CHAPTER 2: THE LITTLE DEKU WHO COULD (BUT WAS WRONGED)
Recess was a welcomed respite after had happened, and Izuku had made his way to his favorite spot, in the roof, to eat in peace, less Kacchan use him as a stress dummy.
But that might not happen, Kacchan had stroke out of his own after the bell rung, but before all that he had gone to the infirmary, to check on his nose, he did got a skull rammed into his nose, most powerful of the school or not, his quirk don't protect him out of that.
To be perfectly honest Kacchan was asking for it, truly, what was he thinking? He could take the words, they hurt of course, he thinks the world of him and seeing him act like a…racist ass, and elitist idiot that could not see past beyond his own nose, seriously hurt.
He was rather bumped by what Kacchan had said, and he was really considering in revealing his quirk, but what would fix in all honesty, there were two reasons he hasn't told anyone of the school he had a quirk, one was Kacchan, he would seek a fight with him, and currently he was not even ready to think of that, true the Thu'um was powerful and Blade Mode provided a tactical advantage not many heroes or villains had.
But he was dangerous, there was still so much he had to learn of his own quirk and the powers he gains, each comes with its own set of strength and weakness he has to discover on his own, like the Thu'um, able to cast powerful voice based attacks that vary and can buckle even the strongest of villains, but the glaring weakness of having to shout them, coupled with the fact his throat and vocal chords suffer of over-taxation if the Thu'um its overused.
Blade Mode had the same advantages and disadvantages as in the game, slowing the perception of time for the user from half if activated by will or activated after a parry and reduces the perception to a whooping 90 percent, tactically that's an advantage no hero would reject.
Of course came the backdraws, as Izuku came to realize, Blade Mode uses the real life equivalent of Fuel Cells in him, in this case adrenaline, normally that wouldn't be that bad, if it wasn't for the fact of how much adrenaline Blade Mode eats, his first activation left him shaking and sweating.
After that first episode he sought what could cause that on the internet, he found the cause rather fast, it seems adrenaline it's made naturally on the body, responsible for many things, especially for the fight-or-flight response, and of course as a medication, called epinephrine, used for cases of cardiac arrest, external bleeding and anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that can be fatal.
Of course it could be something else, but right now he has adrenaline as his first option, especially considering that right now, going to the doctor would be more suspicious and right now his mom doesn't need the drama, that and really he doesn't trust doctors now.
One would think that would be a bad idea, and in a sense it was, but not many people were him, adding more powers as it went, but he knew there had to be a limit of what he gets at one point, he can't be simply adding powers forever, there it's a limit to power, any power, he has yet to find his.
He also knew he had to be tactical now more than ever, now that he confirmed his new powers do draw from a biological point for fuel, Blade Mode drew from adrenaline and his Thu'um drew from his voice and lungs, then he could draw some hypothesis regarding of what he wanted to add next, and from what it would draw from him.
If he was right, the Light of the Traveler would draw from both an internal source of energy of him, perhaps his life-energy and outside sources, after all Arc, Solar and Void energies were derivate of fundamental laws of the universe itself, so it stood to reason he could draw from those sources when presented the chance, he knew that he would train, a lot to use them, the Light was highly versatile, and highly destructive if not properly used.
There was a reason the Drifter hated the Light, his backstory was a testament of the Light used wrong, he would make sure that there would not be a Drifter that hated his Light.
There was the rest of his list, and the urge he had been feeling ever since he added Blade Mode.
It was not Quirk related he was sure of it, but more like his own.
All his life he has been powerless, quirkless, diminishes by others, and here he was, capable of becoming so powerful that it would leave others gaping in shock, having such a strange and powerful quirk would catapult him towards success.
And therein lay the problem, the reason he didn't tell anyone about his quirk, only his mother knowing, hypocrisy.
He didn't need to look far to see where it would lead to, Kacchan, all the false praise and attempts to get into his good graces had done him a disservice, he had always been proud, something he got from his mother, but unlike aunty Mitsuki, there was no one to temper that pride with humility.
There was also the stigma that most copy like quirks had, his quirk might not even come close to that category, but misinterpretation could lead to disaster rather fast, especially with his, it could label him as a villain in a heartbeat.
While to him it would not bother him much, considering that he had been called worse, to society the label of villain was as bad as being an actual one, even if your quirk matched the 'qualifications' of society imposed to villains and heroes.
Sighing, Izuku noticed he had eaten his lunch without him realizing, with a sigh he began to pack his now empty bento back, and stood up, leaving the roof.
As he made his way down and into the classroom to leave his bento, he crossed the last person he wanted to cross, aside from Kacchan.
Mikaela.
The girl was staring at the horizon on the hall, looking as bored as one could be after pretty much challenging everything the world stood on.
There she turned to him, "Oh, it's you" she began, "The only one who stood to help a racist out of his butt" she continued, making Izuku groan, he really hoped Kacchan friends would help him, then again they follow him for his personality rather than true kinship.
"Tell me, did you do it out of some sense of wrapped loyalty to the most powerful student in class? Or was it something else?" there Izuku narrowed his eyes at her.
"I-I did it b-because I wanted it" Izuku whispered back, he observed how Mikaela raised an eyebrow, either by his tone of voice or answer was anyone's guess.
"Did you? Helping someone who belittles you, I guess there are very few good people who do it out the goodness of their hearts" she commented, "Being quirked has taken over being human, being a person, an honest one, it all comes down to power" she said as she moved to him, making him gulp, he rarely interacted with girls, most moved away of him, treated him like a freak, trash, weird, so he didn't exactly knew how to interact with one, only with his mom and aunty Mitsuki, and that's because of familiarity.
"P-power has nothing to do with doing what's right" Izuku answered, honestly surprised by what he said, "Y-y-you taunted someone, you attacked someone without clear reason, in front of a teacher, that's a power play" Izuku stated, making Mikaela raise an eyebrow.
"Maybe, or maybe I was asserting dominance, after all I did hear what our esteemed homeroom teacher said, 'do take care' like I'm some sort of exotic animal, too exotic to watch but way too valuable not to hunt" she snapped, "Truth of the matter deku, its that if I don't assert myself I will become a target, I am not armed with a biological weapon, all I have are my mind and initiative, I attack first and make sure I do it in such a way no one will challenge me, and who would, I just took down the strongest guy, on open challenge no less, who would dare challenge me" she asked to Izuku.
