Chapter 1
"Our dreams make us large."
- Jack Kirby
Musutafu, Japan - April 2196
It was a sunny afternoon in Musutafu, a respectable-sized city in Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture. People of all shapes and sizes, some even appearing to be amalgamations of animals and seemingly other random things, were going about their business.
The city's peace was suddenly disturbed when the ground began to rumble, followed by loud crashing sounds. As some people turned in the direction of the commotion in the distance, a young man swiftly sprinted past them - quickly shouting his apologies for bumping into them.
He was well above average in height for a Japanese man, standing at 189 centimeters (6'2"), and appeared to be quite muscular; although his modest attire concealed most of it. He had a mop of dark green, curly hair with freckles dotting a well-defined, mature face and bright emerald eyes shining with excitement.
The young man's attire consisted of a dark-brown leather jacket with black trim over a green-and-white plaid buttoned shirt, dark blue jeans, and a pair of red ankle-high boots with black laces and white heels. Strapped to his back was a circular brown leather bag with a black hand handle on top, and a yellow satchel was slung over his right shoulder.
Midoriya Izuku couldn't suppress a grin as he continued rushing toward the loud commotion. Skidding around a corner, Midoriya spotted a fairly large crowd gathering outside a nearby train station. Tatooine Station, if he remembered correctly. He immediately spotted a massive man with a monstrous appearance wreaking havoc in the station.
"That's one big supervillain!" Midoriya excitedly shouted in English.
Now, normally Midoriya would feel anything but excited upon seeing a giant monster-man rampaging in a populated area. If peoples' lives were endangered, he'd rush in without a second thought to help. But with trained and authorized professionals already on the scene, he was given a sense of ease.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Midoriya quickly reached into his bag to pull out a notebook and pen, eager to take new notes. Analysis of Today's Heroes: Volume 13 was written on the front.
Death Arms, the Punching Hero, rushed in to catch an electrical transmission tower that the villain had broken off in his rampage. With a grunt of exertion, he laid the broken tower onto the street with a loud thud.
'Good catch!' Midoriya praised, impressed by Death Arms's quick action. 'I know catching something that heavy falling from that distance couldn't have been easy. He's definitely strong!'
"Everyone stay back!" A Pro Hero dressed as a firefighter produced a rope of water from his red water faucet-arms in front of the spectators. Several police officers were also up front to keep people back. "For your own safety, please stay behind the line!"
'The Rescue Specialist, Backdraft!' Midoriya remembered reading about him online. His quirk was very useful for firefighting and keeping citizens out of danger zones, exactly what he was doing now. 'He'll keep bystanders at bay while also being available to put out any fires caused by the villain!'
"So why's this guy going full monster in the middle of the city?" A civilian in a business suit inquired to a regular-dressed man standing beside him.
"Eh, just some amateur. Stole someone's bag and got himself cornered."
The guy in the suit shook his head, commenting, "A Quirk like that and he's just a petty thief? What a waste."
"I know. It'd be cool to have a Quirk like that."
Midoriya wasn't quite fluent in his Japanese, but he understood enough of the men's conversation to know the situation. 'Seriously? That's a shame. What could've happened to force this guy to go down this path? With his ability, he could've done so much good.'
The verdette started carefully squeezing by people to reach the front of the crowd, overhearing some of them talking on their cellphones that they would be late getting to work or home. Seemed that the occasional villain attack was a common inconvenience amongst the populace these days. Reaching the front, Midoriya's eyes widened in joy when he spotted the new Pro Hero Kamui Wood arriving on the scene.
"Kamui Woods!" Midoriya exclaimed in English, quickly turning his notebook to the page where he had notes on the wooden hero. "He's a rising star in the Pro Hero ranks!"
An older American-looking gentleman standing next to Midoriya couldn't suppress a lighthearted chuckle at the young man's enthusiasm. He recognized the giddiness in Midoriya's eyes.
'Definitely a fanboy,' He inwardly commented.
Midoriya, meanwhile, jotted down a few notes as he witnessed Kamui battle the giant villain. The crowd let out a flurry of cheers, the loudest coming from a group of fangirls as Kamui Wood's arm morphed into over a dozen razor-sharp spears.
"Take him down, tree man!" The older gentleman shouted in English.
"Alright!" Izuku immediately recognized what attack-move Kamui was about to perform after doing some online research on the new hero, and he was thrilled to see it in person. "It's his Preemptive Binding-"
"CANYON CANNON!"
Without warning, the ground trembled once more as a towering woman dashed in and landed a devastating kick in the villain's jaw. He went flying backward and crashed into the railroad track, unconscious.
Midoriya's eyes widened in surprise at the giantess, and turned to a blank new page to draw a couple quick sketches of her.
She was a voluptuous young woman who had purple eyes with white pupils, with elegantly long eyelashes. She had long, voluminous creamy-blond hair that reached down to her waist, with two shorter strands curled to frame her face, parted slightly to her left.
Her hero costume was composed of a purple and pale tan-colored skintight bodysuit, which was accented with orange stripes. The suit also had a pair of purple gloves with orange accents on the edge of the cuff. This design was also shared with her boots, which were cut off at the thigh in a deep v-shape. The suit also had three peculiar orange diamond-shaped designs on the purple top that were located under her chest, and she also wore a purple domino mask with horn-like protrusions on the sides.
"Today's my debut!" She said with a grin while hoisting the villain up by his leg, slapping a series of restraints on him. "Pleased to meet you all! I'm Mt. Lady! And you don't have to worry about this bum anymore." She subtly stuck out her rear and winked, practically flashing the crowd.
Naturally, many men in the crowd pulled out cameras to take snapshots of the scene, chanting, "Money shot! Money shot!"
Though he couldn't suppress a small blush, Midoriya couldn't help but feel vexed with Mt. Lady basking in the spotlight.
'C'mon, that's just unnecessary. You're supposed to be a hero, not a Hollywood actress or something.' Midoriya inwardly chided.
On a lesser note, he was also a tad annoyed that he didn't get to see Kamui Wood's attack move in person. Oh well, maybe another time.
Shrugging it off, he continued writing in his notebook.
Several minutes later, more police arrived on the scene and Mt. Lady shrunk down to her normal size. She was immediately swarmed by the crowd and various reporters as she handed the villain over to the police. Mt. Lady smiled brightly while eagerly answering any questions the reporters had for her, taking the spotlight completely away from Kamui Woods, who was still on top of the train station while looking quite gloomy.
"Gigantification?" Midoriya muttered in English while making several notes next to a simple sketch of Mt. Lady. "From what I understand it's a common and quite powerful ability these days. Although the threat to public property might pose an issue… unless she can manipulate her size at will. Still, she certainly has the looks and Quirk to be a popular hero."
The old man looked at Midoriya with slight surprise. "Your English is pretty good. You from around here… or are you studying abroad?" He asked.
He was a Cacuasian man around his late 60s from what Midoriya could tell, standing at 176 cm (5'8''). His gray hair was slicked back, showing off a receding hairline. Over his dull blue eyes was a pair of thin-framed glasses. He wore a pair of khaki pants held up by a black belt, a light blue turtleneck sweater with a white collared undershirt, and brown shoes.
