Chapter Text
All men are not created equal.
You learn that early on, from the time when you are first born. You enter this world, crying and screaming, and roll the dice on whether you end up in a hospital, cared for by nurses and doctors and mothers, or whether you find yourself on the streets, cold and uncared for.
Too many end up in the second category. Too many end up hurt and hurting others, an endless cycle of pain and suffering, perpetuated by the world that coldly looks on, uncaring of the horrors below.
Izuku Midoriya was lucky. He was lucky to be loved. He was lucky to be born. He was lucky to get his quirk. But one thing that was not luck, was what he would do.
This is not the story of how Izuku Midoriya became the greatest hero.
This is the story of how, with blazing golden eyes and shining wings behind it, the world changed forever, with Izuku Midoriya at the helm.
☆ ☆ ☆
“A giant villain, huh?”
Screeches rang out in the air as Izuku looked on at a giant villain stomping around in the train station. He let out a quiet hiss at the knowledge that his train would likely be delayed, and then approached the brawl, taking a good look as he brought out his notebook.
“GET AWAYYYYY!” the villain cried, swiping a hand through the air towards the hero fighting him. Izuku gazed up at the hero, wracking his mind for a second before gasping. “Oh! Kamui Woods! He’s a capture hero with a high rate of captures due to his easily usable and non-damaging techniques. On a larger villain like this, he could try to trip them up in order to more easily knock them over for a capture but that could result in more property damage and civilian harm…” Izuku muttered before a laugh from behind cut him out of his ramblings.
“GAHAHAH! You must be some kinda hero fanatic talking like that, kid!” said a man with a star protruding out of his head. Izuku laughed sheepishly and shook his head. “It’s more of a hobby than an obsession I’d say, but-” His head snapped back to the combat as he heard a cry come from the fangirls in the front of the crowd. Kamui had soared back in the air and landed on top of the station with a flip. “Illegal usage of abilities during rush hour, as well as robbery and assault? You’re pure evil.” he said, as Izuku smiled. “Seems like it’s gonna be that move then…” he said, as the fangirls began to speak in unison with Kamui.
“Your punishment is here. LACQUERED CHAIN PRISON!” yelled Kamui as a blast of tendrils erupted from his arms, the villain tensing up and winding back his fist in preparation to fight off the onslaught. The two forces rushed towards one another, before a resounding crashing noise rang out as another gigantic figure slammed into the villain, with a call of “CANYON CANNON!”
Izuku sweatdropped. “Ah. She’s definitely…a new hero.” The star man from before nudged him on the shoulder at that, and Izuku turned. “So, are you looking to be a hero or something with all those notes?” the man said, and Izuku smiled, a radiant thing that seemed to literally light up the air. “That’s the hope, sir!”
“Too bright…” the star man grimaced out, before smirking. “Well, with that kind of devotion, I’m sure you’ll make it! Keep at it kid!” Izuku nodded and thanked the man, before walking off towards school. At the very least, a villain attack counted as an excused tardy…
☆ ☆ ☆
“ Deku…” a voice hissed out as Izuku entered the classroom at Aldera High. Izuku sighed, and almost on instinct raised his arm, meeting the arm of Katsuki Bakugou as he did. He gazed into the blonde’s eyes for a second, before letting out a snort. “You sound kinda stupid when you do that voice, Kacchan.”
The blonde returned that with “And you just look stupid constantly, so I think we’re evenly matched, nerd.” before walking with the green haired boy to their seats.
Katsuki was…an oddity to Izuku, really. The two of them were friends, in the broadest definition of that word. They got along well, hung out and trained outside of school, and really were essentially every bit a dynamic duo, if it wasn’t for the fact that, in all honesty, neither of them really knew why they did so. Sure, they both wanted to be heroes, and sure, both of them were massive fans of All Might, but apart from that? They couldn’t be more different. Katsuki suffered from anger issues, mainly generated from his body’s higher production of testosterone due to his nitroglycerin related quirk, Explosion. On the other hand, Izuku was, most of the time, as calm as could be. Katsuki was a fighter designed for power, large and muscled, with power enough to blow through entire walls.. Izuku, though, was lithe and small, built for speed and disruption. Katsuki preferred to solve problems through action, while Izuku solved things with words.
It didn’t really matter, Izuku supposed as he sat in his seat, staring at the explosive teen, given that the two of them managed just fine. He did wonder though, how things could’ve been, in another time. Sure, the two of them got along fine here, but what if Izuku had been less lucky? Less social, less strong, perhaps even without a quirk? It was rare, in this generation, but 20% wasn’t 0%, even if most of that 20% was older people.
