Chapter Text
Not all people are created equally.
Izuku Midoriya has known this fact for a long time. Ever since his childhood friend, Katsuki Bakugou got his quirk and he didn’t, life and the world he’s been part of seemed to shift. For one thing, Katsuki, nicknamed “Kacchan” by Izuku, started… teasing him.
It wasn’t a big deal at first. What’s a friendly jab at each other amongst friends? He’s seen other friends do it to each other without repercussions, so it wasn’t any different with him and Kacchan. But the nickname Kacchan gave him stung, just a little too much.
“Deku”.
Worthless.
Just like what everyone else says about quirkless people.
That’s another thing Izuku started to notice and pick up on after his quirkless diagnosis. Well, more when he got those red sneakers. He was excited at first, considering red is (was) his favorite color. But when he was around six did he learn they were specially made shoes for those with an extra pinky toe joint, especially when regular shoes were just a little too uncomfortable. The fact they’re specially made wouldn’t be a problem if all it took for him to receive the blunt end of harassment and discrimination is for others to note the color and shape of his shoes.
The other friends he did have aside from Kacchan started talking to him less and less until they just cut him out altogether. No one wanted to be paired up with him during recess and gym class. A few people “befriended” him long enough to get him to do their school work and take his credit. He quickly learned not to easily trust people, and bring any complaints he had to an adult.
Until he reached middle school. Honestly, he’s not sure if it was society being less lenient towards middle school-aged quirkless people (and beyond) or if it was just his school alone, but he slowly began to dread going. Students both in and out of his class started taunting and harassing him, and even when Izuku mentions it to the faculty, they do next to nothing to stop it. Even when he brought it up to his mom and she made a complaint, all the school did was make an official apology to not just Izuku but every quirkless student (not that it was genuine or believable) and play the mandatory “Quirk Discrimination: How to Identify and Prevent it” curriculum video no one pays attention to in class.
It makes going to school suck for him because he likes it. Well, learning and everything related to that, not so much the social part, case in point.
Especially when Kacchan’s teasing became more… hands-on and aggressive. Taunts were the easiest thing for Izuku to deal with. He can just tune Kacchan out or pretend their jokes and laugh at them. If he thought about it, they weren’t much different from what others said about him, what’s one more to the voices? It seems ignoring him only ignited a fire in Kacchan and he started using his quirk against Izuku. Setting his stuff on fire with his explosions. Burning and singeing his uniform one too many times for comfort (it’s a good thing the uniform is black, the only good thought Izuku can come up with for this situation). And sometimes even burning him, getting a few first-degree burns and one second-degree when Kacchan was particularly feisty.
Izuku debated bringing it up to his mom more than one time, but knowing how it went with the school, he doubted anything different could be done. Technically it could be brought up with Kacchan’s parents, but he barely listens to them (and, if he’s being honest with himself, not much better in the quirkless discrimination) so it wouldn’t do much good. Honestly, all Izuku can do is suck it up and avoid Kacchan as best as he can while he slowly goes through the rest of his middle school years and hopes things will be better in high school. Despite literally everyone telling him he can’t amount to much with what he has planned for his life.
Yes, all men were not created equal, and society seemed to do everything it could to remind him of it.
And yet….
He still wants to be a hero.
Just because everyone treats him like crap, pushes him down, and constantly tells him he couldn’t be a hero or have more attainable dreams, he still plans on it. Hopes for it. Mostly hopes than plans.
Izuku sighs as he fishes out his quirk/hero analysis notebook from the fountain. Kacchan once again targeted him and harassed him after it was made known Izuku (still) plans on being a hero and is planning to attend the most prestigious hero-based high school in the country: UA Academy. Kacchan, after some verbal assaults, grabbed and exploded his notebook before tossing it out the open window of the classroom. The worse part of the whole interaction was what Kacchan sneered at him as he left the classroom.
‘Why don’t you take a swan dive off a roof and pray you get a quirk in the next life?’
