Everyone Snaps at Some Point

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/26291620.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero
Academia
Relationship: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku &
Todoroki Shouto
Character: Midoriya Izuku, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Todoroki Shouto,
Bakugou Katsuki, Yaoyorozu Momo, Ashido Mina, Tokoyami Fumikage,
Kouda Kouji, Shouji Mezou, Class 1-A (My Hero Academia), Original
Male Character(s), (he's the villain), Quirkless - Character, Sero Hanta,
Iida Tenya, Uraraka Ochako
Additional Tags: Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Villains, Analytical
Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug, past bullying, Bullying,
Smart Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku is a Ray of Sunshine, Tired
Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead,
Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead is So Done, Worried Class 1-A (My Hero
Academia), Rich Yaoyorozu Momo, Light Angst, Quirkless
Discrimination (My Hero Academia), Quirk Discrimination (My Hero
Academia), Midoriya Izuku is a Dork, Attempt at Humor, Iida Tenya is a
Good Friend, Emo Tokoyami Fumikage, Ashido Mina is a Good Friend,
Conspiracy Theorist Todoroki Shouto, Todoroki Shouto is a Dork,
Todoroki Shouto Needs a Hug, Sero Hanta is a Good Friend, Confused
Uraraka Ochako, Dadzawa - An Aizawa Shota Zine, Aizawa Shouta |
Eraserhead is a Good Teacher, Crying, everyone talks SO MUCH in
this, like dang, please say less, LITERALLY, im begging you, Bullied
Midoriya Izuku
Collections: You haven’t lived if you haven’t read this, HeroAcademy, Completed
stories I've read
Stats: Published: 2020-09-04 Words: 7495

Everyone Snaps at Some Point

by PruneyWitch

Summary

There is a quirkless villain on the loose and there are a lot of mixed reactions on him.
Aizawa decides to get his class opinion on it, and some surprising views come to light,
especially from a certain problem student of his.

Notes

Uh oh, not me talking about quirk politics again.

 !TW!: Past bullying, suicide mention, crying, mentions of nausea
(please tell me if I missed any)

ugh this took me way long to write because of s c h o o l

please bring summer back

See the end of the work for more notes

There is a quirkless villain running around Japan.

He calls himself ‘Quirkless’ (wow the creativity…), and he’s quite the character. Everyone reaches
their breaking point, and this guy reached his. He just happened to have a bigger reaction to it than
most.

There are a lot of people who weren’t exactly worried about him. ‘He’s quirkless, what can he
do?’. They claimed the quirkless are unable to do anything, let alone be a successful villain. They
thought he’d be reprimanded in no time.

Until he began to prove them wrong.

Quirkless evades the press and heroes many times, and the public and police are shocked. Some of
the fights that this guy has and the things he does has a good percentage of the public believing that
he’s lying about his quirklessness.

Soon a video goes around. One from Quirkless himself. It was a public statement saying that just
because he’s doing things that most people can’t doesn’t mean he isn’t quirkless, it just means that
he isn’t useless.

In the video he shows images of an x-ray done on his feet, showing an extra toe joint. Something
only found in quirkless people. He also showed his ID, no information blocked out, and next to
quirk, there was a red ‘X’, proving his quirklessness. Sure, there were still people claiming that he
isn’t quirkless, but the video quelled most of the people that didn’t believe him.

It was also a power move. His address, birth name, age, birthday, basically all his information was
written on his ID. It was as if to say, ‘come and get me’. It was a challenge. And seeing as he
hasn’t been caught yet, it was a challenge he was winning.

His popularity stirred up a lot of talk about the quirkless, and it’s revealed how little faith everyone
has in the quirkless. It results in a lot more studies being done, statistics being renewed,
information being revised and discovered. It began a new wave of recognition of the quirkless.

A couple days after the video came out, the hype died down, and people stopped talking about it. It
was exactly what Quirkless didn’t want.

He wanted action, and the only way to get that is for people to keep talking about his message.

So he did what he saw fit.

He hacked every TV channel and put up a photo of his x-rays. He left it up there for about an hour
before he took it down.

He just wanted to remind people that he was still there. That he was just starting.
He upped his game after that. Quirkless wouldn’t let this be skipped over. He was going to make a
statement, and no one was going to stop him. He would get the people on his side, and there would
be change.

Quirkless began to steal goods. Lots of them.

He’d empty out entire stores, and soon their contents would end up completely intact on the
doorstep of the nearest police station. There was always a note left alone with the goods in a very
fancy handwriting, proving it was the doing of Quirkless.

Quirkless gained a large fan following even though he’s a villain. It proved that beliefs are stronger
than ethics for some. His message was something that many people believed in, and wanted to help
spread.

