"Sorry to break it to you, kid. You're quirkless."
~These words would define the course of Izuku Midoriya's life going forward, those exact words resonating through his core being, generating a miasma of insecurity and weakness... but also desire for power... and approval... perhaps... that is why he kept his head held high for so long, hoping that all which he wished for would come to him soon enough. A miracle of sorts... but, after years of relentless bullying and torment, and even being rejected by his idol, All Might... those hopes came crashing down like a house of cards.~
Izuku just... stood there, atop the white concrete building where he had gotten his dreams torn asunder by his idol, his world crumbling down before him. All his hopes and desires... crushed under the rubble that was the tower of hope he upheld all of these years. All Might had left a few minutes ago, the steel door leading to the exit agape, like a shadowy maw of dispair. The boy's messy dark green hair bounced in the oddly stiff and gentle winds, barely present, like the joy he had gotten from being as hopeful as he was all these years.
He was too stunned, but he didn't know why. Why would he be shocked? Even a monkey could concur that Izuku stood no chance of achieving his dreams of being a hero, having no quirk to speak of. This entire time he didn't even bother working on his physical form, instead opting to study heroes. Their behavior, motives, quirks, height, weight, hell even commercial deals and tv shows they featured in! To say the least, Izuku had a fixation on heroes... and that was an understatement.
After a few minutes of just existing, ruminating in the confusion that defined the aura now lingering on the rooftop, and the destruction of everything Izuku hoped to stand for... a single tear streamed down his round, freckled cheek, the cloudy waters of sorrow drowning out his vision and prompting the teen to wipe it away using the dark sleeve of his gakuran styled middle school outfit, but to no avail as more tears cascaded down his face. Before he knew it, he was bawling his eyes out atop the building, his devestated wails piercing the skies above, but never the hearts of the people below.
Izuku knew that sooner or later, he'd have to leave and make it back home as to not worry his mother. She was the only supportive figure in his life, and he couldn't bare the thought of making her worried sick. He turned heel and rushed through the door and down the stairs of the building, soon making it out to the sidewalks, the sight of being on ground level with everyone else again somewhat disorienting the boy. After a quick search of the nearest train station, he was on his way, but was then tickled with intrigue at the sight of a dark plume of smoke slowly raising from a nearby shopping district.
As usual, Izuku was quick to the scene. His dreams of being a hero may have been quelled, but his obsession never died, in a way... it got stronger. The teen boy stood behind a small crowd of people, squinting his eyes crusted from the tears that once plagued them, trying to get a better view before scurrying to the front, using his small and scrawny frame to slip through with ease. Izuku felt himself actively flinch out of shock at the sight of a massive villain made of sludge wreaking havoc, burning orange flames delivering a destructive dance to anything and everything, heroes either on their last legs or knocked out. In short... it was utter mayhem.
Izuku recognized the villain as the one he was once attacked by, and remembered getting saved by All Might, which in turn lead to their faithful talk atop that roof that shattered the boy. of course he wouldn't forget such villain... but... All Might captured him, did he not? He reflected on the two soda bottles the hero used to make an impromptu jail cell out of to cage the amorphous villain. Thinking a bit closer, when he hugged onto All Might's leg as he was taking off... he was sure one of the bottles let loose, flying away and dropping to god knows where in the city. By some circumstance, the villain was let free... And more likely than not... It was Izuku's fault.
The boy's stomach burned with self hatred, his body nearly folding over from the overflowing pressure, like he had gotten punched in the gut by Kacchan at full force. Speaking of Kacchan... A desperate bark escaped the mouth of someone seeminly in the villain's slimy frame. Izuku's eyes of emerald shifted up to the sound, his already widened eyes somehow getting wider, like saucepans. A burning urge struck Izuku. He wanted to save him. Sure... Kacchan was a brute, and had tormented him for upwards of ten years... but they were friends at some point, their desparity in power pushing the two apart as Izuku found out he was quirkless. It was the markings of a true hero to step in and save people... regardless of who they are, whether or not it is ones business...
