Izuku wants to be a hero.
No matter what anyone says, his teachers, his classmates, or even Kacchan, he wants to be a hero.
It shouldn't matter that no one thinks he can. It shouldn't matter what people think, or say, because the only thing that matters is if he can, and he's at least going to try. He'll find a way. Even if his quirk is what it is, he'll find a way to be a hero without pushing anyone else down.
...but who has ever heard of a hero who needs to borrow other people's quirks just to fight?
Something Borrowed
is a My Hero Academia fanfic by ThisCat, based on the basic premise of Izuku being born with All for One, but with a few changes so it's not a direct copy and to make things more interesting.
Sadly, it is currently a Dead Fic, as the author has lost their muse for the story.
Something Borrowed contains examples of:
- All Your Powers Combined: Izuku is limited to an extrasensory perception that lets him see Quirks most of the time. Until he starts borrowing Quirks with good synergy. Then things get interesting.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Just like in canon, Izuku really likes analyzing Quirks, and his extrasensory perception granted by his Quirk enable him to see Quirks as lights. He is often distracted by shiny Quirks that catch his attention. Author describe it as Aesthetic Attraction and not romantic in nature.
- In the second round of Sport Festivals, Izuku has Todoroki cornered and could have snatched his headband if he is not distracted by the Todoroki's Quirk when the fire-side come to play. Izuku didn't even notice said fire was burning his hair.
- Bad Powers, Good People: The ability to steal other Quirks like Izuku can is regarded as the ultimate villainous Quirk by many. Not to mention that Izuku can do so with nothing but a (long) look and is capable of taking One For All by force, which even All For One can't do. It's a very good thing Izuku wants nothing more than to be a hero.
- Boom, Headshot!: Snipe makes his entrance at the USJ with one of these. It kills the Noumu Izuku had weakened.
- Famous Ancestor: Izuku discovers he has one. And it's All for One.
- Heroic RRoD: Borrowing One for All to fight the Noumu at the USJ puts a lot of stress on Izuku's body and Quirk, to the point where he could have died if he hadn't also taken Noumu's Hyper-Regeneration. As it is, he breaks most of his bones and goes blind after he loses the regeneration, and even after Recovery Girl heals him, it takes two days for him to recover enough to use his Quirk, and his hands have permanent nerve damage from accidentally using Shigaraki's quirk on himself.
- Hidden Depths: Bakugou is very good at stealth thanks to experience hiding from Izuku, allowing him and Hagakure to pull a stealth run during the Battle Trial.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Izuku defeats the villains in the Water Zone by stealing three of their hydrokinesis quirks and combining them to wreak havoc.
- How Do I Shot Web?: Izuku sometimes has trouble figuring out uses of borrowed Quirks. In particular, he crashes into a wall after borrowing Iida's Quirk and says that something along those lines has happened every time he's tried to use speed Quirks.
- I Am Not My Grandfather: After a pep talk from Tsuyu, Izuku resolves to be nothing like All for One.
- No Ontological Inertia: Quirks vanish after their owner dies, even if Izuku's borrowing them at the time. Izuku crashes hard when Snipe kills the Noumu and he loses its Hyper-Regeneration, which was the only thing keeping One for All from overwhelming him.
- Pacifist Run/Stealth Run: Hagakure and, surprisingly, Bakugou pull this during the Battle Trial, acquiring the bomb without ever engaging or being seen by Kaminari and Satou.
- Painful Transformation: When Izuku uses his quirk to take mutation-quirks like Asui and Tenya's, the process is described as less than pleasant for both him and the recipient.
- Power Incontinence: Izuku has trouble controlling Shigaraki's power due to its persistent nature, requiring him to wear a pair of special gloves to keep him from disintegrating himself.
- Power Parasite: Izuku's power in a nutshell, although he can return borrowed powers at any time.
- Secret-Keeper: Izuku still finds out about All Might's injury after their encounter with the sludge villain. Then Tsuyu finds out during the USJ incident.
