Chapter Text
Some find ways to help themselves
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“What about purple highlights?”
“Literally why would I do that Kei-“ a warning glare, “Hawks? And why are you trying to get me to dye my hair anyways?”
‘Right I’m not supposed to know his name, can’t say it on a government facility.’
“I’m getting bored of the brown.”
A tired sigh.
‘He really intends to live up to the annoying older brother role, huh?'
“Do I need to remind you that that’s my natural hair color, ya oversized chicken?”
An indignant squawk escaped the number 3 Pro Hero, further sealing his fate. The boy just gave an amused smile and continued braiding his hair quietly. He really didn’t like not having his hair covering his right eye, but on the job the one thing that mattered was efficiency. He couldn’t afford to limit his visibility or give the enemies anything to grab onto.
He finished braiding his hair and tied it back in a bun. A calming breath. He wasn’t quite “on duty” per se. Won’t ever be like he used to be. But it didn’t really matter. He was about to take the U.A. entrance exam, taking it seriously seemed like the right decision.
“You know you can cut it right?” Gentle this time, no teasing in his voice. Just affection and concern.
He frowned at that but didn’t really get a chance to reply before Aizawa interrupted him.
“Alright we’re here; get ready. All Might, Nezu, and some people from the HSPC are waiting on site, so you better be there in five minutes.”
The underground hero got up to leave the vehicle.
“Sure thing, Danchō.”
“I told you to stop calling me that, Back-alley Cat.”
He chuckled at the glare leveled at him.
“And I told you to stop calling me that, Danchō.”
“Duly noted and promptly ignored.”
“Likewise, Danchō.”
A huff and a muttered, “snarky bastard” is the only response he gets before Aizawa makes his exit.
“He’s like a grumpy cat isn’t he, Kuma?” Hawks asked, amused.
“Exactly like a grumpy cat.”
With a fond expression on his face, the boy, Kuma, exits the car and stretches his back, wincing slightly as his shoulder blades crack.
“I still don’t get how that doesn’t hurt,” the Pro said with a concerned look.
“It does, I just ignore it.”
“God I hate your answers sometimes.” A tired sigh.
The two of them slowly made their way toward the rest of the group as they talked. It had been about half a year since the two brothers had been able to catch up, and they definitely weren’t going to skip the chance. They had always been somewhat inseparable, brothers in all but blood. Zero attempts were made to try and hide how they saw each other. Be that as it may though, they had to be careful. Hawks worked closely with the HPSC, and something in their gut told them not to reveal how much Kuma knew about what happened behind the scenes.
The two finally reached the rest of the group and Kuma bowed politely to Nezu, and then to All Might, the former of which tried to hide his gentle smile. The young man had come along quite well since he first met him, and Nezu couldn’t help but be proud.
“It’s an honor to meet you, All Might. I hope I can get results worth your time.”
“I’m sure you will, Taeruku-shōnen. Your situation is quite the unique one, and I have faith that the people here have a reason to make the choices they did.” Another gentle smile. He’d heard what the kid had been through, but he’d keep that to himself for now.
“I believe you are already aware on some level how the test works, Kuma-kun? Seeing as you were present in the viewing room for the last test.” Nezu speaks up.
“Actually, about that Sensei. Would it be presumptuous of me to assume you’re not really here to test whether I am qualified for U.A.? From what I’ve gathered from my time in the viewing box is that the exam seems to test destructive capabilities more than anything else. Also noting the fact that there aren’t any other competitors here, preventing me from getting rescue points, which I am aware I’m not supposed to know but it was relatively simple to connect the dots. There’s also no reason for me to exercise delicate control over my power since property damage is kinda irrelevant in this exam, and the fact that we are on a military weapons testing facility in the middle of nowhere with HPSC officials, not the usual guards but rather officials, present here, would I be correct in assuming that the real reason I’m here is because the HPSC wants to get a gauge for my strengths?”
Varying reactions met the boy as he finished speaking. Stunned silence from the officials, surprise but also a hint of mirth on All Might’s face, a fist stuffed in his mouth to stop laughter from Hawks, a long, tired sigh from Aizawa, and thinly veiled pride and amusement from Nezu.
“You know that speech was entirely unnecessary right, Back-Alley Cat?”
“One, you’d interrupt if I paused. Two, Sensei would ask anyway if I didn’t explain my reasoning.”
A laugh interrupted whatever Aizawa was going to say.
“And if I were to tell you that you are correct?” An excited glint in Nezu’s eyes.
“Then I would ask you all to go stand behind the blast barriers instead of here.”
