Hi there!
This idea popped up randomly in my head thanks to reading a lot of stories where Izuku is Quirkless, but he's a villain or a vigilante. Plus I just wanted to write a story where Inko supports her son in his goals and Izuku becomes a hero without a Quirk. So yeah, blame other fanfics for this idea not leaving my head.
With that said, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.
"Mum, can I… be a… hero?"
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"Izuku…"
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"…I know you can, I know you will become a hero. I believe in you, Izuku!"
~0~o~0~
"Once again, the newest hero Dekiru has astounded the masses with no usage of a Quirk yet to see. Fans of the new Pro Hero are speculating what his Quirk is with some even suggesting that Dekiru is the first Quirkless hero in Japan. Next week is the one-year anniversary of Dekiru's first appearance so all you fans out there can celebrate the hero's coming. Up next, are villains becoming dumber or smarter, right after this commercial break…"
Inko Midoriya chose that moment to turn off the TV, eyes brimming with pride. Eight years ago, her Quirkless son, with tears streaming down his eyes, had asked her if he could become a hero. She wanted to run over and cry too, apologising to her son for not passing down a Quirk to him but, a part of her wanted to tell him he could do it. And she told him he could do it.
Izuku was a smart young man, analytical and able to soak in information like a sponge. Inko knew she could use that to their advantage, meaning that he could probably skip a couple of years of school to be able to set his name up as a hero early. After elementary school, Izuku was home schooled with one of the reasons being that the bullying was killing her son from the inside. That wasn't a lie, in all honesty. Inko could tell that Izuku didn't really want to head to school every morning, he didn't want to walk with Katsuki Bakugou out of pure fear that the holder of a powerful explosion Quirk would hurt him, he didn't want to go to class because everyone would pick on him due to his lack of a Quirk.
Inko picked up on this more as time passed on, and realised that getting her son out of public education would be the best thing for him as he was growing up. It also worked with her plan to make her son into a hero, a hero just like the pro named All Might. One of Hisashi's old friends worked in creating items to support heroes, weapons included, and owed her husband a favour. Inko cashed in that favour, the favour being that this friend would make equipment worthy for a Quirkless hero, a hero everyone can look up too. Of course, the old friend was more than happy to help, and even gave her the locations of a few nearby dojos for combat training in martial arts.
She could still remember the look on Izuku's face when she told him her plan, and that look was the thing that strived her to push her son further than he would have been if she had allowed him to go to junior high. Izuku wanted to be a hero, so why not do it before he was at the age to enter high school? By then, Izuku had already been secretly going to martial arts sessions – secretly in the case that nobody in school knew about it – and had since he was five. That meant Inko could focus on his education for the next two years after he left elementary, education that was rounded into about three years of high school. It would be gruelling, her son would be drained, but it would give him a hero licence by the time he was roughly fourteen years old, thirteen if he was lucky.
Fortunately, Izuku rose to the challenge, wanting to achieve his goal more than anything. After the first year of home schooling, Inko had taken her son to meet her husband's old friend to get fitted for the items that would make up his hero costume. Reinforced boots that would power up his kicks, gloves made do the same to his punches, a belt with pockets that contained useful items that could help with hero work, a mouth guard fitted with a voice changer and mask to cover his face that could be tied around the back of his head. The friend was kind enough to make the holders for the three weapons he would actually be using, and the outfit itself.
From there, Inko made sure that Izuku knew how to safely use the weapons, two metallic retractable staffs and a large mallet, in combat situations. Thanks to her husband being a Pro Hero before his Quirk was required in a foreign country, she had access to a large list of pros who would love to help their friend's family out. Of course, Inko would have a word with these heroes before training began just in case anyone would be prejudicial towards her Quirkless son. No hell hath a mother scorned, which was certainly the case with overprotective Inko Midoriya.