"That sounds like a villain talking after facing a hero" Izuku stated.
"It does" Mikaela drawled, "But here's the sad truth, you and I have no rights to defend ourselves against the quirked, self-defense won't hold to any quirked, why? Because they control and write the system" she added.
"Law 23 of the Quirk amended stated that any Quirk user, licensed or not, attacking a quirkless individual will be held accountable for damages and accused of personal offense and attempt of murder in the worst case" there Mikaela looked at Izuku long and hard, raising an eyebrow.
"That law has a loophole, the self-defense act, in article 5 it states that any self-defense action has to be measured in accordance with the attacker intentions, quirks are weapons, the most inoffensive can kill, if we defend ourselves against a quirk user and beat them, the law will turn to us, not them, for we are considered attackers, after all with what we defend ourselves? With weapons, rocks, sticks, anything we can get our hands on, that has been used to let quirked who attacked quirkless scot free" Mikaela answered.
"T-that same act has an addendum, in article 7 it states that in such cases a forensic team must and will review the case, also the quirk in question has to be tested to determine lethality, that way it can be determined if the self-defense action was measured according to article 5, it is not perfect, but it can be used as means of defense" Izuku countered, making Mikaela blink.
"…You're the first one to ever debate me and actually stand on your own, using the very law I see as flawed" she said as she began to walk away, then turned to Izuku.
"Walk with me" she added, there Izuku took a deep breath, he just held a conversation with a girl, and granted that conversation was more a debate than anything else, but marked the first time he ever talked to a girl, with a sigh he followed Mikaela.
He was sure this debate was far from over.
Katsuki Bakugou was angry, he had the damn right to be, he just got bitched out by a punk ass bitch and fucking deku had the gall to help him.
He needs no help, especially from a weakling like deku, he can take care of himself because he is a fucking winner, and winners need help of no one, they are the help of asshats who can fight from themselves.
With a growl he made his way to the classroom, recess had done little to damper his anger, if something else it had made it worse, word had gotten out that he had gotten punked in front of the teacher, and now those who he had put in his place were smirking at him, gloating at his defeat by proxy.
He would have to teach them a lesson, and so to that bitch, thinks she can punk him and get away with it? She is a weakling, and he will remain her of her place.
His 'friends' were still tailing him, too afraid to say anything, then again he made sure to tell them he didn't want to hear shit from them.
So he entered the classroom, and his blood pressure rose, because right now the bitch was talking with fucking deku, and they seemed to be in a heated…discussion.
"Mikaela-san, I will acknowledge the failure of All-Might during his support of the parliament law on punishment on quirk vs quirkless assaults when you acknowledge that Destro was wrong" Deku whispered/said, he found rather odd that such whisper was heard so loud.
"Destro was right, quirks are a part of the human anatomy loathe I hate admit, and they wished to regulate it, can you regulate how many times you breath and blink with a piece of paper signed by a bunch of suited monkeys?" the bitch hissed at Izuku, slamming her finger on the desk.
"He was wrong, quirks are weapons, not expressions of individuality, they can be controlled and only in the direst circumstances they act on their own, also he was wrong on striking out in a violent manner" deku snapped.
"Oh do tell, were he failed" the bitch condescending stated.
"Had he remained on the political route he would have been able to change many of the laws today, those same laws were passed during and after his rebellion" deku stated.
"Rebellion? You make it sound like a tantrum"
"His tantrum killed half the royal family, halfed the military effectiveness by casualties, caused the rise of some the most notorious villains that racked a body count of hundreds and made the UN place very draconian laws on Quirk control around the world, in short he ruined any chances of change on the laws regarding Quirk control for the next one hundred years"
"I heard Canada and Australia are openly changing those same laws in their countries despite condemnation by the UN and the USA"
"They have always struck on their own, one country has always cared less what other thinks of them, the other country it's a biological death trap, scorpions kills more people there than villain attacks, as for the UN and USA, considering the current president like to be on his knees"
"Mmmyes, he has clearly showed no backbone, when a jellyfish has more consistency than him you should be worried"
Katsuki looked at the scene with akin of shock, deku was discussing-no, debating with a girl, fucking deku can't talk to girls, and here he was fucking debating.
"It's like seeing a hero/villain fight" an extra on the room whispered.
"Who's the hero and whose the villain?" another wondered.
"If this a fight then it's the most collateral friendly fight ever"
"This is more like a fencing match, they are clearly even matched"
Katsuki at that moment was not having none of this shit, deku talking to a girl? That bitch who headbutted him was socializing? The extras actually thinking?
Oh hell no!
He marched straight to the desk they were using, his hands cracking with barely contained power and once he was in front of them he let loose.
BOOM!!!
It had half the desired effect, it stopped every activity in the room, but it didn't made deku scream, it didn't made the bitch flinch, in fact it made her roll her eyes.
"And here we have an example of why the regulations exist" the bitch stated, "Place him in any hearing and there is a guaranteed possibility that they will harden the laws" she added with a smirk.
Deku only sighed, looking at the ceiling as if wondering what he did to deserve this.
"Fucking exist you fucker" he thought with spite, growling at the bitch and daring her to do anything.
'Calming' himself, Katsuki turned to deku, "The fuck you think you're doing deku?" he snarled at the quirkless boy who simply took a deep breath and then looked at him.
In defiance, it made his blood boil.
"I-I was discussing some matters with Mikaela-san" deku stated, making him breathe hard over his nose, then he spoke more, and made his quirk to short-circuit.
"And you just prove some of the things I defended you from" he added with a grimace, there he snarled, he didn't need deku to defend him.
"Indeed, he defended your actions and backed them with examples of other real life events, meanwhile I countered several of his defenses with my own, thank you for proving several of my theories regarding you, you sheep" the bitch stated with a smirk, "But it was refreshing you know" he was already mad at this point, "So far he has been the only cultured and smart person to ever debate me ever since I entered school five years ago, sad that the quirkless 'reject' as you so eloquently call him will be a better person suited for any job you might want" she added lazily.
There he lost it, he leaned in and got in deku's and the bitch faces.
"Let's get one fact straight, what happened this morning, a fluke, don't get fucking ideas, you are useless, you have nothing, you will have nothing because you are nothing, lower than the fucking extras in this fucking room" he turned to the extras that were about to argue with a growl, making them shut up.
