Dark Light (Rewrite) Chapter 1

He had always known that not everyone was born equal.

"That's mean Kacchan! Look, you made him cry. I-I won't let you hurt him anymore!"

Izuku Midoriya, a young child of six stood in defence of another boy his age. His body trembled and his voice stuttering as he made his declaration with a fragile resolution. He hardly fit the role of the stalwart ‘heroes’ he idolized, he knew it, the boy whom he defended also knew and unfortunately for them so too did the ones whom stood before them.

There was a bark of laughter coming from one of the three boys. Izuku knew this one well, a boy whom he had grew up with since he was a toddler, a boy whom he had once called his best friend but now such a label was tentative at best these days.

Katsuki Bakugou laughed as he punched his palm creating a miniature explosion "you playing at being a hero Deku? You don't even have a Quirk!"

Quirks, the name given to the various supernatural powers manifested in over most of the world population. What was once written as fiction and toted as pseudo science so long ago has now become the norm in modern society. In fact quirks are so prevalent that just having one, no matter what it may be, constitutes as something of a status symbol. As having a Quirk became the norm, people with Quirks were ‘normal’ in today’s society and Izuku has yet to manifest one.

So as far as anyone knew Izuku did not have a Quirk and as such he was not deemed ‘normal.’ Children behaviour often reflects the raw form of the concealed or unwitting prejudice of the society they were born in without the filter of decorum. So how would they treat a peer who did not fit into their convention of normalcy? They shun him, ridicule him and generally treat him as an outcast. Most of them don’t do it to be mean spirited but out of lack of not knowing what to do with them and often times follow in the footstep of those who assert their mean spirited reaction.

Case in point, Katsuki Bakugou and his two cronies (because they were less his friends and more followers). To them (especially the former) Izuku was inferior and they remind him of this every day through cruel pranks and a campaign of bullying. It broke his heart that the boy he admired thought this of him and had no qualms with beating him down verbally and physically to assert his dominance.

Was it a wonder why the three of them laughed in the face of his defiance?

Because even if he can muster the courage to stand up to them, how exactly was he going to defend himself? Even the boy behind him had a means to protect himself even if it proved fruitless for him. Izuku on the other had nothing…nothing but his flickering will of fire, a fragile confidence and the knowledge that despite everything he knew for certain that this was the right thing to do.

This is what heroes do.

This is what All Might would do!

Izuku turned towards the boy “RUN!”

Fight-or-flight instincts took over for the unknown victim as the latter overcame the momentary shock of Izuku’s arrival to heed his shout. Not that he had any reason to fear unbeknownst to him his saviour provided a more tantalizing target for the three boys. The boy with the extending fingers grabbed his head and the chubby boys with draconic wings grabbed his arms leaving him open for Katsuki to once again make his point.

Katsuki reared his fist back "you should really learn your place, Deku!"

So as Izuku Midoriya braced himself for the inevitable beating he closed his eyes. In another time Katsuki would have delivered another beating in the long list of many to Izuku causing bruises to develop. When asked about it by his mother he would have passed it off as an accident happening while he was playing with his friends. His mother would be none the wiser and the physical and psychological abuse of her son would continue and compounded into a 14 year old boy with anxiety issues, social awkwardness and little confidence.

However at this time, at this place that did not occur and instead before Katsuki's fist could impact his cheek the four of them were enveloped in bright light. This light carried a concussive force tossed the oppressors away while Izuku only felt comforting warmth, unbothered by the light itself. In the moments of the light receding back into his body the boy could only look at his hands in stunned bewilderment.

As he stared at his hands Izuku could feel it, something that wasn’t there before and with a single flex of his will his hands glowed that same light though noticeably dimmer. Not that it mattered to him in that moment because that action had just confirmed that this wasn’t a dream like the other times.

“I…I have a Quirk” he whispered before a huge smile stretched his face “I HAVE A QUIRK!”

And with that resolute shout, the dim glow shone just a little brighter from his palms. That was the sight Katsuki Bakugou came to after untangling himself from the contents of the trashcan he was sent tumbling into.

“What the…?”

Green eyes shifted to find his childhood friend turned bully on his feet, a look of bewilderment on his face.

“Look Kacchan, I have Quirk now!”

Izuku was too lost in the joy of his discovery to see the expression on the other boy’s face. How it went from bewilderment to disbelief before finally settling on raucous anger. At least Izuku was not so oblivious that he missed the furious shout of the other boy.

