Chapter Text
All men are not created equally. A somber truth a boy had become all too familiar with from the young age of four. In a superpowered society where quirks determined the very worth of an individual Izuku Midoriya had the misfortune of being born without one and thus was seen as useless and disregarded by everyone around him. Regardless, Midoriya aimed to be a hero. Heroes were revered and worshipped by all, the pinnacle of society. Midoriya had always looked up to them even before he knew who they were, he wanted to be them. Like his personal idol, All Might, the number one hero, he aspired to be a beacon of hope and to save everyone with a smile. The plan was always to take the UA admittance exams, become a hero and be that beacon of hope. Now standing at the edge of a bridge, staring at the ground below, Midoriya wondered where it all went wrong.
Perhaps it was the moment his idol told him to give up on his dreams because he could never become a hero quirkless. Or maybe it was when Bakugo, his childhood friend, stopped seeing him as a person but rather worthless trash, a deku. Or maybe it was the night when he first found out he was quirkless, his mother apologizing over and over again as though it was her fault he was born that way. But deep down Midoriya knew his dream was doomed from the start, he tried to ignore that feeling. ‘Don’t worry about what others think, hold your head up high and plunge forward’ he always told himself. A personal mantra he had to cope. Overtime he would find that mantra to be stifling and suffocating. How was he to ignore those around him when it seemed like the whole world was against him? How was he to hold his head up high when it seemed like life was always beating him down? How was he supposed to plunge forward when words like ‘worthless’ and ‘useless’ followed him wherever he went? How was he supposed to be a hero when he couldn’t even save himself from his personal hell? Maybe he’d take Kacchan’s advice after all. Perhaps his next life wouldn’t be so miserable, and he would get a quirk. He hoped it was a powerful one. As bleak as that sounded it provided some comfort to Midoriya. He smiled as he inched closer to the edge, the evening breeze swaying his green locks.
Ironically, it was a beautiful day. It was peak autumn, so the leaves were various shades of brown, red, and orange. The stuffy and warm summer air was replaced by the cool and refreshing breeze of fall. The bridge he chose was an extremely narrow and abandoned one, that overlooked a long since dried-up river, overtaken by various trees and wildlife. He tried to enjoy the scenery as much as he could one last time, tiny drops of rain pricking his skin now and then. Finally, he worked up the courage to climb over the bridge railing so there was nothing preventing him from the other side. He was almost there, one more step and it would all be over. Stretching his hands outwards on both sides, he let the evening breeze wash over him, to push him further towards the edge. Goodbye everyone.
Just one more step, one more step and it would all be over. He wouldn’t have to live this wretched life he was cursed with. Just one more step and he wouldn’t have to be looking over his shoulders anymore, anticipating the next beating. Just one more step and he wouldn’t be a burden on his poor mother, she wouldn’t have to worry about a useless son like him. Just one more step and he would finally be free. All he had to do was take that last step, so why couldn’t he? Why did his body freeze up and refuse to move another inch? Why did his hands grip the rails refusing to let go? Why couldn’t he bring himself to take that last step no matter how much he willed it?
Against his wishes, his body scrambled back over to the safe side of the rails, where his legs gave out and he sunk to the ground. He couldn’t go through with it. He truly was a coward. He didn’t have the courage to live his life, nor did he have the courage to end it. He really was the useless and pathetic deku everyone made him out to be. They were all right, his teachers, his classmates, Kacchan, even his own mother. He’d never be a hero; he’d never amount to anything. He hugged his knees close to his chest and hung his head between them, a pitiful attempt to comfort himself. His body trembled with uncontrollable sobs, his cheeks burning with hot tears. He tried to stifle the sobs, to wipe away his tears, but it was no use, he was just so angry and bitter and tired and sad, oh so very sad. His vision blurred and muddled the warm tones of the autumn evening into a greyish mess. The cool breeze turned piercing cold and racked his body with wild shivers. He wanted to cry out, to scream, to shout, to curse the world and everything in it. He had just tried to kill himself and no one was there to stop him; there was no hero there to save him. He hugged himself tighter trying once more to still the sobs, but he could not contain it. His cries, his pleas, his screams, drowned out by the roar of the rain on the pavement. Still, he cried out more, he cried and cried until his voice was raw. He screamed and screamed until he had nothing left to give, his voice too sore to continue. Then he sat in silence, his voice a mangled, grated mess. Still the tears didn’t stop. He didn’t know how long he stayed like that, perhaps it was only a couple of minutes, perhaps it was a couple of hours. Time seemed to have slowed, dragging at a crawling pace. His swirling thoughts were slowly drowned out by the thundering rain.
