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Midoriya Izuku had a quiet sadness about him when he walked into the teacher’s lounge at the start of his third year at UA. He had thought it through during long hours and late nights.
He was giving up his dream.
Just like All Might said all those years ago, a quirkless kid couldn't be a hero. It was simply unrealistic. Izuku knew better now that he had faced real life villains.
And so, he had come to inform his homeroom teacher of his decision.
Opening the door, he asked, “Aizawa-sensei, can I speak with you?”
The man grunted and got up to go to a private meeting room. Once inside, they both sat down and the teacher asked his student, “What's on your mind, Midoriya?”
“I can't be a hero without a quirk sensei.”
“Good, I see we’ve come to the same conclusion.”
Izuku was slightly disheartened to hear his teacher's blunt response. He continued, “It's just not feasible, quirks give an advantage that I wouldn't be able to keep up with. It's simply not realistic for me to continue my dream.”
“Wait a second. Midoriya, do you think you can't be a hero because you're a quirkless person?”
“Well, yes … isn't that why you don't think I can be a hero?”
“No, you can't be a hero because you lack a powerful quirk and you’ve got the biggest target on your back in all of Japan.”
Izuku thought it over for a moment. It was true that a lot of villains had a vendetta against him. So much so, that they had even used him as bait during his work studies. Looking at it now, Izuku felt the hard truth resonate deep in his bones all over again, he couldn't be a quirkless hero.
“I’m not sure I understand, Sensei. Even without a target, villains are simply too powerful for a quirkless person to face.”
Aizawa probably shouldn't have, but given their close relationship, he felt comfortable giving Izuku a light flick on the forehead.
“Do you think I wasn't a good hero?” asked the retired Eraserhead.
“That-That’s different! You had an incredible quirk that evened the playing field.”
“A quirk that couldn't be used on any of the many, many mutant villains I took down. You and All Might both have this biased way of thinking because you only really take on high level villains. Tell me, Midoriya, how many A-rank villains have you defeated in the year since you’ve lost One for All?”
Izuku mumbled for a bit before replying, “Four sensei!”
“And how many A-ranks did Yoroi Musha take down in his decades long career?”
“Oh tons! He fought Exploding Criminal! And Braniac with All Might… Lobsteria, White Death Jr., Black Death Sr., Tokomoto, Toyatoma Jarvis, The Bladed Killer of Morioka, that gun-wielding female villain, and Tobi. So ten! Wait…”
Aizawa saw his student realize the crux of his arguement in real time. “You’re generally assigned high profile cases because of your power with the embers. Not to mention the fact that you losing One for All was publicly reported, specifically to make villains think that you're weak. You’ve already got the record of a seriously accomplished pro, and that's without taking into account Shigaraki and the league of villains.”
“But, I wouldn't have been able to do all of that quirkless.”
“Definitely not, at least not with raw force. But Midoriya, you’ve been keeping up with your classmates all of last year without using your quirk. Sure, pretty much everyone's got something they have an advantage in because of their quirks. Actually, even that's questionable since you've got a quirkless strength comparable to Sato’s quirked strength and you're a match for Ojiro in spars. Do you think they can't be heroes?”
“Of course they can! Sato and Ojiro are going to be great heroes!”
“Right, now imagine if Ojiro had high ranking villains coming at him left and right, and all he had to defend himself was martial arts and a tail. He would die. You would die. Almost anyone would die in that position.”
Izuku took a minute to process everything. He’d really accomplished a lot in his time as a hero. He wouldn’t be able to pull off feats like that forever. He couldn’t throw himself on the frontlines but…
“I get what you’re saying, that I need to stay out of the spotlight. But I still want to help people.”
Aizawa studied his student for a moment. The greenette really didn’t value himself enough. And yet, in those emerald eyes, the same spark of determination that saved the world remained. Although, now it was mixed with the acknowledgement that he couldn’t fight like he used to.
“That’s why I want to offer you a different way of being a hero.”
Izuku leaned forward in anticipation. “Please, Sensei, tell me.”
