Chapter 1: Beggining
Years ago the human race started to change drastically that will at first toppled their society, but then rise into something amazing. What started in China with a newborn baby glowing like a bright light spread across the globe, people started to gain superhuman abilities that you would only see in comic books.
In this new superhuman society with 80% of the population having some canny ability called a quirk ranging to useful to useless, a new popular profession will start to rise called Hero's. Heroes started to appear out of nowhere to stop those would use their new powers for selfish deeds or any other kind of evil purpose. Then the governments of the world started to make being a hero a job to help maintain the peace.
A young boy will see these hero's help people and wants nothing more than to be a hero as well and help people with a smile on his face. His name is Izuku Midoriya, and he is 4 years old right now, the age when people start having their quirks begin to show. He has black hair with green highlights, freckles on his cheeks that make a diamond pattern, big green eyes, and is a hero fanboy. He is a fan of so many different heroes, but he wants to be like his own personal hero All Might who is a giant of a man with a smile on his face and literally can save a hundred people in less than ten minutes. All Might is the current number one hero and symbol of peace, and it is Izuku's goal and dream to be the next top hero and his story starts now.
Early Mourning
"MOM, Wake up its time!"
A person is shifting in their bed, starting to wake up at this child's loud calls. This is Inko Midoriya and the mother of Izuku Midoriya. She is a beautiful young woman with long light green hair and green eyes. Izuku seems to take a lot after his mother because he is a cute child and has a good chance of growing up into a handsome young man if he has enough of his mother's side of the gene pool. Her quirk gives her the ability to lift up objects with her mind, the drawback however is there is a limit on how heavy the object she can lift. As of right now after training she can actually lift up her son because she loves playing with him and helping him play as a hero who can fly.
" Hold on sweetie I'm getting up, and what do you mean its time?"
"It's time to see what my quirk will be!" Izuku is vibrating in excitement at the foot of his mother's bed.
" Oh, that's right todays the day we go to the doctor. Alright just give me a moment to get ready and make breakfast."
"Okay mom" then Izuku runs to help set the table.
An hour and a half later after getting ready and had their bellies filled with breakfast, the parent and child are at the doctor's office waiting room.
" Are you excited to see what quirk you will get sweetie? "Yep" Izuku says looking up at her. "I hope it will be useful enough to be a hero."
" I think it will be useful no matter what" Inko smiles. " Are the Midoriya's ready" a voice calls out. "Yes we are, let's go Izuku."
Izuku is jumping up and down ready for what happens next.
Later
Izuku was not ready.
" I'm sorry, but it's not going to happen." A fat doctor wearing green goggles and has a big mustache says.
"Oh no is something wrong" Inko asks while Izuku is in shock.
"Well, you see when quirks started to appear the government started doing tests to see who can and cannot get a quirk and to see what links people and their quirks." The doctor pulls out a chart." They found out that the joints in the pinky toe are related to quirks. The human pinkie toe used to have two joints, but after quirks they started to mutate to only have one. If a person has two then they are quickness. Izuku here has two from this x-ray we took earlier." He says with a bored tone.
Inko then got visibly upset.
"Sir with all due respect, that method is outdated and is no longer viable, there have been a lot of cases where this method did not work and there are also people with mutant or transformation type quirks that change the bones in their feet. They should be some blood work done, muscle tests done, and brain wave tests to see if a person has a transformation or emitter type quirk."
Inko was a nurse at a different hospital, they only went to this one because the one she worked at is having their childcare wing going under reconstruction to have a little play place and updated tec in the examination rooms.
The doctor just shrugged and said," Look I've been doing this for years and I haven't had any problems like those come up, and I have been right so far, you are just gonna have to accept that the brat is quirkless."
This got Inko madder and before she broke anything (either something in the room or the doctors' bones) she took Izuku and left the room.
"Mom, am I really quirkless?" Izuku looked up with watery eyes. Inko changed her expression from angry to kind." I don't believe so Izuku, that quack of a doctor was just lazy to do any other tests, we will go to a competent doctor" and then then left the building, however things will not go the way Inko or Izuku wants.
All other doctors' offices saw Izuku's charts and saw it said quirkless, apparently the first doctor updated Izuku's chart when they left and got his digital files updated as well to say he is quirkless. No doctor's offices wanted to do any actual tests because they believe the other tests were done and that Inko was just trying to run away from reality for her child by giving him lost hope. After the hospital Inko works at got done with their update, she was shocked to find that they no longer do quirk examinations anymore to focus on more serious injuries or illnesses. Inko had no more options left, the only bright side was that she was able to shut down the quacks office for malpractice and got the man fired and arrested.
