Chapter Text
It happened on a hot summer day—the sun’s heat was at its peak, bearing down on little Izuku’s tiny shoulders as his knees trembled and he bit his lip.
“Do I really have to be the villain again, Kacchan?”
Bakugou rubbed his nose. “What, you want me to be the villain? Don’t go saying dumb things!”
Izuku frowned. He was always the villain when they played, but he didn’t have it in him to argue today.
Their games of hero and villain often devolved into just another game of tag because Izuku spent the whole time running, so finally, Bakugou stomped his foot down. “No more running! You’re a villain, so you’re supposed to come after me!”
It wasn’t like Izuku wanted to act like a villain! But he also wanted his only friend to stop yelling at him, so he hesitantly got in a fighting stance as Bakugou grinned.
“That’s more like it! Don’t expect me to hold back!” He ran towards Izuku, raising his hand as if to prepare to blast him in the face.
They’d played like this so many times before, and yet, something about that day had Izuku’s whole body rushing with adrenaline. Maybe it was the harsh sun bearing down on them from above, or maybe it was because he decided to stand his ground and act like the villain Bakugou wanted him to be.
Bakugou’s hand seemed to come down towards him in slow motion as Izuku let out a squeaky cry, squeezing his eyes shut and jabbing his fist forward.
He was supposed to fail, like always. Bakugou was supposed to land the hit, like usual. Nothing was supposed to come out of Izuku trying to fight back.
As Izuku threw his punch, a sharp pain shot through his entire arm and hand, his spine stiffening, making him cry out in pain.
“AHHHH!” Bakugou’s cry was even louder as he stumbled back, falling onto his butt and grabbing his cheek.
Izuku slowly opened his eyes, gasping at the sight of blood leaking down Bakugou’s face and onto the ground.
Time suddenly seemed to return to normal as the two boys stared at each other in shock.
“What happened…?” Izuku glanced down at his own hands…where 3 sharp blades were protruding out from his hand, in between each knuckle, dripping with Bakugou’s blood.
Both he and Bakugou stared at the claws, backing away from each other.
Tears dripped down Bakugou’s face, mixing with the blood on one of his cheeks as he shakily stood up. “What is wrong with you…” He breathed out.
The sight of blood made Izuku’s head light. And then came the throbbing pain in his hand from where the claws had literally stabbed through his knuckles in order to appear.
“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” He turned tail and fled, tears streaking down his face, waving his hand in the air as if he could shake the claws off of his fist, but they were sturdy and solid and it hurt hurt hurt!
He didn’t even know where he was running, but he knew he didn’t want anybody to see him with these monster claws covered in blood.
Finally, Izuku ducked into an alleyway and collapsed against a wall, tucking his knees to his chest and staring at his bloody claws.
“Go away…go away, please…it hurts, it hurts…” He sobbed, rocking back and forth, too scared to touch his knuckles that were now leaking his own blood all the way down his wrist.
He squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn’t have to see his own blood.
Go away go away go away go away go away…
“Mmm…” A wet sensation poked at his hand, making him gasp and scoot away from the sudden presence right beside him—a pale-blonde girl roughly around his age.
She giggled and grinned, revealing sharp teeth. “Hi! You’re bleeding a lot! Can I see?”
He sniffed and shook his head. “N-no! You should get away! I-I’m dangerous!”
She kept her grin and scooted closer. He scooted away. She scooted closer. He scooted away. Finally, she grabbed his wrist to keep him in place before leaning in to inspect his bloody hand. “Wow…it’s really red…red is my favorite color…”
“M-my favorite color’s green…” He muttered. What a strange conversation to have in this situation…
She giggled and leaned in some more, licking her lips…
“Ahhh! What are you doing?” Izuku gasped as Toga licked the blood off his wrist. He tried to pull away, but she clung onto his arm and began dragging her tongue up his hand to his knuckles, where her tongue came dangerously close to the claws just to lap up the blood.
She did this a few times before licking her lips. “There. All clean! Thank you for the meal.”
Izuku hadn’t breathed for an entire minute, just staring at where the blood on his hand had been replaced with saliva. Slowly, he found his voice. “W-w-why did you do that? That’s not…not okay! You’re not supposed to clean it like that!”
She suddenly leapt into his arms, hugging him so hard she squeezed the breath out of him. “Yay, you’re still here! Most people go running and screaming when I try to lick their blood, but not you! Nope! Hehe, thank you, little boy!”
“I…couldn’t run…even if I wanted to…” He choked out, face going pale as she hugged him even tighter. He was definitely weirded out by her—it was just by chance that he happened to be too in shock and too weakened to run away.
Finally, she stopped squeezing him and sat back with a wide smile, some of his blood still smudged on her cheek. “I’m Toga! Himiko Toga!”
For a moment or two, he just stared at her in disbelief, mouth open in a silent scream. He didn’t want to be here, stuck in a dark alleyway with a weird girl who had just licked his bloody hand. And yet, common courtesy made him clear his throat to speak.
“M…Midoriya.” He muttered. “I’m Izuku Midoriya.”
“Izuku Midoriya. Why am I not surprised to see you here again,” the school nurse sighed, propping up her glasses as he sat down opposite her.
“Um, my mom is busy today and won’t be able to take me for my check up at the doctor, so she said I should just ask the school nurse to check my hands once school was done.”
The nurse sighed, but gestured for his hands, running her fingers across his knuckles. When she pressed down a few times and he showed no signs of pain, she nodded. “Everything seems normal. Did your regular doctor say when the new ones are expected to grow in? Or when these ones are expected to fall out?”
