Dark Light (Rewrite) Chapter 2

Izuku Midoriya sat in his room watching videos of heroes. All Might was still the best and his favorite but the young boy had started to slowly branch out a little. Now that he understood the nature of his Quirk and how difficult it would be to develop he wanted to see examples of how actual heroes deal with such weakness. At least that’s the idea but more often than not he ends up watching the latest videos of All Might and there is always a new video of All Might.

Today not even watching his favorite hero could prevent him from thinking of the day he’s had. Following an attempt at explaining his newfound knowledge of his Quirk somehow they or rather Katsuki found a way to make fun of him even more for it. As if having the power to glow was better than absorbing sunlight to use as fuel for shooting light from his hands or making light explosions. Before he could properly mount up a defense the entire class had gotten in on the joke and stonewalled his hastily cobbled together defense.

At this point Izuku really should have expected as much but it still hurt especially since it was still Katsuki who was the one egging everyone else on to do it. Not that it made them any better with how easily they brushed everything he had to say aside to make fun of him. So even as the videos played Izuku continue to stew in his own thoughts until…until something clicked.

There was a connection being felt that wasn’t there before. It reminded him of the connection with his Quirk, similar yet different at the same time. Izuku had shut the blinds when he came in so the glare by the window wouldn’t affect his screen. With the waning sunlight he was virtually in the dark with the brightest source of light being the computer screen. Turning slightly to his back he found the long cast of his shadow, flickering somewhat in tandem with the screen and focused.

To his utter surprise the shadow moved! Now it had Izuku’s full attention as he reached out, the shadow began coalesce and rise from the ground. The black mass had a barely noticeable green tinge to it and as it left the dark Izuku’s shadow was noticeably less opaque. Not that Izuku noticed with how preoccupied he was watching as the darkness gently latched onto his hand. It had an odd consistency, very viscous like thick syrup and felt odd to the touch, odd in that he didn’t feel any particular way about it.

With a flex of his will Izuku had the viscous, mildly viridian tinged mass levitate and form shapes. He messed around with it for a while before it suddenly dawned on him, he had a second Quirk. He, Izuku Midoriya, the boy whom had once been ridiculed for being ‘Quirkless’, who was still being ridiculed for having a ‘useless’ Quirk now had two Quirks. The irony was unfortunately lost on the boy as he continued to fiddle with his latest Quirk.

There was only one thing to do now.

“MOMMY!”

He ran out of the room covered in darkness like ink splotches where he showed his newfound ability to his mother who became so filled with happiness that she had shed tears of joy. At least that’s what Izuku thought which made her next words all the more confusing to him.

“Izuku honey, don’t show or tell anyone about your new Quirk alright?”

Of all the things his mother could have told him Izuku certainly wasn’t expecting this

“Huh, but why not?”

Inko grasped his shoulders “listen to me Izuku, your new Quirk is very dangerous”

“It is!?” the boy yelped looking down at the darkness in his hands. It didn’t feel dangerous.

His mother nodded “yes, no one must know about your new Quirk understand?”

Izuku was very confused right now so all he could do was nod in deference “okay.”

As he said this, his Quirk deactivated, the shadows fell away into inky wisps and his eyes regained their emerald color. It broke Inko’s heart to see her boy like this but she justified herself with flashes of personal memories best left buried.

She embraced him “i-it won’t be forever Izuku. Just until you’re old enough a-and you can use your new Quirk at home if you want.”

“Really?”

“…yes, you are free to use your new Quirk at home” she granted whilst squashing her apprehension “but not when guests happen to be over” Inko held out her pinkie “this is our little secret okay?”

“Okay!”

Izuku held out his own pinkie and the secret pact between parent and child was made.

~O~

Not telling anyone about his new Quirk was about the hardest thing Izuku has ever done in his life. This is especially so when most if not all of his social problems could be solved with a single demonstration of his Quirk. Light based emitter type Quirks were one thing but darkness-based Quirks were rare and would have made him the envy of his entire class. It would be a repeat of when he got his first Quirk and he could imagine it vividly. He reveals his Quirk, the entire class gets excited, he’s actually treated like normal and the bullying stops…then someone (Katsuki) makes fun of him anyway and he’s back to being Deku before the semester ends.

Izuku was not the most brilliant child but he can at least recognize a pattern and while he certainly wasn’t jaded enough to not see the best in people, if he’s being honest the thought of going through that cycle of popularity only to go back to being an outcast was not a good one. It was a period where his emotions felt like they were on a rollercoaster, to build up his hope like that only to smash it apart was too much for him to risk again.