Later in the Midoriya's apartment
Izuku was watching an old All Might Video of him saving people with the lights off, and Inko looking in through the doorway. "Sweetie are you alright?" - Izuku then turned around and surprised Inko. He was not crying like she thought, instead she saw in his slightly watered eyes a fire full of determination. "Mom, do you think I can still be a hero? Because I still do."- Izuku then turned to the video.
"I might not be able to be as powerful as All Might, but I think with training I could still see me being one."- Izuku then switched to a bunch of different videos of other heroes.
"All these other hero's either have a non-combat type quirks or a quirks that needs a support item, some even carry weapons and tools that don't even need their quirks to use them. If I train hard, master something like a sword, and practice like no tomorrow do you think I can still be a hero?"- He turned to look at her once again with hope.
Inko thought about it and was thinking about apologizing to Izuku for not having a quirk or not being able to give him one, but instead looked into Izuku's eyes again.
She saw once again the fire of determination in his eyes as well as something else. Hope, courage, and a light so bright that Inko forgot about apologizing." It might not be easy, but I think you can, and I will do my best to help you." Inko said with watery eyes and proud smile.
Izuku also smiled to his mother, and she then said," I will look up some classes you can take to train you but is there anything that interests you?" Izuku looked back to the screen and saw one hero hold a Japanese katana.
" I want to train with some swords mama. That way I not only would I be able to subdue evil doers, but also defend myself."
Inko was happy that Izuku didn't just want a way to fight, but to help keep him safe as well. "Alright sweetie I will look into it, but to start your new journey with a nice start lets have some of your favorite dish for dinner tonight, katsudon. I will also need your help to make it so go wash your hands."
Izuku then smiled with stars in his eyes and ran off to the sink "Alright mama thank you!"
As Inko was about to walk towards the kitchen she looked back at the computer screen that was playing the video of the hero with the sword and said, " I don't know why but I believe that you will become a great swordsman and hero my little Izuku."
2 days later
Izuku was in the playground with his best friend Katsuki Bakugou.
"Yo nerd I heard that you don't have a quirk. I always knew that you were a worthless Deku."- Bakugou then punched his hands and released a small explosion.
"While it may be true Kacchan that won't stop me from being a hero, all I need to do is train!"
This angered Bakugou and then they started to fight. Since it was announced that Izuku was quirkless to his preschool class he was constantly being picked on. Izuku didn't let that bother him, but what did was that Bakugou also changed and picked on him as well.
Izuku always stood up for himself but was sadden that his friend was no longer how he once was. Despite this Izuku will try to save their friendship with Bakugou and save his childhood friend from turning into a bully. Thankfully after 2 weeks of always standing up to Bakugou and stopping him from bullying other kids caused Bakugou to kinda respect Izuku. He still would pick on pick on him and occasionally tried to use an explosive punch on him, but to Izuku it gave him hope that Bakugou won't turn into something that wasn't like the hero that both Izuku and Bakugou wanted him to be.
1 week later
Inko was shopping with Izuku at their nearby shopping center getting the ingredients for tonight's dinner and dinner for the next few days.
Izuku was happy because he just got a new All Might action Figure and a new kendo wood training sword that his mom got him for his good grades, he just needs to wait till they get home before she will hand them to him. The teachers at Izuku's preschool don't grade him any different ever since he was announced as quirkless, because the know better than to anger his mother Inko less they want to feel her wraith. They have heard how she was able to shut down that one doctor's office because they treated her child differently, so they knew to just grade Izuku like any other kid.
The reason why Izuku was not playing with his new gifts is that Inko knows that if Izuku was given one of these things he would stop paying attention to his surroundings and might get lost, hurt, bump into people, or to be able to see any incoming danger, which will now turn out to be a great choice.
As they were walking Izuku spotted an old man who drop some of his things in the street. He then saw a car with the driver talking on his phone about to hit the old man who was busy picking up his stuff to notice this.
His eyes widened and started to run towards the old man without a second thought.
"IZUKU what are you doing!?" Inko yelled as her child took off like a rocket.
Izuku did not say anything and continued to run to help this old man. Izuku started to strategize on how to help this old man from becoming a horrible mess on the side of the road. Thankfully the man was still close to the curd, so all he needed to do is pull him in instead of pushing because Izuku doubts he is strong enough to fully push him out of harm's way.
So Izuku ran to the man's back and when Izuku got to him he just pulled hard on his robes back toward the sidewalk. The car speed by with the driver still unaware of what happened. Thankfully karma exists and he was pulled over by a police officer nearby who saw what happened.
"Izuku are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you?" asked Inko as she caught up and saw what happened. "I'm alright mom I didn't get hurt or anything, but I didn't want this uncle here to get hurt'" said Izuku as he was then pulled into a bear hug by his mother.