"Good, learn your places"
Then he turned back to the duo, "So don't think you have any chances, don't come putting ideas on fucking deku head, he is delusional, thinking he can be a hero, he can't even save himself, let alone someone else, so don't think you have any chances just because you headbutted me, you got lucky" he hissed at the bitch, and she narrowed her eyes.
"This school, mine, you have no future but being my stepping stones, so if I have to blow you up to teach you your place" he said, letting small cracks of explosion on his hands, "I will" he hissed.
He didn't expected deku stand up, and actually glare at him, "Kacchan, step away now" he hissed, actually glaring at him, challenging him.
The silence that came over the classroom was something to behold.
If he was angry before, then he was sulfuric now, and he demonstrated by lashing at deku, fast, his hand was already in an arc and ready to hit his fucking-
CLAP!!!
Did he just grabbed his fucking wrist without him noticing?
It seemed that everyone else seemed to share his line of thought, even as deku swatted his clapped arm away.
He had the fastest reflexes of the class, if not the school, he had to be, his quirk allowed him a flexibility that other quirks didn't, reacting to an attack or an obstacle in a blink was the reason he won most of his fights.
"One thing is me" deku began, actually glaring at him, "But another it's doing the exact same to others, you wanna be a hero? Start acting like one" deku hissed at him, then sat down, the bitch actually looked pleased with that, seating on her own chair after the fact.
For his part, he was about to explode at deku, dammed the consequences, but he forced himself to calm down, he would not explode, he would not ruin his chances at UA, even if fucking deku was pushing his buttons and now had someone else doing the exact same, he would not himself in the rage.
So he went to his seat and sat, not a second later the teach made it in, risking a glance to the bitch, then scurrying to the front of the class.
"Fucking beta" he thought bitterly, as the class started, he promised himself he would not be baited like this again, two times were two times too many, he usually never let it happens, actually overcoming obstacles, this time he was overcome by his own rage.
"They will not get the best of me, I am the best" with that mental promise he focused his attention on the class.
"But before that I will have to have words with deku"
The end of classes was a welcome respite, a temporal one for many as the next day they had to repeat the same thing, again, and again.
To Izuku, the voice of Vaas and his monologue about the definition of insanity came to mind too clearly, while there are things that can be done after school, to many doing this every day can make you insane, no wonder the teachers go to the city and vent after a day of class, especially in this school.
The reputation of Aldera High of producing delinquents and villains was well earned, in its seventy-five years of activity, it had only produced delinquents and lowlifes that lived only for themselves, and villains so cruel that even those in the criminal underworld tended to keep far, far away of them.
Equinox, know for the mass murder he performed on Tokyo Zoo the second year of Aldera High life.
Madame Dynamite, whose Quirk was the sole reason of the Nerima Ward riots twenty years ago, the ward now sits deserted, the whole ward scheduled for demolition next year.
Backpain, aptly named as he loathed cops and whenever he caught one broke them between his knees, which had biological versions of spikes, he crippled twenty cops, not a great number, but considering his kill count was five times that, and focused on cops alone, having been stopped by a heroine named Nanamyte on her debut.
And no one can forget Anemia, who twenty-five years ago bled Hokkaido, and no it was no euphemism, he literally did that, no one, not even villains were safe of him, it took the combined effort of heroes, villains and vigilantes to take him down for good, and currently, just like Madame Dynamite in Tartarus, never to see the light of day again.
There was a reason most, if not every student on Aldera were there because other schools were either already at capacity and Aldera was the only school with space for the rest of students.
And so said excess of students tended to have records, their class seemed to be the only one on the school with no records so far.
So it was no surprise that the majority of the students were rather…unruly, and tended to stress the teachers to the extreme.
It was a surprise that he didn't end up in a hospital because of the amount of racist and self-entitled idiots who didn't like him because he was 'quirkless' and existed in a world that didn't like powerless people.
They didn't even realized that they were the powerless ones, thinking their quirks will carry them to glory, never applying themselves for their goals.
Today had been an…enlightening day, Mikaela had become…a friend, she could be called that, honestly he had not had a friend in such a while he had forgot what was to have one, in any case they had talked whenever they could, marking as the first time he had talked to a girl for more than an hour, it felt odd, but refreshing.
To be honest he thinks things will be fine from now on, true he has to still hide his quirk, until he can come to fully understand it, it might sound selfish, but it was a necessary evil, the moment he reveals it he knows that Kacchan will go ballistic, the way he reacted today by using Blade Mode by hiding it behind fats reflexes and a predictable maneuver was a telltale of how he will react when he reveal the full extent of his Quirk, but honestly, he could care less of what Kacchan thinks.
For so long he thought the world of Kacchan, looked up to him, but the way he acted today, he knocked himself of the pedestal he had placed him.
"Never mind that" Izuku thought, making his way towards home, Mikaela had already left, taking a different route, completely opposite of his route to his home, and where many of Aldera students lived, so that meant she lived to the other side of the school.
Today had been a…weird day, somewhat productive day also, he tested Blade Mode on Kacchan, and saw that by using it on short bursts at the last second instead of a prolonged usage would negate most of the negative effects it had on him when used, it also seemed to boost his reaction time, and he was sure of this because Kacchan had to had fast reflexes as well thanks to his Quirk usage and what entailed if he didn't.
"DEKU!!"
"And speak of the devil" Izuku thought as he mentally braced for whatever Kacchan wanted, turning around he sighed in his mind, of course those two would be with him, because why not.
"I told you we weren't over" Kacchan began, growling like a dog as he marched towards him, Izuku by his part just kept his pace.
"There is nothing to discuss" Izuku simply replied, keeping his pace brisk, he just wanted to return home, make his homework and perhaps play a little, then stalk the hero forums, see if there was another competition around, he felt like adding something else to his ever growing collection.
"Oh there is deku" Kacchan growled, there Izuku rolled his eyes, of course his pride would be wounded after what happened today and wanted to 'make things right' he knew Kacchan could be a good person, but his pride just kept him from being that.
"Pride goes before a fall" Izuku thought with a grimace, right now he was ready to use Whirlwind Sprint and blow the cover of his quirk just to not deal with Kacchan and company.
Of course they made the decision for him, or rather one of them did, long finger instantly passed his right and curled in front of him, blocking his path, Izuku bit the groan of frustration at this, of the two friends of Kacchan, Nakahito was the one he hated the most, he actually enjoyed what he did to him, beatings, taunting, the all nine yards, unlike Nobita who was more of a follower, and did what was told to do, Nakahito was sadistic.
