History Fanfic / WhatItMeansToBeAHero

* AdaptationalIntelligence: In the original series, Inui was the [[InformedAttribute designated counselor of U.A.]] and was regarded as a joke character due to acting like a rabid security dog rather then a dependable counselor. In this story, he actually lives up to his title as Izuku goes to him for regular therapy sessions and helps improve his mental health.

** [[spoiler:Four of Overhaul's top men, Chronostasis and three of the 8 bullets (Nemoto, Setsuno, and Tabe) are killed by Stain in his war against the Yakuza.]]

** During his turn in an infiltration exercise, Izuku is captured because he simply opened a door without checking the room first. Unfortunately for him, Momo put a motion sensor on the door. Afterwards, it's also pointed out that Izuku only looked for guards and didn't check for any other security system such as cameras.

* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler:When it goes public that the HPSC bought Hawks as a child and conditioned into a spy and assassin, he posts a Twitter comment which not only essentially confirms the accusation, reveals that after the Tokyo Invasion, they were more concerned that a Quirkless kid was in the UA's Hero Course and how that would impact their status quo. The HPSC officials are in such a panic, they post a reply ordering him to take it down, ''which everyone can see.'' He refuses, and calls them deadbeats who never paid for his child support while growing up.]]

** During an infiltration exercise, Aoyama and Todoroki both fail miserably. Aoyama was apparently flashy enough to get spotted long before reaching the warehouse he was supposed to infiltrate. Todoroki on the other hand, decided to forgo stealth altogether and openly assault the building, giving him the worst score in the class.

* EvilVsEvil: After [[spoiler:the downfall of the Meta Liberation Army]] Stain starts targeting villains again [[InsaneTrollLogic in an attempt to cause reformations to the Hero society by becoming a savior and showing the failure of the hero system.]] [[spoiler:His current target is Overhaul.]]

* ForWantOfANail:
** The story begins with Izuku being told by All Might that he could be a hero without a Quirk.
** This leads to Nezu finding out about Izuku's abuse at Aldera and investigating the school [[spoiler:an investigation that culminates with the downfall of the Meta Liberation Army]].
** [[spoiler:During the capture of one of the Meta Liberation Army cells Vlad King and Midnight find Toga which prevents her from going crazy and leads to her adoption by the Midoriyas.]]
** [[spoiler:The defeat and exposure of the Meta Liberation Army]] allows for Nezu to change aspects of U.A.'s sports festival and entrance exam.
** Due to the changes to the entrance exam there are several new outcomes. There was a third category for points, cooperation points which led to everyone having higher scores than canon. [[spoiler:Izuku was able to get first place due to his training at U.A. and leadership skills. Mineta was replaced by Shinso and OC Joyato was able to get into Class 1A replacing Bakugo.]]
** Because All Might isn't a teacher and wasn't scheduled to attend, the League of Villains do not attack the USJ, and the field trip proceeds without incident. [[spoiler:Instead, they launch an attack on the third-year's trip and abduct three first-years, a second-year and a third-year as hostages.]] [[InSpiteOfANail And All Might still isn't there.]]
** Because of the different circumstances of the League of Villain's attack on UA, specifically the part where [[spoiler:UA students were kidnapped from either their homes or on their way to school,]] Nedzu proposes turning UA into a boarding school earlier than canon.
** All Might was not present for the League of Villains' attack for different reasons. In canon, it's because he engaged in heroics on his way to work. In this fic, it's because he was called away to handle an event that could have been handled by any one of dozens of other heroes. [[spoiler:This leads him to realize society is too dependent on him and he decides to start focusing more on being a teacher to give society time to adjust to him not being around]].
** As part of the security measures taken against the League of Villains, the Hero students are told to pick their Hero Names ''before'' the Sports Festival so that their real names aren't known and the Sports Festival itself is completely reworked. The third years have their events ''first'', followed by the second years then first years, the Support Course students show off their invention capabilities in a separate event from the Hero and General course students, and the Hero and General Course students fight in a battle-royal style event for their first round.
** Due to the League of Villains attacking Class 3-B rather than 1-A, the students get far fewer internship offers as they are far less well-known.
** Izuku gets a lot more internship offers after the Festival, due to not breaking himself as a consequence of not having One For All.
** During the ''Internship'' Arc, [[spoiler:the heroes end up acquiring Eri after Stain managed to abduct her from Overhaul's lair along with killing his subordinates. Stain is killed for his efforts and All For One unleashes a large-scale Nomu attack in a variety of cities. Also, Inko is made 10 years younger after Eri accidentally uses her Quirk on her]].
** Because the League never got Stain associated with them and due to [[spoiler:dropping public sentiment on Heroes due to Endeavour's domestic abuse becoming public, Spinner gets the idea to form a vigilante team, and Compress, Magne, Dabi, and Twice join him]].
** Due to Izuku [[spoiler:declining All Might's offer to be his successor]], the Number One Hero offers [[spoiler:Ochako the opportunity to take One For All and serve as his heir]].
** Because of All for One's behaviour causing Tomura to [[spoiler:begin doubting the former actually cares about the latter, Kurogiri attempts to put him at ease by trying to find proof that All for One does want the best for Tomura. This search results in him overhearing a conversation between All for One and his doctor that proves Tomura is actually right, and he tells Tomura to flee]].
** Thanks to the participation of [[spoiler:Aizawa and Hawks]] during All Might's grand rematch with All For One, [[spoiler:the Fairest Hero is able to defeat his hated foe ''without'' exposing his true form during the fight. However, he does reveal his true self to the public a few days later while explaining how he became a skeleton man]].
** For the ''Provisional License Exam'' Arc, [[spoiler:Hawks explains that the exam will now have tougher guidelines and only five percent out of 1,500 hero hopefuls will earn their license. This is in part because of how the Hero Commission was exposed and stripped of their power and how the World Heroes Association has decided to take over and ensure that the new generation of heroes are worthy of their positions]].

