Chapter Text
It was late.
Very
late. It was dark and scary and
he was away from home and he should probably go back
but.. He ran away from home. And obviously, he did it for a reason.
Now this reason will be revealed in a bit, of course but for now, an explanation of what was happening was probably needed.
Simple, normal boy, with wild green hair and a ton of freckles covering his face, which were quite invisible due to the amount of tears that were falling from the boy’s seemingly dull emerald eyes, was sitting on the cold cement ground, back against a wall, head covered in his knees, a weak attempt to hide the tears that were falling to the ground, or to muffle his heart shattering sobs, he wasn’t really sure what he was trying to do himself.. He was just so scared.. and alone..
He didn’t have much - a decent-sized light yellow backpack, worn out and for some reason seemingly burned (or exploded? maybe even scratched in some places) multiple times, was silently there, next to the boy, the last and only familiar thing that the boy owned, exception being his worn out yet signature red sneakers that he was wearing at the moment and whatever other components layed hidden inside said bag. He guessed he will have to get new stuff in the future.. If there was ever gonna be a future for him that is, he didn’t know, but he could dream.
After all, he was nothing but your normal, average child, a rebellious teenager that ran away from home over a stupid argument, like any other child would impulsively do. Yeah, no, that’s not how the story goes at all. Let’s start again - this is Izuku Midoriya, yes the broccoli crying his eyes out for no particular reason, but I guess you are catching up at this point and can realize that Izuku wasn’t here because he wanted to. Well, technically he was, because he just wanted to get away from that shithole he called ‘home’, but you know, he would have really appreciated a place with a roof over his head, where he could at least not starve to death.
Oh, forgot to mention, remember how I called him a rebellious teenager? Yeah, he’s twelve. Not sure how you’ll take that information, but I’m not particularly concerned. That’s my book after all.
What?
You don’t know what I’m talking about? Who I am?
That sucks, but I guess I will reveal it at the end of the story, that is, of course, if you are gonna follow this boy on his long journey and see what becomes out of him. After all, a little pup can easily grow into a scary predator, so watch out and don’t get attached, that’s a warning. :)
His name is Izuku Midoriya, if you haven’t heard from the weirdo that’s probably writing this. He was honestly not sure how he ended up here, but if he said that, it would probably be a lie. He still didn’t lie, due to his Mother teaching him that way, but he will soon realize how convenient lying will turn out to be for him. He remembered, oh he remembered the moment his life went downhill so vividly it was just painful to even remind himself of it. But that’s life, isn’t it - quite unfair as always.
When he was born, he was loved, appreciated, praised, needed. He craved to be around people, to be useful to them, to help them and to get their love in return. He loved affection, touch, you can guess what a happy-go-lucky child Izuku was. His Mommy - Inko Midoriya - always said how bright with love and affection his bright green eyes were and then he always got his Mommy to ruffle his hair! Ah, he remembered those memories, great times, great times, but now they just reminded him of how stupid life is and how fucked up his current situation was. Great.
Anyways, he was four when his happy, normal life went downhill. Yeah, that sucked. A lot. Quick explanation, 80% of the population are born with what we call ‘quirks’ or also known as ‘superpower’. The other 20%? They are deemed useless, pathetic, worthless pieces of shit that cannot become a hero, the top most wanted job in Japan and probably all across the planet, but who knows. He never really bothered to ask or search on the internet, because come on, he was four at the time and he had his Mommy and on special occasions his Daddy - Hisashi Midoriya -, and he thought it was great! Yeah, it was. Anyways, what those 20% are called is ‘quirkless’, which will simply mean a normal human citizen without any superpowers and shit, but he honestly associated that word with all the toxicity in this stupid world. Have you seen the discrimination against quirkless people? He knew they were just 20% and a lot of people want to get rid of them, so new people with quirks can be born, but like, he was still human, they were still human.. He never thought it would be so hard to treat someone with just a little bit of respect even if they didn’t have as great a power as you but whatever.