“What do you think about becoming a teacher at U.A.?”
Izuku perked up. “Becoming a teacher was actually one of the career options I wanted to run by you. But U.A.? You want me to teach at the most prestigious hero academy in Japan without any experience?”
“You’ll start off as a teacher’s aide, of course. But with the way you soak up knowledge and how much you’ve been tutoring your classmates, I think it’s possible.”
“So, what’s the plan? Am I still allowed in the hero course?”
“Like I’ve said, you’re perfectly able to keep up with your classmates. You won’t earn a full hero license but you won’t need one without a quirk. Graduating from the hero course will make it easier to get you into an accelerated track for teaching. It will also make sure you have the self defense skills necessary when villains come knocking on your door. Just because you’re out of the spotlight doesn’t mean you won’t have a target on your back. Stop doing work studies and save whatever embers you have left. After graduation, you can get a teaching certificate and then apply with my recommendation for a position here. Or at another school. This is all just a suggestion. You’re your own man, Midoriya.”
“Yes sensei. Thank you for having this conversation with me! It’s given me a lot to think about.”
***
After that, life went on normally for Izuku, at least for the most part. He hung out with friends and continued to train hard, without using One for All of course.
He finally ended up using the last of One for All’s embers during an incident with his mother. Because he remained on campus at all times, save for excursions with friends, PLF sympathizers got restless. The very last remnants of the Paranormal Liberation Front, who were being hunted down relentlessly, made a last ditch move to kidnap Midoriya Inko.
This proved to be their undoing as Inko was wearing a tracking bracelet. As soon as Izuku noticed his mother moving to an odd location, he called her. When she didn’t answer, Izuku used his embers to get there at lightning speed.
He found the criminals, took all of them out in one hit, then tracked down their main hideout by following the GPS systems on their phones. He knocked everyone inside unconscious in an instant, the protective fury he felt empowering him. In quick succession, he handed the villains over to law enforcement and was ordered to help tear down the complex. The act of destroying the building and all the weaponry inside cost him the last of One for All. It was certainly worth it for the freckled boy.
Inko was moved into U.A.’s residential area left over from the war. Izuku graduated with his friends, then moved back in with his mother to complete his teaching certification online.
During the single year it took him to complete the rest of his schooling, Izuku wasn’t attacked directly. But, he did stumble across a villain attack on his way back home one day. When he saw the heroes weren’t doing anything because of a trap laid by the villain's quirk, Izuku stepped in. He figured out the deactivation mechanism for the quirk and disarmed the trap, rushing in with the heroes out of habit and knocking out the villain with a haymaker.
After getting his teaching certification in record time without any other incidents, Izuku moved into the teachers’ dorms at U.A. and started as a T.A.
It was in the following years that Izuku really lived up to his reputation as a danger magnet.
***
Some villains he dealt with himself:
Izuku was out and about, doing some grocery shopping, when another customer turned towards him. At first, he thought he was going to have to sign an autograph, but the villain grew in size and took a swipe at the greenette.
Izuku immediately switched into his hero mindset. He called out for everyone to clear the area, before running down the aisles to get the villain away from any other potential victims.
The quirkless man took a zig-zag path to slow down the villain and buy time for civilians to leave. Once he felt like enough time had been bought, Izuku grabbed a large garbage bag.
The acrobatic former hero then leaped up and onto the shelves to reach the giant’s head. Grappling for a bit, Deku was eventually able to secure the bag around the villain’s head. The giant staggered and swayed before collapsing. The crowd cheered at the successful takedown.
Later, the police praised Izuku for acting in self defense but warned him not to get into too much trouble.
They clearly didn't know who they were talking to.
***
Some evil-doers made the mistake of coming to him:
Izuku was staying late in his classroom grading papers. Exhausted and maybe a little bored, he was longingly looking out at the sunset, when he spotted three dots in the distance.
Those dots quickly got bigger and a wooshing sound swept through the classroom. Izuku initiated the security protocol. But, not wanting to send these criminals falling to their deaths, he waited to activate the quirk-suppressing field. A trio of bird-themed villains broke through the window and struck battle poses.
