I've always loved Midoriya, even before I knew what that word meant. But isn't that how it's supposed to go? Doesn't everyone fall for their best friend? At thirteen, I was convinced that that was the reality, that this was how it was for everyone. But hell, what do I know? Just thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach.
And here I am, slacked in my chair thinking about it again. The taste of metal filled my mouth as I gnawed on the end of my pencil, staring off into space while the teacher rambled about hero shit or something like that. Didn't matter to me. I was one of the two losers in this room who didn't have a Quirk. If I had one though, I'd beat the hell outta that blonde prick over there—
"Whatcha got there, Deku?" Bakugo, a boy with spiked blonde hair, laughed as he ripped Midoriya's notebook away from his desk.
"Give it back, Kacchan!" Midoriya, a skinny little nerd with a pair of green eyes and shaggy green hair, whined. His attempt was breathy as it was obvious he was tired of being picked on.
"Or what? You gonna use your Quirk on me?" Bakugo smirked. Arrogance spread across his entitled face like a forest fire as he glared down at Midoriya with his notebook dangling above his head. "Oh wait, you're Quirkless!"
Laughter erupted from Bakugo's henchmen in support. I watched as Midoriya's breath hitched in his throat. His fists balled as frustration overflowed. All I could do was watch from my desk which was two rows behind him with my lips pulled back in anger.
"Let's take a look at your diary, shall we?" Bakugo continued. He ripped the book open, nearly tearing the spine in half. Pages began to hang crooked as they tore from the hinges.
Midoriya sat there with wide eyes. He didn't move. He didn't say a word. Once again, he was being trampled on by the scum of the Earth. I had enough.
"Hey Bakugo!" I called to him. Instantly, his head turned and his red eyes met mine. Midoriya's head turned over his shoulder and the goons that stood behind Bakugo looked my way, too.
Without much time in between, I gripped my pencil and chucked it. I would've expected Bakugo to dodge since he claims his reflexes are that of a pro's, but the damn thing hit him right in the cheekbone. He recoiled back and nearly tripped over Midoriya's backpack. Gasps erupted from those standing around them as their eyes wandered to the blonde prick.
"Bakugo!" One of his sidekicks gasped. "Are you okay, man?"
Bakugo stood subdued with his hand over the spot that the pencil hit. At his feet, lay my chewed-up pencil with a piece of lead chipped off the tip. Our eyes remained locked; mine narrowed and his wide. His gaze reflected the thoughts, 'how dare you' and 'I'm about to kill you' at the same time. He removed his hand and a single droplet of blood glided down his pale cheek.
"What's going on back there?" The teacher's voice sounded with anger tainting his tone. Bakugo whipped around to face him, his red eyes blazing with fury.
"She just cut me!"
"He's harassing Midoriya, mister!" I countered.
A vein appeared across the teacher's forehead and his hand retreated to cover his eyes. There was a long moment of silence as the teacher contemplated what to do with us. This was a normal occurrence since Midoriya couldn't stand up for himself. But I'm willing to suffer the consequences so that people like Bakugo don't get what they want.
"All of you, Principal's office. Now." He slammed a hand on his desk, leaning against it to support the weight of our burden.
"Are you kidding me?!" Bakugo complained. The droplet was dangling from his jawline now.
"Oh don't act so innocent!" I hissed as I jumped out of my seat, unfazed by my thousandth punishment.
"You too, Midoriya," the teacher grumbled.
"Huh?!" Midoriya cried while whipping around to face the teacher. "What did I do?"
"He didn't do anything!" I defended.
"I don't care, get out." The teacher sighed. I gritted my teeth and turned my head to look at Bakugo who was snickering to himself. "Now!" He reinforced with more of a shout than a suggestion.
I began shuffling through the seats to exit the room. The chair Midoriya was sitting in scratched the floor as he defeatedly scooted himself from behind his desk. The three of us exited the room.
Once we cleared the doorway, I could feel Bakugo's hot breath tickle the back of my ear as he walked behind me. "You're gonna regret that, Yatsu!"
Yatsu. A cute little nickname he gave me back when we were six. It was his way of telling me how much he hates me. Cute, right?
I just rolled my eyes and quickened my pace. As we headed for the Principal's office, I left the building through the closest exit.
"Where are you going, Ki?" Midoriya paused right outside the doors. "We have to go to the office!"
"Yeah like hell I am," I scoffed, holding the door open for him to follow. "If my mom gets another phone call from the school she'll kill me and then bring me back to write an apology for leaving a mess."
"But you'll be in even more trouble if you just leave," he tried to reason with me through his wide gaze but I didn't fall for it. Not this time. I just shrugged and turned away, letting the door fall closed.
It didn't take long until the doors burst wide again and Midoriya came running after me. He reached for my arm and spun me to face him.
"What Midoriya?"
"Thank you." He said, our eyes locking. The tension between us stabbed at him, making him drop my arm and fidget with his hands. "For sticking up for me."
I raised a brow.
"...again," he grinned nervously.
I planted my hands on my hips and grinned with my chin upturned. "Y'know, you talk all this stuff about being a hero but you keep getting pushed around by Bakugo of all people." His eyes fell. "You're gonna have to start sticking up for yourself if you're gonna go to U.A."