At the age of four all families were supposed to visit the doctor to determine if their child was going to develop a quirk or just become a pathetic punching back for the kids with quirks. So he and his Mommy went to the doctor. You’re probably wondering where his Daddy was and at the time the little boy would have told you he was working overseas but was supposed to come later tonight to congratulate him on his quirk, whatever it was. Honestly, utter bullshit if you ask him now, but he will come to understand the true nature of his father soon enough. Now he had to get checked up and he was really excited! He was a big All Might fanboy so he was really hoping to have some strong quirk so he can beat up villains left and right with a bright smile on his face (he should have probably thought more realistic about his dream, but he was following his idol so may as well aim high)! He really wanted to become a hero so he can save tons of people but mostly because he looked up to All Might a lot at the time and saw him as a big inspirational figure that always spread peace wherever he went - white lies if you ask Izuku now, but we got off topic too much, back to his check up with the doctor!
“I’m really sorry, but this boy is most likely to never develop a quirk.”
A weird bald doctor with goggles on his forehead said. After that he explained shit about double pinkie toe joints or whatever, but Izuku couldn’t hear anything as far as he or anybody else was concerned. He wasn’t going to develop a quirk, an amazing ability to fight off villains and achieve his dream? He wasn’t going to become a hero, his dream job, following the footsteps of his idol? He was quirkless, a future punching bag for all the kids at his kindergarten and his future middle school? Yes, of course he heard what they do to quirkless people, he will be dead meat once some kid with a strong ass quirk spotted him and decided to make him his new quirk training toy!
He mostly had a blank expression through it all, from what he could remember, that being the whole explanation the doctor did, the long, uncomfortable silent walk back home, with tension as thick as to be cut with a knife in one smooth slice, and even when him and his Mommy walked into the house it still seemed to remain the same. His head was going into overdrive, an unusual thing for a four year old, but can you blame him if he said he was slightly above the average IQ for a person his age? What startled him enough to come out of his blank, over thinking state of mind though was the front door being slammed shut from his Mommy. The tension became even thicker, as silence ran through the hallways of the once seemingly warm and comfortable apartment he called my home. He turned his head slowly, unsurely, his Mommy never acted like this, she was kind, patient, loving, understandable, a bit of a crybaby (but he was too so he guessed it ran in the genes) and was met with a sight he never thought he would see in his normal and happy life.
Mommy was angry and utterly disgusted, just from making eye contact with him. He could see it in her eyes, yet the emotion expressed on his mother’s usually soft and loving face was one so foreign looking that he wasn’t even sure how to react. Nobody in the Midoriya household ever got angry. Outside of the house, maybe, yeah, a few times, especially his Daddy if he is bothered by some stupid client of his, but in the actual house? Nope, never. The apartment was treated as the most peaceful place in the whole neighbourhood and he really hoped it would stay like that forever.. but life wasn’t going to go easy on him. His Mommy was angry. He didn’t know why she was angry or what had caused her to be angry, but the harsh slap he felt across his face and the slight stinging on his right cheek and the tears that threatened to fall from his bright, slightly scared green eyes, mostly made it obvious. He didn’t really want to believe he was the reason for her anger, but the small voice in the back of his head, probably a part of his imagination yet one he hadn’t noticed before, was making him slowly believe it as he stared at her with teary eyes.
“Mommy..? Did I do something wrong..?”
Izuku asked, cautiously, his right hand still holding his cheek as if it would fall at any moment, even if that was far, far from the truth. He just couldn’t believe that his.. that his Mommy of all people had hurt him. Even if it was just slightly. He had to know what made her angry with him though, so he opted for the question above. The question seemed to anger her even more however as a deep frown formed across her face, maybe she liked the silence. He wasn’t sure why he was supposed to be silent, but with his words caught in his throat from his Mommy’s cold gaze, the only thing he could do was shut up anyways.
“Get away from me you quirkless disgrace. When your father gets back, we will see what we will do about you.”