The way he was grinning told him everything he wanted to know, not that it mattered, honestly why Kacchan had those two around him was beyond him, for someone who hated 'leeches' and 'extras' as he uses to call everyone on class, Kacchan could be quite a hypocrite,
"I don't know why the fuck you decided to grow a fucking spine, not that it matters, it won't help" Kacchan began, Izuku controlled his temper, of course Kacchan would try to belittle him for trying to grow out of his shyness, it was a tragic side-effect of ten years of being ostracized by society by something he could not control, like his genes.
Which reminded him, he was really close to finishing up Parasite Eve 2…focus man.
"You don't have any power"
"That's not true, I do now"
"Stop acting like you are something, because you are not"
"I am someone, I am human, stop pretending I'm not"
"You will always be weak little deku"
"I'm not weak, I resisted your toxic opinion for ten years without breaking"
"So stop, or I'll make you stop" there Izuku took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and turned away of Kacchan.
"I'm done with this"
"I like to see you try" was all Izuku said as he began to walk away, Katsuki was one second from attacking him from the back, he really was, if the shock from what Izuku said was not actually hampering him.
"I'm done with you" Izuku began, "You're toxic, you only l-live to make me miserable, i-i-I'm done with that" Izuku growled, for a second Katsuki and his 'friends' swore the air around them ripple.
"I did nothing to anger you this way, and you keep it u-up" Izuku added, "So this is my warning to you" Izuku added, "I can ruin you, I can end your career even before it starts" Izuku hissed, turning an eye to Katsuki, "And I don't need to tell anyone, you think your quirk its strong, I spend the last ten years studying quirks, how much you think it will take me to device a way to beat you" Izuku added.
"Yes, y-you got talent" Izuku admitted, "And your quirk it's strong, but so is Endeavor, and he is just number 2, and unlike him, you need your hands to make your quirk work" Izuku said, then turning to Nakahito, who looked as astonished as Katsuki and Nobita.
"Your quirk isn't so different, extended fingers, you extend your muscles and bones in your fingers, that includes nerves, and any damage done to them, it's reflected once you return them to normal" Izuku hissed, "How many hammer blows you think it will take me to break them, or Nobita's wings" he added with a growl.
The silence that befell there was sepulchral, only the heavy breathing of Izuku was heard, and how, somehow, seemed to overshadow the sound of the city.
"I am done defending you, Mikaela-san was right, you think might makes right, and that's not going to take you nowhere, you are wrong, Lir" he added as he walked away, sidestepping of the now slack extended finger of Nakahito.
"…I am not wrong" Katsuki growled to the departing Izuku, "I am the strongest, the strongest win, that's why All-Might's on the top and not Endeavor, he is weak, I am not! I am in the right! I don't need your help! I don't need you to defend me! I don't need your fucking friendship! It's like you, annoying and unnecessary!" Katsuki growled, and he didn't noticed in his rage, but that comment made Izuku flinch in phantom pain, "I am going to be number one! Because I am a winner and winners need no one!" he added with a shout and an explosion from his hands.
Izuku just kept walking, as far as he could of them, he didn't need them to see how hurt he felt of how Katsuki words affected him.
"Hi Los Ful Folaas" yet they could hear those words as clear as if he was standing in front of them, and saying it right to their ears.
Izuku just kept walking, going on autopilot as he made his way back home, he never noticed anything happening around him as he walked towards home.
He didn't noticed the short but brutal hero/villain melee and debut of a hero that called himself Magma Dragoon, he would had geeked out by the name alone.
He didn't notice the amount of cops patrolling the streets and keeping eyes on the alleyways for some reason.
He didn't notice the red ambulance, a telltale of an ambulance used to transport heroes in serious critical state to a hospital completely dedicated to save hero lives in such cases, or how the ambulance didn't had its siren on.
He just was on automatic, made it back home, there his mother was already home, doing some last minute cleaning and readying dinner for the night.
When Izuku didn't announced his arrival, Inko grew concerned, even more when she saw him just plop onto a chair, backpack still on and looking defeated.
"Izuku, dear, what happened?" she asked, wiping her hands with her apron and then setting it aside on the kitchen, walking to her son, who looked like if he had seen his puppy die in front of him.
"Mom…I think I ended my friendship with ka…Bakugou" Izuku whispered, yet his voice carried around, and so did the defeated tone.
There Inko sighed, on one hand she was glad, nothing on Mitsuki or Masaru, but honestly Katsuki had the worse traits that Mitsuki had curbed back in High School and Masaru simply pummeled afterwards in college, sadly there was no one who could control Katsuki, not even Mitsuki, all thanks to the teachers and their never ending praise that fed his ego way beyond the returning point.
On the other hand she knew how much Izuku cherished his friendship with Katsuki, and had tried to keep it alive by any means, but in all honestly, a friendship, like trust, it's a two-way street, Izuku trying alone to keep that friendship alive was simply impossible when the other didn't want to.
Placing a hand on her son's shoulder, she sat at his side, "Listen Izuku, I…honestly didn't like how Katsuki was turning up, if I'm being honest, I'm glad you did this, I know all the praise got to him, in the end there was little you could do" she stated with a small, pained smile, one Izuku mimicked.
"Yeah…I just wished it hadn't ended up the way it did" he whispered.
"I know, but this got me thinking" Inko began, "What brought this up? Did you showed your quirk or something?" she asked, Izuku shook his head, a small smile forming on his lips.
"No…I think I made a friend, one that doesn't hate me for being me" he said as mother and son stayed on the table for several minutes in silence, letting the events of today settle in.
Three days later…
In a school, secrets and gossip are currency, ways to reach up the top of the social ladder, one might think that with the advent of Quirks, their power would also factor in the ascension of the social food chain.
You would be part right, quirks now held a place in where you were placed in the social ladder, but again, secrets and gossip could change how you position yourself in the social ladder.
The news of him pretty much ending his friendship with Bakugou had spread like wildfire, and thw way it did apparently too.
Suffice to say that the school was in a state of disarray, at least in the social standing, Bakugou was in the top of the ladder power standing, his quirk overpowered everyone's, not including his, but no one knew that because no one knew he had one.
