Chapter 10

The scratch of his pencil was the only thing he focused on as he blocked out everything around him. His classmates were animated about something but he didn't listen. He kept his eye on the circle he repeatedly drew. An endless cycle. A representation of his sad life. He sighed and increased his pace. Such a sad pathetic life. A useless Deku. That's what he was. He clenched his eyes shut and took a shuddering breath. He had to stop himself from thinking so negative. He was losing hope. He held on for ten years. Ten long years of everyone telling him he was nothing. Ten years of being treated like dirt. Ten years of being nothing. Ten years if being Deku. He could never be a hero.

They're wrong. He will be a hero. He just had to believe. Anyone can be a hero. Even him. His journey may be harder because of his lack of power, but he'll never give up.

He nodded to himself, determined. Yeah. He couldn't give up. There was a lot he wanted to do.

The door to his classroom was pushed open and in stepped his homeroom teacher, carrying a stack of documents. He dropped them on his desk before taking place behind it.

"Quiet down, class starts now" he said firmly as he looked over the documents. Izuku was hardly paying attention, his focus still on his circle.

"You're all in third grade now. It's good a time as any to start thinking of your future"

Third-year. His future. He knew what he wanted. He would attend UA after graduation. He will do his best and learn everything that he can. He'll grow. He'll get better. He'll prove his worth. He smiled slightly as he thought that. He'll show them.

"I need to hand out the career applications but... " the teacher trailed off with a mischievous smile on his face. Soon the papers were in the air and he had a foot on his desk. "I know you all wanna be heroes so what's the point!? "

The class erupted in cheers. Multiple classmates activated their quirks in their excitement. Izuku kept his head low and had a hand in his hair. His circle drawing continued. He needed to focus on something. He was getting anxious. A bad feeling was building in his gut. He took another deep breath. He hated getting such a feeling. The feeling of dread. As if something bad was going to happen to him.

He gripped his hair.

"Don't go lumping me in with these extras" an obnoxious voice said. Izuku hesitated to glance at the owner of the voice. Katsuki Bakugo. The boy had his feet up on his desk and had his chair tilted back. He had an arrogant smirk on his face. Izuku couldn't look at him. Over the years his admiration of the boy turned to fear. All the beatings. All the insults. They hurt.

"I have no interest in being friends with those possessing weak quirks" he continued. Izuku could feel his arrogance. He wasn't like that in the past. "That's beneath me"

Some of his classmates defended themselves and cursed out the ashy blonde. That only pissed him off and he glared at them.

"Shut up you damn extras! "

"Ah, Bakugo. You wish to attend UA" the teacher said casually as he glanced at a document on his desk.

Izuku added more pressure to his drawing. The feeling in his gut got worse when the school was mentioned. Many students began to process the information amongst each other. Katsuki wants to go to UA too. He was not surprised. It had been his goal since he was a kid. It was their goal. They were supposed to go there together. Things changed.

"Go on and shiver in your tiny little boots. It's only logical that extras like you would cower. I aced all the mock test. Me! I'm the one that will get in. I'll even surpass all Might and be the strongest hero of the century. You'll be lucky to end up as sidekicks for some busted D lister! "

"Oh? Midoriya. You wish to attend UA as well"

He froze. He knew something bad was bound to happen. Why did the teacher have to open his mouth? Izuku felt the dark glare of Katuki on him and gripped his fist. He couldn't catch a break. It was as if the world hated him. His luck was terrible. The teacher knew. He knew that he was quirkless. He knew that Katsuki bullied him. He knew what he would do if such a thing was mentioned and yet he did so anyway. Why must the world be so cruel?

They laughed. All his classmates started laughing at him. He gripped his pencil tightly. He didn't dare look up from his notebook. He was humiliated. Reduced to nothing but the pathetic boy he is. Of course, they laughed. How would he be a hero? He was quirkless. He couldn't even defend himself against bullies. He wouldn't last a day out there. He's delusional.

"Are you seriously aiming for UA? You won't last a day"

He gripped his pencil tighter and it snapped. He dropped it, still not looking up. He didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. It's best he keep his mouth shut. Nothing good ever comes from it.

"Deku! "

An explosion erupted on his desk and he was sent crashing onto the floor. He winced when an old wound ached from the impact. He backed up, trying to get as far away from the angry Katsuki. His back hit the wall and dread washed over him. He couldn't have one good day without being the laughing stock of the entire school, could he? He couldn't go home without a burn mark. He couldn't have a day of holding onto his belief long enough.

He was being pulled up by the collar, the small explosion erupting from Katsuki's palms burned him.

