Chapter Text
Izuku went down to the common room to get a break from studying, and maybe pick up some snacks, when he heard his classmates loudly talk about quirks in the living room. And of course he had to go and see what it was about quirks that caused them to borderline argue.
“There are a lot of quirks that are not suited for hero work.” Tenya said loudly while chopping his arms in the air, “Some quirks are basically useless to a hero”
Now, Izuku liked his robo-friend, but still. After all the lunch ramblings that can come from him when he talks about how cool a quirk is and how it can be used in hero work, no matter what it does, you’d think that Tenya wasn’t that close minded and saw quirks as useless.
“Iida, bro, chill. I haven’t got a flashy quirk at all and I’m still on my way to become a hero. Like what Midobro said to me on the bus to USJ,” the classmates nearby all flinched somewhat at the reminder, “I can be a human shield and protect people!” Kirishima was happy that he had gotten friends that saw him and not his so-called useless quirk.
“YEAH! FUCK OFF ENGINES! EVEN QUIRKLESS PEOPLE CAN BECOME HEROES YOU SONIC WANNABE KNOCKOFF!!!!” Kacchan, of course, yelled. But that statement got Izuku to stop in his tracks. Kacchan thought that even quirkless people could become heroes? He was a little hurt that it was first now that he said that, why not when they were still friends?
“Um…. I don’t think so Bakubro…. Like, what can quirkless people even do? It’s too dangerous for them to really do much without getting hurt permanently or die” Kaminari, smart in some places, extremely stupid in others, and apparently don’t have a strong enough will to live because if he knew Kacchan enough he wouldn’t try to insult quirkless people. But Izuku guess that was his fault too. He hadn’t told his classmates that he grew up quirkless, or that Kacchan was his main bully.
Izuku decided that he had heard enough to think he knew what they were talking about, and started to form a plan on how to tell them they were wrong, but he needed to be sure first so he wouldn’t look stupid when he confronted the class at a later time.
“Hey guys, what are you talking about? I heard something about quirks…..?”
“Ah, yes hello Midoriya” Tenya greeted with his usual airchopping technique, “you would be the correct person to ask about this topic as you are the most knowledgeable of us here.”
“Yeah! Midobro, do you think there are any useless quirks for heroics?” Kirishima sent a sunshine smile his way, everyone else but Izuku had to squint to look at him, so bright.
“No, not really. Anyone can become a hero! For example, if all someone could do was change the colour of their hair 3 times a day, they could become an amazing underground and recon hero. Or if someone could see very far, like Mei Mei, they could become a recon hero too or a support hero. Someone could grow their nails long and then shape them into small objects, they could then make keys and such and also be a really cool underground hero. There are many underground heroes now who have so called useless, weak or even villainous quirks, like our teacher, Eraserhead, he can just erase the quirkfactor or someone as long as they don’t have a mutant quirk, but he’s still one of the most successful underground heroes there are with very little property damage and he captures almost all the criminals he meets at night. Or Ms. Joke, she can just make people laugh, and that can be seen as useless and weak, but she is still awesome and going strong, and her support gear………………” He began to mutter, and didn’t realise until Ochaco came over and flicked his nose.
“I think we get it, Deku, but what do you think about quirkless people? Bakugo mentioned that he thought they could become heroes, do you think that too? I personally think they can do it but that it might be hard for them if they wanted to go into the above ground heroics, but underground maybe, or maybe just keep to working behind the scenes as sidekicks or agencyworkers.” She probably didn’t mean anything bad by that, but it still hurt, thinking she didn’t believe she could become a good hero if he hasn’t accepted All Mights quirk.
Taking a deep breath he looked at the people discussing this, Kacchan, Ochaco, Tenya, Kirishima, Kaminari, Mina, Tsu. Momo and Shoto looked on but didn’t really look like they had said anything, just choosing to observe, so he didn’t really know what they thought. “I think quirkless people would make amazing heroes, because if they have a kind heart and want to help people, they can. They probably will have to work 10 times as hard as everyone else, but support items exists and there are very few heroes who work completely alone. So I believe quirkless people can become heroes too!”
Not wanting to see the reaction of his classmates, he hurried to the kitchen, downing a glass of water and grabbed some snacks and ran up the stairs before anyone could question what he meant by that. Running into his room and practically slamming the door shut before putting the snacks on the table, he sat down on the floor and began to wonder what he had just done. Would they leave me now? Do they think I’m quirkless even though it’s clear I have a quirk now? Oh, no what if they find out my quirk isn’t actually my quirk and I’m lying to them and they find out that I am a fraud and then they decide that I am not worth of being their friend anymore. Even Tenya said that it was too dangerous for quirkless people to become heroes, he would probably hate me now. He’s such a sticker for rules and don’t like lying and when he finds out I was lying he will call me a villain and everyone will be against me and it will be like middleschool again…….
