Abandoned

Humans have become a superior species! With the first Quirk appearing, more and more people are getting them. Giving them the power to control Ice and Snow, Fire and Water, even the weather! Some people thought they were gods at first, but they were wrong! As time passed Quirks became commonplace and quickly ingrained into society, but with all powers there is always a dark side.

Dangerous Quirks started to appear, Quirks that were deemed 'Evil'. What could these people do? They were shunned by society and forced to use their Quirks to survive, given no other option, they chose the path of darkness and became villains! Inciting fear and raining terror among the people, until one day a man emerged and defeated the Villains, the man claimed to be a 'Hero' and the people loved him.

The man established a clear divide to the world. Heroes and Villains. The Heroes always won. The villains were quickly suppressed and they retreated to the shadows only coming out occasionally. This was the start of a new era! The heroes maintained the safety of the cities, defending and protecting against villains.

This made the people happy as well as arrogant. The Heroes quickly became a superstar job, every man woman and child yearned to be a Hero and the status shifted dramatically. A message soon spread through everyone's minds and ingrained itself as a belief...

'Without a Quirk, you're useless.'

----

In Japan

A doctor walked into the medical check up room, looking over the data on the paper in his hands. He furrowed his brows and looked up at the child sitting on the padded table. His eyes flashed disgust before turning to the man and woman next to the child and speaking in a solemn tone "Sir, Ma'am. I have some bad news for you."

The man and woman tensed up and the woman said worriedly "Is it an 'Evil' Quirk?" The Doctor shook his head and didn't even bother to look at the child as he said "I'm afraid it's worse than that. Your son doesn't have a Quirk."

The couple lost all color on their faces immediately and the doctor sighed and said "I'm sorry for your loss." The man and woman were silent for a moment before saying "Thank you, Doctor." The Doctor nodded and left the room as if he was in danger of a disease.

The couple looked at the child and dragged him away silently. They got in a car and drove away from the clinic.

The child looked out the window and watched the clouds drift by, seemingly not bothered by the earth shattering revelation. The boy was lost in his thoughts at the moment, he wondered what would happen to him now that he was directly deemed worthless.

It would definitely be a shock to anyone to hear his thoughts because he was only a 7 year old child! How could these people know that he was already extremely smart for his age, easily able to see through anything, tricks or otherwise.

Although he was smart, the cold hard fact was that he was still a 7 year old boy. He still had friends and school, though he estimated that his 'friends' wouldn't be his friends anymore after they found out he didn't have a quirk.

His mind was working in overdrive on how to handle this situation. School was easy, making friends was easy, even fighting was easy, but dealing with the rest of his life was a challenge. Coupled with the fact that he was already anxious because his parents hadn't spoken the whole time. He was worried they would punish him, he didn't really know what to say to prevent it.

What was he supposed to say? 'The doctor is wrong I actually do have a Quirk?'

Obviously not.

Thus, for the first time in his life, he faced a massive crisis. It wasn't his fault, he was just born that way. The boy finally decided to just accept the punishment, no matter what it was, and try to improve himself in other ways.

Unfortunately for him, he severely underestimated the punishment that what about to be given to him.

The car rolled to a stop and the boy's father got out of the car. The boy was confused and looked around only to see an unfamiliar street. His father opened the door and grabbed the boy, his eyes emotionless, as if he was looking at garbage on the street.

The look in his father's eyes made the boy shiver, a thought came to his mind and his eyes widened as he thought 'Impossible!' Unfortunately his thoughts were directly confirmed a moment later as his father threw him into an alley ruthlessly without a shred of hesitation.

The boy looked back and saw his father not even sparing him a glance as he got into the car and drove off, as if he had just thrown away a garbage bag into a dumpster. The boy couldn't comprehend this situation, his parents abandoned him just because he didn't have a Quirk?!

All sorts of thoughts and emotions flooded into his mind but before he could process any of them, his vision turned dark. The boy collided head first into a dumpster and fell into a pile of garbage bags, completely unconscious.

The entire scene went unwitnessed as the sun slowly set and a rose red hue dyed the sky. Almost as if signifying a tragic event.

Time slowly passed

The boy woke up with a start as his stomach growled intensely. He sat up and rubbed his head, feeling the bump as his memories came back to him. He looked around at the unfamiliar alley and laughed at himself, maybe he was the only child to be abandoned like this. He looked into the darkness and tears started forming in his eyes before completely bursting out as he cried silently in the alley.