About halfway into the second year of home schooling, Izuku took the test for a hero licence, having received a good word in from many a pro, his father included. Inko was overjoyed when her son trudged into their apartment holding a card with his picture and hero name plastered on it, giving him a right to partake in stopping crime around the city. What made her even more proud of her son than before was the hero name he had chosen, Dekiru. Katsuki had always called him Deku, a respelling of the kanji in his name, to use as an insult, a weak useless person. However, through studying, Izuku had found out that Deku was close in spelling to Dekiru, the word that meant 'you can do it!'. You can do it was his motto growing up on the path to being a hero, he didn't have a Quirk but his mother had done everything in her power to allow him to become one. The next day was made a day off so that Dekiru could make his debut. Now, a year later, she couldn't be even prouder.
"Mum, I'm home!" Izuku called from the entrance to their apartment, closing the door behind him as he entered the living space. He wasn't in his hero outfit, just a red jacket with a pair of baggy jeans, but the smile on his face told her everything.
"How was your round, Izuku?" She asked as he took a seat beside her on the sofa, plopping his sports bag down next to him.
"Pretty good, there weren't too many criminals out today so I just ended up helping people," he didn't seem upset by the lack of criminals or villains, quite the opposite was true. "I was practically the only hero out on the streets that wasn't patrolling."
"That sounds amazing, Izuchan…" Inko giggled at the small groan she heard from her son as she got up. "I'm making lunch now, I think a Katsudon is in order."
That piqued Izuku's interest. "But it hasn't been the year anniversary yet."
"I know, I know," The mother smiled kindly at him. "But you have proved to the world that being Quirkless doesn't mean you can't follow your dreams." Heading towards the kitchen, a thought popped into her mind. "Do you have a hero tagline yet?" Practically every major hero had a tagline before their name such as; The Youthful Hero: Recovery Girl or The Symbol of Peace: All Might. Even after a year of service, she was sure that her son didn't have a tagline yet, which was odd considering how popular Dekiru had become as a Pro Hero.
"Not yet, but the fans have come up with some," Leaning over the back of the sofa, Izuku began to read ideas out. "The Snarky Hero, The Hero of Wit, The Peaceful Hero… the list goes on and on but if someone asks, it's going to be The Quirkless Hero: Dekiru."
"Announcing your lack of a Quirk, are we?" Inko inquired playfully as she began to chop up ingredients for the meal.
"And proud of it," Izuku continued to silently read through some of the over options, laughing quietly at one person had suggested 'The Hero who Roasts Endeavor' thanks to that little incident a month back where Izuku had proudly curb stomped the number 2 hero, Endeavor, in a fight of wit. He realised that, without his mother's persistence and perseverance, he wouldn't be where he was today. "Mum, thanks for believing in me back then. Everything you've done for me so that I can be a pro can't be repaid. You're my hero, mum!"
Tears formed in the corners of Inko's eyes. Thanks to her words, seeing her son perk up and commit to being a hero to make his mother proud, she never started binge eating to take away stress. Apart from the bullying, Izuku didn't hide his feelings or things from her, which meant she was hardly stressed at the prospect of her son being a hero. Hisashi had contacts, contacts from his old agency who had promised to do anything for her and Izuku whilst he was away, and they delivered when Inko explained the situation. Now and again, they would send letters asking for Dekiru to work at their agency, but that was never going to happen. Dekiru was a hero to save people, helping them no matter who they were, an agency wouldn't permit him to carry out his ways. A hand wiped away her tears as mother and son brought each other into a hug, words that were left unspoken didn't need to be said. They knew how the other felt and enjoyed the victorious burst of relief that came from it.
~0~o~0~
It had been a middle rank call out the day of Dekiru's year anniversary, a villain had taken a hostage and was threatening to go on a rampage if a hundred million yen was not given to him with an escape route free of charge. Considering the villain wasn't powerful or well known, most of the heroes had refused to answer the call. Izuku didn't care about those things, all he cared about was saving people and meddling when it wasn't his business in the first place. Having answered the rank call, he had suited up at home and was currently leaping across rooftops to the location of the callout.
