Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: A booster per day keeps the slime away.

‘Pollen... Urgh... with the lung I have left, I should not take more risk than I should. I have not yet found a good successor...’

Just a little thought. Just this one little thought and the universe went sideways. Nobody would know the story of “Deku”, the new modern All Might, the Hero who would have become the new Symbol of Peace.

Still, Yagi preserved his lung today, thinking about the slime criminal that was on the run. According to the police, it was hiding in the sewer. What were the odds that it went outside to hide? Quite low. He would let a hero with an accordingly adapted body go there. Did you see how bulked up he was? He could not move down there! 

--------

‘Kacchan may have burned up my notebook again today... But at least I got some good cards!’

As his absent father used to say, before going to America (swearing it was not because his son was quirkless), you should always look at the bright side of the day. After all, his day could be worse: he could look like the blond skeleton guy who seemed so frail that he could die by tripping over a rock! Coincidentally, his father tripped on a carpet before getting on the plane to America, falling headfirst over the railing.

Izuku could swear he saw his mom watching with an icy stare... But she was his mommy and she always protected him. Hell, even Kacchan knew better than to annoy Izuku when Auntie Inko was there. So, Izuku was going to forget that awkward fact in the box for inconvenient memories in the back of his mind.

So, with the money he had left from his meals, Izuku had just enough to buy a new booster for the popular “HERO! The Official Card Collecting Game!“. It was one of the various games owned by the Yaoyorozu conglomerate. Hell, as far as Izuku knew, they even owned some old occidental company and Nintendo as of now. 

Still, while not as exceptional as the day he and Kacchan got the PU All Might Argent Era, presently the rarest in the world, it was a good haul: Endeavor (UA Student) (SR), The Hauler (Vigilante Era) (R), and Ingenium (Common), Backdraft (Common) and Nezu (Ultra Common). He always laughed at the idea that a Vigilante who became a sidekick was rarer than the Hero he worked for. Still, Izuku liked the card, and by association, the man that was printed on it.

At least, it put a smile on his face, despite the tears he was still trying to hold in. Not before he could get to his bedroom...

“Perfect. A medium-sized skinsuit!”

The card still in his hand, Izuku didn’t have the time to register what was happening, before the slime was already on him, trying to suffocate him. Could it wear him like a suit?! That would be wrong on so many levels! Would it kill him or was he trying to use him as a meat suit?! So many disturbing questions that would not stop popping up.

The young boy tried to speak, to call for help! Someone, somebody, had to come! Maybe a hero with a smile, saying, “Don’t worry, because I AM HERE!”

But nobody came. As always.

Izuku was slowly giving up. Why did he think he would get help? He was only Deku. The Useless Deku. If people came to help Quirkless, maybe he would have gotten some help. Except for his mother, he knew the world was not merciful to his kind. Even the teachers at school never came to defend him. It was only Kacchan when he said he had priority to bully Izuku before readily letting him go.

“If it makes you feel better, know that you are my hero. So don’t worry, when I get to your home... Your family will have a painless death," The slime with a smile, as Izuku felt his consciousness fading away.

Maybe… maybe it will be like Katsuki said? Maybe he would get a better quirk in his next life? But… his mom would cry so much…

Mom… MOM!

And then something happened.

The second toe-joint. The famous extra-joint was the proof that the quirkless were less “evolved”. A study that had ruined Izuku’s life. Well, few people in the world knew it was quite wrong: it could mean sometimes that the child was a late-bloomer. The problem was that the quirk was often too powerful for the kid, and their brain would collapse, trying to reign in a quirk they could not control.

Therefore, late-bloomers were not well-documented, either that or the kid had a weak quirk but nothing in between. Still, better than being quirkless.

What the slime and Izuku did not know was that the brain of the young man was just relaxed enough from the oxygen deprivation to withstand the strain of manifesting a quirk, and the outlet in his hand glowed. The pressure was just enough for the quirk to manifest, but not enough to collapse his brain. Something disappeared from Izuku’s hand and…

“WATER STRIKE!”