Izuku growls lowly as he slowly lifts his singed and soaked notebook, water dripping out from it. It’s a good thing it’s written in pencil, or else everything he’s written would have bled. Not that it matters, the notebook is as good as useless anyhow.
Take a swan dive off a roof? Yeah, right, and become just another statistic in the quirkless suicide rate? He thinks to himself as he tries his best to dry off the notebook as much as he can.
He hates to admit it, but recently, there have been a lot more deaths and suicides of quirkless people in Japan. Deaths from villains or even some thugs picking people that were in the wrong place at the wrong time and couldn’t defend themselves. Suicides from things like bullying or family disowning them because hardly anyone wants to work or even tolerate a quirkless person. But even knowing that Kacchan saying that just seems wrong. The blond bully is a lot of things and has dragged Izuku through hell many times, but he’s not that cruel. As ironic as it may seem, Kacchan always wanted to be a hero, and being a hero involves saving people.
It’s possible in the heat of the moment, saying that made sense…. Izuku stops his thoughts as he slips his backpack on and heads home for the day. Why am I even defending him?
Maybe once upon a time, at one point in their lives, the two were friends. Maybe back when they were quirkless, before the age of four and Kacchan’s developed. Before Izuku got his diagnosis and the sneakers he’s currently wearing. Before Kacchan developed an ego the size of China due to his (he would be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed or intrigued by the blond’s quirk; it really is quite powerful, he’ll admit) amazing quirk. And if Kacchan was just a little nicer, less mean with his taunts and assaults, at least left him alone instead of joining in and then eventually leading the bullying, then he’d find a reason to defend him.
But now, all Izuku can think is He’s… not a good friend. I don’t know if he ever was…. He briefly remembered a time when they did hang out and play together as toddlers, and Kacchan was fine then. Well… not a good friend anymore.
Strangely enough, the apparent revelation he should have had sooner about his former friend only seemed to motivate him more. Izuku clenches tightly onto his backpack straps, the sun temporarily leaving as he goes through an underpass.
So what if he’s not my friend and a bully? I’m still going to be a hero, quirkless be dammed. I’m sure there’s something I can do to at least try. Not to mention, I vaguely remember Shield saying how some countries are thinking of implementing some anti-quirkless discrimination laws.
One thing he started getting more involved with as the years go on is online forums. Specifically, ones for quirkless people like him. GreenHaven is a forum that has members from all over the world meant to be a safe place for anyone facing quirkless decimation. He found it after one particularly nasty encounter with Kacchan and his so-called friends in early middle school and was desperate to find someone, anyone like him. And he’s glad he did. Even if he may not know them in person, the people on the other end of the screen helped and encouraged him in ways he’s forever grateful for.
ReinventtheShield113 is a friend he made on the said forum that hopes to make support gear for heroes as their line of work. He’s not entirely sure where they live, but his understanding is they hear a lot of political talks involving nearly everything and occasionally share their two cents on the matter. One of the recent posts involved rumors of worldwide efforts to stop quirkless discrimination.
Not that it’ll do any good, he knows. As much as he would like a change of that degree to happen, it’s going to take more than a few laws to get people to change. A shift in people’s perspective for one thing would help. And maybe something like an example of a quirkless person that actually-
A metallic clank drew him out of his musings, Izuku eying the manhole cover at the end of the underpass. Strange, he was sure it-
A rumbling underneath him is his only warning as the manhole cover goes flying through the air, barely missing Izuku’s head if he hadn’t jumped. His eyes widen as a semi-translucent brown sludge thing oozes out of the sewers below. The eyes on the person (Creature? or Villain?) turn to him, narrowing in a gleeful, hungry manner.
“A perfectly good skin suit, right at my…” the eyes slowly made their way down until it reaches the bottom, to Izuku’s shoes. “Quirkless?!” Oh great, he knows about them. A slight grunt emits from the sludge monster. “Well, better than nothing.”
