77Chapter 1: Turning Point
Izuku Midoriya is a boy cursed and blessed with what seemed to be a worthless… useless… Quirk. At the age of four, just around the time where he would have had to schedule a visit to the Quirk doctors for outgrowing the period where Quirks manifest, his Quirk appeared in a rather phenomenal fashion.
While even the most impressive of his peer's Quirks appeared in their weakests forms, the mighty Explosion Quirk relegated to a mere glorified firecracker when it appeared in his former best friend, his quietly shot in existence in a blaze of glory.
From his then-four-year-old body, a rainbow of energies were born. Each glowed with the intensity of the sun; none feeling even the slightest bit weaker than the other. To all who were lucky enough to witness them, the energies were overwhelming. Overwhelming, in their projection of extremely negative emotion, bleeding sin in an almost literal sense.
Alas, for as suddenly as they were projected, they vanished with Izuku not once being able to summon them again. He had a Quirk, and it was a powerful Quirk at that, but he couldn't use it no matter what he or the various medical experts he visited tried.
Thus, he lived and grew up as Quirkless. Society at large began to treat him like a second-class citizen, with his friends and peers all shunning, mocking, or bullying him to some degree, and every adult giving up on him and his dream of becoming a professional hero. His once-best-friend became his personal tormentor, taking each and every opportunity possible to "remind Deku of his place;" Deku being the insult moniker he grew most familiar with when not talking to his mother.
As was the case, Izuku grew up rather quiet, shy, and meek; skittish and quick to apologize for just about every action he took. For a full decade, he was subjected to treatment that would make anyone a walking husk of resentment and depression. However, for all the negativity that would grow over time, he never let any hatred or immoral desires for revenge build.
No matter how many people told him to give up on his dream, no matter how much time passed, Izuku remained steadfast in his goal. He might have been affected by his treatment, such as his poor appetite and inability to physically train himself; most days having to come home with some type of beating that would prevent him from recovering when tried to exercise.
Like most bullied children, he feared his treatment would only get worse if he voiced his harassment. After all, he was the only Quirkless student in his school; who would care for someone like him? The teachers and staff at school blatantly ignored public Quirk usage laws and merely slapped his tormentors on the wrist whenever they humiliated him or singled him out; why would they bother with his well being?
From his perspective, if he told his mother and she complained to them, she might even sue them, and it would be highly unlikely that they would beat a government funded school at court when they couldn't afford to pay private lawyers in the first place. Worse still, his mother might take that gamble and hire a lawyer that discriminated against them for his "Quirklessness."
As a result, Izuku formed a coping mechanism in the form of creating Hero Analysis notebooks which relieved a great deal of the many stresses in his life. Over the years, he would go on to analyze thousands of hero and villains' Quirks in a collection of thirteen serialized notebooks. As his peers and their Quirks grew in strength and the beatings and bullying got worse, his habit of analysis would go on to evolve into full-out mumbling of whatever it was that he thought of deeply.
And so, for a decade, his life continued worsening. Then, in one fell swoop, the catalyst for his fortune changing came one month into his final year in middle school.
The day started off like any other, though fortunately for him, there happened to be a villain attack wherein he got to see the debut of an up and coming hero, Mt. Lady. Already feeling better that he usually did that day when he arrived at school as he wrote an entry in his latest hero analysis book, his happiness was short lived as his teacher singled him out in the worst possible way.
"You're also aiming for U.A. isn't that right, Midoriya?" As the deadpanning teacher's voice ended, several explosions were quick to follow.
"What?! Who the fuck do you think you are thinking you can compete on the same level a me, you Quirkless Deku!"
As the tension rose, the teacher was quick to diffuse the explosive blond before he could do anything too drastic… in his presence. However, the glare directed at Izuku for the length of that school day promised pain before he could leave.
The day continued and as expected, after class ended and his classroom was empty sans Izuku and his bullies, a confrontation ensued. The outcome left Izuku in tears, and it wasn't because of what his one-time-friend, Katsuki Bakugo, did; rather, it's what he said.
After blowing up his latest hero analysis notebook and chucking it through the window to the fountain outside, he said, "For the last time, you shitty nerd. Give up your worthless dream. Without a Quirk you'll never become a fucking hero; you'll only burden the real heroes with your meaningless existence.
If you want to be a hero so bad, the best your sorry ass can do is take a swan dive off a building and pray you get a worthwhile Quirk in your next life!" And with those words, Bakugo left Izuku in the room without so much as kicking up dust on his uniform.
For a moment, Izuku felt his heart break as the words cut far deeper than any insult thus far thrown his way. For a moment, a mass of true and insidious malice wormed its way into his heart as he cursed Bakgo with his entire being. For a moment, the sclera of his eyes darkened to a venomous pitch-black as his skin blanched paler than that of a ghost and similar to that of printer paper; a bloody red glow dimmed on the surface of his skin.