"Oh!" Midoriya realized he had slipped back into speaking English, which irritated a few bystanders closeby. "Uh, y-yeah." He sheepishly replied, putting his notebook back in his bag. "I guess you could say I'm studying abroad. I was actually born here in Musutafu but grew up in the States. California, to be specific."
"No kidding. Queens myself, in case you couldn't tell," The man chuckled as his New York accent was prevalent.
"Nice to meet yah, Queens," Midoriya held out his hand, which the older American shook firmly.
"Likewise, Cali," He smirked.
"So, what brings you to Japan?" Midoriya asked, hoping to strike up some small talk. Aside from acquaintances at the community college and at work, he didn't have much going for him in the friends department.
The old man smiled roguishly. "Oh, mainly here to kick back and enjoy retirement. Also hoping to get some inspiration for a new superhero comic I got ruminating in my head."
Midoriya grinned. "Japan does have great heroes! I'm sure they can give you plenty of inspiration."
'Haven't seen much in terms of superhero comics these days. Makes sense… given that this world is practically filled with superheroes and supervillains already.' Midoriya thought. 'Why read a comic when you can just turn on the news or stream Youtube videos?'
"Superhero comics aren't really a big thing anymore though." Midoriya mentioned with a small frown. "So it may not get popular…"
"Eh" He waved off the concerns, "that won't stop me. Our dreams make us big, yah know?"
Midoriya smiled, admiring the old man's sunny outlook and determination.
"So, what're you studying abroad for? From all those notes you were taking, it sounds like you're wanting to be a hero yourself, am I right?"
Midoriya nodded, smiling. "Yes. That's actually why I'm here."
"Well, good luck then!" He gave Midoriya a thumbs-up. "Don't know what your Quirk is, but it doesn't matter." He paused to look at his wristwatch, his eyes widening when he noticed the time. "Well, I better head along now. Don't wanna miss my train. Hopefully that giant ruffian didn't destroy the tracks…"
"Goodbye, sir! Nice talking to yah." Midoriya gave him a lazy salute as he walked toward Tatooine Station. "Good luck on your comic!"
"Thanks, son!" The old man gave him a peace-sign. 'Certainly a mature air around that kid. I'm sure he'll be a great hero. I can feel it.'
With that, the aspiring comic writer proceeded toward the train station.
'Good guy.' Midoriya began walking in the opposite direction.
It'd be faster to take the train to his apartment, but he felt like walking today. He enjoyed walking home most of the time as it allowed him to stretch out his legs and learn the area better. Plus, he was never in a hurry to get back to an empty apartment solely to study and sleep.
Stopping with a group of people at a crosswalk, the verdette pulled out his thirteenth Hero Analysis notebook.
'Can't believe I got to see those Pro Heroes in action today. They were pretty quick to take action.' Midoriya began jotting extra notes on Mt. Lady and Kamui Wood's pages.
Death Arms and Backdraft's profiles were in one of his twelve previous notebooks (Volume 5 and Volume 6, to be more specific), so he'd have to wait to get home and add notes to their respective pages. 'Still, Mt. Lady rushing in the way she did could've ended badly had some civilians or station workers been nearby the tracks. Hopefully she took that into account before making that decision.'
Given how eager she was to make her debut though, he doubted that was the case. Midoriya wasn't personally angry with Mt. Lady as he understood why she did it. Pro Heroes were government workers and had the potential to earn higher wages, fame, and glory depending on their performance.
'Basically, the more popular you are and the more villains you capture, the more money you make.' Midoriya mentally sighed. 'Sounds good on paper and all, to reward heroes like that, but… that does potentially lead to other issues.'
The crosswalk light turned green, and Midoriya with the rest of the crowd proceeded across the street. He opted to take a longer route back to his apartment complex, not really in a rush. He furiously scribbled down notes, enraptured in his own world - which weirded out some passing bystanders.
After jutting down as many notes as he could on Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady, he placed his notebook and pen back into his yellow satchel.
Several highschool students wearing black gakuran uniforms walked past him until he realized he was walking in front of a highschool. The words "Jakku High" were inscribed on a plaque on the school's brick entrance gate.
'Guess school must've just let out.' Glancing at his green army wristwatch, he confirmed it was indeed past 15:00 (3 PM). Making sure to step to the side to not impede any of the students walking by, Midoriya Izuku took a moment to stare at the school facility.
'Feels like it was only yesterday…'
Fresno, CA - April 2042
A line of thirteen yellow school buses drove down the relatively busy streets of Fresno with "Vulcan High School District'' labeled in black capital letters on both sides and their respective bus number present by the front doors. With all of their designated stops completed, the buses were on their way to the highschool building.
In Bus #9, the atmosphere of the bus was loud and rowdy (much like the other buses) as students conversed with each other while the bus driver did his best to tune out the noise. Meanwhile, a Japanese-American teen was sitting alone at the front bench seat with his eyes glued on his smartphone.
He wore a white t-shirt with black kanji letters for t-shirt emblazoned on the front, baggy brown cargo pants, and a pair of red hightops with white soles and black laces. A yellow backpack was resting in the unoccupied seat to his right.
Izuku Midoriya's attention was focused on a national news article with the main headline, "Meta-Human Riots Continue in Major Cities. Hundreds Dead.". Izuku frowned as he read the unsettling reports of people with meta-abilities causing havoc. It ranged from petty theft to full-out riots with many people getting hurt or killed. The government was under immense pressure to quell the violence but they, like the rest of the world, were still debating on how to handle the sudden, unprecedented rise of human meta-abilities.
Reaching a portion of the article that included a video of one of the riots in LA, Izuku pulled out a black composite notebook from his bag with the title "Meta-Abilities Analysis"written on front. Pressing play, the teen watched a shaky cam video of a small group of meta-users attacking riot police in LA. Izuku scribbled down the meta-abilities he could discern from the poor quality video. He imagined it was taken by a bystander trying to stay out of sight to record the action.
"Hmm, let's see… one guy appears to have the ability to coat his body in stone, granting him enhanced strength and durability. Another has jellyfish-like tentacles for arms and appears to be able to produce bio-electricity." He mumbled, pausing to wince when he saw several SWAT members suffer electrocution from the thug. "A third guy… or maybe a girl? Anyway, they have the body of a humanoid snake and spit acidic venom from their mouth and arms which have snakeheads instead of hands..."
"Hey. Hey, kid! IZUKU!"
"H-huh, y-yes Mr. Curtiss?" Snapped out of his musings, he turned to the Hispanic bus driver who was giving him an irritated look.
"You were mumbling again." the driver pointed out. "Also, we're here. Time to get out!"
Izuku looked around to see everyone had already disembarked from the bus. "O-oh! Sorry about that!" Quickly putting his phone and notebook away, he promptly exited the bus.
With the sliding doors closing behind him, Izuku took a brief moment to look at the high school he'd been attending for four years. A large, one-story brick building with many windows placed around it. The roof extended upward in the middle to make room for the larger gym. Placed up front near the circular driveway was an illuminated sign with "Vulcan High School: Home of the Vultures" inscribed on it.
Izuku sighed deeply. 'Just a few more weeks and it'll be over.' Like many high school seniors, Izuku was counting the days and hours until graduation - eager to be done with school life, at least public school life.