** Invoked as part of a class exercise. Each student is given a pack to investigate a seemingly minor crime, and each are different. Izuku has trouble making sense of his which is a robbery at a pharmacy until unrelated comments from Dark Shadow inspires him to share information with his classmates. This results in them all realizing that each of their packets which contains one minor crime are all part of a single larger conspiracy. Aizawa is happy his students figure it out.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Yoarashi Inasa is horrified to learn about [[spoiler:Endeavor's crimes, because it means he was being a jerk to a ''domestic abuse victim'' back when he was being judgmental to Shouto]].

* {{Polyamory}}: As of Chapter 64, [[spoiler: Izuku, Tsuyu and Ochako enter into a triad relationship]].
* PrecisionFStrike: When Sir Nighteye gives his canon speech about how Izuku is unworthy to inherit One For All, Izuku cuts him off with an angry "Fuck you", before launching into a ClusterFBomb.
* ProperlyParanoid: Aizawa is suspicious as to why [[MellowFellow Hawks]] decided to drop in the commentators booth to watch the U.A. kids perform during the Sports Festival. [[spoiler:Given his role as a dutiful agent of the Hero Commission, it's all but stated that he's looking to scout potential candidates to join him, and is also under orders to investigate rumours of a Quirkless student in the Heroics Course]].

-->'''Shuichi:''' So. It's come to my attention that we might have accidentally collapsed society.

* WithCatlikeTread: During a stealth exercise, Aoyama is caught long before he even nears the warehouse he's supposed to infiltrate. Joyato considers it a success she actually reached the warehouse before being spotted given that she has glowing marks on her body.

** The staff of Aldera Middle school encouraged the students to bully Izuku.

The premise of the story is that when Izuku asks All Might if he could be a hero without a Quirk, All Might says he can. ForWantOfANail, this causes a domino effect which results in a lot of changes to the canon of ''My Hero Academia''.