“DEKU!”

The boy flinched hard “e-eh?”

“RARRGH!” Katsuki charged at the other boy with palms of mini explosions constantly popping off like firecrackers.

“Eep!”

In an act of self defence Izuku turned his hands towards Katsuki, they glowed dimly…and nothing further happened. Izuku glanced at his hands in confusion before looking back up just in time to be tackled by an irate and filth covered Katsuki Bakugou.

*SMACK*

~O~

Izuku had a Quirk.

Inko shouldn’t have been surprised by the news and yet she was. It wasn’t because of the news itself, Inko had taken her son to the doctor when his Quirk hadn’t manifested after all his classmates already had theirs for weeks. It was there that the doctor had assuaged both their fears by stating that Izuku had the genetic requirements for Quirk manifestation but some Quirks took time and recent studies showed that the average ‘late bloomer’ manifested theirs a maximum of a year longer than the average child.

Inko knew this, she knew that her son manifesting a Quirk would be an inevitability. Yet when he came home with glowing hands she was taken completely off guard. Never mind the fact that he was ruffled, bruised and partly covered in filth Inko’s gaze kept on the glow of his hands. That familiar glow brought feelings of nostalgia for a brief moment as memories of her late husband came to the fore.

And as her mind was preoccupied with the warm memories of her late husband Izuku made a declaration.

“I have a Quirk now Mom, that means I can be a Hero like All Might!”

And just like that those warm memories were shattered as something darker and colder came to the fore. Trepidation overtook the young mother, her stomach dropped and her breaths came out in small hitches, growing shallower by the moment. It felt as if she was having a panic attack and for a brief moment the shadows of the room grew…cloying at her, whispering things until…

“Mommy?”

And just like that, the spell was broken, the darkness creeping at the edges of her vision faded and all that was before Inko Midoriya was her son and the ever present warmth of his light-

‘Hisashi’

“Why are you crying?”

Inko brought a hand to her face and it came back wet “o-oh” her voice sounded fragile.

“I’m sorry” her son apologized, the glow from his hands dimming into nothing.

Almost immediately Inko went down to her knees and enveloped her son in a hug “no there’s nothing to be sorry about Izuku, this is a good thing!”

“But you look sad.”

“I’m not sad” she lied “I’m just so happy, you get to realize your dreams.”

Izuku’s smile came back with a newfound brilliance that wasn’t as a result of his newly acquired Quirk.

“YEAH!”

Izuku’s cheer only lasted as long as it took for Inko to collect herself which was admittedly longer than it should have taken. At which point she gave her son a proper once over and the small smile that had been gracing her features died a sudden death. In the middle of his cheer Izuku felt a sudden inexplicable chill run down his spine right before his mother spoke.

“Izuku dear, please explain to me why you look like this?”

Izuku shifted, unable to meet his mother’s eyes as he mumbled “I-I was playing around w-with Kacchan and I fell-”

“Izuku” his mother’s stern voice cut through causing him to flinch. Inko was still kneeling, her position now in seiza as she gently grasp her son’s shoulders “Izuku look at me.”

Reluctantly Izuku followed the instruction and almost flinched for a second time. Inko’s normally placid face had an uncharacteristic intensity to it that Izuku has never seen before.

The young boy swallowed.

“What happened?”

And Izuku spilled everything to her.

A Short Time Later…

Mitsuki Bakugou was busying herself with preparing dinner when the sound of the doorbell was heard. Grumbling to herself a bit she opened the door to find a familiar face.

“Inko?”

Mitsuki was shocked at the appearance of the other woman but more so she was shocked at the edge in her tone. As a woman who was short tempered and aware of this fact Mitsuki would like to think that she could point out when someone was angry. In this case it was very obvious to Mitsuki that Inko was livid despite doing an admirable job of hiding it.

“Hello Mitsuki” the edge in her tone could cut steel and Mitsuki found it unsettling on the normally placid woman.

“Um h-hey Inko, what are you doing here?”

As she spoke her eyes trailed down to see little Izuku half hiding behind his mother’s legs. At the question Inko stepped to the side and slightly pushed him forward. Mitsuki’s eyes widened as she saw the boy whom she knew to be her son’s friend. Izuku had cleaned up nicely however a few bruises were still visible, and the band-aids were telling of the abuse he had suffered.

“I would like to have a word, is Katsuki here?”

