My Hero Academia - A Darker Story

Realization

Deku awoke slowly to a blinding white light. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. Deku reached up a hand to block the light, but oddly he couldn't see his hand. It was then that he noticed an odd throbbing sensation across his body.

'Young Midoriya!' Shouted all might, trying to get his attention. Deku was too distracted to notice. He looked down at his body and it seemed oddly shaped, like it was much rounder than before.

And then the realization hit Deku. 'Wh- what!'

'You're going to be ok!'

'Where are my arms!?' Deku began raising his voice. 'Where are my legs?'

'I- I'm so sorry.'

Deku snapped his eyes over to All-might. He was in his deflated form, with his head in his hands, sobbing. He seemed broken beyond repair, a fragile husk of All-might that had finally given up the ghost.

'You weren't ready for one for all,' All-might cried. 'You just weren't ready.'

Tears appeared in Deku's eyes. 'But... but they can heal me, can't they?'

All-might just kept crying. It was the worst answer Deku could have gotten. He remembered the old woman kissing his arms. Did she try to heal me with her quirk? Am I never going to be healed again?

Tears began streaming down Deku's cheeks and he let out long, loud sobs. All-might felt too ashamed to comfort him and simply continued sobbing.

'This is all my fault,' All-might said. 'I should never have been chosen to inherit this power.'

Deku didn't hear All-might. He didn't care. All he could think about was the hope he had built. His whole life, Deku had wanted to become a hero. And he had finally gotten the winning lottery ticket. But how cruel it was to be stripped of this ticket, especially after a whole year of preparation and expectation. But it was worse than that. Deku knew had regressed even further behind being quirk-less.

'I'm useless!' Deku cried. 'I won't be able to do anything now!'

All-might simply continued sobbing, knowing that there was nothing he could say to make it better.

--

The sheets were wet with Deku's tears. He had cried so much that no more tears could come out. He simply sat, motionless in his bed like a mentally disabled person.

The girl Deku had met before was crying, thanking Deku, saying how sorry she was. But Deku wasn't listening. The huge level of stress had made him unresponsive. The girl left without Deku noticing.

And then something unexpected happened. An explosion in-front of Deku's face suddenly snapped Deku back again. He looked grimly over at Bakugo, who had just walked into the room.

'Ka... chan?'

Bakugo tusked in annoyance. 'You always had a fancy quirk, didn't you?'

Deku looked deeply into Bakugo's eyes, trying to read him. He didn't seem like his normal, over-the-top self. He looked angry, of course, but somewhat dark and reserved. Bakugo returned the eye contact without getting more angry. Is this Bakugo being considerate?

Deku looked down without any change in expression. There was nothing he could say. It didn't matter anyway. It's not like they'll accept a limbless guy into the Hero Academy.

'That's the worst quirk anyone could have,' Bakugo spat. 'No wonder you didn't use it.'

Deku didn't disagree. 'At least I saved her, though.'

'Huh?' Bakugo yelled. 'You think it was you who saved her? You can't do anything, Deku! Look at yourself! Even someone like her can save more people than you!'

Deku felt a jolt of anger. "Even someone like her?" She's going to be a great hero. She already saved me, after all! He looked up at Bakugo angrily, but instantly regretted it. Bakugo suddenly looked ten times more angry.

'Huh!?' Bakugo yelled. 'Have something to say?'

Deku gave up and fell back into his bed. He felt spent. Just like the girl before Deku, Bakugo's voice no longer reached Deku's ears.