A car pulled over at the very same, broken down warehouse it has been to so many times. The young leader got off the vehicle, stepping into the building with a nervous look on his face. Inside the haunting structure, the flickering lights were like pairs of judgmental eyes, staring in disappointment at him. Finally reaching his destination, Izuku sat down on the chair facing his Sensei.
Despite not having much of a face, Izuku could sense the anger coming from his teacher. Not an extreme amount of anger, but more like the amount you'd receive from a disappointed father. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why, either, Izuku had not only failed to capture Shigaraki, but had also acted selfishly and in doing so, let the man escape, caused one of their strongest and newest members to turn on them, and cost them 3 of their Nomus.
Once Izuku was done drinking away all of him problems, he was immediately called by Kurogiri, who claimed his Sensei wanted to see him, which brings us to the twos current situation.
"I'm not going to explain to you what you did wrong, as I know you should be smart enough to figure that out yourself, but I am still disappointed to did it." All For One started to scold.
Izuku, hearing this, lowered his head in shame.
"I had lots of hope in you, poured as much of my heart into you as I did with my previous student, hoping you two wouldn't turn out the same way. This was the last thing I was expecting from someone like you, Izuku." He continued.
Hearing this, Izuku wanted to lash out deep down. Comparing him to Shigaraki struck a pretty sensitive spot in his heart. But he knew he couldn't do that, because he trusted his sensei, he knew that what his Sensei was speaking was true. He just had a hard time accepting it.
"I'm sorry Sensei." Izuku replied, "I overheard that All Might was giving Todoroki his quirk, and that he was sorry for not helping someone who needed help. That revelation put me on edge, I had it on the back of my head, constantly fueling my rage. I didn't think straight, I made so many dumb decisions, I... I..."
"It's alright, my child." All For One responded, as Izuku stopped talking to listen.
"You may have acted foolishly, like Shigaraki does, but unlike him, you're still young, you are still green, unsure about your own emotions, and in times, you'll have stuff from the past coming back to haunt you, but have no real way of controlling yourself. All of this, the things you went through, it's all part of you slowly growing up. But if you can confront your past trauma, the same trauma who has been throwing you off for all this time, then I guarantee, you will become a perfect successor for my quirk."
Izuku smiled at his sensei's comforting words.
"Really? You really think that?" Asked the young student.
"Of course I do, but beware, it isn't easy overcoming such a hurdle. In fact, Shigaraki was once in this very same situation." Explained the Villain.
"He was?"
"Oh yes. You see, Shigaraki wasn't always the man-child you know him as. Back when he was your age, he was just as determined, and smart as you. He had amazing potential and was willing to do anything to get what he wanted. Sadly, he failed to overcome his hatred of All Might, and in doing so, slowly became impatient that his plans and tactics weren't enough to kill him. In the end, he ditched all of the brilliance he had because his hate for All Might and the pro heroes blinded him." All For One explained.
Izuku thought for a moment.
"So this whole time, Shigaraki was a fallen leader, stuck in the past due to his grudges and unable to move on until he was done fighting the past." He speculated.
"And now, you are going down this same path. Will you be able to vanquish your inner demons though? Or will you end up the same, foolish puppet, completely dependent on the league to pull his weight?" All For One asked.
Suddenly, the lost fire of determination reignited as Izuku stood up valiantly.
"I'm going to overcome my past! My league needs to have a good leader to rely on, so I can't let them down!" Izuku exclaimed.
Seeing this, All For One smiled.
"One more thing Izuku." He said, extending his hand, "Your practical exams are coming up, and from the school files you leaked, you'll have to fight against the teachers."
Hearing this Izuku froze, knowing that he will have to face off against All Might.
"In such, as well as being punishment for your failure, I will be taking away your quirk. for this occasion." Explained the Sensei.
Upon hearing this, Izuku immediately started to protest.
"But... But Sensei! You can't do this to me! I can't do anything without my quirk! I can't go back to being weak! I can't..."
"Calm yourself my child!" All For One cut off, "You are so much stronger than you think. Back then, when I gave you your quirk, it was never to give you a fighting chance to enter Yuuei. Rather, I needed to give you something that can boost your confidence!"