The reinforced boots ran on nerve sensors on the inside of the casing, cleverly working out what his brain was telling his legs to do so that they could either cushion landings or stiffen up to land a killer kick. Black ribbons from his mask extended out from under the hood of his jumpsuit, little rabbit ear like points poking out either side of the head as a homage to All Might – who Izuku was a huge fan of. The jumpsuit itself was dark green with black lines running down the sides with a red utility belt for holding all the little extras he acquired from his father's friends and ex co-workers.
Jumping continuously, with some sprints of running, was getting tiring. Izuku felt lucky that his weapons didn't weigh anything, in his opinion, and were easy to carry around. Hoping that the scene wasn't too far away, the fourteen – nearly fifteen – year old took a quick look around when a shout from afar caught his attention.
"Don't worry young lady, why? BECAUSE I AM HERE!"
Was that… All Might? Izuku rushed over, only to find that this was the place the call out had come from. Peering over the rooftop, he noticed the villain was holding a woman with one arm with a knife in the other at her throat. True to form, the number one hero was at the entrance to the alley way with the police having set up a block for civilians behind him. It then hit Izuku that he was going to be working with All Might, the fanboy inside him died and went to heaven. He had been a fan of the hero for years and now, as a fellow pro, had a chance to fight alongside him.
Reeling in his fanboy tendencies, Izuku silently crawled his way down into the alleyway behind the villain, hearing the people mention stuff about All Might like;
"No way, I can't believe All Might's here!"
"He really is the Symbol of Peace."
"Why would he be here against a petty villain?"
Of course, stuff like that minus some parts were said about him as well, but Dekiru wasn't a Pro Hero that cared about rankings. Currently, he was ranking number eleven in both popularity and skill aspects that the heroes needed to perform in. Sure, he was one away from the top ten but half the time, he really doesn't know what ranking he is on the pro leaderboard. Some reporters had to remind him he was the number eleven hero during a brief interview once.
The villain was throwing insults out everywhere at this moment in time, threatening to slit the poor woman's throat if All Might took a step closer. He never said anything about Dekiru taking a step closer. Dekiru, as seen by the people, was a cynical but kind-hearted hero who loved to make references to modern culture. Many compared him to a sane Deadpool with the way he presented himself, however Dekiru didn't kill anyone and was a hero, not an anti-hero. Pulling out his mallet from its sheath, Izuku made his way over so he was right behind the villain and tapped him on the shoulder. As the villain turned his head around, loosening his grip on the hostage in the process, the Quirkless hero grinned under his mouth guard.
"Don't worry luv, the cavalries here!" With that, Izuku swung his mallet with as much force as he could muster without grievously injuring the man, and whacked him one around the head. Whilst the villain was dazed, he grabbed the hostage's hand and ran with her to safety.
"Hey! That's Dekiru!"
"No way, my two favourite heroes are working together! Someone pinch me!"
"You can beat him All Might, Dekiru!"
Having given the woman over to the police, Izuku had taken his place next to the muscly man of power, who was smiling down at him.
"So, you're Dekiru. Nice to meet you but pleasantries can be saved for later after we defeat this villain, okay?" Straight to the point, All Might was truly worthy of his number one spot.
"You got it, Mighty Man," Whilst his hero persona was confident, Izuku himself was sweating pretend buckets. "I have a plan which involves only two steps and will cause the least amount of damage to the buildings around us."
"Oh? And that plan is?" All Might sounded interested by the idea. Everyone who had watched the news knew that Dekiru's scenes weren't destroyed due to the fact that the hero was careful in his work. Since he seemed to never use his Quirk, or he never had one to begin with, Dekiru would make the least amount of damage, making him a go to hero for the police.
"I use the capture tape I have on me to stop his quirk usage and then you go in for a Detroit Smash." A silent nod from the other pro told Izuku that his plan was a go. Springing into action, he dashed forwards whilst the villain was still slightly dazed and pulled a role of capture tape from one of his many pockets in his belt. Quickly tying it like a lasso, he aimed and ensnared the villain within its Quirk draining coils before turning to All Might. "Now!"