He worked hard to gain his platform. Starting off with real damaging crime before moving on to
less harmful things. Quirkless made sure to let it be known that he meant to harm by his actions,
but he was simply trying to get his name out there; to create a sort of platform where he could be
sure that people would listen to him. Once he did, he stopped with trying to become popular, and
began spreading his message, though he had a unique way of doing it.

Quirkless broke into several extremely secure places: Bank vaults, museums, important exhibits,
galleries. He always either took something, or made sure to make sure that the people knew he was
there. And the thing was, no one had ever seen him do these things. Everytime he went on these
escapades, he was able to evade any sort of camera, security guard, hero, and policeman.

One time, he doodled with an expo marker all over the glass case of one of the most precious items
in an exhibit dedicated to All Might.

Typically the most someone would get for that is a large fine or a couple weeks custody. But for
this specific case, protecting the very Bronze Age costume of All Might, the punishment would be
much worse.

Only if he was caught, of course.

And it was strange that he wasn’t caught doing that, seeing as there are several sensors and lasers
protecting that case. The alarms will go off if someone crosses the velvet rope protecting the glass
case, or even reaches a finger over it, but for some reason, Quirkless was able to draw all over it!

It would be impressive to the staff working there if they didn’t have to go through the hassle of
cleaning it up.

No, scratch that, it was impressive nonetheless. In fact, the workers gained a lot more respect for
him as they realized how hard cleaning the case would be without turning off the security system.

Other quirked and quirkless people underestimate him and his skill. They try to copy his crime,
thinking it’s simpler than it seems. It always ends in them being captured and arrested because of
their inadequacy. It’s strange, because, somehow, a villain is helping to level and lower the crime
rate, though it isn’t by much. Aren’t villains supposed to do the opposite? Is he a villain at all?

People ask why he didn’t just make a platform a different way if all he wanted was to be listened
to. It was a frequently asked question when it came to him. It was asked frequently enough to
warrant an answer.

There was a video posted by Quirkless. Face shown and all.

It posed his answer to everyone that was asking why he turned to villainy.

“Many have asked why I became a villain to spread my message rather than spreading it like others
that wish for change. And simply, my answer is this: More people are listening. Say I were to
make a page on social media advertising quirkless rights. Would you click it? Investigate it?
Listen? Understand? Chances are you wouldn’t. Even if you do believe in the equal rights and
treatment for the quirkless, I doubt you’d click on a page dedicated to it. In fact, I can say that you
wouldn’t ever pay attention to it. And do you want to know how I know?”

He paused for effect. “Because I made one.” He continued, “Not one follower, and not one
comment or like. I updated regularly and topically, and yet not a single thing! You can check it out
for yourselves if you’d like! The @ is literally @QuirklessInfo if you wanted to check it out. I still
upload if you’re wondering, and now that this is out in the world, I’d hope you finally started to
pay attention. There is a great injustice going on in the world, and I won’t stand for it. Even if it
means turning to villainy. This is how I’m spreading like it or not. And it’s working right? You’re
listening right now aren’t you?”

And with that, the video cut out.

+++++++

That video was the last straw for Aizawa.

He had been meaning to talk about Quirkless to LITERALLY ANYONE, so who better to talk to
than his own heroics students.

Whether they like it or not, he was going to make a lesson out of it. Aizawa was pretty sure that
they would like it though, since for the past couple of weeks he’s picked up a couple of
conversations about it.

During today’s homeroom, he could hear bustling about the video. He heard it being played, he
heard people talking about it, it was practically all anyone in the class was speaking about, if they
were even speaking about anything at all (I’m looking at you Koda).

Aizawa was almost shivering from excitement in his sleeping bag as he heard Iida tell the class that
there were 5 more minutes until homeroom ended and class started. Aizawa couldn’t wait to start
the lesson, but he took a breath to calm himself down before unzipping his sleeping bag.

He had an image to maintain after all.

As he stood, he prepared himself for the lesson to come. He turned to grab the chalk and wrote
down three categories on the board: bad morals & bad action, good morals & bad action, and good
morals & good action.

Aizawa could tell that his class was confused, but they would find out in a little what those were
for.

“Good morning class.” He drawled, receiving a mirrored greeting from the class.

“Today we’ll be covering a topic you all are fairly familiar with. It’ll be a mediated discussion
about the current villain Quirkless.” Aizawa revealed.

The class started going crazy. Mina was smiling and bouncing a little in her seat, excited that there
was going to be a class on a topic that she knew about for once. Something similar was happening
with Sero.
Ojiro smiled a little at the prospect of already understanding what they were going to be covering.
Yaoyorozu frowned a little. Everyone was already talking about it, and now it was a class lesson?
She couldn’t help but be a little sick of it, but she respected Aizawa enough not to complain.

With a glare, Aizawa shut the class up and made them shudder under his stare. He smirked to
himself knowing he still had it.

