Stuck In The Middle

Chapter 1: You Don't Know Me Like That

No one person is born equal. That's the reality that a young man by the name of Izuku Midoriya had come to live at quite an early age. People are born with special powers called quirks, and unfortunately for him... He was the rare 20% of the population that was quirkless. This put an apparent target on his back for most of his youth, and even made him begin dreading going to school.

These days being quirkless can even be seen as a disability to some, many see it as being less than human. Not only that, but with the social outcasting that comes along with it many find themselves turning away from society, but Izuku Midoriya was not one of them. He had determination and ambitions much unlike the other quirkless percentile. With the rise of quirks came the profession of heroism, a profession that our green haired boy was most interested in. Heroism ran through his veins, and being a fanboy was what defined him for much of his adolescence.

"Oh yeah, Midoriya you're applying to U.A. too, right?" His teacher calls out, breaking Midoriya's train of thought, he was focusing on his notebook idly and making sure to keep to himself, but of course his teacher had to make him the center of attention. Today was the day that these middle school students would submit career forms and make the first step towards adulthood. The greenette looked around the room to see that everyone had frozen and turned to look at him, some with shocked expressions and others holding in their laughter.

'Oh great... Here it comes.' He thought flinching as he prepared himself for what was to come. It was inevitable at this point, you just couldn't get past the criticism and mockery. 'It just had to happen today...'

There was a pause as everyone processed what the teacher had just announced before the class erupts in laughter. Insults were slung at him and the constant berating went ignored by the teacher once again. Of course they just left him to suffer with it, everyone had a quirk- a mere chance to make it into the hero courses of highschools. Everyone except him, poor old quirkless Izuku Midoriya.

A purple haired girl stares at him and frowns but ultimately gets back to her classwork, what power could she have to help him anyways? Day after day she could only sit and watch as this boy was tormented and ridiculed, and she... She did nothing. She didn't have the gall to stand up for someone who so apparently needed just one person to stand up for him, to make a difference in his life. It sucked, because just like Izuku she wanted to be a hero too. But she feared she didn't have what it took, and this? It only proved it further.

Class ended soon thereafter and Izuku was still charting away in his notebook before a hand slammed onto his desk, the smell of caramel wafting into his nose. It was sweet, but he knew why that was and hated the smell with a passion. There's only one person who would do that, only one person who would go out of their way to make the constant mockery even worse. "Oi, Deku. What do you think you're doing applying to U.A.!?"

Katsuki Bakugou. Midoriya's "childhood friend/bully" shouted out in frustration at Izuku. Katsuki Bakugou has been a normal tormentor for the quirkless boy since childhood, a constant reminder of his own lack of a quirk. Of how useless he was, and how his dreams were hopeless endeavors.

Everyday he had to remind Izuku that without a quirk he couldn't be a hero. He couldn't be useful to anyone; he was weak. That was what his nickname meant, a useless wooden doll. That's all he'd ever been known as, no one would even call him by his name anymore. It was like he didn't even deserve the respect of a name anymore and it often led him to dark places.

"I'm the only one who's gonna pass that exam and get in, got that!? Quirkless idiots like you stand no chance! You shouldn't have even applied, there's a reason for those rules." He states, while snatching Izuku Midoriya's "Hero Notes For The Future™" volume 13 at that! He reaches for it, but couldn't snatch it back in time. Again, he was the blonds tool of entertainment and mockery. He didn't need Bakugou telling him that he couldn't make it in, he knew all too well himself that it was pointless, but he could still hope.