No one noticed when Izuku manifested his quirk. Not at first.
A week later and people began to take notice. After a statistically improbable week without a single death, people took notice. After deadly wounds were shrugged off like nothing, people took notice. Time passed and still no one could die. When the city of Musutafu became engulfed in the phenomenon dubbed 'The Zone', people were wary. No one could uncover what caused The Zone. It was an unknown, some claimed. It went against the laws of the world, some claimed. It was profitable, others claimed.
Humans adapt. It's what they do. When faced with the bizarre, humanity adapts. The strange becomes mundane.
The rest of the world looks on in horror.
Izuku's quirk emits a massive no-kill zone around him. This has consequences.
Death Need Not Apply is a My Hero Academia fanfic by Salt00. It can be read on Archive of Our Own here
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Death Need Not Apply contains examples of the following tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Endeavor like canon. Unlike canon, he's emotionally abusive rather than physically, keeping Shoto physically and emotionally isolated while acting as though he's the only one who cares for him, which causes Shoto to do anything to avoid disappointing him.
- Adaptational Early Appearance:
- After Mineta is expelled early, Shinso replaces him as a member of Class 1A and thus appears in the first week of classes.
- Gentle makes an appearance during Shinso's backstory.
- Adaptive Ability: Izuku is implied to have one as part of his Quirk, as shown when Denki's attack initially paralyzes him with muscle spasms but Izuku quickly overcomes it even as Denki continues to strengthen the attack.
- Came Back Wrong: It's noted that anyone who has "died" at least once while in the Zone seems to suffer from reduced empathy. Those who have been raised aren't quite psychopaths, but the difference is notable.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: Anyone who spent enough time in The Zone has zero fear of death along with an insane pain tolerance, due to the Zone's effects. While the rest of the class is horrified by Izuku, Bakugou, and Todoroki (who grew up in The Zone) casually dealing lethal injuries to their classmates, Izuku needs some time to understand what the problem is. During their first exercise, Izuku helpfully dispenses advice while killing his classmates, such as impaling Shoji while warning him about how painful stomach injuries are.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance:
- Property damage is seen as worse than assault or murder since injuries and death aren't permanent in the Zone.
- Eri has one of the worst possible brands, something only given to villains with dangerous quirks, despite only being a child.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Increasingly common as people got used to the Zone. At one point, Mitsuki slashed her husband's throat during an argument.
- Easily Forgiven: As no injuries are permanent, a lot of people are willing to forgive violence in the heat of the moment. After Mitsuki returns after slashing her husband's throat, his only reaction is to be glad he at least managed to break her arm.
- Feel No Pain: Izuku, by way of an inhuman pain tolerance. During the U.A. entrance exam, Izuku is functionally Quirkless and still gets enough points to enter the hero course by beating the robots to death with his bare hands then ripping off pieces to use as improvised weapons. In chapter six, Izuku is stabbed with so much broken glass that he clinks with every movement and shows no reaction at all. The only time so far Izuku's shown to actually feel pain is when he grunts slightly after getting hit in the face by Mina's acid.
- Immortality Field: Izuku's quirk emits one that encompasses the entire city, rendering all forms of death obsolete. Over the years, it's grown to more than double its original size, though Nedzu notes that the growth isn't constant, sometimes spiking massively before declining again.
- Immortals Fear Death: As mentioned below, the punishment for a repeat offence of certain serious crimes within the Zone is to be dragged outside the Zone and executed for real. Very few who have gotten used to life within the Zone are willing to risk losing their immortality.
- Killed Off for Real: Anyone who commits certain severe crimes within the Zone is branded in a special way before being exiled from the Zone. If they return and are caught committing another crime, they will be dragged outside the Zone and then executed.
- Lost Common Knowledge: Children who grew up in The Zone have little knowledge of things like death, disfigurement, or permanent injury. Izuku unthinkingly asks Shinso about the strange pattern on his skin, not knowing the "pattern" is numerous burn scars. One chapter shows Shoto not understanding his father made him murder several people because death is a foreign concept to him.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Anyone who spends a significant amount of time in The Zone may gain an outright inhuman pain tolerance because The Zone is an area where no one can die and all injuries eventually heal. Izuku gets hit in the face with Ashido's acid and barely grunts on top of commenting that Bakugou's blown his legs off plenty of times, apparently having a phase where he liked creating nitroglycerin mine fields. Later, Izuku cheerfully shows Hagakure how to properly snap someone's neck, using himself as the test dummy, and compliments her first attempt, saying she definitely cracked a vertebra and was close to doing it perfectly.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Mitsuki runs away in horror after realizing she 'murdered' her husband over a petty argument. Thankfully, it's not permanent since they live in the Zone.
- Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Izuku manages to unsettle his classmates far more than Bakugou or Todoroki despite being less brutally violent than them. Within "The Zone" (which includes U.A.), no one can die and will heal from any injury, including dismemberment and destroyed organs. Since "The Zone" has existed for over a decade, people living within it think little of resorting to murderous violence over petty arguments. In class, Bakugou and Todoroki will 'murder' classmates with violent rage and cold precision respectively. Izuku will gouge out eyes, snap necks, and impale his classmates while offering friendly advice on how to avoid such injuries. Izuku's Cheerful Child demeanor combined with his brutal tactics result in several students being outright terrified of him.
- The Power of Glass: One villain has the power to pull all nearby glass towards a given location. Though it's not deadly in The Zone, for most the pain of being stabbed so much is crippling on it's own. Izuku barely notices.
- Shout-Out: The Doctor possesses a Head Museum.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Aizawa causes several deaths unknowingly when he tries erasing Izuku's Quirk out of curiosity.