“I know you’re all aware about the villain Quirkless and that he stands for quirkless rights. I will
be asking you what your opinions on him are. They must fit into one of these categories. You’re
either for or against his message,” He almost frowned at that, his message was a good one. Plus,
technically this is a debate where you’re supposed to express your opinions, and he’s allowed to
have a bias. He’d try to be neutral, but he’d see how far that would get him first. “And for or
against his actions, but you cannot be against his message and for his actions, because then you’re
just supporting crime.” He got a couple smiles for that one. Being constantly deadpan had its perks.
For one, it made his rare jokes just a little funnier.

“So,” Aizawa began, “who absolutely despises him, message and all.”

He hoped he didn’t get a large show of hands for this one. He was trying to raise a class of heroes,
he couldn't have them thinking not everyone deserves rights.

And sadly, there were hands raised, but not a lot. Namely from Sato, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and
Kaminari.

“Yaoyorozu, can you explain your opinion?” He said. Keeping his face neutral despite the
overwhelming disappointment he felt. She was one of the brightest in the class, it was sad to see
that her morals didn’t include everyone.

“Well, I just don’t think that anything needs to change in our society, so there is no need for him or
his senseless crime. I understand that the quirkless aren’t fully given their equal rights,” Aizawa
almost snorted at that, “but they’re less evolved, correct? So they’ll go extinct soon right? Why
make rules for a dying breed?” Yaoyorozu finished, almost proud of herself.

Aizawa was disgusted. She practically spoke of quirkless people like they weren’t human. He’s
aware she may have not meant to say that, or maybe she just didn’t fully understand the weight of
what she just said, but it was wrong nonetheless, and Aizawa was peeved, so he did something
petty.

“Ah.” Was all Aizawa said in response to her. It didn’t reveal if he was for or against, or if he
agreed or disagreed, it was just a simple acknowledgement.

He knew that would drive her crazy. Yaoyorozu thrives off of criticism. She loves knowing that
what she’s doing is right or wrong, that she’s on some track. She likes constant approval, but also
likes knowing what she can fix as well, it gives her a path to follow on, but leaving her in the air
like that… it’s the worst thing you can do to her. Especially after she has so proudly stated her
opinion. Plus he knew it would only feel worse for her after everyone else stated their stance since
they’d all be different from hers, and she’d feel left out and incorrect. She absolutely was incorrect,
but she didn’t feel it. Not yet.

Aizawa saw the smile slowly slip off of her face, and he was filled with as much satisfaction as
you can get from a petty act. He knew he probably shouldn’t be mean to children, but he’s literally
almost died for them. He’s allowed to be petty once in a while.

Aizawa turned, looking away from where he was previously.

“Now raise your hand if you are for his message, but you don’t like the way he’s going about it.”
He lazily drawled out, though he was pretty far from tired (even though as soon as this class was
over he’d probably be taking a nap).

Most of the class raised their hands. Practically all of them, really. Kirishima, Tsuyu, Shoji and
Hagakure’s sleeve went up. And it was understandable for a class of heroes to be for rights but
against crime.

“Raise your hand if you’re for his action, and you approve of how he’s publicizing himself.”
Aizawa said, looking around the room for hands, and was pleasantly surprised when he saw a hand
raised by a green haired boy. He hummed in acknowledgement, though it was drowned out with
gasps of shock and a call of 'what revelry in the dark' as the others in the class saw it as well.

“Todoroki, please explain your stance.” Aizawa said, pulling everyone's attention back from
Midoriya.

“I feel that it doesn’t matter what anyone stands for, or if you’re a hero (ouch, my heart) or a
villain. Breaking the law is breaking the law, and it shouldn’t go unpunished. Not all heroes are
good, and not all villains are bad, but I refuse to listen to someone who breaks the law.” Todoroki
said, just a tad bit of hate showing on his face as he explained. If anyone was watching, they would
have seen Midoriya wince at his words.

“It doesn’t matter what he stands for if how he goes about sharing his thoughts isn’t lawful. The
law exists for a reason, and by breaking it, there’s a large majority chance that he is hurting
somebody. Like the profits of the stores he steals from, or the museums he vandalizes, because
people think the security there is weak, or they’re afraid. I also don’t appreciate how he always
leaves a mess wherever he goes.” Todoroki said, and if Aizawa didn’t know better, he’d say there
was a frown forming on Todoroki’s face, but now that he was looking closely, no, Todoroki’s face
was as bank as usual.

“I understand where you’re coming from, but I would like to inform you that the stores he steals
from are doing much better than they were before due to increased publicity. He’s saved a few
small businesses with his work.” Aizawa said, letting people know that there has been a positive
influence on the world because of Quirkless.

Aizawa decided to move on to questioning the next category of people. "Aoyama, please explain
your opinion."

Aoyama's sparkles under the light only seemed to grow as he was called on, unashamed to be in the
spotlight.