The old man then sits up rubbing his back "Oh that's smarts I'm going to need a nice hot cup of tea later." The man then looks over to the parent and child combo. "Thank you young man I did not see that driver and would have been hit if not for you." The old man stands up to thank his savior.
The old man is somewhere in his mid-forties and early fifties (Closer to about 54) with a bit of a belly and has long gray hair and beard that has three points, but no moustache. He is wearing sandals, a gray and dark red robe, and is carrying a messenger bag to carry his groceries.
"I'm so happy that you are alright my name his Midoriya Inko, and this is my son Izuku." Inko sets her son down so she can introduce him while showing a big smile. She is proud because of how Izuku did a brave and heroic act to help this old man from getting hurt.
"How nice it is to meet you, my name is Iroh." The man now with his name known bows to them.
As he rises from his bow, he notices the mother carrying a kendo training sword. "Oh, what's that you are carrying now?" he asks as he points at the sword in question.
"Ah this is my sons new training sword, I just bought him this so he can learn swordsmanship" Inko says as she looks over her shoulder at the item in question.
"Then is he already signed up for a dojo to train him in swordplay already?" Iroh asks hoping she says no.
"No not yet, I am still looking into dojos to sign him up for at the moment." Inko wonders why he is asking this.
"Thats great now I know how to repay my young savior then. I actually own my own dojo nearby, and right at the moment I don't have many students so I can easily take him on and teach him to learn all kinds of sword play. My teaching method doesn't stick to just one style either, but on a few. Please give me this chance to repay you both for what he did."
Inko was shocked at this and happy that she might have found a place to teach Izuku. However, there is one lingering thought stopping her from saying yes right now and having Izuku take his first step towards his dream.
"I would be happy with this, but there is one thing you need to know before we sign my son up. My son he is...he's... my son is quirkless." Inko looks down toward her son.
Inko knows how the quirkless are treated and how soon people turn their backs on them. She is worried on how this man might react at hearing this. Being quirkless is also what stopped Inko from signing him up earlier because most if not all dojo's do not take on quirkless students.
Izuku is also looking down at his red shoes worrying on the same thing as his mother is. Izuku decides to be brave and slowly lift his head up to see how the man reacts, only to be surprised to see him give a kind warm smile.
"I see this will not be any sort of problem then and you don't need to worry about how the other students might treat him. They know better than that and if they somehow don't know then I will personally drill this lesson on how to treat people into their heads." Iroh then shows off a big grin and a thumbs up.
"R-really there is no problem at all?" Inko asks also shocked at this old man's kindness.
Iroh bends down to try to be on the same level as Izuku.
"Of course! Now let this be your first lesson little one. No matter how one looks or what they might lack in either ability or strength, they should not be judge on this. Instead, they should be judge on their actions, the words they choose to use themselves without outside influence, and most importantly..."Iroh then slowly starts to point at Izuku's chest, more specifically the left side of his chest."... their heart and soul. The heart and soul of a person will, at least a little bit, shine through to let others know how bad they are or a how good natured they are."
Izuku eyes start to shine at these words this wise old man speaks of.
"Right now, I have seen both your actions and how your hearts acts in a dire situation. It would please me greatly to show my appreciation for you saving me to help train and tutor you." Iroh then stands back up to look at Inko again.
Inko once again is proud of how her son acted and is happy that someone wise and kind like Iroh will help train Izuku to be the hero he wants to become. Hopefully Iroh might be the person to not only teach her son how to fight, but to also teach Izuku how to defend and protect himself so he always come out alright.
"Please let me teach him Midoria-san." Iroh once again bows towards Inko. Inko also bows towards this kind old man. "No please it will mean the world to Izuku if you teach him."
"Oh-ho why is that." Iroh then strokes his beard.
"Because I want to be a hero no matter what. I will train so much that not only will I become the world's next greatest hero, but the world's greatest swordsman as well!" Izuku says as he raises his fist in the air.
"Ha Haa what a fine goal and I can already tell, you will become a great hero with how you saved me already. It would be my honor to help you with your dream." Iroh then starts to pat Izuku on his head.
"Thank you, Iroh Sensei." Izuku bows towards his new master
"No need with that sensei stuff just call me Iroh."
Izuku tilts his head and starts to think how weird it would be to call his master by his name only. Then he gets an idea of what to call him. "How about I call you Uncle Iroh?"
Iroh is surprised by this, but immediately starts to grin. "That is fine you can call me that if you want. Now when do you want to start training with me?"
"Tomorrow please if that's possible!?" Izuku exclaims.
"Tomorrow it is then just let me give your mother the address to my dojo and we can sign you up when you both come by tomorrow."