"My... confidence?" Izuku asked.
"You keep on victimizing yourself for not having a quirk, which I can understand. But I couldn't let your lack of self-belief hold you back. Sometimes, even the best geniuses will think themselves as idiots for not being good at the things they're not at. So to make sure you can use your brain to the fullest without your thoughts of being quirkless get in your way, I gave you a quirk to compensate for it. Though now, I feel like I may have spoiled you a bit, a contributing factor to your outburst." Explained All For One.
"But, what about the sports festival? or my fight with Kacchan? Or me getting into Yuuei? My quirk played a huge role in those parts!" Pleaded the young boy.
"And what about your villain career's beginning, where you earned enough reputation to get noticed by the league? What about your first mission, where you managed to retrieve a quirk enhancer drug that's been playing a huge role in our league ever since? What about the USJ incident, where you struck a huge blow to the reputations of heroes, and only failed due to a betrayal not even I could predict? What about the HQ raid you masterminded or Endeavor, who's pride you've broken? Your biggest accomplishments were all thanks to your brilliant mind. Your quirk played no part in any of those except for one thing, to make sure you don't think about your weakness." He replied.
That revelation left Izuku bewildered. He never thought of it before, but his quirks never really did too much for him. He now knew that this whole time, he was blinded my his past self, constantly yelling at himself that he was nothing without quirks that he never realized how powerful he really was, even without quirks. It was all clear to him, he needed to break the chains of the past holding him back. That was his next big step. No longer scared, he walked up to his Sensei, and with a rough, calloused palm place on his head, he felt his quirk leave his body, reverting him back to his old self. But he no longer felt helpless, instead, he felt like he had returned to his true self.
There was no more weak, quirkless little Deku, no more wimpy, stuttering Izuku, there was only Mightless.
Days went by, after the break, and Class A was finally back in action. Their first after-break course: Rescue training. To summarize, teams of five must reach the center of Testing Field Gamma, another multi-million dollar test ground that made Izuku question Japan's economic choices, to reach a distress signal that All Might sent off to quote on quote "save" him.
Izuku was paired with Iida, Sero, Mina and Ojiro, all very mobility focused students, especially the first two. having lost the ability to manipulate his breath was a major step back for the kid, and he was shaking in fear under his uniform, much like he use to long ago. Even Katsuki took notice, as he started to laugh at him.
"Focus Izuku, Focus! remember what Sensei said! My true talent is not my quirk! it's not the quirk!" Thought Izuku as he made his way to the starting line, "Oh who am I kidding, how the hell am I gonna make it in such a short amount of time?!"
As the starting gun was fired, the students rocketed off, leaving Izuku behind. As the young teen struggled to keep up, thoughts keep rushing back to his head.
"I knew it! I'm nothing without my quirk! I can't do this! I can't..."
Suddenly, his foot slipped, as he plummeted down the building he was on. Upon falling down, all he could feel are regrets.
"This was all my fault, If only I hadn't betrayed Stain I would..." He Thought before a memory suddenly hit him, "Wait a minute, Stain jumps off buildings all the time and lands safely, but his quirk isn't what allows him to do so, so he must have used technique!"
Slowly trying to piece together how Stain did it, he remembered seeing him in action time and time again. Latch on the one wall, leap to the next, Bend the knees, square the shoulders, don't look down. Slowly, his heart pumped with excitement, he was moving forward, galloping, leaping, not with quirks, but with what he was best at: analyzing. That was his talent all along, one that he had ditched after obtaining a quirk.
Picking up where he left off, he dug into the vaults of his memory to remember every move he had analysed, trained in the past, observed. His body was in full auto pilot while he reached deep into his mind to find the next move. Iida, who was halfway there, suddenly saw a figure run by him, whose movements made him shudder in fear for a brief moment.
"Stain?" He said to himself, "No, it's Midoriya! But why do his movements seem so... similar?"
Eventually, the course ended, with Izuku coming in third, but he didn't care, he knew that now, he no longer needed his quirk to exact his revenge.
Towards the end of the day however, Aizawa made an announcement.
"With summer coming up, it would be quite irrational to give you all a month off, hence, you'll all be taking a summer training camp in the woods." Explained the teacher.
