The Shield: Origin

For four years old Izuku, her Quirk was not suited for Heroics as it's just a golden energy shield. But a shield that can protect her from ANYTHING. Heck, she can even change its size without compromising on power! She calls it Tri-Shield. 'Tri' for triangle due to how it looked.

However, its more than just a small shield she showed her classmates. There's more to it that she never let anyone know and there's more to the 'tri' in it.

Her dream school, along with Kacchan was UA. But when she staked out UA on its Entrance Exams day when she was 8, she learned that its exams are...well...she'll definitely fail even if she aced the written exam.

Sad about that, she resolved to do it her way instead. She enrolled herself in gymnastics focusing on Floor Gymnastics in order to be a skilled acrobat as a kid in school, and took martial arts after school. She's thus very physically fit with great balance. But come final year in her middle school year, she switched to Sewing Club...to Bakugo's disbelief.

'What the hell?! You were doin' great in Gymnastics!' he cried.

'Resting is also training you big lug.' Izuku deadpanned. 'You let your body heal from workout while eating healthy stuff. That's logic.'

This was also time for her to test her Vigilante Abilities.

She saved up enough money to buy herself a costume. A white plain chinese cheongsam with white add-on sleeves, thigh-high black tights and jikutabi. Her mask was something she made herself. Fully-covering her whole head.

Capable of Parkour and karate, she can manage herself just fine, unless forced to use the sole offensive she has.

Soon, she became a big name in the streets of her city.

She who appears at night to rescue girls from typical creepy men, rescuing people from mugging or worse, beating drug dealers and phoning police where to pick them, among other things.

However, due to a certain Hero Killer's MO, she also heals Heroes...and rescuing during the day as long as she is hidden.

xxx

Police Station...

'Sigh, why can't they just enroll in the Hero Course if they want to be Heroes, but nooo, they choose Vigilantism instead.'

This was a typical complaint among Police Officers as one, Quirk Usage is illegal if you're not a licensed Pro-Hero. Two, said Heroes are bitchng about it as Villains are their bread and butter and three, the Police WILL have a good reason to gripe, if said Vigilante is underage in a dangerous powered society!

The newcomer, Masked Maiden is clearly a young girl in form. At first that was her name as those she saves can only see her gender and can tell her age by her look alone. They cannot see her face and hair as it's well-hidden by a whole-head mask.

From testaments of those she saved from many occasions, she never used her Quirk. Just pure beatings.

But!

Victims of Stain gave new deets.

She can heal.

She patrols for minor crimes, and healing victims. But avoids things beyond her skill level, waiting it out, and comes out to heal when trouble was over.

And her healing is superb. Complete Healing as if whatever ailed her rescues never happened.

Now this, is a cause for alarm.

Healing Quirks of that caliber are literal National Treasures in a world like this.

So far, Recovery Girl was the only one with such level of healing, and now Masked Maiden happened!

Thus in a conference room, Heroes available are gathered into a meeting regarding Masked Maiden.

'...while we're grateful that this kid heals Stain's victims, it won't be long before the wrong sort of people hears about her and takes her to heal for Villains whether she likes it or not under duress.' said Tsukauchi grimly to the Heroes. 'She only deals with minor crimes, and heals victims but cannot fight battles stronger than her since she is mostly a healer thus relies more on her combat skills. But against Villains with powerful quirks, she's smart enough to hide and let stronger Heroes or Undergrounds deal with it, only coming out when battles are over to heal the Heroes. She's already smarter than most kids her age in that regard.' he deadpanned as other Heroes made a face, considering the kinds of interns they put up with, and they rarely have SENSE.

'Villains aside, she'll also annoy Stain, the Hero Killer who kills most of his targets.' Tsukauchi continued, fearing Stain will go after her for helping his targets live. 'Very few Heroes are lucky to survive him and that's because Masked Maiden was around. If Heroes died when she wasn't in the area and elsewhere, that's their bad luck.' Tsukauchi sighed. 'We cannot lose a Healer we can count on when Recovery Girl retires. We cannot lose her to any Villain or Stain. We have to catch her and put her and her family under safety before she gets the wrong attention and hopefully, have her parents help us put our foot down and make her pursue Heroics legally. Let's start immediately!'

xxx

Oblivious to the meeting going on...

Izuku in her persona wanders at night as usual.

Using mirrors at corners before walking into the next area, unaware she's being watched by two Heroes.

