Izuku Midoriya had had enough of the world's obvious bias against him. He didn't care anymore, he would change how the world saw him, and he would do that by becoming the very thing they said he couldn't. He'd become a hero. Just not a legal one. ⚠️TW⚠️: gore, blood, violent scenes, strong language, abuse, self harm and mentions of suicide, cringy writing. Please do not read this story if you are uncomfortable with these. IT'S NOT MEDICALLY ACCURATE, I STARTED THIS WHEN I WAS 14 (Cut me some slack, y'all) Started: 14 June, 2021 Updates: listen, I'm tryna make this story end well and it's really hard. Very slow updates. Constantly being edited

Izuku Midoriya swore he'd become a hero to his mother. But, he was powerless in a super powered society. No hero agency in their right mind would even think a quirkless boy could be a hero- let alone believe in him. No one did. Not his classmates- who mocked and bullied him for simply being ordinary. Not even his own father- who blamed Izuku for his wife's death, and takes it out on the poor boy. But, even through the guilt of losing his mother, the constant discrimination, the starvation, the bullying, the never ending abuse, and the deadly self loathing, his passion for helping others just wouldn't die. He'd never let his promise to his mom remain unfulfilled. If the world would tell him he couldn't become a hero, then he'd prove them wrong by becoming his own hero- Deku. A vigilante. Izuku's heroic actions quickly made 'Deku' popular. The fact that he isn't a legal hero didn't stop him from saving countless lives, and capturing numerous villains. Heroes from all over Japan tried to catch the vigilante- not to arrest him, but to recruit him. Although, most heroes only wanted the fame and self promotion that came with catching the popular vigilante. Despite the fact that even top heroes tried to catch him, he always managed to somehow get away. --- All Might had his eyes on Deku, even before he became popular. He easily recognized selfless heroic actions from the boy, that seemed like non-existent qualities in any of the current pro heroes. He didn't just want to recruit him- he wanted Deku to be his successor. But, the teen always just barely managed to escape All Might's grip. Or would the temptation of finally having a friend lead Izuku straight into it? And what if the heroes weren't the only ones who thought he'd be a worthy successor? Cover Art is made by funney_bonezz on TikTok. My Hero Academia belongs to Kōhei Horikoshi. *Do not repost on other websites or accounts. *Do not translate without permission.

Abused, abandoned and rejected, Izuku Midoriya is tired of being treated like a subhuman due to his quirklessness. As the vigilante Zero, he vows to make a change in society and prove that quirkless doesn't mean worthless. But there's a long, difficult road ahead of him. ---- WARNING, THIS STORY WILL INCLUDE: -depression -suicide attempts/self-harm -abuse -bullying -mentions of rape -lots of swearing This story does NOT condone things like abuse, suicide, and self-harm. If you have suicidal/self-harming tendencies or are being abused, or you know someone who is, get some help! Also, My Hero Academia and its characters are the property of Kohei Horikoshi, and none of the art is mine either unless I say so. The only thing I own in this story is the plotline. NOW CROSSPOSTED ON Ao3 (Account Name: EvilGenius) ---- A new chapter will be updated about every 2-3 weeks (may slow down), and I aim for a length of 5,000+ words per update. Current Word Count: 84,734 Starting Date: 5/28/2020 Completion Date: