Chapter Text
Izuku Midoriya has known since age four that not all men are created equal. Izuku Midoriya is a part of the 20% that doesn't have a quirk. Izuku Midoriya dreamed about being a hero his entire life, just a dream. People like him are too weak to be a hero.
Izuku watched as All Might walked to the door and left him there. Izuku took an exasperated breath, he didn't notice he was holding it again. Oh, he had met All Might, it hasn't gone how he imagined, but he should be thankful. He should. It was All Might after all. But, what he said, Izuku knows that it's true, All Might said it, and the number one hero would never lie. Everyone in his life said it, he couldn't count how many times he was told that, "You are too weak, Izuku", "You're a waste of space, Deku" they repeated. It never was exactly a pleasure to listen that he couldn't, shouldn't be alive. "Why don't you take a swan dive off a roof, and wish for a quirk in your next life?" It made sense.
Izuku turns his eyes to the sky, a few birds pass, flying. Izuku wished he could fly, just like them, it didn't need to be fast like the hero Hawks, just enough to help him find a place where he can feel like himself, without needing to fade in the background to survive, just feel comfortable enough.
Izuku walks, eyes on the birds in the building in front of him. He stands in the low wall, it barely seems to have fifty centimeters, maybe a little less, but still something like that. Izuku feels like he can fly. It's so high. He can see so much. Looking down the streets the people are so small. He can see a little of his school, Aldera, it didn't seem so bad from where he stands. Izuku looks back to the birds, they're leaving, heading to his left, and he is about to run, he would have ran.
But his mother calls before he can start to follow.
He can't fly. He doesn't have wings.
Mom. She was already home, she came back earlier than usual.
She asks why he is taking so long, saying how worried she is telling him how dangerous it is to wander around alone, and Izuku starts to go down the stairs.
Izuku felt a weird static in his brain,it was hard to make his eyes focus on something. He can't understand where he is, even though Izuku is pretty sure he walked this path before. Izuku could feel that his fingers were numb, and he felt the blood in his ears. The blood creeping beneath the skin of his arms, like some kind of gel, leaving a weird sensation. His heart is beating so fast. Izuku could barely feel his legs walking, but the things around him are moving, and they keep going.
He feels like he is underwater, breathing something thicker than air. The sounds are muffled, and Izuku stares at his hands, opening and closing his fingers. It is weird, the feeling was weird. He brings his left to his mouth and bites it, just to make sure it is his actual hand. It doesn't feel real. He does the same with his right.
What made him aware of what was happening was a sudden and loud explosion, it called him back to the present. There is a crowd surrounding what looked like a villain fight.
Some people around are questioning what heroes are there, others ask why they are only looking. Izuku decides that he could look at the fight,—it was a shitty day already— while making his way to the front, Izuku hears that the villain has a hostage. Shoving himself further, he made it to the front.
The first thing Izuku notices is that there are five heroes, one villain, one hostage and a lot of people around. The second thing Izuku notices is that the villain is the same that attacked him earlier, the one that All Might saved him from and put in a two liters soda bottle,—that looked too small in the hands of the hero, but that's besides the point,— the point is that the villain, somehow, escaped. Izuku's brain wraps itself to think how it happened, probably when All Might was too busy with him, Izuku distracted All Might, and the villain took its chance. It made sense,—and was a smart move, but Izuku wouldn't say that. Especially because it was very stupid to act so early after that, knowing that All Might was still around.
The third thing he notices is that the person is being suffocated, and is struggling to keep their mouth and nose out of the sludge. The hostage has an explosive quirk, it has blonde hair and Izuku knows who it is. Kacchan is the one there.
Bakugou felt it wrap around him, trying to force its way inside. He could hear the words it spoke. Wanting to make him into a puppet for him to use.
Bakugou wasn't going to let that happen.
So he fought. His quirk going off left and right. Explosions firing, starting a fight.
And while he was fighting for his life the heroes stood by.
In his fight for his life, he saw half a dozen heroes standing around, watching him fight.
His hatred burned.
They were supposed to be heroes. They were supposed to save people. Yet they were letting him die?
Fucking pathetic.
Bakugou could feel himself slipping. So he fought harder. He wasn't going to die. He was going to show these sorry excuses of heroes who he was.
Then Deku came running.
He wanted to scream and shout at the quirkless boy to run away but he refused. Instead, he kept desperately clawing at the slime.
Suddenly his vision turned dark. All he remembered was the voice of All Might bouncing in the air.
Then everything happened at once. Once he was awake he was surrounded by the heroes that failed to help. Receiving their praise. But for once, he wasn't soaking it up.
His eyes remained trained on the green haired boy that he would never admit but saved him, just a little.
Bakugou watched as the heroes around Deku scolded him but the boy didn't listen. He saw as his eyes instead were angry, and he started to talk, with some kind of burning fury that Bakugou had only seem a handful of times, any of them in fucking Deku's face. Any of them in front o him.
