Chapter 1 - Prologue
Speech - "Hello."
Internal thoughts - 'Hello.'
Internal memories - "Hello."
"Sorry kid it's not gonna happen."
"I'm sorry Izuku!"
"You know if you really want to be a hero that badly there actually might be another way. Just pray you'll be born with a Quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building!"
"You can't become a hero without a Quirk."
'All men are not created equal.'
These thoughts and memories repeat within the mind of Izuku Midoriya. A powerless boy in a world defined by those with extraordinary power known as Quirks. Quirks that can range from your eyes being able to pop out of your head to the ability to control the elements. To grow as large as a building or soar higher into the sky!
The boy in question faced the morning believing today was going to be a great day! And to an extent it was. A hero villain conflict that ended with the arrival and debut of the hero Mt Lady. Though like most of his school days, the joy ended with a painful bang.
Kacchan, his fr-…ex-friend and current bully with an Explosion based Quirk had assaulted him as per usual. Why? Because he was Quirkless!
"Take a swan dive-"
"N-No, he knows he shouldn't have said that…it isn't what a h-hero would…"
Izuku tried to shake the quote out of his mind as he walked, stuck within his head as his body went on autopilot, looking down to avoid eye contact of those around him and feel invisible. For him, another face plagued the boy's mind. A towering blonde figure of muscle, charisma, and heroics was in truth being a disguise for a broken shell of a man. The number one hero of Japan, All Might.
"Pro Heroes are always having to risk their lives. Some villains just can't be beaten without powers. So no, honestly I don't think you can become a hero without a Quirk."
While Izuku didn't want to admit as it goes against his entire dream…but All Might was right. Heck he even gave a reasonable substitute in becoming a police officer.
That thought on its own made the boy tear up. Then he proved it again…he so foolishly without any thought ran to face a villain he was at fault for releasing in some suicidal desire to save his own abuser! Only to get saved by All Might again.
Izuku darkly chuckled at his own stupidity.
"I-I never even put in the physical effort. Quirk or not. I-I'm just…"
'Too weak.'
He looked at his right hand. His dominant hand…weak, frail, and a part of a Deku of a person. He'd wipe his tears before finally taking a look around. What he saw surprised him.
"W-What?"
While Izuku had been mentally berating himself. He had walked along a much different path. Looking around Izuku noticed he was on the outskirts of Mustafu.
'A subconscious desire to leave?'
Looking further the green haired teen noticed he wasn't too far from a fenced off forest. A familiar sight from much better times, Ebott Forest.
"Come on, let's fight bad guys!"
On that day they had heard rumors about the forest and mountain it surrounded named Mount Ebott. Some old fairy tales dug up from the Pre-Quirk era about monsters that came out to kill children. Kacchan wanted to prove a point and defeat those monsters.
In retrospect it was a very irrational rumor, a myth that could never be true. It was more likely someone saw an animal with a Quirk. But still his explosive...acquaintance went fearlessly forward.
He could still hear the cheers of Kacchan…no, Bakugou's posse. Back then and even now his better judgment told him to go home. It was late and his mother was likely worried. He didn't even text her in the last hour to tell her he's okay.
But on the other hand his irrational side told him—
"Take a swan dive off the roof of the building!"
—That it may be time to start praying.
So Izuku grabbed the closest stick on the low chance he needed to defend himself and continued forward past the fences and their warning signs. Unknowing of something that at this moment picked up his presence.
The forest was a pleasant sight to behold! Birds were singing and flowers were blooming. The sound of running water caught his attention as he noticed the giant log that formed the bridge over it.
"Forward march and here we go! Members of the Agency Baku-"
'Enough!'
Good memories tainted…he just wanted to get away from them. Though passing over the bridge Izuku felt a radiating energy that seemed to hum at the back of his brain. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but this hum seemed to persist within his brain no matter how much he tried to shake it off.
Moving past the known path beyond how far Kacchan and he had ever gone, Izuku noticed an entrance at the end of the trail. A feeling of apprehension filled him at the sight of it. For whatever laid within was dark aside from the rays of sun from whatever gap existed in the roof some ways back.