Something, or someone, washed away from Izuku the slime before his victim gasped for oxygen. Did... Did someone save him? It was so strange as if something just appeared and... When Izuku looked, he saw the Hero Backdraft, a second before he decayed into a burnt card. Oh. What the hell? I mean, it was not normal for a hero to disappear just like that!

Before Izuku could understand what happened, the slime started a new attempt at attacking the middle schooler. It lunged at him, ready to engulf him with its green slime once again.

“AND YOU HAVE A GOOD QUIRK TOO! Perfect!”

A good what now?

Izuku’s eyes widened. It was too late to react now. He would- A hand touched the slime from the bridge above them, and the slime disappeared, leaving only a small blue marble in its place. 

Still coughing, Izuku tried to look at the one who saved him... Only to see a strange man, with a costume and a mask, elegantly dropping from above his cane, hitting the ground with a quiet yet audible sound.

“... What a lack of elegance, attacking a child...” The utter contempt in the voice was as distinct as the disgust. 

A few seconds passed before our favorite hero nerd recognized his savior, as the magician grabbed the marble and kicked it as hard as possible, throwing it extremely far and above.

“... Mr. Compress?!”

Mr. Compress. One of the most known vigilantes in all of Japan, a villain according to the official news, but most forums put him in the vigilante category. Why? Solely because he was a thief who liked to steal from the rich villains, expose corruption, and on the internet.

A few people linked his heist with a mysterious donation for the quirkless, the villainous quirk, or the mutant quirk foundations. It was quite difficult to take the money from the charities, especially All Might often being one donor... And the number 1 Hero had clarified that he would not allow such generosity to go to waste, even if it came from a ‘villain’.

Izuku was one of those who linked all of this and he thought about how often the villain had dodged All Might and how many times the N°1 Hero found a reason to not take care of the current heist by the mysterious thief. Therefore he theorized Mr. Compress perhaps had the respect of the N°1 Hero, which also explained why Endeavor had so much hatred against the magician.

The man was possibly one of the young boy’s favorite “heroes” in the entire world.

Mr. Compress, as flamboyant as ever, laughed a bit before offering him a hand and helping him to his feet.

“Hello, young boy! Quite the nice job you did there with your quirk.”  The man said with warmth in his voice. As if he recognized him or something.

Izuku froze when he heard these words.

A Quirk? But... He was Quirkless?! Besides, the hero Backdraft was just there! How could he have done anything?! But wait- Backdraft’s area was nowhere near here! 

Izuku could feel himself slipping into a panic attack, presumably caused by his brain trying to process the near-death experience and the apparition of the new quirk.

He crumbled entirely and directly on the ground, breath quickening.

The strange magician did what anyone would have, and patted Izuku’s back, helping the kid regulate his breathing. He might be a vigilante, but all he wanted to do was to help people.

“It is going to be okay. You were outstanding, kiddo.”  The masked man told the boy, as Izuku tried to speak again, his breathing heavier than before.

“Quirkless... I’m- I’m quirkless,”

Mr. Compress did not stop. He continued speaking and sat down on the ground beside Izuku.

“Because you didn’t manifest a quirk when you were young? The extra toe joint, etc, etc?” 

Izuku nodded as the man spoke with a soft voice, with none of the disgust or pity Izuku was used to hearing. Oh god, he was being consoled by a famous vigilante! Why did it feel… way more personal? Like there was a connection between them?

“Congrats!” Mr. Compress boomed with joy. You could hear his smile in his voice, clapping his hands for him. The famous thief was happy for him? How? Why?! “You are lucky. Well, not so lucky with the fact that you only manifested your quirk now, but, hey, it happens. It happened to me as an example!”

Was it necessary to say that Izuku stared at his savior with obvious disbelief and shock?

“What?” summed up quite what Izuku was thinking at this instant.