Izuku shook his head. “He wasn’t even certain that it would even happen, but I’m supposed to get regular check ups just in case it really is like a baby-teeth situation with my claws.”
She nodded, he thanked her for her time, and then he was on his way home, massaging his knuckles as he walked.
He could feel them in there—the strong, sturdy steel claws that were sharp enough to cut through trees. They’d grown so much more obedient over the years, never lashing out on their own even when he was agitated—it was his own mental block that he had to deal with now, accepting the pain of letting the claws pierce through his skin every time he called upon them. Of course, his natural healing abilities made this easier.
“Another day of no changes. I should mark this in my notebook…” He opened his notebook and flipped to his calendar before stumbling back as he ran straight into another person’s chest. That person was, of course, none other than Katsuki Bakugou, hands in his pockets like he’d been standing there waiting for Izuku to round the corner and run into him.
“Hey, watch where you’re going, you shitty nerd!” Bakugou snapped, looking him up and down before grinning and suddenly snatching his notebook out of his hands.
“Ah, Kacchan, wait!”
“No can do! You know what I heard? Heard you wanna get into UA! You, of all people! Don’t make me laugh!”
Izuku gulped. “Where did you even hear that…”
“Well, it’s my job to bring you back down to reality!” Bakugou crushed his notebook in his hands before letting out an explosion, burning it, making Izuku gasp and ruffle his hands through his messy green hair.
“K-Kacchan, no! Why did you…ahh, it’s already ruined!” He cried out, falling to his knees to observe his notebook as Bakugou dropped the charred papers.
“You want your face to be next, nerd? I can throw explosion after explosion at you and you still wouldn’t die, right? You’ll just heal through all of the burns? Heh, isn’t it crazy how you were just made to be the perfect punching bag, Deku?”
Izuku, already on the floor, backed away a bit as Bakugou advanced on him, flexing his hand and fingers to get them ready to let loose.
Izuku shook his head. “Please just stop, Kacchan…remember what happened when we were kids? Nothing good ever comes out of this…”
Bakugou’s eyes widened, nostrils flaring as Izuku looked at the scar that had been permanently etched onto the side of Bakugou’s face—three deep gashes that served as a permanent reminder of what Izuku had done to him as kids, and probably the main reason Bakugou continued to come after him.
“Don’t try to be a smartass with me, Deku! Besides, we both know you’ll never pull your claws out again. Not like that. Those claws of yours? They’re only good for cutting shit up! For cutting people up! You know it, too, don’t you?”
Izuku bit his lower lip, glancing down at his knuckles as Bakugou stomped his foot with a chuckle. “See? You can never be a hero, Deku. You’re a villain. Born with a villain’s quirk. Can’t use those claws to do anything but kill!”
He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. “Please…don’t.”
Bakugou laughed some more, kicking Izuku in the chest. “Huh? Begging before I’ve even thrown a single explosion? That’s faster than usual, Deku! Somehow you’ve gotten even more pathetic!”
“Please, just listen to me, okay? Don’t do it!” Izuku continued, wiping at his wet eyes and getting up on his knees. “Don’t lay a finger on him. You’ll only get in trouble! Just leave him alone, okay?”
Bakugou squinted one of his eyes, pausing in confusion. “Huh? The fuck are you talking about?” Slowly, he turned around, but he only managed to turn halfway before he stopped with a box cutter pressed against his throat, nearly ready to carve his Adam’s apple out.
“Th-the fuck…?” He couldn’t even gulp without risking puncturing his own throat from the simple movement as Toga’s eyes stared straight up into his. The aura looming off of her could only be described as murderous intent—there was bloodlust in her eyes, but none of the glee that usually came with it.
“Izuku.” Her voice was completely serious, dripping with venom and hatred. “I’ll make him bleed.”
“No! Don’t!” Izuku scurried to his feet, waving his hands around in front of him anxiously. “It’ll make things worse for you, so just lower the blade, o-okay?”
Both Toga and Bakugou were tense, staring at Izuku and then glancing at each other. Finally, slowly, Toga backed away and pocketed her box cutter. “Are you sure about this?”
Izuku nodded with a sigh of relief. “Yeah. He’s not worth it, okay?”
“The fuck did you just say about me?!” Bakugou screeched in rage. Hearing Izuku say such degrading things sent him into a blind fury, and sparks began flying in his palm as he whirled around and swung his arm at Toga to blast her directly in the face.
There was a loud clapping sound—no boom, no stab, just the sound of skin on skin. Bakugou’s eyes widened, slowly glancing at the hand that had grabbed his wrist, stopping him from throwing an explosion at Toga. He tried to tear his hand away, tried to swing it forward again, but that hand firmly held onto his wrist, keeping Bakugou from getting violent.
“Don’t.” Izuku spoke with a completely calm and serious voice, eyes narrowing, his other hand clenched into a fist. “Don’t lay a finger on her.”
Toga already had her box cutter back out, so between the threat of the crazy girl ready to do a murder and the humiliation of having Izuku of all people catch his wrist, Bakugou just cursed and ran off with a red face. Couldn’t even get in the last word like usual.
They watched him go before Toga flipped her box cutter in her hand. “Can I go after him?”
He shook his head. “No. And you can’t just go threatening people with knives, either! That’ll get you into big trouble…and I don’t want to see you get in trouble. We’re just lucky that Kacchan has too much pride and ego to tell anyone that he got threatened and ran away scared.”
Toga pouted, but put her box cutter away and began walking with her arms behind her back. “That’s not fair. You always tell me that bleeding is no big deal! So why’s it a big deal now that I wanna make that big bully bleed? Come on, he’ll be more tolerable when he’s red!”