What awoke him from the dream-like trance was the softest purr. He lifted his head up in confusion only to be met with a piercing gaze from beautifully deep hazel eyes. The intruder meowed at him and Izuku could only stare dumbfounded wondering how the black cat found its way onto the bridge.
“HEY KITTY! WHERE ARE YOU?” Izuku’s silent pondering interrupted by a new foreign voice that was probably calling for the cat in front of him. He quickly wiped the tears that was still falling, trying to compose himself. Then he carefully picked up the cat who thankfully didn’t resist too much, only mewing softly in reply. Izuku hugged the cat closely, the feline blinking slowly in satisfaction earning a tiny curve on his lips. He set off to the direction of the foreign voice he identified to belong to a girl.
Not long after he found who the voice belonged to, it was a girl who looked to be about the same age as him. In the distance he could see that she was dressed in a white sweater like turtleneck and simple black jeans with a pair of white converses, holding a simple black umbrella. He stared at the familiar book in the stranger’s hand, it was one of his analysis books for the future, the 13th edition. It was tattered and the pages were barely holding together with the damage by the burn marks, courtesy of Kacchan. The stranger ran towards him looking relieved.
You found her! The stranger exclaimed as she caught up to Izuku. “I’ve been looking for her all day. Aww it looks like she likes you”. The cat purred again in Izuku’s arms as though to agree with the statement. When the stranger looked up at Izuku again the look of relief morphed into that of pity and concern. Izuku guessed he probably looked a mess, all drenched in the rain.
“Hey, are you ok?” She asked. Izuku hesitated to respond. “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t pry. You probably should get out of the rain though. You might catch a cold.” He stared at the stranger dumbly, she stared back with deep dark brown eyes filled with kindness. A kindness he had never received from anyone other than his mother before. The stranger held the umbrella over Izuku’s head, beckoning him to take it. “Here you can have this.” Izuku was quick to reject the offer, shaking his head furiously.
“I couldn’t possibly accept that I wouldn’t want you getting all wet because of me.” He squeaked out, his voice cracked and stained from screaming for hours. “Please I insist. Besides you’re the one completely drenched.” The stranger responded still holding out the umbrella to him. “Still, I couldn’t.” Izuku insisted. “How ‘bout we compromise? We share the umbrella and I’ll walk you home. It wouldn’t feel right to leave you in this heavy rain, you’re practically shivering.” The stranger proposed. “Besides Kitty really likes you and I doubt she wants to leave you anytime soon.” Izuku hesitated for a second. He also enjoyed holding the cat, who was purring satisfyingly in his arms. He also didn’t want to inconvenience the nice stranger, but he didn’t want to turn her down either. Reluctantly, he agreed. “I’m Mari Nakamura by the way.” The stranger said as she held out to umbrella to gesture for him to join her.
“Izuku Midoriya.”
“Nice to meet you Midoriya.” Mari gave him a genuine smile, one that accentuated the light freckles that dusted the cheeks of her dark skin.
They began the journey back to the Midoriya residence, the atmosphere tense and awkward at first, the only conversation between the two Izuku’s directions. In attempt to soothe the awkwardness, Mari tried to make light conversation.
“I figured you might want this back.” Mari handed back the tattered notebook to the green haired boy, making sure to handle it with great care.
“Not really. It’s garbage now.” Just like me, Izuku thought to himself. Mari stared in disbelief. She peeked earlier before she decided on returning the book and from what she saw it was far from garbage. From a brief skim of the book, she could tell that the boy’s quirk analysis was top tier and on par with that of a pro. Whoever this boy was, he had an amazing mind and had skills unlike any person she’d ever seen. She knew voicing her opinions wouldn’t do any good to the boy, he didn’t look to be in the right state of mind to accept any compliments. She knew it would feel shallow and empty to him. So, she opted to choose her next words carefully so as not to break the fragile boy before her.