The teacher, Mr. Taro, strutted into the room, clearly excited for something, and the rest of the class, who had filed in over time, talking and gossiping while waiting for the educator’s arrival, quieted. Silence fell for a second, before Mr. Taro dramatically cleared his throat. “You all are in your final year of high school. It’s time to start taking your future seriously! I would hand out career aptitude forms, but let’s all just be honest.” He tossed the forms into the air. “You lot all want to be heroes!” The class erupted in excitement, showing off their quirks, from extending fingers to spike hands.
“Yes, yes, it’s a very exciting prospect, but quirk use is banned in the classroom! You all should know why as well, unless you weren’t paying attention to last week’s history lesson.” A groan erupted from the students at that, before a sound came from behind Izuku. “Come on teach, why are you lumping me in with these extras?” Katsuki, feet raised on the desk he sat at, smirked, hand smoldering from a small explosion. Some of the closer kids grumbled about him calling them extras, but ultimately simmered down. Katsuki, for as much as he was a model student in terms of grades, was a bit of a dick to most of them, though they all knew he didn’t mean much by it. Strong as he was, he wasn’t one to discount the need for people to keep him growing stronger.
“Yes, yes, Bakugou, you’re very strong and excellent, I’m sure.” Mr. Taro said in a deadpan, before glancing down at the form on his desk. “And in usual fashion, you’ve turned your form in ahead of time, and…oh. Well, I can’t say I’m surprised, but truly, Bakugou? UA?”
The class quieted at that, only whispers echoing. “ UA? Isn’t that the one with the like 1% acceptance rate?” “I heard last year, the entrance exam had them fighting the pro heroes that are teachers!” “Is he crazy?”
At the last one, Katsuki scoffed. “Yeah, yeah, lowest acceptance rate in the country and all that. Not like I asked! I’m gonna make it into UA, and become one of the best heroes there are!”
“Oh, and it seems Midoriya also applied for UA.”
The classroom went quiet again, before it erupted in voices. “Heck yeah, Midoriya! Do your best!” “I know Midoriya’s got it!” “No way they don’t accept Midoriya! He’s amazing!” Izuku let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks, everyone! I’ll carry your beliefs forward! Plus Ultra, right?”
After that, it was time for class to actually begin. School was fairly simple, and Izuku managed to make his way through with not much effort behind it. Packing up, Izuku slid his notebook into his bag, and turned around to face Katsuki.
“You heading home?” Izuku said, stretching his hands above his head. Katsuki scoffed, and shook his head. “Nah, I’ve gotta pick up some stuff for dinner tonight. Curry ain’t making itself.” The two of them nodded at each other, and bumped fists. “See you later then, Kacchan.” Izuku said, as he headed for the door.
☆ ☆ ☆
The tunnel was quiet. Izuku sat against a wall, holding out his hand. UA.
UA was his dream. Really, it was the dream of every student who wanted to be a hero in Japan. The most prestigious hero school out there, with teachers who were some of the biggest names on heroics. Present Mic, Midnight, Nezu, Snipe, big names, most of whom were alumni of the school too. And here Izuku was, armed with an, admittedly, quite strong healing part to his quirk, and a danger sensing component. How quaint. How was he supposed to measure up to Kacchan, or to all of the other powerhouses?
How could he ever do what All Might did, in that video, in his life, in everything? How do you be a hero, when all you can do is help yourself?
It was these thoughts that kept Izuku so occupied, that he barely even noticed the sound of the manhole sliding open and closed, or the slick sound of slime oozing across the floor. Even the gentle ping of his Divine Sense, the very thing supposed to alert him to dangerous evil nearby, didn’t stir him from his thoughts.
In fact, he only noticed when he felt a strangulation feeling, as the goop began to curl around him. Izuku let out a desperate gasp, before he felt the ooze creep into his throat. “ Don’t worry.” the villain said. “I’m just hijacking your body. Calm down. It’ll all be over soon…”
Izuku struggled, desperately. Training for years upon years on end to increase his strength, his stamina, and all for naught when trapped like this. Izuku desperately thought, thinking back to past fights he’d observed and analyzed. Toxic Chainsaw…no, Izuku didn’t have the strength to blow the slime away. Slimer…he didn’t exactly have the suction power of the American hero team Ghostbusters.
He could feel his consciousness slipping away, feel the dark enclosing him. He almost gave in. Almost let it win. After all, what could he do? He was just a Deku, after all. And then he heard it.
