shooting for the stars [DISCONTINUED]

1

"... so no, I honestly don't think you can become a hero without a quirk."

One conversation, one meant to dissuade the boy from the dangerous path of a hero, one that shattered Izuku's dreams... would also give him conviction, motivation to do something greater than ever before. One sentence from his hero, from All Might, confirmed what he thought about the world, and though it shattered him, he would piece himself back together.

After the hero left, Izuku stood on the rooftop, thinking. Useless, you knew you could never do it... But no, that wasn't right. Despite his despair, the greenette found the burning fire of conviction growing in his chest.

All Might was wrong. I can still be a hero, I just have to work hard, harder than most... He found himself thinking not just about himself, but about the others like him. What about the other quirkless people of the world? He thought of nights spent staying up late on the computer, researching what his future could be, what it was like for the quirkless adults in their society.

What he had found wasn't good.

The unemployment rate for quirkless people was nearly 90%. After all, why hire someone with no quirk when there were others with powers that could do the job far better? The rate was even higher for homelessness. And with no job to sustain them, no place to go home to, and an unforgiving society claiming them useless for their lack of power; nearly every quirkless person died an early death. Either villain attacks, exposure to the elements, or suicide did in the majority of the quirkless.

These thoughts, depressing though they might be, only added fuel to the fire in Izuku's chest. All Might, his hero, had dismissed his dream as well. His hope, his only hope. But his fire wouldn't be snuffed out that easily. Izuku would prove him wrong, show the world that being quirkless didn't mean he was useless. He would be a hero.

──《♢》──

The sound of faint explosions drew his attention, snapped him out of his thoughts. Briefly he thought it would be useless to go check out the fight... But the fire in his chest reminded him of his goal. He wouldn't give up that easily.

Down the stairs and through the streets he ran, until he arrived at the scene of the fight, notebook and pen in hand. He shoved his way through the crowd, breathing through his shirt to counteract the smoke that filled the air. He managed to get to the front of the crowd... then immediately he froze.

His notebook and pen clattered to the ground. Kachan... He jolted forward, as if to try and save his classmate and childhood friend, before memories shot through his mind. Useless Deku! Why not take a swan dive off the school roof... Why should he try? He's useless... The fire in his chest burned again, and his resolve strengthened.

The bottles in All Might's pockets must have fallen out when I grabbed his pants leg... He looked at the villain's face, looked at how none of the heroes moved to help his classmate. Their quirks must not be suited against him...

He looked back at the villain. From experience he knew it was nearly impossible to move against the slime, so brute force wouldn't work. They'd have to stun him, but how?

The eyes! They're solid, and anyone would stop at a stab to the eyes... Plan formed, Izuku looked around for a suitable weapon. He spotted a palm sized rock on the ground, and scrambled to grab it. Rock in hand, he slid under the police barrier and ran right for the villain, the sound of his blood pumping in his ears blocking out anything else.

He chucked the rock at the villain with all he had, managing to nail him in the eye with enough force that he was clearly stunned. Reaching through the sludge while he had a chance, he managed to grip Kachan's arm and tug hard enough to free his upper body.

It wasn't enough. Though the villain had to squint through one eye now, he had recovered enough to keep fighting. On instinct, he went to throw his backpack at the other eye. The villain knew what to expect though, and caught the backpack before it could hit him.

That moment of distraction gave Bakugou his chance. Izuku reeled back as he felt the force of the explosion, stumbling and falling to the ground, arms shielding his face as best as they could.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Kachan had freed himself from the sludge villain, who now had quite the hole blasted in him. Izuku pushed past the shock to dart forward and drag Kachan away before he could be caught again.

Hostage out of the way, the rest of the heroes didn't hesitate to run forward and restrain the villain. Others came to check on the hostage and the boy who had helped him escape.

Izuku glanced at Kachan, eyes widening as he realized the explosion had singed his classmate's pants quite badly. He looked to assess the damage, but he was quickly hidden from view by heroes and paramedics trying to do the same.

Izuku himself was fine, besides a few scrapes and small burns. Nothing he wasn't used to. After he assured the heroes and paramedics he was fine, he was immediately chewed out for his recklessness. Despite the lecture, he knew what he did was right, if he hadn't moved Kachan could have died.

Minutes later the heroes had all moved on to praise Kachan for his bravery, and Izuku slipped away to go home and tell his mom he needed yet another replacement uniform.

──《♢》──

"Young man!"

Izuku froze, staring up at his hero.

"You too, can be a hero..."

Despite not giving up on his dream, the words from All Might revived something in him. Something bright and shining, warm but not burning. The feeling of hope...

He broke down, it had been so long since he had felt that hope. Even through his tears he listened to All Might's explanation of his power.

"You're next, I can give you my ability,"

He froze. "Wait, what?"

For a moment, he entertained the thought. To have the quirk of One For All... But then he thought of all the ridicule he had faced through his life for his quirklessness, the results of his research on what life was like for quirkless adults...

"No."

All Might's brows raised, mouth opened slightly with shock.

"I want— no, I need to prove that just because I'm quirkless, it doesn't mean I'm useless. I'm going to be a hero, but I'm not going to take a shortcut to get there."

There was a moment of stillness, before the man gave Izuku a proud smile.

"That's an admirable goal. But you can't be a hero on spirit alone! That's while you'll have to train, and work hard. Young Midoriya, if you'd accept it, I'd like to train you to be a hero, even if you aren't going to be my successor."

Izuku's eyes started to water again. "Really?"

"Of course, if you agree we will start tomorrow!"

Izuku nodded his head frantically, and that's how his path to becoming a hero began.