As the sun starts to set for the day Inko and Izuku both bow and thank Iroh, then start walking back home. Iroh as well walks back to his home eager to get the paperwork ready for Inko to sign so he can start training Izuku as soon as possible. He can already tell that Izuku will become his greatest disciple already with how fast he was able to act. Not only that, but he also noticed that Izuku has a keen mind as well with how of instead shoving him out of the way he pulled him in instead. Pushing him might have caused him to hit another car in the other lane and would have hurt just as much as the careless driver would have.
Iroh is already thinking of ways to train Izuku both physically and mentally as well. He has seen the kindness in Izuku and doesn't want the way the world treats the quirkless to destroy that kindness. Iroh looks up at the sky already impatient in wanting to teach his new student. Tomorrow will be a great day indeed to start a hard-fought long journey.
This is the start of the story of how Izuku Midoriya become the world's greatest swordsman and hero.
Chapter 2: Training starts now
The day after Izuku and Inko met Iroh
We see Izuku sitting on his knees in his new dojo uniform in Iroh's dojo waiting as Iroh is finishing up the paperwork with his mother. His new uniform is indigo colored with a white belt and has a symbol of two crossed swords on the left side of his chest. Izuku is excited to finally start training and can't wait any longer.
The past few weeks he could only do light exercises for training because his mom was having a hard time finding a dojo to teach him. He is really thankful to Uncle Iroh for teaching him and hopes to not let him down.
"Alright honey you are all signed up, I hope you have a good time, and I will come by later to pick you up later." Inko then gave Izuku a quick hug before she left.
"So my student are you ready to train?" Then Iroh's face wrinkles into a frown. "No, I don't like calling you just my student or Midoriya, is it alright if I call you by your first name?" Izuku then nods happily.
"Good, now Izuku are you ready to begin training today?" Iroh asks as he stands in front of Izuku wearing a gray kimono while holding a bamboo sword in front of him.
"I'm ready Uncle Iroh, what are we going to do first?" Izuku asks as he looks up with excitement in his eyes.
"Great, now because we are starting out, we will do light exercises and some sword swinging. If you do a good job, I might have a little reward for you." Iroh then rests the bamboo sword on his shoulder and then has a smile grow on his face. "While we work out, I will also ask you some questions so I can figure out what I should teach you first."
"Yes sir!" Izuku then stands up ready for Iroh to tell him what exercises he should do, while also wondering what he might ask him. They then both start to do some stretching to loosen their muscles, then start the workout by doing 20 pushups, 20 sit ups, and then drinking plenty of milk. Izuku was confused and asks about the milk, making Iroh laugh and say to him. "It is to help make strong bones, it is healthy to drink, and it is important to always be hydrated while working out." They then do some light jogging around the dojo to help work up a sweat and build up Izuku's stamina.
"Uncle Iroh, why are you doing these exercises with me. I thought you would just stand and supervise." Izuku asks as they make their third lap.
"What kind of teacher would I be if I could not do what I tell my students to do. It also helps keep me in good health and shape. I have been sitting down and drinking tea while not exercising for a little too long." Iroh explains as they make their fourth lap around. "It is also important to never forget the basics of training. They say that if you waste two days not training, that you lose about 3 or 4 days' worth, and I believe that. So, make sure you remember this lesson Izuku and also make sure you stretch after exercises as well, so that you don't get all stiff later." Izuku nods already feeling like he is learning a lot of important stuff.
As they finish their 20th lap, Iroh hands Izuku the bamboo sword, shows him the proper stance, and have him start swinging it as he asks him questions.
"Izuku if you don't mind me asking, why do you want to be a hero?" Iroh asks as he watches to make sure Izuku stays in the proper stance.
"It is because I want to help people and support them when they need it with a smile on my face like All Might. If I can have a smile on my face, I can let people feel safe and assured that everything will be okay." Izuku beams as his arms start to sting a little after the 50th swing.
"I like your answer and if you train hard, I'm sure you can do that someday. Now why do you want to be a swordsman? There are other tools and weapons you could use. Heck I thought that since you like All Might so much that you would have tried to learn boxing instead." Iroh asks as he strokes his beard, curious why Izuku wanted to learn the way of the sword.
"Oh, um aa..." Izuku exclaims as he tilts his head trying to remember.
After a second of just swinging Izuku's head straightens up and looks toward Iroh. "OH, I remember it now! It was because I thought that swordsmanship looks not only very cool, but also very strong and beautiful. I saw on some video of some bad guys using swords on innocent people to steal their money, but when the villains used their swords, it looked very ugly and weak." Izuku says as he then looks forward with a serious expression at his own swings.