Swinging his yellow backpack over his shoulder, Izuku was lost in the crowd walking through the front entrance. Nearly everyone towered over him, even most girls, as his own growth had been stunted since middle school - standing at five-foot-four (164.5 cm). Looks-wise he was quite plain with unkempt (by choice) black hair and brown eyes and a round, freckled face. He had gained his freckles from fifteen years of living in sunny California.
His highschool tenure had been less than ideal, so he was understandably ready to move onto the next stage of his life. Nearly a month remained, so he simply had to bear through it.
His first three class periods of Math, Art, and Science he enjoyed and went by fairly quickly. Lunchtime came and Izuku sat alone at a table in a far corner, eating a homemade bento from his lunchbox. It was quite common for him to eat alone from his peers.
Izuku would admit that he could be awkward sometimes, so he didn't hold it against others for being weirded out by his idiosyncrasies. Furthermore, he suspected that his Asian heritage discouraged some people from socializing with him - not that it mattered to Izuku as he didn't see the point in interacting much with people who couldn't look past ethnicity.
Finishing his lunch early, Izuku gathered his belongings and headed to the library. The upcoming free period gave him the opportunity to unwind and catch up on any reading or assignments.
The next forty-five minutes or so was spent reading alone at a library table. Izuku was enraptured by an old Japanese book titled The Book of Five Rings. His eyes danced across the English-translation pages with fascination. Two more books were stacked to his right.
"Art of War" by Sun Tzu.
"Dreams Are Now Reality: An Extensive Guide to the Rise of Superhumans, Volume III" by Hatsume Teruko, Ph.D.
"Whoa, nearly four centuries later and Miyamoto's wisdom still holds up." Midoriya sounded impressed.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
An electronic bell sound emanated from a speaker in the library's ceiling. The same bell resounded throughout the school building to signify the start of another period. For Midoriya, it was the start of his least favorite yet most necessary class (for him personally): Physical Education (PE). Gathering the three books in his arms, Izuku quickly walked to the librarian's desk to have them checked out.
"I have to say, Izuku," the middle-aged librarian said while stamping the due dates on labels on the back of various books, "I think you've read more books than all the other students in this school combined."
"I-I'm sure that's an exaggeration." Izuku tapped his cheek bashfully.
"It isn't." She quickly refuted. "You check out nearly five books a week and always return them on time. Good work! I'm sure that extra knowledge will take you far." She gave him a warm, earnest smile.
"Thank you," He smiled. "I appreciate that, Mrs. Davis."
Placing the books in his backpack, he rushed out of the library and through the hallway to the gymnasium. The PE instructor, Coach Simmon, was serious about punctuality due to being a US Army veteran, and wasn't afraid to dish out more exercises on those that were tardy. Although Izuku inwardly admitted he could use the extra workouts, he didn't want them as a punishment.
Ten minutes later, Izuku was standing in line with two dozen classmates in their respective gym clothes. There wasn't a designated school gym outfit like with Japanese schools, rather students were given the freedom to wear their own outfit as long as it followed the school dress code. In Izuku's case, he wore a plain white shirt, blue shorts with a red and white stripe going down both legs, and old black tennis shoes.
"Alright, listen up!" Coach Simmon shouted. "Graduation may be around the corner, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you kids slack off."
There was a collective groan from the students, with the exception of Izuku.
The coach blew into his whistle. "Shut it! We're running ten laps around the gym, 25 pushups, 25 squats, and then 25 sit ups. After that, we're playing a couple rounds of dodgeball!" He whistled again. "Let's go, maggots!"
With that, the class started their run around the gymnasium with Izuku trailing behind as per usual. After only a couple of laps, Izuku was already sweating heavily and panting hard, an asthma attack overtaking him.
'Crap!' He mentally cursed. 'I still can't keep up… even after doing all the exercises Peg-chan told me to do…'
Coach Simmon noticed Izuku's struggles and quickly ran over to him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out Izuku's rescue inhaler and handed it to the teen - which he quickly accepted. Taking a couple of deep puffs from the inhaler, Izuku felt relief wash over his body as his bronchial tubes opened back up.
"T-thank you, coach." He breathed out.
"Take your meds this morning?" Coach asked, concerned.
"Y-yes sir," Izuku replied.
"Wanna sit this out, Midoriya?" The coach already knew what the teen's response would be, but he was obligated to ask though. School policy and all.
"No." Izuku panted. "I have no right… to sit out while everyone else… is doing these exercises. I can do it…"
Catching his breath, Izuku resumed running around the gymnasium. Coach Simmon couldn't help but smile at Izuku's determination. 'Love that kid's fortitude. He has a soldier's heart!' He then frowned. 'A damn shame he has all those health issues though…'
Everyone had finished the required exercises long before Izuku and started playing dodgeball without him. By the time the onyx-haired teen finally finished, he had just enough time to join the last round - only to immediately get pelted in the face with a dodgeball.
'Note to self…' He mentally bemoaned. '... need to work on improving reflexes.'
Coach ended the class ten minutes early, giving everyone time to take a quick shower before the next period. Izuku entered his seventh period class, History, with a red throbbing mark on his left cheek. This, of course, earned him a few snickers from his classmates.
This was Izuku's least favorite class, not because of the subject (he liked history) but because of the person sitting in front of him.
"Sup Midori." Zak Powers took his seat at his desk. "Oof! What happened to you?"
Zak was your stereotypical high school jock, a talented baseball pitcher to be specific. Vulcan High since its founding could never get to the state championship in baseball, despite having really good players. As soon as Zak started playing freshman year, the coaches noticed his insane arm talent and immediately placed him on the varsity team, surprising many people. However, any worries of starting a freshman pitcher were squashed when he showed his stuff.
He was lights out!
He went two full seasons while only allowing a handful of earned runs, leading Vulcan High to back-to-back state championships. He was the undisputed most popular guy on campus. Worst part was he knew it and fully embraced it.
Standing at five-foot-eleven (155.75 cm), he was well-defined and trim for an eighteen-year-old thanks to years of training and great genetics. He had brown hair with a long bang covering his right eye, tanned skin, and hazel eyes. Definitely eye candy for the ladies.
He wore a red, black, and white letterman jacket over a plain black T-shirt, blue jeans, and black converse shoes.
"Dodgeball…"
"Wish I could've been there, but alas… athletics and all."
"The baseball team is doing really good. You guys are primed to make another deep playoff run." Izuku stated.
"State's in the bag." Zak confidently replied. "Can't wait to get my third ring." He showed off the two state champion rings on his left index finger and thumb. "I think I'll put it right here! HA!" He jidded while flipping Izuku the bird.
Izuku did his best to ignore the rude gesture and continued, "Your ERA is in the state's Top 3 for the fourth consecutive year. Keep it up and you'll definitely make it to the majors." He was sincere in that assessment.
"Yeah, I know." Powers smirked, sounding very braggadocios. "USC wouldn't have given me a full ride otherwise. By the way, Midori ole pal… you have my homework?" He glanced back with a roguish grin.
"C'mon Powers…" Izuku bemoaned. "I know you're busy with training and all, but this is cheating. You should do the work on your-"
"Do you have it?" Zak gained a serious edge in his voice.
Izuku sighed deeply and pulled out two papers from his bag. "I tried to match your handwriting as best as I could. Also, I didn't answer every question correctly to ward off suspicion from Mr. Nicholas."