"Oui! The way that he goes about spreading his message isn't very fashionable, but the message he
is trying to get out is quite sparkly! J'adore that he's standing for what is right, but je n'aime pas
how he does it. La façon dont il le fait, ce n'est pas très à la mode." Aoyama says with a flourish of
his hands. (Translation: I don’t like how he does it. It isn’t very fashionable.)

Tokoyami raises his hand after that, and Aizawa calls on him. "Tokoyami."

"I agree with Aoyama, I don't like how he handles things, but I do have to admit that it is effective."
Tokoyami said.

"How do you mean?" Aizawa asks.

"He changed my opinion on the quirkless. Before, I barely gave the quirkless a passing thought.
When I did find them crossing my mind, I found myself thinking with words like 'weak' and 'frail'
and because of Quirkless' spread of awareness and unabashed callouts to similar thinking patterns.
I realized I was ultimately calling them useless without really using the word useless. Because of
what he does, he allowed me to see that people who are quirkless have just as much potential. It
was a flawed way of thinking, and I’m glad I don’t think that way anymore. I don’t know why I
didn’t realize how wrong I was sooner.” Tokoyami said, hands unfolding from their crossed
position into dramatic gestures and poses.

Aizawa was glad that Tokoyami’s views changed. And he was also glad that Tokoyami was brave
enough to admit that they were ever different. By setting a precedent, others can follow with less
fear.

“But even though he changed my views with his crime, I cannot say that I condone his actions. I
understand that crime is the platform he chose for a reason, and I cannot say I ever saw crime as a
platform, I just hope that other criminals don’t follow suit and use crime to promote their way of
thinking. I do feel that it could become a sort of terrorism. The only reason that Quirkless isn’t
technically a terrorist is because what he does isn’t harmful, and doesn’t invoke fear. It rather
sparks knowledge. And for that reason, I support him, but not what he does, though I am on the
edge of saying that I support him fully.” Tokoyami finished, arms settling back into their crossed
position.

Mina chimed in, “Yeah! Me too! Well, maybe not about the almost supporting him thing ‘cause it
feels wrong to support a villain, and the way he literally isn’t afraid to be arrested is kinda
worrying. But anyways! He totally changed the way I saw quirkless people! It’s like, crazy. ‘Cause
before I saw them as like, people to feel super bad for ‘cause they don’t have quirks. Which is
crazy! No quirk? And I thought that meant that they can’t do anything, but then he said something
like, ‘you are more than your quirk’ or something like that. Oh no, wait! It was ‘you are able to do
things outside of the abilities your quirk gives you’, or something like that. So yeah, when he said
that I was like, ‘woah’, and it totally changed everything for me.” She sat back down, not even
realizing that she stood up in the first place.

Aizawa nodded, taking in the information.

So both Tokoyami and Mina have been won over by this guy. Was he really so influential? Aizawa
had always been on the side of quirkless rights. How could he not be when he has found such a
large amount of them on high ledges and roofs?

Aizawa knew that as an underground hero he’d have to stop a lot of suicides, but he didn’t like that
he’s found more quirkless people than quirked, no matter how mathematically impossible that is
because of the higher population of quirked people in Japan. He didn’t like finding anyone at all,
but when there was a consistent pattern of quirkless suicide attempts, he doesn’t think he’d be able
to ignore the fact that they’re so discriminated against (especially when he finds a kid on the ledge,
since the younger generations are the most discriminated against, and also because he has such a
soft spot for kids. It hurt even more when he couldn’t save them)/

Aizawa knows that other heroes also found people on the verge of suicide, and given how likely it
is, he knows that a few of people in this classroom that aren’t becoming an underground hero will
come across a person on the edge of suicide. It is important that they believe in equal rights for the
quirkless, because if the person they find just happens to be, he will not want to have to say that
one of the kids that he brought up let someone die because of their quirk status.

Iida raised his hand.

“Yes Iida? You’d like to share?” Aizawa drawled tiredly, but internally he was excited. He thought
that Iida would be with Yaoyorozu and Todoroki, so seeing that he wasn’t was a pleasant surprise.

“Yes sensei. I as well have been persuaded by his influence. Quirkless has shown me that a quirk is
merely an enhancement of certain abilities, or an ability in itself. It is an addition rather than a
whole.” Iida said, chopping his hand at the end of every statement.

“He proved to me the truth of the saying ‘a jack of all trades, master of none is better than a master
of one’, or in other words ‘one-trick ponies’. I can attest to these words as well. Before this year I
hadn’t ever thought to throw a punch. Why would I if my legs were the tools that my quirk
enhanced. But, just because my arms weren’t enhanced doesn’t mean that they aren’t useful. I
thought my legs were all I needed, but during training, Midoriya helped me to see that by using all
my limbs, I can reach a higher strength! It should have been common sense, but I was blinded by
my quirk. After realizing my problem and fixing it, I was able to improve my fighting style.” Iida
finished, relaxing his arm to sit on his desk, though they were still flexed and pointed forwards
(how in the world does he not cramp up).

