Puppet Master

I'm "Quirkless"

Katsuki Bakugo bounced with jittery energy in his preschool classroom as he waited for his best friend to show up. He had gotten his quirk yesterday so one half of the amazing hero duo was already complete. Yesterday Auntie Inko said that she was taking Izu to a quirk spec- specal- fancy word! Someone who knows a lot about quirks! Not important, really. What was important was that Izu would know when he would get his quirk and when they could finally start their plans to become heroes together!
The door to the classroom opened and Katsuki could see his curly-headed friend standing behind Auntie Inko.

"IZU!" he yelled loudly. The greenette jumped but Katsuki didn't think anything of it. Izu had always been a scaredy-cat. Izuku waved gently to Auntie before rushing over to meet Katsuki. As soon as Auntie Inko left, Katsuki popped the question.

"So? When do you get your quirk, Izu?"

Izu looked down. Funny. Katsuki bent over and stuck his face right in the freckled boy's face. "Hellooooooooo!? Earth to Izu!" The greenette jumped back. He watched as his friend tugged at his own sleeve before suddenly snapping his hand off as if he had done something bad. Izu was such a strange kid. Katsuki was getting impatient. He stood up straight and crossed his arms.
"Well?"
"-less..." came an almost inaudible whisper from his friend. Katsuki growled. "Speak up, Izu! No one can hear you if you mumble like that!" Izuku snapped his head up with tears in his eyes causing Katsuki to falter.

"I'm quirkless!" the greenette all but screamed causing everyone to jump because Izuku doesn't ever raise his voice. Katsuki tilted his head. "Hah? What is that supposed to mean?" Everyone was watching Izu now. The little boy looked down. "Th- the d- doctor said," his stutter was back, "th- that I have an extra t- toe j- j- joint th- that people who h- have q- q- quirks d- don't have s- s- so that m- means that I d- don't have a q- quirk." Tears were spilling from Izu's eyes onto the floor now. His friend looked up and into Katsuki's eyes. The sheer amount of pain held in his friend's eyes took him back.

"I- I'm s- sorry, K- Kacchan."

A beat. Two. Three. Before... "BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Katsuki and Izu both jumped as the other kids roared with laughter.
"Quirkless?"
"That's so lame!"
"He doesn't even have a quirk!"
"He's so stupid!"

"He's so weak!"

Izu's head swiveled around frantically along with his hands. "I- I- I-" With his stutter, he couldn't get a sentence out above the laughing children. Even the teachers were trying their best to hide their laughter. Katsuki stared at his green-haired friend. Just like that their dreams of being heroes together were over. Izu looked at him as though he was begging for help. Katsuki was torn between his friend and his dreams.
Once the laughing had died down, the teachers guided them to sit in a circle for song time. Izu went to sit by Katsuki, which Katsuki wouldn't have refused, but a teacher grabbed the blonde's hand and pulled him away.

"Bakugo," she spoke softly, "you have too good of a quirk to waste your potential on Midoriya. Come sit by me." It clicked when he turned back to see Izu's crestfallen face. It clicked when Izuku sat down and there was a visible gap between him and the kids around him who didn't want to sit by Izu.
It clicked that Katsuki couldn't be friends with Izu anymore. Quirks decided who you were and Izu was quirkless. If quirks decided who you are then Izu was the lowest. He was quirkless. He was nothing. He was...

"Deku," Katsuki let the word slip as he was walking with Izu trialing a bit behind him as they were walking home. He had read it in a book that he was learning to read. It meant useless and it had the same character in it as Izuku. The two both stopped.
"W- what?" Izu's head tilted. Katsuki glared at his friend. No, at the traitor. The traitor who had let Katsuki down. Why did he have to be quirkless?! They could have been heroes together! They would have been the best! But now... It was like a huge slap in the face hearing the word 'quirkless' come from Izu's mouth. A punch in the gut when he had said, in his broken, stuttering voice,