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Admittedly, Yagi didn’t know anything about the boy whose exam he was supposed to be witnessing, outside of the fact that Nezu spoke highly of him. He’d been asked by the HPSC to oversee the exam, and to be completely honest he was more than a little uncomfortable with the attention the poor boy was getting from the HPSC. It didn’t feel friendly, the idea being further encouraged by how Hawks had to force himself to act whenever their agents were present.
‘He acts like they can’t be allowed to get information on Taeruku-shōnen…’
The thought did not sit well with Yagi. Nezu had already taught him not to be too trusting of the HPSC and this was only making him more wary of them. The silver lining here was that Nezu had clearly taken a liking to him and was pulling every string he could to get him into UA instead of the HPSC’s custody. He had noticed that his friend and former principal seemed to be happier whenever he got to work on tutoring the young man and didn’t attempt to hide his pride. The fact that Eraserhead of all people seemed to be openly affectionate towards the boy seemed like nothing short of a miracle though.
'Though I probably shouldn’t be too surprised.'
He had seen the boy’s file. There was a lot of history to read through and a lot of classified information, but even through the blacked-out text it was clear the two had known each a long time. It warmed his heart to see that he had people in his corner at least.
But it was exactly because he had read the file that Yagi was confused. Nothing in there about the boy’s quirk or general abilities had hinted at anything that should necessitate the blast barriers.
Boy, had he been wrong.
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The screen showed the live camera feed.
Seven people sat around the table in a semicircle, watching in rapt attention as the subject of their interest walked towards the huge square-shaped fake city and stopped about 50 meters away from the entrance.
His gaze hardened before he looked down and closed his eyes, concentration etched on his face.
The air shimmered around the city. At first nothing happened.
A creaking sound.
The top of the metal spire on the tallest building started to groan and buckle, almost as if being crushed. The spire caved in and snapped off, falling off the building, clipping it on the way down.
The seven watched, manic grins on the face of some, as the city slowly flattened from the top down. It started with the tallest buildings, slowly reaching those below, almost as if an invisible weight was being allowed to slowly sink through the air, crushing everything on its way down.
They watched as the entire city, along with all the robots in it, got crushed into the ground, leaving behind only fine powder. And then, the ground itself started sinking, the loudness of the sound making the audio from the feed glitch as the video shook violently.
A sound similar to glass shattering.
There seemed to be a floating crack in the air above what was left of the fake city as air rushed towards it. The boy’s eyes flew open as his head snapped towards the crack.
The ground stopped sinking and the feed stopped shaking. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of strong winds as air rushed towards the crack.
The boy slowly exhaled and braced himself.
Boom.
The shockwave knocked out several of the camera angles as the air above the fake city exploded outwards, carrying dust and debris for miles. Small fragments of what were once robots rained down on the blast barriers as they were buffeted by wind and dust.
One by one, all of the cameras get taken out by the aftermath of the explosion.
"I want him."
Everyone turned towards the figure at the head of the table.
"Ma'am, it doesn't appear we'll be able to get him before Nezu does, at least not by legal methods."
"We can let Nezu have the subject for now, but I want him once he graduates. So make sure to keep conditioning and grooming him. He must not go anywhere else."
"Yes, Madam President!"
She looked down at the file.
The picture of a 14 year old boy stared back.
The President of the HPSC was very pleased with their find.
He'd make a very good agent.
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Some have ways to get help
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Midoriya Izuku had been happy. He had been a bright child with an even brighter smile. Adored by all, loved by his parents, brother in all but blood to Bakugō Katsuki. He’d been living an amazing life, and he hoped to continue living it and become someone who could let everyone else have the same. A Hero, that’s what he wanted to be. Someone who could save people with a smile.
He’d been happy.
And then the world turned on him.
Age 4.
It all started with that one doctor’s visit. The man had been so casual in his destruction of poor Izuku’s dream. It hurt him. It stung. But he didn’t want to give up.
He’d gone home and cried that night. He’d sat at his computer and rewatched the debut video of his idol. He’d tearfully asked his mother if he could still be a hero. She cried and apologized for him not having a quirk. She gave up. But he didn’t want to give up.
His father had started to get distant with him. It began with him getting ignored by the man. It changed to angry glares and harsher than necessary words. It changed to insults and harsher than necessary criticism. It changed to neglect and blame and disgust. It didn’t take much longer before that changed to abuse and physical blows. Inko was not happy. She did not agree with her husband. They argued. They fought. Neither believed in him, but one still cared. But he didn’t want to give up.
Age 5.