Of course this had consequences, for him of course, apparently there was an unspoken law that you could bully him but not hit him, that right apparently was Bakugou's and his goons, but with what happened three days ago that seemed to be a moot point, as some tried to do just that.
Of course the threat he spoke to Bakugou and his goons on how to ruin them and their quirks seemed to be known as well, as those who dared to actually attack him did it with caution of no revealing their quirks.
Too bad as he knew what they had, the moment they raised their hands he would simply tell them what their quirks are and how to damage them, there they would lower their hands and turn tail.
Honestly he was tired of everyone trying to push him and harass him, and he lashing out was as Mikaela said 'unfortunate consequences' that they never expected would happen.
After all he was shy, creepy deku, no spine, no reason to stand up for himself or anyone else.
He figured that after getting his quirk and rationalizing that he had been bullied for something he had no control over, would make even the shyest and tamest person grow angry and frustrated and lash out.
Fortunately he had Mikaela around, helping him and pretty much ensuring that his mind its focused on something that it's not lashing out.
In all honesty she has been the main reason he hasn't lashed out at anyone in these three days, the constant conversations and debates they have with one another regarding…pretty much everything that crosses them has been one of the reasons his mind had not focused on the fact he should be angry and retaliating at every attempt at him.
Also he had learned a lot of Mikaela and she of him, for example the reason she was in Japan, her parents were part of a company that had relocated many of its staff and assets to Japan, as they were based in the United States, but after yet another tax reform, perhaps the worse to ever hit both companies and common people alike in the past two hundred years, many companies decided to relocate to other countries and continue operations in those countries.
Apparently the new taxes made working, exporting and overall even having employees to be cost prohibited, which was bad for the overall economy of a country, right now the congress and senate were working tirelessly to revert the tax reforms, but the current president, the 'spineless' one wasn't moving an inch on this and pretty much stated that even if it kills the economy of the country he will continue with his reforms and will allow a government shutdown if necessary for every single of his goals to be achieved.
Apparently he was following the modus operandi of a president that held the White House two hundred years ago, and was pretty much bullying everyone that crossed his path, no matter who it was and what position they held.
The current Prime Minister of Japan had quite a choice of words for him, words he did not apologize to, and so many other dignitaries around the globe.
He learned that Mikaela's vast knowledge of laws was in accordance to what she wanted to be, a politician, one that could influence and change many of the flawed laws in both her country and the world, the UN had some laws regarding engagement that had not been amended in the past two hundred years, and has been exploited with impunity by tyrants and despots in the world.
The world might have real life superheroes, but the trade-off was real life super villains.
He also learned that the reason she was so antagonistic with people like Bakugou, who, in her words were 'racists dumbasses' was because of her brother, who was born with a Quirk, unlike her, and as a result he had become just like Bakugou, antagonistic to anyone who disagreed with him and whose solution to anyone disagreeing with him its violence.
The fact he was five years older than her and already with a life of his own back in the States meant little with the fact that happened because her parents pretty much kicked him off the house once he was eighteen after an incident that left Mikaela with a broken leg and another person with his fingers crushed.
Of course Mikaela learned a lot of him as well, she learned of his dream of becoming a hero like All-Might, someone whose presence alone reassures everyone that everything will be fine, she learned also that he was a massive hero otaku and gaming geek, which she didn't teased him about, she was a Warhammer fan, he was never much into the fandom, he would get a reference here and there, but not to the level of Mikaela.
Of course she learned that he could talk a fictional language, fluidly he might add, which was the source of their current discussion.
"Humans can create a whole different language and dialect, with its own accent and alphabet, but we can't by the life of us, fix the world and its laws" she muttered with a frown, "Really? This dragon language it's as useless as learning Klingon"
"It is not" Izuku argued, "You can't imagine how many times this has helped me, honestly I think there are like a dozen people who talk it and write it in the world, I once wrote a whole hero notebook fully on dragon" Izuku stated.
"Really? A whole diary on that?"
"It is not a diary it is a hero notebook with stats of every hero I come across, how their quirks works, strengths and weaknesses" Izuku argued back, "And the Klingon part I don't know, isn't like the fifth most talked language in your country?" he asked.
"Yeah, right after French, I mean a fictional language holds the fifth place of the most used language in my country, and here I thought the Jedi religion was rock bottom" she said with a sigh.
"Well at least that religion encourages cooperation and embrace different culture and ideas without bias" Izuku commented.
"Yes, a fictional religion it's more effective at bringing the good of man that the real ones, I am losing my faith in mankind by the minute"
"Just shut up and eat, mine isn't that high either" Izuku complained, focusing on his bento, Mikaela rolled her eyes and did the same with her own, "By the way, did you buy that bento or someone made it to you?" Izuku asked.
"Mum made it for me, she was in ecstasy after doing it by the way" she added.
"Uh…why?"
"Mum's a nut when it comes to cultures, she loves it, ever visit our house you will find it a mishap of every single culture in the damn world, and don't get me started with the food, one day I will be eating indian food, the next I will beating actual Colombian Ajiaco, and the next my breakfast will be tamales, Mexican tamales, I don't need to travel the world, I pretty much have eaten anything the world can offer for the past twelve years" she added, "Minus the more exotic foods, like the ones with bugs, or the ones made by isolated tribes, but the point stands"
"Huh, well if you have a recipe for spicy food please pass it to me, mom has been hounding aunty for one of her special spicy spaghetti salsa, she refuses to part with it unless she makes a trade, and I really like her special spaghetti salsa" Izuku said.
"Mmhhh, Mum has a special recipe, I only ate it once, I spend a week dehydrated and on the damn bathroom, so was dad, and mum was okay" Mikaela stated, "Can trade it for the one you mom has, I really want something that doesn't cause me hallucinations when I eat" she added.
"Consider it done, I'll send it to you tonight" with that both continued eating in content silence, Izuku was happy that he was not eating alone, for once he felt content, he felt happy.
Honestly one would think that upon gazing at the duo, it would be assumed they were a couple, well they would be wrong, really wrong.
Izuku had learned a very personal thing of Mikaela, a thing that had put her at odds with her now estranged brother, alongside her Quirkless status and his racism.
She is a lesbian.
He learned this, not of her mouth, but when he saw her watching oh not subtly at some girls on the other classes, or to be more precise their butts and muttering to herself 'I'm going to tap that so hard' he heard her, and then she realized she had said that when he was around.