“Why do you think no one knows my name? It is because my quirk came in late, just like yours. It allowed me to not register my quirk. Therefore, most people would pass my name over when checking who I could be. However, unlike yours, it was way too late for me to be a hero. I was like… Twenty years old, I think? So, I became the next best thing. Plus, a good friend of mine threw the Robin Hood legend at me after too much teasing.” He added with some chuckles. Let’s not mention his ancestry with the famous thief, Oji Harima, for VERY OBVIOUS REASONS. You don’t tell your biggest secret to a kid even if he is adorable and one of your fans!

That the young boy had the same hair, though way fluffier than his old friend, was also a nostalgia factor to him. He wanted to pat his head and this green hair! Instead, Mr. Compress stood up, helping Izuku up as well once again.

“I am sorry kiddo, but I can not stay in one place for too long, unless I want the likes of Endeavor or Hawks after me, trying to capture me. However, remember! This. Is. Your. Power,” The magician explained, his finger tapping on Izuku’s forehead. “It is your choice to use it. To make it grow. Will you use it? Become a hero, a vigilante, or a simple barista... I don’t know what your dream is. But here is some advice, as you used the card. As a magician, I know way too well how a deception is a tool just as strong as your quirk itself. You should learn a bit about magic tricks and learn about your limits. Most late bloomers should explore their limit with patience, though. Otherwise, they could die. I cannot stress this enough.”

It is not like he saw that happen a few times. Still, he had to hop and go now!

Izuku was still too shocked to react, and when he was ready to speak, Mr. Compress had already disappeared. He wanted to thank him, but as Mr. Compress once said in one of his interviews:

“I do not expect thanks. I just expect a smile on your face.”

Imagining that his new favorite idol was still watching over him, he put the biggest smile he could on his face and looked at his cards. Well... Maybe he could try one more time? Thought not with Endeavor. If it was like when he summoned Backdraft... The situation hit Izuku hard as he realized the possible consequence and he was not stupid. 

Burning a park was not the best way to test his new quirk. Not to mention what Mr. Compress said at the end. He could die if he used too much of his power. Maybe… maybe he could try with some lesser card? Maybe a normal card with a hero that wasn’t too strong?

Despite the risk, a genuine smile grew on his face. After years of analyzing quirks, being called creepy and all other things… he could analyze his own quirk. 

—-

As for the slime, it was found two weeks later. Supposedly, it hit a certain Yakuza with a bird mask. Overhaul reassembled the slime body into a more solid form before letting Rappa use it as a punching bag. 

—-

That evening, at Midoriya’s home, Mitsuki Bakugou was forced to call to be sure if it was them crying too much or if they had a localized flood. Yes, the mistake has already happened.

Inko could not believe what had happened at first. Then, Izuku used the Nezu card in front of her… and a small version of the UA’s principal made a few movements before burning… leaving a charred card. Also, a very exhausted Izuku, who laid down in the saloon as he went to sleep. 

Inko was beaming with pride and joy about the situation. She did not care for him being quirkless or with a quirk. He was her son, and she was going to tear down anyone who would try to hurt her boy. She had already, though no one could prove anything about Hisashi’s death. 

However, she knew how much it meant for her son, and how it affected his dream of being a hero. 

Maybe she could help? She knew what a late bloomer was. She was the childhood friend of one of them and maybe… maybe she could ask him for some help? After all, Izuku could not show his power at school. However, he needed to train for it. So, he needed a teacher who knew what he was going through. 

Therefore, she did what every mother would have done: she grabbed her phone and dialed an old number that she hadn’t called in years. What a shame she did not call him earlier… But he was happier thinking she did not know his “activities”.

“Atsuhiro-san? It’s Inko! Are you free tomorrow?” Her voice was saying, ‘Atsuhiro, you are coming to dinner.’ Always fear the quiet one… 

—---

The next day at school, Izuku was uncommonly happy. He had a quirk. True, his mother made him promise he would not use it as long as he was not sure of his limit. She said she found a mentor for him; he was coming to dinner. 