“Very well Iida. But you don’t support how he does things?” Aizawa asked.

“Not at all sir. I understand approving of his message, but to support his crime even as his way to
spread awareness doesn’t feel heroic.” Iida said, hands chopping once again.

“And you Ashido?” Aizawa turned to her.

“Nope, I agree with Iida. I get what he’s trying to do with the whole villain thing or whatever, but I
just don’t like his crime. I love what he’s trying to do, and I love how successful he is at it, but I do
think that if he’s ever caught, he should go to jail. Not ‘cause I hate him or anything! But just
‘cause you hafta face the law after you break it, y’know?” Mina said, hair bouncing as she spoke.

“I see.” Aizawa said, deadpan as always.

He turned to Midoriya. It was always the problem child, wasn’t it?

“Midoriya, explain your views. You said you support his views and his actions?” Aizawa said, and
out of the corner of his eye, he saw the rest of the class perk up. He knew they were excited to hear
what he had to say, and to be honest, he was as well.

“Yes sensei.” Midoriya started, determination that’s usually reserved for battle or serious analysis
was painted on his face.

“I don’t think he’s all that bad.” He drew out a gasp from Yaoyorozu, “I just think he needed to
make a statement, and this was the way he saw was best to do it. It worked didn’t it? Some of you
guys were convinced weren’t you?” Midoriya looked around the room, locking eyes with the
people who confessed to switching sides.

“Sure I wouldn’t support another villain doing this for other reasons, but I’m not going to
generalize my opinion of crime as a platform. I don’t feel that it can be. Sure it’s morally wrong to
steal, but how do you think museums get their art? This is such a sensitive and specific topic, I just
don’t think it can be generalized to an entire category of issue. Yeah, if someone else did this to
support something more subjective, then I wouldn’t accept it. But equal rights aren’t negotiable or
an opinion. They aren’t politics. No one should be discriminated against, especially on the basis of
law. You can’t just deny someone equal treatment.” Midoriya was very very passionate about this,
and with good reason. A lot of the class had seen Midoriya passionate, but not like this.

It was almost like he was angry, and they think that maybe he was. They also think that with every
word Midoriya speaks, the more justified his anger is. They were angry as well.

Midoriya really did say it clearly. These were human rights. Not something to be denied or toyed
with. Where did they get off treating this like anything else?

So, as an established objective issue, this is something unprecedented! You could compare him to
Stain, but there is a key difference. Stain was pitching ideals, but Quirkless is spreading awareness,
and asking for a change.” Midoriya said, gesturing wildly as he ranted. It’s clear he’s thought a lot
on the topic.

Iida stiffened at the mention of Stain. He had been comparing Quirkless to Stain, but he decided to
side with Quirkless anyway. His own personal experience shouldn’t get in the way of what was
right, and he recognized that. Midoriya was only reinforcing what he believed.

“Quirkless is convincing rather than forcing. What he’s doing is wild and kinda impressive, but it
isn’t harsh. He’s never done any real harm. And like Sensei said earlier, he’s actually helped
people! He’s never killed, or even injured anyone! And to be honest, that’s more than you can say
for most heroes. And where do we get off calling people heroes when they’ve hurt more people
than someone we’re labeling a villain?” Midoriya says, and he sees Sero light up with realization at
that. His jaw dropped open, and his back stiffened. Sero’s eyes widened as he stared at Midoriya,
and at that moment Mirodiya realized that he had just won Sero over.

He realized that his words are being processed by his class. They have weight. He can help
convince his class. Even if it’s just a couple people, it’s still a change that the world needs.
Especially from a class of upcoming heroes.

“To refute Todoroki’s point,” He turns to directly address Todoroki, who looks a little betrayed,
“lawfulness doesn’t equate to goodness. There was a period in America where slavery was legal,
but that didn’t make it good. It’s bad and it’s always been bad. Sure, over time the law has become
a lot more fair, and the ratio between goodness and lawfulness has become a lot more accurate, the
gap between the two has lessened, which is great, because what is the law for if not to keep the
people under it good. But, the illegality of what Quirkless is doing doesn’t disprove the correctness
or inherent goodness of his stance.” Midoriya said, never once looking away from the bi-colored
male.

Todoroki looked like he wanted to give in, but something was holding him back.

He just has to push a little harder.

“There are so many heroes that do less than honorable things, so it shouldn’t be so hard to believe
in a villain with real noble causes. Heroes aren’t above the law, and neither is Quirkless, but if
someone is doing bad things that contribute to a good cause, then I’ll take it.” Midoriya’s eyes
were pleading with Todoroki.