His mother hissed, her voice strangely poisonous. It was unknown to Izuku that his mother had such a side hidden from him, he felt quite out of place to say the least, but he quickly blinked a few times as to get rid of the tears that blurred his vision and quickly ran towards his room. The imaginary voice in the back of his head spoke up again, once he was inside his All Might merch filled room, saying that he should lock the door. But… he never locked his door before. That was the most peaceful apartment in the whole neighbourhood after all, he was sure his Daddy would soon get home and calm his Mommy down and they will be happy again! Yeah, he was sure of it!
Okay,
maybe
he was wrong.
Maybe
he should have locked the door.
Maybe
he would have been able to prevent the unexpected outburst his Daddy had after his Mommy had told him that Izuku was
quirkless
. And
maybe
he wouldn’t have several degree burns and who knows how many bruises over his four year old body, that now layed limply against his now locked door. Yeah, he should have listened to the voice in the back of his mind when it told him such important advice, but oh well, can you blame him? Izuku was only a four years old boy and despite his surprisingly high IQ, he was still oblivious to the darkness of this unfair world.
It’s been two year now, but it surely wasn’t two pleasant years for little Izuku. His
Daddy
Father has taken those two years of his own ‘precious’ time as he always said, to abuse Izuku. Technically, he was doing it to “make his son’s quirk appear” through trauma or whatever, he wasn’t sure, and if Izuku didn’t understand what was happening to him at the time, he would have simply
thanked
his father for using his free time to try and get a quirk out of his shitty
quirkless
son. But Izuku knew that his father was abusing him and knew that his quirk wasn’t gonna appear any time soon. But he endured it. He thought that once he got into elementary school, it will get better, because he will have some friends to support him! He was always a bright child (even if now his eyes were a very very slightly duller color), or atleast that’s what his Mommy Mother always said.
Speaking about his Mother, if Izuku’s opinion matter, he would have probably said that he wanted his
Mommy
back, because constantly receiving cold, disgusted glares instead of being watched with care and love, constantly being pushed off her whenever he tried to hug her (
and let me tell you, he was a touchy child so having no caring and affectionate touch in a while was starting to get to him
), being forced to do most of the chores in the house - cook for the whole family, wash the dishes, mop the floor, get the trash out, buy alchohol (for his Mother) and cigarretes (for his Father) from the nearby store. Don’t question how he got them even though he is just six,
he has learned that questioning it would just bring him more trouble
. But Izuku was always been an obedient child so it was hard to refuse anything at the time.
His mind was just blank through most of the torturous days, habit of his that was not especially welcome from his Father due to the bonus burns he got on his hands, since he seemed to constantly space out whenever he was being yelled at. Thankfully his Mother didn’t mind, not that she talked to him anyways. In all honesty, his parents were both only worth his many burn marks that covered his body and the money he received every week in order to feed the whole family. That being said, once his Father left him (
even if he was young, he can still see the look of boredom and annoyance on his Father’s face every time he gets yelled at now
), he assumed it will be pretty soon and he was mostly prepared for it, except for the fact that he will have to find a way to feed him and his mother and sadly, he was only six. Not exactly the right age to start a job, not that anybody in his neighbourhood would hire a
quirkless
nobody. So he had a plan. It wasn’t the best one, not at all, it probably went against everything he wished to be, following All Might in his foot steps and what not, that was a long forgotten dream though, but he still wanted to be a hero! He just lost hope of being as high in the ranking as All Might or any of the other heroes, but being just a back ground rescue hero was also fine with him! He just wanted to be a
hero
.. But his current situation left him with only two options for the time being, and that was probably theft or hacking. And he wasn’t particulary
fond
of any of them, but he supposed hacking was the much better option.
Anyways, remember that he was going to elementary school now? Yeah, it wasn’t any better than his home life. Before all of his quirkless-ness, he had this friend, a loud, explosive blonde named Katsuki Bakugo (nicknamed Kachaan by Izuku). The two of them always talked about becoming the best hero duo one could be and despite the blonde’s personality and constantly getting him and Izuku into trouble, Izuku thought they were pretty close friends. Wrong.