Zak took the papers and his expression immediately lightened up. "Thanks, pal! You're a true friend."
"S-sure…"
Izuku knew better. Zak was not his friend, at least not anymore. Even though they got along quite well as children, that had all changed when his natural athleticism bloomed into existence; specifically his throwing ability. Upon excelling in baseball in middle school and now high school, he had left Izuku in the dust to join the 'cool crowd'. Couldn't let Izuku Midoriya, the weakest and most awkward kid in school, taint his image after all.
Despite all that, Izuku Midoriya didn't hold a grudge against his former childhood friend. He wished him all the best in his future endeavors and hoped he excelled in baseball. Although, deep down, he'd be completely satisfied with never seeing him again after graduation.
The middle of history class was interrupted by the school's daily announcements. Part of the announcements included the daily Pledge of Allegiance to the American and California State flags respectively.
While pronouncing the allegiance by memory, Izuku noticed Zak wasn't saying the right words. He was essentially being an immature child mismatching words to make it sound funny. Now, Izuku could tolerate many things, but this was not one of them.
"Zak! Show some respect!" Izuku said angrily after the pledges concluded. "People died for that flag. Least you can do is say the pledge."
"Huh?" Zak looked back, cocking a brow. "The little Jap is seriously gonna talk to me about the flag?"
"Mr. Midoriya does raise a valid point, Mr. Powers!" The history teacher, Mr. Nicholas, spoke up. "It's school policy to have pledges every day. Students do have the right to not participate, however… mocking the pledge is unacceptable. Also," he shot the jock a serious glare, making him temporarily freeze up, "derogatory terms will not be tolerated in my classroom."
Opening a cabinet in his desk, he reached inside it to pull out a yellow paper slip. "Take this note and head to the principal's office, Mr. Powers. That was strike two."
"Ah c'mon, Mr. Nicholas, I-" Any hope the school's Ace had to charm his way out of trouble was ended when the teacher held out his hand. Unlike the rest of the school staff members, Mr. Nicholas would not tolerate Zak's bull crap; star athlete or not.
"Don't. Go, or it'll be strike three. I'll ensure you miss the rest of the baseball season due to misconduct… and forcing your peers to write assignments for you." A fearsome glare was present in the man's glasses. "In words you can understand, you'll be out."
Zak and Izuku both froze while the rest of the class watched with varied expressions; some were in amusement at seeing Zak get taken down a peg while others were surprised in general.
Zak remained silent and calmly walked up to take the slip and head to the door. Before he exited the classroom, he shot a brief glare in Izuku's direction.
'Uh oh…' Izuku gulped.
After finishing History and his last period, English, the final bell had rung. Izuku had hoped to make it to the bus before Zak caught him, but sadly fate was not kind to him today. It hardly ever was. Zak had been waiting for him behind a corner and, with an arm resting over Izuku's shoulder, led him out of the building.
He wore a friendly smile to ward off any suspicion from others, but Izuku knew it was forced. He could feel the menacing intent gushing off him. This wouldn't end well.
Moments later, in an empty alleyway near the school, Izuku stumbled into a trashcan and fell to the ground with another red mark on his face.
Zak shook the hand he used to punch Izuku, glaring daggers at him. "Contrary to what you may think, I don't like doing this, Midori."
"Could've fooled me…" Izuku groaned, weakly pushing himself back up.
"You embarrassed me. What's worse, you gave me my second strike. I can't afford to miss the season. You know that. Not when I'm so close to making history."
"You did that to yourself." As Izuku stood up, he noticed the metal trash can lid off to the side and scooped it up. "You didn't have to disrespect the pledges like that."
He held the lid in front of him like a shield.
"Yeah? What's it to you!?"
Zak reached and pulled the metal lid out of Izuku's grasp, throwing it off to the side. He then socked Izuku with a right hook, causing him to stumble into some gross, greasy trash bags lying next to a dumpster.
"My great-grandfather fought Japs in World War II. Gave his life in the Battle of Okinawa." Zak glowered at his victim. "Who are you to talk to me about being patriotic?"
Izuku shakily returned to his feet, getting in a boxer's stance with his fists clenched. "I'm… just as much… American… as you are, Powers…" He panted heavily.
Zak sneered. "Still standing? You never were good at giving up were you?"
"No." Despite his body quaking in fear and pain, Izuku directed a determined glare at Zak. "I can do this all day."
Zak was momentarily taken aback by Izuku's sheer tenacity, but then scoffed, "You Japs.. just don't know when to surrender."
Izuku threw a right haymaker up at Zak, but the pitcher easily caught it and countered with a strong punch to the face. Izuku collapsed into the trash bags with a pained moan.
"HEY!" A sharp feminine voice called out. "Knock it off!"
Zak turned to the source of the voice standing a couple meters behind him.
She was a young woman (a year or two older than Zak and Izuku) of Japanese descent standing at five-foot-nine (175 cm) with glossy black hair tied up into a bun; she had smooth porcelain skin, gray sclera (eye color), and subtle lips.
She wore a United States Marine Corp dress uniform (the USMC Blue Dress Delta outfit, to be specific). It consisted of a khaki short-sleeved shirt, blue trousers with red stripes racing down the sides and a brown belt, and black dress shoes. To top it off, she wore a USMC white peaked cap.
Her short-sleeves revealed her muscled, toned arms and Zak suspected the rest of her body was toned as well, given her job occupation.
"Yamamoto? What're you doing here?" Zak roughly demanded. "I thought you left town last year."
"Step aside, Powers." The USMC woman, Yamamoto, ordered. "Or I'll make you."
"A Marine now, huh? Wow…" Zak couldn't suppress a snort. "Didn't know the Marines accepted women. Are they desperate?"
Yamamoto resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had heard it all before, so it was easy to tune out the noise.
"Wanna find out how desperate they are?" She challenged, narrowing her eyes.
Zak visibly flinched. He knew he was strong, but trying to fight an active USMC member (woman or not) would definitely not end well for him; especially since it was Yamamoto. With firsthand experience from their childhood, he knew she was absolutely ruthless in a fight - even in the ones where he had technically won, he didn't walk away without some painful bruises.
On another and more important note, he couldn't risk losing his USC baseball scholarship if news got out that he had tried to fight a Marine. A woman at that. He wasn't that stupid.
"Fine, whatever…" Resting his hands in his jacket pocket, he ambled past Yamamoto - refusing to make eye contact.
"Let me make something clear," Yamamoto firmly said, "don't you dare touch Izuku again. If you do," she reached up to her chest pocket and pulled out her smartphone, revealing the screen to him, "you can forget about making the majors, or even some crappy triple-A affiliate for that matter. Comprende?" Her glare hardened.
Zak's face instantly went pale from the content on the screen, and gasped, 'She recorded everything!? Sh*t!' He mentally cursed.
"Yeah, I get it… ma'am." With no choice but to comply, Zak sauntered off back to school, the baseball field specifically, proverbial steam billowing off his head.
Putting her phone away, Yamamoto rushed to Izuku's side by the trash heap. "Hey, Izu-kun… you alright?" She sounded very concerned.
Regaining consciousness moments prior, his vision was starting to come back into focus. Hearing the voice of his best friend brought a smile to his face, despite his pained grogginess.