His eyes perked up and a smile appeared.
"Because I won't be there to tell Bakugo off for you." I let my eyes beam into his. Ever since we were kids, Midoriya has always wanted to be a hero. Unfortunately, like me, he never developed a Quirk like the rest of our classmates. We were cursed with the rest of the twenty percent without a power or ability. Despite all that, his dream was to go to the most prestigious hero school: U.A. and become the greatest hero of all time.
Did I believe he could do it? Of course I did. But even so, it made me sad to see him struggle so much just to believe that he could—because he didn't believe in himself. To him, it was just another dream.
"I don't know about all that," Midoriya grinned while scratching the back of his head. "U.A. only has a .2% acceptance rate."
"So?" I scoffed. "If you really think that Bakugo could get in, then you're crazy to believe that you can't." Sometimes I lied to him, though. It was true that Bakugo was an asshole, but he had an amazing Quirk and had potential. I hated to admit it, but he'd probably get in just like he said he would. Compared to him, Midoriya couldn't stand a chance in a fight.
"Yeah, well—"
Suddenly, my eye caught the sight of the doors opening and Bakugo charging into Midoriya, sending him crashing into me. We fell to the ground and Bakugo came to stand over us.
"You really think I could let you get away with your little stunt?" He hissed through clenched teeth.
I gathered my legs under me and slowly came to a standing position. When I dusted my hands off, I noticed that they were scraped and droplets of blood littered my palms. I inhaled through my teeth before facing Bakugo.
"What the hell is your problem?"
"Quirkless bastards like you that think they can do whatever they want!"
Midoriya hopped back onto his feet and turned to face us. His pants were ripped at the knees and dirt covered his hands. "Leave us alone, Kacchan."
"No shot!" He barked. He held his hands out in front of him, tiny explosions glowing back and forth between his fingers. "You have to pay for what you did!"
Midoriya shifted and stepped in front of me. My eyes looked him up and down with annoyance. The poor boy was shaking like a leaf! I softly pushed him aside before stepping to stand equally with him. No one fights my battles for me.
"Oh now you decide to stand up to me?" Bakugo smirked. "Now I can kick your ass once and for all!"
"I won't let you do whatever you want, Kacchan! Bullies never win!" Midoriya battled, slowly bringing his fists up.
Here we go.
"Come on, Deku!" Kacchan spat. His teeth poked out so far that his gums showed. His pupils were so small that all you could see were circles of red—circles of insanity. "I'll let you have the first punch!"
Midoriya hesitated. He held his fingers so tight that his knuckles began to turn white. It didn't matter how many people believed in him because he always had that nagging self-doubt at the forefront of his brain. He was his greatest obstacle.
I was getting ready to push him aside and resolve this on my own like I always did when the sound of screaming made our eyes widen and our heads turn.
We all paused and dropped our hands, our bodies turning to follow the sound. The ground underfoot began to tremble and shrieks of terror grew louder and closer. Midoriya and I exchanged looks of fear.
Something I forgot to mention: in our world of fantastical abilities and freaky mutations, the good of those who inherited an honest ability was countered by those who used their power for evil. There were villains in our world that wanted to hurt us for no better reason than to have power over good people. And they were everywhere.
"RUN!" A young woman, dressed in a black skirt and white button up screamed as she ran past us. As she passed, I saw that her white shirt was covered in blotches of blood.
A dozen others, if not more, came trampling after her. They pushed and shoved each other as they tried to outrun whatever was chasing them. One boy and a middle-aged woman ran right through us, shoving Midoriya and me apart as they had not a single care for anyone but themselves. I fell to the ground, scrambling to get to my feet. By then, an entire crowd had engulfed the three of us and was in retreat.
"MIDORIYA!" I called. My heartbeat quickened and the blood drained from my face in fear.
"YUKI!" His voice sounded amongst the screaming. Endless bodies rammed into me, knocking me back and forth like a ping-pong ball. No matter what, though, I had to stay standing.
"OUTTA MY WAY, DAMMIT!" My eyes and ears perked up when Bakugo's voice sounded awfully close. Desperate against the fleeing crowd, I stepped up onto my tippy-toes and scanned the horde. Within ten feet to my left, I caught sight of Bakugo's spikey blonde hair standing up against the crowd. He too was being swallowed and spit out by the crowd.
"BAKUGO!" I called to him. I squeezed between the warm bodies, suffocating myself as I shoved through people. "Over here!"
As reluctant as he was to acknowledge my voice, his red eyes darted all around to find me. When our eyes met, he started in my direction.
"Have you seen Midoriya?!" My voice trembled once we met. "I can't find him!"
"No!" His eyes were narrowed and his teeth were clenched so hard that they bulged at his jawline. He didn't have to admit it, but I could tell that he was scared.
A curdling sound filled the air. Whatever it was, it was getting closer. Suddenly, a man was flung into the air and quickly disappeared back into the crowd with a thud. A scream escaped my mouth in horror, but I quickly covered it with my hand.