He was also with a deck of cards. Izuku was still thinking about his meeting with the Magician and how card tricks could prove useful. Mr. Compress was facing dangerous and/or powerful people like Miruko or Endeavor daily and won every single encounter, getting away while avoiding capture. 

Mr. Compress was not strong or had a powerful quirk that could help him fight. Well, Compress had a powerful quirk, but you needed to get close to your opponent to use it. Every fan knew he needed to touch you to activate the quirk.

So Izuku was thinking. Maybe he should hide his quirk. It was only a tool, after all. Maybe he could learn other tricks? Some magic tricks? If he needed to use his cards, magic tricks were useful: hiding cards in his sleeves and other things like that. So… he better start now. 

Meanwhile, Katsuki Bakugou was looking at Deku with a… weird feeling. For once, the nerd was not annoying him and was playing with some cards. No weird notebook, no gushing to him about how his quirk was awesome or All Might’s latest fight… Not getting into trouble, he had to bail him out like the weak Deku he was.

It was weird. 

So for once, Katsuki sat down with force in front of Izuku and looked at him.

“... What are you doing, shitty Deku?”

Saying that Izuku was startled would be like saying that the water was wet. Katsuki was talking to him on his own terms? It was strange, but… maybe he could-

“I asked a question!” The angry teen with the explosive temper interrupted his thoughts.

“Magic tricks! I mean… I am trying to learn some… magic tricks? I thought it would be nice and less weird to others than taking notes and… well… I am not good enough to do it while walking. So I was training on my own.”

Katsuki was looking at him… before nodding.

"it was about time you put some backbone into something!” Katsuki said with a ferocious smile, to Izuku’s surprise.

Soon after that, he got back up and that was that. 

The greenette was a bit confused. Almost no insults. He was… almost kind of nice for once? Huh. weird. Still, Izuku appreciated the silence for once. So… the video showed the finger trick like that…

—---

Atsuhiro was smiling. He had not seen Inko in years! The last time was when that dumbass husband of hers was leaving without divorcing. And if Atsuhiro left a marble at his feet to shift his equilibrium and let him fall to his death, no one had to know. 

There was no proof, after all. Just because he did not like killing, that did not mean he was not capable of murder.

So he was happy to see her and eat her delicious cooking again. Being a famous thief was taking up so much of his time, after all… he did not have many connections, except for Giran and that strange fellow barman, Kurogiri. He made such a wonderful Manhattan. Oh, and let’s not forget Magne and Chisome.

However, seeing normal people was nice! Just like that green kid yesterday! 

Atsuhiro hoped that the kid would grow into something nice. Hell, it would have been fun to mentor him, but he was right to leave as soon as he did. He had seen hawks in the area, most likely because he stole some files from the HPSC~~.

Who would have guessed it would piss the HPSC enough to send their prized hero after him? Oh well. Time to give them to that agreeable fellow without a nose. Quite crazy, but a deal was a deal, even if he bet it over a round of poker.

So it was with a smile that the man went for a stroll in the city… and stole the wallet of Mt Lady. Simply because he could and honestly, it was too much fun to watch her trying to comprehend how someone stole it from her chest. 

—---

“Inkoooooo-chaaaaaan!” An excited voice squealed from below as Izuku was still in his room, doing his homework and practicing his skills. Their guest, most likely, and he was positively happy to see his mom.

“Atsuhiro-san! You should call more, you know?” said his mother with a tone that plainly said, “if you don’t call me more, you will have some issues with me.” Nobody wanted to have issues with Inko…

Still, it was obviously their guest. Izuku smiled once again, like the sunshine he was before going downstairs. There he saw a tall man, who seemed… quite ordinary. Brown short hair, brown eyes, a face neither ugly nor beautiful… Hell, if he was a wanted man, most people would have trouble describing him. Nonetheless, Izuku smiled at the silent man.

“Good evening mister Sako!”  The sweetest bean in the world beamed to his (unknowingly) idol.

Inko laughed a bit at her friend, undoubtedly stunned by the cinnamon roll that was her son. Even she was sometimes not immune to that smile. So Atsuhiro with no defense against it? Yep. Full effect guaranteed.