Run! His mind screams at him. He turns and takes a single rushed step in the opposite direction before the sludge creature grabs him, enveloping him with its thick, slime-like body. He opens his mouth in an attempt to yell, hoping someone is close by to help. That turns out to be a mistake as the sludge instantly fills his mouth, pushing itself deep down his throat, making him gag and pulling the air out of him. It’s trying to suffocate him and kill him.
Izuku thrashes and tries to break free. The sludge monster only uses this to its advantage, its warm, repulsively foul body digging deeper into him.
No-no, please- no! I-I can’t – I don’t –
His vision blurs from tears pricking his eyes, and black spots being to appear in his vision as consciousness starts to slip away. No. Not like this! Not like this, please!
He just got the motivation and reason on becoming a hero. He just found a goal worth living for. And now, he’s seconds away from becoming another number to that quirkless death statistic.
No….
He barely registers a shout as everything goes black.
-----
“Hello? Wake up, young man!”
A deep, booming voice flitters through Izuku’s consciousness, the greenette barely registering something slapping his face. Or someone, maybe, he can’t quite tell. As he opens his eyes, slowly gaining cognizance, the prior events with the villain flood his mind. The feeling of the slime-like substance trying to push its way down Izuku’s throat made his stomach flop around.
He bolts up, barely giving whoever is in front of him time to move as he turns to the side and upheavals his lunch from earlier that day. It leaves a bitter, sour taste in his mouth, but it strangely grounds him. After all, he nearly died, and the experience was horrifying, to say the least.
I’m alive. I’m ok. I’m alive. I’m alive.
“That was quite a nasty villain you faced! It’s a good thing you held out as long as you did! Otherwise you’d be a goner!”
Izuku freezes in his mental attempts to calm his nerves, instantly recognizing the voice. The world almost seems to slow down as he turns his head to look up at his apparent savior. His eyes widen at the sight of the towering, muscular figure, the man giving him a wide, reassuring smile.
No way….
“Are you alright young man?” All Might, the freaking Number One Hero, Izuku’s idol for as long as he can remember, the famous Symbol of Peace, is asking him if he’s alright.
He’s looking at the face of his idol while groveling on the ground from a villain attack, inches away from his vomited bento lunch. Of course, he’s not ok. He wishes he could have met him on better terms.
But meeting All Might looking like the mess he is better than never meeting him at all.
“All Might!” he cries, scrambling to his feet. “I-uh-yeah, I-I’m fine.” He gasps. “Wait!” with shaking hands he yanks his backpack forward and digs around for his notebook because ohmygoshIcan’tbelievethatAllMightisstandingrightinfront-
All Might snaps forward a card-sized paper, Izuku startling slightly at the sudden movement. His eyes widen as he recognizes it as a photo of All Might in his golden age costume, a smile as wide as ever, and it’s autographed! Does he just have these on hand, or did he get this from somewhere and signed it?
Regardless, Izuku takes it with shaking hands (seriously, the adrenaline from the villain's attack and the pure excitement and astonishment of meeting the #1 Hero is making his entire body jitter like a massage chair) bowing multiple times in flurry at the gratitude he felt of it.
“Thank you so much! Thank you for saving me, and for the photo. It’ll be an heirloom in the family for generations!” Is he overdoing it? He might be overdoing it, but he can’t help it. The greatest hero is right in front-
Wait, the greatest hero is right there, literally within arm’s reach. All Might has been all over the world, being a symbol of peace and justice, inspiring countless people from all walks of life. Surely, if there was even a slight chance, a slight chance a quirkless person could become a hero, he would know… right?
“A-All Might, wait, I-I have a q-question.” His jitteriness is making him stutter, but he ignores it for now. Just one question, just one bit of hope that he has. If he hears what he’s been so desperate to hear just once….
“Sorry, young man, but I must be on my way!” he says, turning and bending down, readying for a jump. Izuku just registers a soda bottle with brown sludge in it tucked in the large man’s pants pocket, eyes blinking and glaring at him. “Evil never rests and neither do I!”