Bakugou realised that those eyes would haunt him that very same day.
The cameras were focused on him. Katsuki's eyes followed him while the green haired boy left. He didn't look back.
Izuku barely made it into the apartment he lived in with his mom, even though she doesn't leave the kitchen to speak, she seemed to be already waiting for an explanation.
"Izuku, honey, why did you come so later than usual?" His mom's voice was sweet and sticky in his ears. Izuku knew what would come next.
He took off his shoes and answered something about a hero's fight against a villain. Inko's posture changed immediately, she made her way from the kitchen towards him, asking if he was injured, the answer was no, and, with that out of the way, if he already had made notes about it.
Izuku knew how to avoid what he wanted, and he knew what to give to people to distract them. He had to learn that. Telling her only enough, that no, he hadn't written anything yet, but will do.
Shortly after that Izuku darted his way to his room, Inko was supportive about his notes, always encouraging, always reading them and telling him how good they were. She never said it was creepy or weird. What she didn't encourage was his dream to be a hero, especially going to UA. She always made it clear, saying it was too dangerous.
This was the third day since he was attacked by the sludge villain, three days since All Might saved him, three days since the number one hero told him he was too weak. —Or was it two? It was on Tuesday and today is Friday, so it was three, today being the third. It doesn't matter.
He was still trying to digest what happened, the incomplete, burnt and soggy — wow, two adjectives that Izuku wasn't sure if they could be used together, but sounds nice anyway — notebook with All Might autograph was still untouched, closed, thrown at the bottom of his backpack, Izuku wasn't sure about what to do with it, the moment he stepped in his room he took all his posters down in a rampage. The smiling hero seemed to judge him all the time, he had thrown all of his posters and figurines and any merchandise he had about the hero in a box, under his bed.
Izuku had just come home after school, his mom wouldn't be home for next week.
Izuku finished his notes, had dinner, finished his homework and he still had quite some time before having to go to sleep.
He decided to go think about his encounter with All Might. — He is the number one hero, so he needs to have some reason after all. Right, so…
"what to do when you can't be a hero"
The first result was an inspirational video. Of All Might. He kept scrolling. A few things about support courses, it was an option. Izuku had a good programming knowledge, — he insisted that his mom let him take them, now he can find any hero fight he needs and, sometimes, even recover deleted videos,— he had done it a few times, but it was a lot of work.
He kept scrolling, until he found someone else, in an old forum, with a similar question, the difference is that this other person has taken a few tests for some hero courses. Good enough. He could try it, he had his analysis, he could learn how to make them more professionally. It could help heroes.
Izuku would be lying if he said that the answers weren't disappointing though.
Good thing that this wasn't the only post, most of them had the same answers, "try to be a cop maybe", "a detective could work, you know", "doctors can save lives as well", "maybe being part of the support team", etcetera. Until he stumbled across a specific one, "well of you so badly to be a hero why not start as a vigilante like ol' times heroes".
That was something. Izuku had read about the first heroes, they had started as vigilantes, before the hero license was a thing.
"Definition of vigilante"
"The act of vigilantism is defined by using one's quirk in an unauthorized act of heroism."
"...using one's quirk…"
Interesting.
"Why heroes need a license"
"A hero license is a document that provides an individual the protection of the e law when using a quirk in a public space for acts of heroism."
"...when using a quirk in a public space…"
Izuku searched about anything that would include vigilantism and support courses. Any laws about quirk usage, and how aggression was seen by the law.
Izuku decided that if he couldn't be a hero, fine, but he would still try to be something, he didn't have a choice, not in this. Too many people said he would die in first day in the hero world, he needed to know if it was really true.
When he came to sleep it was almost four. Good thing tomorrow is saturday.
Inko Midoriya is a woman that wasn't home very often, she works a lot and Izuku understands why, his father is completely out of the scene, and the place they lived, even if it is not the most expensive, it still costs money.
Izuku ate his breakfast while trying to figure out how he could get what he needed. Scribbling everything he could think in a new notebook.
Plans to survive the hero world
Izuku planned a mask, no one could recognize him, he probably would have to avoid talking, just in case. He also drew a map of Musutafu and its surroundings. He has lived here ever since but still, better not get lost, and in case he needs to run it's good to know where he is going. And he had laws to study.
Back to robotics, he would have to learn the basics of electricity, navigation. And what would teach him to make weapons?
Support course.
Izuku would need to prepare for that. He starts to make a list of the subjects and things he needs to know to pass a support course test.
Izuku probably should add some protection if he wants to go outside at night, like knee and elbow pads. And gloves, he didn't want his digitals everywhere when doing things and maybe a helmet. He also should start making analysis of the villains he sees, it can be useful. Midoriya will also need to learn how to make all of this.