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English
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Published:
2019-09-11
Updated:
2019-09-13
Words:
2,593
Chapters:
2/?
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46
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285
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King of the Beasts

Summary:

At age four Izuku learned that the world isn’t fair. At age four he learned that not all men are born equal. At age four, his father left, unable to deal with a quirkless son. At age four, his best friend became his worst nightmare. At age five his own mother couldn’t deal with a useless son and threw him out into the middle of a forest, leaving him to the wolves.

Izuku’s determination is what saved him. He stared down a bear and fought the leader of a pack of wolves. He has the scars to prove it. He’s befriended the wolves, made family of the bear, and crowned himself the king of the beasts when he ripped the heart out of a murderous lion.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Chapter Text

At age four Izuku learned that the world isn’t fair. At age four he learned that not all men are born equal. At age four, his father left, unable to deal with a quirkless son. At age four, his best friend became his worst nightmare. At age five his own mother couldn’t deal with a useless son and threw him out into the middle of a forest, leaving him to the wolves.

Izuku’s determination is what saved him. He stared down a bear and fought the leader of a pack of wolves. He has the scars to prove it. He’s befriended the wolves, made family of the bear, and crowned himself the king of the beasts when he ripped the heart out of a murderous lion.

That brings us to 15-year old Izuku. Just Izuku. No ‘Deku’, no ‘Midoriya’, those were all names he has long forgotten. He’s made pacts with most of the animals of the forest. He was known as a legend, a god, a king. The forest was his home and he never wanted to leave. Sadly, things had to change.

Izuku hated people. Izuku wasn’t stupid; he was human too, but he has too many painful memories to like them. He often forgot how to speak because of how little he communed with people and he believed himself to be better than them.

With how close he was to most creatures of the forest he was surprised when they made him leave. He had lived all his life with them, and he had each their respective strengths.

Speed of the wolf, strength of the bear, sight of the hawk, heart of the lion, teeth of the viper, flexibility of the squirrel, body of the human, and intellect of the owl. He could commune with the beasts and even called them his family. So why would they try and make him leave?

“But why...” Currently, he was speaking to his ‘Father’. A large black bear. He was the first beast to help Izuku. None of the animals had actual names and were instead called their respective part of his family.

“Izuku, you have to be with your own kind. I know you hate them- “The bear’s growls were translated to words with Izuku’s keen mind.

“They all deserve to die.” Izuku spoke matter-of-factly. Most interactions with humans led to the same thing: death and destruction.

“No, they don’t. I’m sure, if you try, you can find some good ones. You’ve interacted minimally with your kind over the years. When you first came to the forest, all you could do is talk about how much you wanted to be a hero, despite all odds. From what I’ve gathered, a hero saves others from a certain demise. If you wanted to be a hero so badly, I doubt that you would have changed yourself so easily.”

“I… I do still want to be a hero. If only to change my kind for the better. But I don’t want to have to leave you!”

The bear just raised an eyebrow. Metaphorically, anyways. “You can go into the city. I’d be with you every step of the way. In your heart. Besides, you can still commune with the forest and its inhabitants.”

“Wha… But how is that possible? To become a hero, I’d have to travel into a city, and they wouldn’t just let me stroll into- “

“We’ve accounted for that. We’ve met a boy, name of ‘Koda’, that would be willing to help us. He can commune with us, much like you. It is apparently his ‘quirk’.” Izuku’s eyes widened.

“That’s such a cool quirk! Can he only talk to mammals or can he talk to literally everything? How does it work? Can he control animals or just talk to them? I have so many questions!”

“I’m sure you do, and after we get you settled into your new living arrangements, you can ask him yourself.”

“Oh... Oh yeah. I have to leave you…” Izuku cast his eyes downward.

“Let me be honest about this Izuku. You’ve known us, your family, for years. And it breaks my heart to have to break yours. Izuku… I’m dying.”

Izuku lifted his head, eyes wider than they have ever been. “There is no way to sugarcoat this. I’m nearing the end of my lifespan. I doubt you would understand, but I can feel it. I’m going to die soon. Very soon. I don’t want you to be by yourself. The moment I die, a lot of the forest is going to turn on you. You’ve befriended most of the forest, that much is true. But what happens when one of the wolves turns around and questions you. I won’t be there to protect you and the forest is going to turn against you, led by lies. Please Izuku, I want you to leave before you see my… passing.”