"But then a hero showed up with his own sword and took them down in an instant. It was beautiful to watch as he moved the blade like it was a part of him and he showed great strength to not only take down the bad guys in one hit, but to also cut their swords in half! I then fell in love with swordsmanship at that moment."" Izuku has stars in his eyes just remembering the video. Then his face went straight to sadness.
"After I watched the video about forty times, I had to close it because it was time to have dinner. When I came back to watch it, I could not find it again no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't even find out who that hero was. That is also why I couldn't immediately remember why I wanted to learn how to use a sword. It has been a few months since I saw the video." After about the 84th swing Izuku's arms start to sting more now making it harder to swing the practice sword.
Iroh looks at Izuku with a warm smile as he thinks "I thought it earlier, but now I know for certain that Izuku already knows one of the most important things to being a great swordsman, and it is to also love almost every aspect of it. You must love and cherish the swords you use, love the style and way you move the swords, love the feeling of having the swords feel like they are part of your body, and love the strength that being one with your swords gives you."
Iroh then has Izuku stop for a second to rest his arms. "He also can see what those who just use a sword without care or concern look like. They only show ugliness and weakness when they don't properly use a sword. Those types of people never last long in a fight because they don't even care about how to use them properly, they don't even know the real weight behind wielding a sword. They only use swords as a means to an end to them, to try to steal and take what they want."
"However, it is only once when they lose the means that they see the error of their ways, but it is already the end for them." Iroh thinks sadly.
"Alright Izuku I gotta say you are doing well, and I just loved the answers to my questions. After taking a break to sit and have some tea, I think you have more than enough earned that reward I talked about earlier." Iroh says as he starts to take out his tea set. Izuku is not only glad he can catch his breath, but also glad he has earned a reward as well.
30 minutes later
Both Izuku and Iroh are standing in the middle of the dojo after the tea break. Iroh has set to the left of Izuku near the entrance way a barrel full of wooden practice swords sticking out the top of it. Iroh then walks over to the barrel and pulls out one of the swords.
"For your reward I thought we could do a little practice match between the two of us." Iroh tells Izuku as he walks back to the center of the room now armed with the practice sword.
Izuku looks excited at first, but that look soon turns to confusion and concern. "But aren't you, like a thousand times better than me since I just started today. Why would we do this, wouldn't you win in like four seconds??" Izuku asks as he tilts his head and scratches the back of it.
Iroh then tilts his head back and laughs. "Ha ha ha that is a good question! Also, I would win in about two seconds." Iroh then gives Izuku a smug grin. His face then returns to his regular smile and looks towards Izuku.
"This is not going to be anything like a duel Izuku. The purpose of this is for you to try out how you want to hold and wield a sword. In this match I will also only be defending, not trying to attack and defeat you." Iroh then holds out the sword to the right of him. "It is important to hold a sword that not only feels comfortable to wield, but also feels good to use in a way that feels like it is part of your own body, like an extension of yourself." Iroh then starts to swing and thrust the sword with clear movement and fluidity. To Izuku it looked like the sword Iroh was swinging was not just a tool, but a part of his body that looked and felt like it had always been there for years.
It looked like just another limb that Iroh has had his whole life. Like he was born with this and was part of his whole being. Just like how a person's quirk is a part of them, but it takes time and practice to even use it properly without hurting yourself or destroying your surroundings. It is only after that practice and training that these things feel like another part of you.
Izuku once again has stars in his eyes, he is both ready and excited to see how wielding a sword would feel like a part of him. He then walks towards the barrel ready to see what style of sword play he will learn from this. That will become both natural to himself and like an extension to himself. As he digs through the barrel, he then thinks about something.
"Is it alright to wield multiple swords for this?" Izuku asks as he looks back to uncle Iroh.
"Of course it is, this is to find out what feels the best for you to hold. "Iroh says as he sets both of his hands on the sword pommel (the bottom part of the sword's handle) while the blade points downwards. He then closes his eyes wondering if Izuku wants to try to dual wield swords.
Izuku smiles and nods his head then turns back at the barrel. Izuku didn't know why, but something in him compelled him to try it out. He reaches in and starts to grab 3 handfuls of practice swords.
"I'm Ready!" Izuku shouts but sounds like his voice is a little muffled.
Iroh opens his eyes to look at Izuku, only to have his eyes immediately bulge out in surprise.
Izuku is standing in front of Iroh while trying to hold 3 swords in his left hand and 3 swords in his right. However, what really threw Iroh over the edge was that Izuku also had 3 swords in his mouth. He was holding the sword's handles in his mouth while the blade edges stuck out towards the left side of his head.