The next thing Izuku knew, he is clutching tightly onto the leg of the number one hero as the two soar through the sky. The speed at which they’re going makes Izuku’s face stretch out rather comically at the turbulence, barely able to shout a reply at All Might’s insistence on letting go. The two land on a rooftop of a building, Izuku catching his breath as he tried to calm his racing heart from another scary event.
How much adrenaline does it take to kill someone, he thinks distantly. Especially someone quirkless?
“Sorry about that scare, but I really must go now!” All Might’s booming voice brought him back to the present, the reason why he is on the roof of some random building. He scrambles to his feet, watching in desperation as All Might walks to the edge of the roof, intending on leaving the same way they arrived.
He draws in a shaky breath. Now or never.
“Is it possible to become a hero even without a quirk?” he shouts to the towering figure. All Might stops in his tracks, his head turning just enough to acknowledge he’s listening. Izuku takes it and continues. “I’m a normal kid without any powers,” he says a little softer, a bit self-deprecating. He breathes in and shouts, “Is there any hope I can become like you?”
Just one word. Just one person to confirm his dreams. That’s all he asks. If there’s one person who would give that, surely, it’s All Might. He looks down at his feet, at his red-stained shoes, and waits for an answer.
(Because he’s looking down, he misses the number one hero wince and kneels over, steam emitting from the hulking figure.)
“It-It’s just…” Izuku supplements when there’s no immediate reply. “All my life people have been saying it’s a fool’s dream, for someone like me to hope for something like that.” He clasps his hands together and twiddles his thumbs out of nerves. “All my classmates and teachers tell me that every day; saying I’m too weak and can never amount to anything because I’m quirkless. But you know, it just makes me want to prove them wrong.”
Prove that I’m not weak. Prove that no matter how many times they knock me down; I’m not going to give up.
“Ever since I was little, I thought helping people was the coolest thing one could do.” He gives a small smile at the memories he had when he watched every hero fight and rescue mission he could find online. "I want to be a hero that brings people relief and hope with a smile on my face. Someone who inspires others." And shows that even someone without a quirk can bring peace and hope wherever they go.
He looks up from his clasped hands, giving All Might a wide, hopeful smile. "Just like you!"
Or, it would be All Might. Instead of the towering figure Izuku expected, a tall, gangly, skeleton of a man stood in front of him, steam (smoke?) emitting off of him. His sunken blue eyes meet Izuku's wide green ones, the two staring at each other in stunned silence.
Izuku's cry of confusion is the first to break the awkward silence.
"You-you shrunk! All Might shrunk!" Izuku gasps, taking a surprised step back. wait, no, that doesn't make sense. this guy looks nothing like him, how could it possibly be All Might?
"No... who are you, what did you do with All Might?" Izuku asks, his voice quivering from shock and a poor attempt at sounding intimidating. the man's equally surprised expression melted into one of resolution and weariness, the man shifting to better face the young teen.
"I can assure you that I am...." the worn weary, slightly raspy voice cuts out as a stream of blood pours out of the man's mouth in a mini waterfall. Izuku gives another cry of surprise, one accommodated with concern. That much blood just gushing out cannot be good.
The man hardly seemed bothered by it and simply wipes off the blood from his mouth. He gives a soft sigh before continuing. "You ever see those men at pools that puff out their chests to appear bigger and more impressive? Well, that's me. As crazy as it may seem, I am All Might; this is simply how I look most of the time."
Izuku blinks dumbfounded at the skeleton form of the self-claimed All Might. The man slides down the guard rail of the rooftop, resting briefly on the ground, coughing up another splatter of blood. No, there's no way this man is really-
Izuku gives a shuttered gasp at what he sees. the man had lifted his loose shirt to show an incredibly terrifying injury. It was like the man's skin is made of glass and someone tried to break through it, the point of impact spiderwebbing across the man's torso. It's red and purple and swollen, right in a place that could have very well killed him.