But, before he could realize the anomalies with his body, he'd handled his negative emotions and bottled them away like always; opting to leave and retrieve his burned and soggy notebook instead of dwelling on a hatred he felt he'd never have the power to act on.
He trudged on, leaving school only to be targeted by a villain at the misfortune of being the only one around when he passed through an isolated underpass on his way back home. His luck seemed to be turning around, when his idol among idols, the greatest pro hero in all of Japan and perhaps all time, All Might himself, saved him before it was too late.
All Might signed his hero analysis notebook, but he let his excitement get the better of him; his desire, nay, need to hear his idol's response to the age old question: Can a Quirkless be a hero?
No.
He followed All Might's leap to a building, soliciting him long enough for his secret was revealed. The truth behind his ever-present smile was revealed, concealing the pain and anguish a Symbol of Peace such as himself was not allowed to disclose to the masses.
"Look, young man, you have a good heart and spirit. However, I can't in all good conscience tell you that you can become a pro hero." All Might wallowed in a self-pitying chuckle as he continued, "look where that got me? I'm supposed to be infallible, but before I even reach fifty years of age, I'll probably have to retire; if not from the job, then from life.
"Become a police officer or doctor and treasure your life, young man. That way, you'll still be a hero to society in all but the professional title." With those words, All Might left Izuku on the rooftop with conflicting emotions.
All Might had rejected his dream as everyone else had, however, he had at least done so with consideration for his feelings and a palpable sense of pragmatism. He had agreed with the rest of society that Izuku couldn't accomplish anything if he tried to become a Quirless Hero, but he hadn't crushed his dreams ruthlessly.
So, the hatred, malice, or depression that would have been built by the idea of All Might himself rejecting Izuku's dream was gone with the wind. Instead of carrying the futile feelings, Izuku made his way down the building and walked with his head hung low. It was just another day in his life, until… it wasn't.
He heard an explosion and his habits kicked into high gear, bringing him to the source of potential new Quirks to observe and document. Sure, All Might had told him he couldn't become a hero and on a subconscious level he might have started to adopt that position as well, but after years of being told no, he hadn't stopped; so, why stop now?
He found himself before the scene of the hostage situation, if the comments of the other bystanders had any merit. However, after making his way to see for himself, Izuku couldn't help but freeze.
The others were right in claiming that it was a hostage situation, but the source of the explosions didn't come from a villain trying to make threats. Rather, Bakugo was the hostage, who was apparently the only person trying to fight back against the villain; the very same villain who had earlier attacked Izuku and All Might had been captured.
For what felt like an eternity, time stalled to a crawl for Izuku as he took in the sight before him. The worst among his tormentors was in an even worse position than he had found himself less than an hour ago. Bakugo was surrounded by pro heroes, but they were either too busy trying to herd the crowd away from the scene of the battle, trying to put out the fires that his explosions created, or found their Quirks to be ineffective against the villain's Sludge Form.
It sickened Izuku that for the slightest moment he honestly thought, 'Good. Serves you right.' Unfortunately, as he look to other thoughts and tried to bottle his feelings once more, his ever-analytical mind could only find more fuel for negative thoughts.
A tinge of annoyance appeared within his eyes as he thought, 'What are these heroes doing dividing their strengths so moronically? I know he's more of a rescue and containment specialist, but if Backdraft were any less of an idiot, he'd realize that his Water Spigot Quirk is the only effective means to deal with the villain.'
His focus shifted once more as his eye twitched, 'And why is that slimy bastard even out here to begin with? Didn't All Might—' he suddenly stopped his train of thought as he realized, 'Shit, this is my fault, isn't it… I probably knocked the captured villain out of All Might's pants when I jumped on his leg like a complete retard...'
Just as the thought reached its end, Izuku could see Bakugo's pleading look for help from his position and the world finally froze over completely as Izuku snapped. He couldn't stop the overwhelming mass of hatred spawning off his body even if he tried.
He hated the fact that the heroes around him behaved so uselessly. He hated his own uselessness in creating and having naught the power to change the situation befalling Bakugo. He hated the small piece of himself that delighted in Bakugo's misfortune. He hated the fact that he couldn't say he wished the blond survived if he were honest with himself.
And so, the cycle of hatred in everything he thought of intensified as time resumed. The failed transformation Izuku underwent earlier at Bakugo's suggestion that he kill himself succeeded this time around. As for the result?
Immediately, those around Izuku noticed the change in his appearance as his skin paled to sickly unsettling white, the sclera in his eyes blackened as his green irises glowed ethereally. The physical changes, though, were not the cause for the crowd suddenly straying away from him; that would have to be attributed to the red glow of energy bleeding hatred and his wrath.
"What a joke," Izuku's voice rang clear despite the explosions and chaos as he started walking past the line the pro heroes set up to keep civilians away.