Though she could not guess the part they already met. Izuku had hidden the “almost got killed by a villain” from her.

“Izuku? Let me introduce you to Atsuhiro-san. You saw him once or twice when you were much younger. He is a late-bloomer, just like you.”

Izuku went full-on quirk nerd instantaneously, and he assaulted Mr. Compress with so many questions he considered marbling the kid to calm him down before thinking about how Inko would gut him soon after that, not to mention the fact it would oust him as Mr. Compress.

“Calm down, kiddo. Yes, I am a late bloomer, and no, I do not have health issues. Principally because I had your mother to help me deal with it when we were young.”

Inko laughed a bit, as she remembered the old time, directing her friend and her son toward the living room.

“Yes, I remember. You could create these tiny blue marbles at school. They were so beautiful. We never knew if it was made of lapis-lazulis or a blue marble.”

Izuku looked at Atsuhiro. Atsuhiro stared back, his smile becoming strained. He could see the gears working in the child's head. The kid had Inko’s brain.

“Oh? And what else did you do?”  The boy not-so-naively asked…. While Mr. Compress was screaming inwardly. ‘Please, Inko, don’t talk about the book!’

“Well, we were in the reading club. I remember I used to throw books at him when he was teasing me too much. He especially loved that old Robin Hood novel.”

… shit. Well, at least it was not like Inko knew his job as a vigilante/villain. So while the mom went to get the drink, he looked at Izuku.

Atsuhiro feared only a few things in the world. All for One was one of them. Endeavor was another. Nedzu when he was without (or with too much) tea…. And Inko. Especially when she was mad. If she knew what he was doing daily, she would maim him for endangering himself so often.

“Private lessons if you don’t tell your mom.”

Izuku smirked.

“You’ll also teach me how to fight if I don’t tell her that Mr. Compress stole from the HPSC yesterday.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” The vigilante gasped before Izuku inhaled as if he was going to speak aloud… Oh god. “You have a deal! Please say nothing to her!”

Izuku smiled at the magician with a smile, evidently contrasting the fact that he just blackmailed one of the most powerful thieves in the world. If he was not the target of said blackmail, it would impress Compress.

When Inko heard her boy threaten her childhood friend, she had mixed feelings. Should she tell him it was bad or be proud of him for standing his ground? In the end, she chose pride, as it was better for Izuku. Who knows? Maybe he would finally fight for himself at school! 

Also, she was almost certain that Atsuhiro would use her former “Hell training for skinny man” on her son (Atsuhiro said he was going to be an athlete. It was funny how he thought he had her fooled for a second). It would do some good for her boy, and she feared that if she trained him herself, she was going to be too soft.

This evening, Atsuhiro got a disciple and the best meal he had in years. Also, Inko made him promise he would come one evening per week for dinner and tell her how much Izuku progressed.

—---

“So… Atsuhiro-sensei…” Mr. Compress loved that name. “... Why are we in this dump?”

The Dagobah Beach. Former dating spot of the year, back when he was a young man. 

A few years before Inko got married. Everyone makes mistakes, okay? And he absolutely did not miss his chance with Inko because of that damn playboy, Hisashi. If only he could again make him fall…

Uh. Maybe he had a few unresolved issues. Well, let’s not delve into the past. Instead, let’s train a hero!

“Well, first, because nobody comes here. Second, it is very nice to test your power and not hurting anything and there is a nice hospital for quirkless that owes me a favor or two close to here. Since I wish to stay as a male, I prefer to transport you there immediately to not have your mom coming at me.” Atsuhiro explained, while doing some stretching. “Also, you will learn how to fight even on uneven ground. Not to mention, of course, some physical training.…”

Izuku had a feeling of dread, as his mentor pulled out from a marble, an old diary with written cutely “Road to be the best <3”. 

Mr. Compress had a terrifying smile. One saying obviously, “You can pray to God. But spoiler alert: I won’t be listening”.