Red eyes narrowed as her face turned into a nasty scowl as she nodded and allowed them inside. After guiding the Midoriya’s to the living room Mitsuki turned her attention to a set of staircases.

“Katsuki, get down here!”

A few moments later a grumpy boy with sand blond hair and red eyes the same as his mother came downstairs. It took but a moment for him to notice the guests, at first his eyes landed on the meek boy and his anger flared. Said anger simmered as his eyes trailed to woman whose gaze sent a shiver down his spine. Finally he met his mother’s gaze which in contrast to Inko’s cold gaze burned with the intensity of a sun.

Katsuki Bakugou, 4 years old, swallowed thickly, breaking into a cold sweat.

“Crap”

“What was that?” the she-demon known as his mother intoned.

Double crap.

~O~

After the verbal dressing down he’d gotten during and after the meeting between his and Izuku’s mother the boy seemed to have developed a grudge against the other boy. With the extent of the boy’s harassment of his former friend being revealed it was agreed that Izuku and Katsuki be separated for the time being. Unfortunate that it was they shared classes together but to curtail any violence on the blonde’s behalf his mother had in no uncertain terms forbid him from physically antagonizing the other boy in any way shape or form.

The usually belligerent boy was hard pressed to disobey his mother this time around, not with the memory of her visage so fresh in his mind and the punishments he would incur. Still, Katsuki Bakugou was a boy who had inherited his mother’s stubbornness and his pride had been solidified from long ago. To see a boy whom he had cast off as useless receive the same praise and adoration he had received (and still does) made his heckles rise. Suddenly Deku wasn’t just a useless nobody but someone relevant and it frustrated the boy to no end.

It wasn’t something he would ever admit to anyone, not even himself but of all his peers Katsuki felt a genuine threat to his perceived superiority with Izuku. His concern began but a year ago, back when the two boys could be called friends. Katsuki had received his Quirk and had created a small following with his ensuing popularity, naturally Izuku fell in line. A small mishap while crossing a log had him slip and fall into the shallow stream below. He was fine of course, aside from being wet, yet as he wiped the water from his eyes he found Izuku looking down at him while offering a helping hand.

It struck Katsuki right then, that despite being the most timid in their group, their weakest link, that it was Izuku who had come down to help him. Even more flagrant was the fact that his eyes did not reflect the same deference he had come to recognize from the others. Instead it had reflected genuine concern for his well being, the same concern any one would show to another. It was a natural reaction for any decent normal person to have for another whom they considered friends.

But the problem was Katsuki Bakugou was not normal, he was special. He’d been told enough times by enough people in enough ways for it to be an undisputed fact at this point. He was the best, he was going to be a hero and he was going to be the best hero, like All Might!

No…

He’ll surpassAll Might!

How could someone destined for such greatness fail to command the respect of his weakest follower? Oh Katsuki had no doubt that Izuku respected him, you couldn’t fake the kind of admiration the green hair boy showed towards Katsuki. It was more than the others and so genuine that Katsuki thought he might have made a mistake when he lashed at the boy’s helping hand. But then as time went on he began to see the ‘truth’ hidden just beneath the surface. Izuku respected him, admired him and even acknowledged him as being better than him but Katsuki Bakugou was not Izuku Midoriya’s superior.

Katsuki Bakugou was Izuku Midoriya's friend, his best friend even, but nothing more. So even when Katsuki proved time and time again how much better he was to everyone, to Izuku they were still equals. The idea that Katsuki was thought of as an equal by someone who was below him was so bizarre and frustrating that Katsuki was at a genuine loss.

Why did he think this?

Could he not see the writing on the wall?

Was he an oblivious idiot?

Or was he hiding something?

Katsuki didn’t have the answer and it frustrated him, that frustration made him lash out and who else was there to receive his frustrations made manifest than the source of his frustration?

From there Katsuki went on a campaign to break any perceived notion Izuku had that they were equals. Izuku never acknowledged Katsuki’s superiority to him. He even ignored Katsuki’s attempts at first and it forced the boy’s hand as the campaign got more malicious. Harmless pranks became bullying, innocent name calling became verbal abuse and it got to the point where Katsuki’s frustration would have him use his Quirk on the boy.

The first time it happened he fully expected to get in trouble but he never did and so he never stopped. Katsuki wasn’t someone who enjoyed beating on the weak, he wasn’t a bully but the numerous and failed attempts to course correct and check his friend’s mentality turned to vindication. He began to enjoy putting his former friend down through malicious words and actions. The fact that nobody raised a fuss against it was all the approval he needed to continue and before long it became the norm.