Death Arms, a pro hero who understood the futility of his strengthening Quirk against the villain, ran over to stop Izuku. The hand he tried to use to catch Izuku was dodged effortlessly as Izuku kept his eyes on Bakugo; he didn't even bother with the villain as his focus on the blond was solidified.
"And you say that I can't be a hero?" Izuku laughed as if three sidekicks hadn't just arrived to help Death Arms stop him. "For years you boasted about how great of a hero you would become," he dodged and tripped the sidekicks without changing focus as he continued with his casual walking pace. "Now look at you," he scowled. "At the first sign of any real trouble, you get caught like a helpless little baby," he dodged another hand that tried to reach for him from what should have been a blind spot.
"Maybe not just helpless, but annoying too," Izuku said as eyes narrowed at the explosions that continued to spawn from Bakugo's spot. "You've already alerted the heroes to your predicament—" another group of heroes and sidekicks including Mt. Lady, whose Gigantified body couldn't be of any help in the small alleyway where the scene was located, started attacking Izuku, "—so why must you keep burning, destroying everything with your shitty explosions?"
"Don't you know you're just making it worse for the only people that might have had a shot at rescuing you?" Izuku asked, as he continued on his path unperturbed, no matter the hero, sidekick or Quirk thrown his way. "Though, I guess I shouldn't blame you, considering the incompetence of these worthless failures," he said as he glared at the heroes that still stood around him; several of them fainting just from the pressure of his unbridled wrath-filled intent.
He made it past Bakugo's explosions' range and continued despite the villains efforts to use his slime power and Bakugo's redirected explosions on him. Alas, it was for naught, as it only took a single step for Izuku to cross the ten or so meters between him and Bakugo's captured body.
A bright smirk of complete arrogance and hate made its way onto his face as he reached his hand past the slime and pulled Bakugo out by his arm as if he were picking up a pillow. "How does it feel? Being rescued by a Quirkless Deku like me?" Izuku asked, with enough red glowing off his body for some of it to find its way into the center of his pupils.
In that moment, he looked more like some sort of horrifying archdemon than a Quirkless human. In fact, he was so intimidating then, that the mere look in his eyes deterred the villain from moving.
"Nothing to say for yourself? Whatever," Izuku said before his hand glowed green and he touched the petrified slime villain.
One second, the slime villain had the form of a massive sludge blob that tried to submerge Bakugo and in the next, there only remained a splatter of sludge across the burning pavement as pieces of the villain littered the ground in manner that one would think the villain had fallen from a skyscraper.
"Tch," Izuku clicked his tongue as he saw that there were still heroes and now firefighters still rushing to contain the burning buildings all around the scene. He raised a hand and aimed a flick of his finger over the exit of the alleyway adjacent to the burning buildings and released.
With a wisp of green shining from his fingers, following the flick, a torrent of wind pressure trumping that of even the worst tornado shot forth. Windows were shattered and eardrums were harmed, but at least the fires were resolved in an instant as well.
With the situation resolved, the transformed-Izuku knew his time was ending. He ignored Bakugo and the crowd as he walked over to Death Arms, pointed at the hero, and said, "You. Make sure that worthless failure—" he pointed at Bakugo "—doesn't do anything to me before I wake up."
By the time, Death Arms tried to respond, Izuku had already released his transformation and ironically fell unconscious while still standing.
Author's Notes
As of the time I'm writing this Author's Note (AU), very little planing has gone into the direction of this story.
With where the chapter ends, I could take a multitude of directions, including but not limited to: Villain Path, wherein Izuku wakes up with his powers of negativity keeping him in his "snapped" state and he becomes a villain that takes revenge on everything and everyone that crossed him when he identified as Quirkless. Vigilante Path, Izuku doesn't become a villain and ruthlessly cripple and slaughter, but he does ignore the route of becoming a professional hero and adopt less than legal methods to stop villains and better society or something. Hero Path, Izuku spits on the face of everyone who ever doubted him as he becomes the best pro hero with the "least heroic" Quirk.
I don't have any strong feeling for whom to pair Izuku with, despite marking this story under romance. But I do know for a fact that I don't want to make a harem story; I'm trying to go for as realistic as possible, while still retaining the absurd supernatural elements of superpowers in this story. Though, for now, I guess I'm marking down Toru Hagakure as the most likely choice solely by virtue of her having the least number of stories where she is paired with Izuku; I like a challenge, after all.
Last thing I want to mention, is more of a warning actually. If my track record is anything to go by, I wouldn't get my hopes up if you guys are expecting some super long serialized story. I've tried writing fanfiction before, but I've never finished a story. So, do with that information what you will. I'll try to post once a week or two, but honestly my focus on writing has been wanning, so you can expect even longer stretches; if that as I might just suddenly go on hiatus for whatever reason.
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