“Caw Caw!” announced one with the beak of a raven. “We are here to kidnap the great hero Deku! Surrender now, you quirkless slime!”
Izuku activated the quirk-suppressing field around his classroom. Then, he stood up, cracked his knuckles and said, “I’ve been missing fights like these lately.”
The trio gulped as they suddenly lost the ability to use their quirks. Seeing the muscular teacher up close, they realized he might not have been as defenseless as they thought.
***
Of course, he also had plenty of help:
It was just supposed to be a standard trip to the mall with his friends. But between the incident with Shigaraki and the recent attacks, Izuku was starting to get sick of villains appearing suddenly in public.
“HAHAHA! In the name of Geten, I will purge the world of the scum who defeated the MLA!”
Izuku took cover as the ice-themed villain monologued on her spire of ice. He cursed himself for not being able to end the situation. However, he knew it would be resolved soon.
Izuku shouted, “I’m not even the one who defeated him!”
“It doesn’t matter!” the villain quipped back. “All will fall to the might of-”
Suddenly, an explosion was heard by those at the scene, as Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight blasted towards the villain.
“Oh shit…” the villain's attention switched from the quirkless man to the ‘most threatening hero in Japan’ (according to the readers of Heroes Daily).
After defeating the villain, Katsuki stomped over to Izuku and shook his shoulders roughly. “I leave you alone for two goddamn minutes to go to Hot Topic and WHAT happens!! You get attacked by a VILLAIN!”
“Sorry, Kacchan! Can you please stop shaking me now?”
Katsuki let go with a *tch* and muttered, “Damn danger magnet” under his breath.
***
Izuku just wanted a beer with his colleagues. It wasn’t often that he drank alcohol, but there was a bar near U.A. that was a popular hangout spot for heroes. Every so often he would go and get drinks there. Always accompanied by his coworkers.
Present Mic recommended different brands of beer to the inexperienced Izuku. Nedzu ordered some expensive whiskey. Aizawa mostly snacked on the free peanuts. It was a good time.
At least, until some crazy lady pulled a gun out.
“Die Deku!” Oh crap. Izuku found himself wishing she was drunk enough to miss. If not, U.A. was close and had top-notch medical facilities. Plus, his vest was bulletproof. Still, none of that mattered if she landed a headshot.
Luckily, before the perp could even fire the gun, Yamada used his quirk to scream the gun out of her hand. Izuku breathed a sigh of relief while all the pro heroes in the bar rushed to arrest the lunatic.
Aizawa, being the rational man he is, decided to check on the victim while everyone else dogpiled the poor woman.
“Are you okay Midoriya? Do you want to get back to U.A.?”
“Yeah, I’m good. A little shaken up but this isn’t the first time I’ve been the target of a villain attack.” Izuku smiled at his old sensei. “Let’s head back to campus. It’s not like you have a drink to finish anyways.”
Aizawa grunted and led the way, protectively watching over his junior coworker all the while.
***
And of course, Deku served as a calming presence in rescue situations:
Trying to have at least one normal day, Izuku was walking in the plaza with his mother. They checked out the different shops and admired the various street performers. Izuku was sweating all the while. Knowing his luck, something was bound to disrupt their peaceful afternoon. He didn’t want his mother to get caught up in a villain attack.
The green-haired young adult breathed a sigh of relief when they exited the last shop. However, the relief was short-lived.
Amidst the crowd, a child had accidentally fallen into the central fountain. The child, of course, started crying out in distress. Her parents attempted to comfort her, but hesitated when the child turned into a dragon. A dragon that was now squirming around on the ground and trashing her tail around, injuring passersby in the process.
Izuku shot his mother an imploring look. Inko sighed and said, “Go on honey. Be a hero.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’ll be back soon.”
After making sure the emergency services were contacted, Izuku approached the dragon.
“Hey there sweetie…” he started. “I need you to take deep breaths. Can you do that for me?”