“I told you it isn’t a big deal as long as the other person agrees to it. This isn’t the same thing.” He sighed and walked with her. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.”
Toga blew a raspberry in the air, but eventually they matched each other’s pace side by side. “If I could have it my way I’d just spend all day with you, Izuku! But my parents already said we’re going to dinner this evening. Booooring! Unless…” Her eyes suddenly sparkled, and she practically jumped on Izuku with a dreamy grin. “I wonder if they’ll serve the steak to me bloody! Then I can poke it with my fork and watch the blood all leak out onto the plate like it does when the meat is really really juicy and raw!”
Izuku rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, there’s no way they’re serving something like that, even if you asked for it…”
His answer made her pout even more. “Couldn’t ask for it even if I wanted to. Ugh, do you have any idea what it’s like to be me! I have to wear a mask all day at that stupid girls-only school…and even with my parents, I…” She sighed and suddenly bumped her cheek against Izuku’s shoulder. “You’re the only one I don’t have to wear a mask around, Izuku…that’s why I only want to hang out with you, and why I get to lick your blood all the time!”
He blushed from how close her face was to his, but she usually responded very well to physical comfort, so he reached over to pat her head. “Well, I’m always here for you if you need to vent! It’s not fair that you have to hide the fact that you need blood for your quirk. It’s like, what if I had to hide the fact that I need to eat lots of meat and protein for my steel skeleton? It’s not something people should get upset about!” He reasoned, smiling lightly when she snuggled her cheek into his shoulder more. “How about I let you watch me practice with my quirk this weekend? Would that cheer you up?”
She immediately brightened up, jumping for joy. “Really? Yay! Izuku using his quirk means lots of blood for me!”
“Not as much as it used to. My knuckles heal pretty much instantly, so they barely bleed now.”
Toga pouted, unable to even be happy for his progress because of how thirsty she was for his blood. He didn’t hold it against her.
Eventually, she cleared her throat. “Izuku…are you really gonna go to UA and become a hero?”
“That’s always been my dream,” he answered, staring up at the clear sky as they walked home.
Toga’s pout turned into a complete frown, but she still clung onto Izuku’s arm. “...I don’t get what’s so great about heroes,” she muttered. “When I was a kid, my mom broke her ankle once. Fell down while telling me not to go running off or something. Apparently I wouldn’t stop touching and poking her broken ankle when the heroes arrived. Got scolded real bad for it. Got told I was a bad daughter for touching my mom’s injury. They…even said I looked like a villain, smiling at her broken ankle.” Toga seemed to shrink into herself a bit more, eyes narrowing. “Heroes are supposed to stop people from ever getting hurt. So I don’t think guys like that would ever accept me. They look at me and see a creepy villain.”
Izuku let her words sink in, pursing his lips together before speaking up without even looking at her. “But Toga…when I become a hero, I’ll still accept you.”
She suddenly stopped walking, breath hitching in her throat. He couldn’t tell if she wanted him to smile down at her or if she didn’t want to be looked at right now, so he just kept his gaze up at the sky while Toga threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
Maybe he should’ve been watching her more closely, though, because suddenly there was a sharp sting on his neck, making him wince and glance down as Toga licked up the blood from her bite.
“Hey! Did you really just use this opportunity to get some of my blood?”
She giggled and licked her lips. “I couldn’t help it…my heart just feels so full after what you said to me…and when I get all happy like that, I can’t stop myself from wanting some blood.”
He sighed before smiling and leaning his head to the side. “Well…okay, if you’re just doing this because you’re happy, then you can have a little more.”
They stood on the side of the road awkwardly as Toga clung onto him and sucked his bloody neck—she had to keep her teeth pierced into him because his skin kept healing, which basically just meant a constant tooth stabbed into Izuku’s neck.
He could tolerate that part, though. The part that made him finally gently push Toga off of him was when another couple passed by, cheering and calling him “such a brave young man!” Obviously they couldn’t see that Toga was drinking his blood, so they must’ve thought he was letting her give him a hickey in public, which was just way too embarrassing!
“O-okay, that’s enough, Toga! Come on, let’s get you home before your parents complain.”
They took a few steps before he stumbled a bit, but Toga caught him. “Izuku! Did I take too much blood?”
He shook his head. “I’ll be fine in a minute or two. My body has a solution for any type of physical impairment, it seems, including blood loss.”
“Think of it this way—he’s sorta similar to an axolotl!”
“An axie-what?” Izuku asked, looking up at his mom.
The doctor brought up Izuku’s x-ray. “See this? Your skeleton is quite literally made out of steel! Every bone in your body! But then the real kicker is your tissue and cells. Those have regenerative properties that are quite similar to the axolotl’s ability to regenerate complete limbs even if they’re ripped off. In other words, your boy is half-steel-half-axolotl!”
Inko sighed in frustration. “I already expected all of that! That’s not part of his quirk, right? That’s just the body type he inherited from his father! The steel skeleton, the regenerative cells in his tissue, his father had all of those things in his natural body. The new part is the steel suddenly shooting out of his knuckles! Those things hurt my poor boy yesterday!”
The doctor scratched the back of his head. “Well, yes, you’re technically correct, the steel skeleton and healing cells are just a natural part of his body and not necessarily his quirk, but it’s still pretty neat, huh?” He supplied, but Inko didn’t seem humored, so he sighed. “Yes, young Izuku’s quirk is his ability to control the steel bones in his knuckles to shoot out into makeshift claws. By nature, these claws are actually the steel bones hiding beneath his skin, meaning they have to tear through his skin every time he wants them to manifest. So…yes, his quirk is always going to hurt him to some degree. On the bright side, the regenerative tissue he inherited from his father balances out this issue somewhat!”
