Authors Note: Hello all. More than once, I have gotten comments accusing me of plagiarism as this is almost a word for word adapation of a story found on the Youtube channel We the Celestials. There is a reason for that for, you see, I was the writer of the series What if Deku was the Shield Hero. To verify, you can check out the channel and find my name in the description as well as a link to my Discord. To those of you who know of We the Celestials, I am sure by now you are aware of the lack of updates. That is because they are shutting down their What-if series. Meaning that many series will not be finished properly and, from what I am told, the unfinished work will be posted on . I disagree with the reasons why this is being done as well as the fact that that my work on Shield Hero will not be completed. So I decided to simply post my work here while fixing up so issues. Along with Shield Hero, I will also be posting my What if Deku had a Dragon Maid and What If Deku Had Divine Dividing. So keep an eye out for them as well.
A four-year-old Izuku Midoriya found himself laying on his back, staring up at the blue and white sky above him through half-lidded eyes, as he found moving difficult at the moment. Bruises could be seen on various parts of his exposed skin, his red shirt now ripped in several spots along with a few burn marks all courtesy of the three children who were now walking away. He could hear Kacchan's laughter, pride in what he had done, ringing through the air.
Izuku just laid there in pain, so much so he felt like he couldn't move. As the boy he tried to protect walked away without a single word, Izuku had to wonder: why? Why was it like this? All he had done was try to protect someone else just like how a real hero should. So, why couldn't he? Tears began forming in his eyes as he quickly came to the answer that he already knew. He couldn't protect anyone because he, Izuku Midoriya, was quirkless. The fact that someone without powers had tried to stand up to Bakugo had only transferred the target onto himself. For this time at least, that was the lone positive outcome that came from all this pain. But…what about next time? What would happen if Kacchan and the others walked past a beaten and bruised Izuku as they proceeded to their original target? What would he do if that day ever came?
As Izuku's thoughts began to spiral downwards, the doors to a van that had been parked next to the playground he was at, suddenly opened as three men exited the vehicle. All of them rushed towards the boy, Izuku only had time to notice their ripped jeans, baggy sweatshirts, and masks hiding their faces before grabbing him roughly and lifting him off the ground.
"What?!", cried Izuku in clear panic. But before he could say anything else, a gloved hand clasped itself over the boy's mouth as his eyes went wide in absolute terror. The four year old tried screaming as loud as he could, kicking his legs with all the force he could manage hoping that someone would see what was happening. For someone to call a hero. To do anything that might save him as he was quickly carried to the van. Heart pounding and eyes filled with tears, Izuku thought he saw Kacchan down the street. The young blond had stopped where he was, the only one of the trio who had his head turned and looking in the direction of the van. The feral, savage smile that the blond had worn on his face while he had beaten the defenseless Izuku was gone, now he just stared with wide eyes. Izuku looked at his childhood friend, pleading with his eyes to do something until the door of the van closed. Then, whether it was because of someone's quirk, his previous beating, or his own terror being too much for him to handle, Izuku Midoriya passed out.
When Izuku opened his eyes sometime later, he found himself lying face down on something cold, gray, and dirty.
"Where am I?", Izuku asked aloud to no one in particular while looking around.
Getting on his hands and knees, the young boy found himself in an unfamiliar room no bigger than his own back in his family's apartment. Wherever this place was, moonlight shined through the lone window, too high for him to reach, illuminating the few wooden boxes scattered and pressed against the walls. A panic unlike anything Izuku had ever felt before rushed through him as he frantically looked for a door. It had been around noon when he had gone to the park to play and if the moon was now out…
Finally locating the door, the young green-haired boy raced towards it with fresh tears in his eyes.
"Mom! Mom!", Izuku cried out as both hands touched the knob, having to step on the tippy toes of his shoes to reach it. Not hesitating for a moment, the child began trying to open the door the moment the tips of his fingers touched the handle. The only thought he had was to find his mother, rushing out the room and back home as soon as he could. He could only imagine just how worried she must have been at this moment. But, no matter which way he turned the knob or how hard, the door refused to open.
"Don't bother," came a soft, weak voice from behind him. "It won't open."