“How come it’s garbage?” She asked hoping the question wasn’t too much of a sensitive one.
Midoriya replied bitterly, “Because I kept it to help with this silly dream, I deluded myself into thinking I could make happen. Now I know a quirkless loser like me could never make a dream like that come true.” Usually, Midoriya was apprehensive on who he told about his condition having dealt with bullies and fake friends his entire life. Now, he didn’t care anymore, he didn’t think he had any fight left in him.
“This dream, was it…” Mari hesitated, “to become a hero?”
“Yeah.” Midoriya replied, barely above a whisper. He clenched his jaw and his vision blurred, his eyes stinging with tears threatening to fall all over again. He was about to break down in front of a stranger, God, I really am pathetic. The pair fell into an uncomfortable silence, neither one sure of what to say.
“For what it’s worth, a quirkless hero sounds really cool.” The girl finally broke the silence. Midoriya chuckled. It was a dry and humorless chuckle, but a chuckle, nonetheless. That’s all he ever really wanted to hear. What he wanted his mom to say to him on the night he asked her if he could be a hero like All Might. What he always dreamed Kacchan would say when he finally acknowledged him. Now, after all he’s been through the words meant nothing.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do but I could never become a hero.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m worthless.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“People have told me that all my life, so it must be true right? Me being a hero is nothing more than a silly pathetic dream.” Izuku smiled a bitter smile.
“Is that so wrong?” Mari’s question startled Izuku to an abrupt stop. He looked directly at her, but she was facing the floor, hands clenching the hand of the umbrella. “Is it so wrong to dream in this wretched world of ours? It’s not our fault we weren’t born with useful powers, so tell me what’s our sin if not just simply existing?” Ours? Is she like me?
“Are you… quirkless too?” Izuku asked hopefully, as messed up as it sounded. The thought of there being another person like him, someone who understands, someone who knows.
“No, but I might as well be.” Mari finally looked up, meeting Izuku’s gaze. He saw the glossy glaze in her eyes despite the smile on her face, her grip on the umbrella they shared still tight. “My quirk is one where I can’t really…It’s useless when it comes to helping others.” A tear rolled down her eye. “I know I’m a stranger and you don’t know me, so I don’t have a right to say this, but you have exceptional potential. I don’t know if we’ll actually end up becoming heroes in the future, but I do know you’ll definitely not become a hero if you don’t even have a future.” Izuku felt his voice catch in his throat. He was sure he was crying again. Mari continued, “Well, it’s certainly going to be difficult being a hero without a quirk, but I don’t think it’s impossible. So, stop asking yourself if you can become a one but how.”
“What if I never find the answer?” Izuku managed to croak out, voice cracking.
“You will. I believe in you Midoriya.” Mari gave him another smile.
“How are you so sure?” Mari handed him back the book again, and this time Izuku accepted it.
“I just know.” She replied earnestly. Izuku couldn’t believe this strange girl, suddenly appearing in his life and turning everything upside down. He wasn’t sure if he would ever believe her, but God did he want to. Her words were like sweet honey in the nest of angry bees and Izuku felt like a fool for dipping his hands in them, consequences be damned!
“We’re here.” Mari suddenly announced. Izuku hadn’t noticed when they started walking again, or when they turned into the familiar junction of his childhood street, or when they arrived at the door of his home. “You don’t have to think about everything today, get some rest. Lord knows you need it.” Izuku chuckled at that. He really did look a mess, didn’t he? “Here take this. In case you ever need a friend to talk to.” Mari handed him a folded paper. She then collected the cat from him who had long since fallen asleep. “Bye Izuku.” Mari then turned to leave. Izuku. It had been far too long since he’d heard his name from a person other than his mother. It was nice.
Slightly dazed he walked up the stairs into the house where he was met with a worried Inko. She bombarded him with questions and sobbing asking him where he’d been all day, and where his phone had been. He made up some excuse of missing the train and a dead phone which Inko thankfully accepted. She didn’t need to know he intentionally turned off his phone. She didn’t need to know that he just tried to kill himself and a stranger with a cat was there to save him.