Chapter 1 I wanna be a hero!
This is a super human society, where 80% of the population possesses some uncanny ability called a Quirk. Society fell into chaos among'st the rise of these new abilities which changed the concept of what it meant to even be human. We call those who use their quirks for the sake of peace and order heroes. My name is Izuku Midoriya, and it's always been my dream to be a hero, unfortunately for me I fall into the 20% Known as quirkless. However, I didn't let that stop me from reaching my dream. I became a hero, one that changed the world, society and the concept of the word.
This is the story of how I became the ONE true hero.
An adorable little cinnamon roll of a five year boy sits in a chair in front of a computer as he excitedly waits for his mother to play his favorite video. It was the the debut of the greatest hero in the world All Might saving dozens of injured civilians from a massive fire.
"Ha ha ha ha fear not citizens hope has arrived, because I AM HERE!"
"All Might is the coolest in the universe!" An excited izuku shouted
"I'm gonna be a hero just like All Might when I get my Quirk no matter what it is!"
"Sorry kid it's not gonna happen." Says Dr. Ujiko quite bluntly.
"Are you sure?" says Izuku's stunned mother Inko.
Ujiko goes on to explain the various tests done on Izuku as well as the Physical indicators that tell whether someone has a quirk or not. Izuku's x-rays showing that he has a double jointed pinky toe meaning he's in the 20% of today's population and that it's very unlikely that he will ever manifest a quirk.
Inko upon taking in this news can only look down at her son whose face while smiling was in complete and utter shock. She could only imagine the feelings going through him at the moment. After thanking the doctor for his time she and Izuku head home the latter of whom remained quiet as a mouse.
The midoriya residence that night
Inko was still having a hard time processing the events of today. He son was quirkless, his life would be very hard and she knew it. Her little Izuku was so happy before the doctor's visit, he had hardly said two words at dinner and just the sadness in his eyes was unbearable to her. She called her husband in America and told him, he promised that he would be home to visit in two weeks and that they will get through this as a family. Izuku while typically loving phone calls with his dad where Hisashi would tell him about various American heroes he'd seen takedown villains and Izuku would tell him about his day, but mostly talk about All Might. But today was not one of those days. Inko sees a light coming from Izuku's room and she goes in seeing her son watching his favorite video.
"He's smiling mom." said a tearful Izuku as he faced his mother.
"He's always smiling no matter how bad things get."
"Do you think… I can be a hero too?" the question carrying clear desperation.
Inko could just stand there. Taking a moment to ponder her next words, her son's entire world was crumbling. He would never have the power of a quirk, could he realistically save people with a smile and do the right thing by others as she's begun teaching him? Could he? She was his mother, and more than anything she only wants to protect him. But the world he wants to enter is very dangerous, even more so for people like him. Having gathered herself, she answers her son.
"Yes! Yes you can Izuku!" her own stream of tears falling now
"But you're quirkless so it's going to be very very very hard for you.
"If it's what you want then you have to promise me you'll work really really hard so that I wont worry about you?" Her words also carry a hint of desperation.
Izuku taking in his mothers words and turning back to the paused screen of All Might's smiling face. She believed in him, his mother believed in him. He might not ever have a cool quirk like kacchan but he was going to work harder than anyone to make up for it. He was going to be a hero just like his idol, he was going to save people and make them feel safe in the same way he did.
"Mom, I promise i'll work hard so that you don't have to worry about me!" Izuku said with new determination.
"I'll save people with a fearless smile just like All Might, and I'll always treat people good and do the right thing."
Inko wasnt expecting that last sentence but she remembered Hisashi saying almost those exact words on their last video chat.
Flashback
Izuku sits in Inkos lap as she prepares a video chat with Hisashi who should just be getting off work. Hisashi's face appears on the screen.
"Hey love, what's up mini man!"
"Hey honey."
"Hi dad!"
"So how are things going on the whole homefront?" Hisashi asked
"We're doing pretty fine over here wishing you were here though." said Inko
"You Know i'll be home before you know it love" Hisashi charmed.
"Hey dad, what kind of quirk do you think I'll have?"
"Probably a combo of me and your moms, why?"
Inko sighed " he's actually the only kid in his class who hasn't manifested a quirk yet"
Hiashi smiled "Izuku, what does a hero do?"
Izuku took no time to think about his fathers words and simply blurted " a hero saves people dad." Hisashi, happy to hear his answer, continued " that's right but why?" Izuku took a second to ponder this question but all he could come up with was " because that's what a hero does." he said almost sheepishly as if this question had a right answer.
