Chapter Text
The sun glistened on the two young boys as they marched through the woods near the park.
One stomped his legs with such power there was no mistaking him for anyone other than the leader of their adventurous duo. The other boy hurried behind the leader, his eyes shining with awe.
The boys were explorers, consumed by curiosity of the planet they inhabited. One boy faced the world with ambition that knew no bounds, and the other boy was far less noticeable but he held a vision in his eyes that challenged the world as everyone had known it.
“Katsuki! Izuku! Time to go home!” Mitsuki Bakugou called to young boys who then ran to their respective mothers.
As they began to walk home, the second boy looked back to see the sun setting on the park. He turned back to his mother and took her hand in his.
He couldn’t wait for what was to come.
The streets of Musutafu were littered with joyful citizens. Mothers and their children strolled down the street, looking into the many shops with interest. It was the afternoon and school had just got out so many young teenagers were out smiling and laughing with friends. Suddenly, a feeling of dread filled the streets. Parents grabbed their children, teenagers abandoned their leisurely pace and rushed home, and most of the shops indiscreetly closed their doors. The source for this horrific feeling came walking down the sidewalk. This figure was unnaturally tall for his age, his grand shadow glooming on the sidewalk.
Izuku kept his eyes down, not wanting to frighten anyone or worse, see the disgust and fear aimed at him. He didn’t blame anyone for their reactions, after all it wasn’t their fault. It was his, he was a jinx.
Izuku’s quirk came in almost six months late, everyone was worried he would be quirkless. They hadn’t even thought to worry about what it could be. After all, his parents had a levitation quirk and a fire breathing quirk. It turns out Izuku’s quirk was among the rare ones that aren’t a combination of or the same as his parents’ quirks. Not only that but Izuku’s quirk had activation requirements.
The official name for Izuku’s quirk is “Wraith,” and it’s sort of like a ghost quirk. He can move in complete silence and levitate small objects (which Izuku was a fan of since it reminded him of his mom.) However, there are many drawbacks to Izuku’s quirk. One example is its affect on Izuku’s voice. His quirk makes it so everything he says sounds almost like it has a static filter. It can be understood but it hurts the ears of anyone who listens and it also strains Izuku’s throat. This has resulted in him mostly staying silent, although he’s unsure if it even matters considering few would willingly approach him. This leads to his next downside, the emotional effect he has on others. This is actually the reason his quirk is named the way it is. A wraith is known for its ability to cause despair in others, which Izuku is unfortunately unable to turn off. Luckily, he has discovered that if someone is able to associate another, more powerful emotion with Izuku other than dread, that can overpower his quirk.
Suddenly Izuku runs into something, he looks up from the floor to meet the ruby eyes of his best friend. Katsuki stood in front of him with a hard to read look, holding a piece of paper in his hand. Izuku tries to catch a glimpse of what it is but fails when Katsuki begins to say something.
“Listen up nerd, the UA entrance exam is in 10 months and I don’t want to be surrounded by idiots,” Katsuki looks away like Izuku is supposed to know what that means. Katsuki drawls out a long sigh and speaks again, “Izuku, you need to apply with me.”
Izuku wants to protest but then subtly looks around, remembering they’re still in the middle of the sidewalk. He doesn’t want to block anyone and certainly doesn’t want to scare anyone else. He hesitates for a moment then grabs Katsuki’s arm to drag him into a nearby alley. Izuku then begins to sign in JSL to Katsuki.
‘I can’t apply to be a hero,’ He paused. ‘Do you seriously think anyone would look at me for comfort?’
‘Izuku! You’d be an idiot to not even try. You know you could easily pass the entrance exams and if no one can look past your quirk then they’re just a bunch of extras!’ Katsuki signs back to Izuku. He held a look of fierce determination that Izuku just couldn’t understand.
‘I don’t understand how you even think it’s possible, nobody can even stand to be near me.’ Izuku dismisses Katsuki, and turns to walk away.
“Admit it Izuku! If you thought you could be a hero, you would be one! Stop being so goddamn stupid and selfish! The world would be lucky to have a hero like you. And what about all the kids like you, huh? Ya just gonna abandon them or are you going to show them their quirks don’t define them?!” It was a real low blow and both boys knew it. When Izuku turned back to Katsuki be saw a bit of hesitation in his eyes that told him that Katsuki only said what he did because he thought Izuku really needed to hear it.
Izuku sighed, not petulantly although it could be perceived that way. Could he really be a hero? He could admit when he was younger he loved heroes but now he wasn’t so sure. They rarely did anything for people like him. He was so tired of everything as it was, but if there was a chance he could be a symbol of hope for all the people out there like him…
It would be selfish not to try, right?