Then Deku got his Quirk and things went downhill from there.

The news made the rounds at their elementary school courtesy of the two cronies who had been witness to it. By the time school came around everyone had heard and was curious and Deku was all too happy to show off. And just like that Katsuki was relegated to second place, the dominance he secured himself was taken away and the work he’d done in ensuring that Deku knew his place was undone in one fell swoop. It was all of Katsuki’s worst fears come to life because if Deku thought they were equals as a Quirkless nobody then surely he would assume he was superior with a Quirk now.

He couldn’t have that and the perceived slight against him spurred on his next course of action. This time Katsuki had to be mindful of how he reacted because if either of their mothers even caught a whiff of foul play then they would come down on him like a pair of jungle cats he once watched on a nature documentary. Luckily for all his brashness, short temper and developing crude vocabulary, Katsuki Bakugou was no fool.

He then proved this fact with his first act of working to undermine Deku’s sudden popularity by pointing out the flaws in the boy’s new Quirk. Katsuki had no idea why but for some reason Deku never displayed the power that tossed Katsuki and the other two boys aside like ragdolls. He could only glow and at best he tried to replicate the explosive feat that happened upon manifestation but couldn’t.

Katsuki had smelled blood in the water and pounced on this fact.

“You’ll never be able to be a Hero with a stupid Quirk like that Deku.”

It also proved to Katsuki that even if the other boy got a Quirk of course it would be useless because he was Deku. He took pleasure in how the boy had realized just how useless his Quirk was, that Katsuki was right because how could he be a hero like All Might with such a Quirk? In comparison to his Quirk which produced explosions Deku’s Quirk was truly useless.

It helped Katsuki’s cause that most of their peers agreed after Deku tried and failed multiple times in public to push his Quirk to do more than it was capable. None of them believed Deku’s Quirk was anything more than just glowing and Katsuki kept his mouth shut and he threatened the other two witnesses to do the same leaving Deku with no proof to the contrary. As such the hype surrounding Deku’s Quirk eventually fizzled out and by the end of the month he was back to being Deku, no longer Quirkless but with such a useless Quirk it didn’t even matter.

The irony was not lost on Katsuki that many of the people who ridiculed the boy had similar if not even worst Quirks than the boy himself. Not that it mattered, not that any of them mattered because they were helping him to put Deku in his place. Everything was back to normal on the surface again but Katsuki’s unease did not abate. If anything it got worse because throughout it all Deku hardly wavered. Oh sure he reacted to the jeers, the laughs and the taunts but his resolve shone through, at least to Katsuki.

The eye contact they shared conveyed everything Katsuki needed to know. Deku was not going to back down, he wasn’t going to admit defeat and worst of all he would neveraccept his inferiority to Katsuki.

~O~

Izuku felt frustration and there was much to be frustrated with despite finally attaining the thing he wanted. Before Izuku always felt that his Quirkless-ness was the barrier that prevented him from being accepted by his peers. He thought that if he could get a Quirk, any Quirk that things would naturally fall into place. At the very least he thought people wouldn’t be mean to him and maybe just maybe he’d be able to be friends with Kacchan again.

Izuku was wrong.

The initial few days of his return were among the happiest in a long while. To be treated as more than just a pariah, validation of rising above his status as a Quirkless and most of all the adoration of his peers were rapturous because for the first time Izuku felt like he belonged. And then all of it was rendered null within a week and by the end of the month he was back to where he was, a useless Deku.

Where did it all go wrong?

Where did he go wrong?

Those would have been the prevailing questions, had been the prevailing questions that haunted his mind for a while. Was there something wrong with him that no matter what people would just up and ridicule him? Bully him? Make him the outcast? He shared these depressing thoughts with his mother and her words still resonated with him.

“There is nothing to be sorry for Izuku because there is nothing wrong with you. If they can’t see you for the bright, wonderful and beautiful boy you are then they don’t deserve your friendship!”

It was the most vehement he had ever seen his mother, something that was becoming a growing trend with her. Either he never noticed it before or his mother was changing but she has become much more fervent and determined in the days since he got his Quirk. It was different from the meek woman he knew her as and that wasn’t a bad thing.