Of course he had no problem with this, homosexuality had become a non-issue in the past two hundred years, it had taken some effort to make it so, in all honestly politically being gay was pretty much death to a political level as it could be used against the person in question, now? It wasn't rare that a politician was bisexual or gay, no hidden secrets behind it and no way to blackmail someone over it.
Religion wise it was another story altogether, they fought tooth and nail against the topic, trying to demonize it and anyone who was homosexual, in some religions it never went beyond words, slandering words but words nonetheless.
In other religions it got dangerously physical, so dangerous that the very first heroes, the vigilantes first heroic actions were fighting quirk users using their quirks to attack homosexuals and using their religion teachings as an excuse.
In those first years the term 'faggot lover' and 'heretic' was associated with the word vigilante, alongside 'pig' for their close working with the police and 'sleepwalker' due to the fact some vigilantes supported several politicians who spearheaded the quirk regulation acts, and were seen as tools and therefore 'asleep' and 'blind' to the truth, unlike those who were 'woke'.
It was a messy dark era, one that ended when the first government regulated heroes began to appear and alongside the police and the now retiring vigilantes who wanted to do one last job and leave their work finished, then came of course the acceptance of homosexuality, again a lot of people died for that to happen, a lot of people.
But even in current times there were those who tried to demonize such things, they were, ironically, minority, in an era before quirks they were majority, a dangerous majority, now they were minority and criminals, hunted by heroes and shunned by villains due to their too extremists ideals and actions.
Mikaela of course was surprised that her friend was non-judgmental, honestly Izuku had always been more accepting of people, he didn't hate a certain group of people, he wasn't racist, sometimes he did jump into conclusions due to their appearances, but that only happened once, hell he didn't hate villains, in a society full of heroes he understood why some became villains.
Money, either for greed or because they have to feed someone.
Society, because they were demonized and given no other option but to become villains or they were forced to.
Those two were several of the main reasons villains tended to become who they are, and he felt pity for them, society had put too much stock in quirks that they had forgot to put stock in the person in question, forgetting than a person controls the quirk, not the other way around.
And yes there are those villains who are simply assholes, causing pain because they can, he feels pity for them too, he can't hate them, but one day he will be like the other heroes, helping stopping them, ensuring that other people don't get hurt because some people are selfish and nihilistic.
Finishing their food, the duo stood up of where they were and made their way inside the school, honestly why no one sued the roof to eat was beyond him, it was calm, peaceful and above all, provided the best vista of the area if you wanted to look around.
It was a short walk towards the classroom to leave their bentos and continue their conversation, if at the end of the ladder leading to the floor of their classroom didn't had someone waiting for them.
Izuku frowned, immediately recognizing who it was, the 'queen bee' of the school, a socialite, also someone who he honestly didn't know what her name was, or had detailed notes about her quirk, only that it was focused on her legs, and that was it.
In all honestly she looked like the classical Ganguro girl of the mid 90, but with a more conservative look on her uniform, unlike most ganguro girls, the only thing that would class with her current style were the heavily toned legs she had, like heavily, as far he could tell, her quirk should enhance the strength of her kicks or make her run faster.
Also she had her lackeys, two guys that, if rumor were led to believe, were in a gang that tries to emulate the Yakuza of old, like way old, calling themselves 'brothers' and keeping an orderly chain of command.
Now the question was, why she was here, in all his time in Aldera, Izuku had only crossed paths with her once, and that was during lunch when he bought a sandwich because he forgot his bento, and she was leaving the line with her food.
As they walked down the stairs, the trio began to approach them, once on the last step, they were surrounded, Izuku took a deep breath, already used to be surrounded by superior numbers, in these cases being patient was the name of the game.
Mikaela on the other hand-
"Okay, what the hell it's going on?" she asked, looking rather miffed.
The 'queen bee' only smirked at that, "Well, to see if the rumors were true" she began, "Not shy three days and somehow you managed to make the shiest and weakest person in the school tell the most dangerous one to never bother him and also you headbutted so said person, that hasn't happened before" she added.
Izuku immediately knew where this was going, "Please stop the theatrics, get to the point please" he said, and for that the 'Queen Bee' rose an eyebrow.
"It is true, you whisper your words but somehow they carry like a full volume talk" the Queen Bee harrumphed then, "Well, as I said you two did things that no one has done before, as a show of growth, that's commendable, but for anything else" she drawled, Izuku was tense, and so was Mikaela, "That's unacceptable"
CRACK!!!
Izuku was on the ground suddenly, using all his strength to not scream and cause every window in the school to suddenly explode, Mikaela who was at his side saw the reason as of why he was on the ground, and was rather shocked at what she saw.
His right leg was in an odd angle, twisted in several parts, she could not really tell if it was a clean break or a compounded fracture, also blood was coming out, but his pants were soaking in the blood, but it was there.
"Socially speaking you two broke rules, sacred ones" the Queen Bee stated, lowering her leg, "This school has a very delicate social system, Bakugou may not like it, but he is tied to it, he might call us extras but he depends on this, one word from me and I can leave him crying like a bitch" she said, Mikaela was about to move to Izuku's aid until the air left her lungs, literally, all of it was simply forced out from her nostrils.
Falling to her knees she looked up at the reason, one of the goons has his hand extended, and she could see a swirl of air in his right hand.
"You, Mikaela was it? Attacking someone of such a high standing has only one punishment" the Queen Bee stated, looking at the second goon, then nodding her head, instantly he was on top of Mikaela, and began to tear at her clothes.
"The teachers belong to me, the students owe me allegiance, no one's going to help you, Bakugou its already in the classroom, you can't scream because there its no air in your lungs or even think about fight because you want to keep whatever air that's left in your body" the Queen continued, "Also my friend here has a Quirk that nullifies sounds, so don't bother screaming Midoriya, it won't help" she added.
"As for your transgression" she continued, looking at the growling Izuku who was looking at the barely struggling Mikaela and her assailant who was taking his sweet time ripping her clothes off, piece by piece, he was growing angry.
"Rejecting the kind friendship of Bakugou, he is doing things for your own good, you're quirkless, so is she, in the grand scheme, you have no future, beating you up? Beating the stupid notion that you can be somebody, now that you rejected his help, you have to be educated on the matters of the world and how it works" she spoke, but Izuku was focused on one thing and one thing alone.