He just couldn't understand it. Why was he abandoned? He was a good student, he always got full marks on his tests, his fighting ability was okay and he was always a good kid. He cleaned his room, brushed his teeth, helped clean the house, why was he thrown away?!

Grief and hatred slowly creeped into his mind as he shouted through tears "Why.. Why! WHY!" The boy didn't think he did anything to deserve this and his emotions got the better of him as the happy picture of his family warped in his mind, becoming a terrible memory. The boy shoved all his grief and hatred onto his parents, he would survive and get his revenge!

The only thing going through the boy's head was 'Survive' and he wiped his eyes from the tears. He looked around and slowly started searching through the trashcans, trash bags, and dumpsters for food. His life as an abandoned alley boy began.

Time slowly passed and before he knew it, it had been 6 months.

The boy was hugging his knees in the alley, hiding under a makeshift shelter to shield from the rain. He was still in the same alley, as for why he never left, the rest was very simple. He had no idea where he was, it was safer to stay in a single place, than to start roaming around. Who knew if there were sick perverts or villains around?

The boy wasn't taking any chances, the alley he was was mostly clear, the shops around were mostly snack and food shops. One of the buildings of the alley was actually a restaurant, luckily for the boy, he had a constant supply of food.

Was it healthy food? Definitely not.

Was he going to eat it? He basically had no choice.

The boy was satisfied with scraps, had it been before he would never eat most of the things that were thrown out but he was out of options at this point and it was a blessing to even eat once a day!

The supply of food was both a blessing and a curse. Because of the flow of food coming from the restaurant, the alley was a sanctuary for the alley people. The boy was covered in cuts and bruises, fortunately not on his face, but everywhere else on his body was riddled with bruises and cuts. It was a constant struggle to just get food, never mind eating 3 meals a day, he was lucky to even eat once!

Today, the boy was eating a piece of bread as he stared into the dark alley vigilantly.

Suddenly there was a 'Plop!' sound near him.

The boy looked over and saw a man collapse to the ground, red blood shining in the moonlight. The boy stared at the man and backed away, trying to hide amongst the trash, intent on minding his own business.

Unfortunately the man on the ground looked up and saw the boy. The boy tensed up and backed away faster, bumping his back against the brick walls of the alley. The man was silent and crawled into a pile of trash on the opposite wall of the alley, right in front of the boy.

The man hid himself but the boy saw the gleam of metal. The boy didn't know what it was, but he sensed danger coming from it. He assumed it was a weapon, maybe a knife or something of the like. His assumption was proven correct when he saw a drop of glistening blood fall from the blade and splash on the ground.

The boy was scared, most of the alley people didn't have access to weapons and solely used their fists. The most the boy had ever seen was a trash can lid and some rocks. The boy started to panic slightly at the newcomer, wondering if his spot that he fought hard for was going to be taken away today. He would rather die.

The boy calmed down and his thoughts spun fast, he didn't want to die but if there was no other option then he would fight to the death. The boy's resolve solidified and his mentality shifted as he thought to himself. He had nothing more to lose, against a sword or knife he could only fight with his life on the line. Either he wins and survives or he dies, maybe he could take the opponent with him.

As the boy was preparing himself for a fight to the death, the man hid in the trash. Sirens sounded as the police passed by the alley and shone a light into the alley, trying to see if the person they were looking for was there. Thankfully for the man, the rain washed away the blood and the police couldn't find anything.

The boy tensed up and covered himself with trash bags before holding his breath. The police were even worse than villains. Once they found him, he was finished. Directly sent to an orphanage and forgotten about. The boy didn't want to go to an orphanage at all. Who would adopt him? He would be under surveillance constantly and caged.

He would rather live on the streets than get his hopes up for nothing.

The police drove away after seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

The boy silently let out a breath and turned to the trash that the man was hiding in. The trash pile started to move and the man popped his head out, he looked out of the alley and saw that the police were gone before letting out a breath of relief.

The man felt something and turned his head to meet the boy's gaze. The man tilted his head as he looked at the boy, wondering why there was a kid here. The boy said nothing and just looked at the man.

The man finally said "Who are you?" The boy kept silent and just stared at him. The man spoke again "Why are you here? Where are your parents?" The boy's face contorted to a hateful expression at the word 'Parents' and rage flashed in his eyes.

The man understood immediately and smirked as he said "Abandoned? Quite ruthless to leave you here just like that." The boy was silent and the man threw the trash off him, revealing his body as he rested his back against the wall.