"Aright then!" Having clenched his fist – and his butt cheeks - tightly, the number one hero released the power in his arm directly into the villain's stomach with a loud yell of "SMASH!". The villain's eyes widened, saliva flying from his mouth as his body curled in from the blow. The lasso was removed as he clutched at his aching stomach area and fell to the ground, allowing the police to collect him from the two heroes, who were now being interviewed by excited reporters.
"Dekiru, can you tell us how you feel after being a Pro Hero for a year and already being the number eleven hero?!"
"All Might, what's it like being the number one hero whose past his prime?!"
"Can we get a private interview with the two of you?!"
The two poor heroes tried to answer as best as they could, but in the end relied on All Might's jumping ability to get them up onto a high rooftop to avoid the paparazzi. Whilst some heroes liked the media attention, Izuku wasn't one of them and neither was All Might, apparently. The two sat down after the ordeal, both panting dramatically from their daring escape.
"So," All Might was the first to speak, which surprised Izuku as he was sure the nerdy fanboy in him would take over immediately afterwards. "You've been a hero for a year now?"
"Yep, and I don't regret anything that's happened over this year," Izuku replied, leaning on his hands behind him as the heroes took a breather. "Being as hero has allowed me to help and to save others, to meddle when I'm not wanted because nine times out of ten, I am actually useful to the situation. It's awesome."
"Well put, well put." All Might seemed deep in thought for a moment until he broke the silence yet again. "I've noticed you don't have a hero tagline yet, why might that be the case?"
"Well, the fans have made their own and people are speculating but, it's kinda hard coming up with something on my own," Izuku stood up, gearing himself up to leave but wanted to leave a lasting impression on the most powerful hero in Japan. "But I have one. It's 'The Quirkless Hero: Dekiru'." Seeing All Might's face drop as the pro realised his co-worker had no Quirk was priceless. "See you around, All Might! I'd love to work together again one day!" With that said and done, Izuku hopped off to the nearest rooftop and continued until he was out of sight, leaving a gobsmacked All Might behind. He knew something no one else really knew about the other hero.
Dekiru was Quirkless.
~0~o~0~
Normally, U.A. staff meetings went along smoothly, without a hitch, but today was different. Hands slammed on tables whilst the females' voices rose up dramatically. The principal, a white furred creature, sighed and shook his head. This action gained the attention of the staff members.
"Good, now we are quiet, I can continue with my explanation!" Nedzu announced calmly, smiling at everyone within his staff body. "I am only suggesting the inclusion of Dekiru as a future staff member. The real clincher is if he accepts my letter of invitation to join our esteemed workforce."
"Plus, you lot would have to accept working with a Quirkless man," All eyes rested on the skeletal form of Toshinori Yagi – A.K.A All Might – who was glancing between them individually. "Dekiru is number eleven, even after only one year of being a Pro Hero. The reason why is what he does, he goes above and beyond the call of duty to show the world that a hero is there for them. A guy like that would be perfect as a new perspective on our teaching courses."
"Even so," Shouta Aizawa, the hero Eraserhead, interrupted with a small huff. "How can we confirm anything you are saying?"
"Well, for starters we meet this, Dekiru, and ask him ourselves," Toshinori replied with a hint of sarcasm in the tone of his voice. "Then will you not be so cynical?"
"Not really."
"Look," Midnight, one of the few female heroes employed by U.A, burst in, trying her hardest to stop any form of argument from breaking up between Aizawa and Yagi. "We'll come with you to meet Dekiru and assess him to see whether or not he's suitable for a job here. Any objections?"
"No, but you did steal my control over the situation," Nedzu smiled back at them, with the affected heroes wondering what was going on." "However I am willing to forgive and forget in this instance. I'll see you all tomorrow. Go Beyond…" There was only one thing that the heroes could truly respond with.
"PLUS ULTRA!"