Too lost in thought he didn’t hear the knocking on the door that was kinda soft at first then became more and more harsh the longer the person on the other side had to wait. “OPEN THE FUCK UP DEKU I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE DON’T MAKE ME BLAST YOUR FUCKING DOOR OPEN YOU PIECE OF SHITTY NERD”
Brutally knocked out of his panic he opens the door and stare at Kacchan with wide green eyes, “Y-Y-Y-Yes Kacchan? D-d-do you ne-need something?” He opened the door to let him in, they weren’t on bad terms anymore, but they weren’t exactly best friends again either, instead a weird middle ground.
“I came for a few things shitty nerd” Huh, weird, Kacchan didn’t sound too mad now that they were behind closed doors, “Of course I don’t sound too mad, it’s exhausting to scream all the fucking time. But I wasn’t gonna talk about that. I came to tell you, fuck why is this so hard, UGH FUCK I CAN’T DO THIS SHIT. Go sit on the bed nerd I need to get my thoughts straight,” He turned to me when he said that “And don’t you dare make another joke about my sexuality now.” So I went to sit on the bed and let him get his head on straight and sort out what he wanted to say.
“I have been such a shitty friend, and, ugh, and I’m fucking sorry for how I treated you OK? I didn’t know at the time that what I did was bad, no one stopped me so I thought I did something right. Hell I even got praised by the teachers, as you fucking saw of course, but that doesn’t make my actions right.” I looked at him in shock, he really thought that? How? I don’t think it’s bad that he apologised, but what made him do it? “I have begone to go to a therapist ok nerd? After Kamino….. I was basically forced to go to one and talk and shit and I didn’t really like it, but they made me realise that I have been an asshole and I think that you would have been the best god damn quirkless hero the world have ever seen. Sorry for fucking up that chance for you….”
“Thank you Kacchan, that means a lot and I’m happy for you. You know I have forgiven you a long time ago right? I never really blamed you for what you did to me. It’s not your fault that everyone made you believe you were always the best.” I looked up at him with fondness in my eyes, he is going to become one of the greatest heroes, I look forward to see him grow more. “But that wasn’t all right? You said you came for more things?”
“Yeah. I came with an idea for you, and since I thought of it before you that means I’m the best! But you should be the one to do it. And like maybe ask that hobo teacher of ours if you can too.” I was starting to get curious, what great idea has he come up with? Is this about the quirkless heroes and such and how there’s no such thing as a useless quirk? “Yes, exactly that nerd. I though that you could use that big fucking brain of yours to tell the class about how quirkless people are being treated now and how important it is to not push them down and actually give them a symbol, a pillar to look up to. You’re smart, you’ll figure it out. Ok nerd?” I nod, quite impressed but also not really that Kacchan thought of such an amazing idea, “And if you tell anyone about how I apologized to you I’ll blow your fucKING HEAD OFF!!!!!” He announced that with a small explosion in his hand, surprisingly, directed away from me.
“Thanks Kacchan! I’ll see what I can do!” And then he turned and left the room with a huff.
***
After classes the next day, before lunch I sent the Dekusquad ahead, telling them I would join them later, and waited until the classroom was empty to talk to Aizawa-sensei.
“What is it, Problem Child? Need help with something?” He sounded slightly concerned, he could also be annoyed about me wasting his nap-time.
“Um… I was wondering if I could ask you about something?” I looked up from my hands and saw him raise and eyebrow in a silent question, “Yesterday the class talked about so called useless, weak and villainous quirks and how they can’t be useful in heroics, and for some that also included quirkless people, and I wanted to tell them about how all quirks can be useful if you know how to use them and be creative and actually see the quirks as a tool and not something foreign… I, um, yeah……” Oh god should I tell him about how I grew up quirkless and how I wanted to become a hero without a quirk but then I suddenly got a quirk, so now I want to protect the people who grew up like me and I should start by making sure that my classmates don’t end up accidentally killing a quirkless or weak kid because they don’t believe in them…..
I suddenly realise that I have been muttering when Aizawa comes and places a hand on my shoulder and bends down to look me in the eye, “Did I hear that right kid? Have you been quirkless most of your life?” I feel myself nod, not trusting my words at the moment “Kid, you need to tell me that kind of stuff so I can help you, I don’t know how long you have had this quirk, but if the beginning of the year is anything to go off, I would guess not too long. But we won’t talk about that now. I have taken enough of your time, go to your classmates and eat lunch. Then stay after class at the end of the day, because we are going to have a talk whether you’d like it or not. Understood Problem Child?” A nod, “Okay good, of you go now” I gather my things and hurry out of the classroom, assuring my friends when I get to the cafeteria that it’s nothing bad, but I will stay after school and talk with Aizawa so they don’t have to wait for me then.
