Midoriya Izuku is Quirkless.
Unlike his childhood friend, who developed an incredible explosion Quirk, he's Quirkless. But now, at 24 years old, Midoriya Izuku doesn't have much regret about being Quirkless.
When he was young, he was devastated. He wanted to be a hero. He wanted to be a hero like All Might. Just like Bakugo Katsuki's dream with his amazing Quirk, Midoriya Izuku shared the same dream as other kids. But he was Quirkless. Still, Midoriya Izuku couldn't give up on his dream.
You could call it pathetic if you wanted. All Might. The dream of becoming a hero like him was a thorn buried so deep in Midoriya Izuku that it couldn't be pulled out.
He analyzed heroes' Quirks, researching their weaknesses, strengths, and areas for improvement, working his butt off. If he didn't have a Quirk, he'd make up for it with information. He filled the wound of not having a Quirk with knowledge of others' Quirks and the strengths and weaknesses of heroes and other people.
Well... that didn't end well. Not because Bakugo Katsuki stomped all over Midoriya Izuku when he mentioned applying to U.A., showing off his superiority and the gap between them. That kind of thing happened all the time. It made him angry, but it was simple enough to endure without fighting back, swallowing it down inside.
What shattered Midoriya Izuku's heart was All Might himself.
That moment was a miracle for Midoriya Izuku. To meet All Might in person! Overwhelmed with emotion, Midoriya Izuku voiced the small wish he'd been dying to ask about: a dream that had gotten tattered and worn from being spread out too much and treated carelessly by others.
"Can someone Quirkless become a hero?"
He'd always wanted to hear "yes." Even encouragement like "you can do it" would have been good.
But All Might, All Might with his shriveled body yet clear eyes, rolled the plastic bottle in his hand and told Midoriya Izuku:
"It's impossible."
Midoriya Izuku had been judged by All Might. He couldn't become a hero. Never had being Quirkless felt so painful. The words "I know" couldn't crawl out. Only All Might's single statement remained heavy in his heart.
As All Might's back disappeared, taking the villain in the plastic bottle to hand over to the police, Midoriya Izuku's dream of becoming a hero became unstable. But he couldn't give up. Should he give up? The question kept nagging. I can't give up. Being a hero. Should I give up? Being a hero.
Walking with the sunset at his back, Midoriya Izuku cried. He just wished at least one person would cheer him on. He hoped that All Might, who never stopped smiling and ran around for others, would give him at least a questionable answer like, "Maybe if you work hard even without a Quirk, you could do it."
It felt like he'd lost the path forward. Like he'd been dropped into a wasteland without a map or compass when he should have been on a journey.
Still. Still. His lingering attachment told Midoriya Izuku not to believe All Might. Look back at yourself! His attachment kept whispering.
Midoriya Izuku gritted his teeth, and even when it hurt enough to draw blood, he couldn't turn away from cries for help right in front of him. Before his brain could process it, his legs would run and his hands would reach out. Even if he got torn to shreds, became a mess, and felt terror, he never regretted it.
But I can't become a hero. Those were the words of an absolute being.
From the moment he thought that, things changed. Time passed, summer vacation arrived, and until the day of U.A. High School's Hero Course practical exam, Midoriya Izuku's thoughts slowly wavered.
Conviction and willpower. The beginning of change was the day of U.A.'s Hero Course practical exam: thoughts changing without him realizing it. In the ridiculous exam telling them to destroy robots, when he was trembling and wandering around with only a single iron bar, drifting alone with zero points, he came before a giant villain robot that gave no points. Midoriya Izuku ran to save a girl trapped under a pile of rubble.
He tried to save the girl from the rocks with the bent iron bar he was holding as a weapon. Fortunately, the girl seemed to snap out of it upon seeing Midoriya Izuku like that and used her Quirk. She lifted the rocks and ran away with Midoriya Izuku's support. In that instant, the villain robot's leg came down to crush them.
Luckily, it missed. But a chunk of rock that flew in all directions hit Midoriya Izuku on the left side of his head.
When Midoriya Izuku opened his eyes, he was in a hospital. He heard his mom's worried voice. Apparently, if a major accident seemed about to happen, a hero on standby would save them.
The hero who saved Midoriya Izuku and the girl said Midoriya Izuku's courage was incredible. He said he'd wondered what kind of Quirk the kid had. When he found out what Midoriya Izuku's Quirk was, he apparently scolded him, saying it was extremely dangerous, chastising Midoriya Izuku for being reckless.
Because he's Quirkless. Being a hero is impossible, he said.
At the doctor's words that he could be discharged once his stamina recovered, since someone with a healing Quirk had already treated him, Midoriya Izuku touched his throbbing forehead.
A large scar had formed on his left forehead. But Midoriya Izuku didn't regret what he'd done. However, hearing once again from a hero that being Quirkless made being a hero impossible: that hurt too much. Tears flowed endlessly. All Might's voice replayed.
"Hero" was a word Midoriya Izuku couldn't give up.