Things had kept escalating. The blows had kept getting worse. A line was finally crossed. Izuku lay in the hospital bed, trying to get comfortable despite the bandages that adorned his burned left shoulder. Inko had kicked Hisashi out after that. The doctors had told him it would scar. His mother was in a chair beside his bed, crying, unaware that he was awake. She'd just had to choose between her husband and her son. The boy's father had just abandoned him. But he didn't want to give up.
Ever since that day, Hisashi kept sending Inko money for living expenses every month, but he always made sure to send only enough for one person. His money was for his wife, not some quirkless brat. Inko, of course, wouldn't accept that. She got a job to support Izuku. She always made sure to spend the money Hisashi sent on Izuku instead, choosing to spend her own money on herself. It was her act of defiance against the man, her attempt at feeling like she was standing up for her son. Izuku knew what was happening; his mother had never tried to keep things from him. He knew his father made it clear that his life meant nothing to him. But he didn't give up.
Age 6.
His name was Deku. That's all he'd ever be to everyone except his mother. Kacchan had stopped being a friend years ago. It had been a slow transition from best friend to friend, and an even slower one from friend to bully. But much like his father, the transition to abuser hadn't taken long. The scars on his body told of a story of many betrayals and a lot of regrets. It was a story full of hate and desperation. A story that was being added to every day. It started with Katsuki, then Katsuki's lackeys, then his peers, and eventually even his teachers added their marks to his story. He was ostracized, isolated, ridiculed, abused, beaten, and so much more. They seemed intent on breaking him. On making him give up. He held on. He didn't give up.
Age 8.
Inko had taken Izuku to visit her parents in the Kumamoto prefecture. They'd been staying there for a week now; Inko had to save a lot of sick days off for this trip. It had been been going well so far. Had. That changed when one of the parents at the playground basically assaulted Izuku for touching their son with his "disgusting quirkless hands". Inko had been quick to press charges. It took months of court trips. They'd offered Inko financial compensation for any injuries Izuku may have gotten from the "altercation", as they called it. It achieved absolutely nothing. No justice was brought. No mark had been brought on the assailant's file, but had somehow found its way onto Izuku's. Inko's family cut ties with her for daring to ruin their family name and reputation over "a quirkless little freak". Izuku and Inko had lost the last of their support pillars. But he couldn't give up.
Age 10.
Izuku had been caught in a villain attack. Inko rushed him to the hospital. The nurses had been ready to help until they saw his medical file. Quirk: N/A . No one had bothered to hide the disgust on their face afterwards. And now Izuku lay unconscious and bleeding on the floor of the reception as Inko begged the front desk to help him. They hadn't even let her put him on the chairs. Eventually, one of the doctor's took pity on them and told the front desk that they would shoulder the blame. Not even a day later, the doctor got fired and taken away while checking up on Izuku. They didn't kick him and Inko out immediately. At least not officially. But he was discharged that very night even though Izuku still clearly needed more medical attention. Inko had had to stand outside U.A.'s gates and beg Recovery Girl to look at him. The heroine had given her sad smile and apologized on behalf of all medical professionals that Izuku had had to experience that. The world didn't want this poor child. And still he held on. He was too scared to give up. This dream was all he had left to cling to.
Age 13
Today had been bad. Even more so than usual. He had a new burn on his back, Kacchan handprint had burned through his gakuran and the charred cloth clung to his ruined back. Kacchan had told him to kill himself today. Take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in the next life. It hadn't been the first time he'd heard those words. But still, it stung worse coming from Kacchan. And God, for a moment Izuku had been oh so fucking tempted. But he held on. He refused to give up. He clung to his dream as he made his way home…
…Only to get caught in a villain attack. He was so sure he'd finally die. He'd die as he lived, useless and forgotten. But at the last moment he got saved by none other than his idol. All Might, the Number One Hero himself.
In front of Izuku was standing the last shred of his hope.
Izuku hadn't known how desperately he wanted to cling to that hope.
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"Can someone without a quirk be a hero like you?!"
The question echoed around the empty rooftop. All Might stared at this young boy that had clung to his leg as he jumped off. This young boy that had clearly been through hell. Yagi remembered his own childhood and how he'd been treated. He could only imagine how much worse it has gotten now.
All Might–no–Yagi Toshinori looked at this young, hurt boy, and decided to be his hero. Not as All Might, the Number One Hero, holder of One For All. But as Yagi Toshinori, a once quirkless man. He decided to give this kid the answer he'd hoped to hear from Nana, though the one he'd gotten hadn't been too bad either.