But the screaming became never ending once a murky ooze pooled onto the ground. Bakugo quickly grabbed my arm and dragged me as far as we could get. But there were too many people.
As the ooze gathered, a sludge-like monster formed in the center of the horde. It towered fifteen or so feet and had bulging eyes and pointy teeth. At once, everyone began to scramble, freeing up some space for Bakugo and I to run. But Bakugo took off without me.
Prick! I thought. But he was quickly wiped from my mind once I saw the familiar green hair in the distance. Midoriya stood on the other side of the villain, his feet plastered to the ground in fear.
"MIDORIYA! RUN, DAMMIT!" I shouted with my hands cupped over my mouth. But he couldn't hear me. I eyed the villain and then eyed him. I gritted my teeth as I contemplated what to do. "I'm gonna regret this..." I whispered before going full sprint toward Midoriya. I slipped past the sludge villain and bumped into Midoriya.
"Yuki!" He exclaimed, returning to reality.
"Move your ass! Go!" I turned him and pushed him to get a move on.
Just as I thought we were in the clear, a chill wrapped around my waist and I stopped moving. I whipped my head around to see the devilish grin on the villain's face. It began pulling me towards it, its slimy grasp engulfing my body. I began to kick and scream, clawing at the sludge.
Midoriya spun on his heels and came to a stuttering stop. "YUKI!" He screeched. "HOLD ON!" He began running at the villain.
No! You don't have a Quirk, idiot! I silently cursed. A blood-curdling shriek sounded from the villain as it slowly dragged me across the ground. Looking behind me and locking eyes with it made the air deplete from my lungs. I clawed at the ground, gasping for air as a new type of fear swept over me. My body went cold but my forehead and chest burned. I wanted to scream, to call for help but when I opened my mouth, no words would come out. It was like I was in one of those dreams where you're running in slow motion and can't scream for help. I was paralyzed with a fear that I never imagined possible in real life.
The sludge villain had pulled me from the ground and dangled me in the air, holding me over its pitless mouth. I trembled in its grasp as the sludge encased me from my feet to my neck. My breaths became more and more shallow, squeaks of horror sounding as it pulled me closer to its jaws.
The monster shrieked again. But in pain. I stopped breathing again when a smoke cover made the villain disappear from my sight. It was only seconds until the sludge around my arms and legs slithered from my clothes and I was dropped to the ground. Landing on my shoulder, I grunted in pain before looking behind me to see Bakugo jumping into the crossfire. My eyes went round when I realized that he was the one to save me. He exploded the limb that dangled me over the jaws of death.
Now, my tormentor stood in front of the villain, sending explosion after explosion. "Stand the hell up, Yatsu!" Bakugo growled over his shoulder. But the villain didn't stumble at the opportunity. While looking back at me, Bakugo was swooped up by the sludge and was dragged into the air. Bakugo began to merge with the monster as he was submerged into the belly of the beast.
"BAKUGO!" I screamed. At that moment, the boney arms of a familiar boy hooked under my armpits and brought me to stand. I looked behind me. "Midoriya!"
"I have to help him!" A desperate, but scared look glazed the green eyes of my best friend. I scanned his eyes, looking for something that would help me convince him to stay behind. I looked back to Bakugo, who was helpless in the clutches of the villain and felt the same way. We need to help him!
"I'm going with you!" Our eyes remained focused on each other for another moment before he nodded to me. At once, we sprinted to the villain, dodging the flames of objects that Bakugo had lit aflame with his explosions.
When we reached the sludge, we clawed at the slime and tried to dig Bakugo free. But it was no use. Midoriya backed away from the villain and scanned the area. In the distance lay his backpack splayed open, books pouring out of it. He raced to grab one before chucking it at the villain and hitting it in the eye. The monster recoiled, loosening its grip on Bakugo. Bakugo sputtered out slime, inhaling hard to replenish the lungs that were suffocating just seconds before.
I continued to dig at the villain despite it not being much help. I raised an arm, reaching higher on its stature when a shadow made my vision go dark. The sound of metal slicing close to my ear made my blood drain and skin go cold again. Blood rained on my face and the feeling of wind brushing past where my arm should've been left me paralyzed. When the shadow vanished, I looked over at my arm. But it wasn't there.
"YUKI!" Midoriya screamed, his cry piercing my ears until a ringing filled them.
Too shocked and too afraid to move, the slicing of metal sounded again. My eyes never left where my arm used to be, even when I felt the same gust of wind near my kneecap. I dropped to the ground, laying out on my back as blood gushed out of my shoulder and knee.
There it was again. The shadow scored over me, a new slash cutting through the flesh on my neck and ripping it wide open. The last thing I remember is my head bobbing to one side, my eyes blurring as Midoriya came running at me with tears in his eyes. I was too stunned to understand what was happening to me—to react to the pain I should've felt. I was numb all over.
But I remember being so afraid. And I remember asking so many damn questions. Was I dying? No! This can't be it for me! What about Midoriya? This'll break him! What about Bakugo? Is he alive? Did he make it? I have to know!
But that shadow made it to me before Midoriya did. Maybe if he had been quicker I would've been able to find out. Maybe I would've made it. But in an instant, the world went black and I vanished.
I think I died.