"Izuku, a hero is someone who does the right thing because it's the right thing to do. Regardless of whatever quirk you have or what you'll gain, if you treat people kindly and always try to do the right thing you can call yourself a hero.
End flashback
Inko and Izuku remain in his room holding each other in a warm embrace unsure of what's to come but prepared to face it together.
2 years later on a playground
"Stop, you're making him cry kacchan! If you don't stop, I'll stop you myself." izuku said standing his ground despite being visibly scared.
A sinister grin slowly spreads across the face of an explosive ash blonde boy, "quirkless deku still trying to play hero." his lackeys behind him also smiling while activating their quirks, one extends his fingers while the other sprouts bat-like wings from his back floating about a meter off the ground. The blonde haired boy slams his fist into his palm causing a small explosion.
"what did he even do kacchan?" asked Izuku, wanting to avoid violence.
"He took the last melon soda at lunch so i'm gonna kick his ass for it" bakugo states with complete seriousness.
"I'm not gonna let you hurt him over something so petty! Just walk away kacchan it's not that serious"
"So now you think you're better than me!" bakugou roared
"I didn't say that, you just can't hurt people or petty reasons."
They all lung at the greenette, izuku having a hobby of studying quirks as well having been on the receiving end of kacchans explosions for years, grabs his right arm, pulls him over his shoulder and slams him! With the wind taken out of kacchan for the moment, Izuku reacts just in time to see long fingers trying to grab him. He side steps and jumps back faster than the kid expected because in the next moment he's sent flying back from a kick to the gut.
Izuku then looks up for the winged kid but he's floating about ten feet up, clearly second guessing coming down to fight izuku. The kid looks just past him and Izuku turns around to kacchan coming at him, he just barely puts his guard up to block the explosion. Izuku is sent back from the shockwave of the blast.
"You got a lot of nerve throwing me like that deku" the blonde said with venom
"If i'm gonna be a hero I can't let someone get hurt when I can help them" said izuku trying to hold on to his little confidence.
"It doesn't matter if you help because you'll never beat me you quirkless loser! Yelled the explosive boy as his hands began to spark.
They rush each other.
Aftermath
Izuku lays on the ground covered in burns and tattered clothes. He lost, but he didn't give up, he just needed to work harder. For the past two years since his quirkless diagnosis izuku had spent much time searching the internet for various self defense techniques as well as strength training exercises. With all that he's taught himself he did fine today despite his injuries, couple that with the numerous bruises and busted lip on kacchan and this was a victory in its own way, the kid he saved even thanked him and helped him up. He made his way home and when Inko saw him unsurprisingly she wasn't happy. But upon hearing he got these injuries protecting someone else from katsuki she was more proud of her little hero. She had actually been waiting for him to come home for a while now because she had a surprise for him.
"Izuku, guess what? I finally found a place where you can study martial arts"
"Yeah! I've been teaching myself but I finally get to learn from a real master! Where is it? What kind of dojo is it?"
" Slow down, first off it's called The Rising Sky Dojo and there are several martial arts disciplines you can learn there." Inko said excited for her son to begin learning.
" I was going to take you there now to meet with the masters but with you looking like this."
"NO! Now! Lets go now!" Izuku yelled more out of excitement than anger.
"Ok just throw on some clean clothes and we'll go ok. Inko relented."
After changing and a twenty minute car drive to the more wooded area of the city they arrive at a set of large wooden double doors with Rising Sky marked on a plaque at the top surrounded by large walls that seem to cover the whole block. Upon entering they took note of the very wide courtyard and in that same courtyard in front of a relatively nice classic japanese home were about a dozen people dressed in white gi's all performing the same series of punches and kicks while a tall man with black hair also wearing a white gi watched them.
While admiring the skills, Izuku continues to follow his mother as they walk to a building that actually looks like a dojo on the other side of the courtyard. Before even entering they can already hear the sounds of OSS! Entering the room they see over a dozen students, all wearing gi's, facing a brown haired woman. She had a beautiful face with wavy brown hair that went just past her shoulders and purple eyes. She wore the same color gi as the rest of her students, she was taller than Inko and you could tell she had a well defined, curvy, mature body, made evident from the bandages seen just below her exposed cleavage." alright kiddies, today was a good day from everyone and remember progress and effort is between you, and you. I'll see you all wednesday." the lady sensei dismisses her students.
Taking a closer look at the students gathering their things to leave Inko saw that most of the kids in this group were at least two years older than Izuku. After the students had gathered their things and left after asking their sensei any final questions she was finally able to speak with Inko and Izuku.
