place like this, but now, the danger made him feel alive. His forced smile slowly grew into a real one as he thought of all the lowlifes he could find here, what tactics he'd use to fight them, how they'd fall on their knees before him and bow down to his skill and ability. It occurred to him that that last thought wasn't very herolike, and he paused, trying to shake it from his head.
Then a shrill scream pierced the din of the crowds, and just a dozen paces away, he saw his chance- a woman was frantically pointing after a man darting away with a red bundle in his arms. A purse snatcher. It wasn't quite the type of villain that Midoriya had been hoping for, but he sprinted after the thief all the same, away from the crowds and into a series of twisting backalleys. The man must not have expected any pursuers or heard Izuku's footsteps; he found the thief dumping out the purse's contents in the deserted space behind an old restaurant, rifling through a pile of makeup accessories, loose yen notes, and hygiene products. He let out a cry of triumph when he finally found her cellphone, and was in the process of pocketing it when Midoriya finally found the courage to speak up.
"All right, that's enough! Put your hands behind your head and get on your knees! You're coming with me!"
The man flinched and dropped the phone, but when he whipped around and saw Izuku, he started to laugh.
"What kind of hero are you supposed to be? Sweatshirt Boy?" He leered at Midoriya with sharp white fangs and vertically-slitted yellow eyes from beneath a mop of greasy black hair, and pulled a switchblade from inside his jacket. "Get out of here before you start to annoy me, ya fuckin' twerp."
"I'm not gonna do that." Izuku took a step forward and clenched his fist, feeling the smooth metal of Hatsume's gauntlets slide over his knuckles as he observed his enemy. Much of the man's appearance was vaguely feline- His quirk. Night vision, maybe, or quick reflexes? "I said, you're coming with me. Now you can come quietly or-"
Midoriya was still midsentence when the thief lunged forward with his knife, driving it directly toward his stomach. He barely had time to dodge before the man slashed across his right arm; the blade tore through the sleeve of Izuku's hoodie, and would have dug into his flesh, but caught on the metal of the braces instead, and bounced cleanly off. The thief stumbled back, confused- in the brief opening, Midoriya drive his fist into the man's chest with all the power he could manage. Magnifying the force of impact by a factor of five and adding a 300 volt electrical shock, Mei's baby sent the thief staggering backwards and onto the ground, the outline of a fist singed on the front of his shirt. Midoriya marveled at the device with wide eyes; he'd seen what it could do to target dummies before, but this was his first time using it on a real person. That was amazing… I wonder how much the impact force depends on momentum, though. Maybe if I get a running start next time…
Rising shakily to his feet, the thief tried to bolt, drawing Izuku out of his thoughts and back to reality. Dashing forward, he caught the man by one leg and forced him back down; a glint of steel flashed at the edge of his vision, and he twisted out of the way of another desperate swipe of the thief's knife as the man fell hard on his back, grabbing hold of his target's arm as soon as he regained his balance.
"Drop the weapon!"
"Fuck you," the man gritted in response, pushing back against Midoriya's grip with all his strength.
His brows furrowing in determination, Izuku drove a fist into the man's jaw and at the same time began to gradually tighten his grip around his arm, remembering his combat training. Disarm the target first. Blood spattered across the pavement where the gauntlet impacted, though there were no electrical burns left behind this time; that component of the baby had a thirty second recharge period. All the same, the sight of the man's ruined jaw produced a swirl of feelings inside Midoriya that he had never expected. Satisfaction, elation, release. The thief still hadn't dropped the knife, so Izuku hit him again, then a third time, opening a gash on his cheek and cleanly breaking his nose. Endorphins surged through his body like fire with each blow, and all at once the man's arm broke with a loud snap; the knife clattered to the ground, and the thief let out a cry of pain muffled by the blood in his mouth.
Midoriya didn't hear either sound, though- his eyes were wide in glee, and his breath was a ragged pant. Red filled his vision. He hit the man two, three, four more times, pummeling his throat and chest and shoulders as well. All the pain and emotion that he had felt over the past week- no, not just since then, since he first realized he was quirkless- was flowing out through his fists, the pent-up rage which had slowly built up inside him over eleven years of being labeled as inferior, as not good enough, as hopeless, all erupting at once.
"Am I good enough now?!" He cried, starting to chuckle as he continued his onslaught. "Am I, Kacchan?! What do you think, All Might?! Eraserhead?! Am I strong enough to be a hero now?!"
When he glanced back down he imagined Aizawa's face beneath the messy black hair instead of the thief's, but instead of holding back, he hit even harder, relishing the thought of sending the teacher's teeth flying with a single punch. A few moments later the recharge period on his electrical attack ended, and the jerking shudder that the volts sent coursing through the man's body was the most beautiful thing he had seen in ages. After a few more blows, Izuku fell back and sat down by his target's side, his arms aching from exertion. The thief was still now, and silent. As his rage slowly receded, Midoriya gradually became aware of the warm wetness on his arms, and face, and chest. The realization dawned on him slowly at first, when he glanced down to his hand and saw that he was covered in crimson almost up to the elbow.
"O-oh."
His eyes slowly drifted over to the thief, and Izuku's heart seized in his chest when he saw the mangled ruin that remained of the man's face- and everything else above his chest, for that matter. For a moment he thought to check for a pulse, but deep down he knew there was no need. He's dead. I killed him. The concept seemed so foreign, it was practically unreal. But he couldn't ignore the pool of blood that was slowly seeping across the ground towards him, running into the gutter and down the storm drain, couldn't pretend it wasn't there.
"Oh my god."
Without another word, Midoriya turned around and vomited into the nearest dumpster, his entire body shaking like a leaf. I have to get away from here, he knew. Have to go home. Still on his knees, he tore off his crimson-spattered hoodie and used the clean sections to mop off most of the blood on his hands and face, then bunched it into a ball inside his arms so that only the pristine inner fabric was facing outward. Can't leave any evidence. They can't find out. Staggering to his feet, he stumbled like a drunkard toward the street, tears welling up beneath his goggles as the trembling continued unabated. After a few tentative steps he broke into a run, charging through the red light district's crowds and not stopping or slowing until he was a block away from his home, panting and soaked in sweat. What he had done was beyond self-defense. He was a criminal. A murderer. He could never be a hero, not anymore. But what terrified Izuku the most- what he had truly been fleeing from- was how good it had felt to finally be strong.
Hope you guys enjoyed the slow burn leading up to Villain!Deku taking his first life! I realized that there was a lot more to tell in terms of flashbacks than I initially anticipated, so this is Part 1 of 3 now. Next time we'll see how Shinso and Hatsume react to this, why they leave U.A., and how Neito, Momo, and Tokoyami are involved.
Let me know your thoughts and comments in the reviews! Was this gradual descent to murder realistic?