** After the climatic battle between All Might and All for One, [[spoiler:Lady Nagant and Star and Stripe are set up to make their official presence in the storyline]].

** Played with regarding "The Strays". [[spoiler:They're made up of [=pre-LOV=] villains (Spinner, Magne, Twice, Compress, Dabi) and created their vigilante group for the sake of one upping heroes in general. But they are committed to helping the community and any citizens in need of help. It's played straight as the penultimate chapter has them receiving official hero licences as a reward for their efforts]].

** In canon, Nejire and Yuyu's sexuality's are unknown. Here, they're an openly lesbian couple.

* AllForNothing: In Chapter 60, [[spoiler:Dabi bitterly laments that his long term plan of ruining his father's career have gone up in smoke after video footage of Shouto's confession led to Endeavor's arrest. While he's glad that his father lost everything thanks to his ''masterpiece'', he can't help but feel resentful over how Shouto was the one to commit the deed and not him]].
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Mina Ashido has pink skin, as per canon. However, [[spoiler:Tsuyu reveals to Izuku and Ochako that her natural skin-tone is green, and that she uses her canon camouflage ability to adjust her color to a more normal hue, because of the bullying she experienced for it in her previous schools.]]

-->'''All Might:''' Have you not heard of Aldera, fiend? You claim to be for [[spoiler:the freedom of Quirks]], and yet [[WouldHurtAChild your followers allowed, no, encouraged the abuse of a child]] because he wasn't born to your standards! Your creed is nothing more than an excuse to further your own power! [[DeclarationOfProtection No child will ever be hurt that way again!]] The tyranny of your so called 'true-freedom' will never come to pass! Why? [[InTheNameOfTheMoon Because I am here!]]
* BaitAndSwitch: Aizawa lambasts his students for how badly they tailed Izuku, only for all of them reveal they were tailing one of the others.

** In Chapter 59, [[spoiler:public opinion turned on Endeavor after a video of Shouto confessing to Endeavor's decade long abuse was leaked online which threw the whole world into a frenzy]].
* ChekhovMIA: [[spoiler:When the leadership of the Meta Liberation Army is captured by the Hero's and military, Geten is not mentioned with the rest of them. We later find out he escaped and is now working for the League of Villains.]]

* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler:When it goes public that the HPSC bought Hawks as a child and conditioned into a spy and assassin, he posts a Twitter comment which not only essentially confirms the accusation, reveals that after the Tokyo Invasion they were more concerned that a Quirkless kid was in the UA's Hero Course and how that would impact their status quo. The HPSC officials are in such a panic, they post a reply ordering him to take it down, ''which everyone can see.'' He refuses, and calls them deadbeats who never paid for his child support while growing up.]]

** And in Chapter 94, that revelation comes to fruition with [[spoiler:Yuuei being officially shut down and how U.A. ''University'' will take it's place in the next coming school year along with a high school branch. The two schools will be dedicated in teaching more meaningful lessons in heroism while ensuring that the students have sufficient support so they can grow up to be heroes without the toxic mentalities of the past system]].
* EnemyMine: In Chapter 75, [[spoiler:Shigaraki willingly drops off a folder contain crucial information relating to All For One's operations and bases in front of Nezu. His reason being that he wants his former master to be taken down and intends to have the heroes do so on his behalf]].

* FantasticRacism: Members of the Meta Liberation Army think that Quirkless people are less than human.

** [[spoiler:During the capture of one of the Meta Liberation Army cells Vlad King and Midnight find Toga which prevents her from going crazy and leads to her adoption by the Midoriya's]]

** Due to the changes to the entrance exam there are several new outcomes. There was a third category for points, cooperation points which leads to everyone having higher scores than canon. [[spoiler:Izuku was able to get first place due to his training at U.A. and leadership skills. Mineta was replaced by Shinso and OC Joyato was able to get into Class 1A replacing Bakugo.]]
** Because All Might isn't a teacher and wasn't scheduled to attend, the League of Villains do not attack the USJ and the field trip proceeds without incident. [[spoiler:Instead, they launch an attack on the third-year's trip and abduct three first-years, a second-year and a third-year as hostages.]] [[InSpiteOfANail And All Might still isn't there.]]