He obviously failed U.A.'s Hero Course exam. But Midoriya Izuku, who had also applied to the General Studies course just in case, was able to enter U.A.'s General Studies course with pathetic determination. Successfully admitted to General Studies. Somehow, or maybe it was natural, his mom breathed a sigh of relief at the news of his General Studies admission. Midoriya Izuku was fine with this. He'd gotten into U.A., the birthplace of heroes, even if it was General Studies.
Even so, the world, All Might, and heroes all said that Quirkless Midoriya Izuku couldn't become a hero.
It was okay, though. Midoriya Izuku comforted his dream. Maybe he had already given up. The throbbing scar on his left forehead, the helpless version of himself, All Might's words that rose like nightmares when he slept, his mom's somehow relieved face: all of it held onto Midoriya Izuku and wouldn't let go.
Hero. Hero. He wanted to at least see what stood beside a hero. If he couldn't become a hero, then at least he could witness their profile, at least the beginning before they became heroes.
Midoriya Izuku worked hard. He became friends with his General Studies classmates. Midoriya Izuku was timid but passionate and full of determination. Sometimes he'd research heroes and Quirks in an intense, focused way and mutter to himself, but in General Studies this became an endearing quirk of his. Even if his dream of being a hero was dismissed, he worked hard, and he wasn't looked down on for being Quirkless.
He lived an ordinary high school life. It was U.A.'s General Studies, but the name U.A. carried considerable weight. Even without a Quirk, since there weren't any Quirk-related classes, Midoriya Izuku could keep up.
The Hero Course kids got attacked by villains! At those words, he was so worried he asked about Bakugo Katsuki's safety, and got hit once by a somehow deflated Bakugo Katsuki. Just once. He didn't hear any sarcastic remarks, only "Get lost, you Quirkless piece of trash." Midoriya Izuku held his aching cheek in shock.
As expected of the Hero Course. Did their spirits and character also grow from fighting villains? When he said he was glad they weren't seriously hurt and almost got hit again, the Hero Course kids, who had appeared out of nowhere, restrained Bakugo Katsuki's limbs and stopped him. Out of the blue, he met the girl from back then again. Midoriya Izuku heard her thank him for helping her. The girl he'd helped was in the Hero Course.
And so it came to the Sports Festival.
"I'm going to the Hero Course."
"Huh... huh?!"
He was startled mid-lunch by a single statement from his classmate Shinso Hitoshi.
"I'm gonna see how great they are."
"Since everyone aspires to be heroes..."
He had no intention of defending the Hero Course kids. He was just trying to say something like, trust the heroes, since they were kids who had been directly observed and scored by heroes who picked them.
He did think it was strange that a kid with an amazing Quirk and a good dream like Shinso Hitoshi was in General Studies. He had shown that characteristic behavior, falling into thought and muttering after seeing Shinso Hitoshi's Quirk, because he'd said it was incredible. But Shinso Hitoshi misunderstood Midoriya Izuku's words. Shinso Hitoshi said through gritted teeth:
"Stop it with your hero worship. The Hero Course aren't heroes yet. They're students just like us."
And so Shinso Hitoshi from General Studies, Shinso Hitoshi with his powerful brainwashing Quirk, received attention from heroes after the Sports Festival. Though he lost miserably because it was a match against Bakugo Katsuki from Hero Course Class A, who had figured out the weakness of brainwashing. Still, he got the heroes' attention. The kids in his class said congratulations. Embarrassing words like "As expected of General Studies' star!" popped out.
Midoriya Izuku genuinely congratulated him. Seeing Midoriya Izuku wiping away tears and being happy as if it were his own achievement, Shinso Hitoshi mentioned what he'd been lacking. If he'd at least been good at fighting, he could have landed a hit. Then he casually suggested:
"Let's work out."
"Huh... huh?!"
"The same answer again?"
Shinso Hitoshi had ignored Quirkless Midoriya Izuku at first. But in Midoriya Izuku's image of researching, thinking, working hard, and purely admiring heroes, he saw himself. If asked to name the difference between himself and Midoriya Izuku, it was a Quirk.
That's how Midoriya Izuku started working out with Shinso Hitoshi. Huh? Huh?! The flustered Midoriya Izuku recalled something basic. If you don't have a Quirk, make up for it with something else. That kind of thing.
The other classmates would work out together when they were bored too. It was perfect for bonding. Midoriya Izuku's body became moderately solid, and Shinso Hitoshi got bigger.
While spending such days, an event occurred that became a major turning point for Midoriya Izuku. Due to the dorm system that had suddenly started in their first year, Midoriya Izuku was away from his family, staying alone in his room.
That event was the capture of the Hero Killer, Stain.
It was an event that gave Midoriya Izuku, who had already given up, a different dream related to the word "hero." Midoriya Izuku, who had been researching countless Quirks and learning about heroes and villains, saw it on YouTube while brushing his teeth. His ideology, his thoughts, what he was appealing for.
"The only true hero in this world is All Might!"