There is a saying: fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

There was also his mother’s words which continued to resonate with him all those weeks ago.

“If they can’t see you for the bright, wonderful and beautiful boy you are then they don’t deserve your friendship!”

It was those words that kept him going and it was those words which motivated him to keep his promise. Izuku would like to think that he was a good friend back when he actually had friends. He was happy for his former friends, especially Katsuki, he admired him, supported him and was quick to jump to his defense. Using his own actions as an example of what a good friend should be Izuku found that none of his former so-called friends were actually good friends to begin with.

This went even before Katsuki betrayed him, there were hints that were there but he was too naïve to see but had been made obvious now. After much rumination on the subject Izuku found that his former friends had stopped being friends for a long while and maybe just maybe they never were his friends to begin with. The thought stung, especially since he really thought the opposite but realized that it was just him in denial (not that he was aware of that at the time).

With that in mind Izuku took his conclusions and his mother’s words to heart and decided right then that he’d stop trying so hard to make friends or try at all. He pegged everyone in his elementary school as a lost cause considering that as far as he could tell all of them took part in the heckling started by his own class. Izuku was an outcast and he accepted this because to him he had nothing to prove to his peers. What he did have was his mother’s encouragement and the drive to fulfill his dreams through his own efforts rather than the validation of people who would sooner spite him for any little thing.

To that end Izuku began paying more attention to his studies, both academical and personal. Without much of a social life Izuku was left with more time to study which would result in a boost to his grades but that wouldn’t properly take hold until later in his school life. Until then Izuku began his personal studies with a more focused interest in heroes. It wasn’t anything particularly groundbreaking since he usually spent a lot of his time watching clips of heroes anyway but due to the difficulties surrounding his Quirk he found the motivation to spend time on heroes other than All Might for the first time.

This would be a blessing as Izuku’s exposure to heroes besides All Might and the litany of their various Quirks in action would result in Izuku growing more confident in his own Quirk. As time went on Izuku’s observation of the other heroes would deepen and become even more comprehensive.

It wasn’t just about what the heroes were doing anymore but also what they were saying. More than a few heroes (especially the older and retired ones) gave interviews where they explain their Quirks. These explanations make for Izuku’s inspiration and soon he began to take notes. Izuku took the wisdom of these legendary pros to heart and as he grew older he started to pay more attention to ‘Quirk disambiguation’ or the science of removing ambiguity behind Quirks.

In other words he started to learn through videos and a few light reading materials the mechanics behind Quirks. Not the most normal subject for a child to have interest in but by that point Izuku had committed himself to a path of learning. Not to mention it was due to his not understanding his Quirk that led him to have mistaken assumptions and his second falling out of favor with his peers.

~O~

All the while this was going on Izuku kept a close eye on his Quirk which he named Dark Light. Through his studies he learned that Dark Light was what is known as a ‘Dual Quirk.’ It is the result of a rare mutation where an individual has a Quirk that shows the properties of two different Quirks. The different Quirks in question are usually inherited from the person’s parents though there are a select few cases where they may be inherited from earlier in their lineage.

On that subject Izuku did inherit aspects of his Quirk from his parents. His mother had a darkness based Quirk though it was significantly weaker than Izuku’s or so it was explained to him. It dawned on him then that he’s actually never seen his mother use her Quirk before. It was such a bizarre thing but he kept it to himself because Izuku was conscious of the fact that his mother was very reluctant to talk about it, even just the mild explanation of her Quirk type was filled with trepidation.

This same trepidation could be seen by Izuku when the subject of his father came up, though the difference this time was less out of fear and more out of grief. His earliest memory related to his father was him asking the innocent question of his whereabouts that had his mother in sobbing tears. Later on they visited a grave with the headstone Hisashi Midoriya. That was saddest he’d ever seen his mother and Izuku never mentioned his father again. Because of this Izuku knew next to nothing about his father save for what he looked like due to pictures his mother kept. From what he was reluctantly given about his mother, his father’s Quirk was very similar to Izuku’s in that it allowed him to absorb light energy.

He didn’t bring up the subject again which was merely a mild curiosity in itself. What was really important was developing his Quirk for becoming a hero. It was something that even his contemporary, Katsuki, was doing if the boy’s loud proclamation was anything to go by. Katsuki took enjoyment in rubbing his superiority in everyone else’s face and often times proudly announced whatever efforts he made to advancing his goal of ‘becoming a hero surpassing All Might.’

