#but now Izuku is thrust into the spotlight without a lick of control

[redrobin-detective]

Anyone Can Be a Hero

So @captainkirkk has this great AU where OFA the quirk is common knowledge and I was fascinated by the idea of how that would translate into hero society where people knew that there was a possibility of being given an incredible quirk. I'll admit this isn't my best effort but I've given this 1.5 hours of my time and I need to start studying. Credit for the idea goes to captainkirkk who graciously let me play with it. Also Ratatouille which accidently helped form the theme. I can't do anything original here.

Anyone can be a hero, at least that’s what All Might says when he’s on TV.

Izuku had always liked All Might, but his admiration only increased when he learned about the open secret that was the legacy quirk One For All and how All Might is the latest in a long, prosperous line of heroes. The idea of a quirk being given based on merit and not the random luck of genetics. It was truly inspiring.

Izuku soaked up everything he could find about the eight One For All users and thought about what he would do with such a powerful quirk and how it’d compliment his mother’s telekinesis or his father’s fire breathing or whatever quirk he ended up developing.

So he waited and studied and dreamed unless his diagnosis of quirklessness turned his motivation into desperation. Suddenly, his options had whittled down to nothing… save for the miracle quirk controlled by the strongest man in the world. It seems impossible, but still Izuku dreamed.

“Get over yourself, Deku!” Kaachan shouts as he rips Izuku’s notebook out from him under mid-sentence. The pencil leaves a long trail as Izuku is interrupted from his thoughts on how One For All distributes through the user’s body.

“You really think All Might is going to give One For All to you of all people?” Kacchan laughs as if it’s the funniest idea in the world.

“You-you know what A-All Might says,” Izuku squeaks self-consciously. He balls up his fists, willing himself to be a little stronger, heroes don’t cower or cry or ever, ever show weakness. “A-anyone could be a hero. With-with One For All, I could-” he starts as Kacchan slams his fists into Izuku’s notebook, burning it almost beyond recognition.

“You’re so dumb, Deku,” Kacchan sneers as he throws the burnt notebook over his shoulder and out the open window. “All Might just says shit like that so losers like you can feel better about themselves. One For All is going to go to someone like All Might, someone who’s brave and has a strong quirk. There’s no way he’d give it to a Quirkless Deku like you.” He says before aggressively nodding his head at his cronies, signaling for them to follow.

“I’ll give you some advice, All Might’s at the top of his game right now. Maybe if you throw yourself from the roof now, you’ll reincarnate in time to be a decent candidate.”

XxX

Izuku can’t believe how his day has gone so far.

He scratches wearily at his eyes, caked with dried sludge and tears. He was attacked by a villain, saved by All Might and only to accidently discover that the Number One Hero, the eighth wielder of One For All, and the strongest known hero in the world, is dying. Izuku felt sick just thinking about it, All Might, who smiled like nothing could ever touch him, is still keeping up hero work despite a crippling injury. Despite his grief, Izuku can’t help but admire that kind of resolve and wonder if it’s possible for him.

“You want to be a hero?” All Might croaked, wiping some blood away from him mouth. “You know it’s next to impossible without a quirk.” Izuku fell to his knees and prostrated himself before the hero.

“Y-you said that anyone could be a hero, sir and-and if you’re coughing up blood like that then you really shouldn’t be pushing yourself too hard and well, you’re going to need a successor and-”

“Ah, of course,” All Might sighed quietly to himself. “I’m sorry my boy, I feel for you, I do, but I cannot give One For All to you.” Izuku squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself not to break. “It’s a great responsibility, one I do not take lightly. I simply cannot go around handing it out to every person who asks. I’m sorry to have disappointed you, but you must realize that not just anyone can become a hero.” All Might stood and walked towards the door on the abandoned rooftop they’ve found themselves on.  

“I would greatly appreciate it if you kept my true form a secret. In return, I have some pull at Yuuei if you might be interested in Support, Management or General Studies.” He leaned down and gently brushed Izuku’s hair where he was still prostrating himself on the ground; too ashamed to look his idol in the eye. “You seem like a good lad, kind, I would like to help if I can but you must understand that what you’re asking for is too much.”

“I understand,” Izuku whispered hoarsely, unable to say any more. He’s not sure how long he stayed like that, only that by the time he sat up, All Might was gone.

Izuku staggers home feeling empty and foolish. Of course All Might wouldn’t just hand out the greatest quirk in the world just because he’d asked. And especially after Izuku admitted that he’s Quirkless, untrained and has no meaningful connections. In other words, he was the worst possible person to wield One For All and without All Might’s quirk, there was no way he could become a hero. Just like that, a decade’s worth of dreams have been burned to a crisp, just like his notebook earlier that day.

