(Sin)namon Rolls

Chapter 1: Izuku Midoriya: Origin

     "Sorry, kid, it's not gonna happen."
"I'm sorry, Izuku. I wish things were different."
"Defenseless Izuku! This school's already crappy. Do you really want to embarrass it more by failing so hard?"
"This job isn't easy. Pro heroes are always having to risk their lives. Some villains just can't be beaten without powers. So, no. I honestly don't think you could become a hero without a Quirk."
I used to feel like a failure. Like there was no hope for me. But even so, I promised myself I wouldn't give up. Even if I would never have superpowers, even if everyone thought I was useless...
People thought I didn't have a chance. That not having any powers made me some kind of weakling. My classmates liked to make fun of me. But you know what? That made me want to prove them wrong.
Meeting All Might was a dream come true, a real miracle. I didn't realize it at the time, but that chance encounter would change the course of my future.
     "There's nothing wrong with having a dream, young man. Just... make sure your dreams are attainable— realistic."
At first, I was devastated. I'd lived my life up to that point dead-set on saving people. For me, there was no alternative.
     Looking back I realize how ignorant I was. How... naive I had been. You see, All Might, you opened my eyes to a world I'd never thought to explore before. Once I saw it, there was no going back. My dream of being a hero... it just seemed pointless. Why should I save people? When I needed saving, no one came. You rescued me from a tangible villain, sure. But then you condemned me to succumb to villains with real power. The ones you can't see. My villains. I gave up on hope after you said what you said to me. That's what you did to me. You broke me, All Might.
Then she came along and put me back together.
She didn't save me from my villains. She showed me how to exist with them; as them. So I suppose I have both of you to thank.
Thank you, All Might.
Thank you, Ochaco.
I have become something greater than I ever imagined I could become.
And I owe it to you.
•••
If it weren't for her, I would have gone home and done what Kacchan told me to do.
At some point, while I was walking home for the very last time, I started to suspect that I was being followed. I didn't see a point in doing anything about that. I wasn't picky about the bringer of my death. Being the coward I was, I probably wouldn't have been able to go through with it on my own anyway. The probability of success would be greater if I had someone else do the deed. So I turned into an alleyway and stopped walking.
"Whatever it is you're gonna do to me, just do it," I said.
My back was turned from her. I thought it might hurt less if I couldn't see it coming.
"I don't want to hurt you," she cooed. "It'd be a shame to damage something so... valuable."
I felt hands run over my shoulders. I turned my head to gaze upon the last face I thought I'd ever see. If it had ended up being the last, I would have been okay with that. She was beautiful... so goddamn beautiful.
"What's hurting you, baby?"
My bottom lip started to tremble.
"So much," I answered. "So many things..."
Tears spilled from my eyes when I blinked. She clicked her tongue sadly and wiped them from my cheeks. I turned to face her fully. She wrapped her arms around me. I clung to her like the helpless child I was and sobbed. She ran her fingers through my hair and rubbed circles on my back. All I could do was cry.
"Let me take you home," she murmured.
"No," I gasped out. I fisted the material of her jacket in my hands. "Please... I-I can't. I can't. P-please. I don't wanna go back... Please."
"Not your home, silly. Mine."
I lifted my head and sniffled. "Huh?"
She brushed back my bangs and smiled gently. "Are you happy?" she asked.
My lip began to quiver again. I shook my head. "No."
"Do you want to be?"
I let my forehead fall onto her shoulder. She cradled the back of my head. I stared at the asphalt under our feet with furrowed brows.
"Yes," I whispered.
"I can make you happy."
"You can?"
"Anything you want. I'll get it for you."
I smoothed my hands over the soft fur fabric of her coat.
"What do you want in return?" I asked.
"You."
My head shot up. I looked her in the eye. Her stare was blank; empty. The corners of her bright fuchsia lips were upturned into a sinister kind of smirk. My legs were shaking. The comfort I'd felt in her arms was fading fast.
"Me?"
She chuckled. One long fingernail dragged down the side of my face and traced my jawline.
"I want you, Izuku Midoriya."
"How do you know my name?"
Her smile spread into a grin. She grabbed my upper arms and pushed me against a wall. I tried to scream. Her hand covered my mouth before I got the chance. She wasn't smiling anymore. Her eyes were blown wide, teeth gritted, brows deeply knitted.
"If you want to live, you'll keep that pretty mouth of yours shut," she threatened.
I watched her with unblinking eyes.
"Can you behave?" she asked.
I nodded. She took her hand off of my face. I swallowed hard.
"Who are you?" I stammered.
A stinging pain shot through the left side of my face. I ducked down reflexively and held my cheek with shaking hands. She took hold of my chin in an unforgiving grip and pulled me back up. Tears of pain were starting to well in my eyes.
"Don't pry. That's the kind of shit that'll get you in trouble," she said.
"I-I'm sorry—"
She put her hands on my shoulders and kneed me in the gut. I wheezed.
"Don't apologize!" she shouted.
"I'm sorry!"
She sent me crashing to the pavement with one shove to the chest. I cried out in pain. I pushed myself up into a sit-up position. She stood over me. Powerful. Gorgeous. Horrifying. Murderous.
"I thought you said you weren't gonna hurt me," I managed to choke out.
She dropped to her knees. She pushed me onto my back and pinned my wrists above my head. She leaned over me so her face was just inches away from mine.