It used to get to Izuku, especially considering that Katsuki has a clear vendetta against him but Izuku learned to ignore his former friend. It started as a conscious thing but as time flew by Izuku became genuinely too preoccupied in his own efforts and development to give any care to Katsuki or anyone really. By the time he turned nine years old Izuku had completely embraced his role as an outcast. If he wasn’t doing schoolwork then he was studying, watching videos, making notes or practicing with his Quirk at home.

He had no social life but that sacrifice granted him a much deeper understanding of the nature of Quirks. He even managed to implement this understanding through observing the different Quirks of heroes from video clips and taking notes on them. He would even do the same thing with his peers as well and those would become the earliest iteration of his Quirk observation booklets.

~O~

As for Dark Light, Izuku found that everything the doctor said about the light aspect of his Quirk had rung true. His Quirk did in fact develop in proportion to his growth. For example at four years old it took him weeks to absorb enough light energy to where he would become full and even then he could only use that energy in bursts. As he grew older the time it took to absorb energy drastically cut down and Izuku found that he could do more with the energy as well.

One aspect of his Quirk he found out was that there wasn’t a specific way it forced him to utilize the stored energy. Unlike with a majority of light based emitter Quirks his was perhaps one of the most flexible in practice. At first he only thought to make his hands glow but before long figured he could make his entire body glow as well. Afterwards, continued practice and growth had him figure out concentration and focus allowing him to produce flashlight beams and laser pointer effects.

The only downside he found was that his Quirk wasn’t as powerful as those other emitter types and didn’t produce the same destructive capabilities. Even then it was a problem that was solving itself with his continued growth and by the time he was nine he could produce multiple concussive waves similar to what he did during the first manifestation and concentrate his beams to create a laser effect similar to a magnifying glass placed under the sun.

Heck he took inspiration from his former friend and was somewhat able to replicate a palm explosion by concentrating a concussive wave in his hands instead of his body. The result was less an explosion and more a short range scatter shot blast. While he did this to test a theory Izuku personally didn’t want to have to resort to copying his former friend. Part of it was due to hidden resentment but mostly it was because for all his bad attitude, Katsuki was very earnest in proving his worth/superiority and was very original in what he came up with for his Quirk.

Izuku should know, he’d born witness to some of those demonstrations. Either way it didn’t sit right with him to copy the boy, Izuku wanted to forge his own path.

In contrast to the light aspect of his Quirk which was slow and steady in its growth/development, the dark aspect was much faster paced. Much like his light aspect Izuku has umbrakinesis being able to seemingly produce and manipulate darkness with the same flexibility as light. The difference between the two is that Izuku could do a lot more meaningful things from the start with his umbrakinesis. This advantage stems from the fact that Izuku’s umbrakinesis was easier to control, instinctive in its use, comparatively stronger and did not use his stored energy. Well couldproduce darkness if he used his energy but he found it more economical to manipulate shadows instead and spare his reserves for light emitting.

In the first few weeks since its manifestation Izuku could already interact with shadows, guide globs of darkness with his will and shape them with his thoughts. Of course such control and mastery did not come without its caveats the largest of which was its weakness to light. In the first year Izuku could straight up not produce darkness while being exposed to sunlight. Being in direct full body contact with sunlight hampered his manipulation to the point where he could barely interact with his shadow. There was also the fact that even in the most optimal conditions to use this aspect of his Quirk Izuku had a rather small range that is usually restricted to his own shadow. Manipulating darkness outside that range requires contact either through him physically or (as he later found out) through contact with his shadow.

His Umbrakinesis would grow however, enabling him greater strength and control. By the time he was nine years old his range had increased drastically. In direct sunlight he could produce a small amount of darkness, manipulate his shadow freely and assume a small bit of control over another’s shadow without coming into contact with it.

~O~

In keeping with his Quirk development Izuku became more and more conscious of his personal health. There are more than enough heroes with transformation Quirk types whose strengths are heavily influenced by their health so Izuku had his pick of diet and exercise programs to follow. His mother, ever supportive was able to find a training program from a website that specializes in early youth Quirk development and set him on a routine. The sacrifices Izuku had to make…sweets/deserts were now reserved for special occasions with fruits and vegetables of all varieties now part of the menu in abundance.

…Izuku never thought he’d find something to challenge keeping his Quirk a secret as a contender for the hardest thing he had to do in his life and so soon at that but here he was. And Izuku really did swallow his apprehension to stick through the program. His mother had been the rock he clung onto (sometimes literally) in the stormy seas that were the early years of his diet regimen. The worst part is Izuku couldn’t really find a loophole for it because it’s not like he could stop to compare and contrast whether or not it was working.