Izuku cried out when he heard the voice, his heart racing even faster now. He had thought he was alone. Shakily, Izuku turned around to find a girl curled up into a corner next to one of the boxes with its shadow covering her. There she sat, barely looking over her knees as she hugged her legs. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Izuku noticed that there were ears popping out of her long brown hair that reminded him of a tanuki. He might have continued to look for other traces of animal features had he not noticed something shocking: her eyes. They were tea red, but that wasn't what really caught his attention. It was that they looked dull, almost lifeless with heavy bags under them.
"Ah…hi," began the boy, pressing his back against the door as he spoke. "I-I'm Izuku Midoriya. Ah, wh-what's your name?"
"Raphtalia," she said, her voice sounding hoarse. Then, she let out several loud coughs that seemed to cause her body to rock. "Not like it matters." Once again, the girl began to cough loudly. The sound made Izuku winced slightly.
"Wh-what is this place?" asked the boy once he had gathered the same amount of courage he had used when facing Kaachan. Meaning that there were tears in his eyes, his body trembling with fear. But he forced himself to speak. "Why a-are we h-here?"
"No idea," Raphtalia managed to say while seeming to sink lower where she sat. Like a heavy weight was pressing down upon her. "All I know is that when I first got here, there used to be a lot more kids. Then scary looking adults came. They asked us about our quirks, taking the ones who had the ones they liked."
"H-Haven't the heroes come yet?" asked Izuku. It seemed impossible to the little boy that all of this could be going on without the heroes coming by to stop it! They had to know about it! They had to be on their way to save them!
Raphtalia just raised her head a little, giving her fellow prisoner a sad smile while a few tears trickled down her face as she silently wept.
"I don't think they know," she said weakly. "I think I've been here a week or two. It's hard to tell anymore. But no one's come. I don't think they ever will."
For a moment, all Izuku could do was to stare at the Raphtalia as she slowly lowered her head to stare blankly at the ground while her ears drooped. His throat went dry as he looked upon the girl, so drowned in despair that she had given up on hope. Then...
"W-Well worry n-not! W-Why? Because I a-am h-here!" The words flew out of Izuku's mouth before he realized what he had said. Those had been the same words he had heard on his favorite video of All Might. The same words that reassured everyone as he saved them, the words that inspired him more than anything else. Perhaps he had spoken just to reassure her.
It seemed to work somewhat for as the girl looked up, Izuku tried his best to smile. It wasn't the same awe inspiring smile that his idol would have given. Instead, it was a wobbly one that displayed just how scared he was himself. Still, Raphtalia seemed to relax a little as she gave him a small smile in return as she leaned backward.
"Thanks for trying," she said, Izuku's smile faltering slightly at just how weak her voice sounded.
'What should I do? What should I do?' thought Izuku in fresh panic. 'There has to be something I can do! Oh, if only All Might were here. He could just bust down the door or the wall. If Kacchan were here, he might be able to use his quirk to make a small hole in the door. In fact, if anyone else was here they could help out more than I ever could. After all, I'm just a quirkless Deku. I can't…'
Izuku's thoughts trailed off, a vision of All Might saving people from disaster flashed in the young boy's mind. As Izuku imagined the towering Symbol of Peace a fire suddenly lit inside of him. Without another word, he ran towards one of the boxes and began to push it as hard as he could.
'No!' thought the young boy, his foot nearly slipping underneath him. But Izuku managed to right himself as the box inched its way forward. 'I might be quirkless, but I won't give up! There has to be something I can do! I at least need to try! I need to do everything I can so that I can bring back Raphtalia's smile! A real smile! Otherwise I'll never be a hero!'
Gritting his teeth, Izuku pushed harder against the box. His body ached, still a little sore from the beating he had received earlier causing even more tears to swell in his eyes. But he pressed on, pushing box after box to the window as Raphtalia watched him.
It took him a while, but eventually, Izuku had managed to gather all the boxes. Once he had done that, he strained his tiny muscles to lift the boxes up as he slowly began stacking the boxes on top of each other. It wasn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it looked solid enough. Once it was finished, Izuku took a breath to calm his nerves before beginning a climb as if these were nothing more than massive steps. Once he got to the top, however, he saw that there was no latch to open it with.
'Oh no! No, no, no!' thought Izuku as a new wave of panic swept over him as he pressed both hands against the glass. He hadn't thought about this. Of course whoever captured them wouldn't forget about the window. They would have made sure their captives wouldn't be able to just open it and hop on out.
