"Tier Six Quirks by their very nature break the laws of reality. Without thought reality bends to the side of the user, and against those that dare stand against one wielding such a quirk. Overall betrayal seems impossible for me, an angered All for One is not something I could escape." From the journal of one Dr. Kyudai Garaki
"Why!" the word came bursting out, Izuku just couldn't hold it in not for a second longer. It was like a balloon expanding in his chest, and now released he could deflate barely fighting back tears. Katsuki is all sharp angles, and fierce fiery glares with chin jutted out forward arrogantly—the bulwark against the constant rain of abuse the quirkless best friends had flung at them.
All of that shattered under the single teary question, and Kachan barked, "That fat fucking Sauron eye'd bastard had it comming!" Tears fell silently, not in harsh sobs but just single streams as he followed through the familiar Mustafu streets even as he choked out a laugh. Kenshi's eyes really did look like Sauron's, idly Izuku daydreamed of having a quirk like that. Laser eyes, enhanced vision and the ability to see well into the thermal spectrum.
Perfect for a hero… if only he could just take it. Have that spark of soulfire, power beyond human limitations, yet through some quirk of fate, or genetics they were real. Tangible, and man became gods like with prometheus' flame of civilization. His thoughts soured in their framing he wished he could show that fire eye'd fuck what it was like being a souless monkey. Show him what it was like being an acceptable target.
Harsh glares, muttered curses, syllables spat like venom melting at the edges of Izuku's daydreams because that was what they would always be. Dreams, Izuku wasn't special, he knew that it was why the teacher wouldn't spare a single thought to him being called a "fucking quirkless monkey," Or some other similar insult denegrating his evolutionary status, or the existence of his soul. They were worse than nothing to these people. Always a rung down on the evolutionary ladder, useless soulless freaks who contribute nothing to society, the remnants of a bygone age where men couldn't bend the world to their whims. They were just wastes of space, and air that other superior people could be breathing.
The insults hurt, sure, but at least Izuku could contain himself. They were true after all. Tears dusted the sides of his eyes, and they walked in an uncomfortably yet unfortunately common experience. Thoughts strayed back to that ball of hellfire and snarled threats flinging himself across the classroom fist slamming with an all to satisfying thud into that 'sauron eye'd bastard.'
"Was it at least satisfying?" Izuku mumbled just loud enough for the golden haired crimson eye'd chihuahua to smirk, "Of fucking course it was shitty Deku." The words though insulting carried with them an undeniable warmth, light and life. Guilt twisted in his gut, if only he could have stopped Kachan, then none of this would have happened. They would still be trying for UA. They would have a chance, if not during the entrance exam at least during the sports festival. They could show the world what they were made of, that they were worth something.
Of course his dreams were shattered before they could ever come to pass as Bakugo continued to speak, "You should have seen the look on that fantasy eye'd fucktard, he was terrified by a 'filthy fucking subhuman.'" Izuku could feel the contempt literally dripping from each word. The silent, if I'm a subhuman and can kick your ass… What does that make you? Bringing a spark to the previously dull emerald eyes.
Izuku's smile died, that was their third black mark. UA's systems would see those, and in an instant they would be denied. Simply be discarded, thrown away, like Izuku's father had thrown away him, thrown his mother away. For a single teary instant Izuku wondered if being quirkless was a flag for them as it had been his father, but forced those thoughts from his head.
Izuku didn't care about the old lady on the third floor stringing her clothes up, and staring down at them, seeming to eye the potted plant seated on the balcony just above Kachan's thick skull.
Silently he swore that if the pot fell he would… he didn't know.
Something bad, something that he would regret.
He knew it.
Walking on two pairs of "deformed" feet chained up in the only shoe for "their kind of people," bright red hightop with blinding white soles painting a target on their backs. Was this their star of david? Some sign that to other's simply read "Fuck with these 'people' they don't matter." They are worth nothing to this society, and the sooner they die out the sooner we can begin to improve.
Trudging along behind Kachan Izuku found his eyes wandering. The streets in front of them grew empty quite quickly, the previous throngs of people disappearing into their houses. Following the road it narrowed down into an overpass. Graffiti caked the walls, and the smell of sewage stood out so starkly that everything else seemed tainted by association.
Izuku felt himself inching away from the manhole cover—the source of that vile stench was the very same manhole cover that Kachan was walking directly towards. He had known Katsuki for the longest time. Since they were both in diapers literally, and at that time Izuku felt that he had a reasonable grasp over Katsuki's personality. So Izuku knows when that little voice in the back of his head pops out and says "Katsuki is going to walk over that manhole cover, and it'll collapse and he's going to have to be stuck fishing Kachan from the shitpipes," he was almost sure.
The worst part though?
Trying to stop it would only have Kachan hurting himself. Telling Katsuki not to do something was like handing a child a glock and telling them it's a spray bottle full of their favorite All Might themed soda. Pop goes the monkey. Izuku chuckled though he shouldn't have. That was villain shit. Izuku wouldn't be a villain, worst case he would be a vigilante alongside Kachan.
Kick some villain as—his thoughts were violently ripped from him as the world exploded into motion and the overwhelming urge to vomit. Sludge coalesced and grew a wide sharp wicket smile and two eyes sharp like blades, then it spoke in a broken choked chuckle "ohh I get to pick?"
