Dragon’s Pride

In a world where eighty percent of the population has some form of superpower known as a quirk, that means that roughly twenty percent doesn’t. But that’s including everyone, from the oldest generation to the youngest. The percentage of people having been born without a quirk in recent times is actually much lower, closer to five percent. And when you consider just how large the world is, it’s no surprise that I grew up without ever meeting another quirkless person.

Of course… that’s not a good thing. If I had met someone like me, maybe I would have had a friend. I’m not alone! But… the closest thing I have to a friend is Kachan. But that’s…

“Dumbass Deku! The fuck you think a quirkless bitch like you could do!? Literally the only thing you’re even half decent at is analysis! You think that’s enough to be a hero!? Be realistic! The most you can be is a housewife! And even then someone would only marry you out of pity!”

I swallow the lump in my throat, holding back the tears. This is basically an everyday occurrence, so I’m used to it. Still, before we know it we’ll be going off to middle school. Would it really be too much to ask that he matures a bit and lay off the insults?

Apparently so. Still, at least when he’s here the others are too scared to actively try to hurt me. The one time someone tried to hit me in front of Kachan, he sent him to the hospital. Not the school nurse, but the hospital. Of course, afterwards he said that he’s the only one who gets to hurt me and then beat me up the next day. His personal punching bag. Emotional, for the most part, except when I manage to work up the nerve to stand up to him.

The constant soreness in my body reminds me that I shouldn’t, but it’s what a hero would do! And All Might always says that anybody can be a hero! Which means so can I! And a hero doesn’t turn their back on those who need help!

If only someone could help me…

“B-b-but I can s-s-s-st-still try, ri-r-rught?” I choke out, biting my tongue from nerves and causing him and his lackeys to laugh.

“How do you expect to be a hero if you can’t even talk right?” Kachan sneers, hefting his bag and beginning to head home. He pauses with one foot out the door, throwing some words over his shoulder that shatters what little delusions I’ve managed to hold onto that we are still kinda friends in a messed up way.

“If you’re so set on getting killed as a hero, you might as well save us all the trouble and do it yourself before you waste everyone’s time.”

The words might have been casual to him, but to me they’re heartbreaking. Piled on with the usual vitriol I got this morning from the neighbors and the looks from my parents, I frantically dig through my backpack for my comfort item as my breaths start coming faster and faster, getting caught in my throat. I have to tuck it into a secret pocket I sewed into my bag, otherwise some of the other kids would steal it. Not that my comfort stuff is valuable or anything, but to them, if I can’t have a quirk then I can’t be happy either.

I breathe a sigh of relief as my hand crinkles the object, and I pull out the gold colored tinsel garland. After one last look around the classroom to make sure it’s empty, I put it over my eyes and tie the ends behind my head. I keep my eyes open wide so that gold fills my entire vision. Sure, it’s not real gold, but the color itself still helps to relax me. At the very least it’ll be enough until I can get home and snuggle against my gold pendant, bracelets, and hairpin.

I tried bringing one of those to school once since they’re much better at helping me calm down than fake gold stuff, but a few other kids got jealous and told the adults that I stole it from them. And of course the quirkless kid couldn’t have anything nice, despite both of my parents having good jobs, so they immediately took their sides. But I wouldn’t give it up so they tried to take it from me.

Well, it turned out that Bakugou isn’t the only one who can send someone to the hospital instead of the school nurse. Apparently I have good jaw strength. And pencils are a lot sharper than I thought.

Then they tried to say that I’m a menace and should be put down -which I didn’t really understand at the time- just when Mom was coming to pick me up. That’s the same day I learned that a lot of people I know can send people to the hospital! Then the school got shut down and I had to go to a new one. Nothing really changed though, so it’s not like it mattered to me. Especially since Ka- Bakugou joined the same school as me.

I don’t know how long it takes, but eventually I’m feeling good enough that I put it away and get up to walk home myself. Of course the gates are locked, since school’s been over for a while. It’s not the first time though, and I’ve gotten used to having to climb over it so I know the best place to do it.

As I’m walking, I can’t help but wonder if Kachan was serious with what he said. Though even if he wasn’t… even I can tell that we’re not friends anymore. Maybe we never were. Still, I care too much about Mom and Dad to do something like that! 

As I’m walking under a bridge, I hear a strange sloshing and clattering sound behind me. I turn around and come face to… something. It has wide eyes and a large mouth, so I guess it’s a face? They scowl at me.

“Dammit! I can’t hide using such a small body! Need to find a place big enough for me to fit before he catches up to me…” Their voice trails off as they frantically look around for a place to hide, something I’m used to myself. He looks like a villain, but it’s important not to judge someone just because of their quirk! Or lack of one…

“Excuse me!” I say while shifting my weight between my toes and my heels, trying to play up the ‘dumb innocent kid’ act just in case they are a villain. “Why are you trying to hide?”

He blinks before looking back at me. It’s hard to read his face since he doesn’t have one, but his eyes are really expressive. He’s bewildered as he gestures down at himself. “How about you take a good look at me and tell me what you think?” 

“Hmm.” I tap my chin as I pretend to think about it for a moment, eventually giving them the reason I usually hide. “Is someone bullying you because of your quirk? I think it’s pretty cool!”

They stare at me for a moment, large eyes blinking slowly one right after the other. “You… think my quirk is cool?” They ask, and I nod excitedly, reaching into my backpack for one of my quirk analysis journals and a pen.

“Of course! As far as I can tell, the only solid parts of you are your eyes and mouth, meaning that as long as you protect those spots you can’t get hurt! Not to mention how easily you could sneak into places. You could be like Edgeshot!”