"Welcome back Mrs Midoriya, and this is Izuku I presume." She said welcoming them with a smile.
" Hello again Tabihara, and yes this is my son Izuku."
"Hello my name is Izuku Midoriya." the boy bows to the sensei in front of him.
"Hello little one, my name is Michiko Tabihara and I'm one of the two master here. I spoke with your mother earlier and she told me you want to be a hero?"
"Yeah! I love heroes and I wanna be one someday, I wanna save people with a smile just like All Might. But…he sighs, I'm quirkless. People tell me im stupid for wanting to be a hero, that you cant be one without a quirk, they call me a usless deku just for trying." His fist's clench.
"But my mom said she believed in me. I know I can do it, just give me a chance and I promise I won't let you down!" He exclaimed, just wanting a chance.
Michiko took a deep long look into this boy's eyes. " such determination" she thought. Even amongst her older students not many are able to just throw their heart out like this. The look in those emerald green eyes is all Tabihara needed to make her decision.
"Izuku, I'm gonna be straight with you, it's not very logical for someone without a quirk to want to be a hero. There are villains in this world with some truly terrifying powers, someone like you having just your brains and physical abilities to rely on will only get so far. To be the kind of hero you said you want to be will require you to face those types of villian and that in itself is akin to suicide. A quirkless hero definitely sounds impossible." she said as she closes her eyes as she bends her head with her arms crossed.
Izuku grabs his shirt and lowers his head
She then opens her eyes and smiles
"That is unless you trained here!"
Izuku opens his fighting back tears of joy, his mother smiling down at him.
" You have a look in your eyes that I like. A quirkless hero, I've already trained two pros. What's the harm in one more?"
Izuku so caught up his joy of being accepted almost missed that last line
"Wait! You've trained heroes?! His hero nerd mode fully activated.
"Yes, both the Rabbit hero: Mirko and Dragoon hero: Ryukyuu were both students of mine, and Kamui Woods was my brother's student." she stated casually.
A giddy Izuku made a mental note to add this info to his hero notebook later.
"So now that you're officially a disciple of Rising Sky it's time you settled on a material arts discipline. The masters of this dojo are my brother and myself and we have several different martial arts styles we teach, those being Karate, Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, judo , Japanese Jiu Jitsu, Kenjutsu and Bojutsu, and between you and me im easily the best at the last two.
Izuku had actually heard of some of these styles while he was teaching himself but now he had actual masters to teach him, he wanted to be a hero and he'd work his butt off to make it happen.
"Can I take more than one"
"Yes you can but some of these styles run after each other on certain days so you'll have to keep your mind flexible."
To the shock of the two women in the room Izuku decided on not just two when he said more than one, but practically all of them. Choosing to learn Karate, Taekwondo, Wing Chun, Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu, this threw Inko for a loop when she considered how much these classes were going to cost but michiko assured since Izuku was so willing to learn and that the dojo does quite well and that she and her brother also run a medical clinic that does very well. Izuku can take all these classes for the price of two and Inko relaxed.
After telling the greenettes that Izuku can start learning as soon as tomorrow if he wants, and handing her a schedule listing all the styles taught on each day of the week from who teaches it, be it Michiko or her brother Keizo, the times they start to their respective age groups. Seeing how tomorrow is Tuesday, Izuku would begin learning Wing Chun.
The Midoriya's say goodbye, looking forward to seeing more of Tabihara sensei. As they exit the dojo and cross the empty courtyard they are approached by the same man who was observing the students before.
Upon a closer look they could see this man was tall, handsome with a muscular build. He had the same purple eyes as Michiko but his hair was black, ended at the shoulder with some tied in the back. He had unshaven stubble on his face and quite bushy eyebrows.
"Hello there." the man waved as he approached, flashing a warm, radiant, very welcoming smile.
The greenettes exchange hello's to the other master of the dojo
" My name is Keizo Tabihara. I figured I'd come say hi to our newest disciple." He drops to the boys level and extends a hand, " Are you looking forward to your training young man?"
" Yeah, I'm really excited to start tomorrow!" Izuku said ecstatically.
"Tomorrow huh, so you'll be learning Kung Fu from me, I'm sure my sister already mentioned it but just know that this is a tough dojo. Here we ask that you give it your all, can you do that?"
"Yes sensei! I promise to go plus ultra every single day!
"That's what I like to hear." Keizo said with a smile, "I'll see you tomorrow, young one.
The two take their leave and as they pass the large doors at the entrance Izuku turns back around to look at the sign at the top. Rising Sky.