"…I-I refuse to back down now. I won't w…wimp out when I got so far already!"
Izuku said this less as a statement of his willingness, but to try and psyche himself up to continue forward into the towering mountain.
Into the cave the boy could see the truth: the cave's mouth was shaded and dark brown in appearance. A circular cave of lighter brown dirt and stone with unruly plants made their home within the cavern's being with roots hanging from the ceiling. A sight that showed the natural beauty of life that existed out of the sun's full sight. Though in the middle of what he could only assume to be a sinkhole with grasping vines coming out of it…or vines that started and hung towards whatever laid below.
And so Izuku continued forward using the stick to move vines and contracting on his steps to avoid tripping in till he reached the edge.
'Darkness.'
All he saw was a large pit with no end…none that he could see at least.
"Take a swan dive…"
Maybe Kacchan shouldn't control him, so instead he decided to sit down on the edge bending in on himself to try and feel some comfort. The feeling of being alone was scary and yet desired. Weary from the walk it took to get here and unknowingly getting his right foot in between a loop of thick vines. His emotions fully caught up with him.
"Sorry kid it's not gonna happen."
"I'm sorry Izuku!"
Four years old.
That was the age he should have realized the truth. Dr. Tsubasa, his Quirk pediatrician, told them as such. That damned joint was the difference between him having a Quirk and him being where he is now. He could only tear up reliving the memory. Not his dramatically large tears of feeling overly emotional, but silent small ones which rolled and dropped off of the boy into the pit below.
"…M-Maybe this isn't it. I could still try and be a h-hero! Maybe A-All Might was wrong. I trained my m-mind so if I try enough I could…c-could…"
No matter how hard Izuku tried to convince himself, the boy knew it was impossible. Life wasn't on his side. If fate was real then it despised him who's Quirkless and abandoned.
Abandoned by his closest friend, the other friends who followed Kac-Bakugou, the teachers who ignored the bullying, and heck his own father left them!
"You're a total failure Deku."
"M-Maybe they're all right…"
Izuku muttered this, a quiet acceptance. At Least as much as he could. It might not be so bad to aim instead to be the best cop.
"It's n-not as far-fetched. Aside from cops with mutation Quirks that enhanced their physical attributes passively, the police can't use their Quirks on the job to deal with criminals and villains."
Izuku muttered in a somewhat incoherent ramble with a reluctant acceptance of this alternative before looking up towards the sky. Noting the orange that bathed above he knew it was late. His mom likely would be choked up crying while preparing to call the police.
That sent a wave of guilt to him. It might have been better to simply head home and lay in bed to debate all this and give a false sense of security that he was alright to his mother…it wasn't the first time.
But…he may have just defaulted back to his stubborn denial of reality then. Ate some Katsudon and continue tomorrow like nothing has happened. Only to end up recklessly endangering his life another time, possibly permanently ending it.
So in a somewhat truth Izuku was glad he made this journey and decided it was best now to leave with the determination to stop being reckless and actually make something for himself.
Though as usual, when he felt somewhat good about himself, life finds a way to shake to end that. As Izuku attempted to push himself away from the hole to leave he felt something impeded his movement.
"H-Huh?"
Izuku looked back at the pit to his legs. Noticing a green vine was around his leg.
"O-Oh…should've paid attention to that."
He then attempted to pull his leg out of his natural binding.
First he tried to pull his leg out lightly.
Failed
Second he tried loosening it with his stick and pulled his leg a bit harder.
Failed
Third he attempted to pull his leg out forcefully.
Success…?
The third attempt did get his leg up…with the vine still attached. Unknowing that…
"P-Phew…that's-"
Izuku felt the ground loosen and move downwards, the vine he so vehemently wanted unbound from was actually the ledge under him stable.
"O-Oh No-AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Down goes the broccoli kid.
Ba-Bump
Izuku fell into the darkness. Looking upwards at first he felt absolute fear as the hole became smaller and smaller. The world he once knew that had played with him senselessly finally threw him into a symbolic trash can.
Ba-Bump
His heart thumped madly. The unknown hum in the back of his brain seemed to reverberate loudly, seemingly nullifying all his senses except the feeling of the whipping wind he passed and all the conflicting emotions.
