AU: An entire chapter I got from the name: Deku.
"I think Deku sounds like you can do it!"
"What's your name?"
Again?
"It's Izuku Mi-"
"No kid, what's your name?"
"...Deku. I am Deku."
The name of a-
"You're a true hero."
"My hero...!"
"Mister Deku!"
"Deku!"
"Deku."
"Dekuuuu."
"Deku~"
"DEKU!"
"Hah, what's wrong Deku?! Why aren't you fighting back?!"
"What a Deku!"
"Look! You can read the last part of Izuku's name as Deku. Hmph, Deku. That must be what you call a helpless loser who's completely useless!"
Why...why do I still look up to you? Why can't I get over the fact you're so amazing!?
"Shut up Deku!"
"Pathetic Deku."
You're our hero Deku you're a loser!
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Deku.
It's a name that resides in familiarity.
It's a name that represented him fully: a helpless, useless loser- a true, aspiring hero.
It means useless- you can do it.
What?
Deku.
A strong, reliable hero in training who's saved countless people and always has a smile on his face. He'd soon be the Symbol of Hope, and his presence expressed safety (like All Might), empathy (like Thirteen) and intelligence (like Eraserhead).
Deku.
A weak, quirkless loser. No one cares about him, and even if they do- not enough. Someone to easily belittle (like nothing) ; a helpless target to shove down, down, down into the dirt (like he was trash), and make you seem high even when you're low (like deception).
Deku.
Deku...who does that really represent?
"It sounds kinda like you can do it!"
But when has that name ever resembled that?
For years, Deku has meant useless.
It was a promise that he would end up no-where in life.
A reminder that the label 'quirkless' cancelled out anything good about him: a solid 0, the ones at the very bottom of society.
And then a singular girl had flipped that aged promise around, switched up the angle he was so set in, into something completely different.
Turned useless into useful.
His classmates just kept reminding him of his new worth.
Reclaiming that name was a symbol of opening up to another life; one he had achieved.
But can he really let go off all the things attached to that name?
Maybe he could. Maybe he couldn't.
But in his heart, holding on to such a past wasn't something he wanted to do.
It wasn't something he wanted to dwell on anything longer.
He wanted to clutch that past decade, and let it go as one big burden he no longer had to carry.
But he couldn't.
Because that would be letting go of the things that shaped him, that shaped his beliefs, that shaped his personality and dreams.
So he didn't.
And Deku...
Deku is a name of honour.
It is a name of hope, a name of resilience, a name of embracing the darkness but welcoming the light.
It is a name of pain, a name of broken promises but new oaths, a name of starry skies but arising sunrise.
Deku...
Deku is the name of a hero and a child that seeked acceptance and found it.
Deku
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-was a true hero, one that shone against all the others.
One that fought for things no one else would.
One who not only saved people's bodies, but their hearts too.
One who reached far and wide, to help those everyone else looked past and away.
And I had once thought that he was a weak, quirkless loser that would never have achieved anything.
I thought I was the brave and mighty, the heroic one.
But truthfully, he was always the one that gave when he had nothing.
That helped everyone that didn't help him.
That spoke in other's silence.
People would be surprised that I, Katsuki Bakugou, the brash pro that seemed to hate his guts would cry at his funeral.
But I do care.
Because out of everyone, Deku's the one person who's never left my side; even when I left his.
He traded his life to save a thousand others this week.
He's risked his life to save possibly millions during his life.
Deku is someone who sacrificed themselves for other people to have a chance.
And... hasn't he always had to be the one to sacrifice?
Did he ever get the luxury of being given something he didn't have to chase after?
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A/N: Hey! Welp I personally do not like this one very much at all. I'd put it as one of the lower rankings out of this work. The whole not letting go of past meanings behind the name Deku was the original plan, but I couldn't really do much with it because I didn't get the flow: Midori's death and Katsuki's after thought was something (a little twist if I say so myself) that I added while writing, but ya know, I don't think it really fit into the overall flow.
So consequently, not very satisfied at this chapter, but hope you liked it anyways!
Have a Plus Ultra day!
'Till next time!