Iroh then falls to the ground laughing his lungs out, he was rolling around and holding his sides because they hurt so much from laughing this hard." HA HA HA HA HA HA! W-why a-are y-you h-holding so many swords?!?" Iroh finally says after getting a chance to breathe. While still clutching his side Iroh slowly rises to stand back up.
"The more swords I can wield the stronger I can become right?" Izuku asks while slowly losing his grip from holding too many swords in his hands.
"Oh Izuku, that is not how it works." Iroh says while getting into a combat stance. Then he uses his sword to knock away the swords in Izuku's hands. Izuku is surprised at how Iroh was able to simply knock the swords away.
" The more swords one carries doesn't equal more power. Besides it looks like you were having a hard time holding onto them with how easy it was to knock them away." After Iroh's strike Izuku had even dropped the swords from his mouth with how uncomfortable they were.
"Remember what we talked about earlier, the only way to be good at swordplay is to be at one with your swords and be comfortable with the swords you carry." Iroh says as he gestures at Izuku's shaking hands. "Now let us try that again shall we."
Izuku nods and starts to put some of the swords back in the barrel (and wipes the handles with disinfectant that were in his mouth. He was raised to be a good CLEAN boy by his mother mind you).
As he was doing this, he still has that lingering feeling from earlier. So, he leaves out only 3 of the practice swords.
When Izuku stands back in the middle of the room, he still decides to try and wield the 3 swords he left out. One sword in each hand and again he has one sword in his mouth. This time Izuku isn't struggling to hold onto them and likes this compromise much better.
Iroh once again widens his eyes and is surprised by Izuku's choice but is not laughing again at the boy's choice at how many swords to wield. He also notices how Izuku is having a much easier time holding them, including the one he has in his mouth. " Are you sure you want to try to fight with three swords?" Iroh asks as he raises an eyebrow at Izuku.
"Yes Uncle Iroh!" Izuku says having a much easier time talking with one sword in his mouth instead of three. Iroh then shrugs and gets into a defensive stance. "Alrighty then, if you are okay with that then come at me!"
Izuku rushes in at Iroh swinging the swords at any opening he sees. Iroh being a master of course, easily deflects these attacks. While deflecting Iroh takes mental notes of how Izuku strikes at him.
" He isn't doing that bad even though this is his first-time dual wielding,...or is it tri-wielding ?" Iroh thinks as he steps back away from Izuku's right swing aiming for his legs. " He is also instinctually attacking with one sword while the other sword is reeling back from an earlier attack ." Iroh then parries a thrust Izuku made from using both swords.
" And he's even using the advantage of attacking with two swords for more powerful strikes on his opponent ." Iroh smiles at how clever his student is. Then Iroh's eyes widen for the third time in a row when he sees Izuku turn his head to try and attack with the sword in his mouth. " Wow he even is attacking from an unexpected angle with the sword he's using in his mouth. I didn't expect that to even work out that well! "' Iroh blocks again then uses his strength to push Izuku back a few steps to get a good look at Izuku.
" This four year old child is already as clever as kids in their second to last year in primary school, heck maybe as clever as them in their final year." Iroh then holds his hand out in front of Izuku and says "Alright Izuku I think that is enough for now."
Izuku then exhales and drops to the floor, impressively he is still holding onto all three of the wooden swords.
"I got to say Izuku, I'm impressed at how well you are able to use three swords. I don't know of anyone to even try to use three swords. I've seen two guys use four swords, but one had a quirk that gave him four arms while the other guy held two swords in each hand."
"He would hold the handles together and have the blade of one stick out of the top of his hand while the other blade sticks out the bottom. Why did you want to try and use three swords?"
Izuku looks at the practice swords in his hands and says, "I don't know a logical reason why, but something instinctual in me said to use three." Izuku then smiles and looks back up at Iroh.
"I'm really glad I decided to listen to it. It felt really good to hold these swords this way." Izuku then takes the sword out of his mouth and then starts to clean his drool off it.
Iroh then smiles once again from the warmth that Izuku makes him feel from his heart. "Well Izuku then it seems you have good instincts, however, be warned…'Iroh face then turns serious quickly. "I do not know any kind of style that uses three swords, so I won't be able to teach you a style that does." Izuku's eyes widen at the problem that his master is pointing out.
Then just as fast as his face turned serious Iroh's face then went back into a smile. "But I can help you make one, I can teach you how to create your own sword style. It will not be easy, but I can get you there. The real question is do you want to?" Iroh asks as he holds his hand out for Izuku.
Izuku's eyes then explode into a sea of stars and immediately stands up to take his master's hand. "YES Uncle Iroh, please help me create my three-sword style!" Izuku then holds onto Iroh's hand while his other hand clenches the three swords he had just used.
