HEY EVERYONE! So, Glitch is here again, and this time I'm tackling a new anime! For those of you who read my other work, fret not. FOTG is not going anywhere. I just hit some inspiration and decided that since I love My Hero Academia that I should give it a try too. Now, onto my disclaimers here. One, this work is inspired by the fanfic Viridescent by darkfire1220. If you haven't read this yet, I highly suggest giving it a try. Anyways, while that story may have inspired this one, I do promise that it is its own tale, and that it will be different (Though darkfire is a much better writer than I, so again - go read Viridescent too).

I hope that I have addressed everything here, and hopefully you all like my new story! Chapter 2 will be up within the hour, so you'll have more than just the first bit to enjoy soon enough!

Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia. Now onto the story!

Chapter 1

All men are not created equal.

"You're just a quirkless Deku!"

This is a truth that very few people come to realize. Most live in an idealized world. A world where heroes always won, were citizens were safe and they could live in peace. Izuku was an oddity, in more than one way. He did not live in this world. He knew the pain that a person could experience, the fear and hurt that live could provide. And he knew that these things did not solely come from villains.

An explosion reverberated against his side as he fell to the ground, curling up on instinct. It didn't hurt really. Or maybe it was just he was past the point of feeling it.

"Come on Deku, stand up!" A voice yelled.

Deku… useless… worthless… quirkless. In a world of the extraordinary, he was normal.

In this world, 80% of the population had abilities. The range was huge, from simple abilities like drawing objects closer to the insanely powerful abilities, such as the powers of the top heroes. It was very rare for people to be born without powers, and even rarer was someone who was quirkless striving for one of the most revered occupation in all of their society. A Pro Hero.

Izuku had wanted to be a hero for years, long before he had learned of his lack of powers. Back then he had been so full of hope, ready to take on the world. He was ready to be a hero alongside his best friend Katsuki Bakugo. Even after all others had lost hope, after his own mother told him she was sorry he would never reach his dream, he had pushed forward.

As he laid on the ground, the one that had put him there scoffed and walked away. The group that had surrounded them moved in now, like vultures after a kill.

"Why are you even still here Deku?"

"Ya Deku! Why haven't you just run away already? No one wants you!"

"Run away? Ya right, he should just kill himself already!"

Half an hour later, Izuku found himself in the bathroom. He winced as he washed the burn that had blistered on his side, a handprint burnt onto his skin. Sometimes Bakugo took it just a little too far. Days like this were not uncommon for Izuku though, ever since he had been labeled quirkless at the age of 4 other kids had started treating him different. At first it was subtle. Bakugo stopped wanting to hang out as much, finding better suited friends with powerful quirks. The others would look at him funny, and they avoided him like he had the plague. It was hard, but Izuku remained adamant that he would be a hero. Then the physical trauma started. They had been about 6, and at this point Izuku still followed Bakugo around whenever he could, as if by just being by someone with a quirk as great as his explosions would make him better somehow. And yet, despite his admiration of the other boy, he had been the only one that had stood up to him as he had bullied the younger child in front of them. That had been the start, and it had never really ended. Izuku couldn't count the amount of burns and bruises that he hid from his mother as he came home from school each day. Oddly, Bakugo didn't account for most of these, in fact he rarely actually did harm to Izuku. The teachers weren't much help though, they hardly cared for him any more than the students did, so he mostly just endured it. It had worked for the past 7 years, but he knew it was getting harder. Waking up each morning was becoming a trial, and getting to school was almost impossible. If it weren't for his mother he doubted he would even still be attending. His dreams were slipping away, and with every day that passed Izuku felt as if he was farther and farther from ever becoming a hero. Little did that 13 year old know, something would soon occur to change his life forever.

"Seriously Deku... why the hell are you still here?"

"W-w-w-what do you mean Kacchan?"

A scowl adorned the face of said teen, one of his hands on Izuku's shoulder. He could feel the heat seeping through the fabric, but not enough to hurt him or damage his jacket. With a rough shove he was pushed backwards into the wall. He had been cornered by Kacchan outside, and after the long day of ridicule and abuse Izuku didn't have the energy left to try and avoid him.

"I said what the hell are you doing here? Are you that stupid, useless?"

As he spoke he seemed to glare harder, as if trying to figure something out. Slowly he opened his mouth, growing louder and louder as he spoke.

"You're never going to be a damn hero. Ever. Even if by some random miracle you manage to get into U.A., even if by some chance you graduate with the rest of the bastards that are going to joining me, you'd be killed. Hell, Deku, I could kill you, right now, and you wouldn't be able to fight back! You're a quirkless Deku. Useless! So why the hell do you keep trying? What the hell drives you bastard?!"

Izuku struggled to keep his gaze as Bakugo grew louder and louder, practically yelling now. Honestly, it was surprising that no one had heard yet… usually these things drew a large crowd of students.