"Y-yeah…" He weakly pushed himself off the garbage bags, with Yamamoto aiding him. "I had him on the ropes…"
Yamamoto rolled her eyes playfully. "Sure ya did." She then gained an apologetic expression. "Sorry I didn't step in sooner. Wanted to record him for blackmail. If he has any brain cells in that inflated head, he won't bother you anymore. If he does, don't hesitate to tell me."
Izuku nodded in understanding, using his free hand to wipe his nosebleed onto his pants. Guess he was doing laundry tonight. "It's okay. Thanks for that."
"You okay?" She asked, worried.
Izuku nodded. "I've been through worse. Zak was actually holding back this time. He has been for a while, actually."
The Marine woman frowned, feeling her anger boil. "Don't you dare try to stick up for him. You know you can end that jerk's future with one phone call, right? And I'm not referring to the bullying part."
Izuku knew what his friend was referring to and immediately shook his head. "No. I can't do that to him. Or to anyone, for that matter."
"You and I both know his so-called pitching talent is a meta-ability." Yamato bluntly stated. "People are just too blinded to see it. Too busy praising him, thinking he's the next Sandy Koufax or whatever."
Izuku was beginning to regain his bearings, and stood up unaided. "I don't want to ruin his future like that, even if he may deserve it. Besides, it's not like we'll cross paths after graduation anyway."
Yamamoto sighed, exasperated. "Still too nice for your own good. And you still haven't learned to run away from a fight. Huh, nerd?"
Izuku smiled at the taller woman. "It's good to see you, Peg-chan."
"Likewise, Izu-kun," Peggy Yamamoto and Izuku both embraced each other in a friendly hug. "Past eight months have been hell."
"I can imagine." Izuku commented. "The Marines never make it easy."
"No they do not. C'mon," Peggy broke off the hug, "I'll take you home since you missed the bus."
"Thanks." He said appreciatively.
Picking up his backpack lying off to the side, Peggy and Izuku both walked out of the dirty alleyway and down the sidewalk. Many vehicles drove down the streets; notably, there were more police cars patrolling as of late.
Some of the buildings Izuku and Peggy passed were taped off with yellow police tape after suffering damage by late-night riots several nights ago. The damages included broken windows, stolen inventory, and various forms of graffiti painted on the buildings.
METAS UNITE!
KILL THE META MONSTERS!
FTP!
TAKE BACK THE HUMAN RACE!
EVOLVE OR DIE!
FTP… again?
There were more slang words and phrases that included much more colorful language that Izuku didn't want to repeat. He shook his head at the amount of property damage inflicted. He knew some of the shop owners and they didn't deserve to have their businesses destroyed like this. Whether it be from Meta-Human supporters or Anti-Meta-Human supremacists.
Ever since the first meta-human was born in KeiKei city in China 28 years prior, more and more "exceptional individuals" had been born across the globe. The trend continued to this day and the reason still remained unclear. Even the world's best geneticists and biologists were stumped and had no answers to this phenomena.
So, how do people react when faced with the unknown prospect of a society of Meta-Humans? Quite poorly, actually. Imagine that.
"Makes you angry, huh?" Peggy noticed Izuku staring at the crime scenes. "Seeing all this senseless destruction?"
"I am angry, but more disappointed really," Izuku truthfully admitted. "This is the time where we should be coming together as a nation. A people. Not fighting each other."
Peggy nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything. She honestly didn't want to go off on a tangent talking about society's current woes. She already dealt with enough of it as it is with her job, and would soon have to face it head-on.
They soon arrived at a nearby 7-11 convenience store, where Peggy's ride, a black Honda Gold Wing, was parked out front. As they approached the vehicle, Izuku suddenly noticed something on his friend's left sleeve. An insignia badge with a new rank.
"You didn't tell me you got promoted to Corporal!?" Izuku exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with surprised excitement.
"Heh… was actually planning to surprise you with it earlier." Peggy frowned slightly. "Then I came across the scene with you and Powers."
"That's awesome! You've only been in the Marine Corp for a year-and-a-half so for them to promote you already must mean you're doing great!" Izuku said excitedly.
"I try not to brag." Peggy turned away with a small tint of red on her cheeks.
Pulling off her white barracks cover, she placed it in her bike's sidesaddle to pull out two helmets, one was black and the other was white, and handed the white one to Izuku.
"I can't wait to get in myself!" Izuku placed the white helmet over his head. "I enrolled on Wednesday, by the way. Completed the ASVAB and my physical. Should get a response back tonight."
Peggy frowned behind her helmet. "T-that's great!" She feigned excitement.
'He's still determined to get in, huh? Should I break it to him, or let him find out for himself?' The USMC girl was unsure on how to handle the situation, so she opted to stay silent for now.
Taking his seat behind Peggy, she started up the bike and quickly pulled out onto the street. He held on tightly to Peggy's waist. Riding on Peggy's motorcycle was both frightening and exhilarating for Izuku.
As the wind blew past him, he took a moment to admire his hometown.
It was a warm, sunny day in the San Joaquin Valley city of Fresno. Of course this was typical weather for the central California city. Nowhere close in terms of population of its in-state neighbors in Los Angeles and San Francisco, but it was still a respectable size.
Peggy weaved in-between the modest traffic, clearly enjoying the rush of driving her bike after so long.
"What brings you back to town, Peg-chan!?" Izuku yelled over the loud engine and rushing air.
"Got a week of leave! Came back to spend time with dad… and hang out with you!" Peggy grinned.
Izuku smiled brightly at that. Peggy had been his best friend growing up. Aside from their Japanese heritage, they shared many things in common which included their love for old Japanese mecha anime, superheroes, and being raised in a single-parent home. In Peggy's case, it was her dad as her mom had gotten sick and passed away when she was three.
Both of them had practically been inseparable most of their lives until Peggy graduated and joined the Marine Corps nearly two years prior. Another contributing factor to his lackluster time at high school.
'That'll all change soon.' Izuku mentally stated. 'I'll get into the military. I'll protect and serve people…like a hero should.'
They continued to ride in silence with a cacophony of the motorcycle engine, other vehicles, tires on pavement, and the wind filling their ears.
Later, Peggy pulled up into the parking lot of a small, four-story apartment complex on the edge of town. Parking the bike, Izuku pulled off the helmet and placed it in the bike's sidesaddle.
"Thanks for the ride, Peg-chan."
"Don't mention it, dude. It's Friday night. Wanna hang out tonight?" Peggy inquired.
"Yeah, that sounds fun!" Izuku responded happily. He hadn't hung out with his friend in a while and was eager to get out of his stuffy apartment.
"Cool. Oh!" Peggy's eyes widened in recollection. "Also, there's supposed to be this event going on in San Fran tomorrow night. Has to do with science and all. Would you want to see that?"
"Wait… you mean the Innovation Expo?!" Izuku's eyes lit up. "It's an event where the world's smartest minds come together to show off their inventions. Some of the stuff that's been featured there would have been considered science-fiction several decades ago. Of course I want to go!"
Peggy smiled at Izuku's enthusiasm. 'Still the same dorky guy.'
"Cool! I'll pick you in two hours then. Gotta take a shower, you should too."