Captured by Todoroki Shoto and Bakugo Katsuki from Hero Course Class A and a senior who was All Might's successor, he shouted that. That single statement made Midoriya Izuku's heart race. True heroes. But there are people in this world who impersonate heroes. I'm clearing away the fakes. I'm executing those who impersonate the title that can only be given to true heroes: those who don't seek rewards and have reached the end of self-sacrifice.
With a toothbrush in his mouth, Midoriya Izuku grabbed the computer monitor with both hands. Power entered his hands. Power entered his weak hands, though trained through exercise.
"Conviction and heart are needed to accomplish anything! The heroes of this world now are rotten! Corrupt!"
No! Midoriya Izuku thought. Even they must have the thought of saving someone somewhere in their hearts. While attending U.A.'s General Studies, Midoriya Izuku had learned that. He knew the conviction, the hearts of kids who wanted to become heroes. No matter how blinded by other desires, the path back should remain.
To Midoriya Izuku, heroes were All Might: those whose bodies moved before their heads to save people. Those who made you feel safe with their smiles, who saved people as if they didn't care what happened to themselves in danger.
Who saved people as if they didn't care what happened to themselves?
"The only one who can catch me, catch evil, is All Might!"
Stain didn't give chances. He judged and killed based only on conclusions, only on current foundations. There are those who need turning points. But he wasn't someone who would overlook corruption because of turning points that might never come.
Midoriya Izuku thought that far and shook his head. He raised his fist and hit the scar on his left forehead. I shouldn't get involved. I mustn't get caught up in this!
But what about those who truly carried the name of hero while overlooking villains and rotting away?
In this era, Stain's thinking was simply outdated. What is a hero? In the current generation, it had become a profession: those who received permission to use Quirks and acted for others using their Quirks. Sometimes that effort was excessive, sometimes insufficient. Either way, heroes were diverse beings, and sacrifice alone couldn't be the measure.
Heroes had already become a profession of serving with Quirks. All Might was someone who had received the highest title in the profession of hero: a hero who didn't seek rewards and sacrificed for others. A hero among heroes. The greatest hero.
Stain was wrong. He shouldn't have killed heroes indiscriminately. The heroic ideology he wanted was one of those who don't seek rewards: those who sacrifice for others. He held a fundamentalist ideology. While his pure thinking was praiseworthy, in the current generation it was just violence and indiscriminate slaughter.
Rather...
"You should have targeted those who truly don't deserve the name. Hero Killer... ah..."
Ah.
Midoriya Izuku had said it.
"Even heroes who can't fully receive the title of hero can have hearts that sacrifice for others. How could you check? Wouldn't danger work? What if you chose based on how people responded to danger? Wouldn't those who abandoned hostages and ran away truly be the corrupt ones: those who can't remain as either a title or a profession?"
There are those who hold out; there are those who wait for other heroes to rescue them. Everyone has chances. But Stain killed everyone without filtering.
Midoriya Izuku frowned. Like usual, he continued speaking, muttering his thoughts. Nothing stopped Midoriya Izuku, and he didn't stop himself either.
"Among people with the profession of hero, there are also people working hard for their families, for their lives. In the end, it's for others, not themselves. There are people who save others for themselves and live lives of always winning: admirable lives. But in the end, those actions only come out when you move for others."
They receive appropriate compensation for serving with their Quirks. The title of hero could come from among them, but that wasn't necessarily the case. Why did Stain think there had to be someone among those with the profession of hero who deserved the title of hero? Only negative thoughts crawled out of his stubborn mind.
Quirks were important to this generation, and those who wielded Quirks indiscriminately for their own desires, moving as they pleased for their own goals, were villains. Those who harmed others, who put holes in society, were villains. When the thought of Quirks hit him, Midoriya Izuku couldn't stop thinking in the terms of Stain's words and his own boiling heart.
"What about those who, just because of their Quirks, just because they have useful Quirks, have no sacrifice, no turning point?"
The strength left the hands gripping the monitor. Creatures that lived for themselves alone, wielding the profession of hero from behind a single Quirk. Bit by bit, Stain's ideology began to transform as it met Midoriya Izuku's heart toward heroes.
The corrupt underworld of heroes that Quirkless Midoriya Izuku had never even been able to imagine must exist. It was all the hidden side that the Quirkless didn't know about, appearing in the shadows of this Quirk society.
Heroes. For the sake of heroes. Those who mocked heroes, those who used the background of hero as a shield.
"You should have targeted those kinds of people. Hero Killer."
Heroes would think about and get their act together regarding the title of hero because of this incident. Heroes would ponder that title within the profession of hero. The result would go in a good direction, but the sacrifices of heroes killed in between, the overlooked sacrifices, couldn't be ignored.
The Hero Course would think the same. Midoriya Izuku thought so and recalled Iida Tenya, who had been killed by the Hero Killer the previous year. That death, even if Iida Tenya's reckless action had been the problem, made U.A. unstable from that point on. Brought down by an ordinary person, not a villain.