Diet aside the program also came with a physical component though nothing too strenuous. It was just perfect for a child with the regimen mainly focusing on cardio and muscle development. It was still strenuous for a child but basically light work for an adult which is why his mother joined in on the sessions as a way to motivate him. Izuku very much appreciated the gesture because it really did motivate him to stick through it.

By his tenth birthday Izuku felt that he had developed nicely. Even if he wouldn’t know the specific influence his regimen had on his Quirk development he at least knew that it had positive effects on his body. All he had to do was compare his performance in P.E with his classmates. The fact that he could somewhat keep up with Katsuki who was very outspoken about actively training himself spoke well of his growth.

Katsuki also noticed this but much like almost every other time he seemed to notice Izuku he didn’t directly confront him about it. That was another development worth mentioning, his relationship with Katsuki or a lack thereof. Ever since their parents found out about the extent of Katsuki’s bullying when they were four, the other boy has barely spoken to or even acknowledge him outside of mocking him. Katsuki also stopped physically bullying him which was expected considering his mother was very vocal about him ‘messing with Izuku’ again.

In fact everyone stopped physically harassing Izuku because through his mother’s encouragement, no longer remained quiet when he was being bullied. A few tried after Katsuki stopped but ended up in trouble after his mother went down to the school. It somehow made Izuku even more of a pariah and ‘momma’s boy’ not that he really minded the nickname or even cared about their opinions. His actions brought him reprieve allowing him to focus on his personal growth rather than worrying about if he’s going to get beat up that day.

It was all the same because over time Katsuki became less invested in tormenting Izuku as he started his own Quirk development training or at least that’s what Izuku figured. So with both of them becoming too preoccupied to deal with each other the driving force behind Izuku’s bullying was gone and coupled with the consequences of getting in trouble with his mother meant that others don’t bother with him anymore. Nowadays Izuku is left alone, bereft of friends and enemies alike.

This was the status quo for several years until he turned eleven where an incident forced his hand.

~O~

Things were quietly moving along for Katsuki Bakugou. After his mother found out about the incident on the day Deku got his Quirk Katsuki had to abstain from any physical altercations with him. It was for the best as Deku no longer kept his mouth shut whenever he was harassed and the last idiots to go beyond words ended up in trouble with both teachers and their parents. Katsuki was glad he kept his distance and he continued to do so, only swooping in when Deku got too uppity.

Like when he tried to make excuses for his useless Quirk.

After that the dork had gone quiet, seemingly accepting his fate. He didn’t even seem to care much for the taunts and jeers anymore which was annoying for a whole other reason. Personal gratification aside even Katsuki grew bored with needling him, not that he even needed to with his cronies picking up where he left off every once in a while. In any case Katsuki eventually cast Deku from his mind as he prioritized himself.

As it turns out surpassing All Might and becoming the number one hero involved a lot of work that he simply couldn’t bypass by coasting off his Quirk alone. The realization hit when he was six years old and was watching an interview with All Might. It was after he had thwarted an attempt to steal valuable art pieces. He beat the villains of course but he also managed to save the art which included some priceless and fragile vases. When one of the interviewers brought up how he did it without breaking the thing, All Might laughed and replied

“Practice! It took a lot of practice for me to properly regulate my strength”

And with that a whole other side of the hero work opened up to Katsuki as he asked the question how does All Might do it. He’s seen enough evidence of All Might’s strength to know that the guy could blast away entire buildings with a single swing. Yet he’s also capable of handling something as comparatively fragile as a glass vase. He knew a few people with strength Quirks who crush doorknobs, break pencils and that one kid who had a tantrum and smashed is desk.

Katsuki himself still got the occasional burns from his own Quirk use. He figured all he needed was time and practice but it never really occurred to him just how much he would need. After a few hours of diligent research (and yes he is capable of this when he wants something) it turns out that it is a lot for both cases. Current pro heroes don’t give out a lot of information about their Quirks for obvious reasons but some are more than willing to talk about the hardships they went through to get to that point, especially if they are in the top rankings.

It was supposed to inspire people and Katsuki could say that he was pretty inspired. He was so inspired that he went on a self imposed training regime for about a month or so. It could have been longer but it turns out training for several hours with a Quirk that works by combusting sweat to create explosions was not conductive to one’s safety. Long story short Katsuki blew himself up and besides getting an earful from his mother and being wrapped in bandages for a week he learned from his father that there were actual training programs for kids serious about their heroic aspirations.

Quirk development programs, both Katsuki and his mom never heard of them but they apparently existed and his dad went out of his way to research them for him. Turns out when every generation of kids wants to become a hero it becomes imperative that every kid is given the opportunity to become one. So the government invests in that through offering free counsel on how to develop a child’s Quirk for when they inevitably enroll in a hero academy.