And so with his mother’s words Izuku had stopped pining for the attention of his peers. It was a progress to be sure because what child would choose to willingly isolate himself? Fortunately(?) he had two things going in his favor with the first being that he was already designated as outcast and the second being that he had something to distract from the loneliness, his Quirk.

This was the source of Izuku’s main frustration, the fact that he could not even recreate the feat of his Quirk’s manifestation.

Why couldn’t he get this right!?

Once again he aired his frustrations to his mother and she obligingly took him to a Quirk specialist. After a series of tests as well as a description of the first manifestation event the doctor concluded several things. As it turns out Izuku’s Quirk was a lot more complex than it would initially seem. The first bomb the doctor dropped was that Izuku’s Quirk had manifested a long time ago, at least a few weeks after his first visit to the specialist.

The reason why Izuku had not realized this before was that the Quirk had been laying dormant. ‘Dormant Quirks’ as the name suggests do not manifest spontaneously like most Quirks but rather lay virtually inactive until they are stimulated into action. There are multiple reasons behind this such as genetics or a side effect of the Quirk’s very nature to name two. In Izuku’s case it is the latter which brought them the second surprise of the day, the nature of Izuku’s Quirk.

As it turns out Izuku’s power is not merely glowing. The glowing itself is but an application of his actual Quirk which was a form of light absorption and emission, possibly manipulation. According to the tests Izuku has been absorbing photon energy, that is energy of light, through his skin passively all this time. The process is a slow one and was basically the reason why Izuku was thought to be a late bloomer.

As is the nature of dormant Quirks, they tend to manifest in high stress situation and his altercations with the three bullies presented the perfect catalyst. When his Quirk manifested Izuku released all the stored energy he had in reserve to an explosive result. The feat had left his reserves drained to the point where he could not only surround his hands with light. If he wanted to do more then Izuku would need to allow his Quirk to replenish his energy reserve.

Inko questioned the doctor about how long it would take to replenish said reserve and it would take so long.

To that the doctor reassured “Izuku is still a child Mrs. Midoriya and Quirks of this nature tend to develop and grow with the user. As of right now his body is young and hardly mature but it is my professional and personal opinion that this is far from your son’s full potential.”

Unfortunately the doctor couldn’t give a proper estimate on timing but he did advise Izuku to spend more time in light sources, especially the sun, if he wanted to recover that energy faster. Apparently Izuku could absorb photons from pretty much any light source but they found that the sun or UV rays work especially well.

Inko looked to her son before asking “is there any way to help the process along”

“Well it always helps to keep the body strong and healthy” he eyed the boy “that means eating all your vegetables young man.”

Izuku nodded fervently, if it would make him strong like All Might then Izuku was willing to eat all the vegetables.

“Other than that if you are serious about developing his Quirk for heroics then there are a number of grooming programs online for Quirks of his nature. I can recommend some”

“Please”

…

Mother and son left the Quirk specialist with Izuku seeming more determined than ever to realize his dream of becoming a hero. He proclaimed it to her with a vibrant energy and passion befitting a 4 year old and it was all Inko could do to stifle a giggle. She still felt reluctant but her son had such an infectious energy that not even her own pessimism could bog her down at this moment.

In that moment Inko held hope and as the two made it back to the car Inko held a thought that maybe just maybe things will work out.

Days Later…

“MOMMY!”

Inko was taken out her gaze by the door opening sharply followed by the pitter of little feet.

“Izuku?”

“Look mommy, look!”

Izuku turned, froze and paled considerably. Before her Izuku stood, his smile just as bright and innocent as she remembered yet couldn’t help but find marred by patches of inky blackness covering his skin like ugly tattoos. He held his hands up, draped in black as if he had dunked them in cans of paint yet these were no mere surface coats.

“I got another Quirk!” the boy proclaimed loudly and happily showing off the black splotches that seemed ripple and wiggle.

‘No…’

Inko’s eyes misted with unshed tears and she felt something in her almost die.

Yet she soldiered on with a smile, it was so fragile a pebble could break.

“T-that’s wonder-ful Izuku”

Inko felt weak, her knees wobbled but she managed to drop into a seiza so she could hug her son which he reciprocated. As the two embraced shadows moved of their own accord bringing whispers only she could perceive and as Inko’s tears finally fell freely her viridian eyes bled into the deepest shade of black. Just then the whispers coalesced from incessant mumblings into a familiar tone but with an unfamiliar cadence.

'Did you miss me?'

~To Be Continued~