This was always the best part of the day to the kid, seeing what special event was coming up to find a way to ruin them. And now, with the entire class isolated in the woods, he can just imagine the headlines prior to the camp. Massacre at Yuuei Training Camp, Heroes fails to protect Students. He couldn't wait for another big heist, it had been quite a while since he could have fun messing with heroes, and he knew the league was thinking the same thing, but first, he needed to overcome one last hurdle: His blinding hatred for All Might.
Flash Forward To June...
"Crap! i totally got wrapped up by the internship and sports festival that I forgot to study!" Yelled a frustrated Kaminari.
It was a week before the finals, both written and practical, of course, the written phase didn't phase Izuku one bit. After realizing his true talents, his class ranking skyrocketed past that of Katsuki and Iida's nearly even catching up to Momo's. Sadly, two 100s could only pull Izuku's notes up so much as his average couldn't possibly compare to Momo's perfect 100 record. Although, in terms of practical, she seemed quite stressed out. He heard that apparently, Momo had lost all confidence ever since her loss to Tokoyami during the sports festival.
Of course, the boy couldn't care less, he doesn't really mind any of his class mates in fact, they are all but pawns to him. Though he can name out a few exceptions, notably Ochaco, Iida, Todoroki and, to his surprise, Katsuki. As time went on, he's really starting to understand less and less about his former bully. The once loud mouthed, nitroglycerin filled balloon seemed a lot more tame, a lot less triggered, and, to some extend, even more... mellow, but only towards other students, he's still a full time asshole to him. He's often seen chatting with Kirishima, who seemed to be the only student in the whole school to intentionally approach him without being told to do so as a 1000 yen dare.
"Yo! Deku!"
Speak of the devil.
"Hey! Are you deaf or something!? I've been calling you for 5 minutes!" Yelled the spike-haired teen to his green haired punching bag.
Letting out an annoyed groan, Izuku turned to him.
"Yeah? what is it Kacchan?" Asked Izuku, expecting another ten minutes of death threats.
"You've been quite dodgy recently! trying to avoid me or something? maybe I'm scaring you too much, you pussy?" The bag of explosives started.
"Just because I'm not in your line of sight 24/7 doesn't mean I don't exist Kacchan! do you really think I only exist to be your stepping stone?" Izuku asked back in a sort of pissed off passive aggressive tone he's been using to talk to the guy.
"Yeah! Like I only need ONE stepping stone. You are all just hurdles ya hear me? And I don't appreciate the fact that you're all just gonna overlook me! It's been so damn annoying to have everyone just overlook the top dog of this class! Well I hope you all prepare, because I'm gonna blow up this fucking practical exam with an explosion so big, you will all be worshiping me by the end of this!" He yelled, "Even you, Todoroki!"
Slamming the door behind him, he stomped down the hall.
The rest of the class was silenced by the outburst.
"I haven't seen Bakugo so serious in a while." Commented Kirishima.
"Uneasiness? Or perhaps sheer hatred?" Wondered Tokoyami.
A week flew by, and before anyone knew it, it was the day of the practical exam. Izuku had learned about the revision, making the students fight the teachers, wondering whether his ideas influenced this change or not. What he wasn't expecting, was who he was paired up against: Katsuki Bakugo. And their opponent? Or course All Might, cause why not?
While driving the duo to the testing grounds, Izuku stared at the hero from head to toe, trying to hold back the urge to just pull out a knife and stab him in the lungs. Looking at how confident he was, ignorant of what he had created made him so sick, he had to excuse himself to go vomit prior to embarking onto the bus. Katsuki, on the other hand, sensed that his childhood friend was beaming with so much anger, it was like looking at himself in the mirror.
"Deku... what's going on with you?" Katsuki asked himself.
As the two got off, All Might explained the rules to the two. They had to either escape the compound, or handcuff the villain. Izuku, during this explanation, was biting his tongue on the inside, preventing him from lashing out like how he did with Katsuki during their combat training way back when. As the test started, Izuku rushed into the compound, with Katsuki quickly following.