Mikaela and her scared eyes, darting around, begging for help, at one moment their eyes met, and there he knew.
Dammed his secret, that guy just earned a ticket to a hospital.
"You say he can make things silent? And you redirected everyone on the hall to stay in the classrooms, so no one interrupts you" Izuku growled, the Queen noted how the air around them vibrated when he rose his voice, but it wasn't even close to breach her underling's quirk.
"And of course the other can take air, but only of one person, and has to actively keep focused on his target otherwise the target can breather back in"
"My, you are observant, yes that's true, what of it?" she asked, she would come to regret those words.
"Oh, just checking" Izuku then took a deep breath, a very deep one.
"What planning to scream? She asked, she would regret those words too.
"FUS-" and his first words made the school tremble.
The moment Bakugou lay eyes on the ganguro girl he had a bad feeling, he had heard the rumors, he had beat her goons too, sending them with a message to her to not fuck with him, they were many but he was motherfucking Katsuki 'skullfuck the number one spot' Bakugou, no one tells him what to do in this fucking school.
But that girl, that girl made him feel…worried, why she made everyone in the floor to stay in the classrooms, he knew she had a special pull with everyone on the school, even the teachers fell in line to her, whatever pull she had was something of care.
Of course he cared little, he could take her on, he could take anyone on, her 'pull' was nothing compared to what he would do to her if she ever crosses him, besides her pull was on the school, once he leaves this shithole her influence will be as great as the one of shit.
"FUS-"
"The fuck" Katsuki thought, did he just heard fucking Deku-why the fuck the air seems to vibrate?
"RO DAH!" and the fucking room shook-
BAMM!!!
One of the walls simply collapsed, the one where the door was, the windows cracked apart without a care, and something came flying out of the collapsed wall.
Katsuki took a dive to his side, more out of instinct than anything else, every fiber of his being was telling him that being in front of whatever caused that was going to be bad news.
CRACK!!
The sound of something impacting the back of the classroom, he risked a look, and his eyes widened.
There embedded on the wall was one of the goons of that crazy Queen bitch, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, clearly in shock and really fucking unconscious, his clothes were in tatters, and he was holding something on his hands, when he rose and looked closely he realized what was he was holding.
A bra.
Say what you will about him, but it there is one thing he hates more than being lied to, its molesters.
With a growl he made it to the hole in the wall and exited the classroom, there he froze upon the sight.
On the ground was the bitch that headbutted him, covering her exposed torso with her arms, really, really pissed, like if she didn't need her hands for covering her modesty, those hands would surely be on someone's eyeballs.
Then there was the Queen, on her butt, looking shocked, and so one of her goons, that was pretty much far away of the other person on the floor.
There lay deku, looking angrier than he ever has seen in his life, looking at the Queen with something akin to disdain.
Katsuki was about to launch himself to seem what the fuck was going on, until he saw deku fully, and saw that his right leg was bended, bleeding and-
It didn't take a genius to figure out what has happened here, especially with the pieces lay before him.
"You fucking, psychotic bitch" Katsuki hissed, stalking towards the downed Queen, but before he could do anything Mikaela stopped him.
"Dumbass, call an ambulance, she broke Izuku's leg!" she shouted at him.
"You as much breathe a word out of this I swear to god I'll make you suffer!"
The decision, in Katsuki's honest opinion, has never been easier.
Quirk related assaults are the norm nowadays in the world, the doctors, who at one point in time had to treat wounds that were done by mechanical means, sometimes felt frustrated by the fact that sometimes, with all their training, could do nothing to save lives when it looked so easy and simple to some.
When Quirks came, so did the specialization in jobs, doctors were the first to take this in full stride, pretty much swooping like hawks and picking anyone with a healing like Quirk and teaching them all they could about medicine, all the while learning all they could about the Quirks in general, how they worked, what triggered them, all in the hopes that the next generation of medics would do a better job than them.
In a sense it worked, as medics with essential medical related quirks where the norm on hospitals, it ultra-specialized the job to a degree that it's only seen in heroics, and even they fall short to the specialization medics have to subject themselves for the sake of their patients and saving lives.
The basic nurse can be as efficient as the doctors of old, capable of diagnosis with a simple glance and observation of symptoms, after all they were first responders to many cases in a hospital.
From there one could see much of the training of medics, if a low nurse could diagnose you with a glance, then what a full-fledge specialist could really do?
The answer, a lot, something Izuku learned as soon as he entered the hospital.
"Fifteen fractures in his leg alone" the doctor on the room began reciting to the now nervous Inko, at her side stood a black haired man with blocky looking eyes, dressed in what Izuku could describe as the stereotypical detective coat.
"Tissue damage consistent of blunt force trauma, the Tibialis Anterior its shredded by the impact, skin just…exploded, we have to do skin grafts, the Tibia…it has fourteen of the fifteen fractures and the Fibula its broken in two, luckily none of the joints are damage, but the tendons were compromised by the impact, it does consists with a high yield impact at a localized zone, but it should had broken the bones in the impact zone, not the leg as it is" the doctor said, glancing at the man in the coat.
"It matches the quirk file on his attacker" the man in the coat began, "Her kicks carry a powerful kinetic impact, it depends on her leg muscles, the more tone the more kinetic energy she can store and then release upon impact, which explains the severe damage" the man in the coat added.
"Look" his mother began, rather anxious, but frustrated as well, "I don't care about her quirk, she attacked my son, she broke his leg and those boys were going to assault a girl while he was nearby, with a broken leg, tell me something it's going to be done" she demanded.
The man in the coat sighed, "They deny every single accusation that your son or young Johnson-san have stated, in fact they say that it was your son who was assaulting her" he added.
"That's…a lie" Izuku hissed, angry, "Let me guess, they were accompanied by the school's lawyer and their parents" Izuku asked/stated.
"Yes, in fact they didn't say anything, rather the lawyer did, for two of the kids, the third one, the one you 'shouted' to a wall is still recovering, you did embedded him to a wall, luckily nothing but his pride, and the walls were broken, otherwise they might be doing something different" he added.
"Accusing my son!? They have no shame! Can't you do something?" his mother snapped angrily.
"I can in fact, Katsuki Bakugou corroborates part of the story your son and young Mikaela Johnson say, in fact the bra the kid your son shouted to a wall belongs to her, therefore there is ground for assault and puts in question their story, also there is this" the man in the coat began.