Things had become so different since he was diagnosed as quirkless. It was nice to know that he had his mom in his corner but to know that he had a teacher who also believed in him. It just made him feel so warm inside from being accepted and acknowledged. But starting tomorrow he would take the first step of reaching his dream, he would be a hero and save people anywhere, anytime, from anyone.
"This is my start." A smile stretches across his face.
Timeskip 2 years later.
Izuku and another boy Two years his senior stand apart from each other in the middle of the dojo while others watch on from the side of the room. Both boys are wearing gloves and protective headgear, they eye each other as both assume a taekwondo stance. The older boy itches forward before going for several front kicks, izuku steps back just enough to avoid them. Stepping forward again pivoting on his right leg Izuku spins with his left foot connecting with the older boy's gut, his opponent stumbles back but he doesn't fall. Centering themselves again, this time izuku made the first move. Going for a kick to his opponents left leg which he connects, following that to a side kick to his right side that also hits but before he can recover he gets a front kick to the chest followed by a back kick that he just barely blocks that sends him to the ground.
"You ok Izuku?" asked his sensei Michiko Tabihara.
"Yeah, I'm fine sensei."
After getting back up and focusing Izuku looks for any weaknesses to exploit in his older, stronger and more experienced opponent. He decides to take a gamble and comes up with a plan, but it requires exact timing. The older boys rushes izuku with a series of front kicks with izuku dodging, blocking and countering with several of his own. Getting the distance he needed when his opponents last left kick missed, after bringing his leg back izuku connects with a roundhouse kick to his left side. His opponent stunned yet undeterred to stop the fight, he switches his footing bringing his right foot forward. This was the moment Izuku had been waiting for, the older boy as he expected was about to do a high kick, before he could even lift his leg Izuku had gone into a spin, his left foot connecting with the older boy's face. He goes down and tabihara sensei goes to check on him.
"Ryuchi, Ryuchi are you ok?" She asked concerned for her student.
The brown haired boy gets up, his head still shaking after that one but otherwise ok. Izuku even goes over extending a hand to the boy to help him up, which he accepts, at the moment ignoring the frustration that he lost to someone younger than him. The two bow, thanking each other for the spar and head back to the rest of the class.
" Ok my little piggies that'll do for today, take what you've learned from your individual spars, as well as those of your sibling students. Always remember it's important to keep your tool sharp, no matter how good you are there is always room for improvement. And as for the sparring, keep in mind " iron sharpens iron, and the same is true here."
"OSS." says the whole class.
The students of taekwondo had gathered their things and prepared to leave for the day but there was usually one who always stayed behind, going to the outdoor training area at the far end of the courtyard to practice everything he'd learned that day for nearly two hours after the others left. This is something Izuku Midoriya had done practically everyday since he became a disciple. Taking every moment he can to drill the lessons, forms, moves, and philosophies of the numerous martial arts he was learning. Not a single day went by that he didn't do any martial arts training, many of the disciplines ran back to back usually twice a week.
Monday and Wednesday were Karate for an hour and then Taekwondo. Tuesday and Thursday were all Kung Fu, Wednesday and Friday he trained in Muay thai and Jiu Jitsu. Saturday's he would come to the dojo to train alone and just use the equipment, sometimes in the training hall dubbed , The bone breaking factory, It's a building on the east side of the compound. It's full of machines, obstacles and contraptions specifically designed to train the body in the most intense ways imaginable. Sunday he would go to his personal training spot in the woods by a flowing river, there he could spend all day practicing his martial arts and meditating. Just the serenity and seclusion of this area made it really easy to focus and calm his mind.
Or he would go to the outdoor training area that was right down from the dojo where there were wooden posts, to pull up bars for various strength training exercises, sometimes his two sensei's would be sadist's and make him run insane laps through the large forested area behind the property.
Izuku was actually surprised to see how much land there was out here, the entrance and the courtyard though wide didn't show how big this place is. The main house is the large two floor traditional japanese home he first saw when he came here. That's where his masters live. Right behind that is a dormitory house for any guest and students, it has showers and twenty bedrooms, during the summer break students have the option of living at the dojo where they live, eat, breathe and sleep martial arts. Izuku had been one of those for the past two summers and it was always an unforgettable experience despite the brutal training.
The actual dojo is on the west side and it's where he does most of his training. It's a traditional looking building with a wide, flat interior with tatami mats. The names of various students who have completed their training in a discipline are on the wall. The three that stand out are Shinji Nishiya, Rumi Usagiyama and Ryuko Tatsuma. There's also an office in the back where the masters handle business.