Izuku stumbles upon the villain by accident, his feet having unconsciously led him here while his brain sluggishly is coming to terms with his dismal future. He almost moves on when several things happen at once. He realizes that the villain everyone is watching is the same one who’d attacked Izuku barely an hour ago. He then catches sight of Kacchan, caught up in the sludge just like Izuku despite his amazing quirk, scared and quickly losing air. He sees 4 pro heroes standing off to the side, doing nothing to save Kacchan right in front of them.

There’s no hesitation after that; Izuku’s legs move on his own.

In the end, he doesn’t end up doing much. Izuku throws his bag, tries to free Kacchan but needs to be rescued by All Might yet again. The pro heroes yell at him for his recklessness, Kacchan glares at him like he’d have rather died than accept Izuku’s pathetic attempts to help and All Might disappears almost immediately after saving them. Not that Izuku blames him, why should he waste any more of his precious time on a nobody like him?

So once more, he finds himself trudging home, covered in even more sludge and feeling even heavier than before. He’s so lost in his thoughts about what he’s going to do that he’s caught completely off guard when All Might jumps out in front of him.

“There you are!” The hero exclaims like he’d actually been looking for Izuku. He reverts back to his true form in a dramatic poof and takes a minute to violently cough up blood. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, young man!”

“All Might!” Izuku exclaims in surprise before curling in on himself a little. “A-are you going to yell at me too?” Izuku asks quietly. He’s been through too much heartbreak today, he’s not sure he could handle another. All Might’s expression softens as he sets his gnarled hands on his shoulders.

“Quite the opposite, my boy,” All Might says in an almost fond voice. “I wanted to offer an apology and maybe make amends.” 

“Being a hero as long as I have, it’s easy to get a little jaded but that does not excuse my words to you earlier because you were right. Anyone can be a hero.” He groans as he squats down so he’s nearly eye level with Izuku. “Now that doesn’t mean that just anyone can be a hero, it means that a hero can be anyone, regardless of quirk or circumstance.”

“I-I don’t understand,” Izuku says quietly.

“What I’m trying to say is, despite being Quirkless, despite having your dreams cruelly dash by a grumpy old man,” All Might grins sheepishly, “you still ran forward to help that boy without a second thought. I watched you; you didn’t even have to think about rushing in. Strong quirks are well and good but a true hero is someone who’s strong where it counts most.” He says, pointing a bony finger to Izuku’s heart.

He stands up again and the way the shadows of the setting sun fall on his face, he seems as strong as he is with One For All. The atmosphere feels heavy and powerful, as if sensing the importance of the next few moments.

“Young man, will you accept my power and be the ninth wielder of One For All.” All Might asks seriously, all traces of his earlier humor gone. This is real, this is actually happening.

Izuku falls to his knees, this can’t be happening, not to him of all people. He didn’t deserve this; there are million, maybe two, other people more deserving of this honor. But that didn’t mean he isn’t going to grab it with both hands and be the best hero he could be with it.

“Yes,” he chokes out, he thought he’d run out of tears earlier but it seems he had more to spare. “I will.” All Might grins and offers him a hand after Izuku calms himself down. He accepts it and lets the hero pull him to his feet.

“Alright, well this is only the beginning, my boy. As you can imagine, there’s a great deal of paperwork involved. Do you live nearby? I’m going to need to talk to your mother and father about this, obviously. You’ll need some extra training before I can properly pass on One For All, it packs quite a punch and physically you won’t be able to handle it right now. I don’t know what your plans were, but all One For All users have attended high school at Yuuei. With my seal, you’ll already be enrolled without taking the entrance exam, though you still can if you desire.” He pauses, “Look at me, I’m getting ahead of myself. I don’t even know your name.”

“Midoriya Izuku,” Izuku whispers. All Might puts an arm around his shoulder to steady him before he face plants right into the ground. “I can’t believe this is happening, everyone said it was impossible because I was Quirkless.”

“That’s what I said too when my master, the seventh holder, chose me,” All Might grins. “But that’s the beauty of One For All, young Midoriya, we get to choose our successors on more important matters. Now come on my boy, there’s a lot to be done before you start high school next spring.”

#boku no hero academia #bnha #bnha fics #captainkirkk #my writing #this was fun #even if it sounded way more impressive in my head #I basically rehashed the first chapter but w/e #might like to work on this AU more in the future #I'm super fascinated by how the world would react to Izuku publically #I feel like after Nana was murdered Toshi was kept secret under he had better control of OFA #but now Izuku is thrust into the spotlight without a lick of control #there will be a lot of doubters and discrimination due to him being quirkless #(am I a little obsessed with the social ramifications of quirklessness in bnha? yes)