Chapter 2 - Green Haired Freckled Broccoli

[It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!"]

…

[It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!"]

…

[It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!"]

…

..

.

Inside a dimly lit room, the only source of light is the bright screen of a monitor, which is constantly replaying a relatively short news media clip. Its audio boomed loudly whenever the giant mass of muscle appear on the screen.

A young, messy green haired boy laid his head in front of the flickering screen. His eyes which looked lifeless suddenly changed color, from their previous dark green to pure black.

His body jolted up, causing him to slip from the chair and slam onto the ground. As if following his previous eyes, his body seemed lifeless, with not even a hint of breath.

*BANG*

The door slammed open as a fairly pale and chubby woman with the same green-hued hair frantically walked in. After hearing the sudden noise, she feared the worst, and unfortunately, the worst seemed to have come.

"Izuku!?!" She appeared near his side in a flash, checking his forehead and nose before realizing the severity of the situation. 'He's not breathing!'

Before she had a chance to act, the boy, Izuku, opened his eyes and frantically caught his breath. He looked around only to notice the unfamiliarity of his surroundings, especially of the woman currently holding his body.

"IZUKU! Are you alright?" The woman asked, tears almost threatening to escape from her big round eyes. In the end, Izuku did not know how to respond, only looking at her with a dumbfounded expression.

Tears started flowing from her eyes. Although her boy had some weird quirks of his own, playing dead and staring lifelessly at his mother is definitely not a part of them.

Ever since that fateful day, she didn't know how to cheer her son up, so she chose to let him be alone for a while, which slowly turned into years.

The guilt of not birthing him with a quirk ate her will to try and amend his broken dreams. She hoped he will turn out better on his own, afraid of messing things up even more.

As it turns out, leaving a depressed young child alone in his room for long periods of time may incur some consequences.

Her shivering palm started to cusp his round face as she stared at him, trying to find the last wisp of life in his eyes.

'Please…' She prayed in her heart. He was the only person left, the only thing left on earth for her. If she had lost him too…She couldn't even dare to finish the thought.

As if answering her prayer, his eyes started to dart back into focus, returning back to their previous green hue. Clarity seemed to return as he slowly got out of his stupor and controlled his breathing.

Although the unfamiliarity in his gaze towards her still burdens her heart, as long as nothing happened to him, it's all fine.

"Izuk..ku, Izuku…" She choked on her tears, repeating his name over and over again. She kept her hold on him as she gave him time before asking, "What happened?"

"...Mom," He softly said, his tone was as if he was unsure of the meaning of the words he uttered, yet the woman was too happy to not realize this peculiarness.

At the very least, her son is okay, and that's all that matters.

"Can you leave me alone for a while?" Izuku grabbed her shoulders, pushing her away a bit, allowing him to eye the unfamiliar woman before him.

The sudden physical contact and warmth unlike any other confused his brain, though he loved that feeling, it was too foreign to him. It felt way too nice for a monster like him. He felt he was undeserving.

He needed to be alone for now, at least for a few hours.

The woman still had tears in her eyes, clouding her from seeing his confused expression. From his voice, she felt something had changed within him, but she brushed it off. "Are you sure you're fine Izuku?"

"Mn…I should be,"

"..." The woman eyed him once more, and though she still felt nothing but worry for him, wanting to stay by his side until everything is resolved, she relented after seeing her son's unusually clear gaze.

"Please…talk to me if anything is wrong, okay?" She said, almost pleading even. "Promise me,"

"...Promise," Izuku said. Her eyes showed concern one last time before she decided to trust her son and left the room.

Looking at the closed door, Izuku let out a big sigh as he looked around. He found his supposed bed and slumped his body on it, feeling extremely tired.

"What the fuck happened…"

~~~~~

Izuku Midoriya

That was his name. That is his name now.

A somewhat miserable hero fanatic who had his dreams shattered as he learns that he, unlike most, was born with no quirk.

What is a quirk you say? Well, Izuku learned quite a lot from the previous Izuku's memories, and safe to say that it is a superpower. A mutation might fit the bill more but tomato, tomâto.

In a world where giants and fire-breathing humans exist, not having his own distinct superpower can hit a child's mind for quite a bit. Especially someone like the previous Izuku.

Though, if he had to contribute a piece of his thoughts, Izuku categorized the previous Izuku as quite the selfish person.

To put it bluntly, it would be fine if he was an orphan, but, he still has a family. His mother.

And yet, he wants to keep working on his dreams of joining a dangerous and fatal profession without any capabilities to protect himself, all the while not recognizing the fact that he is constantly making his mother worry.

One of the biggest reasons Izuku (Harry) decided to embark on a perilous journey on the dark side, doing illegal and morally grey work, is due to him being completely alone.

With nothing to lose nor come back to, he charges on to the worse of the world, not afraid of not being able to return.

The previous Izuku, on the other hand, didn't agree at all. He just had to be one in the spotlight, to be the best hero, to reach for the star that is his All Might.

Maybe Harry could agree if the world isn't peaceful, but, no. The world IS peaceful, which means, being quirkless, though unlucky, isn't all that bad.

In a regulated world, where non-heroes are forbidden to use their quirks, essentially making them quirkless, can't the previous Izuku just pursue a more non-dangerous dream?

It irked Izuku (Harry) a lot that the previous Izuku couldn't just be content with what he had. A loving mother, a somewhat safe environment, and a stable life.

Though, Izuku quickly discarded those negative thoughts. Why bother clinging to the past of someone he barely knows?

Sure, he inherited his memories, but those memories are like movies. He binged through the whole 12 years of his life in a matter of seconds.

It left some impact on him, sure, but in the end, he didn't live through those memories.

He couldn't feel the desperation he felt when Izuku discovered he was born quirkless.

He couldn't feel the torment an explosive pomeranian had enacted on this body.

He couldn't feel the admiration Izuku had for All Might.

He couldn't feel the warmth of his supposed family, the warmth of his mother…

"Haaaah," Izuku sighed loudly. If he could, he would love to relive the childhood Izuku had. All the happy times, all the childlike wonders, but alas, it was all locked away behind a distant screen.

"Is this the effect of forcing Lin to come with me? I have no father and had to inherit someone else's place?" Izuku wondered.

In the end, it didn't matter. This is what he ended up with, and it genuinely is enough for him.

Did he feel bad for taking Izuku's place? A bit. He was, after all, just a star-stricken, unlucky child. No matter how Izuku twists it, the previous Izuku doesn't deserve this.

But oh well. If anything, previous Izuku should be mad at god, and not him.

"Well, thankfully, god chose a useless little boy for me to replace. This way, I can just live my life peacefully, right?"

…

Right?

~~~~~