“Quirkless should be listened to. Sure his actions are less than savoury, but this is a moment where
the bigger picture is more important. Plus, ignoring him and his goal, and focusing solely on his
actions would only make him continue, no? He said it himself, he isn’t going to stop until he’s
listened to. And it’s clear he has the skills to keep going until then. Seeing him at his current face
value isn’t going to do anything. To get him to stop, you have to listen to what he’s saying, not just
what he’s doing. He’s fighting for justice. His ways are questionable, but ultimately, I can’t think
of anything more noble.” Midorya finished, glad to see Todorokis eyes shine with newfound
understanding.

“And so? What do you think about him? Forget about his crime for a moment, and focus on
Quirkless himself. What do you think about him?” Aizawa said, smirking slightly. He knew it was
a weird and strangely direct question to ask, but Aizawa knew that Midoriya would understand.

“Well, I don’t think he’s a villain.” Several pairs of eyebrows raised in shock. “Not just because I
like him, or just because we share ideals. Don’t get me wrong, he absolutely breaks the law and
does things that he should be arrested for. He himself knows that. But I don’t think that just
breaking the law makes you a villain. What did he do to be called a villain? People slapped the
label on him as soon as they disagreed with him. He broke the law, and people saw what he stood
for and called him a villain, but is that really the basis for it? Breaking the law?” Midoriya looked
at Aizawa, genuinely curious, but Aizawa just looked at him with eyes that nudged him to go
further. Like he already knew the answer. Like he was getting there.

“Trespassing doesn’t make you a villain, it makes you a criminal. Mass murder probably makes
you a villain and a criminal. Is it the severity of the crime? No. I’d say there are pretty severe
things you could do that would get people to see you as a villain but technically you wouldn’t be
one. Like pedophilia. It’s illegal, and people would most likely see you as both a criminal and a
villain, but in reality you wouldn't be a villain. Just a criminal, unless pedophilia wasn’t your only
crime, and you did something that would ” That was the last line Midoriya got out clearly before
dissolving deep into mutters and mumbles.

Midoriya put his hand on his chin and brought his eyebrows together like he usually does when
he’s thinking way too hard, until his head snapped up, and he looked at Aizawa, who stared down
at the kid.

Midoriya’s mouth was slightly open as he reeled from the realization of what separates criminals
and villains.

“So kid?” Aizawa said, barely holding himself together.

“...quirk use.” Midoriya says softly, looking like he just saw all the answers to the universe.

Aizawa’s face began to morph into a brilliant grin, and Midoriya knew he was right.

He repeated it, louder this time. “IT’S QUIRK USE!”

Midoriya looked around the room to find someone else as excited as him, but it was just him and
Aizawa who shared genius.

“Quirkless can’t be a villain because he has no quirk to use!” Midoriya said, scoffing out a
disbelieving laugh as he put a hand to his forehead and slumped backwards in his chair.

Urakara piped up, “So you think he’s a hero?”

“No, not quite, because he’s still doing crime, a motive doesn’t make you a hero. But that is
closer.” Midoriya answered.

“Due to his influence, a lot of awareness has been spread for the quirkless. Scientists have done
new studies on them, which helps a lot because some diseases affect quirkless people differently
since they’re less evolved. They’ve also refreshed a lot of statistics on them. They stopped taking
the quirkless census a couple of years ago, but they’ve started again, and I think it’s cool that
there’s an actual good change that came out of this!” Midoriya took a second to stop talking and
just smile at the better state of the world.

Not one person in the classroom could stop a smile from growing on their face at that. They were
happy that the world was improving. Plus, Midoriya smiled like sunshine.
Even Bakugou and Todoroki had genuine smiles on their faces, however small they were.

That was, until Jirou spoke up, “Wait, they stopped taking the quirkless census?”

Midoriya snapped out of his warm feeling, “Yeah, it was about ten or so years ago. They just
stopped considering them. Quirkless people could fill them out, yeah, but that didn’t mean that
they were going to be taken into account. You can’t lie on those forms, and once they see that
you’re quirkless, they basically just scrap them.”

“But why didn’t we know about it?” Jirou said, with a sinking suspicion that she already knew the
answer.

“They don’t broadcast a lot of news on the quirkless. Or, well, they didn’t. Now it’s much
different, because before all you’d hear about the quirkless were occasional suicides, and that’s it.
With the emergence of Quirkless, a ton of stuff is coming to light as he shares what it’s like to live
quirkless, and the news is all over it.” Midoriya said, subtly covering the fact that he knew most of
his knowledge from experience and deep nights scouring the web for safe forums where quirkless
people could share their experiences.

Those were hard to find without the threat of being doxxed.

