quality meem by UrarakaIsTooCute

aLSO

happy birthday to her

i uh

posted a little late coz i forgot so its not actually her bday anymore but yk B)

aYYYYY

XDD

also this chapter is mainly uraraka angst, and i wrote it partly to eggsplain deku's past so B)

have fun with that :P

---

Uraraka ran her fingers through her hair, squeezing her eyes shut. "Okay," she whispered to herself. "I'm doing this to help. It's fine." She glanced around for a moment, biting her lip as she crept through the hall of the dorms - which, after some careful planning, was added as a new extension to U.A.. And, although Izuku was still allowed to live at home unlike the other students, he did occasionally stay at the dorm with everyone else.

She winced with every creak her steps produced, pausing for a moment each time to avoid making further noise. After what seemed like forever, though, she finally made it to Izuku's room, taking in a deep breath as she stood in front of the door.

"I really hope this doesn't end poorly," Uraraka mumbled to herself before stepping forwards, and, with bated breath, pushing open the door.

Raising her head slightly, she watched as the door opened into the darkness, glancing around before quickly slipping inside and closing the door behind her, absentmindedly flicking the lights on.

Steps light, Uraraka began to glance around Izuku's room, clenching her fist on top of her chest as each item came into view. It especially hurt, though, when she noticed something like an All Might figurine or some other hero-themed merchandise.

If she were in a different circumstance, she gave a rattly laugh as the thought crossed her mind, she probably would've teased him for such a thing. But now, as she gulped, Uraraka could feel nothing but guilt.

After shaking away her thoughts, she continued forwards, curiously peeking into his drawers for... well, anything.

Uraraka hadn't known much about Izuku - not really. Only that he had been a villain before transferring to their school. Only that..., she sighed to herself, ...that he was a really good person afterwards.

Her fingers traced through each drawer, hoping to find a hint of his past. Like... Why did Izuku become a villain in the first place? And why did Nezu transfer him to their class? And..., a chill went down her spine at the thought, would he ever become a villain again?

Although encompassed in her thoughts, something caught her eye. It was a simple notebook, but something about it was... familiar.

Carefully, she picked the book up and scanned over the cover before letting out a slight gasp.

She had seen the boy writing in it before, and she giggled as he mumbled to himself about heroics and such. Uraraka, however, had never bothered to actually look in the notebook, instead happy to be charmed by his contagious joy.

After pausing for a moment, she clenched her hands around the notebook and took notice of the label that indicated it was the second notebook he had written before beginning to flip through its pages.

Her eyes widened as each page went on, every single one outlining heroic information. Weaknesses, costume design, personality - practically everything. Yet somehow, Uraraka didn't find herself worried in the least bit. Rather than villainous plans, the words seemed like the everyday ramblings of a teen who wished to be a hero - just like her.

Once her eyes fell upon her own page, her heart fluttered. Every detail about her and her quirk were on point, but what most caught her attention was a simple, scribbled note on the side.

'My best friend.'

Uraraka wasn't quite sure why, but she felt her eyes begin to well up with tears, rolling softly down her cheeks. Her fingers flew up to cover her mouth as she choked back sobs, notebook shaking in her trembling hand.

"Izuku," she whispered to herself, setting the notebook down and covering her face. "I'm so sorry..."

She breathed out rattly breaths before eventually composing herself, still sniffling as her eyes flicked back towards the notebook. Carefully, she lifted it back up and wiped the tear marks from the pages before continuing.

Something wasn't quite right, though.

A few pages after hers, Izuku's notes became more reminiscent of a diary of some sort. Confused, Uraraka glanced behind her and positioned herself on the boy's bed before glancing back down to the page.

For a moment, she was hesitant. Uraraka didn't exactly want to invade the boy's privacy, but at the same time, she wanted... no, needed to figure out what was going on.

With a sigh, she shook her head and began to skim the page, finger tapping nervously at the side of the book.

It started out simple. Talking about his friends and such, and how everyone was warming up to him. How it made him happy.

Uraraka took in a shaky breath as she flipped the page, finding herself lost in the boy's words.

Her stomach began to churn as the lettering became scratchy, the pages having drops of dried tears littered about.

His ramblings became more incoherent. She felt her heart drop as she read over the page in which Izuku mentioned his previous life, stating that he felt awful about himself - that he could barely look at himself in the mirror.

Uraraka wanted nothing more than to hold the boy close the further she read, choking back sobs with each sentence.

He seemed so sad - so desperate. Izuku just wanted someone to be there for him and...

She had failed. Uraraka had failed so horribly at being a friend. She wanted to grit her teeth and rip all her hair out at her stupidity clenching her fist over her face.

