AN: Hey everybody! The poll finished and the winner was Mirko! However Momo was neck and neck the entire time and was only two votes or so behind at the end. I'd thought of a good idea for each that way I'd be set no matter who won but now I'd feel sad if one got dropped which is why BOTH are being posted in this cycle. Also, this is going to be the last update for a couple weeks. My computer is dying a painful death (this is actually being posted from a borrowed computer). I've ordered a new one but it hasn't gotten in yet. I'll get back to writing once it comes in.
AN2: Just to be clear this is inspired BY Persona, it's not a true crossover. So no, there won't be a metaverse to enter, no shadows to fight, and while some Persona characters might make an appearance they're as cameos and not the actual people from the games.
A Fool's Bonds
Chapter 1
-Izuku-
Sighing softly, Izuku kicked at a can in his way, head slumped as he walked the lonely and empty route back home. "Why'd he have to just tell everyone." Izuku felt his quirk pulse miserably within him as he thought back to today's homeroom, of his teacher announcing about everyone's intent to be Heroes…of announcing Izuku wanted to go to UA. The jeers were still ringing in his head, his classmates all thinking he was quirkless, a falsehood he could never bring himself to correct as Kaachan glared at him.
Why does nobody think I can be a Hero?" He asked the world softly, not expecting an answer.
"Oh, don't worry." A blood chilling voice chuckled from behind as Izuku spun around, seeing a mass of rippling green ooze rising from the sewers "You'll be my Hero. A medium sized skin suit? Just what the doctor ordered!" Izuku let out a scream, turning to try and run only to feel a slimy tendril wrap around his ankle, "Hold still you little bastard!" the sludge villain snarled, forcing a tendril of the foul smelling sludge towards Izuku's mouth as he shut it rapidly, not wanting to let the villain do whatever it was they had planned. "OPEN UP!" the villain yelled, "Your body is mine now kid! Just give in, it won't even hurt for a minute before you'll never have to hurt again." Izuku writhed, feeling his quirk burning within him, demanding to be used. Even as the sludge villain desperately tried to force itself past Izuku's sealed lips, those words from so long ago echoed in his mind.
"I am thou, thou art I." the words of his quirk when it had first awakened and with every 'growth' since, every moment he'd ignored it.
"You don't have a real quirk." Kaachan's words the day his best friend had begun telling him he'd never be a hero "All you do is take from the power of other people, from real heroes. I don't want to ever see you do that again DEKU!"
"Izuku, maybe you should find something to be besides a hero." His mother, always nervous, always doubting. She saw how few 'friends' Izuku had, knew how his quirk worked, and had never believed in him, never wanted him to try and be a Hero.
But here? Now? Moment's away from death…fear overrode Kaachan's words, it overrode his mother's doubts, and left only that burning from his quirk. The sludge villain reared back as Izuku's eyes flashed gold, blue flames surging from his body as he felt his quirk practically sing, calling upon the power of the Fool. He only got to feel that rush for a moment though before the flames died out and he dropped to the ground next to a man clad in just a pair of boxers who was standing where the sludge viallain just had been.
"W-what?!" the man panicked "Oh-!" whatever else he'd been about to say was cut off as a darkly dressed man with glowing red eyes came in with a hard kick to the villain's teeth, the transforming sludge criminal getting knocked out by the blow.
"You alright kid?" the man's eyes stopped glowing, his hair falling down around him and Izuku's quirk reigniting within himself once again.
"You're Eraserhead!" Izuku gaped in awe at his favorite underground Hero. He then proceeded to pale as he realized he'd just used his quirk illegally in front of said favorite underground Pro Hero.
"Relax kid, I'm not going to arrest you for your quirk activating when you were about to die." The hobo looking pro rolled his eyes "I'm just glad your fire quirk didn't actually burn anything down."
"Um…I don't have a fire quirk…sir." Izuku gulped, his awe of pros and fear of getting in trouble having him talk without thinking.
"I saw the blue flames kid." Eraserhead was looking at him with suspicion regardless.
"They're a side effect when I...transform." Izuku winced, his old feelings about his quirk bubbling up to the surface as the threat of death had finally passed.
"I…no, not the time." Eraserhead shook his head as he pulled out his phone "I'm calling in this guy to the cops and then I'm taking you to a hospital. I can see the strangulation marks around your neck and I want to make sure none of that slime got into you."
-Aizawa-
Walking through the halls of the Musutafu general Hospital, Aizawa kept his eyes open for the person he was looking for, finally spotting the green haired nurse exiting a room. "Excuse me." He sighed, feeling the headache having start to come on ever since he stared talking to the problem child, "Are you Inko Midoriya?"
"Yes." The short woman looked up, eyes nervous as she took in his disheveled appearance. She was clearly suspicious of him but at least she wasn't calling him a hobo…yet.
"My name is Shota Aizawa, I'm a Pro Hero." He showed her his license as proof "Ma'am, you need to come with me. Your son is in another wing of the hospital after being caught in a Villain attack."
"He what?!" the woman started crying enough tears that he was worried she'd either dehydrate or flood the building, "My baby! Where's my baby?!"
"Wing C, room 112." The words were hardly out of his mouth before the sobbing woman ran off. Following behind her, Aizawa tried to convince himself he wouldn't be digging further than was necessary into the kid's situation. It didn't matter how pitiful the kid had seemed. It didn't matter how excited the kid was when he actually recognized Aizawa. It didn't matter how many red flags were being thrown up.
He couldn't get attached…if only he fucking believed it.
AN: Sorry about the length, limited computer resources at the moment. Next chapter will be longer, and there will also be a few chapters before UA, or at least the entrance exam, to help this Izuku at least start to get over his issues with his quirk. More explanations on how Izuku's quirk actually works next time.