'Not bad, but she should look at high places too.' up on a roof, Eraserhead and Midnight looked down from where they were, following Izuku. 'Not alert enough.' and they gave her a jump scare by Midnight landing in front of her and behind her, Eraserhead.

'Wah?!' she took a step backwards from Midnight even if she knew someone else was behind her.

'Time to go home sweetie~' Midnight winked in a friendly manner. 'It's a friday now, school tomorrow.'

'Midnight, her life is in danger if Villains discover her powers and you're more worried about stopping her due to school?' Eraserhead deadpanned. 'Kid, we have to take you to UA. Now.'

'Eh? How come?'

'You'll know when we get there, can't talk about that here.'

'Uhm, can I do one last job first?' Izuku piped up. Her voice is another sign she's VERY YOUNG! 'I got a mysterious letter telling me to meet him in an alley from the street kids I used to help. He has awful burns for 11 years he just can't afford a doctor and he's broke.' she explained. 'He's ignoring the pain by pretending it doesn't exist, but the pain eats at his sanity because his burns rub against his clothes and sunlight makes it worse.'

'Can your healing heal that kind of injury?' Eraserhead asked, astounded. Even Recovery Girl will give up on it as a lost cause!

'There's nothing I can't heal. I just keep that a secret from all my patients.' Izuku deadpanned. 'I made many lies to protect this truth.'

'Is there any setback like Recovery Girl?'

'...I get extremely hungry if I worked on severe cases it just takes me sheer willpower to go home and eat out my fridge, but on small cases like injuries on limbs, I feel nothing.'

'Well if we apply science here, you use your own energy in your cells so when you run out of energy by healing severe cases, the demand for energy is great.' Midnight frowned. 'And you're doing this for how long now?'

'Uhm, since the start of school year?'

'That's four months now kid.' said Eraserhead blandly. 'Let's find your target and be done with this.' so they escorted Izuku who skillfully gets around with parkour and acrobatics to cheat and save time, until they came to an alley with a dead end and a lone man waited. He was thin, lanky and they can see horrible burn scars.

'I'm here, Dabi.'

'...and why do you have an escort? Last I checked, you work alone.' said the man in his scratchy voice, looking warily at the Heroes in distaste.

'They'll take me to UA for who-knows-why...I mean, I'm only 14, not even High School age,' Dabi could see the Heroes go slack-jawed at her age in horror, '-and as far as Vigilantism went, I only went after small fry most Heroes ignore since its not enough camera time for publicity...so small crimes often went ignored.' she explained. 'And no police patrol areas like this, so small crimes to psychologically-scarring ones can freely happen here as well as black market deals.'

'What.' Eraserhead growled as Izuku sighed, making Dabi chuckle darkly as Izuku began to heal him.

'Exactly as she says, Hero.' he sneered the word out. 'Me bein' a street rat, I've seen everything since I was younger than her when I began living in the streets.' said Dabi as he could feel the power work. 'Muggings, violent rapings of women or even adolescents, drug orgies, kidnappings, you name it they happen here, in a place where there's no camera exposure for fame.' he spat. 'Vigilantes knows it. They're more helpful than attention-loving whores the public oh-so-applaud. The people here need Vigilantes...whom you arrest by the way, when its only them who helps our sort. They're the only ones who give a damn about us.' he said bitterly. 'And by the looks of things, you're gonna take away the only doctor we can go to.' he deadpanned. 'Maiden never charged a single yen. She's a literal walking clinic for free.' the two Heroes winced as in this man's eyes, THEY'RE the Villains!

'Because she's in danger.' said Midnight in a pained voice because one's hero, is another's villain and they became that when they'll take a healer away from the slums. 'It's alright for her to save victims, but the problems are her age, and the wrong people knowing of her abilities.' she explained. 'She'll be kidnapped and blackmailed into working for them. Healing Villains as they cause trouble in society. And she's 14!' she shuddered. 'Moreover what about her family? What's stopping them from using them against her as leverage?'

'...I know that since I started.' said Izuku softly. 'But the Heroes of today, are disappointing. That's the problem. The cause of that, is Propaganda in the Educational System since Kindergarten. C'mon, you used to be Kindergarteners yourselves.' she scoffed. 'Have you met teachers who promote Heroics for fame and money instead of doing what Heroes SHOULD be doing? Those with flashy, heroic quirks are spoiled rotten by teachers, egos inflated like you wouldn't believe!' she scoffed. 'And for people like me with non-hero Quirks are merely insignificant, not worth bothering with because it doesn't look good on TV. Well try saying that to a doctor who can fix your ass, we'll gladly leave you to rot. Insignificant, are we?'