On the east side of the property there is a large forested area that goes for miles, there's actually a river and a natural hot spring that he and some of the other students would sneak off to when they were living at the dojo in the summer.
When Izuku made it to the training area he immediately went into a karate stance and began to practice his moves. Taking everything he's learned so far on top of what he learned today and incorporating it into every strike and repeat it. Forty minutes later he switched to Taekwondo and repeated the same process. In these moments when it was just him and his effort he couldn't help but feel he gets a little stronger every time. His life has changed so much since he came here, every single day working towards his goal of being a hero. He knows full well he's nowhere near where he needs to be, but he will never stop working in the pursuit of this goal.
One year later
After three years of training a now 10 year old Izuku's skills are coming through sharply. His reflexes, technique, senses and overall power are far beyond that of a normal 10 year old, his lean, muscular body being a clear indicator for that. He was by far the strongest student of his age at the dojo. It's gotten to the point that Izuku can only spar against those 2-3 years older than him in order to benefit from fighting another person. Now that he's 10 and quite physically developed his masters decided to amp up his training. With his dedication, eagerness and willingness to learn and constantly get better and stronger not for his sake but to be the hero he wants to be, it's no surprised he became their #1 disciple. Michiko had decided to teach him some long forgotten techniques to increase your speed, apparently with enough training you can move at supersonic speeds just by kicking yourself hard enough off the ground and it was a technique she learned from a ninja when she was young.
Keizo was more focused on improving his overall agility and dexterity. From doing acrobatics akin to monkey style kung fu to many hours of training on the wing chun spinning dummies in the bone breaking hall. The pain and soreness of everyday was something he'd gotten used to but with this new training it's taking some time to adjust but he was happy nonetheless.
"Izuku." his mother asked
"Yes mom."
"How have things been at school?"
"Fine, I got another A on my test today, I'm actually at the top of my class according to my teacher.
"Well that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. How would you feel about taking advanced courses?"
"I'm not against it but it depends on what the classes are, I'm perfectly fine staying on the normal track but if the classes aren't beneficial to me being a hero I'm not interested.
"By the way I wanted to start a new morning routine before school. Nothing too intense, just something to wake me up quicker and get me ready for school."
"Don't you think you're maybe overdoing it a little? I support you fully but don't you think you're pushing your body too hard, you did say the masters stepped up your training." Inko asked, slightly concerned.
"It's a warm up compared to what the masters have me do. He said holding back a laugh, It's only 100 push ups, sit ups, squats and a 10 kilometer run. I'll add more to it over time but this is just a warm up.
"Just don't push it too hard ok."
"I won't mom." He says with a smile.
Chapter 2: Conviction
It's been a full year since Izuku's new training with the masters on top of his morning routine and in the beginning it was complete agony! He had his usual training in his disciplines twice a week, spent over an hour practicing and refining what he learned after each lesson and then he had training with the masters. He had grasped the basics of Michiko's super speed technique pretty quickly, now it was just about making his legs strong enough, which was easier said than done. She hit him with various leg strengthening exercises as well as exercises to increase his perception because according to her "what's the point of being fast if you can't see where or how fast you're going? With all the speed in the world you're still a slowpoke if your brain can't keep up." It was brutal work but the results of his effort were taking shape.
His training with Keizo was also coming along well, at the start after training with Michiko the last thing he wanted to do was a bunch of jumping and acrobatics but he had to admit it was pretty fun. Something else he also enjoyed was the dummy mob, it was a dozen or so spinning Wing Chun practice dummies lined up beside and behind each other with a space between each two just wide enough for a person to get through. The key is to hit, block and counter the dummies to make it through the other side without getting pummeled, hit in the nuts or losing a tooth, the latter almost happening on more than one occasion and he's taken his fair share of nut shots because a countering kick was too slow.
Regardless of the pain after each and every day, Izuku embraces every second of it, never once complaining and looking forward to the next day with a smile.
Izuku Midoriya, now 11 years old, had come a very long way in the 4 years he'd been training at Rising Sky, while not a black belt in any of his disciplines he was more than able to hold his own against students who were and even beat them. He's been on quite the roll as of late as he hasn't lost a spar in over a year, and it's even more impressive considering he only fight's those 2-3 years older than him. In every discipline he studied by now he was the most skilled person in each class and everyone knew it. The quirkless boy has defeated so many of his senpai that many of them grew a new respect for him, some of them admittedly laughed when he told them we wanted to be a hero. But after facing him many of them realized he just may be able to do it. This was the general thought of most of those who knew of his condition, but there was one who definitely didn't share that sentiment.