You’d think something as useful as this would be more widespread but there is a reason for that, well several reasons actually. Despite every kid wanting to become a hero it inevitably falls to the parents’ decision on whether their child becomes a hero. A lot of consideration has to be taken into account for this and should they actually want to allow their child into this profession then they can seek out help in ways to invest in their child’s development. The Quirk development programs are only available through a government sponsored website and while the program itself is free, it is only available to legal guardians who have to fill out a form and be subjected to a background check.

Of course being a child of six years at the time Katsuki did not know any of this. All he knew was that his dad got his hands on the methods pro heroes use to become strong (as it was explained to him). And so began his quest for Quirk development which turned out to be a combination of light exercise, diet and controlled practice with his Quirk. It was initially underwhelming at first but consultation from a Quirk specialist verified this approach as ‘building his foundation.’

Plus his mother kept harping on about sticking with it or not bothering to help. As stubborn as Katsuki was he knew that he needed his mother’s support because she had access to website that would help him. Also his father was too whipped to disagree with her if she decided not to support him. The worst part was that his parents’ support did not come free and their recompense from him came in the form of maintaining high grades in his academics.

Katsuki would admit he had his doubts when it came to his school work, mostly because he was at the age where he cared more about having fun than studying. He struggled with having to split his time between training and studying. It left little room for him to play and he was afraid his studious path would have his peers think less of him for it. He’d basically be like Deku whose head was always in his books which just could not be allowed to happen.

In the end things worked out in his favor and when he eventually succeeded in his academics it only gave Katsuki something else to lord over everyone else. It also gave him a goal since Deku for all his uselessness actually got good grades, the highest in their class as a matter of fact. Katsuki chafed at the idea of losing but he ultimately considered it a non factor because getting high grades was just a means to an end and he didn’t have the time to commit himself academically.

Deku could have that mantle. Katsuki was aiming much higher than that loser could ever hope for.

~O~

It would be years before Katsuki would see and truly appreciate the benefit of the training regimen. It gave him the opportunity to seriously practice with his Quirk, something that was becoming less and less tolerated the older he grew. Personally Katsuki found it ridiculous that he wasn’t allowed to use his Quirk out in public but it’s whatever. He could still use it at home and at a special facility his mother would take him to over the weekends. This is where the true reward for Katsuki’s diligence would show as it granted him better control, understanding and a noticeable bump in the strength of his Quirk.

By the time Katsuki turned 12 he was on top of the world, the most popular kid in his school. His studying paid off with him being in the top percentage of his grade and his training paid off with being physically fit and powerful.

Nothing could ruin this for him!

Then one day it happened.

His class was playing soccer and they weren’t allowed to use their Quirks which was boring but Katsuki liked the challenge, especially against kids with mutation Quirks who had an unfair advantage against all the extras. Not him though, him holding back his Quirk actually gave them a slim chance. Unfortunately that chance significantly widened because the coach picked the team and decided to put Deku on his team. Even worse was that the coach put the nerd as the goal keeper!

Naturally Katsuki had to work extra hard to ensure none of his opponents got the ball even close to their side of field otherwise it was a guaranteed score. Unfortunately not even he could pick up the slack for an entire team and one kid, a big kid with a mutation Quirk managed to get pass Katsuki or rather bull rushed him during a moment of weakness.

He got through his team’s piss poor defenses making a b-line for Deku who was at the edge of the goal not even attempting to properly defend. By the time Katsuki got close enough to intercept they were a about two dozen feet from the goal and close enough for the kid to decide to punt the ball. Except the kid couldn’t see for shit apparently and instead at aiming for the unguarded net the ball headed straight for Deku in the corner. Even Katsuki held a wince for what was surely going to be a ball to the face so he imagined others might too.

Except that didn’t happen, what ended up happening was Deku flinched but before the ball could rebound off his face there was a flash of green and the ball shooting back out of the goal. No one really paid attention to the ball however as tey were busy gaping at Deku and the green, vaguely square barrier of light hanging above his hands. A moment later and it was dropped just before the teacher blew a whistle and Deku was taken off the field for using his Quirk.

His Quirk.

His. Quirk!?

And so as Deku left the field with his head hung low, Katsuki kept eyes on him. His emotions were a mess, cycling through confusion and disbelief before finally settling on rage.

“Deku” he growled.

Meanwhile one of the kids echoed the sentiment that was on everyone’s mind at that moment.

“What just happened?”

~To Be Continued~

Author’s Notes: Katsuki was born a few months before Izuku so in the last part the former is 12 while the latter is still 11.