Alright, this is... a bit of a different one. This is, if you haven't guessed,not a fic where I give Izuku some power related to another fandom. I came up with this while rewatching Glee for the umpteenth time (It's my guilty pleasure show, don't judge) and that turned into wondering what Izuku would be like as a bard, which then leads us here.

Couple things, first of all, this isn't an IzuJiro story. I was tempted, but that felt way too easy here. I'm not entirely sure who I want the ship to be, but I'm open to suggestions. That being said, Jiro is going to play a pretty big role in Izuku's life, just not in the romantic sense.

Second, if you can't tell, this is going to have a lot of music in it. I'll be using the lyrics of the song as well as linking the song so you all can listen along if you so desire. I bring this up because I'm worried that people will accuse me of using songs to pad out the word count.

Third, this is going to deviate from canon a fair bit. I kind of need to do that in order to tell the story I want to tell, but the basic plot will stay mostly the same but how we get there is going to vary.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Late one night in Musutafu, Inko Midoriya was singing her 4 year old son to sleep, brushing his curly mop of green hair out of his face as he dozed off in a tear fueled daze. When the Midoriya family went to the local clinic to see what Izuku's Quirk would be, there was an unfortunate fear that Izuku would be Quirkless. Not out of hatred for the Quirkless, but out of fear what that would do to their son.

Hisashi Midoriya was only a 2nd generation Quirk user, meaning that the potential for his offspring to lack a Quirk was more common than most.

Inko Midoriya was a 5th generation Quirk User, but she also came from a family of late bloomers. Her own Quirk didn't manifest until she was 10. As awful as it was, she couldn't help but hope that her little Izuku manifested his powers like her sister, though seeing as that had been a mutation, Inko didn't hold her breath.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Unfortunately, not all men are created equal, and Izuku was indeed diagnosed as Quirkless, all but shattering the young boy's dreams of being a hero. As much as Inko and Hisashi wanted to break down and apologize to their son, wishing things could be different, they knew that they couldn't. They needed to be strong.

For Izuku.

Blackbird fly

Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night

"That was work, they wanted me to fly overseas to oversee their new building in Boston." Hisashi murmured in a tired voice as he poured himself some wine. "Somehow, someone learned about Izuku's... status, and told the higher ups."

Inko frowned, drinking her glass as she wiped tears from her eyes. "Oh, honey." She murmured softly. "What are you going to do?"

A scoff escaped Hisashi's lips as he set his glass down. "Oh, I already told them exactly where to stick their 'relocation' and tendered my resignation. I'll find somewhere else to work. Right now, that boy in there needs us, and I plan on staying right here."

Inko shook her head, giggling. "Only you could make a rash decision so quickly, Hishi." She sighed. "But you're right. Izuku is what matters now. Maybe... maybe I should work and you stay at home. I have my nursing licence and... and Izuku's life is going to be so much more difficult. He's going to need his father more than ever." Inko seemed to think for a moment, sipping her wine. "That dojo you went to when we were children. Is it still in business?"

"Master Kendo's? I think so, I'm pretty sure his son runs it now, why?" Hisashi asked, the pieces already clicking in his mind. "You want Izuku to be able to defend himself."

Inko nodded sadly. "He's going to be treated so harshly, Hishi. Part of me honestly wants to pull him from school and homeschool to protect him."

Hishashi sighed heavily. "Honestly, I think you might be right. At least for now. I can't confirm it, but I think my old job had connections to Aldera. Connections I'm not so sure I liked. The farther away we get Izuku away from that school, the safer he'll be."

Inko paled hearing that. "What kind of connections?" She asked.

Hisashi hesitated, drinking a sip of his wine to collect his thoughts. "Do you remember that biography that came out when we were kids? Meta Liberation War? I think Detnerat is a part of those ideals. And they've been dipping their toes into a lot different avenues from what I've seen before I just quit. One of those was schools. I... I think they're trying to use schools to indoctrinate children into believing their 'Quirk Superiority' bullshit."

"We need to tell Mitsuki and Masaru, then! We can't let Katsuki grow in that environment!" Inko exclaimed, immediately reaching for her cell until Hishashi stopped her.

"I already texted Masaru, dear. They're going to come by tomorrow so we can decide what we're going to do. Besides, I think it'll do Izuku some good to spend the day with his friend." Hishashi sighed, looking at their son's closed door. "Maybe I should call Enji, too. He might know what to do."

Enji Todoroki sighed as he sat in his office, ruminating on the news he just received. His nephew, Quirkless. It wasn't something he had considered, but as he sat there, thinking about how difficult life would be for the poor boy, it forced the Number Two Hero to sit down and really think about his own family. He practically bought Rei, and for what? So that he could one day father a child that would surpass All Might? It simply didn't make sense in hindsight. By the time Shoto would be an adult, All Might no doubt would be retired by then.

Then there was Toya.

What did Enji do when he learned of his own son's lack of resistance to his own flames? Help teach him to control them?

No, of course not. That would make sense. That would be the thing a father does. No, Enji nearly cast the poor boy aside.

He was awful.

He was a monster.

He was no better than his own father. No wonder why mother left and had Hisashi.

No.

No more.

He needed to make things right. He needed to be a father. Someone his children could look up to. First Toya, then Fuyumi, then Natsuo, and finally Shoto.

But first, he needed to make sure they understood that their cousin wasn't okay, and impress upon them how much he'd need them.

Quirkless or not, Izuku Midoriya was still family, and Enji would make it his priority to protect his own.

Some nights, Kyoka Jiro really hated her Quirk. One would think that the super hearing that comes from her Earphone Jacks is an amazing power, and normally, she'd agree.

This was not one of those nights.

See, she couldn't turn that hearing off even if she wanted to. So no matter how quiet her mom tried to be, Kyoka could still hear her crying her eyes out. And it also meant that she could hear why from Auntie Inko.

Izuku was Quirkless. His dream of being a hero was, for all intents and purposes, gone, and there was nothing they could do.

It wasn't fair.

Why did he have to be the one that didn't get a Quirk? Why couldn't he have gotten super hearing instead of her? Why did all these villains get to have Quirks, and yet her sweet cousin who wanted to help people since he first could understand the meaning of the word hero have to be the one left with nothing?

It wasn't fair.

It just wasn't fair...