Izuku stopped and noticed he had grease stains on his clothes, and smelled like garbage. No surprise there. "R-right… sorry if I got it on you."
"Trust me, it's fine. You know dirt and grime don't bother me." She waved off. "Well, I'll see ya in a bit, Izu-kun!" With that Peggy pulled out of the parking lot, leaving a skidmark in the pavement.
He shook his head, still smiling. "That girl…" He was happy Peg-chan was back, even if it were just for a week.
He proceeded to his apartment complex with an extra pep in his step, only stopping to check the mail at his parcel box. There was only one sealed envelope. Pulling it out, his bright mood was diminished when he saw who it was addressed from.
'Dad…'
He already suspected what the contents of the envelope were. He'd been receiving it every six months for the last year-and-a-half. Izuku couldn't turn it down though, as much as he'd like to. He needed to pay rent, bills, and other expenditures that minimum-wage jobs just wouldn't cover without dropping out of school - which he was not going to do. Thankfully, the cost of living in Fresno was nowhere near as expensive compared to other major cities in California.
'I appreciate that he wants to financially support me now, but he can at least call me once in a while. Visit me. At least pretend I'm his son…' He mentally grumbled.
Not wanting to lament on that depressing fact, he placed the envelope in his pocket, and continued into the building. After taking the stairs to the third level (and nearly triggering another asthma attack), he walked up to his door and unlocked it. He then stepped into a quiet apartment and turned on the lights.
It was a small apartment with a living room and kitchen combo, a small corridor with a single bathroom, and two separate bedrooms with their own closets. However, only one of the bedrooms was occupied. There was a small two-seat couch in the living room with a small coffee table and side table, a small stand with a modest-sized television, and a tall shelf full of books. The kitchen was off to the right side and had a small stove, fridge, sink, and a few cabinets.
Dropping his backpack to the floor, Izuku headed to the kitchen to grab a frozen bag of peas from the freezer to hold over his bruised face. It wasn't his first rodeo in treating injuries. He'd put some makeup on later to cover them up once he was ready to leave with Peg-chan. After spending time in the trash, he'd definitely need a shower.
Izuku dropped to the coach and exhaled deeply, letting his pent up stress flow out of him. Today, for the most part, had sucked badly till Peg-chan had surprisingly showed up. Getting to hang out with her tonight and attending the Innovation Expo with her in San Francisco tomorrow had certainly brightened his mood.
"Oh!" Izuku suddenly sat up, recalling something important. "The recruiter should've called by now!"
Reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone, he noted there was indeed a missed call and voicemail from the recruiter. According to the timestamp, it looked like he had called Izuku when he was getting his butt kicked by Zak.
"Please be good news," Izuku wished as he played back the voicemail.
Musutafu, Japan - April 2196
"Hey! Green hair!" A loud, gruff voice exclaimed.
"Huh?" Midoriya was snapped out of his musings by a loud student.
He was a young man standing at 175 cm (5'9") and had a muscular build and lightly tanned skin. He had ash-blond hair spiked in all directions from his head, and his eyes were sharp and thin; bright red in color. He wore the same black gakuran uniform as his peers. Judging from his looks, Midoriya guessed he had to be a third-year.
"The hell are you doing just standing there like a creep?" Bakugo Katsuki demanded.
Midoriya was about to refute that claim but realized that he had indeed been standing motionless for a few minutes. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling awkward. "Oh… s-sorry! Didn't know… uh… going down memory lane." He responded in shaky Japanese.
'Doesn't look that much older than me. Pretty sure I would've remembered seeing him. Also, what's up with his accent?' Bakugo cocked brow. "What? You used to go here? I don't recognize you."
"Oh, no! Not there." Midoriya quickly clarified. "But seeing school reminds me of mine. That all."
Bakugo narrowed his eyes. It didn't sound like he was lying, but he couldn't be too sure. He wasn't going to tolerate any perverted creeps hanging around campus if he could help it.
"Yeah? Word of advice, I wouldn't do that. People'll get the wrong idea if they see you standing like a jackass in front of a high school." Bakugo curtly pointed out.
Midoriya noticed a few high school girls giggling to one another after seeing him and quickly passed by. 'Yeah… that's a fair point.' He mentally agreed.
"Point good. Thanks." Midoriya gave a polite bow.
Bakugo momentarily glanced back at the taller dude. He had noticed Midoriya's Japanese sounded kind of off; also, he started to recognize his accent as Western. Was he a foreigner?
"You from around here, Green Hair?" Bakugo asked.
"Born here… but from the States. Still learning Japanese…" Midoriya responded, scratching the side of his head bashfully.
'Ah… a stealth gaijin.' Bakugo had read about them. People who looked Japanese but were actually foreigners.
He turned away with a scoff, not seeing any point in continuing the conversation. "Whatever, extra. Just know, if you're gonna live here, learn to speak our language better."
"Y-yeah…" Midoriya nodded. "Working hard."
With that, Bakugo continued down the sidewalk with his bag slung over his shoulder in a nonchalant manner.
'What a nice guy…gives me Zak vibes though.' Midoriya sardonically thought. 'But he wasn't entirely wrong. I should be more mindful.'
Midoriya continued walking down the sidewalk, going in the perpendicular direction of the blonde guy. The verdette was lost in thought, thinking back to his last days in Fresno.
'Can't believe it's really been 154 years since then…' Midoriya mentally lamented.
He wondered if he should take the advice a couple of his new friends had recently given him regarding taking a trip to the States, visit his hometown and find some closure. However, there was still a lot of work he needed to do, so that was off the table. Also, it was still too soon for him. He just wasn't ready.
He arrived at a small pedestrian tunnel that ran underneath a bridge, one he had walked under many times before without incident, still lost in his own musings. Unbeknownst to him, that streak would be broken today.
"Hey, you!"
Midoriya turned around and the color immediately drained from his face. Dark green sludge poured out from a nearby sewer cover, bubbling and shaping itself into a vaguely humanoid shape. A slice of sharp teeth emerged from the muck and a set of menacing yellow eyes bore into him, sending a shiver down Midoriya's spine. He knew he shouldn't judge people by appearances, but everything about the man screamed dangerous.
"You seem like a good vessel."
Definitely dangerous.
Midoriya immediately started running to put some distance between him and the sludge-man. Tossing his yellow satchel to the side (spilling out its contents, as a result), he swiftly pulled off the circular leather bag on his back to undo the zipper. Unfortunately, it was too late as he suddenly felt his feet stuck to the ground by the mud.
A sense of panic rose within him. The more he struggled, the more the mud rose and, like a snake restricting its prey, the tighter it squeezed him. The mud covered his arms and he was forced to drop the bag to the ground partially open; revealing a red, white, and blue disk inside.
As he was about to cry out, the mudman covered his face, cutting off his oxygen supply.
"Come on. Don't be shy. Let me in." the sludge chuckled; his voice reverberating in Midoriya's ears. "I just need to hijack your body. It'll only hurt for a moment and it'll all be over soon."
He thrashed even harder. 'No…'
Raw fear threatened to overwhelm Midoriya. He couldn't breathe. Agony was erupting in his lungs as he felt bits of the sludge trickling in through his hands. It squirmed around and made him queasy. He could feel it trying to crawl through his mouth and nose. He wanted to vomit, but knew that would make him vulnerable to the villain's meta-ability.