"Pretty gross right?" the man notes Izuku's horrified expression. "I got this from a villain fight five years ago. I lost a lung, and my stomach is basically non-existent. Because of this, I can only maintain my muscle form for a few hours a day." He lets go of his shirt and looks Izuku in the eye. The blue pinpoints bear into his soul as he says, "I'm trusting you to keep quiet about this."
The man - it is All Might, isn't it? Izuku gives a short nod, his mind working overtime with the revelation he just witnessed. All Might, the giant of a man that saves everyone with a fearless smile, is truly a shriveled-up, severely injured man? It almost doesn't seem real. But something tells him that the man in front of him is indeed All Might and isn't lying about his true form.
"Five years ago..." Izuku mutters, mind still reeling with the new information. "Did... was it Toxic Chainsaw that did this to you?" It would make the most sense, given the quirk and bloodthirsty fighting style the villain is known for. The timeline matches up too. Now that Izuku thought about it, All Might has been appearing less and less in the public eye over the past few years. An injury like that would be a believable reason for his absence.
The shriveled-up All Might raises a non-existent brow. "You know your stuff. But, no, this was from a villain fight I worked hard to keep out of the public eye. That and the injury I sustained. If word got out, it would be mass chaos."
He's right, it would. For there to be public information that the Symbol of Peace is weakened and could even be broken - even be severely injured - would lead to a nationwide manhunt for the hero to eradicate him. Villains would take that information and do everything they can to make the world their oyster. Izuku knows, logically speaking, All Might is as human as anyone else, but to think that All Might could be so severely injured - maybe even killed - sends a shiver down his spine.
If someone like All Might could be defeated...
If he wants to be a hero...
“Can…” he swallows, attempting to ask again. “Can I become a hero?” he says it so softly, he’s not even sure the deflated form of All Might heard him. Sure, he had the motivation and inspiration to keep following his dreams regardless of what others said just moments ago… but his hope is waning. He would be a fool to ignore the fact that being a hero is dangerous work, even with having a strong quirk. Freaking All Might is the top hero of all time and yet he looks like this after a particularly deadly fight. But… there’s still a chance, right? Less powerful people than All Might were still heroes, surely he could-
“Being a hero… is a lot of work.” All Might interrupts his thoughts. He looks up to see the hero looking at him, studying his face, clearly showing signs of being conscious of his words. If he’s being careful with his words….
A sinking feeling starts to settle in Izuku’s stomach. No, please don’t.
“It’s a great occupation, and the desire to help and save others is admirable, but it comes at a price.” The skeleton man clenches his fist, a slightly pained expression flashing on his face. “Even someone like me has limits to what they can and can’t do.”
No… no, don’t continue. I’ve heard this before, please….
He tries to hold back tears as the man continues. “And while I understand the desire and hope to achieve a dream like that….” He gives a stern, yet soft expression to the teen, trying to convey seriousness and sympathy at the same time.
No….
“No, I don’t think a quirkless person can become a hero.”
The world tilts to the side as static-like noise fills his ears, his eyes becoming unfocused on anything. All Might continue to speak, Izuku vaguely registering the hero saying something about other lines of work he could pursue. But it doesn’t do much to stop the sinking feeling he’s experiencing.
There it was. The final nail in the coffin so to speak. Even the Number One hero says he can’t.
And he knows he’s right.
He knows it’s impossible.
But he still wants to hope.
He still wants to believe he can do it.
There must be something.
Something that even All Might is missing.
He can’t just give up.
He can’t-
“Young man?”
He snaps back to reality, the light of the sun, the sound of the traffic below, and the breeze of the wind all hitting at once. It’s so overwhelming along with his thoughts he nearly does cry. He doesn’t as he registers All Might standing by the rooftop entrance, holding open the door, looking at him with a mix of expectance and worry.
Izuku dumbly blinks at him. What did he say?
“Are you coming, or….” All Might shuffles awkwardly, gesturing to the stairs below. “I mean; I don’t want to just leave you here….”
