No…
Maybe she had thought about it once.
Somewhere deep in her subconscious.
But before that thought could ever fully surface—
it had already been crushed.
Crushed by the overwhelming lack of confidence she had built over the years.
Buried.
Forgotten.
Because for as long as she could remember, she had instinctively accepted one thing as absolute truth:
A Quirkless person cannot become a hero.
After all…
no one had ever told her otherwise.
No one had ever said—
that even without a Quirk, one could still reach the level of a Pro Hero.
Maybe, when she was younger, she had believed something different.
If I try hard enough… maybe I can still succeed.
She had trained.
Run.
Pushed herself.
Tried.
But every single attempt had been met with the same response.
Denial.
Mockery.
Cruel laughter.
—
"Mom! I want to become a hero like All Might!!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am. Your child is one of the rare cases of Quirklessness in this generation. It's unlikely she'll ever develop a Quirk. Please help her accept reality."
"Ha… Kaiun, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
—
"A Quirkless kid trying to act tough? Don't be ridiculous."
"People are born with their limits. No matter how hard you try, you'll never become a hero."
—
"Oh? You're practicing running again? Look, the distance you struggled so hard to cover—I can clear it in one jump with my Quirk."
—
"What's the point of your effort?"
"Becoming a hero?"
"Stop dreaming."
"You're just Quirkless."
"Accept it already, you useless freak."
—
Again.
And again.
And again.
Countless voices.
Countless rejections.
Until eventually—
the belief became absolute.
Unshakable.
Quirkless equals impossible.
And yet—
on the surface, she had never truly given up.
Because if she did—
then everything would collapse.
So she kept writing her "hero notes."
Obsessively.
Diligently.
As if that alone could prove—
that she was still trying.
That she hadn't completely abandoned her dream.
But humans are not made of steel.
They get tired.
Even the strongest person would falter under endless rejection.
Let alone—
a middle school girl.
Years of ridicule had worn her down.
Bullying had chipped away at her spirit.
Her personality had changed.
She had become timid.
Withdrawn.
Dark.
And deep inside—
she was exhausted.
Completely exhausted.
Then—
not long ago—
the final blow came.
She met her idol.
All Might.
A chance encounter.
A miracle.
And she asked him—
the one question she had carried in her heart for years.
"If you don't have a Quirk… can you still become a hero?"
And All Might—
said no.
That single answer—
destroyed everything.
Her idol's denial crushed the last piece of hope she had been clinging to.
She had almost given up.
Almost decided to abandon that impossible dream and live as an ordinary person.
Because she was tired.
So tired.
But now—
everything had changed.
Because from Shigaraki's mouth—
she had heard something impossible.
Something unbelievable.
Even without a Quirk—
you could still reach the level of a Pro Hero.
For someone like her—
that wasn't just hope.
That was salvation.
Because if there was even a chance—
then why would she give up?
Why would anyone give up?
Maybe…
maybe it wasn't too late.
Maybe she could still—
start again.
A faint light appeared in her eyes.
Small.
Fragile.
But real.
Like a tiny flame, slowly igniting in the darkness.
She lifted her head.
Looked at Shigaraki.
Her gaze trembled—
filled with anxiety…
and longing.
Like someone who had lived in darkness for too long—
finally seeing light.
Afraid it might be real.
Afraid it might be an illusion.
"…Um…"
She hesitated.
Then, gathering what little courage she had—
"If someone doesn't have a Quirk… can they still—"
"Enough."
Shigaraki cut her off immediately.
Flat.
Direct.
"I know what you're going to ask."
Of course he did.
He'd heard it before.
Can a Quirkless person become a hero?
There were plenty of people in this world who dreamed of becoming heroes.
But—
people like her?
That kind of stubborn, irrational hope?
This was only the second time he'd seen it.
The first—
was Izuku Midoriya.
Back then, he thought someone like that was rare.
A one-off anomaly.
And yet—
just a few days later—
here was another one.
Did he attract these types or something?
Was there some kind of "problem child magnet" effect at play?
I'm supposed to be a villain, damn it…
The thought irritated him slightly.
Then—
he spoke.
Cold.
Blunt.
"If you're asking whether a Quirkless person can become a hero…"
"…or if you're thinking of asking me to train you—"
"Then drop it."
"Immediately."
His tone left no room for interpretation.
"Impossible."
In this society—
where the unspoken rule was 'those with power stand above all'—
things like inferiority, self-doubt, and despair had already become normalized.
Not just normal—
institutionalized.
A kind of disease.
And Shigaraki had no interest in curing it one person at a time.
Midoriya had been different.
He was the protagonist.
Even without Shigaraki's involvement, All Might would have found him eventually.
Helping him had just been… an extra connection.
As for Shinso—
that had been a coincidence.
And a form of compensation.
But this girl—
this black-haired, gloomy, Quirkless girl—
even if she had technically tried to help him—
Shigaraki had no intention of encouraging her.
Because—
he didn't want her to walk that path.
It was too cruel.
Too harsh.
Too unforgiving.
Being a hero wasn't just about ideals.
It was about standing on the front lines—
facing danger, death, and chaos every single day.
And for someone without a Quirk—
to keep up with that world—
the cost would be unimaginable.
He looked at her.
Quietly.
Then added, almost dismissively:
"You'd just end up suffering."
And for once—
that wasn't mockery.
It was truth.
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