** Due to the League of Villains attacking Class 3-B rather than 1-A, the students get far fewer internship offers as they are far less well known.

** During the ''Internship'' Arc, [[spoiler:the heroes end up acquiring Eri after Stain managed to abduct her from Overhaul's lair along with killing his subordinates. Stain is killed for his efforts and All For One unleashes a large scale Nomu attack in a variety of cities. Also, Inko is made 10 years younger after Eri accidentally uses her Quirk on her]].
** Because the League never got Stain associated with them and due to [[spoiler:dropping public sentiment on Heroes due to Endeavour's domestic abuse becoming public, Spinner gets the idea to form a vigilante team and Compress, Magne, Dabi and Twice join him]].

** For the ''Provisional License Exam'' Arc, [[spoiler:Hawks explains that the exam will now have tougher guidelines and only five percent out of 1,500 hero hopefuls will earn their license. This is in part of how the Hero Commission was exposed and stripped of their power and how the World Heroes Association has decided to take over and ensure that the new generation of heroes are worthy of their positions]].

** It is made clear Hawks is not a fan of working for the shady Heroics Public Safety Commission, but sees no way out of it. [[spoiler:Once their crimes come to light though, including against him, he is happy to throw them under the bus.]]

* HeroWithBadPublicity: [[spoiler:After Endeavor's public arrest and the reveal of his abusive past, the general public had developed a negative impression towards all heroes. This is worst shown where a mob tries to harass the 1-A kids during their mall outing]].

* InsaneTrollLogic: Stain starts killing villain's and other hidden threats to society in an attempt to discredit "false heroes" and make him seem like the good guy. In his mind, this would somehow lead to the reformation of the hero system.

** Just like in the end of the ''Provisional Hero License Exam'' Arc, [[spoiler:Bakugou takes Izuku to the Ground Beta site to talk with him. But rather then antagonizing him into a physical confrontation, the two boys have a civil conversation over [[TitleDrop what it means to be a hero]] along with [[CharacterDevelopment how much they've grown]] since Aldera]].
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Izuku turns down All Might's offer to receive One for All, wanting to prove he can be a hero on his own merits. Because of this, Nighteye is able to arrange for All Might to offer his Quirk to Mirio like he'd planned... and Mirio ''also'' turns it down, [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike for very similar reasons]].]]

* MoneyToThrowAway: In Chapter 70, Shouto has been kind enough to cover his friends expensive lunch with Endeavor's credit card. [[spoiler:It helps that the monster is locked up so he couldn't stop him if he wanted to]].

** Re-Destro has this reaction when [[spoiler:All Might, Endeavor, and the Japanese military shows up to arrest him and dismantle the Meta Liberation Army]].

** One of the new students at Class 1-A is a girl named Hikari Joyato.

* StartMyOwn: After the disastrous events of [[spoiler:the ''Tokyo War'' Arc, Shuichi decides to start his own vigilante group made of pre-LOV villains for the sake of one upping heroes in general]].

* WhamLine: After the Licencing exams, [[spoiler:the proctors announce ''no one'' is getting a license in spite of the large pass rate. They decided that due to the HPSC's numerous wrongdoings, heroics in Japan needs to be restructured and among other things, the minimum age for a provisional is now eighteen]].

** In the ''Internship'' Arc, [[spoiler:Nezu and Izuku come up with several theories regarding what types of abuse Overhaul inflicted on Eri based on her physical appearance, behavior and belief about her "curse"]].

Staring at a trembling boy before him, All Might knows what he would've wanted someone to tell him if he'd asked the Number One Hero if he could've been a Quirkless hero. And if that notebook he signed was anything to go by, a little help from Nedzu and the boy might even surpass him.

When Midoriya Izuku asks All Might if he can be a hero without a Quirk, the Symbol of Peace says 'Yes.'

