The Hero Slayer - A Villain Deku Story

Izuku Midoriya: Origins I

Izuku learnt at a very young age that life would be more difficult than he could ever imagine.

From a young age, he grew to intensely admire professional heroes and was entirely fascinated by every imaginable perspective of their lives. However, his dreams of becoming the spiritual successor to his personal idol All Might were endlessly ridiculed and humiliated by his peers. The reason was simple- he was born without a quirk of his own. His life at school rewarded him with nothing but constant suffering. The social isolation that came with the bullying only worsened the situation; the lack of positive social connections with anyone on schoolgrounds producing depressive thoughts in the boy. Ironically, many who carelessly stood by and observed his suffering aspired to be future heroes themselves, yet they were unwilling to help someone within their grasp. Ironically, many who carelessly stood by and watched his suffering aspired to be heroes themselves, yet they were unwilling to help someone within their grasp. That realization had a profound impact on Izuku, one of pure disgust in his peers.

There were none more responsible of mistreating the innocent student than his former childhood friend turned persecutor- Katsuki Bakugo. For days it seemed as if his sole purpose was to torment and crush the hopes of his quirk less classmate. In his eyes, Izuku was a parasitic cockroach that deserved to lay splattered across the pavement for ever hoping to surpass him. In middle school weekly appointments to the hospital as a result of quirk related injuries were all too common. Out of the hundreds who witnessed him limp home daily with serve burns scorching his body and despair in his eyes, not a single soul ever reached out to the suffering boy.

Selfless sacrifice and chivalry didn't matter in this society anymore, after all a person's worth as a hero depended solely on the strength of their quirk. Nonetheless, he remained determined to achieve his dreams, and save others regardless of the personal losses the profession would inevitably entail. If anything, his suffering only strengthened his resolve to spare others from a similar fate.

His traumatic experience at school taught him a valuable lesson, its impossible to save others if he remains incapable of saving himself. His primary obsession became perfecting his physical and mental health to an extent previously thought impossible, enough to surpass even the greatest meta humans. If he was genuinely serious of attending UA as its first quirk less student, it wasn't a personal objective it was a requirement in order to compete with the country's greatest talent.

The first phase was obvious- he needed to learn the bloody but fascinating art of war. Self defense was insufficient for his needs, hundreds of aspiring heroes with powerful quirks would undoubtedly outclass him in that regard. Additionally, obtaining powerful support items that could serve as pseudo quirks on the battlefield became a priority. A covert research and development bureau was contacted, so the boy managed to order and forge many of the items he desired. Eventually he participated in online courses that trained him to fight with more archaic bladed weaponry like scythes and great swords.

Above all else Izuku desired a teacher that could impart onto him what it meant to become a legendary hero that stood against all manner of evil- a shining symbol of peace. He nervously sought someone that would be willing to personally dedicate their time to training him, however his young age and quirk less nature resulted in countless pro heroes dismissing his request. Unphased, his pursuit eventually lead him astray towards the darker regions of society.

District Zero was infamous for housing a disturbing assortment of horrifying villains, a dilapidated industrial neighborhood abandoned following a cataclysmic explosion that left the area uninhabitable for decades. The eerie lack of witnesses and the apocalyptic landscape provided an excellent cover for criminal activity, remnants of brutal murders littering the alleyways and black organizations puppeteering from the shadows. In accordance with government request the area was sealed off from the public with the installation of gargantuan gates overseen by the Public Hero Safety Commission, all activity within monitored routinely.

It was not the ideal setting for a normal schoolboy, Izuku suffered primal fear on every occasion he entered the general area. He justified his actions as simply building experience, professional heroes would encounter dangerous individuals and patrol dangerous neighborhoods on a regular basis as part of their daily reality. He trudged along the outer gates where activity was the most concentrated, unbeknownst to him he was being observed.

During an evening routine search in the district, he noticed a group of once overly confident schoolboys being beaten to death by a gang of sadistic delinquents and immediately involved himself in the situation. He acted without hesitation before his mind could even process his actions, despite being subconsciously aware of the danger involved he driven forward solely by his own trauma. His fearless demeanor and passion drew the attention of a vigilante infamous in local fight clubs for his brutality. Impressed by the boy's actions he intervened before the situation escalated and offered to train Izuku since he'd heard the rumors of the young student searching for a teacher.

For endless nights after school Izuku would train relentlessly alongside his teacher and guardian, who grew to truly care for his apprentice and who recognized the indomitable conviction he recognized in his once younger self. There were alternative motives of course for the vigilante to invest such a large portion of time, however none were inherently malevolent. By potentially forging the spiritual successor to the symbol of peace, the vigilante hoped to instill in the boy the traditional values of a hero and introduce to the wider world a deeper understanding of villains. The duo often took weekly trips to underworld bars and night clubs, described as an innocent outing with friends to ward off Inko's growing suspicions of her son's activities. Much to the student's astonishment the other customers, many of whom were wanted or suspected of capital crimes, weren't the monsters that society portrayed them to be. As a matter of fact, he become close friends with many of the regulars he encountered, a welcoming release from the constant torment he faced at school.

Unbeknownst to most of the public view, he was a completely different person. His school life improved during this period, the utter despair he once experienced had largely vanished as he worked towards his reason for living. Time management had initially been an issue, but effective scheduling planned with the help of his teacher quickly overcame the issue. The situational awareness he'd earned from the many scouting missions he undertook with sensei allowed him to completely avoid unpleasant peers by tracking their movements through the hallways. Additionally, many of the villains had been victims of bullying and social isolation themselves and offered heartfelt advice to better handle his situation and support him through difficult times. He internalized their words leading to a drastic improvement in mental health, as well as bringing about a startling increase in his overall grades. His vocabulary and confidence when public speaking became impressive for his age, however he chose to conceal this talent at school in order to ward off suspicions from his true activities.

Life for Izuku Midoriya had risen to new heights and for once he was happy. Unfortunately, destiny had a different sequence of events in store for the boy as his life was struck by tragedy- altering the course of his future forever.

Words: 1263

Author's Note: Hi, I just wanted to take the time to apologize for the huge delay in chapter 8's release. I'm having issues connecting the core events of the chapter together in a way that flows well, which is pretty difficult considering its already 2700+ words. Taking a break from that I decided to revamp and finalize some ideas I'd jotted down months back into a new standalone chapter detailing my perspective on the origins of Villain Deku. Originally it was going to be posted after the conclusion of the Sports Festival Arc so after chapter 8 is released I'll likely rearrange the order this will appear in. There will also be 4 or more installments in the 'Origins' saga and it'll explain all the events that happened before the USJ attack. That's all for now, until next time.