Those last words were lost on Inko’s ears as she hugged Izuku and cried. “So my poor baby boy is always going to have to hurt himself if he wants to use his quirk…when all he wants is to be a hero, which would require him to use it a lot…!”
Izuku looked up at his mom, raising an eyebrow in confusion before smiling and holding her face in his tiny hands, making her stop crying to look into his sparkling eyes. “Why are you crying, mom? You heard the doctor! My quirk hurts to use…but I can heal it all better, too! So…I’m super happy with my quirk!” He jumped out of his chair, fists clenched determinedly. “And that means I can still be the bestest hero in the world, just like All Might!”
“Thank you so much for looking after Himiko. Really, I don’t know what we would do without you! She just doesn’t seem to get along with the girls as much as she does with you!” Toga’s mom bowed her head in gratitude as Izuku blushed.
“I-It’s really no problem, ma’am! Um, we’ll text later when you’re done with dinner, okay, Toga?”
Toga winked at him and licked her lips before her mom ushered her away, muttering about how they’d need a whole hour to dress Toga up to look appropriate for their dinner this evening.
As soon as Izuku was walking alone again, he found his feet taking him further and further away from his house. His mom wouldn’t be home until later, anyways, so he might as well take a stroll and just…do some thinking.
Naturally, that brought his brain back to Bakugou’s words from earlier. The words Bakugou had been saying to Izuku their entire life ever since Izuku first used his quirk.
“You can never be a hero, Deku. You’re a villain. Born with a villain’s quirk. Can’t use those claws to do anything but kill!”
He walked beneath a dark tunnel, manifesting his claws. There was a flash of pain as always as they punctured through his skin, but his skin almost immediately healed before any blood could even pour down his hand.
“A villain’s quirk, huh?” He lightly dragged his claws across the wall of the tunnel, frowning at the scratch marks they left behind. He barely put any force into it, and they’d still left marks behind.
Was it true? Was his quirk really useless for saving people?
“It’s fine now! Do you know why? Because I am here!” Those same words played on repeat over and over, echoing in the silent room—the silent house—for at least half an hour before Inko checked on her son in his bedroom.
“Izuku? Are you still awake?” She slowly walked into the dark bedroom, where she found her 5 year old son in front of his computer, pointing at the screen. As usual, a video of All Might saving people was playing.
“Mom…I want to be a hero…more than anything…” His eyes were heavy with tears that finally fell down his cheeks when he made eye contact with his mom. “I want to save people…but then Kacchan said I’m just like the bad guy from the new All Might video, and I…I…!”
Inko watched the video, covering her mouth as All Might faced off against a villain who turned his fingers into blades. It wasn’t the exact same as Izuku, but the visual resemblance was striking. Striking enough to send the poor bullied boy into a sobbing mess.
“Oh, Izuku!” Inko rushed forward to hold him.
“The whole class started calling me a villain when Kacchan showed them the video…even I…even I couldn’t say they were wrong! Mommy, why am I like the bad guy in the video? I don’t wanna be the bad guy! I wanna be the hero!” He slowly looked down at his fists as his mom hugged him. “Is it…is it my quirk? Do I have a villain quirk?”
“No!” Inko gasped and held Izuku’s hands in hers. “No, Izuku, don’t say something like that! Your quirk doesn’t make you good or bad, it’s all about your heart!”
Despite his mom’s comforting words, once he began to cry, he couldn’t stop. Izuku squeezed his eyes shut and let out a loud and painful cry.
In response to his turmoil, a slicing pain engulfed his hands, making him cry out even louder as his claws shot out of his knuckles.
“AHH!” Inko screamed, jumping back just in time before her hands were cut.
Everything went silent. Time seemed to slow down just like when he’d hurt Bakugou. Mother and son made eye contact. Inko saw the look of horror on her son’s face, Izuku saw the look of fear turning into regret on his mom’s face.
“I am here! I am here!” All Might’s voice was the only sound in the background as this moment that would permanently scar Izuku sunk into both of them.
“M-mom…are you scar—”
“No!” She immediately embraced him again. “I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…I could never be scared of you, I promise, oh Izuku, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!”
If he shut his eyes for long enough, he could still see that look on his mother’s face. It wasn’t like he blamed her or held a grudge against her for that night—no, she was right to have been scared of him.
He stared at the scratch marks he’d left on the tunnel wall long and hard. A villain’s quirk. He didn’t know what exactly that meant, but if somebody told him to imagine a villain’s quirk, something like his own quirk would undoubtedly be one of the first ideas to pop into his head.
He dragged his claws against the tunnel wall a little harder, wincing at the screeching sound. Like nails on a chalkboard.
“I wonder if I’ll ever be seen as a hero…” He muttered, staring at his claws. “Or if I’ll only ever be seen as these.”
He began shifting the angle of his claws in front of his face, trying to see if he could force a way to show his reflection in the steel for a dramatic moment. He was having a crisis, but he was still a bit of a nerd and liked to recreate dramatic scenes straight out of a movie like this.
He didn’t notice anything was wrong until the foul smell was already clogging his nose, making him gag and double over. Not running immediately was his mistake, and the second he whipped around, he’d already lost his chance.
It wasn’t water—water was thinner, and it didn’t stick to the skin like this. Slime? Some sort of sludge? That would explain the foul smell that was now surrounding him, engulfing him in the form of some sort of sludge monster.
Leave it to Izuku to spend his final moments on this earth analyzing the exact material of what was suffocating him.