Then a thought crossed Izuku's mind. One that sent shivers down his spine. He looked around the room, hoping to find something else that could help him…but there was nothing.
Eyes hardening in determination, Izuku took a deep breath before climbing back down and walking over to Raphtalia.
"Come on," he said with all the confidence he had left in himself. "We're getting o-out of here."
As Izuku swung one of Raphtalia's arms around his neck in the same way he had seen other heroes carrying people on the internet, he felt her head pressing against his own. Her skin was hot, almost as hot as it was that one time he got really sick. Her hair felt matted, the touch of it almost making his skin crawl. Not to mention the smell. And now that he was closer, he could see that her cheeks were redder than they should be.
Midoriya didn't comment on any of this, just trying to give her another smile in the hopes that it would reassure her. Together they moved back to the tower that Izuku had made, the young boy helping Raphtalia to climb. It was slow going as Raphtalia was so weak that she almost fell over more than once, but somehow they managed to get to the top.
Once there, Izuku took another breath before looking down to his hand which was balled into a fist.
"Texas Smash!" With that cry, Izuku punched the cheap glass with all the might a child like him could muster. The glass cracked, forcing the young Izuku to do it again, this time making a hole. The sharp edges of the glass cut into his flesh, blood dripping down his hands as the boy's eyes watered in front of the staring Raphtalia. But he didn't stop. He kept punching until all the glass was gone.
"Your hand!" breathed Raphtalia, her eyes glued to the bloody appendage.
"I-It'll be f-fine," said Izuku, doing his best to sound reassuring despite the pain he was in. As he spoke, the boy took off his shirt and began to wrap it around the wounds. It hurt, far worse than anything he had ever felt in his life. But if he managed to save Raphtalia and see his mommy again, it would be worth it. So, with another smile, Izuku brought Raphtalia's arm around his neck again as they both jumped into the alley below.
Izuku did his best to make sure they landed safely, but due to their weakened states as well as the additional weight, not to mention that neither of them had done anything like this before, the two landed face first onto the street. But that didn't keep the young green haired boy down for long, it's not like he wasn't used to Kacchan knocking him down in the dirt all the time anyway. He quickly picked himself as well as the young tanuki girl off the all alley floor. Neither waited to see if the noises they made had been heard, just moving as quickly as they could towards the alleyways exit.
Once there, Izuku helped Raphtalia down the empty streets moving past the dark buildings that were both scary and unfamiliar to them. Neither of the children knew how long they walked, both nearly jumping at any unfamiliar sound. But, despite everything, Izuku found himself smiling whenever he looked over at Raphtalia. She was now smiling herself, a flicker of light that hadn't been there before now shining with hope. That hope seemed to give her just a little more energy as she walked beside Izuku.
However, Izuku was slowly getting more and more tired. His shirt, now wrapped around his hand, was covered in blood. The loss of blood, the pain in his limbs from everything that had happened to him today, and the loss of adrenaline were now catching up with him. With each step, his small legs felt like they were coated in cement, making moving all the more difficult. Yet the young boy's heroic heart refused to give up now.
'We just need to find a good adult,' thought Izuku, panting heavily in the real world. 'Hopefully there's a hero around. Or maybe a policeman. If we don't find either of them then a convenience store is our best bet. I heard that many pro heroes and sidekicks like to stop at places like those during late night shifts. Plus the person behind the counter will have a phone. Then we'll be safe. Just gotta keep moving. Please, let there be a hero around.'
However, as much as he wanted to keep moving to do just that, his body protested. It wanted to rest. It wanted him to lie down, to close his eyes until the morning sun rose. But the boy knew he couldn't. At least, not for long. So just as Izuku was about to suggest that they sit down and rest for a bit, the sounds of men shouting caught their attention. Not bothering to turn around and look, mainly because he was too scared to, Izuku dragged them down a nearby alley. Together they moved as far as they could, stopping once they found themselves facing a chain-link fence and pile of trash bags.
"No!" cried Izuku, his heart pounding in his ears. The quirkless child bit his lip as he looked down at Raphtalia. He could see his own fear reflected in her own terrified gaze. Both of them trembled, not knowing what those men would do to them if they were the same people who kidnapped them. But the two children could tell by the shouting that they weren't happy.
"Izuku," said Raphtalia in a soft voice, barely above a whisper. The green-haired boy turned to look at the girl and what he saw made his heart stop. The girl was smiling at him, but only sadness emanated from it. Then there was the look in her eyes, the light having left and being consumed by absolute fear. "T-Thank you. You did your best."
