“You’re just a useless Deku! You’ll never be a hero!”

“The kid is smart, too bad he’s Quirkless.”

“I’m not going to stick around for a brat that can’t be mine! No son of mine could be Quirkless!”

“You can read the last part of Izuku’s name as Deku! That must be what you call a helpless loser who’s completely useless!”

“I’m so sorry, Izuku!”

“If you want to be a hero so bad, Deku, you should pray for a Quirk in your next life. And take a swan dive off the roof!”

The vibration in his back pocket jerked him out of the dark spiral his thoughts had slipped in. He scrubbed his sleeve against his face to dry the tears, gritting his teeth at the sharp pain spiking at the movement. He slowly pulled out his phone. Yui-nee had made it for him. It wasn’t traceable, protected against a fall from twenty feet and could withstand a small explosion. He swiped the screen to open it to the messenger.

CoffeeQueen:

Hey Izu, you okay? Your location still shows at school.

GreenBean:

Yeah, I’m fine! I’m leaving now!

He gulped as he stood up, hooking his backpack strap over his shoulder as he hissed. How pathetic could he be? It was like those months of training never happened, he didn’t do anything to stop him!

He kept his head down as he shuffled home. He should have slid to the side when he heard the explosions coming for him given a smaller target…or deflected the punch or rolled when he felt that blistering palm between his shoulders. But he froze! Why did he freeze up like that with Kacchan when he never did with Yui-nee?

He was walking in the door, mumbling in his frustration as he kicked off his shoes and closed and locked the door. He froze at the hiss of breath.

“Izu…your back…” her voice cracked and he had to blink back tears. He was making her worried about him! Her hand was gentle as she guided him to the bathroom. She pulled out the large first aid kit, putting it on the counter. “I’m going to cut your jacket and shirt off, I don’t want to get any fibers in your burn.”

It didn’t take long before the jacket and undershirt were in tatters at his feet. He followed her to the shower as she grabbed the handle, putting it on the gentlest setting and turning on the cold water. He leaned forward as she rinsed it, gripping his knees until his knuckles turned white. They were there for a while, his skin eventually turning numb under the current of water.

She pulled back to wash her hands in the sink before she came back, turning up the temperature a bit. “I’m going to clean it now, Izu, okay?” At his nod she started to clean it, some of the skin peeling off before she turned the water off. Her touch was feather light as she patted the area dry, before she covered the area with burn cream and put on a nonstick bandage.

She washed her hands before she helped him to the living room to sit down, having him take some ibuprofen. “just relax, Izu. I’m going to clean up real quick.” She walked back to the bathroom.

He leaned against the armrest, trying to keep the pressure off his back. His eyes flicked to the laptop in front of him, the screen's page filled with bank information. He leaned forward when he saw a flash of green in his peripheral vision.

His head snapped up to Yui-nee holding a baggy green sweater. Her jaw was clenched as she glared at the computer. “Yui-nee, what’s this?”

“Don’t worry about it Izu…”

“Are you stealing? You said you wouldn’t do that!” his voice rose as he looked up at her.

“I never said that I’d stop, Izuku, just that I’d stop doing it to innocent people! The man that owns that account is a dirty politician from the states that siphons money.” He grit his teeth as her voice dropped to monotone.

“That doesn’t make it right!”

She finished up with the website before she closed it, “I can’t exactly have a job, Izuku. I’m eleven. And a villain in case you forgot,”

“Ex-villain!” he snapped.

“Oh yes, I’m sure the police will believe that,” she rolled her eyes.

“If you didn’t steal and brought evidence against the crooked people they would!”

Those teal eyes snapped up to meet his. “What about you? Are you going to tell me what happened today? Or are you going to lie again? Another science lab accident? Or was it home ec? You got too close to a fire breather and he sneezed? I know when you lie to me, Izuku!” She snapped back at him.

He flinched, his shoulders hunching. “I-It’s nothing…it was an a-accident…”

“No it wasn’t Izu, you don’t get second, almost third degree burns on accident! If it was any worse I’d be dragging you to a hospital, damned the consequences!” those teal eyes were on fire as she leaned down, her hands cupped his cheeks in a cool yet gentle grip.

“I can’t stand seeing you come home burned and bruised and hearing you excuse what they do to you…I can’t be patient anymore. I’ve been waiting for you to come to me, to confide in me…let me protect you!” Her voice cracked as tears slid down her cheeks.

His breath hitched before the tears cascaded down his own face, and the emotions he’d pushed down and away burst free. His arms wrapped around her as he sobbed, hiccupping and wheezing and sometimes screaming as he told her everything. It all came out in an incoherent rush, but she was able to put the pieces together.

The insults, the shoves, the punches and kicks and the burns. How the teachers turned a blind eye because he was Quirkless and that must mean he wasn’t good enough to be treated like a human. How his father claimed that Izuku wasn’t his son and left his mother heartbroken after his diagnosis. His mother’s apologies when he asked if he could still be a hero.

How his best friend since he was born had become a source of burning pain and the cruelest words. That his childhood friend that he’d only admired and strived to see become a hero had told him to jump off the roof and hope he gets a Quirk in the next life.

Yui-nee held him close, her hand running through curls and rubbed his back gently careful of the bandage as he poured it all out. Whispering that they were wrong, that he was sweet, and smart and had the biggest heart of anyone she’d met. How she knew he was going to be a hero because she just knew that his determination outweighed his lack of Quirk. That without him, she’d still be with her parents and going through life as their little pawn.

It was after the sun had set and the light of the moon had danced across the walls when he'd finally sagged against her. Too exhausted from emotions and pain to fight the pull of sleep. She carried him to his room, putting him on his stomach before she covered him with the All Might themed blanket. She made sure his alarm was turned off before she ran a hand through his curls.

His eyes fluttered closed, and he was already going under when her voice whispered in the otherwise silent room. “Don’t worry Izu, you won’t have to ever go back there.”