“Have no fear, kid! I AM HERE!”
☆ ☆ ☆
Izuku awoke to the feeling of his face being slapped, and groggily pushed the hand away. “I’m up, I’m up. I- ALL MIGHT?”
Standing in front of him was the 7’3 form of the Number 1 Hero in Japan, his idol, All Might. “Oh, thank goodness! Indeed, it is I, All Might! My apologies for getting you caught up in my villain hunt, but this is an unfamiliar land to me, HAHAHA!”
Izuku was stunned. Not just by one thing, but by multiple things. First, All Might was here. That was…pretty shocking, if he had to be honest. Secondly, his notebook lay open with the signature of All Might splayed across two pages.
And thirdly, All Might was injured.
“All Might! You’re hurt!” cried out Izuku, almost on instinct. He didn’t miss how All Might’s face blanched, or how he moved to cover his side. “ Why, what are you talking about, civilian? I don’t see any harm to me?” Izuku swallowed. Clearly, he wasn’t supposed to know, but…Izuku reached his hand forwards. “ Whoa, hold on, what are you-ohhhhh.”
Healing energy pulsed from Izuku’s hands. He gasped. The wound damaging All Might was…horrible. So, so much more than he could ever dream to heal in his current state. It pulsed with something abjectly evil, so much so that his Divine Sense pinged again and again as he pushed more energy into it, all the energy he could afford. This time, he changed the purpose of his Lay on Hands, instead of healing All Might, to helping his body reject whatever it was that was harming him. “All Might…I need you to trust me.” All Might stared down at him, face unreadable. Clearly, this was completely unexpected for him. How would it be expected? But somehow, for some reason why, All Might nodded, and Izuku focused the energy.
The…thing, fought his Lay on Hands. But Izuku pressed on, pushing every last bit of energy he had into it, and with a final, powerful emanation, it was gone.
(Halfway across Japan, a faceless man in a hospital bed stirred, feeling the loss of a quirk. He frowned, quietly mourning it, and then, considering it. This would require a change of plans.)
All Might put his hand to his side. “I… what did you do?” Izuku smiled. “It’s my quirk, All Might sir. I call it Paladin. It’s similar to a set of powers from an older game called Dungeons and Dragons. All Might nodded. “ I do know of Dungeons and Dragons, in fact, I used to play it quite often with a group of friends.” Izuku smiled at that. His hero knew what his powers were based on! His hero played DND! His hero-
Izuku grimaced all of a sudden, and sank down to the ground. All Might grunted in surprise and caught him halfway, making his trip to the ground more even. “ Are you alright, my boy?” Izuku nodded, still grimacing. “I’m fine. Using Lay on Hands too much drains me. I probably won’t be able to use it again until I get a good rest. All Might nodded, and sat down next to him. “All Might, what are you doing? Don’t you have work to do?” All Might smiled, a small thing, different from the one he usually had. This one felt personal, intentful. “ There’s always more work to do, but I can spare some time to ensure someone who’s helped me a ton is okay, after all!” All Might said. His face shifted. “ And as strange as it sounds, I think I owe you an explanation, young man. Speaking of, I never got your name.” Izuku gulped. All Might wanted to know his name. All Might!
“Midoriya, sir. Izuku Midoriya.”
“Well, Young Midoriya, it is excellent to meet you. And now, I need you to be the one to promise to trust me.” Izuku nodded rapidly, still perhaps a little giddy over meeting his hero. What he did not expect, was for his hero to shrink down to a fraction of his size, both in weight and height. Izuku’s eyes bugged out, but Divine Sense didn’t not go off: so this can’t be an imposter. Which means…
“Your muttering is correct, kid. This is my true form: the form I’m forced to take after a battle five years ago did this to me.” He pulled up his shirt and revealed a wound, deep and scarred, looking barely healed. Izuku paused and wracked his brain, thinking of any battle that could’ve done this to All Might, to the most powerful in Japan, perhaps in the world. “Toxic Chainsaw couldn’t have done this, there’s no way, right?”
All Might let out a laugh. “Yeah, no. That guy didn’t stand a chance of doing that. The guy that did this, was in all honesty, probably one of the biggest threats Japan has ever faced. There’s a reason none of this has ever come out.” Izuku nodded, and then cocked his head to the side, confusedly. “So why are you telling me this? I mean, I’m just some kid…” All Might laughed again and shook his head. “Kid, I’ve been a hero for a long time. Known a lot of healers. I have not, in fact, known a healer able to fix this. And trust me, I’ve asked. I’m letting you in on all this because, as selfish as it of me to ask,” at that, All Might kneeled in a dogeza, and Izuku almost had a heart attack. “Will you help me heal my injuries, and secure the safety of All Might yet again?” Izuku didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I would like to ask some questions though.” All Might stood, and nodded. “Floor’s yours, kid. Let’s hear it.”