“But, with the newly-done stats, we can see that since Quirkless’ emergence, the bullying and
suicide rates for the quirkless have gone way down! And it isn’t just a small improvement, it's a
serious change! He’s really making history here! Plus, along with that, he’s helping with criminal
capture, but it doesn’t seem like it since all you hear on the news is the newest thing that Quirkless
has done.” Midoriya said, switching topics.

“Police activity has heightened to try to catch Quirkless, but they never do, but that doesn’t mean
that they don’t apprehend anyone. Due to the increased amounts of patrolling heroes and cops, the
cities are a lot safer than they’ve been before!” Midoriya says, eyes glimmering as he thought
about hero work (what a nerd).

“So due to his work, he isn’t directly saving lives, but he has halted a lot of potentially dangerous
people and things. He could be called a hero, but he isn’t one in a traditional sense. Anyone can be
a hero to anyone else, but normally, he’d need a license.

“So a vigilante then?” Kirishima asked.

“Well… sort of. I think the best thing to call him is an activist. While he doesn’t quite ‘campaign’
in a conventional way, he does work hard and successfully to get his point and beliefs across. He
has been asking for a change in the world, and it’s been working.” Midoriya said, finally getting to
the point.

“No one would listen to him if he didn’t do what he was doing. Quirkless said it himself. If he
asked for equality in a way that is or was customary, then he’d never get anyone’s attention. So
he’s doing it differently. He’s forcing people to look at him. And we all know it’s working,
because I know a lot of people that are sick of talking about him.” He said, pointedly looking at
Bakugou.

“He’s grabbing people’s attention in the way that he thought was best, and I for one agree with
him.” Midoriya (finally) finished.

(i know i’m the one who wrote this but holy shit, this kid talks so much)

The class is left in a state of shock.

...That is, until Aizawa breaks it. “Impressive, I agree.”

He knows he shouldn’t reveal his opinion, but he didn’t really care for average teaching methods.

“That justifies what he does, but why he’s doing it is a completely different topic.” Aizawa says,
“Midoriya mentioned the quirkless statistics, which I doubt you all have memorized. I think you all
have a good idea of what they may be like now, but in past years, they’ve been anything but
positive. Quirkless is doing what he does for a reason. And I will be giving you an idea of what
that is. I couldn’t possibly give you a genuine 100% true reason because I’m not quirkless and I
couldn’t ever realistically show you what it would be like to live without a quirk, but I can show
you these facts.” And with that, he turns off the lights, and turns on the projector.

On the screen is a study done on the quirkless, and the statistics.

They’re pretty horrifying as compared to the lives that most of these kids have led (with a few
exceptions).

Mina broached again, “This is before Quirkless?! That’s awful! I can’t believe it!”

She received multiple horrified agreements from the rest of the class, but Midoriya just looked
down at his desk. He didn’t want to see them.

Aizawa spoke again, voice drawing with a hint of sadness, “No Ashido. This is after Quirkless, it’s
from about three weeks ago.”

Outrage.

The class was yelling about injustice and similar topics. Iida was chopping so furiously that
Aizawa was sure he would leave a dent in his desk. Uraraka looked like she had just overused her
quirk, and so did Aoyama. Yaoyorozu looked shocked beyond words, and Koda was on the verge
of tears. Bakugou was staring blankly at the screen, usual scowl gone, with a vague look of
horrification deep in his eyes.

Aizawa hushed them with a glare. It was nice to know that he could shut them up even without his
quirk.

He let them stew in their silence until someone spoke up. “...can we see before?”

Everyone’s heads swiveled around with shocked expressions to stare at Bakugou. They’d never
heard his voice sound like that before. He’s never sounded so hollow.

“Are you sure Bakugou?” Aizawa asked, extremely hesitant to show the class the stats from before
the emergence of Quirkless.

“Yeah.” Bakugou said, voice flat. No sass. No anger. Nothing. Just the affirmation.

Aizawa slowly moved to change the image on the screen, leaving plenty of time for someone to
object and stop him.

"You all really want to see them?" Aizawa asked, unsure if they really wanted to.

The class wasn't sure either. They had a pretty bad reaction to the first set, so why wouldn't it be
worse with the new stats. That's all the more reason to say no. Someone should object!

But no one did.

They all found themselves nodding, and prompting Aizawa to switch the image to the older data.

Gasps of shock rang around the class as they took in the numbers from barely even 7 years ago.

“20% of the entire world’s population is born quirkless, but a lot of the quirkless people that are
born don’t live very long. Either due to discriminatory doctors, abusive families or friends, hate
crimes, or themselves. Don’t pity them, because every quirkless person that you meet that’s still
alive is extremely strong.” Aizawa said, staring at each student in his class.

Tears were freely streaming down several faces, Yaoyorozu’s hands were clasped over her mouth.
Todoroki’s eyes were wide, Tsuyu’s eyebrows were lifted, Shoji’s arm-mouth-hand thing was
hanging open, Bakugou’s face was even more blank than before, and Midoriya’s eyes were glassy
as he stared at his desk. So Aizawa gave them some time to recover.

