All that Glitters

Blue Topaz

Blue topaz is associated with courage and overcoming fears and obstacles.

"Maybe you should find a nice tall building somewhere and shatter yourself! Pray you'll be born with a useful quirk in your next life!"

Izuku stared down the contents of his ruined notebook, the one Kacchan had just so cruelly thrown away. He sighed, and ran a pale hand through his oddly soft gemstone hair. He could feel himself holding back tears. Izuku wasn't sure what he expected. Sure there were times when Kacchan could be nice to him, but it could change in a matter of seconds.

Picking up the notebook, he stuffed it into his bag, and began making his way home. He kept his head low, avoiding the eyes of all around him. If anything, to Izuku, it was almost like hiding the shame of himself.

But by averting his eyes from the world, he didn't notice the sludge slowly creeping up to him, until it had the emerald in its grasp.

"Don't worry." Said a distorted voice that seemed to come from the slime "I'm just hijacking your body. Calm down. It'll only hurt for about 45 seconds... then it'll be all over"

Izuku could feel the slime all over him, it felt terrible! He worried he was going to crack and shatter apart! At least then he wont be a bother to Kacchan or his mother anymore, but he he still didn't want to die!"

"HAVE NO FEAR!"

Izuku's eyes widened through the pain. No way..

"FOR I! AM HERE!"

The sludge was suddenly gone, and Izuku found himself on the concrete below. He felt himself freeze up momentarily, before looking up and seeing his idol standing before him. Before passing out completely

He awoke to a hand slapping his cheek lightly.

"Are you alright my boy? Thought I'd lost you!"

Izuku scrambled to his feet, nodding furiously, he scrambled to grab his notebook, and asked his hero if he could sign it.

"Already done my boy! Now if you excuse me, I should really get this villain to the police!" Izuku was so lost in thought, that he forgot to ask the one thing he wanted to know, and without realizing, All Might was about to jump off.

All Might was about to leave, but Izuku had to ask! "W-wait!"

         ~*~

After an interesting second conversation in the sky. The hero and student now found themselves on top of a tall building.

"I'm sorry All Might! I just had to know! My quirk, it makes my body like a gemstone, and I can break with certain amounts of force, but even then! Could I still be a hero-?"

"A gemstone quirk?"

There was a sudden poof! And smoke, and once it cleared, Izuku shrieked in shock, All Might seemed to have deflated!

"A-all Might! W-what?"

All Might sighed, lifting up his now too large shirt to reveal a horrid looking injury.

"Now that you've seen this, please don't tell anyone but, I got this from a villain attack, five years ago. Right now, I can only do hero work for three hours a day. I had asked for this not to become public."

All Might stood, at the boy from his spot by the railings of the buildings edge.
"Pro heroes are always risking their lives, so with a quirk such as yours, that could break your body apart at any time, I'd have to say no, I'm sorry but you cannot be a hero."

All Might looked back at the child once more, from the door he had walked to in the time he had crushed Izuku's dreams "It's good to dream, but try to be realistic. With your quirk, you could be a police officer guiding citizens away from danger, or even a detective."

The he was gone, and wile Izuku had no physical injuries, he felt like his entire being just shattered into pieces.

Hopeless, Izuku began to drag himself home.

                ~*~

A boom shook Izuku out from his thoughts. Glancing up, he saw a crowd of people watching as the sludge monster, who All Might seemed to have lost, grasped its way at a hostage, and none was doing anything. Izuku gasped when he saw who exactly the hostage was.

"K-Kacchan! Why is no one doing anything!" Before he even knew it, Izuku was moving, he didn't realize he had moved until he heard yelling behind him, and when he was clawing at the sludge surrounding his only friend.

"What are you doing you idiot!" Bakugou yelled at him.

"You eyes!" He replied through tears "They looked like you were calling for help, and my legs just moved on their own!"

They struggled more, and it almost seemed helpless. The heroes still did nothing but sit back and yell that Izuku will die in vain.

"DETROIT SMASH!"

When suddenly...it was all over. All Might once again saved the day, and per usual, Bakugou was praised for his bravery and strength, and Izuku? Scolded for his stupidity. And once again, once they were alone, Kacchan yelled at him. For being stupid. Being a Deku. For almost breaking. For looking down on him. And once again, Izuku was alone. Until, he wasn't.

"I AM HERE!"

Izuku shrieked at the sudden appearance of All Might once again.

"All Might? Wh-what are you doing here?"

There was a cough of blood from his mouth, and he deflated. Izuku reeled back. Was he here to scold him again?

"My boy..."

Izuku flinched back at the voice. Fully prepared to have the shattered remains of his dreams stomped on.

"I was wrong."

Izuku looked up, surprised at what he was hearing. All Might on the other hand, was watching the boy with a serious expression on his thin face.

"I came here to thank you, and to also apologize for earlier. When I saw you, a boy ready to break himself to save another, it inspired me to stop watching from the sidelines, and to act as the hero I am."

All Might continued, and Izuku couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"There are stories about every hero, their bodies moved before they could even think, almost as if their bodies went into action before their minds did...What I'm trying to say is..."

Like a switch, Izuku realized what All Might was saying, and he felt his emerald eyes well up with tears, only to begin to drip down his freckled cheeks.

"My boy...you too, can become a hero."