"My Quirk it's called Human Lie Detector, I can detect when someone lies to me or says the truth, as a result I detected the truth of your sons statement, same with the girl Mikaela Johnson, and the same with Katsuki Bakugou statement, I interview other kids about the incident, they all lied, saying they saw nothing or your son did it, and while I did not get a word of the other two, I detected the lies of the lawyer, the story is fabricated, I confronted them about it, they say and I quote 'we speak only the truth' and that 'expulsion' for your son was the only acceptable outcome alongside a trip to the reformatory" he added.
His mother simply shook her head, really angry at this, "The nerve, and even when you told them they challenged you, do they know I can go to court over this, ruin them and the school!?" she shouted to the man.
"They know, the principal was there…they don't care, honestly the principal was considering expulsion of your son, he DID use a quirk against a student, caused property destruction, as you can see it is a complicated matter, the fact no heroes or villains were involved makes it worse" the man in the coat added.
"How…you know what never mind, I just want my son to be fine right now" his mother said with a sigh.
"I understand, to that end you have to make a hard choice" the man in the coat began, all while the doctor worked on a clipboard, "The lawyer WILL come here, will try to make you sign several papers, sweep things under the rug, all to prevent the lawsuit that they know will come if you don't sign, they made the Johnsons sign as long the kid who your son shouted is expelled, and it will happen I saw it happen before, the problem is your son, even if it was in self-defense and in the protection of another, and your son has the wound to show, he still used a quirk on a public institution, that's grounds for expelling" he added, "I'll read the papers with you, but they will try to add a clause and put this incident on your sons permanent record, I'll be a sexual assault mark, that alone will hurt him bad in anything he wants to do, including going to a hero school if he chooses, we'll hit them with something worse to drop that clause, but your son will have to 'bite the bullet' in this one, be expelled" the man in the coat said, casting a glance to him.
Izuku for his part clenched his teeth, closing his eyes and breathing in and out, the heart monitor tied to him picked the increase on his heartbeat, it was obvious how he was feeling by this injustice, and it was that, an injustice.
"However, this act will allow us to investigate the school and those three, especially the girl, she has a rap sheet and the school has avoided several class actions lawsuits with similar tactics, the only reason it never escalated? No blood was spilled and something like a sexual assault never happened, bullying might not be acceptable grounds of an investigation, but when bullying send a student to a hospital while defending a sexual assault victim and causes collateral damage? Oh trust me there will be an investigation" he added.
"… (Sigh) how long?" Izuku asked/whispered, making the man in the coat look at him, "How long the investigation will take? By this point they much be making sure the teachers or students say anything that might incriminate the school or her" Izuku said.
"Normally, it would take months, if not a year, we would start immediately, but considering the circumstances, and the bogus actions undertaken by them, we will have to employ a hero to find the truth, and trust me, this one will find it, at the very least three months" the man in the coat said.
Izuku shook his head, "Too long, they'll try to delay as much as they can, they done it before, remember, Aldera it's the villain academia, how many would be villain actions were covered before? Too many" Izuku added, "They'll tire you, frustrate you, lie to you, they have time, you're a detective, how much time you can spare before you have to turn your attention to something else? Not much, they know it" Izuku added with a hiss.
The detective simply cracked his neck, "Well, challenge accepted, you can't imagine how many in the precinct want the case, Aldera High has coughed too many villains, the last thing we need it's another one, we'll nail her, you have my word" he said, glancing at the door when they heard knocking.
"It's him, okay Midoriya-san follow my lead" the detective said, opening the door of the hospital and letting the lawyer in.
From there things changed.
Night…
Izuku felt numb, his mother lay on the side of the bed, asleep, holding his hand, it brought some sense of comfort, but it didn't helped a lot.
Expelled, never he imagined it would happen to him, but here it was, it happened, he just got expelled of Aldera High.
Some people might consider it an achievement, to be expelled of a school that coughed up infamous villains, yeah you're better off somewhere else, and you can do better, heck even online classes sounded well.
But to him it didn't felt well, especially after what happened.
The lawyer as the detective, which he learned was named Naosama Tsukauchi, had predicted, had tried not only to signs several papers, but to include a clause that marked him as a sexual offender.
Detective Tsukauchi put a stop to that as quickly as it came, Izuku didn't know how, but apparently he cited a similar event and the aftermath of it, it included defamation and a lot of money paid to the offended party, money that bankrupted the offenders.
It was enough for the clause to be dropped, however the lawyer was adamant for the expulsion for the case to not escalate, after two hour of reading and re-reading, his mother signed, but the venomous look she threw at the lawyer, and the fact she stabbed the pen, tip first into the hardest thing she could find, was any indication of how she felt made the lawyer to wisely keep quiet and leave.
Officially, the story went as a sexual assault and misuse of quirks, it was the short version, the one he could actually understand, but he knew how things truly went, and how unfair the world was sometimes.
He really thought that things would change when his quirk would emerge, things would get better, he honestly didn't expect what would happen.
The happy days he spend with Mikaela were now a thing of the past, her parents, according to the detective, were going to send her to another school, a private one, Somei apparently, as they had tried first, but convinced themselves otherwise, not for the price, but because they wanted Mikaela to have a more normalized education, instead of a private and more rigid one.
They now didn't trust Aldera, yet they were grateful with Izuku for standing up for her and being a friend, honestly he was grateful for her, for being a friend when he didn't had one.
Now things like that were distant, and he honestly didn't know where to go from this, some say forward, but how? It was never easy, especially when you're subject to an injustice you can't fight.
That was one of the reasons he wanted to be a hero, to fight the injustice and help those wronged, as he knew how unjust the world could be, justice for all.
With a sigh he looked at his mother and frowned, he hated it, he made her cry again, he made her worry again, he hated it, he hated the fact he was the source of her pain.
Looking at the ceiling, right now he wanted just to sleep, but he couldn't, he didn't simply had the will to do so.
He was afraid that in his dreams he might see Mikaela being…he clenched his teeth, the anger and powerlessness he felt, he didn't want to feel it again.
Maybe that's why Katsuki it's so angry all the time, anger born out of powerlessness, not being able to do anything to help, even with the power he had.
He didn't sleep at all that night, just kept staring at the ceiling, his thoughts his only companion and his mother's hand being the only lifeline of not going in a spiral of depression he might not get back up.