“Huh.” The person is still blinking at me before they start to decrease in size. “That’s… an interesting point of view.” The sludge that makes up what I think is their head sloshes a bit to the side. “You don’t think my quirk is villainous? I look like this all the time y’know. Can’t turn it off.”

“Of course not!” I put a hand on my chest as I give him my best offended look. “How could a quirk be villainous? The person who it belongs to decides if it’s villainous or heroic!”

“...I think I need to sit down.” And they do so, a wet splat coming from them. Well… they don’t seem like a villain, so I sit beside them. They haven’t tried to bully me or insult me or anything, so I think they’re ok.

At the very least, they’re better than my classmates.

They side-eye me -and boy can they side-eye, they moved their entire eye to the side of their body! “You’re a weird kid, you know that? Most people take one look at me and decide ‘villain’. Even growing up, people would call heroes on me just because of how I look.”

I frown, kicking my legs. “That’s stupid. But so are most people. What’s important is to act how you want, not how they want.”

They chuckle, reaching out a hand and patting my head. They get a bit of sludge in my hair, but it’s fine. Kachan was threatening me with his quirk earlier, and since it’s developed from simple sparks to full on tiny explosions I’ve needed to start washing the soot out of my hair. So it’s not like I need to wash my hair any more than before.

“Sounds like you’ve got as much of a story as I do.” They pause, looking back at the sewer grate they came out of hesitantly before sighing. “You really think that I don’t have a villainous quirk? That I can do what I want instead of what I have to?” I nod determinedly. If you had to do what other people tell you to do, then I would have had to give up on my dream.

They look up at the bridge before nodding and looking back at me. “You know, I always wanted to work as a garbage man.”

“Huh?” I look at them in confusion, getting a gargled laugh from them.

“Glahg-ahg-ahg! I know, not the most glamorous of work, but with my quirk, I always thought it would fit me perfectly.” They reach out a hand and morph it into tentacles that they use to spear some random trash someone tossed on the floor before pulling them back and absorbing it into his hand. My eyes widen as some weird sound comes from it and he smiles at me.

“See, I can take anything that isn’t organic and break it down to add to my sludge. Can’t be too big though, so no cars or buildings and such. But, well.” They seem to shrug. “Sometimes dreams don’t make too much sense. They don’t have to be big or glamorous, like being a hero. I just wanted to get rid of the filth. But I guess I contributed to it.”

“But that’s amazing!” I shout. “You could easily clear out entire landfills, meaning the government wouldn’t have to find places to make more, which means it's better for the environment, better for people, and better for their wallets! It’s a win for absolutely everyone

He chuckles and pats my head again, and the ground starts vibrating a little. “You’re a good kid, you know that? Still weird, but good. How about you? What’s your dream? Maybe I can help you out when I get out?”

“Huh? Get out?” Get out from where…?” Don’t tell me…

Suddenly a large blur shoots out from the sewer, and my eyes widen as I hear the words I could only dream of hearing in person. “DO NOT WORRY CITIZENS! WHY? FOR I AM HERE!”

It’s ALL MIGHT!!!

He points at the person sitting next to me, a smile on his face. But… it feels more ominous than the ones I see on tv. I hold back a shiver. “BACK AWAY FROM THE CHILD, VILLAIN! OR YOUR ARREST WILL NOT BE GENTLE!”

I gape at him, alternating between looking at the number one hero, my hero, and the person I’ve been talking with. Their expressional eyes look resigned as they slowly raise their arms. “I surrender, All Might. I won’t try to run.”

All Might blinks at…the villain… and I can only think that he’s surprised. I am too. This person is way too nice to be a villain! “UM, ALRIGHT THEN. CHILD, PLEASE STEP AWAY.” All Might walks forward with one hand held out towards me. I shoot a look at the person and they give me a reassuring nod.

“I’ll be fine. Just robbed a convenience store, so I’ll probably be out in a few months.” All Might looks at them suspiciously, his legs tensing, but I go to him before anything can happen. As he goes through the process of placing a villain under arrest, I fidget nervously. It’s All Might. I know what he always says, but to hear it in person…

I feel a hand brushing against my head, and I look up to see All Might’s concerned face. He’s kind of intimidating in how big he is from up close. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT, YOUNG ONE? THE VILLAIN DIDN’T TRY TO HURT YOU OR ANYTHING?”

I shake my head. “No. We just talked.” I swallow past the lump in my throat. “Um, All Might, sir? Can I ask a question?”

“HMM? OF COURSE! CURIOSITY IN YOUNG ONES IS THE SIGN OF A HEALTHY MIND!”

I smile, letting out a giggle at his silliness. “Um, it’s just…” I take a deep breath. “Can someone without a quirk become a hero? I know that it would be dangerous, but could they still help people?”

I wait for his reply with bated breath, waiting for his iconic words. “Of course, Izumi! You too, can become a hero!” It’s just what I need to put what everyone else says about me out of my mind. To put Kachan’s words out of my mind. With All Might believing in me, I know that I can do it!

But he doesn’t. He doesn’t say that I can become a hero. Instead…

He chuckles.

I freeze, my world crashing down around me. He talks more, but I can’t hear what he says. I can see the lights of the police cars as they come up to take Mr. Sludge away, but I can’t hear them. I don’t know when All Might moves away from me, but it doesn’t matter.

All that matters as I turn away, unable to hear anything going on, unable to see where I’m going, is that sound.

All Might laughed.

He laughed at my dream.

Nartleb

Now, just to be clear: All Might didn't laugh like 'hahaha, a quirkless person becoming a hero. That's a funny thought.' He chuckled at the memory of how he must have looked to Nana. He still doesn't think they can, but he's not laughing at her specifically for thinking she could.