Endless Bounds

Chapter 1 (Deku)

Deku stares at his charred no. 13 notebook bobbing in the water. "Fish food," he whines. "my entire life has been reduced to nothing but fish food." 

He reaches for the notebook but stops, glaring at his outstretched hand. If only he had power. If only he wasn't one of the measly 20 percent unlucky enough to be born without a quirk. 

Why did people like Kacchan get quirks like that while people like him were left with nothing. All he wanted was to be a hero. To save people with a smile on his face like All Might. And yet a power drunk hothead is chosen over him.

"Why don't you go jump off a bridge or somethin' ya damn nerd!"

Deku bunches his fist and slams it into the water. "And what if I had, hu!" He pants as he watches the fish scurry away. The notebook he once cherished drifts away too, like the last hope he ever had of becoming a hero dwindling to dust.

Growling, he stuffs his soaked sleeve into his uniform pocket along with his other one and walks away, leaving his book to the fish. "Maybe I should," he mutters.

The voices of his past flood his mind like a hurricane as he wanders around.
You're quirkless kid.
A kid without a quirk who wants to be a hero? Ridiculous, he'll never make it.
Worthless.
Weak.
Pathetic.
Deku.
Stupid.
Quirkless wannabe.
You will never be a hero!
The laughs of his class when they found out his plans for UA high.

* * * *

Deku cocks his head as he recalls the words that had once haunted him. But not anymore. Never again do the insults of his past send shudders of pain down his spin. Instead they feed the fire raging inside him.

He doesn't need heroes anymore. The only thing that word has brought him is pain and suffering. By both his best friend and the world around him.

Heroes. What a overrated word. They are blessed with the power to save the world and yet are driven by fame and fortune. No one needs them. Not me. Not the world. No one.

"Juicy sweet! How's my little blood bag?" Toga runs up behind Deku and throws her arms around him.

"Knock it off," he grumbles as he shifts his weight for the extra baggage, looking down at the city below. The glowing city lights up the sky  as if chasing away the darkness. Izuku always hated this. It's as if the people turn a blind eye, disregarding the dark like it is beneath them. "Do you want us to fall 20 stories?"

Toga giggles and wraps herself further around Deku, sneaking a needle to his arm.

"Hey, what did we say about taking without permission?" Deku says without looking.

"Aw come on! I was only gonna take a little!"

"And what happened the last time I was sleeping and you wanted a little taste?"

"Ugh fine," Toga grumbles and slides down. "How's your night patrol going?" 

"Nothing new. Petty thieves and wanna be heroes. No one worth getting my hands dirty for."

"Dang it! I'm getting bored here. We need some fresh meat to mess around with." Toga leans over the edge and pears at the city below. "So many blood bags and yet there are none to play with."

"Oh yeah," Deku remembers as he nods behind him towards muffled noises. "I brought you a present. There was a couple unlucky enough to stumble up here."

"A present? For me? Aw thank you baby!" Toga wraps her arms around Deku's neck then runs to the tied-up couple. "Hi there!" she hollers as she yanks off their gags.

"You-your that flame user aren't you? The one they are calling Hell's Puppeteer." The young man says with a shutter.

"Don't worry bout him. Although he is super tasty, you're mine today." Toga takes out one of her needles and blushes. "By the way," she says as she ignores the protests of the young couple. "He told me to tell you that Shiggy is going to call for you."

Deku finally tears away from the drop with a smile on his lips and his eyes aflame. "About time." His finger twitches and his hand is suddenly set ablaze, the warmth of the flames caressing his knuckles. "Kurogiri," he talks into the mic in his ear and within moments a purple haze envelops his body. "See you later little spark."

Toga's arm flips out and she waves frantically, blood dripping from the needle in her hand. "See ya soon!"

Deku steps back and the warp gate causes everything to go black. But then a few seconds later it fades away and the small, musty bar comes into view. Shigaraki is talking to the tv screen and Kurogiri is behind the counter wiping down unused glasses.

Deku only catches a glimpse at the screen before it statics out. "What did the boss want?" He asks, getting to the point.

Tomura pulls out a piece of paper with the names and photos of around 20 people. 

"What's this?"

"Class 1-A," Shigaraki says in his raspy voice. "All these people passed the entrance exam for UA. The hero course to be specific."

Deku scrunches his face with a grunt. "Yeah what about 'em? There are more than that, what's so special about 1-A?"

"All Might."

"All Might?" Deku raises a brow in surprise. 

"According to our intelligence, he has a job as a 1-A teacher."

"The world's number one hero got a job as a teacher? How strange." It's got to be about that thing father mentioned. 

"We are crashing their training in three days, when All Might is teaching."

"Twenty students, twenty hostages--" Deku crosses his arms and falls back into his old habit; mumbling away while the rest of the world dissolves. "--our percentage of success will increase. He won't be able to go all out, maybe only 50% at best. With our numbers we should be able to--" catching himself, Deku clears his throat. "Do we know anything else?"

"There are two people who will give us the most trouble."

"Who are they?" Deku says, grabbing the paper.

"The most powerful is Endeavor's son, Shoto Todoroki. The other is Katsuki Bakugou."

Deku stiffens, crinkling the edge of the paper. Bakugou. . . The scar on his right shoulder begins to burn; a reminder of that day.

Kurogiri looks up from his task and finally joins in on the conversation. "What is it, you know one of them?"

"No," Deku smiles and his eyes flash red, his blood boiling. "just itching for a fight."

"The operative told us to watch out for Katsuki Bakugou. He might be a good addition to our ranks."

"He's mine," Deku says abruptly. "I want to test him myself. See how good this Bakugou really is with my own eyes."

Shigaraki picks up one of his hands and sets it onto his face, "All For One may let you do as you please but I'm still in charge here. . . Just don't forget the objective is All Might. It is time for the mighty symbol of peace to finally crumble and make way for the future."

"You're the boss." Deku balls up the paper in his fist and ignites a small flame under it. He watches as the names burn in his hand then crunches the ball into ash, snuffing out his quirk. "See you in three days."  He lets the ash spill to the ground and heads for the door.

 After 12 months, my revenge finally begins.