The monster because no human looked like that continued to grow larger and larger looming over both small boys and completely blocking the passage. It was an abomination, the living embodiment of filth and decay. Human waste swam through him like fish in an ocean. The smile grew, "a small and a medium sized invisibility cloak, it really is my lucky day."
Izuku had tried to ignore the stench, but when it was directed at you almost brandished like a weapon all he could do was bend. It was putrid, a foul cocktail of the worst of humanity. Instead of skin it had a mottled almost turbid semisolid liquid sludge. Tentacles grew and encircled them both before Katsuki screamed "Run NERD!" a single glance told Izuku more than any amount of words.
Terror was etched across his face, and yet he moved, throwing himself into danger to protect Izuku without a plan or thought. Fuck. Katsuki was Izuku's symbol of perseverance, he never gave up and never showed fear. He was strong in spite of the weakness they shared. The monster simply chuckled and collapsed upon Katsuki like an ocean of shit forcing itself down Katsuki's throat. Before he even knew Izuku was moving, hand flashing into his bag, to the side of the medkit. Past the gauze, past the burn cream, past the quarter full bag of ibuprofen gummies and down to the exacto knife. The razor slid from its orange housing and Izuku moved.
Throwing the backpack, Izuku stayed behind it, used it to block the villain's sight lines, and lept. His knife fell cutting into the soft flesh of the monster's eye, and in a titanic roar the beast spasmed one tentacle smashing Izuku into the ground like little more than an ant before an elephant. Izuku felt something shatter, yet he was just forced to watch as that fucking villain.
That fucking bastard killed the only friend Izuku had ever had. The boy that had just tried to throw his life away to save Izuku's. There was a click, or a snap, or perhaps a scream Izuku honestly couldn't be fucked to care about anything other than the white hair in his eyes, and the threads just dancing beyond his fingers.
No, one thread, a quirk, a power. Izuku reached forward and grasped it, pulling, or ripping. Izuku felt something give. Then the world was dark.
—
Katsuki wanted to scream, to cry to fucking lash out and destroy that fucking sludge monster that tried to throat fuck it's shitty tentacles into his throat, but none of that mattered. Not the fucking lake of blood, or the mist of it that seemed to cling to every surface staining it crimson. Blood clung to his face, left spiderlily dancing over his shirt as he flung himself forward.
"Shitty Nerd!" Another step, and he slipped face landing in the blood spitting Katsuki took deep wrenching breaths and forced himself forward inch by inch towards the head of blinding white hair. The shitty nerd got a quirk, a part of Katsuki wanted to smile, but the rest was screaming. "DEKU GET UP!"
Forcing himself to his feet Katsuki hobbled reaching Izuku's side. His hands shook but they were forced to stillness as he touched the corpse—NO! Deku didn't get to die like this, Izuku was going to be a great hero. He was terrifyingly smart, a genius able to rip a part a quirk in seconds and think of uses their original owner wouldn't have even dreamed of. He was a dreamer, a thinker, the fucking yin to Katsuki's explosive yang.
He hated how fucking gay that sounded, but without his fucking brother. Without Izuku Katsuki wasn't sure he had the courage to fight as hard as he had been. "IZUKU!" It was more of a wail than a scream. More a plea than the threats that constantly were spewed from his mouth, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Why didn't you just let me die you heroic fucking retard!" The tears came though Katsuki would deny them to his dying breath.
He was hollow, a useless fuck up that just got he friends killed. A failure, then a voice boomed and Katsuki felt something he was begging for, hope. "I AM HERE!" It was All Might, turning Katsuki started to scream, "GET OVER HERE YOU USELESS FUCK! HE'S DYING! YOU FUCKER GET OVER HERE!"
Katsuki's gaze never left All Might's, yet he saw as the man's eyes narrowed spotting Izuku's new white hair. Then All Might moved, and the world became a blur of motion and color, in that instant Katsuki knew he was safe. Knew that if All Might couldn't protect them no one could.
Then they stopped, blood leaked from All Might's lips, and as steam leaked from him the #1 Hero deflated like an overfull balloon. The landing was a bit rough, Katsuki's eyes flashed to Izuku before returning to the fucking pre-corpse that got his hopes up.
All Might previously a mountain of muscles and freedom, was now nothing more than a collapsed house. A bundle of too long sticks, and too much skin draped over them, his eyes glowed like unearthly azure torches in the shadows cast by the sockets his sunken eyes peered from. If the man had been wearing anything other than a white shirt, and green shorts Izuku might have said he looked like the stereotypical old sage, like Mozes before he parted the red sea. That was the kinda reference the shitty nerd loved.
Katsuki bit back tears as he forced out a garbled scream of "If Izuku dies so do you old man!"
"Young Man!" Small Might boomed before continuing at a lower more comfortable voice, "What happened, and don't worry for your young friend! It is simply quirk exhaustion!" The bastard was hiding something Katsuki was sure of! With the way the slimy bastard's gaze kept inching to Izuku before they were forced back to Katsuki with a flinch as he rubbed his side.
So Katsuki explained.