At this point Izuku had tears coming out of his eyes. He knew his father was dying because he’s seen the black bear weakening. The bear would never admit it, but he could hardly defend himself now. He had accepted the loss of life. It was part of the cycle. What he couldn’t accept was that his father was right. The forest would turn on him the moment the bear was gone. He cried because his life meant nothing, all his hard work to sustain a livable environment was for nothing.

“Alright, Father. I’ll go. When do I start?”

“Right away. Follow me.”

____________________________________________________

Izuku soon met with the boy Koda. They met at the outskirts of the forest where there was a small number of trees. You could see some of the larger buildings of a city already, looming ominously above the tree line. He seemed shy at first, but he quickly opened up when Izuku said he’s lived with the beasts all his life. It was like flipping a switch with how fast Koda seemed to change.

The boy seemed to be nervous around his- Izuku’s own kind. Izuku could relate.

“So. Lets get straight to business. I need a place to stay. I need to learn. What is most likely common knowledge to most people is likely going to be a foreign concept to me.”

Koda furiously nodded his head.

“I know! I’ll help you! I learned from the bear about your situation. I’ll help!”

Izuku was taken back by the no-hesitation determination in his voice. He was impressed about how little Koda seemed to care about Izuku’s past. For this, he was grateful. He didn’t want others of his kind to find out about his rather… detailed past.

“First, though, let’s get you some proper clothes and a haircut.”

Izuku turned as red as the tomatoes he often feasted on. He was shirtless, showcasing his rather toned muscles, and was covered with scars. Most of the scars were vaguely claw shaped. His green hair was overgrown and riddled with twigs, along with his pants, if you could call them that anymore. They were torn and holes littered the outside of them.

“Yeah… Let’s.”

Chapter 2

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

          “Mom? Where are we going?”

 

          “Shut up, useless brat.”

 

          Izuku was happy that the sentence didn’t come with a slap, and he wasn’t willing to test her more. So, Izuku did what she asked, and shut up.

 

          Their car soon reached a large forest. Izuku’s eyes widened. This was the first time he had ever seen a forest so large.

 

          ” …Mom…?”

 

          “Come with me, brat.” She looked peaceful, more peaceful than she had looked in a year.

 

          He followed his mother out the car and into the forest. They walked four hours before stopping. They paused at a small clearing with a break from the forest’s thick overhead canopy, a single stump positioned in the middle. Izuku’s limbs burned, but he had already learned never to complain, less he wanted a new scar.

 

          “Stay here, brat. I’ll be right back.”

 

          Hours past without even a peek. Izuku didn’t even cry. He was too tired to do anything other than sleep. He awoke to the sounds of a deep growl.

 

          Izuku sat up from the stump he was laying on. He opened his eyes and started to rub them, stopping before his arms reached his eyes. A large black bear was on four legs about a meter from his stump. Or, apparently, the bear’s stump. Their eyes met.

 

          Izuku learned somewhere to play dead when you meet a bear and to never challenge it. He already met the bear’s eyes, might as well one-up it, right? His mother already left him to die.

 

          He slowly stood up on the stump, not making any sudden movements to startle the bear. He glared directly into the bear’s eyes the entire way up and he continually stared when he stood up. He didn’t flinch when the bear took a hesitant step forward, then another, then another. The bear stood up on hind legs, eyes also never leaving Izuku’s.

 

          He kept his face rigid when the bear growled again. The beast then… sat down. Straight in front if Izuku, the bear simply sat on its rear end. Apparently rethinking its decision, it stood back up. Faster than the 5-year old could comprehend, the bear was behind him. Its maw widening around his throat.

 

          It grabbed him by the shirt and started to carry him back to its cave. Not that Izuku even knew yet. Or was awake to know. He had passed out from fear the moment the bear grabbed him.

 

_________________________________________________

 

 

          Izuku shuddered at the memory. It was of when he first arrived in the forest. He wasn’t the smartest child, but he wasn’t the dumbest. He should’ve known not to challenge the bear, but now he has a father, a friend, and his life. So, win-win all around right?

 

          Izuku returned to the task before him. Learning. He had spent the last month meeting with Koda, learning all he could about history, math, art and the like. Koda said he was scarily good at analyzing things like quirks and fighting styles. He was also gifted when it comes to learning in general, as he had already learned much of the material Koda has been teaching him. He knew how to read and write already, and he would occasionally find books tossed away in the forest, so Izuku wasn’t actually that far behind when it came to learning material.