Izuku shook his head as he refused to give up just like All Might.
"No," the boy managed to say as he quickly looked around before pointing to a particularly large pile of trash bags. "Hide in the bags. I'll try and-"
"You'll what kid?"
Both Izuku and Raphtalia turned to see one of the men who kidnapped them standing at the entrance of the alley. Though it was dark, his eyes almost seemed to glow with his anger and frustration. Not knowing what else to do, Izuku, with his body trembling and his eyes beginning to water, pushed Raphtalia into the trash bags.
"I-I-I won't let you hurt her," said Izuku. As he echoed the words he had said to Kacchan and the other bullies, he raised his bloody hand up to shield himself. He knew it would end the same as it had that afternoon…if not worse. But he had to try. He had to! Maybe he could buy enough time for Raphtalia to escape. But, she was so weak and he felt like he was going to pass out soon.
"Stop playing hero kid," growled the man coldly, approaching Izuku who stood his ground while his teeth chattered. Once the villain was close enough, the man swung his leg to kick the poor green-haired boy.
But, as the villain's shoe was about to collide with Izuku's arm, something happened. A brilliant green glow appeared on Izuku's arm, lighting the entire alleyway! As Izuku fought to keep his eyes open, he felt something attaching itself to his arm.
When the light faded, Izuku found a silver shield with a green gem in its center attached to his arm. The kick collided with the shield, causing Izuku and the villain to stumble backward. Yet the boy barely felt the blow.
"What the?" yelled the man, eyes wide as he looked at the shield now on Izuku's arm. Clearly he was puzzled by it, just like the boy was. Both had to be thinking 'Where did that come from?' But it was the villain who collected his thoughts first, shaking his head before scowling at the small child. "Doesn't matter. Think that will save you? You're coming back with us now!"
The villain began to walk towards Izuku again, this time pulling back his fist.
Then, before Izuku could raise his shield or move or do anything, the sound of a whip cracking filled the air as it wrapped around the villain's arm.
"My, my, my," came a new voice. The voice of a woman. "What a naughty boy you are. And not the type of naughty I like."
A moment later Izuku, his eyes becoming harder to keep open, watched as the villain was pulled back by none other than Midnight! The child looked at her, seeing her eyes widening at the sight of the children and the condition they were in. Then her eyes narrowed in rage at the villain, her whip lashing about to strike the man over and over again causing him to scream in pain.
And, as the man fell to the ground, Izuku's strength ran out as darkness overtook him.
Izuku awoke sometime later, finding himself laying on his back staring up at a wall that was most certainly not the same one from that building the villains took him to. The ceiling was white, and clean with no crates in his vision. The room was mostly silent; the only sound he could hear was the steady beeping of a machine. Turning his head, he noticed a window. It was shut, but he could see the various buildings from the city. The sun's rays were shining brightly through the window as if in a celebration that the nightmare he and Raphtalia had endured was over.
Then, as soon as he thought of her, Izuku sat up from the bed and began to look around wildly, his messy green hair whipping around as his head frantically turned from left to right. Yet there was no sign of the tanuki girl nor anyone else in the room. Only one other bed was in the room and it was empty. He did, however, notice a handbag that looked familiar. But, just as he was about to take a closer look, light reflected off something before hitting him in the eye. Wincing, the child moved his arm up and closer to his face, finding himself looking at his own reflection on the smooth metallic surface of the shield. For a long moment as he just sat there staring, all other thoughts leaving him as he just marveled at it. Was this his quirk? How could it? The doctor told him he had too many joints in his pinkie toe, that he would never get a quirk. And, as far as he knew, there wasn't a quirk out there like this. What did it do other than stay attached to his arm?
As Izuku continued to marvel and question his quirk, his eyes trailed over to his hand. What he saw nearly made him cry out in shock. Scars covered the surface of his hand, some larger than others. No doubt the doctors here had done everything they could to heal him up, but the damage must have been terrible to leave him with so many of them. For a long time, Izuku just stared at his scars as if he were trying to make up his mind about something when the door opened.
Looking up, his eyes widened and a smile appeared on his face when he saw that it was his mother. Inko Midoriya had a disposable cup in each hand, steam rising from one while the other did not. They weren't in her hands for long, dropping them and allowing their contents to slash onto the floor as she raced towards her son.