While Izuku sat in school, pained and broken, Uraraka had treated it like something minor. She hadn't tried to help - not really. But she should've. God, she should've.

She should've stopped Bakugo. She should've made sure the incident with Bakugo never even happened. Or, at the very least, she should've been there to comfort him.

But she wasn't.

Oh, how she wished her quirk was to go back in time in that moment.

"I'm such a horrible friend," she whispered breathlessly, eyes too blurry to read. "I could've done anything... Anything! And maybe...," she glanced to the side, heart feeling as if it might shatter. "He still would be here..."

Uraraka imagined his smile, but instead of feeling warm like she usually did, she felt as if she might puke. She watched as his image became distorted and monster-like, melting as he reached out towards her, a pained, angry expression on his face.

"Why didn't you help me, Uraraka?" he mumbled, voice garbled and nearly incoherent.

Uraraka looked up, horrified as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I..."

He stumbled forwards, barely able to stand. "It's your fault," he whispered before lashing out and running towards her. "You were supposed to be my best friend!"

The girl gasped and fell backwards, barely able to breathe. "I know... I know - I'm sorry!" she cried.

"It's too late for sorry!" he shouted, jumping forwards, voice reduced nothing more than a horrifyingly distorted roar.

Uraraka recoiled backwards, waiting for an impact but... There was nothing.

Slowly, she began to sit upwards, gasping for air. She squeezed her eyes shut as his words played back in her mind, head in her hands. "I... I know," she whispered.

---

Uraraka couldn't sleep - that was for certain. Despite leaving the book back in Izuku's drawer, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She couldn't stop thinking about... Deku.

With a shaky breath, the girl pushed herself upwards and reached over, fingers trembling as they curled around her phone.

Although hesitant, she quickly shook her head and began to type her questions into a browser, scanning the page for a moment but not finding what she needed. Furrowing her brows, she began to look through the pages before, finally, she found an article buried beneath the rest.

After waiting a moment for it to load, Uraraka began to look over the page, one headline immediately catching her eye.

'Villain 'Deku' Broadcasts Life.'

Confused, she mumbled to herself. "What does that mean...?"

However, as she read through the article, she only became more confused. It seemed as if Izuku, when he was originally a villain, had explained his life circumstances on live television. It struck her as strange, though, because she had never heard of such a thing despite the fact that it seemed as if it'd be a popular topic.

When she reached the bottom of the article, she let out a frustrated sigh, finding that there was nothing that mentioned enough to answer her questions. In fact, it only left her with more.

Although she was about to give up, she decided against it and instead opened another page, searching for videos instead.

Somehow, much to her surprise, she spotted a low-viewed video hidden among the rest, displaying a shaky thumbnail with Izuku's face.

Before watching the video, she began scrolling down into the comments, only to find the were blocked. Furrowing her brows once again, she opened the description and scrolled past everything, eyes widening as she read the last line.

"Government blocked footage of Deku's life."

She wasn't about to question how someone had gotten ahold of such a thing, but she did wonder why it was blocked in the first place. So, heart racing, she moved back to the video and clicked play, hoping for any of her questions to be answered.

After a moment of buffering, a shaky video began to play, clearly being filmed from below and within some sort of audience.

"My name is Izuku Midoriya," Izuku began, causing Uraraka's heart to leap, "Or, as you probably know me by, 'Deku.'" The boy stepped backwards before sitting down. "Now, you're no doubt wondering exactly why I appeared on the screen before you. And I'm sure this city's government is already trying to stop me, so I'll try to be as quick as possible."

His eyes flicked to the side. "I'm filming this video for one, simple reason - to show the world what made me become a villain."

A murmur rose among the crowd, and Izuku paused as if he knew it'd happen.

"Now, as many of you know," he continued, eyes narrowed, "I'm quirkless. Unfortunately, as many of you choose to ignore, quirkless children like myself are often given mercilessly torturous lives. So," he gave a slight laugh, "You can all only blame yourselves for who you see here today."

Uraraka gulped, hand flying to her mouth. "Are quirkless kids really treated so poorly...?" she whispered, a sadness in her voice.

Although the crowd became irritable, he flashed a smile. "I know you'll all choose to believe what I'm telling is a lie, and you'll likely direct your anger towards me to shield yourselves from the guilt. However," he said, voice laced with poison, "The truth cannot be denied. This society made me who I am."

The boy sighed, boredly glancing to the side as Uraraka's stomach churned. "When I was young, I was bullied relentlessly when my quirkless status was revealed. Even by my best friend."

Uraraka froze for a moment, the image of Bakugo passing through her mind before...

She thought of herself. She took in a shaky breath, fingers trembling. She couldn't believe she was any better than the blonde. After all, she never did anything to help...