Eraserhead face-palmed.

'What's this world coming to?'

'Ask the teachers.'

Dabi was actually young and handsome, if not for his scars! As he healed, his medical staples popped off his skin since he was healing, nothing to hold onto anymore though his piercings also came off.

'Man, 12 fuckin' years...its like, nothing happened...' Dabi looked at himself, astonished. 'Then again, I'll have you meet me every month, at Takigawa Park. I literally get cooked alive each time I use my powers,' that's even worse than being a runaway, '-and I work as a Quirk-For-Hire...its the only job I can get since I ran away before I even graduated elementary.'

Quirk-For-Hire. Basically a Mercenary. Anyone's your client for money for a living.

'...why did you run?' Eraserhead asked him. This kid ran away from home at an age younger than Masked Maiden...and took to crime as Quirk-For-Hires are often hired as muscle for Villainy. Disposable too. Painful to admit, its the only way a kid can survive.

'If you have a monster for a father who's very powerful with a good reputation, you'd have no choice...who'd believe a brat over him?' Dabi sneered. 'Nobody will help me...or my mom and siblings. Mom's committed from all our suffering in a mental ward last I checked I hope my siblings did the smart thing and run even if it meant a shitty life like this. A shitty, but life of freedom with no more beatings under the guise of so-called training to be a Hero who can surpass All-Might cuz' he couldn't. Nobody'd save us.' he said bitterly.

'Mom went insane due to helplessness...if she tried to save us, she gets smacked hard enough in the face, strong enough to throw her at walls, head first.' Eraserhead, Midnight and Izuku looked at him, horrified at his tale. 'And sees us in that shitty hellhole...what mother, can last long seeing her children suffer beatings and helpless to protect her kids? And gets her head hit a lot for trying to protect us to no avail?'

'Won't you come with us too, Dabi-kun?' Midnight offered, wanting to give the man a way out. 'We can help you.'

'Ohhhh yes, you're willing to help me, but the problem, are those who hold your leash...the Hero Commission. Do the Math from there, Midnight. If he sees me, the stain of his blood, a failure of a weapon, he'll kill me.' Dabi deadpanned snarkily. Dabi's father is a high-ranking Hero, high-ranking enough to have such support andthe Hero Commission cannot afford a scandal of this level to come out. They'll cover it up even sacrificing a few individuals just to avoid the fallout. They realized that chilling truth. A high-ranking popular Hero...who's a monster at home. 'That's why I have no choice.' he then got up with a slight stagger. 'Whoopsie...been a while since I last had a whole body...my head also feels clearer...wow...and we'll lose our doctor soon.'

'Sorry about that kid, but Healers like Masked Maiden are National Treasure-Class. We can't let Villains know she existed and all the crap that comes with it.' Eraserhead sighed. 'They come like, once a century. Better on the side of the law than criminal organizations who have a knife at her throat.' he took out a cell phone and pushed speed dial 1. 'Hello, it's Eraser. We secured Masked Maiden. Will be bringing her to UA.'

'Take care, Dabi.' said Izuku as the Heroes took her away by carrying her.

'...I planted a seed of doubt. That's my success.' Dabi chuckled. 'The hunt will soon begin...mom.'

xxx

UA High School...Principal's Office...

Not just the teachers, but police and high-ranking Heroes involved in her case are present.

'Hello there, Maiden-chan.' Nezu greeted. 'May we know your identity?'

'...I'd rather not take off my mask right now, Principal.' said Izuku. 'Being anonymous makes me safer than being known the way things are now.'

'Where did you find her?' Best Jeanist asked Eraser.

'She works in places no Hero will go to. Where there's no media for camera exposure as she puts it.' said Eraser, upset about the matter. 'Heroes never venture in the darkest parts of the city where crime thrives...just because there's no camera from the media to boost their fame.' the people in the office bristled at his words. 'People who chose to be Vigilantes for that reason work there as a result but WE arrest THEM because its the LAW...as a result, the people there see US as Villains because we take away the only people willing to save them from Villains there. And now we're the Villain again for taking the only doctor who never charged them a single yen.' he sighed. 'How fucked up is this?'

When he puts it that way...

'We also have to address the upbringing of today's children.' said Midnight wearily. 'Maiden-chan you have the floor...and we need to talk about Dabi-kun too.'