It's Wednesday in Michiko Tabihara's karate class.
Izuku and another boy, Akaza Soyama age 14 take stances. Akaza is a muscular boy with short pink hair that's fluffed out with yellow eyes.
The two eye the other for a good five seconds before slowly itching towards each other. Akaza made the first move throwing a series of punches which Izuku skillfully dodge before retaliating with some of his own. One of his punches connects with the older boy's lower chin, Akaza throws a right punch in retaliation, Izuku dodges grabbing his wrist pulling himself to his side then landing three hard blows to his side before getting behind him finishing it with a kick to his lower back sending him to the ground.
Akaza get's back up, frustration clearly on his face.
They start up again. Akaza charges at Izuku throwing more punches, Izuku blocks and counters most of them but several connect with his face and shoulder, he jumps back in time to avoid a kick. Akaza's punches are strong but he shakes it off. Izuku strikes back as his opponent comes with more punches which he skillfully blocks, using this to create an opening Izuku gets close enough to land seven fast, heavy punches to Akaza's lower body blocking his right counter with his left hand, Izuku gives one final chop to his right side then jumps back to avoid the left fist coming at him.
Akaza, clearly in a lot of pain after that one refused to back down, and the murderous look he shot Izuku didn't go unnoticed by their master.
They ready themselves again, this time Izuku made the first move he opened up with several punches and chops that Akaza dodges or blocks, Izuku speeds up his attacks and several find their mark from his opponents face, to his chest, to his ribs. Akaza tries to counter with a left punch but Izuku swats his hand down with his right and with that same hand strikes his chin with his wrist, with him stunned Izuku hits him with a back kick to the gut sending him to the ground.
Akaza starts coughing on the ground while Izuku remained in his stance prepared for him to get back up but he didnt and Tabihara sensei called the match.
"All right everyone just as always keep in mind that your effort is your own, what you put in is what you get back. Like all activities you need a level of natural ability but..." She pauses looking right at Akaza," that's not all that matters. Continue to train and work hard and don't be afraid to help each other.
OSS! Was the collective of the entire class
Upon the dismissal of the class Tabihara sensei needed to have a good chat with one of her more hot headed students. It wasn't the first time she had seen that look on his face when it looked like he was going to lose a fight. There are certain standards here at Rising Sky, there is a certain character that the martial artist's the dojo produced had to have. There are essentially 2 types of martial artist's in this world, the type that stays calm in a fight who rely on talent and training, and those who lose control and forget all their training in their rage. These types are called Asura, they pursue strength merely to be strong and to destroy their enemies by any means. Though she's always known that Akuza was a hot head, he's always been one of her top karate students for years, honestly he was her best until Izuku's progress over the past year.
Catching up to the pinkette.
"Yo Akaza let's have a little chat.
"About what?" The boy asked, annoyed.
"Oh I'm pretty sure you know exactly what this is about." she responded not caring for his attitude.
They go to the office in the back and close the door. The master sits behind a computer while the kid sits in a chair. "So you wanna tell me what that look from earlier was about? You know, the one you gave Izuku like you wanted to tear his head off? She said with false sarcasm.
"It's nothing I was just mad."
"Really, was it just about losing a fight?" She asked, curious about his answer.
The boy took a second to ponder his words, after a moment he continued. "I just don't get why we are not allowed to use our quirks when we fight. I mean we're training to defend ourselves in real life situations, we would almost certainly use our quirks. Especially for those of us with physical, flashy quirks?"
"So basically what you're saying is you wouldn't have lost to Izuku if you were allowed to use your quirk.
His eyes visibly darkened at the mention of the quirkless prodigy.
"It has nothing to do with him. I just feel I can't fight to the best of my ability without my quirk.
"Well there's nothing wrong with wanting to incorporate your quirk with your fighting style, but do that on your own time. Martial arts and quirks are both tools, and a tool can be strong or weak depending on the user. You can't say I'm not strong enough because I can't use my quirk if you're also going to neglect training.
"You just don't get it." He said, frustration in his voice
"What do you want? Just what exactly do you want to do with the strength you've gained? She asked, her purple eyes piercing into his soul.
"I want to be strong, the strongest in Japan. I want to be able to live how I want and do what I want. That's how the world works." He said, his gaze never breaking her's.
"Are we done? I do have other things to do today." He said, clearly annoyed. "Yeah, we're done, you can go. She said almost sad.