'Not… like this…' He stared at the bag on the ground, revealing the half-hidden disk. 'Peg-chan…'
Darkness began to creep over the edges of his vision. Was he really going to die here alone?
Just as Midoriya felt his consciousness slipping, the nearby sewer cover went flying upward.
The Sludge Villain turned around in shock to see a very large man, standing at a startling 220 cm (7'2"), with an equally-muscular and well-defined physique. He had chiseled features on his face with a strong jawline, pronounced cheekbones, and bushy eyebrows. He had short blonde hair swept backwards, with two distinct tufts sticking up above his head similar to rabbit ears. His strong features cast a dark shadow over his face, hiding his bright blue eyes.
He wore a casual outfit that included a white t-shirt, green-olive cargo pants, and brown combat boots. In his left hand was a single bag of groceries. Looks like he was off duty. But, as the saying goes, heroes never take a day off.
"Have no fear, for you are safe!" The man's voice was booming and powerful. A strong, beaming smile was plastered on his face. "Now that I AM HERE!"
All Might, the Number One Pro, was on the scene.
"Dammit! You're so persistent!" The Sludge Villain yelled out with rage.
He lashed out across the tunnel at All Might with one of his tendrils, slicing through concrete as the hero ducked down to avoid it. The villain's eyes widened in shock as All Might was rushing toward him at an incredible speed.
"TEXAS..." All Might reared back his right arm, immense power building within him making the wind swirl around him. As he brought it forward and completed his yell, the wind swirled and fired down the tunnel with hurricane-levels of force. "SMAAAASH!"
All Might's fist never made contact before the mudman had been broken apart into hundreds of pieces that splattered across the tunnel, absorbing nearly all the force of the wind. Midoriya, now released, fell to the ground.
Midoriya, even in his dazed state, recognized the hero by his silhouette under the bridge. 'All Might…?' He then fell into unconsciousness.
Several moments passed.
Feeling light, rapid tapping on his face, Midoriya slowly regained consciousness. His eyes fluttered open as his vision was temporarily bleary. He could tell that he was lying outside the tunnel as the sun was shining down with a large man standing over him. Remembering who he was, Midoriya tried to sit up but suddenly started coughing.
After several rounds of coughing, to which he expelled bits of sludge, he tried to get ahold of his breathing.
"Are you alright, young man?" All Might asked, his beaming smile still present.
"Y-yeah…" Midoriya coughed a bit, talking in Japanese. "I'll… live… T-thank you, All Might."
"Good to hear! And no need to thank me." All Might replied, his smile still prevalent. "I apologize for getting you caught up in my justicing. I'm usually more careful at keeping bystanders safe. But this city's sewer system is pretty difficult to navigate. HA-HA-HA!" He placed his right hand over his forehead while admitting his blunder.
Midoriya, however, wasn't listening. The shock of his near-death experience kept him immobile. He didn't understand how he was reacting. Midoriya had faced off dangerous people before. Some with very dangerous meta-abilities.
That ability, though… that Quirk as people nowadays call them… He shivered, arms wrapping around himself to stave off full-body tremors. The sense of suffocation via sludge was all too familiar and personal to Midoriya. Flashes of cold and darkness from his last mission filled his mind, making him shudder.
All Might noticed Midoriya's distress and looked at him with concern, dropping his smile. "Are you sure you're alright, young man?"
Midoriya brushed his green bangs aside, trying to get a grip on reality once more. "Y-yeah. Okay. I'm … that was frightening…" He replied shakily.
'If only I got here sooner… that must've been terrifying.' All Might mentally berated himself. 'Still… that expression…' He had seen that expression several times before with trauma victims; particularly veteran Pros and retired police officers. However, it could just be conjecture as he wasn't a professional psychologist.
All Might was curious yet worried about the young man but thought it'd be best not to pry. Maybe he could try to cheer him up?
"Well, there's no need to worry anymore! Thanks to you," Emphasizing the last word, All Might pulled out a soda bottle filled with sludge, the villain's eyes floating inside, "I've captured the evildoer! Ha-Ha-Ha!"
"That's good… O-OH!" Midoriya's eyes widened as he finally snapped out of his daze. "My stuff?!" Spotting his satchel and leather bag resting by him, he immediately went to pull out his notebook. "Please, like to get autograph All - YOU ALREADY SIGNED IT!?"
Sure enough, All Might's signature took up an entire page.
He swiftly turned back to bow. "T-thank you much!"
All Might smiled brightly, happy to see he was okay now; although was it him or did his Japanese sound a little off? Well, no matter.
He gave the boy a thumbs-up. "It's the least I can do."
His eyes then traveled to the brown leather case by Midoriya's feet. The Number One Hero had gotten a glimpse of its contents earlier while Midoriya was unconscious.
"By the way, that's quite the replica you have in there. Looks just like the original." All Might acknowledged, pointing to the circular case. "Neat case too."
"Y-yeah…" Midoriya sheepishly rubbed his neck. "I'm big fan, suppose." He paused to pick up the zipped case, placing it on his back once more. "Believe what he stood for is timeless, yah know?"
All Might laughed heartily. "I can understand, young man! I'm actually a fan of the Captain myself! He was a big inspiration of mine."
Midoriya couldn't help but smile. If he didn't have good emotional control, he was positive he'd be tearing up right now. 'The world's Symbol of Peace… actually looked up to -'
He was snapped out of his musings as All Might turned around. "Well, I better get this crook to the police station so they can take care of him." He placed the bottle in his pants pocket. "Stay out of trouble! See ya around!"
"Wait… going already?" Midoriya asked.
All Might kneeled to stretch his knees, resting his hands on them as he primed himself for a big jump. "Pro-Heroes are always fighting time as well as villains."
'Yeah, I guess I can't argue with that. I imagine he's a pretty busy guy… being the Number One Pro and everything.' Midoriya internally rationalized.
His green eyes widened when he noticed a second plastic bottle filled with sludge lying off to All Might's feet, to which the robust hero seemed completely oblivious toward.
"Stand back! I'm taking off!" He warned.
'Oh no! He's gonna forget that bottle. I need to warn him!' Midoriya rushed forward to scoop up the bottle and dash toward All Might. "Wait!"
All Might launched himself high into the air with an incredible leap; air rushing behind him in his wake.
"Huh?" He felt a considerable weight on his legs. The blonde hero looked down to see Midoriya hanging onto his legs with a very strong hold. "L-let go! I love my fans, but this is too much!"
"TOO HIGH UP! COULD DIE IF LET GO!" Midoriya shouted incredulously.
"Oh… That's a good point." He embarrassedly admitted.
"YOU FORGOT OTHER BOTTLE!"
"Huh?" Upon seeing the second bottle of sludge clutched in the green-haired boy's right hand, the Number One Pro mentally slapped his face. 'Dammit! How could I have made such a careless mistake?!' He admonished himself. 'Am I getting sloppy or what?!'
"I see! Thank you, young man!" All Might replied, sounding grateful. "Keep your eyes and mouth shut as I find a landing spot."
Midoriya immediately acknowledged All Might's request.
As All Might scanned the plethora of buildings beneath him, he felt a little blood leak out of the corner of his mouth. 'Well, crap!'