“Did mom approve this training?”  The scared teenager asked.

“She wrote it.” For Atsuhiro, but that went unsaid, as he wanted to torture Izuku. The teenager wondered for a second if he did the right thing by blackmailing an S-rank villain.

At the end of the week, our Izuku, who could not move any part of his body thought…

Yes. It was worth it.

—---

At the Aldera Middle School, Izuku’s change did not go unnoticed. First, Izuku continued training his magic tricks: Atsuhiro told him it was an excellent idea, as card tricks and misdirections were quite useful in battle. Also, for pick-pocketing. Hell, people began to think that making cards disappear and reappear was his quirk. A weak quirk but a quirk… Well, at least until Izuku explained it was not a quirk.

His body, becoming leaner and well-toned, also grabbed the attention of some girls and Bakugou. Noticeably, the blond boy saw Izuku running in the morning with a strange man, he did not know. The angry boy told Inko and Auntie explained to him that Izuku was finally taking the hero thing earnestly and training hard.

Bakugou was at first angry…

And then became angrier. It was out of the question that Deku was going ahead of him!

Therefore, young Bakugou trained even harder after school, having less contact with some boys at school. After all, Deku was training every day. How could Bakugou do less than Deku?!

—---

“A bit more tea, Mitsuki-san?” Inko asked, her pot of tea ready for her best friend.

Boom.

“With pleasure, Inko! So, how is Atsuhiro-san as of now?” The explosion just outside fazed none of the women.

“Oh, you know. He tries to be there as much as possible for Izuku, but he is quite busy himself. However, he trains my young boy very hard. Do you want me to ask if he can train Katsuki?” This was quite true, as Mr. Compress could not disappear for too long. He had people to leave as destitute and criminals to punish. 

“BIG BANG ATTACK!” The two women could hear the loud noise in the background, as Katsuki trained hard.

“Oh, Inko, you’re too kind. However, I do not think that Katsuki would be compatible with his training” Indeed, as much as Mitsuki loved her boy, he was anything but subtle. It was better to leave that to a more sensible person, such as Izuku. He was so adorable. He made a coin appear from her ear!

“You have a point.”

“Also, I think you prefer when you dine with only Izuku and Atsuhiro, right? ~~” Mitsuki teased a bit. She knew about Atsuhiro’s childhood crush. Also, she was against Inko’s relationship with Hisashi… When asked, she stated that she did not use her power to make that one passage slippy in the airport. Nothing suspicious there at all.

“... What does that mean?” the chubby mother said strongly to her friend, her eyes narrowing.

“Nothing!” Mitsuki answered with a face, not unlike her son when he had a wonderful opportunity to embarrass Izuku.

‘My dear Atsuhiro, don’t worry, I am rooting for you.’ Thought the blonde woman.

—---

During his day off, Izuku decided to learn more about the different cards. Be it “Hero” cards or another game. It would allow him to learn more about his limitations, and he needed as much edge as possible on his sleeve.

So, he tried to do the most sensible thing and go to a game shop so he could buy cards and play with them.

That was the first time that Izuku faced a neckbeard, a fearsome creature that lived in their mother’s basement. They are huge jerks, trolls, goblins, and basement-dweller. Especially when the newcomer is a living sunshine way too pure for this world. 

While most people would just try to protect Izuku, the neckbeard cannot stand purity and wants to corrupt it. So, when Izuku asked for a game, all players redirected him toward a certain someone in the back of the shop.

The player in question was… Something that the usual inhabitants of the shop could not deal with. He was too creepy (even according to their low standard) and they could not kick him out of the shop because: 

1. their survival instinct told them it was a bad idea.
2. He was one of the biggest spenders in the shop.
3. Even his smiles were saying, “I am going to kill you, eat your corpse and use your remains for a satanic ritual.”

Yes; all players send Izuku toward…

Tomura Shigaraki.

The young man was here in his Sensei’s order to learn some social skills. So he tried to give his best smile. His best Tomura smile.

“Welcome to the game, Hero…”