Right, rooftop. Came here by a super powerful jump. Need to get home.
“Uh, right…” he says, skittering to the door, going in first with All Might following him.
He tries to ignore the fact that All Might is right behind him, or that he’s in some sort of deflated, almost sickly-looking form. He doesn’t want to think about how he knows some sort of big secret and can’t tell anyone. Though if he did, he doubts anyone would listen to a quirkless nobody. And he definitely doesn’t want to think about what was said on the roof.
Sure, All Might said it with as much care as he could, but the effect is as devastating as though Kacchan said it instead. He really, really wanted at least one person to say he could, and he thought….
He thought a lot of things in his life, and some of those were simply wishful thinking. This, unfortunately, is another one.
“Hey,” he glances back to the skeleton form of his idol (actually, after today, he might have lost that right), the man watching him with a close eye. “I know I might have sounded harsh, but I am trying to help best I can. It’s good to have dreams, but you should make sure those dreams are attainable.”
Please stop, you’re just making it worse.
“Hero work isn’t the only good profession out there. If you want to help people, there’s plenty of different options to choose from. One of my good friend is a fine detective, and there’s no shame in medical work either.”
I get you’re trying to help but please…. He turns his head away, noting that there were still several floors left to go down. Maybe there’s an elevator he can use instead. But if All Might were to go in it as well….
All Might sighs, a sign he knows he’s going nowhere. Good, the sooner he stops the sooner-
“I know this may sound hypocritical after what I told you, but don’t lose hope. I’ve seen a lot of things change and dreams come to reality because of it. So don’t give up, ok?”
“Sure.” It’s all Izuku can say, the tilting, static feeling starting to come back. Being told not to lose hope after having all of your dreams crushed? Yeah right.
The day he got his quirkless diagnosis comes to mind, about how he rewatched the video on All Might’s debut hundreds of times, trying to gain some semblance of encouragement from it. He asked his mom if he could be a hero… and she apologized. Apologized he didn’t have a quirk, that he couldn’t be a hero.
And All Might, the same one from the video, just told him he couldn’t either.
It’s ironic how it came full circle.
The two finally reached the floor level. They made their way through the lobby, All Might giving a half-true reason as to why they were there, Izuku barely hearing it. They walk out front, now at the point of going separate ways. All Might hesitates before awkwardly placing his hand on Izuku’s shoulder in a feeble attempt at a pat. “Good luck to you,” he says as he walks off, heading off who knows where. Izuku stares at the general direction he left, slowly turning to look at what’s in front of him.
So… is that it?
Is that truly it?
I can’t be a hero, not at all?
Izuku breathes in slowly, a heaviness settling on him. He wants to shake it off, hold his head up and assure him that his goals are not out of reach. To hold onto some semblance of optimism he’s always had.
He’s just…
…so tired.
He gives a soft exhale. For now, for right now, he’ll go home. He’ll cry on the way there, maybe when he gets home as well. He’ll let everything out and then go from there. A nap also sounds appealing. Or perhaps he’ll just go to bed early. Luckily – or unluckily, depending on how you view it – it’s a weekend, so no school tomorrow. He can… he can decide on a new future tomorrow.
He mechanically puts one foot in front of the other, heading in the direction of home. Everything around him starts to blur, and fade, becoming unregistered. All white noise that barely filters into his mind and stimulates any sort of response. With everything he’s gone through today, and with everything involving All Might specifically, he just… doesn’t feel anything.
He’s so unaware of his surroundings that he doesn’t notice the crowd or commotion in a nearby alleyway. If he did, it would have led to a big change in his life, one fulfilling everything he wanted. But he didn’t.
Because everything he wanted was denied before he even asked for it.
-----
A chime of a ringtone draws Izuku out of his dazed state, the teen recognizing it as the ringtone for his mom. He gives a slight shake of his head, trying to clear his mind and clear his throat. A few streams of silent tears did move down his face when he was walking home, but he wasn’t sobbing. Yet.