** Miruko is [=WLW=] as she blushes red when she sees her crush [[spoiler:Stars and Stripes]].

** The author considers Mei to be a sapiosexual.

** Izuku is Bisexual rather than straight like in canon.
** Yuyu and Nejire are an openly lesbian couple in the story rather than straight.

* JadedProfessional: Hawks is fully aware of how corrupt the [=HPSC=] is and hates working for them. The first thing he does when [[spoiler:their dirty laundry all gets exposed to Japan]] is use his Twitter account to fan the flames even further by pointing out the below SkewedPriorities.
-->'''Number One Birdie''' @Hawks\\

''[=#HPSCWhistleblown=]''

* RefugeInAudacity: As mentioned above, [[spoiler:Hawks]] shows up in the Provisional License Exam under the guise of "Tori Taka" to MC the event. [[spoiler:When an examinee asks the obvious question of whether he's actually Hawks, "Mr. Tori" responds that he isn't, [[ImplausibleDeniability because Hawks has wings]]. When the exam is over, he retrieves his folded-up wings from beneath the podium and walks away in plain sight of everybody.]]

** [[spoiler:The Strays revealed secrets about the Heroics Public Safety Commission they knew would destabilize society and risk a rise in crime, but they believed it was necessary, and were reassured by the fact All Might was still around to keep things from going totally off the rails. So they were dismayed when they learnt their whole reveal was timed to be released just hours after the man announced his retirement...]]

-->'''All Might:''' "Have you not heard of Aldera, fiend? You claim to be for [[spoiler:the freedom of Quirks]], and yet [[WouldHurtAChild your followers allowed, no, encouraged the abuse of a child]] because he wasn't born to your standards! Your creed is nothing more than an excuse to further your own power! [[DeclarationOfProtection No child will ever be hurt that way again!]] The tyranny of your so called 'true-freedom' will never come to pass! Why? [[InTheNameOfTheMoon Because I am here!]]"

* ShedTheFamilyName: [[spoiler:After learning about his dark master's true intentions, Tomura has decided to forsake the last name that All For One gave him]].

** All For One suggests using [[spoiler:Endeavor]] as a potential tool after seeing [[spoiler:his embarrassing performance during the ''Meta Liberation War'' Arc.]] [[spoiler: This comes to pass during the Tokyo Invasion arc where Endeavor gets dosed with Trigger turning him into a walking WMD then his abuse gets leaked all over Japan greatly damaging the publics trust in Heroes.]]

* VillainsDyingGrace: [[spoiler:Stain goes back to fight Overhaul after giving Eri to Nedzu and Izuku in order to give them some time to get Eri someplace safe and away from the Shie Hassaikai. Thanks to Overhaul's Quirk, all that is left of him is a puddle of blood and gore along with his signature blade]].

* VillainousRescue: During the ''Internship'' Arc, [[spoiler:Stain is revealed to have abducted Eri from the Shie Hassaikai Clan as part of his mission of eradicating villainous criminals. He even drops the girl off with Nedzu and Izuku while he went back to confront the leader]].

-->'''Shuichi:''' "So. It's come to my attention that we might have accidentally collapsed society."
** Chapter 94 has some huge reveals. [[spoiler:Nedzu is turning U.A. into a University with an associated High School, and Star and Stripe tracks down The Strays and gives them Hero Licenses and full pardons for ''all'' past crimes]].

* WhamShot: In chapter 31, [[spoiler:Bakugou is down and sees a pair of distinctive red shoes approaching him and thinks they belong to Izuku for a moment before realizing they belong to the villain he’s fighting (Tomura Shigaraki). A particular style of shoes made for quirkless individuals.]]

* WhamShot: In chapter 31, [[Bakugou is down and sees a pair of distinctive red shoes approaching him and thinks they belong to Izuku for a moment before realizing they belong to the villain he’s fighting (Tomura Shigaraki). A particular style of shoes made for quirkless individuals.]]