"You're worse than these extras. At least they have quirks! " Izuku couldn't meet his eye. He already knows this. Why must he constantly be reminded? "So why in the hell are you trying to enter my arena! "

Izuku said nothing. He learned long ago that trying to justify his reasons did no good. It just made things worse than they already are.

"Looks like he's too scared to talk now" someone laughed.

Katsuki scoffed and released him. He fell on the floor while everyone went back to their seats. The teacher did nothing. Goes to show what type of people walk around him. Even the adults don't care enough.

He went back to his seat quietly. He stared at his broken pencil before sweeping it to the side and retrieving a new one.

Quirkless Deku.

~~~~~~~

The last bell of the day was heard some time ago. Almost everyone had left class. He didn't. He was busy adding notes to his hero analysis notebook. He had seen Mt.Lady at work this morning and figured that her quirk would be useful to know about. He was downtrodden about everything that took place today but he forced himself to cling on to the little hope he still had. A true hero does not give up no matter what.

He was about to pack up, having already scribbled down his notes when someone picked it off his desk. He didn't have to see their face to know who it was.

"I still have a bone to pick with you" Katsuki said with an annoyed expression as he glanced at the book.

"What you got there? "

"Hero Analysis for the future? "One of Katsuki's lackeys laughed at the name as if it was the funniest thing he ever read. "You just don't get it, do you? "

"Give it back" Izuku said. His voice was barely a whisper as he gripped his fist tightly. He just wanted to go home and go to bed. This day had been as bad as any other and the urge to cry his eyes out was strong. But that's weak. That makes him even more pathetic. Why does he have to be so ridiculous?

An explosion and his notebook was nothing but burnt paper. He flinched when Katsuki looked at him with a dark grin. He watched helplessly as the blonde tossed the ruined notebook out the window. His eyes lingered on the window for a moment. Why did he have to do that? That notebook was important.

"You know, they say it's possible to determine the number one hero from the very first day of introduction" Katsuki said casually as he stuffed a hand in his pocket. He was speaking as if he was talking to a long time friend. "I'll be the first and only person from this dump of a school to make it to UA. And because I'm such a good guy I want to make sure that those who aim for that school are at least competent enough and have a certain dignity "

Izuku flinched when the blond placed a burning hand on his shoulder. Katsuki held a supposedly friendly smile as he spoke his next words.

"Forget about even passing the entrance exam you useless Deku"

He laughed and stepped away, leaving a burn mark on Izuku's uniform. The boy watched him walk away, not daring to say a word.

"It's pathetic that even as a third-year you can't face the truth"

"You know, come to think of it there is a way to maybe get a quirk"

Katsuki's words interested him even though he knew it shouldn't. There is no way to get a quirk. If you're quirkless that is what you'll be for the rest of your life. There was no changing that. Nothing could change that. His interest was lost. Nothing the boy said would be true. He would be trying to make a fool out of him.

"Take a swan dive off the roof, believing with all your might that you'll have a quirk in the next life. You'd be doing us both a favour"

With that, he left laughing as if he didn't just tell the boy to kill himself.

So that's how he feels? He really looks down on him so much that he wouldn't care if he died. He wouldn't mind him killing himself?

Izuku left the classroom, his head down. Tears were making themselves known again. He pushed them back as he made his way down the hallway. He turned to go down the stairs he should while he eyed the stairs leading to the roof.

Maybe he should take Katsuki's advice. He was right when he said he will be doing himself a favour, wasn't he? There was no need for him. No one believed in him. He was starting to lose hope as it is. Erasing himself wouldn't be so bad. The best solution actually. He would be doing everyone a favour, wouldn't he? It was all pointless, wasn't it? Why should he continue in this world when everyone and everything was against him. What would be the point? Just useless. This world was cruel. He would be better off dead.

He should just die, shouldn't he?

He looked away from the stairs and continued down. It was tempting but he would hold on for a while longer. You never know what could happen. He might find some inspiration somewhere.

Quirkless Deku

~~~~~~~

A figure manifested out of the shadows when the boy left. The figure was nothing but darkness. The only thing to see were the glowing blue eyes. It stood motionless as it eyed the stairs the boy went down. The shadows slowly faded, running off the figure that it had comforted.

Kuriko adjusted her glasses as she walked down the hall. She had seen and heard everything that had take place. She was sure the boy would have broken by now. She was sure he would take the blonde's advice. He obviously considered it. He took a long time staring at the other set of stairs. But he didn't follow them.

How does that boy hold on?

Why does he still hold on?

She couldn't understand. She for once would have taken the blonde and thrown him off the very roof he spoke about. He would most likely die. It would look like suicide so everybody would win. Except for the parents had they actually loved the monster they raised.