He deflated. He let One For All drop, let the boy see what being a hero like him did to a person.
The boy's reaction had been… understandable. It took a while to get him to calm down. But eventually Yagi had sat down on the roof gently and leaned back against the metal fence along the edge. He offered the boy a seat on the floor across from him, and he took it, albeit hesitantly.
"Young man, why do you want to be a hero like me?"
A confused head tilt as an answer, followed by,
"Why wouldn't I want to be a hero?"
A soft chuckle from the blond.
"A fine answer, my boy. But not a satisfactory one for my question. Why do you want to be a hero like me ? "
"Because I want to save people with a fearless smile!"
A sad smile.
"There's plenty of fear behind this smile, kid. I smile to trick the fear in me. The smile is as much for me as it is for others. It's to reassure people that I'll save them. And to convince myself that I can actually do that."
"O-oh…"
A soft sigh.
"Do you want to know why I am the way I am when I don't use my quirk, my boy?"
A hesitant nod.
Yagi did not miss the concern in the eyes of the boy, even as his face held a pained grimace as he saw Yagi's scar.
He smiled to himself.
"I got this from a villain fight 4 years ago."
"Was it from your fight with Toxic Chainsaw?"
A hearty laugh.
"You certainly know your stuff my boy, but no. This fight is not public knowledge and has been kept out of the media as per my request. The fight cost me my entire stomach and one of my lungs. I can only maintain my form and use my quirk for hero work for about 3 hours a day now. With that in mind, what do you think my answer is going to be?"
A devastated expression washed over the boy's face.
Yagi chucked sadly.
"Judging by your face, you guessed right. But you misunderstood my reason. Tell me young man, is Endeavor anything like me?"
A shake of the head.
"What about Hawks?"
Another no.
"Best Jeanist? Ryukyu? Miruko? Gang Orca? Are any of them like me?"
A shake of the head for each of them.
"Are they all bad heroes?"
"No, of course not, sir!"
"But they're not heroes like me, are they? They're not me. They cannot be me. They shouldn't have to. Not being like me doesn't make them less of a hero. They're not me, and neither are you. You cannot be a hero like me, and you shouldn't have to be."
A glimmer of hope was returning to those eyes.
"My boy, look at me. I am old and hurting. My body is struggling, I am lonely and have no family or even friends to speak of. I lived a very lonely life. When I first became a hero, the world needed a pillar to hold it up. But not anymore. The world doesn't need a hero like me anymore. You cannot be a hero like me, and that's a good thing. I wouldn't want you or anyone else to be a hero like me. You, my boy, can be a hero like you."
A gasp as tears start forming in those eyes so full of wonder and hope.
"What is your name, young man?"
"M-midoriya Izuku, sir."
"Do not be the next All Might, kiddo. Be the first Midoriya Izuku."
A hand clasped over his heart as he leaned forward to let out the sound of his pain.
"Midoriya-shōnen, quirk or no quirk, you too can become a hero."
Yagi held the boy and let him cry into his chest for hours that day. But he didn't mind. He got to give this child the dream he wished he'd been brave enough to pursue.
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But not all those who need help are lucky enough to receive it
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They said the heroes would come save him.
They said he'd be rescued.
So why wasn't he?
Where were the heroes?
Why couldn't the people just save him themselves?
Why did they rely on the heroes from the posters and the TVs?
Heroes like All Might, smiling carelessly.
How could the heroes smile as if they'd saved everyone?
How dare heroes like All Might smile as if they'd saved everyone?
How dare they smile when they hadn't saved him yet?
' Is it because it's me? Am I just… not worth saving…? Is it because I hurt my family…? But I didn't mean to! And Father hurt me too! How is that my fault?!'
The heroes were supposed to save everyone.
No… They were supposed to save everyone from villains. Bad people. People who hurt others. Like him.
Did that make him a villain…?
' Does this mean I'll never get saved…?'
How is that fair? He'd never been given a chance to be good. Why should he be punished for a quirk coming in when he didn't have control over it? Why should that overshadow the suffering Father caused him? Why should he be the one rotting on the streets? How was any of this fair? It felt wrong.
It all felt wrong.
Like something was wrong with the world.
It made him angry.
He wanted to tear it down.
He was bitter.
He was scared
All he wanted was a hand to reach out to him.
And one did.
"Did the heroes abandon you, Tenko?"
He looked up at the man in a suit, white hair blowing in the wind.
A pair of red eyes bore into his soul.
A lifeline thrown out to him. He'd be a fool not to take it.
"Then allow me to be your hero."