Katsuki’s eyes stayed on Izuku and then he sighed a breath of relief, able to tell that Izuku had made up his mind.
They would be heroes together and no one was going to get in their way.
"Can't believe you made me say all of that mushy shit," Katsuki snarked.
Izuku just shrugged and they walked out of the alley together with a new sense of hope for the future.
Izuku stared out the window of his homeroom class. He was perpetually exhausted, which was another fun side effect of his quirk (yay). He glanced back to the classroom just to immediately regret it. All the desks closest to him were dragged away, like there was an invisible wall separating him from everyone else. He knew he was scary but come on, all these kids knew him before he got his curse quirk.
He decided to lay his head down with the hope of getting some semblance of sleep.
“Why does he even go to school?”
“He never even tries to pay any attention in class.”
“And he’s mute! There’s no use for him.”
“Well it’s not like anywhere else wants him anyway…”
“Well duh! He has the most villainous quirk ever.”
Izuku sighed and glanced up at his classmates, which they quickly noticed and shut up at. He supposes that’s the only good use for his quirk but then again he wouldn’t have this problem if he didn’t have his quirk.
Suddenly the door slammed and Katsuki walked into the classroom. He glared at his classmates like he knew what their conversation had been a minute ago, then he made his way to Izuku.
“Show me the sheet.” Katsuki demanded. Izuku calmly took out his high school application form and handed it to Katsuki. Katsuki looked over it and nodded firmly before handing it back to Izuku. He then headed to his desk and put his feet up.
Izuku looked back down at his sheet to see “UA High School” printed in his neat handwriting across the page. He considered erasing it now but knew it wasn’t worth Katsuki’s fury. Besides, he wanted to say he tried.
The bell rang, signifying the start of homeroom and Mr. Tekubi walked into the room. Teachers tended to avoid Izuku, which he all and all didn’t mind since it was mutual. At least they didn’t treat him poorly.
The class brought their high school applications to the front of the room and put them in the basket. Once they had returned to their seats their teacher made a show of picking up all the forms and began to flip through them. Izuku realized what was going to happen right before it did.
Izuku could tell when his teacher saw his form because his face went slack and he not-so-subtly stared up at Izuku from across the room, causing him to roll his eyes. The class had been chattering but once they noticed the silence they glanced between Izuku and Mr. Tekubi. Some looked curious, others nervous, some even frightened. Katsuki followed suit and rolled his eyes as well, having figured out what was happening.
Mr. Tekubi, having finally gathered his composure, cleared his throat and put the applications down on his desk.
“Remember kids, you have to be realistic with your choices. You don’t want to end up being denied from them and having no backups.”
…
…be realistic?
Realistically, Izuku will end up abandoned by society due to his villainous quirk, resulting in him going down that very path.
Or that would be realistic if not for the ruby eyes blazing into the side of his skull. Eyes full of defiance, with expectations so high for Izuku he’s afraid to fall. Afraid of what would happen to those eyes, and whether or not they’d shine anymore. No, he would never want to be the cause for those eyes to go dim.
Izuku finally glances at Katsuki, exhibiting calm reassurance to ensure his friend doesn’t go ballistic fighting on his behalf. Katsuki visibly retreats, having slightly risen from his seat. Mr. Tekubi is still drawling on about something, but all Izuku cares about is that Katsuki knows he’s alright. They have a silent conversation, not needing JSL, just their eyes and years of knowing each other.
They get through the rest of class, their teacher going on and on about how their high school choices reflect on Aldera. Mr. Tekubi even mentioned how some students were applying to UA, thankfully he kept their identities anonymous. Izuku guesses he only did so as to not have it reflect poorly on him for allowing Izuku to apply to the hero course.
The dismissal bell rang and students poured out of the classroom, Izuku packing up his things unreasonably slow to avoid any interactions with his classmates. He finally looked up see Katsuki waiting for him.
“Are you really that slow, nerd?” They both knew he wasn’t, but neither spoke to it.
Izuku didn’t reply, simply strolled to the door with Katsuki right behind him. Leaving Aldera, Izuku turned to go past the koi ponds, on his way to the tunnel that brought him to his apartment.
“Izuku!” Katsuki yelled after him, and Izuku turned back. “The hag wanted you over for dinner, remember?”
Izuku’s eyes widened and he made his way back to Katsuki. They began to walk in the opposite direction, towards the Bakugo residence.
Neither boy ever realized the significance of this moment that would forever change the trajectory of their lives.