“It is a well known fact that the Quirkless population makes up a mere twenty percent of the total population. One in every five, two in every ten. That is where the Quirkless exist, with red shoes with white soles, black laces often found tying them on.
Quirkless people come in every shape and size. They can be tall or short, young or old, smart or foolish. But perhaps ‘smart’ is a thing of the past, a past measurement, because certainly those less evolved can not be as advanced, as intelligent. That is what the statistics indicate, after all, that there is something lesser about the Quirkless. It makes them fragile, makes them weak. It means that they are dependent on the protection of the Quirked.
It means that they cannot stand up against the Quirked.
Of course, this belief has not been proven. No studies have been done to compare the difference in the average Quirked and Quirkless intelligence levels. No one has had the time, nor the concern. It is simply a myth, a belief widespread. But the world is not Quirkist, surely, not prejudiced for or against. Because Quirkless people make up twenty percent of the total population, and certainly no one could presume that such a large proportion could be so useless. With over one and a half billion people to their name, the Quirkless certainly have a world of their own, yes, but they are still a part of the world.
Quirkless people make up twenty percent of the total population. This data is not untrue, this truth not fiction.
But the statement is not accurate, never has been, and so perhaps it should be worded in a way that is more accurate, more precise.
Quirkless people make up twenty percent of the total population. The global population, that is, because that is what is correct. The global population can attest to one in every five being Quirkless, two in every ten having someone to connect with, someone quite like them.
But this ratio, this proportion, it is not equal all throughout the world. It never could be, because that is not how the world works. It never has been such a way, so perfectly spread. A population does not grow in equal measures and rates as others, and the way of Quirks is the same, randomized, yes, but pushed by external factors.
Cities by the water often have more aquatic based Quirks. Most wing Quirks originate from places of higher altitudes. Hyper specialized Quirks are often a sign of Quirk marriages, the same genes lining up to create something more perfected.
And in Japan, where Quirks are preferred over no Quirks at all, less than one percent of the population is Quirkless.
Perhaps this does not sound too bad, either. Not when one remembers that the population is standing strong at one hundred and twenty-five million, when one remembers that one percent of a population is over a million on its own. With a size of just under one hundred and fifty thousand square miles, one would expect that there are roughly eight Quirkless people per mile, someone always around.
If one were to expect this, they would be wrong.
Because Quirkless people are not all over the country, are not populating so much of Japan. No, they are often clustered, sent away to areas less populated, their own little world that Japan does not prefer to broadcast, away with those with the worst Quirks, the weakest or even just the least appealing. The rejects are thrown away, tossed aside, so that Japan can flaunt its brightest, its boldest, the shiniest and flashiest Quirks.
Truly, it is no wonder that prejudice arose in the nation.
Because that is all that can happen, when one side of the population is forced away, favor being given based on genetics alone. It is a repeat of history in all of the worst ways, made worse with every fact learned.
Such as how Japan’s population of Quirkless people is skewed by age, with eighty percent of them being elderly, coming from the first and second generation of Quirks. Barely a quarter of a million Quirkless individuals exist in Japan that are adults or younger. An additional fifteen percent of the population comes from the third and fourth generation, those who are not yet considered elderly, but are well into the workforce already.
Which leaves a mere five percent of Japan’s Quirkless population to be under eighteen, to be children. Sixty thousand out of one point two million, when one point two million is not even a percent of the global population. With one hundred and fifty thousand square miles to cover, the Quirkless youth are more likely to be one for every two square miles.
And yet with so many pushed away to an area unbroadcasted for the rest to find, it is more likely that a Quirkless youth living out of this ‘sanctuary’- if one could call it a safe place and not merely a hideaway, a prison better than freedom- will never live to see another Quirkless person around their age, not in Japan at least.
These are the statistics that Japan abides by, the ones that are not calculated, because nobody cares to do the math, to run the census and gather the data. Quirkless people are not extinct, not yet, but that does not stop Japan from acting as if they are, as if they should be.
Quirkless people are hidden away, a disgrace, and those that are not hidden are hated, bullied and ridiculed. The statistics state that eighty percent of Quirkless youth are not expected to reach adulthood in Japan, whether it be do to hate crimes or suicide, and yet there is no protection, is no help for the Quirkless. They are left to fend for themselves in Japan, are expected to shape up or ship out, to disappear with the masses. Whether they leave their city, their country, or the world, Japan does not care, so long as the issue is ‘dealt’ with.
And the rest of the world is unaware of this. Because the rest of the world is not like this, not everywhere. Certainly, Japan is not the only nation with such views- prejudice is not something that sticks to one location, after all- but there are places much kinder, much more open. Places where Quirkless people roam about, open and happy and content to be without a power of their own, because their lives are not reliant on what they were born with, but only the work that they are willing to put in.
Places where Quirkless people can be heroes, even without predestination guiding their ways.
At four years old, I was Quirkless. I was deemed useless, because I had no power. At six years old, I was scolded for trying to stand up for myself, for others. At eight years old, I was scorned for ‘cheating’, given a worse grade than I had earned. At ten years old, I was nothing.
At twelve years old, I received an email, one bright mind seeing potential in me, in what I could become. And so I left home, left Japan, became another disappearance, another lowering of the count.
At eighteen years old, I debuted as yet another Quirkless hero. Not the first one that I had dreamed of, but one of many, part of a team that the nation already adored.
And at twenty years old, I stand before you all today, and I just want to say one thing.
Thank you. Thank you for believing in me, for letting me become more than a statistic. It has been an honor to serve you all, and to become one of your top heroes.”
The man bows his head, and the press begins to clamor, voices mixing and intermingling, all wishing for answers to questions pouring out.
“Dekiru! Dekiru, what is your next move?”
“You said in your last fight that you plan to leave! Where will you be going?”
“Are you heading back to Japan?”
The man laughs, and runs a hand through his hair. “I am,” he admits. “I always hoped to be Japan’s first Quirkless hero, to make a difference for those like me. And while my mentor saved me, there are others who need saving in kind.”
“How do your teammates feel about your departure?” A reporter asks. “Surely this must be upsetting.”
“It is,” the man says. “Tears were shed, I’ll admit, many of them my own. But I won’t be gone forever, surely. Just long enough to make things right.”
“Do you have any last words you’d like to say?” Another asks, and the man hums.
“I suppose I would have to say that anyone can be a hero, can be whatever they wish, so long as they have the drive. It’s not about Quirks, or how naturally good one is at a talent. It’s about perseverance and determination.” Tilting his head, the man admits, “That is what I wish I had been told, when I was younger. It took twelve years to hear those words.”
Shaking his head, he laughs. “But that is plenty from me. I’m sure you all have much more interesting stuff to do with your day, and I do have a flight to catch! Thank you for your time, and I cannot wait to return to you all.”
With one last bow of his head, the hero walks off, heading into a familiar plane and settling in his seat.
“How did it go?” One asks, and the man smiles.
“Better than I thought,” he admits. “I always get so nervous on stage.”
“I know, bambino,” his mentor says. “You and Peter both.”
The man snorts. “Yeah, yeah,” he murmurs, but there is no heat, only fondness. “Let’s just go, yeah?”
“Alright,” the older hero agrees. “You know, I’ve always wanted to see Japan.”
“You’ll love it,” the younger assures. “It’s beautiful, prejudiced, something for us to fix.”
“That’s what I like to hear!” Another laugh. “Alright, Dekiru, let’s get this show on the road.”
“Anytime, Stark.”
The counter goes up by two.