He pulls out his phone and answers. “Hey mom.”
His mom greets him on the other end. “Hi, baby. Are you in the neighborhood? Are you by Kobayashi’s store?”
He pauses in his walk, taking a minute to assess his surroundings. He wasn’t aware of where he was going or where he was when he was walking home. But now, he recognizes some of the local stores not far from his home, including the one his mom is asking about.
“Yeah, I am.” He replies, trying to swallow down his chocked up, thick voice. Hopefully, his mom didn’t-
“Izuku, is everything ok?” Of course, she picked it up.
“Yeah I…” he swallows again, willing himself not to start crying. Not that the sight of a Midoriya crying is uncommon in his neighborhood, he just doesn’t want to deal with any pity at the moment. “I’ll explain when I get home. Did you need something at Kobayashi’s, is that why you called?”
A pause. “That and to see where you were, it’s getting pretty late.”
He glances at the sky, seeing the blue start to fade into a brilliant golden color.
Huh.
Maybe in another world, it could serve as inspirational lighting. Now it just seemed to mock him. Reminding him of everything that happened the past couple of hours.
“I guess. I am by Kobayashi’s; what did you need?”
Izuku pulled open the door to the homely mini-mart. Well maintained and stocked cleanly, the little store serves as a great place to get some last-minute ingredients for dinner as well as a few odds and ends one could want. Occasionally, it’ll have something exciting like a hero merch item or maybe some rare pre-quirk memorabilia. The reason why it might have it is because the owner likes to make special trades with people who want to get rid of stuff. Stuff that might seem invaluable to one, but be a hidden treasure to others. In reality, it’s a way for someone who may be short on cash to pay for some food.
“Ah, Midoriya.” He glances at the cashier and sees the owner in question standing behind it. A short, old woman, with a slight mutation quirk that gives her pointed ears and nose, greets the young teen as he enters. Having owned and run the place for so long, Ms. Kobayashi knows nearly every resident of the neighborhood that’s dropped by her store. Because as well as allowing trades to be made for payment, she often gives discounts to the children that visit after school or on particularly hot summer days.
What’s more, she also gives discounts to those who are quirkless. It’s… honestly a little patronizing. But at the same time, who would pass up discounted food? Especially with everything that happened last year and money being a little extra tight in the Midoriya household.
He gives a weak smile to the older woman, noting the concerned look growing on her face. “Dear Midoriya, what happened to you?” She asks, looking over him with scrutiny.
Looking in the mirror in the corner of the store, he finally has a good look at himself, his appearance an accumulation of today’s events. He has a new singed mark on his uniform (thanks Kacchan) as well as brown stains courtesy of the sludge villain. His curly hair sticks out unrulier than usual because of the sludge and there is a slight vomit stain in the corner of his mouth. The tear tracks and bloodshot eyes complete the look of an absolutely shitty day.
He gives another attempt at a feeble smile. “I… had a really bad day.” He gave as his only explanation as he heads to the items he needs. He hears a sympathetic hum as he starts grabbing the items he needs. If he's lucky, Ms. Kobayashi won't press for any details. She normally doesn't, recognizing the need for privacy. But if she feels she needs to, she will get him to open up to talk about what happened.
Izuku places the few items on the counter, watching silently as she scans them and places them in a bag. He digs into his backpack to pull out his wallet, but the old woman holds out a hand to stop him, passing the bag to him. "Don't worry about it today."
He hesitates, the implication sinking in. He waves his hand frantically, pulling out his wallet. "No, it's fine, let me pay for it."
"Midoriya," she gives him a stern look. "You went through a lot today, and I know that when you get home, you're going to tell your mother what happened and it's going to be rough. Let me take care of this for you, just to make it a little lighter."
“But I-”
“Ah bu-bu-bu!” She waves her hand in a placating manner. The old woman pushes up her glasses as she pushes the bag to him. “I insist. Though, if you insist on paying me back, you can come in tomorrow and help me stock things on the higher up shelves.”