"Great then Izuku and I already like the name you gave to this new style, three sword style. Now it is almost time for your mother to pick you up. We didn't want you to train you hard on your first day, so we only wanted to set the pace to get you ready in the future. Now before you leave do you have any questions for me?" Iroh asks as they walk back towards the locker Izuku put his bag in.
"Ooo yes give me a quick few seconds!" Izuku then starts to rummage through his bag and pulls out a notebook and a mechanical pencil." I've been meaning to ask you, what is your quirk?!"
Iroh was surprised by this question and even more so at the notebook Izuku was opening. "Hero notes for the future vol. 2?" Iroh raises an eyebrow and then kindly smiles. "Now what is this notebook Izuku?'
"Oh, this is my hero notebook that I use to help keep notes about heroes, their abilities, skills, and their quirks." Izuku then lifts up the object in question. "This is volume 2 because I just finished volume 1, but I might have to rewrite that one. I used crayon to write this stuff down in, and it is not possible to erase any errors or mistakes." Izuku grins sheepishly and scratches the back of his head.
Iroh is once again proud to have such a bright student." Alrighty then, well Izuku it is good to take notes for they will help you to remember not only the abilities and skills of others to see what you can learn from them, but to also keep track of your sword training. It may even help to write down ideas and moves for the new three sword style you wish to create."
Iroh then pats Izuku's curly and fluffy dark green hair. "Then to answer your question I call my quirk Fire bending. it lets me control fire and bend it to my will to make any form I want or even make it burn stronger and hotter. The drawback is that I cannot make my own fire and it requires some concentration to use it." Izuku then starts to rapidly write this info down and it already writes about the strengths, weaknesses, and support items to help this quirk.
Iroh smiles at Izuku as he makes him remember someone from his past. Iroh then shakes his head and pulls out a piece of paper. "Here Izuku this paper will have your training schedule on it so make sure to give it to your mother."
Izuku grabs the paper and smiles "Yes Uncle Iroh." It was right at that moment that Inko came in to pick up Izuku.
"Hi sweetie, how was your training?" Inko bends down to hug Izuku." It was amazing mom we trained, did a little sparring match, and Uncle Iroh says he will make me create a new sword style!" Izuku says excitedly while hugging his mother and then hands the paper to his mom. "Oo that sounds like fun and what do we have here?" Ink then opens and reads the paper.
"That is the schedule for Izuku's training, every weekday after school he will come into the dojo to train. He will also come in on Saturday, but he will have Sunday off to relax and have fun." Iroh tells Inko as he hands Izuku his bag." I look forward to teaching you Izuku and ready to help you create your new sword style."
"I do too Uncle Iroh, and I can't wait for tomorrow to come by." Izuku then waves goodbye to Iroh and leaves with Inko holding his hand.
4 months later
Izuku has continued to train at Iroh's dojo and has even met the other students. Thankfully they don't mock him for not having a quirk, so Izuku gets along with them even though there are only 6 other students. Izuku has continued training his body and keeps practicing his swinging with his new kendo sword even at home.
Izuku is getting better at holding the three swords and is getting into shape thanks to Iroh's training. Iroh trains Izuku's body to stay in shape, his stamina so he has more energy and can fight longer, and even teaches Izuku both one sword style and two sword style.
When Izuku asked Iroh why he needed to learn these other styles, Iroh told him" It is to help prepare you when you have to fight in the real world."
" A smart opponent will try to knock your swords out of your hands and leave you defenseless."
"Training to use the other styles will help make sure you have options in a fight. I will even train you in hand-to-hand combat in case you don't even have any swords."
"Also, when I train you to use these other styles, I will teach you to use your non-dominant hand and become ambidextrous as well. That way in case your dominant hand gets hurt you can easily switch to the other one. Heck I will even help teach you how to fight with only one sword in your mouth if you can't use your hands!" Iroh explains happily to Izuku.
So Izuku has been training to do just that so that even if he has somewhere between having three swords or no swords, he will always have a way to fight back. To not make his leg muscles weaker than his arms he does bench presses with them, leg presses, squats, lifts barbells with his back on the floor, and even wears ankle weights on them almost 24/7.
To make sure he doesn't lose speed and flexibility he trains in those aspects as well. He does yoga poses, regular sketches before and after every workout, and reads books on how to get more flexible.
Izuku has even created some of his own ways to train. He lifts dumbbells with both hands and even lifts a dumbbell in his mouth to train as well. By lifting the dumbbell with his mouth, he trains it so that he has a better hold on the sword in his mouth. It makes his neck stronger and more flexible enough to swing the sword with his head and neck muscles. Finally, he even trains to not slobber over the handle so it doesn't slip out of his mouth or hand once he takes it out.