"HEY! SLOW THE FUCK DOWN YOU SHITTY NERD!" Yelled Katsuki, a phrase he never thought he would say. He was just as determined at beating All Might, but seeing someone so wimpy and weak, that would usually freak out at the mere sight of the hero emit such an aura of hatred towards his idol, he began wondering what happened to Izuku during all this time.
Izuku didn't answer, he was afraid that merely opening his mouth would have his anger pour out. Instead, he just kept on running.
"DEKU! FOR FUCK SAKE! CAN YOU AT LEAST TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK YOU'RE PLAN HERE IS?" Asked Katsuki.
No Answer.
"DEK-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP FOR FUCK SAKE AND LET ME MASSACRE THIS SON OF A BITCH IN PEACE, WOULD YA!?" Izuku snapped at Katsuki.
The sudden yelling made his stop in his tracks. He never heard him talk in such a tone, the fact that he would even refer to All Might as a Son of a Bitch was unfathomable. Suddenly, a strong shockwave was felt, as the buildings nearby were blown away. All Might, despite handicapped, was still packing quite a punch as he emerged from the rising dust.
"Massacre me?" Asked All Might with a naive tone, "Good Luck with that."
Upon seeing this, Katsuki entered a fighting stance, while Izuku looked into his eyes. Those same, naive pair of eyes that looked down upon him when he crushed his dreams that faithful day. The sae pair of eyes that looked down on him, hypocritically since he was quirkless too.
"Think of this as test." All Might explained, "I'm the villain, Heroes, so give me your best shot."
The "Villain" then came charging at the two like a mad bull. Upon seeing this, Katsuki turned to his partner.
"Listen, I got this covered, so don't get in my way!" Katsuki told his partner.
"Shut the fuck up Katsuki! He's mine!" Izuku yelled out, losing both his cool and his habit of calling Katsuki by his given nickname.
Seeing the student charging at him, All Might sent another punch at him, but as the smoke cleared once more, he was met in the face with a stop sign.
"Don't think I was just sitting around studying All Might!" Izuku yelled, continually striking his weak point, "I've been training day and night for one goal, to beat you!"
"This kid, he keeps going for my battle wound, does he know about it or is this just a coincidence?" Thought All Might, "Either Way, it won't be enough!"
He grabbed Izuku by the leg, slamming him into the ground.
"A little weak barrage like that hurts, but only a little." All Might commented, before getting hit by an explosion from behind.
"Don't turn your back on me!" Katsuki yelled at him.
As he launched another explosion, All Might punched right through it, sending a fist flying at Katsuki, but the latter rocketed himself into the air, flipping behind him, trying to land a hit, but crashed into a charging Izuku.
As the duo fought the number one pro hero, Recovery girl watched from her tent.
"Both have different reasons for wanting to beat All Might, one seems to be a very gifted student that had made it clear that he just wants to have everyone acknowledge his superiority, so his desire to beat All Might is justified." Thought the old Lady, "Although, what reason would Izuku have for wanting to beat the hero? It almost seems as though his anger is... Grudge-driven?"
Once again, Izuku got up from getting knocked over, pushing Katsuki out of the way.
"For the last time, stop charging recklessly into the freight, you're getting in my way!" Yelled Katsuki.
"Shut it, Kacchan, I'll win! I will beat this hypocritical bastard I can't stand!" Izuku responded angrily.
Suddenly, memories of Izuku watching All Might on TV while holding his action figure came to his mind. The amount of joy drawn on Izuku's young face at the sight of the hero completely contrasts the Izuku he was facing currently.
Suddenly, All Might came down with a guard rail, pinning down Katsuki, before turning around a punching Izuku in the stomach, sending him flying away several feet.
"You stay put, Young Bakugo, I'll take care of your partner first." He said before turning towards Izuku, who was struggling to get up.
As the hero made his way to the downed Student, Katsuki tried to pull himself out of the guardrail, as more and more flashbacks came of him, cheering for All Might to win.
"All Might is just the coolest!" A young Izuku said, looking at the supermarket TV broadcast, "I wanna be a hero like him when I grow up!"
Back in the present, All Might squatted down to Izuku, who was still gasping for air.