Moments later, All Might softly landed on the roof of an office building. He set Midoriya down, who fell to his hands and knees - breathing heavily.
'That was intense!' Midoriya mentally yelled. 'Haven't felt a rush like that in a while…'
All Might picked up the second bottle and, without looking, placed it in his other pants pocket; unaware that the other bottle had gone missing.
"That wasn't a smart move, but I do appreciate your help once again." He then turned, making his way to the building's ledge. "Bang on the door awhile. Someone'll eventually let you in. See ya on the flip side!"
Midoriya's eyes then widened as a realization struck him. All Might, this world's Symbol of Peace, was standing in front of him! This was the perfect time to ask him an important question. Something he was eager to hear the Number One Hero's stance on. Surely he could spare a moment, could he?
"W-wait!" Midoriya called out, returning to his feet. "One moment!"
"No!" All Might refused. "I have no time."
"Can a Quirkless person become a hero!?" Midoriya shouted out, hoping he used the term for folks without superpowers correctly.
All Might stopped dead in his tracks.
"Want know what you think," Midoriya added. "What makes a hero: power or heart?"
All Might was motionless for a moment before glancing back.
"Power or heart?" He murmured to himself. His eyes then shot open as an all too familiar spike of pain struck his body.
His time-limit was up!
'No! NOT… NOW!' He crouched over, feeling his strength rapidly decrease.
Midoriya continued. "I… I am Quirkless. Professional hero… want to be. People say not possible. Do not believe that." He continued while looking down at his feet, "World believes only power important… but… I think heart matters most. What do you say…?"
Midoriya couldn't immediately comprehend what was happening as All Might's body was suddenly shrouded in a cloud of steam. The steam then blew away revealing an entirely different person.
Midoriya's eyes widened in a comical fashion. "W-what…?"
Standing before him was a very skinny man with angular features, long limbs, and a long neck. He had long, messy blond hair with two strands running down his face and lacked eyebrows as well. He wore All Might's clothes, but they were much baggier, of course.
"W-Who are you?!" Midoriya demanded anxiously while reaching back to his round case. "Imposter?!"
The haggard-looking man deeply exhaled in exasperation. "I assure you I'm All - BBLLAGGH!" He suddenly started coughing up a considerable amount of blood, worrying Midoriya greatly.
"H-Hey! Alright!?" He lowered his hand and approached "All Might" in concern. Imposter or not, he couldn't stand to see someone suffering.
Yagi Toshinori wiped the blood off his mouth, and sighed, "I'm fine. It happens sometimes..."
Midoriya guided the skinny man to the side, helping him sit down and lean back against the guardrails.
"Sure not need to call vehicle emergency?" Midoriya inquired. He then mentally kicked himself, worrying he didn't phrase that sentence correctly.
He was proven correct as Yagi cocked a brow, looking at Midoriya strangely. "Your Japanese is off. Are you a foreigner, young man?"
Midoriya nodded, slumping his shoulders in slight embarrassment. "Yes. Grew up in States… still learning Japanese…"
'Ah… makes sense now.' Yagi cleared his throat and, much to Midoriya's surprise, spoke in fluent English, "Okay, how does this sound?"
"You know how to speak English?" He asked.
"Spent time in America when I was younger and learned the language quite well when I was there." Yagi explained. He then closed his eyes and lowered his head, sighing deeply. "But that's not important..."
Understanding what the man meant, Midoriya addressed the elephant in the room. "Are you really All Might?"
"Yes. I am." Yagi then looked up at him seriously. "Please don't go talking about this online. Keep this secret for me, will yah?"
Midoriya could hear the desperation in All Might's voice and nodded in affirmation. "You can count on me."
Nodding, Yagi lifted his shirt and revealed ugly blue and purple scars on his left side.
Midoriya blanched at the gruesome injury. 'Holy crap… What happened to him?'
"Pretty gross, right? Got this in a big fight five years back." Yagi explained. "My respiratory system was compromised, and I lost my stomach. All the surgeries have worn me out, and nothing can fix it."
'That's awful! How the heck is he even still alive?' Midoriya pondered. 'He'd be dead if this happened in my time. Wait…' A possible explanation then occurred to him. 'Maybe people with healing-related meta… er… Quirks were able to save him?'
"I can only do hero work for three hours a day. Rest of the time, this is what I look like." Yagi further elaborated.
"That's… wow…" Midoriya was stunned.
He had watched plenty of footage on All Might and had been awed by his raw power and durability. It seemed unnatural (in his opinion) but considering his own origins he had no room to talk. Furthermore, his charisma had greatly impressed Midoriya as well. Midoriya would admit that he most likely would've grown to be a huge All Might fanboy had he lived in this era.
Who could've done this kind of damage to him? "How… How'd it happen? Who did this?" He questioned.
"I'd… rather not get into that." Yagi hesitantly replied. "The world doesn't know about this fight. Did everything I could to keep it a secret." He paused momentarily, adopting a grim look. "I'm supposed to be the guy who's always smiling, right? I'm the Symbol of Peace. People have to believe I'm never afraid."
Midoriya looked at skinny All Might emphatically. In a way, he could understand the Pro-Hero's plight. He wasn't an invulnerable, god-like figure. Even with his great power, All Might was still only human; and humans, super or not, were not immune to fear and injury, or even death.
"That smile… it's just a brave face I put on when the pressure is high." Yagi confessed. "This job isn't easy." The skeletal man looked at Midoriya with a serious expression. "Heart over power? It's a nice, old-fashioned sentiment. But I'm afraid that's just not how the world works. Power is crucial for a Pro Hero. They can't do their job without it. So can a Quirkless person be a hero? No."
Midoriya kept a neutral look, but inwardly flinched. Deep down, he had expected this answer from him; nevertheless, it didn't make it any easier to hear.
"I see…" He lowered his head in disappointment.
With a grunt of exertion, Yagi stood back up. "If you want to help people there are other ways to do it. You can become a police officer, a firefighter, or a doctor. Those are fine professions." He walked to the door across the roof.
Before leaving, he metaphorically twisted the knife in the wound by saying, "It's okay to dream, young man. Just make sure your dreams are attainable. Realistic." He twisted the knob and, thankfully, the door was actually unlocked. With that, he went through the door and closed it - leaving Midoriya alone on the roof.
Yagi felt a sickening knot in his non-existent stomach with that last statement he had made. He certainly admired the young man's ideal of "heart over power" and believed heroes certainly needed to have heart (to a degree), but he had learned the hard way that power was important. Villains didn't care how much heart a hero had if they were unable to stop them.
'Hate to crush the kid's dream like that… but the sooner he accepts reality, the better…' Yagi resigned himself, but he still felt like garbage. This job was never easy.
As Yagi Toshinori walked down the stairs, he refocused on his task, "Alright, now let's get you to the station - HUH?" He just realized the other bottle was gone; the one that had the villain's eyes in it. Where could it have…
BOOM!
He then felt the ground rumble as an explosion could be heard in the distance. Looking out a window, he saw a dark mushroom cloud billowing several blocks away. 'Oh no…'
Earlier, back on the roof, Midoriya let out a deep, disappointed exhale. 'He's not entirely wrong… still though, saying power is more important than heart? I thought out of all the heroes he'd understand.'