"Izuku, Izuku!" cried the poor woman as she wrapped her son up tightly in a hug, the famous Midoriya waterfall tears flowing down her face.
"I was so worried about you when you didn't come home last night!" she sobbed as she held her baby boy close to her chest. "I tried to call the police, but they said it was too soon to start looking for you. Then I got a call and…when I saw what those monsters had done to you. Oh, my poor baby. I'm just so glad the heroes managed to find you."
Izuku tried to say something. To tell his mom that all the bad guys did was take him into a van, lock him into a room, and only tried to hurt him when he tried to escape. But, for some reason, he found his voice caught in the back of his throat.
"Looks like the little hero is up and about."
Both Izuku and his mother looked up, finding Midnight standing there. Dressed in her hero costume, she strode into the room avoiding the puddles of tears on the floor, all with a warm smile on her face.
"Y-You're Midnight! The R-rated hero!" exclaimed Izuku, his eyes sparkling at having an actual pro hero before him. Without the fear of pain he had before, his fanboy nature came racing to the surface as he had so many questions for the woman. "Ah, what does 'R-rated' mean? How does your quirk work? Can you control how many people you can put to sleep? Does your quirk smell weird? I-I wish I had my notebook for you to sign."
As the questions spilled out of Izuku while Midnight approached the bed, Inko stood up as the hero approached them. Not that Izuku paid it too much mind for he knew now, for certain, he was safe. He was in a hospital with plenty of good adults around, his mom in the same room as him as well as a pro hero! Meaning that-
Suddenly Izuku's mouth clamped shut. A guilty feeling washed over him as he began clutching at the bed sheets the same way he did when he was trying to hide behind his mother. Then, when he looked at Midnight again, his fanboy nature was pushed to the side.
"Oh my! R-Raphtalia!" said Izuku as he focused on the heroic woman before him. "She's the girl who was with me! Is she ok? She was with those men longer than me and she wasn't looking well! Is she here? Did someone call her mommy and daddy? Can I see her?"
"You really are a little hero in the making," Midnight said softly while giving a gentle laugh. She then sat on the bed, close to Izuku with a smile on her face. As he looked at it, he instinctively compared it to the smile All Might would give. While it wasn't as powerful as the mightiest of heroes, it held enough power in it to tell him that all was well.
"T-Thank you for saving my poor baby. If it hadn't been for you-", began Inko only to stop as Midnight shook her head, a smile still on her face as she kept her gaze on Izuku.
"You have it wrong Mrs. Midoriya," Midnight said. "It's your son who really saved the day. If it wasn't for him, me and all the other heroes in the area would have never known about that filth hiding right under our noses. I just managed to come in at the end and tidy things up."
As Inko held in a gasp, Midnight's hand reached over to Izuku's as fingers gently caressed his scars.
"I just got done speaking to that little cutie you saved," continued the pro hero. "She's going to be ok, but she has a long road ahead of her. The doctors told me that if she had remained back there for much longer…well, the important thing is that you saved her. She told me everything you did to get her out of there, including how you got those scars. And it was because of that green light that I was able to find you."
Then, Midnight leaned forward planting a small kiss on Izuku's forehead. The green-haired boy blushed so much that his diamond-shaped freckles were hidden underneath all the red.
"W-What happens now?" asked Inko, looking beside herself, tears mixed with fear and pride running down her face.
"Well, first I'll need to take Izuku's statement along with the police," said Midnight in a more official tone though her eyes never left the small boy. "I know he's been through a lot, more than any child his age should ever need to go through. But the sooner we do this, the quicker we can round up all those involved and start looking for the children we couldn't save."
Midnight then leaned a little closer to Izuku.
"So, can you do that for us Izuku? Can I ask you to be brave for just a little bit longer? Then, after you're done, I promise you'll get to see your friend. The little cutie really wants to say thank you to her hero."
Izuku suddenly found it hard to swallow, tears threatening to fall from his face when he heard that. At the same time, Inko had brought her hands up to her mouth looking like she too was about to start crying. All because someone out there thought of him as a hero. Not just any hero, but their hero. And that realization made the young child want to start crying like never before. Yet somehow he managed to hold it in. He looked at Midnight for a moment before nodding, the green gem in his shield twinkling slightly as he began his story.