As this revelation struck Izuku, he... froze, the painful words All Might had uttered moments prior acting as chains that held him back, no matter how hard he tried... or wanted. The green haired boy watched, hopeless, restrained by his fears and insecurities, became a reluctant spectator of his childhood friend's impending demise, as he watched the flicker of consiousness slowly fade from his sharp, crimson eyes.
BOOM!
An eruption of noise pierced Izuku's ears, along with everybody else there, as a bright flame encased the scene like a protective blanket, somehow managing not to harm any of the bystanders. The slimey villain doubled over as pain surged through his amorphous build, his large bulging eyes gazing upon whatever just made impact with him, flinching in horror at the sight of the number two hero, Endeavor!
The hero's large, imposing body stood triumphant over the villain's body, like a mountain he had reached the peak of. In his bulging muscular arms, lay Kacchan's unconsious body, his limbs hanging down lazily with remnants of sludge raining off of his clothes as the shining flames of hope and victory melted them away. Meanwhile, Endeavor's striking cold blue eyes struck fear into the villain, who only shrunk from the aura alone, daring not to try anything in the hero's presence.
"Another villain that loser All Might wasn't quick enough to take out... How pathetic."
Endeavor silently uttered to himself as a flock of cops raced to arrest the villain with great haste and adeptness. A few ambulances also arrived, taking in those who fell victim to the villain's rampage, including Kacchan... Naturally, Izuku went and checked on him to confirm that he hadn't lost his life... He debated to himself on whether or not it was out of genuine concern for his safety, or rather as closure that Izuku not stepping in held no consequences, and that he wouldn't have to blame himself for the boy's death...
As the media rushed in to interview Endeavor, Izuku found himself leaving, noticing the sun hang lower and lower, inching closer to the horizon and soon encasing the skies in darkness, with the vibrant cityscape illuminating the otherwise black canvas.
~He had arrived home, finding no difficulty in getting there along the way. Opening the door, Izuku found himself perplexed, his mother nowhere in sight. Usually she'd be cooking dinner at this point in preperation for his awaited arrival, but she was gone.
He looked upon the kitchen counter, his eyes catching a bright yellow sticky note plastered on the surface, saying something about her needing to get groceries and that she would be back to make dinner a bit late, and that she loved him dearly. A brisk, and slightly disappointed sigh escaped Izuku's dried lips. Of course she wasn't here on one of the worst days of his life... He didn't blame her... but still. It was only salt on the wound. Then again, he didn't want to worry her either, as he just couldn't muster a smile right now.
Izuku capitalized on the absence of his mother, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and plopping down on the big red couch positioned behind their flatscreen tv. He reflected upon the cushion briefly, reminiscing the good times where he would dress up as All Might and play with his mother, saving her from whatever made up monster his young mind could create. His skinny fingers grazed over the couch, and he smiled, before reaching for the remote. He turned the tv on and flicked it to the news channel, hoping to get updates on the incident that unfolded only a few hours ago. But instead... he was greeted with a much more foreboding report. One that was live.
The report was shown through a news helicopter which soared anxiously over the scene, a large, toad like villain stirring up chaos and destruction, obviously hopped up on something unnatural. Rubble from crushed buildings lay in the villain's wake as countless fodder heroes fight to stop it, but to no avail. Despite how high up the incident was being filmed, screams of horror pierced through the skies and were picked up through the mic, the haunting expressions of horror eminating from the tv and reverberating through the room the boy sat in. Just... Watching. All the while, commentary was placed over the footage as the villain continued its rampage, estimating the amount of lives lost... There were bound to be some... And what's more... the incident happened at the grocery store his mother liked to shop at.
A wave of dread surged over Izuku's small frame as his mind naturally came to the worst conclusions, his body tensing up so much so that when he clenched his fists in anticipation, the digging of his nails into his palm caused him to bleed. The water that was initially used to erase the boy's dehydration was forgotten about as all of his attention remained locked on to that very screen, a small puddle forming beneathe the cold beverage, droplets dripping down the clear plastic much akin to the nervous sweat cascading down the teen's face.