'Dabi...as in Cremation?' Ryukyu asked her.

'Yes. He must have powerful flames, but as a result, each use cooks him alive slowly but surely...he endured 12 years' worth of burn injuries while working as a Quirk-for-Hire as its the only job he could get after running away from an abusive home...'

Midnight explained the situation.

'The question is, who is this Hero who abused his wife enough to drive her into a Mental Ward, and his children?' Best Jeanist choked out, wide-eyed.

'High-ranking, someone in the Top 20s enough to warrant interference from the Hero Commission at the expense of his wife and kids...' Crust shook in anger. 'Someone among us is a Villain to his own family. I'm just glad its not All-Might at least.'

'Mm.' Yoroi Musha nodded. 'If we're talking about Fire Quirks...'

'Endeavor.' that came to their minds.

'We'll investigate his family.' said Nezu. 'Then let's talk about Masked Maiden.'

'That's not a name I chose...everyone decided that because I'm a Healer.' Izuku sighed. 'I'm not cute enough for that name.'

'What made you a Vigilante at such a young age?'

'...not everyone can afford a doctor.' said Izuku. 'I go to the poor than help in hospitals since people there can afford to pay. People in the slums worry more about rent and food. If they're sick or injured, they just suck it up until it goes away or gets worse till they die. Naturally I can't be everywhere either. I have to keep going. So the slums of Musutafu are my territory...and Veterinary Clinics for confined pets.'

'I see...how far can your Healing go?'

'Its enough to restore my patients as if nothing happened at my expense.' said Izuku. 'That only applies if I have to regenerate entire limbs or organs or in Dabi's case, his whole half-cooked body. Injuries cost nothing. But otherwise, I need to eat a lot of food. I mean, Midnight and Eraserhead paid for 20 bowls of food in Yoshinoya before we came here because I was super-hungry...'

'W-wow...' Present Mic whistled. '20 bowls of food? And you're still alive?'

'Well, my body goes hyper-digestion mode so energy from food reaches my energy-drained cells otherwise I'm gonna go Auto-Phagocytosis if I didn't eat even a single morsel an hour after I'm all-spent. I'm gonna kill myself in other words.' Izuku explained with a shrug. 'My parents don't know I can heal. I lied about my Quirk to them and the Quirk Doctors.'

'Eh? How come?' Hawks asked her.

'I was watching TV on how many kids disappeared as well as even adults your age...all of whom with good Quirks.' said Izuku. 'Mom freaked out and never let me out of the house and that was before I turned four, a time when we're not even sure I'll have a Quirk or be Quirkless. Police and Heroes never found them up till now.' the authorities looked rather glum at that. 'Yet people with non-combat and ahem, not-useful Quirks are lucky to avoid kidnapping. So I thought, I should lie about my Quirk or I'll disappear too and never see mom and dad anymore. Healing is useful after all...there's merits in why Midnight and Eraser said when they came to get me. But being under custody also means the slums no longer have a doctor...I dunno what to do.' said Izuku, deflating gloomily.

'You enveloped Dabi in a barrier earlier.' Eraserhead noted. 'You used an aspect of your Quirk to lie with.'

'Yup.' Izuku created her triangle shield. 'This is my 'front quirk'. Try attacking me with this on.'

Hawks shot four feathers at her, but they turned to dust upon hitting her Quirk.

'Golden Shield...nothing gets past this. And I do mean nothing. But I also lied about the size...so people think it's a girly not-quite-useful Quirk with a lot of openings...as in, what's stopping you to control your Quirk to get past a small triangle shield?' Izuku snorted. 'But if you're inside...' she enveloped herself in it. 'I can fix anything while at the same time I'm well-defended, or just my patient. You'l probably look who I am thru the Quirk Registry, but please don't tell my parents OR the Registry the truth...I don't want to disappear.' she shuddered.

That was a justifiable fear.

Which arouses the question...

...who ELSE lied about their Quirks? Be it for justified or villainous reasons?

'Very well. We will keep what we know a secret for your safety.' Tsukauchi promised her. 'Just that, please stop going to the slums or you'll really disappear.'

'But what about my meeting Dabi every month in Takigawa Park? For sure he'll direct other sick and injured there just to see me.' Izuku pointed out. 'I can't deny them.'

'...well, we'll deal with that when the time comes.' said Nezu. 'For now, we will discuss many things...'