It began with segregation. Children refused to play with him, they teased him and made fun of the fact that he was quirkless. The adults were even worse as they insisted on treating Izuku like some china doll or as an invalid.
They say that 20% of the world's population is quirkless, but if you were to account for only the children our age that percentage would go down to about 3%. That meant that a quirkless person could go his entire life without meeting another like him. Worse were the suppressed reports about the devastating consequences of bullying and discrimination on the quirkless. One scientist specializing in statistics published a paper on the deep web saying that less than 60% of quirkless children make it past their 10th birthday, dying either due to suicide, some misguided prank or attempt on their part to gain a quirk by putting themselves in danger and even straight up murder, most often than not perpetrated by their relatives. It's said that 70% of homicides within a family were the result of a mother or father smothering their quirkless child. More worryingly, only half of those that made it past their 10th birthday survived past their 15th birthday with most suicides happening a few days after the last high school offering a hero course in the country had finished giving out their admission test results as there were laws against prohibiting the quirkless from applying but it was obvious that no school would ever waste a spot on a quirkless person. After that they were lucky if they could get a job and most bit the dust one way or another by the time, they turned 30.
It's been a little under 200 years since quirks first appeared in the world and most of the quirkless population was aging and dying out.
It was a tragedy to face such discrimination, but this is human nature. I have no doubt that when quirks first appeared, they were viewed as some satanic curse by some people and quirk users were experimented on. Now the quirkless are facing the same only that they are considered useless by society and so they are shunned.
Darwinism at its finest. It would be ironic if one of the people most dear to me wasn't stuck as a steppingstone for humanity's advancement.
I don't want to have to go to my brother's funeral.
At first, I tried to stem the tide of aggression against my brother. I walked with him to the kindergarten and I followed him everywhere, beating up kids that were foolish enough to pick on him. It really did wonders for my chakra control as I figured out a way to enhance my physical abilities with chakra and boost my perception to the point that I could easily doge even some teenagers and adults. I had yet to show my Sharingan to the world. My brother resented my actions, that much was clear. At first, he said nothing.
Izuku knew that I was doing this only to protect him and it was that desire that fueled my will and ambition to grow more powerful. For that to happen, I needed to ironically, become a hero in this society. Itook it to far one time and that night, after I got a half-hearted scolding from mother he came into my room and asked me to stop. He said that I was becoming a villain, that I was going too far. As much as I hate to admit it, he was right.
-Flashback-
"What do you mean, stop? Didn't you see that they were about to hurt you?" I asked desperately
Izuku looked at me with teary eyes
"know. It's just you went too far ni-san, they were really hurt. A hero should only fight to protect others, that's what All Might said" said Izuku
"But I was protecting you!" I cried out, hoping to make him understand
"But I was protecting you!" I cried out, hoping to make him understand
"I know, but I don't want to be protected if it turns you into a villain" said Izuku
I stopped breathing for a moment and looked down at my fists. There were still traces of that kid's blood on my knuckles. I heave a sob. God dam these genes, this is so unbecoming.
"Nii-san?" asked Izuku reaching out towards me
I pulled him into a hug, to witch my little brother replied instantly
"I'm sorry" I whispered " won't fight again but promise me something, little brother"
I felt Izuku nod
"Don't ever lose hope in your dream. Whatever anyone tells you, whatever the heroes tell you, never lose hope. Can you promise me that" I whispered, not truly trusting my voice
"I promise ni-san" came the choked reply
That night as I held my crying little brother in my arms, I awoke the second tomoe of my Sharingan, one year after I originally activated it.
-Flashback End-
My greatest problem was in fact Bakugou. He gained a strong quirk called Explosion which allowed him to secret a nitroglycerin like substance from his hands and blow it up. True, he couldn't do anything more impressive than a few sparks, but that kid had the will and ambition to make it a powerful weapon. When he found out Izuku was quirkless he was somewhat subdued from his original brash nature, but he quickly cut ties with my brother, or at least tried to. Izuku was still clinging to him like a limpet and it was evidently annoying the hell out of Bakugou. At least
Bakugou had enough sense not to mess with Izuku beside one small scuffle and some mean words.
After that scuffle I, of course, replied in full with a full expenses paid trip to the hospital. He never touched Izuku again even if he still spat out insults left and right. I could tell that he knew I was watching and that he knew I was dangerous.
By the time turned seven I had already tested out of elementary school and was well on my way to test out of middle school.
My target was UA. I needed the prestige that came with graduating that school even if for selfish reasons.