She took her time heading down the stairs. She was on her own today. Everyone was busy so she would have to make it home all by herself. No problem. She could do that. She was taking her time with it. She would walk around some.

Coming to stand outside the school she saw the boy again. He had fished his burnt notebook out of the fishpond or whatever that thing was. He tried and failed to make it better and gave up at some point. He just stuffed it in his backpack and left.

His emotions got worse, she noted.

She tilted her head.

She'll be home a bit later today

Shadows overtook her body and she was gone.

~~~~~~

Izuku was walking under a tunnel, his gaze on his feet. He was trying and failing to cheer himself up. No matter what he said he could not feel an inch better about his situation. Every day got worse. The feeling got worse. His dream got further away. His hope was diminishing. He was starting to lose the will to live. Katsuki's advice was a hard push towards what he had subconsciously asked himself many times.

He sighed and plastered a big smile on his face like All Might. Smile. Always smile. That's what All Might does. He saves people with a smile on his face. He made them feel safe.

The smile was gone pretty soon. The smile meant nothing. Why was he forcing it?

He would just be lying to himself.

He felt uncomfortable walking through the tunnel for some reason. He didn't understand why. He walks here every day. He must just be on edge.

"Invisibility cloak size M"

Before those words could register something had taken hold of him. It was an odd liquid that felt so wrong around him. It completely wrapped itself around him and forced itself into his mouth and down his throat. It was disgusting. He tried to do something. When he tried to pull it away his hand went right through. He couldn't grab it. The feeling of the thick liquid going down his throat was uncomfortable. He couldn't breathe and things were looking bad.

At some point, he stopped struggling, not having the strength to do so anymore. He would just let it happen. Death by villain. No one would actually care. So why try.

"Have no fear for I am here! "

Upon hearing that voice something within him surged. Could that really be him? Was that All Might? Was he here to save him?

He fell to the ground and started coughing up what was left of the villain within him. He had seen Texas smash happen right in front of him. It reduced the sludge to tiny pieces that were trying to get away. All Might was really in front of him.

"Are you alright? " All Might Boomed once he had collected the sludge into two plastic bottles.

Izuku nodded. His throat was sore but he was alive and standing in front of his idol. A big smile crept up on him. A smile of true happiness. He fumbled with his backpack and pulled out one of his notebooks. He held it open for the man and held up a pen

"May I have your autograph!? "

All Might laughed loudly and took the pen. He quickly scribbled his name down along with an inspirational quote.

Izuku had shining eyes when he read what had been written down. All Might really signed his notebook. He would cherish this forever.

"Thank you so much! "

"You're welcome young man" All Might saluted. "Now I must go. I have to turn this villain into the authorities "

All Might crouched and got ready to fly off. Izuku widened his eyes upon that realization. He wanted to ask him something. He wanted to hear his answer.

So he moved without thought.

~~~~~~

Izuku was taking deep breaths in an effort to calm his heart after the stunt he pulled. He had attached himself to All Might's leg and vowed to never do such a thing ever again.

"I really have no time to lose! Someone will most likely find you up here so I'll be seeing you around young man! "

"All Might wait! " Izuku put aside his fright of what had just happened. "I have to ask. Can I become a hero, even without a quirk? "

"No quirk"

Izuku was staring at the ground when he heard All Might cough. He looked up and was baffled when he found a skinny man in front of him. The man looked as if he hadn't eaten in days. Was that all Might?

"All Might!? "

"Yeah it's me" he said sadly and sat on the floor. He raised his shirt to reveal the nasty wound on his stomach. "An injury that left me like this. Now I can't work as much as I used to before. Three hours a day is the limit"

Izuku couldn't believe it, even as All Might told him about the damage he had taken. How is he still alive? A damaged respiratory system is no joke.

"If I laugh it is a distraction. It's to distract myself and the People from the fear I feel every day. It's not because I am fearless. Professionals must always put their lives at stake. As such, I can't openly say that being a hero without a quirk is possible simply because it might not be possible"

Izuku froze. Something within him slowly shattered.

He can't be a hero. The symbol if peace said so himself.

It's pointless

~~~~~~

He didn't know how he found himself ek back at school, but here he was. Standing at the very top, staring down at the ground that looked impossibly far away. He stood on the edge, tears in his eyes.

There was no point.

He lost all hope the minute All Might Said it was not possible. A pro said so, so what's the point. His dream is unreachable. They were all right. The was no point. No use. He should just take Katsuki's advice. There was no need for him. He was useless. He wouldn't even make it in the police force. Worthless. Pathetic

Quirkless Deku.

Tears rolled down his cheeks. He had nothing to live for anymore. He was broken. Shattered. Everything. Nothing meant anything anymore.

What's the point in living?

He took the leap