After Akaza left Michiko could only look back on the past five years he's been her student, he was a rough kid who came in everyday as if he had something to prove. He loved to train but he loved sparring matches even more especially when a win was earned and he utterly despised losing, still does. He was always rough around the edges but she didn't really notice his change until a year ago, thinking back on it there was a shift in him the first time he lost to Izuku.
Izuku was doing some light training hitting a wooden post keeping his body warm for his Taekwondo class in a half hour. He felt a presence on him. Upon turning to his right he saw Akaza Soyama walking towards him.
"Hey Midoriya, getting in some extra work?
"No, I'm just keeping my body warm until it's time for my next class. Izuku said, honestly shocked he'd come talk to him.
"You study more than one discipline?" he asked curiously
"Yes, several. I joined the dojo in order to get the strength, skills and training to be a hero.
Akaza only smiled, "Yeah I heard you wanna be a hero but come on!" he said in a smug patronizing tone. You're quirkless, you don't seriously think you can be a hero just because you're good at martial arts? Fighting against someone hand to hand vs fighting a quirk is a different ball game don't you think."
Izuku took in the older kid's words before responding to the words he's heard so many times. "I firmly believe I can be a good hero. I can help and save people with a smile just like All Might, I'm fully aware there are powerful villains in this world but that's why I train so hard, to be what I wanted Tabihara sensei made it clear from day one I'd have to work harder than anyone else."
"So let's have a quick spare? You've got time right?" He said in a goating and patronizing way.
"Yeah, let's have a quick spare. I've got half an hour before my next class." Izuku said fire in his eyes.
The two boys walked to a forested area behind the compound. They found a wide open clearing surrounded by trees. The ground was flat and it wouldn't be a problem staying grounded. They step in walking about ten feet away from each other and since Izuku was already warm he gave Akaza a few minutes to warm up.
Soyama, Izuku thought, "He's been my senpai since I joined the dojo, we haven't really talked or had any real interactions outside of sparring and talking about fighting. He was also one of those who usually lived at the dojo during summer break and he always trained hard. He has a really strong quirk that'll hit me hard if I'm too careless so I better keep on my toes."
"You know the only reason you've ever beaten me is because I'm not allowed to use my full strength. You, walking around feeling so satisfied with yourself after a win thinking that you're strong when the environment makes it look that way. When in actuality you're just a quirkless weakling. Weakness completely disgusts me, the weak have no rights! All they can do is be hopelessly crushed by the strong! So when I see a quirkless weakling like you feeling himself because of how strong he only thinks he is, it really pisses me off." He said, those last words laced with venom.
"Soyama." Izuku begane, I'm still not entirely sure what I've done to make you so angry at me. All I've done is train hard everyday in order to be what I want to be. I've gained a lot of strength over the four years I've been training at the dojo and I'm not as strong as I want to be... But I'm getting stronger all the time! You said the weak have no rights, that they can only be crushed by the strong. Well…" He looks at his open palm and makes a fist, "From day one the strength I gained here was meant to protect the weak from the strong that want to hurt them! I'm sorry if that upsets you but I will never apologize for that.
Akaza only chuckled at his response "A weakling's delusional nonsense, it really isn't funny anymore. You can't help or save anyone when you're weak! " He said taking a karate stance as the greenette did the same.
The two boys stare each other down, the tension in the air was almost palpable as two waging ideals were about to clash. Inching closer to each they lunged at the same time with Izuku scoring the first strike, he landed several hard hits to Akaza's face, the older boy tried to counter but his punches were deflected creating an opening for Izuku to hit him with a high kick that sent him ten ft in the air.
"His punches are brutal and his leg power is insane! Was the older boy's only thought.
Spinning to correct himself in the air he cocks his fist back and throws a punch in the direction of Izuku, a ball of air comes flying at the younger boy's head at high speeds, he shifts his body to the right just able to dodge. His blast left a noticeable imprint on the ground where it landed.
Akaza lands, "Since your such a nerd for quirks I'm sure you know about my quirk Air blast, I'm able to gather the air around me and fire it as a ball of compressed air." he ended this explanation by sending a barrage of air punches at Izuku. The green boy dodges as he does; he also hears the sound of the missed shots slamming into and splintering the trees behind him, letting him know it would be a bad idea to get hit by one of these. Ten seconds of rapid fire he finally gets a break and takes this moment to blitz his opponent, he was on him faster than Akuza expected the two exchange a flurry of punches, both punching, blocking, dodging, countering. Izuku blocks a right punch with his left, using the same move from earlier as Akaza tries to hit him with a left he swats his hand down with his right then strikes his chin. Izuku chops a pressure point in his right shoulder with his left hand. Centering himself putting all his momentum into one punch he slams his right fist into his senpai's gut, still standing but holding his stomach and arching his back in pain Izuku delivers a flying kick to his chin, taking him a couple feet off the ground and landing hard on his back.