After a couple of moments of people wiping their eyes and pulling themselves together, Aizawa
spoke again. “So yes, I would in fact consider what Quirkless does as activism. He has a proper
cause, and he takes the measures he sees fit to make sure change is achieved and awareness is
spread. No matter who or where you are, there is going to be opposition, nothing can change that,
but I do think it’s admirable for Quirkless to continue to stay so strong despite the large amount of
people against him. I’m not saying you should take after him, but I do think that he should be
somewhat of a role model for you all in terms of determination.” Aizawa said, a stony look ever-
present on his face.

“I’d go as far as to say that what he does is harmless. He isn’t causing any damage or hurting
anyone. In fact, we’ve already established that he is beneficial in many ways. His crimes don’t hurt
anyone, but rather just prove a point. And I doubt he’ll stop until he’s listened to.” Aizawa says,
beginning to wrap up the class as he glances at the clock to see that there are only a few minutes
left of class.

“So now, once again. Raise your hand if you are against his morals and his actions.” Aizawa says,
finishing the class with the same vote he took at the start. He just wanted to know if the discussion
had affected any opinions.

He was glad to see that no one raised their hand.

“Raise your hand if you support his morals, but not his actions.” Aizawa looked around the room.

A few kids raised their hands, but it was only about 4 kids.

“And if you fully support him?” Aizawa asked.

His eyes widened at the sheer enthusiasm for which these hands went up. Almost everyone in the
class had a proudly raised hand and a smile on their face, and he had to hide a smile of his own in
his capture weapon. He was so proud of these (his) kids.

“It looks like Midoriya won you guys over.” Aizawa said, wiping the smile off of his face (oh no,
his poor reputation). “We only have a couple minutes left of class, so I’ll let you do whatever you
want until the bell rings.”

The class cheered, but once they thought he was done, he said, “Oh, Midoriya, see me after class.”

There were a few ‘oooh’s, and ‘someone’s in trouble’s, but that was to be expected. They did that
every time anyone was called to the office or specifically asked to be seen by a teacher.

Soon, the class ended, and people began filing out until it was just 3.
Todoroki walked up to Midoriya, and pulled him aside, which made no sense since no one else
was in the class, and took a stance he did very similar to the one he did before the sports festival.

“Midoriya?” Todoroki began

“Yes Todoroki?” Midoriya asked, a little concerned.

“...”

He didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds, but he finally looked up and met Midoriya’s eyes.

“Are you Quirkless’ secret apprentice or something?” He asked.

“Todoroki, oh my god.” Midoriya said, scoffing exasperatedly, but fondly. He began pushing
Todoroki out of the classroom.

“That wasn’t a denial.” Todoroki stated, as he tried to grab his bag as he was forced out of the
room.

“Oh my god.” Midoriya repeated.

“That still isn’t a no!” Todoroki said, cracking a slight smile, which on Todoroki was a brilliant
grin.

“No! No I’m not his secret apprentice! Now shoo! Get out!” Midoriya said, laughing at his friend's
antics.

Once Todoroki was gone behind a closed door, he sighed and slumped before hearing a soft snort
and immediately stiffening. Midoriya had forgotten that Aizawa was in the room with him.

He turned stiffly towards where Aizawa was standing and laughing at him. He blushed and sent a
look towards Aizawa that asked why he was here.

Aizawa sobers and straightened himself up.

“I just wanted to tell you that you did good today, kid. I’m glad you can see what’s right from
wrong, and fight for what you believe in. A lot of heroes are too scared to say what they really
think because they don’t want people to disagree with them, or lose their faith in them. They’re
afraid of losing their popularity or ranking instead of doing what’s right. I’m glad you stuck with
your opinion and defended it. That’s an important trait for heroes to have if they want real change.
Good on you kid.” Aizawa said, pride in his eyes as he regarded Midoriya.

He probably should have expected the instant tears that followed his words. “Thank you Aizawa-
sensei.”

“No problem kid. No shoo, I want to head to the teachers lounge if I want to get the coffee while
it’s still hot.” Aizawa said, turning back to his desk to grab his things.

Midoriya turned, picked up his bag, and walked out the door with an upbeat, “Bye Aizawa-
sensei!”, a pep in his step, and a more confident stance then he had when he walked in that day.

Aizawa waited a couple seconds, and then stood in the doorway and watched Midoriya as he
walked down the hall with a warm feeling in his heart.

The world wasn’t ready for the enigma of a hero that is Midoriya Izuku.
End Notes

I hope you enjoyed it!

Tumblr: https://gorgonzolatown.tumblr.com/

(be safe, make sure to wear your mask [above your nose], wash your hands often, and do
the things that make you happy!)

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