There was a pause as the green haired teen thought, and then asked. “Is it possible for someone like me to be a hero? Someone without as much power? Someone who can’t defeat villains, the way I am?” All Might was quiet for a moment, and then he spoke. “What is heroics, to you, Midoriya?” Izuku let out a hum, and then muttered “Someone who saves people with a smile. Someone who can protect, and defend, and help people. Someone like you.”
At that, the hero next to Izuku put a hand on his shoulder. “So, what you’ve already done?”Izuku let out a choked gasp. “Kid, you helped me with a problem that I might never have recovered from. You gave an old man hope for his future. You’re already a hero to me, at least.” said All Might. Izuku let out a sob at that, leaning in, and All Might held him there, arms wrapped around the kid. He wasn’t sure why, exactly, but One for All was pulsing, begging him to hold the boy.
And then an explosion rang out.
Izuku’s face turned up, and he gasped. “No…Kacchan!” He took off towards the explosion as All Might yelled out “KID!” before blanching. His pockets…the Slime villain was gone. All Might buffed up, and in a blast of air, took off towards the explosions.
Katsuki was trapped. That was the first observation Izuku made when he saw the site. His analysis took over. 3 heroes directly on site, one more slightly off site. Death Arms had no use here other than corralling the crowd, Kamui couldn’t do anything thanks to his weakness with fire and explosions, Mt. Lady, the new hero from earlier today, would have a hard time engaging without destruction of property, and Backdraft, while potentially the best matchup, was already needing to put out all the fires getting dangerously close to the civilians.
Making it all worse, Katsuki was clearly suffocating. He didn’t have much time. Izuku had to think, and he had to do it quickly. Backdraft could be a solution, but Izuku doubted they’d trust or believe the kid with no field experience’s plan. So it was down to Izuku himself. He could’ve waited. He could’ve let a hero go in. But that wasn’t who Izuku was.
“I’ll save you Katsuki. I will save you. I swear it.” And the glow around Izuku began to truly shine. He erupted forth, blasting through the police line as Death Arms yelled out “GET BACK HERE, YOU FOOL! STOP!” His feet couldn’t stop moving, and even as the villain slammed a goopy limb towards him with a call of “IT’S THAT DAMN KID!”, he ducked under it and pushed forwards, grabbing at Katsuki. Katsuki choked out a “Deku…run. Why…”
“I don’t know! My body…it moved on its own. I just knew I had to save you!” His hands glowed, and for a second, Katsuki swear he saw wings on Izuku’s back. His fist drew back, and as the villain recoiled, Izuku took in a breath, and brought down his fist.
“DIVINE…SMITEEE!” he cried out, as the light enveloped the two of them, sending Katsuki and Izuku flying back. The two of them were free, but the villain was only blinded for a second, and it, in a flash, was on them again, barreling with a cry of “YOU FUCKING BRATS!” Izuku almost closed his eyes, almost accepted it, but a blast of wind caused him to make them fly wide open. “ I apologize, young ones. I was late. But now, I AM HERE!” And with a single punch, and a yell of “ DETROIT SMASH!” the slime villain was blown away.
☆ ☆ ☆
In the aftermath, Izuku was barely injured, though Katsuki had some issues with inhalation of the villain. Izuku was let go with a warning, as Katsuki would be later. He found himself walking home, proud of what he had done. Something new…a new aspect of his quirk! He had a power! Something he could use to protect. He barely flinched as he heard a voice from behind him. “Kid.” He turned to see All Might’s withered form behind him, and gasped. “Ah! All Might! Thank you so much for saving me and-” All Might cut him off with a “I have a proposition to make you.” Izuku hummed confusedly, and nodded. “Go on?” All Might smiled. “Out of everyone there…all the heroes, ill-fitted their quirks may have been…it was only you, who tried to do something. Most heroes, when they first commit acts of heroism, claim their bodies simply moved without thinking!” Izuku gasped. His hand came to his mouth, and his eyes watered. “Izuku Midoriya, you asked me in that tunnel, if I thought you could be a hero. My boy, you already are! You can be a hero.” Izuku sobbed, fully, and let all the emotions out.
“And that, my boy, is why I find you worthy of inheriting my quirk!”
Izuku looked up. “Huh?”
"HUH???"