“Grrrrk!” Shit, it wasn’t just suffocating him, it was…it was pouring into his mouth, sticking to his skin hard enough to try and seep in through his pores, creeping up his nostrils…!
He tried to scream, and thankfully he was smart enough to squeeze his eyes shut so nothing would get in there right away.
“This’ll do nicely…for now, anyways…all I can…” A voice spoke directly into his ear, and yet somehow it sounded all too distant at the same time.
A villain. It must’ve been a villain. Somehow, that realization sent the fighting instinct surging through him once again as he flexed his claws and began slashing around in the sludge.
This villain wasn’t made out of water, but it sure felt like it with how his claws seemed to just pass through liquid, unable to make any actual dents. He sliced and stabbed and whirled his arms in circles, but he couldn’t cut his way out.
Need…air…
The disgusting, thick slime was in his throat, plugging his nostrils, and the fight slowly left his body—as did the last of his breath.
A blast of wind crashed into him, but by then he was already falling unconscious.
It was a short black out, though, and he came to only a minute later, still coughing and sputtering and rolling around on the floor onto his hands and knees.
“Ah…shit…! What happened…?” He rubbed his eyes and smacked his own chest to make sure there was no sludge stuck in his orifices before he looked up.
He was still beneath that dark tunnel, and yet the sight before him was nearly enough to blind him. There he was—All Might, his hero, in the flesh, grinning at Izuku and stuffing a bottle of struggling slime in his pocket.
“You alright, kiddo?”
Izuku was speechless for a moment, jaw hanging wide open before he began scurrying around the floor. “My notebook…my notebook, my notebook! Need an autograph…!” When he found his notebook, he flipped it open only for his eyes to burst out of their sockets when he saw All Might’s name already signed across an entire page. “He already signed it!”
All Might saluted him, laughing in that hearty and booming voice of his. “Well, you seem full of energy, so I’ll trust that you’re okay! I’ve got to get this guy to the authorities!” He tapped the bottle.
“W-wait!” Izuku shot to his feet and began waving his arms around. “I’ve always wanted to meet you and talk to you and now that you’re here I have so much I wanna say first off you’re my greatest inspiration and, oh, I should start by thanking you for everything you do, you’re just so incredible! But also I have my own problems that I wanted your advice on, and also personal questions that I’ve always needed to ask you like first off why have you never had a girlfriend before, and second off what was it like training in America, and third off—”
“Kid, slow down!” All Might shouted in exasperation. “Look, I’m sorry, but I must be off! Everything is fine here now, so…goodbyeeeeee!” He gave a loud and mighty shout of parting before jumping out of that tunnel and launching himself into the air.
Finally, he could relax from all the questioning…only for him to glance down and notice Izuku was still there, clinging onto his leg!
“Kid?! What’re you doing?! Let go!”
“If I let go I might land on somebodyyyyyyy!”
All Might winced. “That’s true…prepare for a landing!” He held onto Izuku before landing atop a tall building.
“Ah!” Izuku stumbled backwards on top of the building, putting some distance between him and All Might as he shook his head and body to get rid of the shivers from traveling at such a high speed.
“You’re crazy, kid!” All Might scolded, before he began coughing and clutched his sides, smoke starting to drift off of his body. “Shit, not now…!”
Izuku stared down at the floor, not noticing All Might’s current state. “I’m sorry…but I just really needed to get your advice. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I won’t waste your time this time. You see, the truth is…” Izuku flexed the bone in his hand, and his claws sliced out of his knuckles. “All my life, people have called my quirk scary and villainous. Even my mom used to be scared that my quirk would hurt her! Ah, I know she didn’t mean it, but she can’t help the way she feels, you know? It’s just…my quirk can be dangerous. And it can scare people. And…that’s not what a hero is supposed to do.” He frowned. “So, I really, really needed to ask you! D-do you think I can still be a proper hero, even with a scary and villainous quirk? Please, I-I just…I just want to know…if I can be like you, All Might!” He shouted his heart out, slamming one hand right against his chest and stomping forward, finally looking up. “...WHO ARE YOU?!”
In front of Izuku was not All Might, but instead a skinny old man who was currently coughing up blood.
“This is the worst timing my body has ever had…” The skinny man sighed before looking up at Izuku. “Make no mistake, boy. Now that you’ve seen me like this, there’s no reason to hide it. I am All Might. The true form of the symbol of peace.”
Izuku began sputtering and spiraling, waving his arms around to try and talk himself through a logical explanation of what was happening.
Finally, All Might lifted his shirt. “See this here? This is a wound I endured during the most vicious fight I have ever encountered, with the most vicious villain out there. Ever since that fight five years ago, my ability to be a hero was greatly limited. I can only maintain my muscular form for a few hours per day until I need to revert to what you see before you now.”
Izuku’s knees felt weak. The wind atop that building top felt like it could sweep him up as he stared at the injury on All Might’s stomach—he couldn’t even begin to imagine what could cause such a horrible looking sight. The skin and internal injury looked so bad it made him doubt for the first time if even his body would’ve been able to heal it.
“Young man, being a hero is hard work indeed. You will endure many injuries, and enduring the public’s opinion can also be tough for those like you—I have plenty of friends who land on the ‘Heroes who look like a Villain’ list every year.” All Might began walking towards the door that would lead down from the building’s roof, but he was still answering Izuku’s question, so Izuku didn’t stop him. “Even so, as long as you believe what you’re doing is right, I’m certain you can find a way to become a hero even with a scary quirk.”