"You're weak. Childish. Emotional. Submissive. If you want to survive in this world, man up. Get your shit together. Stop crying. Cut the whole 'woe is me' routine. It's pathetic. You want something to live for? I'll give it to you. But don't think it won't come at a cost. Do you understand me?"
I couldn't have responded if I wanted to.
I thought she was going to hit me again. Or yell. She just scoffed. She released my hands and got to her feet.
"Get up."
I did. It was hard. And painful. But I did.
She seized my hand and started to lead me out of the alley.
"My name is Ochaco Uraraka," she muttered. "And I run the League of Villains."
"You run the League?! But you're just a kid!"
"Life is full of surprises."
Like when a pretty girl holds you and strokes your hair and then assaults you and tells you to get your shit together?
We walked a couple blocks. Uraraka's grip was so firm that I was worried my metacarpals were going to snap.
"You can let go of me. I won't run," I said.
Her hold tightened.
Our destination was in a part of the city I never would have gone to by myself. Accompanied by Uraraka, though, I felt safe. Protected. A neon sign reading "BAR" hung over the door. She knocked systematically.
"It's a bad time," a muffled voice on the other side said.
Uraraka made an indignant face at the door, sighed, and put the hand that wasn't clutching mine on her hip.
"I'm the police. Bang bang. Pew," she said monotonously.
A boy with inky black hair and glasses opened the door.
"I hate that password," Uraraka said.
The boy simpered. She imitated his expression derisively. He gave me a once over.
"Is this our new pet?" he asked.
Pet?
I glanced at Uraraka nervously.
"This is Midoriya. He'll be joining us from now on."
"You sure about that, Ocha? He looks awfully delicate."
The way he uttered the last word made me wonder if it was meant as a threat.
"We'll fix that," she assured him.
The boy stepped aside and motioned for us to come in. Uraraka finally released my hand, but I stayed by her side. There was another teenage boy sitting on a bar stool. He had one foot on the seat, the other hung off of it, bouncing against the leg of the chair. He was using his knee as an armrest and leaning forward rather intimidatingly. The boy as a whole was rather intimidating. Half of his sleek hair was platinum, the other half was scarlet. There was a gruesome scar across his left eye, which was blue unlike the dark brown on the right. He hopped off of the stool and slunk up to me. He stared at me for a couple very long seconds. I gulped.
"Who's this kid?" he asked, eyes still locked on mine.
"My name is—"
"I wasn't talking to you," he snapped.
"Izuku Midoriya," Uraraka said.
"New recruit?"
"That's right."
"Are you as spineless as you look?" he asked me.
"I don't know how to answer that."
"You just did."
"Ease off, Shoto," Uraraka said. "You weren't exactly oozing villainy when you first came here either."
He looked away from me to glare at Uraraka. He narrowed his eyes at me before returning to his perch at the bar.
They were all... kids.
The League of Villains had an extensive track record of brutality. Their methods were cruel. Their crimes were unforgivable. I never would have guessed the perpetrators were just high-schoolers.
"Who's the new guy?" a nasally female voice asked.
I was getting tired of that question.
"My name is Izuku Midoriya. I'm here because I've lost my will to live and I was told that this is where I could find it again. All my life I've wanted to help people... but you know what?" I frowned at the floor and bared my teeth. I looked up to meet the new girl's eyes. "Screw that! People suck. They let you down. They hurt you. They break you. They do all of that and they don't...care! Why should I help the people who tortured me? Why would I do that, when I could give them... what they deserve? ...Dish out some of the treatment they gave me? That's why I'm here. Teach me how to be one of you. Teach me to be a villain. I want that. I want this life. I need it. Give it to me."
I was panting. I'd never felt anything like this before. I'd never been so furious. I'd never been so eager. I'd never been so hungry for something.
The boy with the glasses walked up to me.
"Tell me, Midoriya... do you know what it means to be a villain?"
I didn't answer.
"This life isn't cushy. The person you are now won't be able to handle it. So, change. Rid yourself of the identity you have and take up a new one. Become someone who can handle this. Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes."
He looked over at Uraraka, silently asking for her approval. I followed his eyes. She was leaning against a wall with her arms crossed, an unreadable expression on her face. Her eyes darted between me and him.
"It's your call, Ocha," Glasses said.
Uraraka squinted at me. She pushed off of the wall and approached us. She circled around me slowly. I felt the hair on my arms raise under her scrutiny. She stopped pacing and stood beside Glasses.
"I want this one," she decided.
Glasses smiled and clapped his hands together.
"Welcome to the League, Midoriya. My name is Tenya Iida. That's Tsuyu Asui." He pointed to the girl standing in the doorway between this room and the next. She grinned and waved at me. "And as you heard Ocha say, that's Shoto." He jutted his thumb out at the two-toned boy. "We look forward to working with you."
•••
"No! Please! I have a family! Two daughters! You don't have to do this! I'll keep my mouth shut! No one has to know!"
"You're so loud."
"I'll do anything! Anything! Just name it and it's yours!"
"What could you possibly have to offer me?"
"Money. I'll give you everything I have. I swear. Just please... let me go!"
"I doubt that's anything significant."
"Who are you?! Why are you doing this?!"
"Don't pry. That's the kind of shit that'll get you in trouble."

Bang.

"I'm Deku," I told his lifeless body.