 

He also didn’t need to worry much about the credentials. Koda had an uncle who worked in the government, so it was easier than expected to create a new identity. His new name was Izuku Ursus. A tribute to his now dead father. He wasn’t sure how he knew the fatality already happened. His father had left him with Koda a month earlier, and he had never seen him again, and suddenly, without prior warning, it was like a fishing lines napped in his body and he felt lighter, albeit lonelier.

 

          It was like he had a spiritual connection with the bear. Almost like that was his quirk. He chuckled at the thought.

 

          “Izuku? What’s so funny?”

 

          He sputtered, forgetting he was in the middle of class with Koda. He was supposed to act like he was a transfer student whilst learning as much as possible. It was pretty funny pretending to talk a different language, and he was pretty sure his history teacher knew he was just messing with people.

 

          Other than that, the only other thing he noticed was a lot of people avoided him the moment they realized he was connected with Koda. Not a single person interacted with him, which was actually a good thing. In this new school, no one bullied him because he always hung around Koda, the apparent school loner.

 

          Despite this, he was happier than ever before. His relationship with the wolves was shaky and as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t really call them his friends, as they would turn on him the moment he was questioned, or food became scarce. Having an actual friend made everything a lot easier.

 

          Later that day, he started his walk home with Koda. They started talking, and when one thing led to another, Koda asked him about heroes.

 

          “What do I think about Heroes? Heroes are… difficult to define. At first glance, heroes seem great, but at the same time, you get heroes like Endeavor. Heroes are different shades of gray, like villains. Some are pure white, while others are pure black. In my eyes, the only difference between heroes and villains are the way they go about saving people. So, before I fully answer your question, let me ask you something, What’s your opinion on villains?”

 

          “V-villains? Their bad guys, right? They use their powers to hurt instead of help, and they always try and do bad things.”

 

          ” True, true. But, have you ever thought about why? Why do villains hurt others?”

 

          “I… I guess not.”

 

          “Heroes are not always the good guys. Heroes are just villains that help. Have you noticed that heroes often like to use their fame and hero status to get themselves out of trouble and act like VIP’s of the world? Those guys I don’t have too much problems with. They are assholes, but they still help when you need help. Then there are heroes that use their power to hurt others and pretend that it was for a good reason. The number two hero himself has one of the highest kill counts ever seen by heroes. He claims that he had no other choice but to kill. They are what is referred to as ‘fake heroes.’ They are pieces of shit. Then, there are ‘true heroes.’ Heroes that put the safety and well-being of others above all else. They are saints hand crafted by the hand of god himself to walk the Earth. You cannot ask me my opinion of heroes without multiple answers.”

 

          “W-whoah, I’ve never thought of that before. When did you get so smart?”

 

          “My last class period is philosophy.”

         

          “Oh!” They both had a good laugh at that, but Koda was scared at something Izuku said. Or, more like everything Izuku said. Izuku had been living in the forest for most of his life, so it was terrifying that he had learned so much in such a little time. It was also horrifying to Koda because he had philosophy his second to last class period. They never once talked about heroics in philosophy today. Meaning… Izuku knew all that himself. He shook his head, clearing it of his thoughts.

 

          Izuku wasn’t a bad guy. Scarred and scary looking maybe, but he wasn’t a bad guy. Instead of being scared by his revelation, he should take it as motivation to work even harder himself.

 

___________________________________________________

 

         

          They soon made it their adjacent apartments. He had taken over the apartment next to Koda’s for living purposes. Its owner recently moved away, and it seemed the perfect living quarters for him. They said goodbye, and each person made their way into their respective homes. Izuku’s place was pretty small, containing a bed, a small  kitchen with only a bit of food, a closet, and a washroom.

 

He made his way to his bed, tired enough for two people and a sloth. He had forgotten how soft beds were because he was so used to sleeping on the ground or on top of rocks. Sometimes he would even sleep in trees. He laid down, contempt with his day. He soon fell asleep.

 [TG1]

Notes:

Let me know what you think, and where you think the story is headed! Good luck on whatever your proects may be, and thank you all for the support. If you like the stories, be sure to check out my other stories as well! Or don't! Your choice!

Notes:

We're in for a bumpy ride. Let me know if you have any constructive criticism. Also, what's the difference beween rich text and HTML? Should i use one or the other? Please lemme know.