They wouldn't accept a ten-year-old in their hero course, but it wasn't unheard of for a 14-year-old to be accepted which would put me in the class one year higher than when I would normally have been admitted.
I finally managed to pester my mom into giving me martial arts training. Chakra, unlike most strengthening and super strength quirks couldn't compensate for a lack a knowledge in fighting. It's augmentation of a body's strength was subtle and required specialized techniques to use at full capacity. I also began to train my body's endurance. After all, chakra was formed from yin and yang, energy of the mind and body melding together into one.
lalso began to use chakra more extensively. I figured I could leave high risk techniques like the eight gates and chakra intensive techniques like the rasengan and shadow clones for later, so I dedicated my time to recreating the work of Indra Otsutsuki in developing hand seals and ninjutsu.
With the Sharingan at my disposal I have access to its Eye of Insight and Eye of Hypnotism and thusly I had access to visual genjutsu. Once I grow a bit, I could attempt to recreate Tsunade's famous super strength that could put me on par with the likes of All Might in terms of raw punching power, but my chakra control was probably not yet refined enough. Furthermore, I would need to have a comprehensive knowledge of the body in order to handle the recoil of such a technique. Truly, even at this early stage the Sharingan was a blessing. It may not have had the same visual acuity as the Byakugan when it came to seeing chakra but I was able to see enough to recreate the full twelve hand seals by the time turned eight and was able to recreate the substitution and transformation techniques as well as develop a sensing technique based on the same scientific understanding that gave humanity radar and sonar by the time I was nine.
Still, even with my growing prowess in the martial arts I was far from being able to contest with people who had had more time to grow and develop their abilities.
Next on I moved to elemental manipulation witch I first delved into when I was seven. First off, I decided to go with fire release. It was a flashy power that made a big bang and was perfect for beginners. It helped that I seemed to have an almost supernatural awareness of chakra inside me, especially now that I had been practicing with it for the better part of 6 years. It was easy enough to get my chakra to burn stuff up, meaning that I probably have a natural affinity for fire, lucky me.
Still, I could only work on fire release so many hours in a day since I had to get to a lake deep in the forest surrounding the town and I could only stay there for a maximum of 6 hours each day. I may have skipped normal education through my genius, but I was already planning to take university courses on stuff I hadn't in my past life such as law, social science, economics and management. Incredibly important stuff if you want to be a successful pro hero.
Even so, by the time I was 11 l already had several jutsu under my belt and a complete mastery of fire release. was working on earth release next and then water release.
I had managed to recreate or better said create the following Fire Style: Fire Wall, which was relatively low level and low in chakra cost, perfect for area denial. Fire style: Explosive mist which was a rather surprising discovery and it worked by unleashing a cloud of embers which could be used as a smokescreen similarly to the hidden mist technique but could also be remotely detonated making it perfect for setting traps. Fire style: Great Fireball is pretty much self-explanatory as well as it's bigger cousin Fire style: Fire Dragon Bullet.
These were my 'kill the enemy' techniques, or they could be used for demolition purposes. I also developed an offshoot from the Great Fireball witch I call Fire style: Flamethrower. I also learned to coat my hands in fire natured chakra to aid in close combat.
I have also developed other techniques such as a variation of the Body Flicker witch I call Flash Step.
It propels me to quite insane speeds and because I can use it in any limb I wish instead of only in my legs, it grants me a degree of mobility that few in this world possess.
I'm still working on some jutsu for my earth style, but I do have some ready.
I'm now 13 years old and I'm beginning to ponder greater aspect of my existence in this world as I look over the city from one of its tallest skyscrapers. The view was beautiful as the sun climbed over the horizon. It was early in the morning and quite chilly, but I enjoyed being up here, above the world as it were. Over the years l've kept my hair relatively short, unlike the mess my brother calls hair. Surprisingly enough, it didn't retain the green tint that my brother's hair has. I had dark pants and shoes with a dark green shirt and a black overcoat.
I sensed the person coming before I heard their light footsteps on the roof.
"Eraserhead" I greeted the underground hero
"Problem child, what are you doing up here at this
hour?" asked the hero
I met Eraser Head a few months back when I found him bleeding after a fight with one villain or another on the roof I used to frequent to watch the sunset. I took him to the hospital and left. A week later we ran into each other again on another rooftop. My talks with him weren't very deep or enlightening, but they were entertaining, and I think he enjoyed my company somewhat.
The man was difficult to read. Unsurprisingly considering this was only the tenth time we were meeting like this.