The dragon didn’t even seem to notice him. She just kept throwing a temper tantrum.
Deciding that he needed to get the child’s attention first, Izuku approached the dragon’s head. He cautiously placed a hand on the baby dragon’s snout and made shushing noises.
Eventually, the dragon calmed down, opening her eyes. When they caught sight of Izuku, they widened. “Deku!” the dragon cried out in a high-pitched voice.
The inactive hero chuckled. “Yup, it’s me! Now that you’ve calmed down can you imagine yourself getting smaller? I know size-changing quirks can feel uncomfortable, like stuffing yourself in a tiny box. But, try and concentrate on becoming a small child for me, please.”
The child scrunched her face up in concentration and with a flash of light she was back to being a six year old girl.
The parents rushed towards their daughter. The mother picked her up as the father bowed to Izuku. “Thank you so much Deku! We’re so sorry! She’s been having problems controlling her quirk recently.”
Izuku scratched the back of his head and waved away the apology. “It was nothing. I have a quirk counselor I can recommend for you if you want.”
“Yes, please. Anything for our baby girl.”
The teacher started to pull up a contact on his phone. “Have you heard of Uravity’s new initiative?”
A few minutes later, Izuku and Inko walked out of the plaza loaded down with bags. Half of them were from shopping, the other half were gifts given in thanks for Izuku’s heroic actions.
At least this time it wasn’t a villain attack.
***
Plus, he helped with crowd control:
Izuku was doing some responsible hero watching one evening. He was keeping the crowd a reasonable distance from the villain and making sure nobody broke Red Riot’s concentration.
But of course, there was an unexpected variable. An old lady on the other side of the fight. She must’ve been half blind because she was crossing the street without a care for the violence surrounding her. Worse still, she was behind Kirishima and out of his line of sight.
Izuku was going to sit back and let her make it to safety. However, one of the villain’s attacks got redirected towards the building she was under. A large boulder started to fall in the direction of the woman. Acting on instinct, Izuku leapt to protect her.
Shielding the elderly civilian from certain death, Izuku flung his arms around her and waited for the impact. It would hurt, but it probably wouldn’t kill the muscular young man.
He did feel rocks hitting him, but they were more like tiny pebbles. Looking up, Izuku saw that Red Riot had successfully punched the boulder into smithereens.
“Thanks for the save, Red Riot!”
“It was no problem Deku! You running in recklessly made me realize something was wrong. Now get her out of here while I finish this.”
Izuku shot his friend a two-fingered salute and carried the old lady away from the battlefield. All the while he corralled the excited civilians back behind the safety line. Everyone got to enjoy Red Riot’s victory without any more scares.
The teacher got lectured by the police afterwards. As soon as Izuku explained that his body moved on its own the lead officer just sighed and remarked, “Once a hero, always a hero.”
***
Even abroad, Izuku felt like he never really left hero work:
The inactive hero was on a tour in North America. Most education until then had pretty much ignored quirks, despite society forming quirk-based prejudices and judgements. Izuku was giving public lectures on quirk-inclusive education to his fellow educators in sold-out speaking venues.
At one such venue in Texas, Izuku was suddenly approached by a security guard.
“Sir, there’s a bomb threat at your speech. You’re up in 30 minutes. How do you want to proceed?”
Izuku just smiled at the security and said, “Let me handle it.”
The quirkless man then proceeded to step into the venue and analyze the area. He smelled ozone, the telltale sign of a quirk being used in one corner and ordered the bomb team there.
Izuku went in with the team and saw a man and a woman working on a mechanical device. Everybody stood still for a moment before the man pulled out a gun and fired. Izuku stepped in the way of the bullet, using his bulletproof suit jacket to save a member of the bomb team.
From there, he tackled the two villains and put them both in submission holds while the others called the police and investigated the device.
Luckily, the bomb wasn’t armed, so disposal was simple. The two criminals were part of a quirk-supremacist terror group.
20 minutes later, Izuku gave a speech on the need for better quirk-inclusive education that raised 500,000 dollars for schools in the region.
