Chainsaw Hero

Adoption

People...

"Enough, Kacchan! Y' Already made him cry... Stop it! I won't let you!"

"So, Deku, the quirkless wonder... Thinks he can play hero, huh?"

...Are not created equal.

That's the hard truth Izuku learned at age four.

But that would be the first of many setbacks he'll face just to survive.

...

Izuku watched clouds of dust swirl in the surrounding air, dancing with grace in the sunlight as he lay on the playground, his face starting to swell. Blue skies and the vibrant trees mocked him, too picturesque for the turmoil that rested inside his broken body. 

Only four years old, he got into his first fight to protect another person.

What would his mom think of this? He hated to see her upset, especially if it was from his doing. To see her in tears, fussing over him like he was about to break at any moment hurt more than any punch, kick, or scratch.

Now, he wasn't going to lie to her to hide the fact that he got beat up by his best friend.

But...

It still hurt to know that he couldn't hide it. That he wasn't fine. That he couldn't bounce back as quickly as he wanted to. It was upsetting, with just the thought alone at just how weak he was, sending him to tears.

He was alone.

Alone.

Alone.

Pitifully alone.

Kacchan would come back with a thinly veiled excuse to cover his concern. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to make him feel better, just enough to ignore the feelings that dwelt inside of him. But,

Eventually

The

Sadness

Would

Seep

Out

And

Kill

Him.

And

He couldn't see the dancing dust in the sunlight anymore.

Something nudged his arm and a hesitant whimper sounded out across the empty playground. Izuku blinked his tears away and struggled to get himself into a sitting position, with pebbles wanting to ingrain themselves in his small palms. And by his side? A small, orange dog-- with an obvious quirk.

Izuku rubbed his eyes as fast as he could, a smile breaking out across his face at the discovery. "Woah! An animal with a quirk? And...! Are those chainsaws?" Izuku, acting like he had no emotional permanence or self-preservation, went to touch the chainsaw blade that erupted from the middle of the dog's face, the handle on his back, and his pull-start tail, muttering every thought the entire time. "But this makes no sense! For an animal to have a quirk... it's not unseen before, but it's extremely rare! Especially for one to be as apparent as this! Quirks are just evolutionary oddities, creating a more streamlined version of the self. So, for an animal to have such a quirk? It's not that far-fetched! Goodness, what would the kids at school think? What would Mom think? Oh gosh, this is such an amazing find! I can't believe this!"

However, the dog collapsed onto his side, showing a hole in his stomach with blood freely flowing across the dirty ground. Izuku yelped in surprise, mumbling frantic apologies as he tried to figure out what to do, landing on 'Operation: Save the Damn Dog.' (Kacchan wasn't the best influence.)