Izuku’s eyes widened, tears dotting his eyes as he let out a deep sigh of relief, clutching his chest and sniffing and smiling at his hero. “Thank you! My quirk may be scary, but…I’ve always believed that being a hero was the right path for me! So, if you really think that that’s what matters most, then…well, I always figured I could always default to being a meatshield or something.” He laughed nervously. “You see, aside from my quirk, I was also born with a steel skeleton that can take a lot of hits, and on top of that I have super-regenerative cells in my body that can grow back my bones and even my limbs if I get hit really badly! I mean, I’ve never had to actually go through something that crazy before, but I’ve been told that I can do it since an axolotl can do it.” He rambled as usual, but All Might had suddenly paused with his hand on the door handle, so he figured All Might was losing his patience. “S-sorry, I guess what I’m trying to say is—!”
“Fool!” All Might suddenly turned to look at him again, this time fixing Izuku with a hard stare. “A meatshield? Volunteering yourself to get hurt in order to be a hero? Young man, you only say such things because you don’t know true pain.” All Might gritted his teeth and clutched his stomach injury. “Putting yourself in danger…destroying your body…these things are scary and painful, and accepting these as a part of your daily life wouldn’t be heroism, it would be naiveté!”
The sudden harshness made Izuku shrink back, lowering his head. “I-I’m sorry!”
All Might sighed. “If you wish to become a hero, young man, then that is a fine dream. But if you wish to do so by making yourself a meat shield because you’re worried your claws are too scary…then young man, you must accept that choosing to put yourself in harm’s way is even scarier. Please remember that before you find yourself in over your head, unable to do what you’ve promised to yourself. Being a meat shield is not the same thing as being a hero.”
Izuku bit his lower lip so hard it would’ve drawn blood if not for his body immediately healing his lip. The sound of the roof door shutting was the only indication he got that he was alone on the roof now as he fell to his knees.
He stayed on the roof for a few moments before finally heading down and walking through the sidewalks of downtown. He opened his notebook to stare at All Might’s autograph.
It wasn’t like he wanted to become a hero for admiration—protecting people was the most important part, and that was why he continued to train his claws even though he didn’t want to rely on them! The claws would forever be his image if he did use them, though—the image of a hero with a villain’s quirk. And that…wasn’t what he wanted.
Is it really so wrong to want to be a shield instead of a sword? He ruffled his own hair in frustration. He didn’t want to disregard the words of his greatest hero, but the idea that his whole worldview and plan was somehow not a viable mindset for a hero just made him want to flop on the floor like a fish and sob his heart out.
His pity-party was interrupted by a massive explosion down the block, making him jump and look up at the smoke-filled sky with wide eyes. There was no doubt about it—this was a villain attack.
Izuku rushed to the scene of the crime, where a huge crowd of people were already gathered. Maybe on any other day he would’ve pushed himself to the front of the crowd, insisting that he needed to see the entire thing to help him prepare to be a hero. Now, he just hung in the back of the crowd, too dejected to make a move.
“I hear it’s got a kid!” Some people in front of him said.
“No way, really? Then why aren’t the heroes saving him already?!”
“The kid is making quite the ruckus with his quirk, and the villain is tough, too. Some sort of weird slime monster…none of the heroes here are well-equipped to deal with it.”
Izuku froze, his steel spine stiffening. Slime monster…but that was impossible! All Might had already caught that villain after it had almost killed Izuku…
…but then Izuku came along and distracted All Might. When All Might was about to leave him there in the tunnel, he panicked and threw himself at All Might’s leg. That must’ve been when he knocked the bottles of slime down and allowed the villain to escape.
Somehow, all he could do was look down at his shoes and give a small, pitiful laugh. So that was it. Not only did he have a villain’s quirk, but now he’d even helped a villain to escape.
“Maybe Kacchan is right…” He muttered, squeezing his eyes shut, tears threatening to spill over.
At the thought of Bakugou, he swore he heard that same signature shout of his, piercing through the air. The sound of panic made Izuku’s eyes snap wide open again, looking up. Somehow, the crowd split apart just enough for Izuku to see the scene—a kid and a slime monster struggling against one another, constant explosions turning the surrounding area into a fire hazard, and in the very middle of the slime monster, squirming and thrashing about, was none other than Bakugou Katsuki, the boy who made it his life mission to constantly remind Izuku that he was born with a villain’s quirk.
Suddenly, the claws in Izuku’s knuckles began to creep out, he smacked a hand over his mouth, and he let out an inaudible gasp when Bakugou looked up and made eye contact with him—there he saw something he never thought he’d see, a silent plea in Bakugou’s eyes.
Please, help…
Izuku’s notebook hit the ground, already several feet behind him as he dashed through the crowd.
“Kid?!” Civilians and heroes alike shouted at him as he ran past all of the bystanders.
“What are you doing?!”
I don’t know! He wanted to shout.
He was certain that was the fastest he’d ever run in his life, and yet time seemed to slow down, like he could hear every single individual step he took, his ears ringing. And with each step, the same question followed him: Why? Why was he doing this?
“You were just made to be the perfect punching bag, Deku!” Bakugou’s voice echoed. “You can never be a hero. You’re a villain. Born with a villain’s quirk!”
“They look at me and see a creepy villain.” Toga sniffled.
All Might glared at him. “Being a meat shield is not the same thing as being a hero.”
“AHH!” Inko screamed and jumped away from his claws. “I could never be scared of you! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”
“KACCHAN!” Izuku’s claws sliced out of his knuckles, and he jabbed them into the sludge, scooping bits of it away from Bakugou’s body until Bakugou’s head and torso fell forward, coughing for air.
“Deku…? The hell are you doing here?”