And although she wished for nothing more than to throw the phone across the room and to plug her ears, she continued to watch. She deserved the pain. And she needed to have her questions answered.

"The bullying only got worse as the years went by. Verbal became physical, I saw the discrimination around our world, et cetera. Did you know, by the way," he laughed, both anger and a slight sadness in his voice, "That quirkless kids can't even take a school bus? Buy from some stores?"

He took in a rattly breath, and Uraraka felt bile rise in her throat, eyes becoming teary once again. "Izu...," she whispered breathlessly.

"But still," Izuku sighed, raising his head towards the camera. "I had a dream. One to become a hero." Uraraka's heart dropped once the line slipped from his mouth, her state only worsened as he continued. "Of course, I was chastised for that. But a kid can dream, right?" He gave a sad smile before frowning. "I believed that for as long as I can remember. If I just kept trying, I'd get there some day. Someone would see that... I could do it." He clenched his fist, leg shaking. "If only someone - anyone at all - would recognize me... That'd be good enough for me. But alas," he chuckled darkly, "Not all dreams come true."

Uraraka could barely keep her body from shaking, tears dropping onto the screen. "Izuku, don't listen to them," she whispered, throat burning. "You can. You can be a hero, Izu. Please..."

But of course, he couldn't hear her. It was only a video, after all.

"One day, I found myself in quite the predicament," he said, video cutting for a moment - the reason for which, Uraraka could only assume, was the city's attempts at blocking the feed. "I was attacked by a villain," he continued despite the disturbance, adjusting something in front of him. "No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't escape."

Izuku paused for a moment. "Do you know how it feels to suffocate?" He laughed as if it were an everyday question - a friendly joke. He clenched his fist on his chest, and Uraraka took in a shaky breath. "It only gets worse as it goes on. First you realize you can't breathe. And no matter how hard you try, air just won't enter your lungs. You become desperate as your lungs burn and as your strength saps away, but still - nothing. And you begin to give up. You realize that there's no hope, and the corner of your vision darkens and..."

He smiled towards the camera as if it were no big deal. "You get the idea."

Uraraka wanted to cry. She wanted to hold the boy close. She wanted to tell him it'd be okay, and that his dreams were possible. She just wanted to help him. But she couldn't, and it was killing her. He had to go through so much, and yet she could do nothing.

Izuku's words interrupted her ongoing thoughts. "I was lucky, though." Uraraka's head raised up confusedly, now listening intently. "Just as I had given up, a light appeared. It was warm and kind." He sighed softly. "It was none other than the Number One Hero - All Might."

Uraraka stiffened, throat dry. Then why...?

The camera flashed again, cutting away for a longer period of time before he was back. Izuku simply laughed at the inconvenience, shaking his head. "Of course," he said, a sort of maliciousness in his voice. After a brief pause, though, he continued his story. "My biggest hero saved me. It was wonderful. I had the chance to ask the man who had inspired me all my life a question I had been dying to know the answer to." The boy laughed again, though it was pained. Angry, even. "He insisted that he had to leave, but of course I was desperate and followed him. And finally, I was able to ask."

The screen flashed once again, leaving Uraraka to process what she had just heard, tuning out the audience's confused chatter.

If All Might had been there, she wondered, Then why had Izuku turned towards villainy...?

"Don't worry," Izuku laughed, speech garbled before his full image reappeared. "I won't expose your little secret, All Might," the boy said, inciting confusion among all those who watched.

Uraraka's jaw tensed. What was he talking about...? What kind of thing would All Might need to keep secret...?

"However," Izuku said coldly, drawing her attention once again. "I won't hesitate to tell what you did to me that day."

Another chilling thought crossed Uraraka's mind. Why does he sound so... resentful?

The boy straightened, voice raised as he laughed angrily. "Remember, All Might? What you told me that day? THAT I COULDN'T BE-"

The feed cut out, and Uraraka watched with bated breath for it to return. However, much to her disappointment and confusion, the video ended there.

She could only guess as to what the boy was going to say, the flurry of emotions swirling inside of her.

What could make Izuku so bent on hurting heroes? On hating heroes? What would make such a seemingly kind child become one of the world's most recognizable and one of the worst villains?

He'd been treated poorly his entire life. He'd been discriminated against his entire life. But he had one hope keeping him grounded. A single wish that he so desperately held onto.

And although she wished she could ignore it, Uraraka's stomach churned as one possible answer appeared in her mind.

All Might had told him that he couldn't be...

A hero.

---

yikes

this is kinda fast-paced huh

i liked this chapter and now i hate it wth

no cringey code for today, you're welcome B)

xDD

wait wait edit tiem B)

if you have any further questions just ask and i'll answer as long as its not all spoilery

kthxbai B)

Thanks for reading! <3