NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: 「Quirk」
Standing at the edge of his middle school's rooftop, Izuku was expressionless. It was already evening; the sun shied away into the horizon as Izuku's gaze focused on the crumbled All Might poster in his trembling hands.
Tears streamed freely down his cheeks as the words of his idol, his hero, echoed mercilessly in his mind:
"You can't be a hero without a quirk, give up."
Give up.
How easily had that so-called hero said it? For Izuku, who barely managed to live by the hope of becoming a hero one day, this was devastating.
A few words—how bad could they be? But words could kill.
The young boy had dreamed of hearing encouragement from All Might, his favorite hero. The moment he had asked All Might whether he could be a hero or not, he had just wanted to hear the word yes.
Izuku didn't need any passionate speech; he would've accepted anything. Unfortunately, All Might had crushed him instead with a single sentence.
"Honestly, why do I care anymore?"
When he was just four years old, his world had crumbled apart because he was diagnosed as quirkless. Just because he didn't have a damned quirk.
Technically, Izuku was one of the few people on Earth who weren't affected by the mutation that gave people quirks, yet he was judged and tortured by society because he wasn't a mutant.
Numerous times, Izuku had wanted to laughingly post such an article. How angry would the majority of this quirk-based society be? Probably enough to have a stroke and die.
Now that he was thinking of death, that was the main reason Izuku had come to the rooftop.
'Go kill yourself! You're useless, bastard!'
Katsuki's—Izuku didn't even want to use his endearing nickname anymore—voice from earlier resounded in his already broken mind.
From a dear childhood friend to an evil tormentor. All thanks to Izuku being quirkless. Such venomous words hadn't suited someone who wanted to be a hero, but nobody had stopped Katsuki. Why? Because nobody believed this little bullying would push anyone to their death.
But Izuku was too spent and exhausted now to the point he would prove everyone wrong.
"I just want some rest. An eternal one doesn't sound bad at this point."
Izuku didn't sound as broken as he had expected himself to be. His body had stopped trembling a while ago as well. There was an eerie comfort in resignation.
The poster slipped from his hand, fluttering away in the breeze like all of his remaining hopes. And finally, he was able to smile.
Closing his eyes, Izuku took a deep breath. His feet inched forward slowly, and then—he pushed off.
The air engulfed Izuku as he fell and quickly headed to the ground. Everything felt quiet, peaceful, and the young boy spread his arms to embrace the approaching death.
Unfortunately, he wasn't able to.
Before he could fully embrace the feeling, a piece of void around him shifted. Then a swirling black mist wrapped itself around him, teleporting him far away.
"What—? No!"
Izuku cried out, utterly saddened by this turn of events. The world around him twisted, shadows and darkness melded together, and he found himself standing with shaky legs in a dark room.
Death didn't seem like a privilege Izuku could choose anymore.
Izuku shook his head and looked around him. The room was dimly lit, the walls lined with ominous machinery. In the center of the room stood a man who looked more like a monster, smiling at him behind his mask.
Tubes and wires were connected from the machines to the man's body and head.
"Who are you?" Izuku asked. The man's appearance gave him an inexplicable sense of disgust and detest.
"Poor Izuku Midoriya," the man rasped. "You've been through so much. Treated as an outcast, beaten down by everybody, even your own parents. And now, you're completely abandoned."
The man tilted his head slightly. "You can call me… All For One. But is this an important thing right now? Tell me, Midoriya, do you really want to accept death… or do you want a taste of power?"
Izuku looked at the man with a gaze that seemed to ask if the man had something wrong with him. Power? For so long, he had dreamed of having power, but he knew it wasn't like he could get a quirk out of nowhere.
But this man brazenly said something as bold as giving him power.
All For One chuckled upon seeing his gaze. "Ah, that's a good look. You don't seem like a dead spirit; you are just tired. Izuku, listen to me—I can give you a quirk. You just need to accept being the helper of my protégé."
"What protégé? Sounds like some crap."
All For One had to give Izuku another look. 'I think not fearing death gave this little boy some sass.'
"You will know. Give me a straight answer: yes or no."
Izuku looked at this disgusting man in front of him and shrugged. "Sure, I won't lose anything. The worst can only be death, and that would be a gift for me."
"Then let me share a gift with you."
Before Izuku could react, tendrils of dark energy shot from All For One's outstretched hand and wrapped around his body like chains. The energy seeped into his skin and flesh and settled into his bones, burning and twisting as it surged through him in waves.
"UGH!" Izuku groaned in pain while trying to grab anything to support himself, but he ended up collapsing to the cold floor.
His body convulsed as it broke apart and rebuilt itself within a few minutes. It was agony—pure, unrelenting agony.
But alongside the pain, Izuku could feel something else. Power. A raw, untamed force that surged within him, making Izuku finally realize how having a quirk felt.
After a few minutes, Izuku took a deep breath and looked straight toward All For One as he smirked.
"I have a small plan to get my revenge with this beautiful gift you gave me. After I fulfill my revenge, I'll help you and your protégé in doing anything you want. How about that?"
All For One grinned menacingly. "Sure thing, Izuku. Welcome to the League of Villains."
Izuku looked stupefied before bursting into laughter. From dreaming of being a hero—here he was, promising to help the villains in whatever they wanted to do.
Instead of guilt, however, Izuku only felt relief and a sense of liberation.