The moment he entered elementary school, the same school that Kachaan attended, the blonde boy started bullying him. Despite Kachaan’s explosive personality, life decided to be extremely unfair to Izuku and give the blonde an explosive quirk as well. Pretty bad combination, in all honesty.
And then the expected happend, but let’s not forget that Izuku was still a child and a massive cry baby, so despite expecting it, it still hurt. His Father left him, with around 20,000 ¥, which should supposedly last him for like, six months at best, probably. He was slightly, slightly grateful for this, because he still needed to complete his online hacking classes that he secretly took without his parents knowing, though his Father leaving money for the rest of the year would have been highly more appreciated. Oh well, Izuku was taught to appreciated the little things in life.
Well, he thought that his father had left, and even though it was just for four months, he still appreciated the small time that he remained with a relatively peaceful life, an exception being the constant verbal bullying he received in Elementary School (why did he have the feeling that Middle School will be even worse?). Anyways, his father came back? He wasn’t exactly sure why, but then he remembered that his father left a lot of his belongings in here when he first left. Right, Izuku had choosen to ignore and not touch anything that Hisashi left here and it was probably the best choice he had ever made. But Hisashi was angry for some reason, probably frustrated with life, with his job, with having to come back to this hell hole (Izuku doesn’t blame him, but like, he was the one that made it a hell hole), so when his currently drunk mother (he was used to having her in the house and didn’t really acknowledge her, but apparently his Father did), came up to his Father and yelled at his face with tears in her eyes, probably from her drunken state, yelling and cursing Hisashi out for leaving her with this discrace of a child, Izuku wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. It certainly wasn’t that.
“YOU! YOU LEFT ME! How coUld yOu Hisashi?! I thOUght you lOved mE, yoU bAstarD!”
His Mother screamed at the top of her lungs that night, a half empty bottle in her right hand, her posture swaying left and right and the voice in the back of Izuku’s mind (that he started to rely on a lot), was making him worry that his Mother might collapse there. His Father on the other hand wasn’t in the mood for a fight, smoke coming out of his nostrils, obviously showing how frustrated he was.
“I don’t care Inko! You are the one that gave birth to this disgrace of a child so you get to deal with it! I’m leaving!”
His Father gritted out in return, voice heavy as a hammer, crushing Izuku’s heart even more with the words coming out of his mouth. What scared him even more was the voice in the back of his head, frantically telling him to stop the fight because his Mother was going to get hurt. But his Father was seemingly leaving, so Izuku, as much as he disliked doing so, decided to ignore the voice in the back of his head and just continue watching. Bad choice. He was watching through the slightly open door of the living room, without really knowing if he was spotted or not but he didn’t really care as long as he or his Mother didn’t get hurt (he still cared a little for the disappointment of a parent after all).
“COME BACK HERE YOU BASTARD! I lOVed yOU! How cOuld you do this tO mE! GET BACK HErE!”
His Mother screamed once again, but this time throwed the ⅔ empty wine bottle at Hisashi. It hit his head, his hand pausing just above the door knob. Pieces of broken glass scattered everywhere, a puddle of wine forming beneath his Father. Everything seemed to freeze in time, nothing moved. The next thing that happened, scarred and scared Izuku for life. His Father roared with fire towards his Mother, eyes holding so much anger and venom in them, he only ever saw those eyes on the first day his Mother told him that Izuku was quirkless.
Izuku slammed the door he was hiding behind open, bright green eyes wide and scared and teary but he ran forwards and his back was against the roaring flames, just like many other times, but this time he was shielding his Mother from the impact. He was shielding a person that didn’t deserve to be shielded nor be addressed as his Mother but he still did it. Was it his imagination, or were the flames hotter now? That wasn’t good.
The front door slam shut, a burned, crying boy was whimpering on the floor curled in a ball and an ungrateful and drunk mother just got up to grab another bottle of wine. Izuku has never felt more hurt than at this very moment, yet he wasn’t sure if it was because of the flames that he could still feel burning the back of his body, or because his mother didn’t even care enough to ask if he was okay.
He was not okay.