That was the big question, wasn’t it? Why was he here? What was he doing? As Izuku desperately sliced his claws through the slime, the voices and scenes that echoed in his mind replayed over and over again. He knew his claws were scary and only good for hurting. He knew ignoring his claws to become a meatshield was naive and not heroic. He knew there was nothing he could really do even if he rushed into here. But…
With tears streaming down his face, Izuku let a wide, toothy smile spread across his face as he let out a heavy sob. “You just…looked like you were asking for help!”
Bakugou was at a loss for words, but when the slime began struggling against him again, he also tossed another explosion.
Think, think, think…! Izuku desperately sliced through the slime before he found the slime’s eye. “I-I’m sorry!” He called out before slicing his claws straight for the eyes.
“Shit!” The villain’s entire slime body convulsed backwards, and Bakugou collapsed onto the floor, coughing and sputtering for air.
“Kacchan, run!” Izuku shouted.
As Bakugou struggled to get up, Izuku gritted his teeth and ran forward, shoving Bakugou out of the way just as the slime villain recovered and threw himself at his target again.
“Aghhh!” Izuku gasped as he was engulfed in the slime instead while Bakugou rolled to safety a few feet away, looking up in shock as Izuku took his place.
“This is probably for the best, huh? You’re much more troublesome than that guy, whose explosions go through me like fire through water!” The slime villain hissed as Izuku’s entire body sunk into the green goo. He sliced with his claws all around him, but it seemed earlier he’d exploited the villain’s one weakness by getting his eyes. Now, his claws sliced helplessly through the viscous liquid as Izuku began losing his air just like earlier in the tunnel.
At least Kacchan is safe, he thought to himself, letting his eyes fall shut. I can endure pain. Better than anyone else. At least this way…
“Young man!” A familiar, loud voice disturbed his thoughts, and Izuku’s eyes widened, peering through the green slime to see the only large silhouette that he would recognize even through the sludge he was trapped in. “Everything will be fine now! Do you know why?”
“Grkkkk!” Izuku choked for air through the sludge, drowning out the last of All Might’s catchphrase, making All Might wind up his fist for a punch.
“Young man. If I punch with my full power, you will be caught up in the blast and gravely injured. Will you regenerate?”
Thanks to Izuku explaining his powers to All Might already, all he had to do was give a thumbs up. He was still struggling inside of the slime, which was keeping the villain from fleeing as he just screeched in horror—no sight was more terrifying to a villain than All Might preparing an attack.
All Might’s eyes narrowed. “And…even if you heal…are you prepared to handle the pain that comes with it?”
Izuku met All Might’s gaze, his own eyes steely and resolved. He made a punching motion with his fist into his own palm, and All Might nodded.
“Detroit…SMASH!”
Izuku spread his arms to his sides to accept the incoming damage. There was a blast of air before his world went black.
When he awoke, he awoke to…rain. The clouds overhead had gathered into a spiral, and rain was pouring down on him. Just on him.
Of course—All Might’s punch had changed the weather overhead. Iconic All Might move. He would fanboy over witnessing it if he had the energy.
“Ugh…” He tried to move, but his body seemed glued to the ground. One glance to his left explained it—his shoulder had been completely bisected off of his body and there were shattered bones and muscles all the way down his entire left side, revealing his steel bones in pieces. There was a puddle of blood leaking out of him that told him his injury had probably been much worse, and he must’ve been unconscious for a while while his body healed. Still, he was laying there on the same floor where he’d rushed in to bravely and foolishly face the slime villain for his bully’s sake. What an idiot.
“Young man.” Only when he heard All Might’s voice did he notice the muscular figure crouching down on his right side with a grimace. “That looks quite painful.”
“It is painful,” Izuku admitted, flinching when part of his jaw didn’t quite move correctly when he tried to speak. He spoke anyway—high pain tolerance or whatever. “I can feel my body stitching itself back together…remaking my steel bones and cracking them back into place, muscles stretching to realign…it hurts so bad I wanna cry.” He sighed hoarsely as the rain began dying down. “...but I’m thankful. If this is what needed to happen to stop that villain…to save Kacchan, then…it’s worth it.”
All Might pursed his lips together. “...young man. I apologize.”
Izuku could only manage a raised eyebrow.
“I told you getting hurt was scary, and that accepting pain was no way to be a hero. But in truth…I was projecting myself onto you. The truth is…I’m the one who’s been afraid of pain. Ever since sustaining the injury that limits my ability to be a hero, I’ve operated with more caution than ever, avoiding any fight or situation that would push me beyond my physical limits. I was nearly ready to abandon this crime scene and leave it to others because I knew going into this form again would invite great pain onto my body. But when I saw you, young man, and how fearless you were, risking pain and death to do what matters most—to save a life…well, it made me remember that getting hurt in order to protect others is the essence of being a hero.”
Izuku choked on what he assumed was some sort of bone in his neck or jaw realigning itself. “Y-you don’t think…I was just being naive? I didn’t even think before I ran in…”
All Might suddenly grinned. He grinned wide. “Exactly. I have known many great heroes in my day, and all of the greatest ones had one thing in common: their origin. That origin being…their bodies moving on their own, to save those in need.”
“So then…being a meatshield is a valid way to be a hero?”
“Don’t push your luck!” All Might scolded. “That’s still an awful way to look at heroism! However, the core belief system behind it, being prepared to face pain in order to protect others…yes…you may be naive, young man, but there is no doubt in my mind now that you have the heart of a true hero.”