Fear
Regret
Dread
He didn't want to die! Why did he come here?!
Ba-Bump
His life flashed before his eyes, the visions seemed to grow redder and redder as what seemed like a heart-shaped object took center stage. It all was so strange and filled…what…?
Ba-Bump
The fear seemed to leave Izuku for a moment. An unknown sense of peace passed him. Though before he could question it a patch of golden flowers could be seen below among a floor of plants and purple bricks.
Ba-Bump
This sight quickly closed on him as he fell into the patch and…
BANG
CRUNCH
Everything went black.
'Damnit Deku?! Why the hell did he act so stupid!?'
"I don't know why! My legs…they just…started moving!"
'stupid! He could have got himself killed!'
These thoughts came from the explosive Katsuki Bakugou. Middle schooler and bully who was currently stomping in anger as he ran the path he'd normally walk home on.
Why was he running? Well, because of 'Deku' otherwise named Izuku Midoriya. The idiot attempted to save him from a low life Sludge villain.
While Bakugo would never admit it…the attempt did buy him time to get air in to not drown and become that piece of shit's flesh suit. But that stupid Deku almost got himself killed if not for All Might. It didn't matter if he had tried to save him or not. All Might would have made it and dealt with it anyways.
Honestly he should have asked for an autograph but…never mind, he needs to tell that damned fool that he did NOTHING and he was stupid to almost get himself killed and to not look down on him!
He was the top dog! That bush head was an extra of his story that needed to know his place!
He knew the moron was slow when it came to walking so he shouldn't have gotten too far. Continuing forward he saw no sign of the signature Green mop of hair that sat atop Deku's head and despite his great stamina even Bakugou had to stop to catch his breath.
'Where is he dammit?! Deku isn't that fast and he doesn't take the subway. So where…'
"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU DEKU?"
Bakugou screamed in anger.
"IF YOU THINK YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME I'LL-"
Poof
Smoke came from the left of the crossway between houses that Bakugou had been standing close to. From it came coughs with the sound of…something coming from them.
"You know people are trying to enjoy their evenings in peace young man?"
From the white smoke came a skeleton of a man with blackened sclera and blond hair clothed like he liked to wear clothes way too big for him. One would assume he was a dead man walking shriveled to a mummy if not for the light blue piercing irises that held a familiar yet somewhat unnerving glare.
Despite that, the audacity of his words pissed Bakugou off royally. He didn't care if people were annoyed. They were just extras that should mind their own business! Especially some dead looking man who obviously has been smoking too much!
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Small explosions came from his left hand.
"What the hell did you-"
"Are you sure you want to try that? It wouldn't be a good idea to get arrested just after you got saved, right?"
Now that statement gave Bakugou a moment of pause. The wimpy croak didn't fear him and…it wouldn't be such a good idea right now. Especially if All Might was still around.
"Hmph, whatever."
Bakugou put his hands back into his pockets and walked away with his metaphorical tail between his legs and muttered to himself.
"I'll deal with that damned Deku tomorrow."
The skeleton of a man sighed. He had planned to catch the green haired boy. from the journal Toshi had skimmed through before signing it. Guessing he had gone in this direction from what he could see over the reporters and the boy's direction when he got caught in the sludge villain's crossfire. But all he got was the explosion kid who obviously wasn't his choice.
Though if he were to guess, that boy was likely a bully to him…and if he had been attempting to follow him. Either Midoriya had guessed he would follow him and cut into another path…or was a lot quicker than he assumed. The former was more likely as the boy didn't look like the running type. With training maybe, but currently no.
With this in mind, Yagi Toshinori decided to call it a day. If the boy wasn't around he'd simply do some research and meet Midoriya back where the Sludge Villain tried to attack him.
Author's Notes -
Hello, hello! My name is Evarstar101 and this is my first Fanfiction! I've been writing outlines and such for awhile though finally got the motivation to put in my first story. While I'm unsure how long till the next chapter if you have any reviews/critiques I'd love to hear them to help me in future chapters/updating this to better suit reading. Anyways, have a lovely day!