"Watching the sunrise. It's beautiful up here you know" I replied
He said nothing as he approached me. I notice that he shifted into a combat stance. My face remained impassive, but I minutely shifted into my own combat stance.
"You're good, who trained you?" asked the hero
I turned to half face him, not dropping my stance.
He looked at me... approvingly?
"What's it to you?" | couldn't help but ask
"It's a reasonable question to start a conversation" he replied
I eyed him a bit, flashing my two tomoe Sharingan beneath the genjutsu I used to hide them. He didn't seem like he was in an attacking stance and he was far enough away that I could make a break for it if he tried anything.
"Here and there. Honestly I just took what suited me best from a number of different styles and made my own" I replied with a shrug
He seemed surprised
"That's impressive for a 12-year-old"
"I'm 13 you jackass. Don't act like you haven't read everything the government already had on me" I replied
Again, he seemed somewhat surprised
"How did you know?" he asked
snorted. At least he didn't underestimate my intelligence
"Not that big of a find honestly, especially with how you seemed to be fishing for information in our previous meetings and should I also mention your terrible stalking tendencies? Now as you know my name, I believe that it's only reasonable that I know your" I replied
He grinned and laughed
"I suppose that it was to be expected from one such as yourself, eh Madara Midorya? I'm Aizawa Shota but call me Eraser Head when we're in public" he said.
He looked like he wanted to aske something but held himself back.
"Well, get on with it, ask" I said
"What do you want to be when you grow up.
You've already destroyed the normal academic system, what's next on your list?" he asked
I took my eyes off him and looked down at the school that was next to this building. It was early morning and- there he was, I thought with a smile.
I sensed Aizawa come up beside me.
"Getting a pro hero license" I said
"Why? You could do much more with that brain of yours in any other field, such as science or engineering. I bet that support companies would be willing to go to war over you" said Aizawa who appeared to be surprised by my declaration
"I want to be able to use my power freely. Being a pro hero is the best course of action to take.
Besides, look over there" I said as I pointed to the green haired boy that was running on the sidewalk
"A kid?" he asked
"Not just any kid, my brother. Twin to be precise" I said, and he said nothing "Ever since he was little, he wanted to be a hero, but he was deemed quirkless at 5. From then on everyone started telling him that his dream was impossible. I was the only one to tell him to have hope"
"That's kind of reckless, don't you think? Hero work is dangerous, without a quirk he could be killed" lectured Aizawa
sighed. Aizawa was just laying out the facts logically. I couldn't afford to get angry over the truth.
"I know" I replied
I stayed silent for a moment
"Do you know the statistics for hate crimes and discrimination against quirkless people. The unedited version, not the shit the government and media keep trying to sell us" I said
He winched and nodded
"I refuse to burry my brother before he even becomes an adult just because society thinks he is useless and keeps trying to break him" I said darkly
"That's kind of dark, kid" he replied
I shrugged. We stayed some time in silence
"So, any thoughts as to where you're headed for a hero school?" asked Aizawa
"The UA entrance exam is in three months, isn't it?
My birthday is three weeks from now" I reply
"Huh, good luck kid. I hope I see you at UA" said
Aizawa as he left me on that rooftop
Once I couldn't sense him anymore I body flickered away.
The notoriety that comes with being a pro hero could be useful down the line when I begin my research into the depths of science and chakra in order to secure funding. And maybe, once I'm sure that won't lose my brother because he finally cracked and did something stupid, I can settle down and continue my previous life's work or go see the wonders the world has to offer, who knows?
It was time to learn the most iconic jutsu of all, the Rasengan.
Abilities so far:
Fire manipulation; Fire style: Flame Wall a wall of flame between the user and the target); Explosive Mist ash-like mist that obstructs the vision and can be remotely detonated); Great Fireball user spits out a big ball of flame); Flamethrower user spits out a continuous jet of flames); Fire Dragon Bullet (A highly compressed flame in the shape of a dragon's head, has increased speed, penetrating power and range compared to the great fireball)
Replacements technique
Transformation technique
Body Flicker; Flash Step (upgraded battle usable version of the body flicker ala Shisui style)
Earth manipulation; Earth Style: Earth Wall a wall of earth to protect the user); Mobile Corel user is able to move massive amounts of earth either downwards or upwards); Bedrock Shunt user is able to move massive amounts of earth horizontally); Earth Destroyer destroys or pulverize the land beneath the enemy in a specific direction from the user); Seismic Quake simulates an earthquake making the opponent loose his footing); Swamp of the Underworld( liquefies the soil in an area and then traps the enemies that fall in the resulting mud); Earth Spikes forces the earth into spikes in an area)