"I… I just w-w-want to be-"

"A hero? Helpful? Don't make me laugh, Deku. You aren't ever going to be a hero. You are a pathetic geek, useless little Deku following me around and trying to be something he isn't! I'm sure your mom is real proud of your goals, huh Deku?" Pushing him roughly to the ground, he began walking away while throwing his hands up in the air. "If you are so ready to die, then maybe you should jump off a roof. Maybe you'll be reincarnated as someone who isn't such a pathetic weakling!"

With that he rounded the corner out of sight, and Izuku's world shattered.

He didn't know how long he wandered after that. His mind was blank, his soul broken as he mindlessly walked. It barely mattered to him at that moment anyways, nothing truly did. Maybe you should jump off a roof. The words echoed in his skull. He didn't know why, he had been told to do similar things, much worse things, but he couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had settled in his chest.

Worthless. Jump off a bridge Izuku, why don't ya? What, are you going to cry? Weakling! I bet even if he did have a quirk he would still just be a useless little Deku! Useless, stupid nerd! Why do you even come to school anymore? No one wants you!

The voices of the past haunted him as he walked along, farther and farther from the neighborhood his school and his house were in. Was he useless? He always tried to help, he tried so hard to put others before him and to make his mom proud. And yet, no one at school liked him. None of the teachers even looked at him anymore, at least not outside what they were forced to do as his supervisors while he was there. And that wasn't all. His mom cried every time he got home, every time she saw his burns or scrapes or cuts. She cried when he left too, he could often still hear her sobbing when he was just outside the door. He was always at his most miserable then. He knew she loved him, but he was hurting her so much, every day. All he wanted to do was be like All Might, to bring a smile to people's faces. But, he couldn't even bring a smile to his own face…

Izuku shivered as a cold breeze blew through the area. Startled, he looked around. He really was far from home, now being surrounded by large warehouses rather than the residential area his apartment was in. They looked fairly run down he noticed as he walked into what appeared to be a large open area. A large canal for flood water ran down the middle of the space, and on the far side it flowed into the largest building in the square. Izuku slowly approached, trying to ignore the feeling of hopelessness that was threatening to cascade down onto him.

The gate was open, the lock having been corroded a long time ago. The young boy slowly pushed on the gate, and with a screech it slowly opened, the rusted joints protesting slightly at the movement. Curious, Izuku pressed onwards. Once again he began wandering, though with more caution this time, and as he did he could feel the warring parts of his mind fighting for dominance. On one side was his natural curious self. What was made here? Why was it abandoned? Did anyone come here anymore? And yet, despite his questions he could not feel any of the joy that usually came with exploring a new place. Instead, the voices of his tormentors plagued his thoughts, tempering any happiness that threatened to break through. Soon he found himself on the final flight of stairs, an old sign labelled ROOF ACCESS pointing upwards. He shrugged as he continued on. He had already explored the rest of the spacious building, so why not here as well.

As he opened the door, he was awarded with a cold breeze blowing past him, as if seeking the warmth inside. Izuku trudged forward, coming out into the open area on the roof of the building. He looked around as he walked towards the edge.

It was beautiful, really. If it had been any other time Izuku was sure that he would have been staring wide eyed as he looked to every angle. In the distance he could see the larger apartment buildings that symbolized his home community. Looking in the opposite direction was a wonderful view of the bay. He wasn't actually that far from the bay now, probably only a few minutes walking. He was sure that the flood channel that ran through the lower levels of the building probably ran out to the water. The roof he as on was only 5 stories high, but among the one or two story warehouses that dominated the area it may as well have been a skyscraper. He could see for miles, and with the sun now setting it truly was a beautiful sight. Maybe, just maybe, this was what life was supposed to be like. He sighed as he wondered if everyone saw the rest of the world like this, as beautiful opposed frightening, warm and welcoming as opposed to painful. He smiled as he let himself fall into a sitting position, content to watch the fading sunlight on the water.

Izuku sat there for some time. He sat and watched the sunset, an odd peace filling him as he did. It was a terrifying peace, but at least the voices of his past finally had quieted down. As the sun slipped under the horizon Izuku stood up, a numbness in his limbs. He supposed his mother was probably worried, as it had been hours since school had ended.

Just another thing I've done to ruin her day, he thought in despair, maybe she would be better off if I wasn't here. Maybe everyone would be.

It was then, as he took his first step, that something stopped him. A single voice, singled out amongst the tormenting memories of his many bullies. A voice repeating that which had shattered him earlier, and now proved that he would not be fixed so easily. A voice that had never gone so far, and had never lied to him. Someone who, despite everything, he looked up to.

If you are so ready to die, then maybe you should jump off a roof. Maybe you'll be reincarnated as someone who isn't such a pathetic weakling!

Izuku's mind froze as his body turned back to the edge he had been standing at. Was that it? Was that his answer? Was this why his body had walked miles and miles to this abandoned district? Slowly, he felt himself taking step and step closer to the edge, slipping under the safety railing and coming to the very brink of roof. One more step. One more step and the bullying would stop, the oppressive taunts and abusive punishments from his peers would disappear. One more step and he would be free.

One more step and he would never make his mom cry again.

In the end, that was what decided it, and with an odd detachment Izuku stepped forwards into the open air.