When Izuku trains with his sword swings he once again uses weights in his arms and adds weights to his kendo sword. He took some inspiration from movies and video games by swinging at falling leaves, trying to see how many he can hit in 10 seconds. So far his record is 21 hits. Another idea he got from these media platforms is that he trains when it is raining and tries to hit as many rain droplets as he can.
Iroh is happy that Izuku trains so much even when not at the dojo, though he does make sure Izuku takes breaks and go have fun while he is still young. When not training Izuku's body Iroh trains his mind as well.
He helps teach Izuku to read arm and leg movements to predict attacks. He then helps teach Izuku how to strategize in fights and helps him out with his notebooks as well. Right now, Izuku is on Volume 4 of his hero notebooks. Even when training Izuku still finds time to fanboy over heroes.
When with his mother Izuku always makes sure to help her out. Inko is thankful and proud to have a son like Izuku. Izuku is even learning to cook from Inko so he can help out in the kitchen more. When Izuku asked to learn his mother then crushed him with a big hug and almost flooded the apartment with her tears. She kept saying how sweet her baby is and happy that he will grow up to be a fine ladies' man, which only confused Izuku about why she would say that.
With all this training Izuku keeps growing more confident and keeps on standing up to bullies at school. Bakogou still picks on him, but Izuku keeps persevering on not letting himself get picked on, He and Bakugo have even fought before and the teachers at school broke them up, ended it in a draw. Since then while neither one would admit it, they became rivals.
Another 4 Months later
Izuku is at the dojo fighting the last opponent in the tournament that Iroh decided to hold. The rules are simple and are like that of the U.A. sports festival. You either win by ring out or by making your opponent admit defeat. You cannot go overboard and hurt the other kid on purpose. You can also use whatever sword style you want to use because since Iroh taught multiple styles, all his students use something different. They range from using kendo to fencing to even Viking style swordplay.
Izuku has done well against his earlier opponents and is not even letting the one he is fighting now to even get a hit in. The kid he was fighting was taller, 3 years older, and had been training longer, but not training as hard as izuku has. Izuku takes two steps back and prepares to use a new technique that he has created. Izuku tilts his head down and crosses his arms with swords in hand as he prepares his attack.
Izuku takes a breath and says, "Three sword style...ONIGIRI!"
In an instant Izuku slashes his opponent with all three kendo swords and sends him out of bounds. "And the winner is IZUKU!" Iroh says as he blows his whistle. All of the parents of the kids are clapping with Inko crying tears of joy. (note: because she isn't worried about Izuku as much as in canon she will not gain weight and will stay tall and beautiful).
Izuku helps out his opponent by pulling to his feet and they bow to each other.
"Congrats Izuku you did well, and I'm glad to see you even managed to create your own sword technique." Iroh stands in front of Izuku with a medal in hand. It was an iron medal painted gold with the symbol of the dojo on it, two crossed swords. " You have earned this for taking first place, job well done Izuku."
Izuku puts on the medal and bows towards Iroh, then the other students, and finally the crowd of parents. Iroh then clears his throat to grab Izuku's attention.
"I also have a personal gift for you to show for your amazing growth training here." Izuku is surprised that Iroh said he got him a gift and looks up at Iroh with excitement written on his face. Then Iroh pulls out a small box from behind his back and hands it to Izuku.
The box wasn't that big and didn't even have any wrapping paper on it, it was just a small wooden box with a lid.
Izuku is smiling big time as he lifts the lid off the box to see what's inside. Wondering what his Uncle Iroh had got him.
What he saw was a big dark green bandana that Iroh then picks up and reaches for Izuku's head. "I remember you telling me that your hair sometimes gets in the way of your eyes." Iroh says as he ties the bandana to Izuku's head.'You also said that you don't want to cut your hair. So, I figured this was the best thing for it. I also wore one when I was younger so I thought you would enjoy that." Iroh then tightens the knot and shows Izuku a mirror to see what he looks like.
Izuku had the breath taken away from him as he saw how awesome he looked. The dark green bandana almost matches his own hair color with it being more black than green. Only a little bit of Izuku's hair poked out the back and it casted a shadow over his eyes, but that only made him look even cooler.
"I am proud of how far you have come, and I can't wait to see how much stronger you will get in the future." Iroh then turns Izuku towards the audience and they immediately start clapping. Inko was at risk of drowning the other parents with her tears with how handsome Izuku looked. Izuku smiled and bowed to his uncle once more.
"Thank you Uncle Iroh, this is one of the best gifts ever!" Izuku exclaims with tears in his eyes.
Iroh wasn't the only one who couldn't wait to see how strong Izuku would get and Izuku was also excited to see how the future training will make him stronger.