The boy saw the man's entire body and his eyes trembled. The man was riddled with bullets, cuts, and was almost entirely covered in blood. By his side was a silver bladed katana, dripping with blood. Surely not the man's.

The man looked at himself and sighed before chuckling. The boy was confused as to how someone could laugh in his situation, but he chalked it up to being delirious from blood loss. He was proven wrong the next second.

The man looked at the boy and smiled slightly as he said "At least I'll have company as I die. That's not so bad." The boy frowned and the man laughed as he said "Boy, want to hear a story?" The boy was silent and the man didn't care as he continued "There was once a boy, just like you! He was abandoned by his parents too. Just because he had a weak Quirk."

The boy listened as the man kept going "The boy was filled with hate and rage, all he wanted to do was get revenge. So he started to train as hard as he could, year after year, he pushed through everything and eventually became a villain without any other options."

The man took a deep breath and calmed himself as he continued "Eventually he became strong. Strong enough to get revenge! So he went back to the place where everything started. The boy, who became a man, walked into the house of a peaceful family and announced that he was back. Do you know what happened?"

The boy was absorbed into the story and felt he was extremely similar, he shook his head and the man teared up as he said "Even though he was strong now they still shunned him! The boy was berated and labeled a criminal! They even called the police on him, they're own son! The boy was overcome with rage and sadness.."

The man's hands trembled as he clenched his fists and continued "He slaughtered the family. He killed them all! He finally got his revenge and escaped from the police!" the man finally let his tears fall and they formed streams as they cascaded down his face.

The boy watched as the man cried, the man shouted hoarsely, choking on his sobs every now and then as he added "For what!? Some stupid revenge? The boy lost everything and revenge couldn't fill the void! He only felt worse, he won but at what cost?"

The man slumped and quieted down as he continued "His revenge came at the price of everything he had. Dying a worthless death alone without anyone to care for him..." the boy trembled as hot tears fell from his face, he wiped his eyes and looked at the man.

The man looked up and smiled as he said "Boy, listen to me. Revenge is useless, it won't help you. I chose the wrong path and look where it led me. Back to the start. You have a chance to break the cycle and be someone that people look up to! My name is Nathaniel."

The boy looked at the man for a moment before saying hoarsely "Cloud." Nathaniel smiled brightly as he said happily "Good boy! Nice to meet you Cloud!" Nathaniel looked around and wiped the katana blade on his clothes, cleaning it, as he said "I don't have anything else to give you. Here, take this."

Nathaniel tossed the katana over lightly, it landed in front of Cloud on a trash bag. Cloud looked at the katana and pulled the rope, that was used to hang the katana on his back, dragging it over to himself. Cloud took out a torn and dirty cloth before wrapping the blade and slinging it over his shoulder.

Nathaniel smiled and said "Although I'm just a dirty villain that killed his family, I don't want you to fall down the same path." Cloud said with his hoarse voice "Why?" Nathaniel smiled widely as he said "Because I see my younger self in you. Your life has just begun, why throw it away? Make everyone who despised you regret! Remember these words, Cloud! Revenge isn't the answer. Prove to everyone that they were wrong. Become a Hero!"

Nathaniel laughed and leaned back as blood escaped his lips, Cloud said "I don't have a Quirk. How can I be a hero?" Nathaniel kept a smile on his face and said lightly "Who said you need a Quirk to be a hero? Isn't it exciting? The first Quirkless Hero!"

Nathaniel's eyes shone in the darkness as he laughed again "Hahah! The Quirkless Hero! I wish I could see it..." Cloud watched as Nathaniel closed his eyes with a bright smile which seemed to light up the alley as he said "In the end.. All I wanted was their approval.." with a final chuckle he breathed his last breath.

Cloud watched as Nathaniel drifted off with a smile on his face. He felt a myriad of emotions, anger sadness, sympathy, and many more. Nathaniel was just like him, what did he do to deserve this? It wasn't his fault his Quirk wasn't strong!

Cloud looked at Nathaniel's corpse silently and got up to his feet. He walked over and dragged Nathaniel into the alley, disappearing into the darkness.

A while later

Cloud was standing over a mound of dirt with a cross made out of two sticks, sticking out of it. The dirt was on someone's property but out of sight, unless you were looking for it, you would never find it. It was the only dirt he could find that wasn't too far away. Was he supposed to drag a corpse on the sidewalk? Definitely not.

Cloud looked at the grave and stood silent for a few minutes before bowing to the grave and walking back to the alley. He failed to notice the curtain in the house close as he walked away.