Izuku’s eyes widened more and more as All Might spoke, before growing heavy with tears that spilled down the sides of his face. “That’s…I don’t know what to…” He gasped for breath through his sobbing, managing to lift his right arm to rest on top of his crying eyes. “Thank you…”
All Might’s wide grin softened as he lightly punched Izuku’s good shoulder. “I must leave—authorities are arriving and I can’t hold this form for much longer. Meet me at the Takoba Municipal Beach tomorrow morning—there is something else that I would like to discuss with you.”
Then, as if he’d never been there, All Might was gone. Authorities and police officers replaced him, scolding Izuku and calling in immediate medical attention even as Izuku insisted he’d heal up on his own eventually.
They scolded him for being reckless. They scolded him for doing nothing but causing himself to cry tears of pain. What they didn’t know was that the tears that flowed from Izuku’s eyes was the result of years and years of baggage turning into relief, with All Might’s words engraved into his head.
“There is no doubt in my mind now that you have the heart of a true hero.”
After the medics gave him the okay to leave with just a cast around his recovering shoulder (it was mostly back in place by now), Izuku was good enough to make the walk home on his own. Of course, it wasn’t long before he was confronted by Bakugou, who babbled some nonsense about not owing him any favors before he dashed off. Izuku didn’t really get it.
Either way, he found a smile on his face as he walked back home, remembering All Might’s words as well as All Might’s request to meet with him at the beach tomorrow. He was definitely looking forward to what else All Might had to say to him.
“IZUKU!” Toga was waiting at the front gate to his house as he walked up, and he had no time to prepare as she ran over and jumped into his arms.
“W-woah! Hey, go easy on me, my arm’s in a cast here!” He insisted, but he hugged her nonetheless.
Toga immediately buried her face into his chest, sobbing and hiccuping uncontrollably. It was the first time he’d ever seen her like this, making his eyes soften as he patted her head.
“Hey, come on, it’s okay…”
She shook her head furiously while sobbing. “N-no! I saw everything on TV…I saw it all!”
“Yeah, but I’m okay, I promise! Here, look, feel my cast…” He guided her hand to his cast, where his arm and shoulder felt sturdy. “See? And I’m good enough to walk. So there’s no need to cry…”
She began sobbing even louder when she heard those words, smacking her fist against his chest. “No! You…you don’t get it…I saw you…you were…you were…” She threw her head back to flat out scream to the heavens. “YOU WERE COMPLETELY COVERED IN BLOOD! It’s not fair! It’s too cruel! It’s horrible! Your body was completely torn up and bloody and I WASN’T THERE TO DRINK ANY OF IT!”
Izuku began sweating. “O-oh, that’s why you’re crying?”
She was just pouting now, stomping her foot on the ground and even stomping on his foot. “Just imagining the feast I could’ve had…especially compared to the lame steak my parents made me eat…” She cried some more, but Izuku couldn’t take it entirely seriously anymore as he laughed and patted her head again.
“Tell you what, how about you sleep over tonight? You can drink all the blood you want throughout the night, like usual.” And like usual, his regenerative body would compensate for the blood loss.
Toga crossed her arms, but clung to Izuku’s side nonetheless—specifically the side with the cast, as if she was hoping to break his arm more. “Fine.”
As soon as they were inside, Izuku dealt with another crying woman via his mom. That one was actually draining and left him ready to knock out as soon as he and Toga headed up to his room—after getting permission from Inko for Toga to sleepover, of course. She always let the two of them room together despite being a boy and a girl, which was sort of strange. She probably just viewed Izuku as being way too innocent for anything to happen.
Before he could collapse on the bed that was calling his name, though, Toga lightly kicked his ankle. “Hey. Shirtless.”
He blushed from his chin to his ears. “H-huh?”
She pouted. “If you’re gonna let me bite you for blood all night, then you’ve gotta be shirtless! It’ll be easier for me that way!”
He had technically suggested this, but somehow he hadn’t considered just exactly what it would entail. Still, he wasn’t the type to go back on a promise, so he swallowed the embarrassment and took his shirt off before laying in bed with Toga.
“Yay!” Toga finally showed the first signs of glee ever since missing out on the feast that had been Izuku’s body after taking a Detroit Smash. She snuggled up close to him from behind, almost like she was acting as the big spoon (not that they were spooning at all!!!!) and bit down on his shoulder.
Izuku winced. “Hey! I know I have a high pain tolerance, but you bit down way too hard right away!”
Toga giggled and licked up the trails of blood she’d caused his shoulder. He was already healing the bite wound away, so she bit down again just as hard. “Can you blame me? After watching you get all bloody on TV, I’m extra thirsty! I just can’t hold back my thirst for you, Izuku~”
He blushed and sighed, letting his eyes fall shut and just dealing with the pain of her bites. “Alright, alright. I did promise you you could do this. Goodnight, Toga.”
She licked his shoulder some more. “Goodnight, Izuku.”
Would she actually sleep any time soon? He figured she’d probably be up for at least an hour or two just munching away at his healing shoulder. Maybe he should say something…
Before he could speak, though, Toga suddenly just pressed her forehead against his shoulder blades instead of biting. “...Izuku?”
He cracked one eye open. “What is it?”
There was more silence.
Finally, Toga wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled herself close to his back, trembling ever so slightly. “...thank you for coming back safe and alive. I was…I was…”
He could hear the shaking in her voice, bringing a smile to his face as he suddenly turned around so they were sleeping face to face, patting her cheek. “Yeah. I know.”
She didn’t seem to want to make eye contact, so he respected the privacy of her tears of concern and shut his eyes again, sighing in contentment to fall asleep while Toga snuggled closer to his chest, letting her get as close as she wanted to feel safe and secure with Izuku…
CHOMP!
“KYAAAAHH! That was my nipple!”