***
The end of the day can’t come fast enough, yet it comes too fast and I’m not ready. Aizawa-sensei makes some last minute announcements and then, “Midoriya, stay after class” I remember, but it’s kinda nice that he reminds me of it, even if there are some whispers of ‘Oh, someones in trouble’ and ‘What has he done now?’
Everyone are leaving, while I pack slowly so I don’t have to wait too long for the last ones to be gone. I look up at Aizawa-sensei and see that he is gathering up some papers, then standing, so I stand up too and make it to the front. “Follow me, we’re going to my office.” And so we go in silence to his office. I hope I’m not in trouble, I don’t want him to be mad at me, not when he is the nicest teacher I have ever had “I’m not mad at you Problem Child” I look up at him in shock, realising that I have muttered yet again, and I see him ducking his head into his capture weapon like he does when he wants to hide “And thanks.”
We make it to the office and he opens the door for me, entering after I have went in first. “Take a seat,” He gestures to a chair on this side on the desk, while he rounds it and sits down, “So. What did you mean at lunch that you have been quirkless most of your life?” He held up his hands to stop my coming protest and questions about why my quirk and not the presentation I wanted to talk about. “I will not let you have a presentation if you won’t tell me about why you got your quirk so late.” He stares me down, daring me to make a protest, but I can’t I don’t want to disappoint him more than I will soon enough. If he will even let me have the presentation and haven’t expelled me by then.
I take a deep breath and remember the explanation All Might, Gran Torino and I came up with if I ever got a question about my quirk and why it came in late. “I was misdiagnosed as quirkless, so I never really knew that I had some requirements to fill for my quirk to activate. Apparently, I needed to have enough muscle mass and be old enough for the quirk to activate. Since I was thought to be quirkless I was bullied a lot and no trainingcenters or dojos allowed me to join because they said I could infect them or something, like quirklessness is a disease that can be passed onto others, so I never got to train. So the only ‘training’ I got was running from bullies, which don’t to much really. But then almost two years ago the sludge villain happened, and before Kacchan was attacked I was attacked and got saved by All Might and I asked if I could become a hero and he said no,” I didn’t look at Aizawa-sensei the whole time I was talking so I didn’t see the flash of anger and protectiveness in his eyes but he didn’t interrupt me, “and he left not long after but the villain apparently got away and attacked Kacchan and none of the heroes there did anything, and before I knew it I was running in to save Kacchan, and I know it was stupid all the heroes yelled at me, not that they were any better anyways. After that I left to go home and cry, but on the way All Might stopped me and told me that I had the heart of a hero and he could train me so I could maybe become a quirkless hero. So he and I met up on Dagobah beach and I cleaned the whole beach in 10 months before the entrance exam. Then on the day of the exam when I ran in to save Uraraka from the Zero-Pointer, I suddenly felt a lot of power that I didn’t have before and I jumped and punched and suddenly I had my quirk.” Towards the end I began to talk more quietly, getting ready to be called a liar or be hit or something, but none of it happened, it was just quiet. Getting worried that I had bored Aizawa-sensei enough to fall asleep of he had left while I was talking and not noticed, I looked up and saw him looking at me with shock written all over his face.
“So let me get this straight Problem Child. You got your quirk, that you didn’t know you would get at all, the day of the entrance exam? No wonder you didn’t know how to control it. You have been to a quirk counsellor yes?” I look away, “Right? Problem Child?” I look down in my lap and shake my head.
“All Might said that since his and my quirk looked very similar he would help me with mastering it, but by the way you reacted now I guess he didn’t make a good decision?” All I got in response was a grunt “Sorry Sensei… I didn’t know what to do, and no one wanted to believe me if I suddenly got a quirk.”
“Ok, here’s what will happen. I’ll allow you to have that presentation come Monday next week during homeroom, but after that you and I will train your quirk together and make sure that you master it before graduation. I honestly thought you were a lazy brat on the first school day, and I deeply apologize for not asking you sooner and helping you. Instead I have been neglecting you and pushed you away.” I look up in shock of being apologized to and see Aizawa-sensei bowing to me before he straightens and look me in the eye. “Please let us teachers help you. You can trust us, you can at least trust me. Now back on topic. Yes, you can talk about how everyone can be a hero, but on a few conditions. Because you need to learn from this too, not just your classmates. You will include 2 pro heroes who have so called weak or villainous quirks, you will include reasons why quirkless need to work so much harder than everyone else, and you will tell the class that you grew up quirkless. You don’t need to tell them how your quirk manifested, just that you know how hard it was and that you know how much you probably wanted there to be a quirkless hero you could look up to. Don’t give me that look, I can see it in your eyes, you still want there to be a hero for the qurikless, weak and forgotten. Become that hero Midoriya, I believe that you will become the most amazing hero there is. You have amazing potential. Now scram, you have a presentation to write”
I stand from my chair without knocking it over and bowing to Aizawa, “Thank you! I’ll make you proud of me Sensei!” And ran out of the room and back to the dorms.