Ten minutes gone by. No heroes were able to stop the seemingly invulnerable beast. It was hard to call it a villain at this point as it didn't resemble anyone anymore... All the heroes that attempted to quell the beast's fury was met with either a devistating swipe of its long tongue, or crushed under the weight of its massive body, crushed to death in seconds. A spark of hope flared up in Izuku as a blur raced into the monster's back, forcing it to the ground, leaving a large crater in the paved earth. It was All Might.
The hero's voice boomed with optimism and inspiration as he told the survivors of the monster's wrath to not worry, for he is there. People put their faith into the hero. Izuku had no choice but to put faith into him as well, as he became a spectator among many who watched the broadcast. Izuku's anxieties were pushed to the bleachers as a flame of hope and optimism sparked up, taking the center field of Izuku's consious.
The battle was swift, as All Might deftly took the monster down in two more smashes, as it managed to put up some resemblance of a fight against the symbol of peace, but even a monster like him would succumb to the raw speed and power All Might would put on display. As the villain fell unconsious, a big poof of smoke clouded the area. It was soon washed away and revealed All Might's tall muscular figure standing triumphantly over the villain's transformed body, now a naked skinny dude with warts on his bald head and back.
Soon after that, interviewers flooded All Might, and the news channel shifted focus to the hero, instead of the casualties at the scene, hoping to quell the worries of those watching, but for people like Izuku, this only made his anxiety act up even more. This... pathetic attempt to dodge the true question at hand almost frustrated Izuku, the boy losing interest in the broadcast and shutting the tv off. He grabbed his bottle of water into his bleeding palm, smearing the crimson fluid over the clear plastic, the stinging feeling being overshadowed by his fear and frustration.
The boy headed to his room, taking his bright yellow backpack with him and dropping it by the door. He headed into the shower in hopes to cleanse his thoughts but to no avail, the only thing cleansed being the blood on his hands, leaving four red nail marks on each hand. He got changed and headed to bed, in hopes to sleep, hoping that this was one big played out dream... But little did he know that this would only transpire into a real life nightmare.
~The boy woke up from the incessant yelling of his All Might themed clock as it repeated his famous quotes over and over until the boy mustered the energy to hit snooze. Izuku questioned how he got any sleep last night, remembering the news report, and everything prior to that vividly. Every movement took all of his strength. He must have only slept for a few hours...
He anxiously rushed out the door, not bothering to change out of his All Might themed pajamas, as he just had to see if his mother returned from the store yet. The house was dead silent, like last night when he entered. Usually she would be making him breakfast or be drooling at some k-drama or opera on tv... but there was nothing. He took a quick peer into her room, hoping to find her sleeping in or something... but her sheets were undone, and nothing was there but the slight imprint of her hefty body on the mattress. Izuku wanted to vomit but stifled down the urge somehow, reluctantly heading for the tv and reaching towards the remote with his hands, still displaying his self inflicted wounds.
Once more, he put on the news channel, trying his damndest to prepare for the worst as a news reporter stood to the right of the screen, displaying the destruction from the toad villain from last night.
"Upon further inspection of the scene, there were 10 casualties, including Kosuke Nakamura, the owner of the store, Tora Takauchi, Sui Abe, Yu Kurosaki, and Inko Midoriya were frequents of the store, and were caught in the crossfires, with the heroes Mass Meteor, Krazy Kross, Mad Matter, Grin Reaper, and War Wonder all fighting valiently to protect everyone else, but succumbing to the wrathful storm of the villain. May they rest in peace and respect to the families of these very unfortunate victims..."
The reporter stated, her tone taking this forceful empathetic front that Izuku couldn't care to see through. He stared down at his knees, distraught as the name of his mother echoed throughout his mind. If his world was crumbled and reduced to rubble yesterday, then today, and his life going forward, his world disintegrated, with nothing but him sitting there... alone in the nothingness, a realm without hope... or affection.