***
But he didn’t just fight them. He rehabilitated them:
After defeating the two Texan terrorists, Izuku found out that they were a couple and petitioned to move their cells closer to each other. Before their court dates, Izuku sat down with both of them to tell them his life’s story.
Both of the terrorists thought that it was a terrible injustice for the quirk of the world’s greatest hero to be taken away. But after hearing the hardship Izuku faced during his childhood, the duo’s perspective changed. There wasn’t a weak-strong binary. People could be quirkless but still strong in spirit.
Afterwards, they gave up the rest of the terrorist organization for a greatly reduced sentence.
***
Imada Koua was left rotting in a cell after he attacked Deku. He should have known better than to try to get at the man who saved this wretched society in broad daylight.
Oh, look, here comes Mr. Hero now to rub it in.
“Hello, Imada-san. I’d like to have a talk about our society.”
Koua was a little shocked. He spat back, “The society you saved. What’s there to talk about? It still leaves people with ‘villainous’ quirks like mine out on the streets.”
“And I want to change that. So tell me, what’s your life like?”
As Koua went over his life’s story, the teacher listened attentively. The criminal could tell that somehow, this hero empathized with him. Midoriya promised the man that he would receive a good lawyer and even said he’d work a few of Koua’s complaints into the next public lecture he gave.
Koua was still hateful at the end of their talk, but Midoriya promised to come again. He did, briefly talking to a few other criminals in other cells before continuing his conversation with Koua. By the end of the second conversation, Koua could tell he had met someone worthy of his trust.
***
And when Izuku returned to the spotlight in the armor, those contacts helped him climb to number 4, even though he was only doing hero work part time:
Deku was tasked with investigating a drug ring operating primarily in a low-security prison. It was the perfect opportunity to make use of a certain friend of his.
The preliminary investigation had yielded nothing. They wanted to call in a hero with a tracking quirk, but Izuku asked for the job when he recognized the prison Imada Koua had been sent to.
Sure enough, after an hour talking to Imada, Izuku had solved the case. Sporting his new hero suit, Izuku confidently walked into the warden’s office at Southern Hokkaido Correctional Facility.
“The drugs are being smuggled into the prison at the east gate.”
“How do you know that??” demanded the warden.
Izuku merely smirked, thanking Imada for being such a gossip in prison. “A friend told me. I’ll ask for a reduced sentence for Imada Koua via the official channels. For now, we’ll perform a stakeout operation. They should be using new support technology to make portals in the wall.”
The warden grumbled in envy. Deku had done what 20 of the prison’s guards failed to do. Worse still, he was going to swoop in and take all the glory during the stakeout.
Sure enough, that evening 5 men exited out of an orange portal in the ground carrying drugs and strange white guns. Not giving them a chance to react, Deku bound them with his imitation blackwhip while the guards secured the drugs and support weapons.
***
After confessing his desire to do “more” with Uraraka, the couple got engaged and spent most of their free time at Uraraka’s house.
And of course, spending time with his new fiancée also protected Izuku, even during their downtime:
A robber climbed in through the window of the Uraraka residence. He was going to earn so many bragging rights for robbing the house of two heroes. He had waited until there were social media posts about #DekUravity being on a date. Hah! While those two were being lovey-dovey he was going to get rich!
The living room was empty, the only sound being the dryer rattling loudly further within the house. Perfect, they hadn’t gotten home from their date yet. Unfortunately, the robber missed the messy trail of shoes, suitcases, and outerwear left by the front door.
However, as he stepped in, the rattling suddenly stopped and pink bubbles began to spread around the house, lifting the robber up and out the window.
“Okay!” he yelled. “I give, you can let me down now!” He continued to float skywards.
“Uravity, I know you saw me! Why else would you have activated your quirk?! Let me down!”
The robber continued to float further into the sky. “Uravity?” he called in a shaky voice.
There was no answer.
And so, even though Izuku wasn’t a professional hero during the eight years he spent studying and teaching, he was as close as one could get. Taking down villains, making society better, and living his best life alongside a supportive community of friends.