It’s not that Izuku is much bigger than her, but it’s not like he’s doing anything tomorrow. Plus, it doesn’t sit right with him that he’s getting everything for free.
“I’ll see you then.” He tells her, hesitantly taking the bag and heading home. Well, at least they have everything they need now. He looks over the few items he got, trying to think what might be for dinner. As he rounds the corner to head to the house, he nearly runs into someone with how distracted he is.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He gives a quick apologetic bow to the person and moves to go around them.
That person, unfortunately, had other plans. Just as Izuku resumes his journey home, large hands grab him and throw him into a nearby alleyway, a giant, imposing man blocking his way out. He skitters backward on his hands crab style, trying to get away. a wall meets his escape, pinning him in a corner. His eyes widen in fear as the man activates his quirk and a long, thin razor appears from his palm.
"Hand over ya wallet and that bag ya have there." the man demands, stepping closer to the frightened teen.
Izuku pulls his backpack around and clutches it to himself, fumbling with the zipper. "O-Ok, I-I just do-don't have a-a lot." He stutters out, inwardly kicking himself at his frightened speech.
"I don't care, just hand it over!" The man yells, giving a quick slash to Izuku. His cheek stings as he feels air hit the new cut, and blood starts to ooze out. He shakily hands over his All Might branded wallet to the mugger, wincing at the loss of it. It's one of the few things he has left from his dad, and now it's getting taken by some low-level thug robbing him.
Was he seriously going to end his day by getting mugged? As much as he knows the smartest thing (or more like the strongest recommendation for quirkless people) to do is simply comply and hope the man doesn't kill him in the process, he doesn't want to end his day like this. And didn't the people in the forums he seeks refuge in always encourage him to stand up for himself?
Not that there's much he can do. However, looking over the man and noting his quirk, a flimsy yet plausible plan starts to form in his mind.
"The bag." the mugger reminds him impatiently, moving to make another slash at Izuku. The teen, however, dodges it and throws the bag at the man's face. Grabbing a splintered piece of wood, he scurries to his feet and runs to the entrance of the alleyway, turning in time to see the man recover from the slight surprise.
I hope this works. He barely dodges the attempt from the man (avoiding Kacchan all those years ironically pays off here) and swings the splintered wood at the razor the man has. It instantly shatters on impact, cutting it off and stunning the man. Izuku doesn't waste any time celebrating his hunch was right and bolts to the entrance of the alleyway. He makes it to the mouth of it as the man grabs his backpack, yanking him back. Izuku desperately shrugs it off and runs. His life is more important than anything in his bag.
He hesitates briefly about where to go. His first thought is to head home, but if the man follows him and tries to attack his mom or worse, he would never forgive himself. Alternatively, heading back to Ms. Kobayashi's store would bring the same results. He could try another store to hide out in and call the police-
He's slammed into the ground, the man pinning him to the ground. Izuku struggles under the weight, trying to escape-
His breath hitches, pain shooting through his abdomen from the stab the man punctured him with. The man growls lowly and slams Izuku's head into the ground, black spots filling his vision.
"You should have used your quirk if you wanted to stop me." The man hisses, getting off of him. He hears footsteps running away, Izuku wearily pushing himself up, trying to keep the swell of blood coming from the back of his throat to his mouth.
Crap. Crap. Why did I do that? He groans as he stands up, wrapping an arm around his side, trying to find the puncture wound and apply pressure. All he does in the process is get his hands tainted in blood
Why did I try to escape? I might have gotten out unscathed if I just compiled. He grabs his backpack and hesitates once again, mostly this time from the pain shooting through his entire body. He decides on the shorter route and drags himself to the small mart. Ms. Kobayashi will be able to help. Probably.
The old woman is surprised to see him back, but when she notices the red stain seeping through his uniform and the dazed look on his face….
Every dramatic, painful, and draining moment of his day hit him all at once. The worried cries of the older woman are the last thing he knows before blacking out completely.