"I apologize if this ruins your view of me, Young Midoriya. But for the sake of you being a better hero, this is necessary. I hope you understand me." All Might apologized.
"It's true, He does, no matter what happens, Deku would never lose faith in All Might!" thought Katsuki, almost free from his rail prison.
"Can it, All Might, the way I view you hasn't changed a bit." Izuku grunted, "You were always a hypocritical piece of shit to me!"
Upon hearing this, Katsuki broke out of the guardrails, running to the two as All Might as about to finish him off.
"Jerk..." He cried out, nailed Izuku across the face, exploding All Might in the face in the process "A hypocritical piece of shit!? The Deku I knew would never have called All Might such a thing!"
As All Might was dazed by Katsuki, the two fled into an alleyway.
"Let go of me!" Yelled Izuku
"Shut up!"
Suddenly, Katsuki's tone changed to a much more commanding level headed one, like he really was talking to someone who was his equal, a rarity for Katsuki.
"I don't have any tactics for beating All Might, I never did!" Katsuki explained.
"What!?"
"I don't have any because that's your job! You always relied on your brain over brawn, because you knew you couldn't do anything without a quirk! Your mind, as much as I hate to admit it, is your greatest weapon, even better then mine, so how about you USE it like you used to!?" Asked Katsuki, "After all, someone who just charges head first into whatever problem until it works, it isn't you, is it?"
Another flashback fades in.
"Damn! they took apart the the bridge!" Cried one of Katsuki's friends.
"The gap isn't too big, I say we jump it!" Katsuki cheered as he readied his jump.
Sadly, his jump failed, and he splashed into the water. wiping off the mud, he heard laughter coming from the other side.
"Oh my god Katsuki look at you!" His friends, who were now on the other side laughed.
"What the... how did you..."
"Your friend Izuku here gave us the idea of using my leaf manipulation quirk as wings to glide us across!" Explained the skinnier one.
"What the... how did he?"
"Simple! You just got to think outside the box!" Answered a young Izuku.
The memories faded as tears leaked out of Izuku's eyes, his senses returning to him.
"I'm such a fool."
Meanwhile, All Might dashed across the wrecked city, trying to find the two, heading closer to the exit, as he predicted they would be fleeing. Suddenly, Katsuki came barreling out of one of the corners of one of the heavy damaged buildings that All Might punched. As he was about to counter him, he realized, both of Katsuki's gauntlets were missing.
"DEKU, NOW!"
Suddenly, after Katsuki blinded All Might with an explosion, Izuku jumped out of cover, emptying the sweat reserve of one of Katsuki's gauntlets onto All Might as well as propelling him closer to the exit. Katsuki, however, was caught in the explosion, and knocked out. Seeing this, Izuku dropped one of his gauntlets, making a mad dash for the exit.
However, just as he was about to make it, All Might appeared once again.
"It's gonna take more than that to keep me down!" Said All Might.
Izuku tried using his other gauntlet, but All Might smashed it.
"You're gonna regret doing that to me!"
Izuku tried fighting back, but it was no use, and soon enough, the fight was no more than a one sided beatdown. Eventually, after seeing the state he was in, All Might stopped.
"You should have thought ahead before leaving your friend behind, he could be helping you by then." All Might lectured.
Izuku, however, smiled back.
"But I didn't leave him behind."
Suddenly, All Might's eyes widened, as he took a look at the nearby roads, and, only 10 to 20 meters away from the exit was Katsuki.
"So he was pretending to be knocked out huh?" All Might said as he ran to Katsuki at top speed, "Well Played, but not good enough."
Suddenly, Katsuki turned to All Might, pointing at him one of the gauntlets that Izuku dropped. Seeing this, All Might realized what that meant.
"So Young Midoriya dropped the unused one for Young Bakugo, well played."
Another giant explosion was heard, as All Might was once again, sent back several meters, as Katsuki then charged through the exit seconds after Todoroki and Momo's victory had been announced. It wasn't a complete victory, but he will take it. Izuku, on the other hand, smiled in satisfaction. He looked at All Might, but felt no more rage. He had done it, he had overcome his weakness.
"I did it Sensei..." Izuku uttered to himself, "I'm no longer like Shigaraki."
To Be Continued...