"Ok, you're not as weak as I originally thought but no way am I weaker than a quirkless reject like you!" Izuku stayed silent remaining in his stance, after finally managing to stand properly the look on his face was only one he'd ever seen a Kacchan, and it was pure rage.
Facing off once again, Akaza went for a side kick that Izuku blocked but his technique had become sloppy from his anger, this allowed Izuku to land three punches to the face followed by a roundhouse to his left side. It hit him hard, spinning from the impact he pulls his fist back and fires a air punch hitting Izuku's chest at close range.
"Ow! That feels like a bomb exploding off my chest!" he thought, tanking the hit, sliding back and trying to recover. But before he could Akaza was on him again going for a yamazuki, both fist sending air punches connected with his face and stomach. The point blank blast's were intense, sending Izuku flying, he flipped and rolled before stopping a good distance away from his opponent.
Izuku just laid there on the ground, his body aching from the sting of just three hits. "Man, this quirk hits hard!" He thought, he could feel the warm wetness of blood sliding down his forehead and it stung like crazy just to try to move any part of his face let alone talk. "This hurts worse than any of Kacchan's explosions," he said in his head trying to get up but the pain in his abdomen made that very difficult. His stomach was on fire, not just the stinging of his flesh but each breath he took brought a wave of pain with it.
"Been practicing that move for years, wasn't expecting to have to use it on a weakling like you though, you should feel honored." He said as smugly as he could. "What are we done already, I let you get a couple of free shots and you go down with just three blows? What a shame." he said, trying to belittle the younger boy as much as possible when in actuality he hoped he would stay down. His quirk while strong has its limits, his hands go numb the more he uses it or the stronger the blast, and he just hit Izuku with his strongest one so he can barely make a fist at the moment.
Memories of the past four years of training run through the green boys mind. He remember's all the effort, all the training, all the talks he's had with his master's, every good and bad moment until one specific memory popped in, Tabihara sensei telling him he could be a quirkless hero if he trained at the dojo, her smiling face showing absolute faith.
Snapping back to reality Izuku will's himself to stand much to the shock and anger of Akuza."So I was still too gentle with you, a weakling's exercise in futility."
Even with every inch of his face hurting he wills himself to speak, "A hero never gives up, no matter what. This is over." Izuku say's with a fire in his eye.
Yeah, for you." Akaza says with murderous intent as he stretches his left palm out while cocking back his right, wind gathering around it.
Gathering himself, he spent a year on this training, and it was time to put it into practice in an actual fight. Locking eyes with each other, neither backing down, time appears to flow in slow motion.
It happens, Akaza throws his punch and a ball of air is launched at blinding speeds, but not too fast for Izuku to see. In that same moment Izuku Kicks off the ground propelling him forward at a speed faster than the ball of air which he easily dodges. Akaza blinked once and Izuku's face was mere inches from his, before he could even register this Izuku focuses channelling all his momentum in a punch that coonnects with the older boy's solar plexus. The pinkette falls hitting the ground completely unconscious.
Looking down at his beaten opponent he gathers his words, "Tabihara sensei is always saying it Soyama, The effort you put in is what you'll get back. You're right about one thing: You can't save or help anyone when you're weak. That's why I am here and that's why I train so hard. I'll never have a cool flashy quirk like your's, but I can be quirkless and still be strong. Being strong doesn't give you the right to beat down on others and I hope one day you realize that.
"Well said Izuku." A new voice chimed in from out of nowhere. Dropping down from a nearby tree came the form of master Keizo.
"Sensei!" a surprised Izuku stated. "How long have you been here?"
From the beginning, I've been watching your entire exchange. I wanted to see how this turned out, also a master has no place interfering in their student's fight."
"It wasn't a fight, it was just a sparring match that got out of hand."
"It's cute that you think that." The master stated before popping Izuku in the chest.
"OOOWWW!"
"Now come on, let's get both of you to the clinic." Keizo stated in a calm yet serious tone leaving no chance for debate.
"Throwing Akaza on his shoulders the trio walks to the medical clinic ran by the masters that was just down the block from the compound. Izuku with the exception of a decent cut on his forehead was relatively ok, the master treated the cut, gave him some pain killers and sent him to Taekwondo training.
After Izuku left Akuza woke up, and upon remembering the past events the only emotion on his face was that of complete anger.
"I lost. How did I lose! He angrily questioned himself through gritted teeth.
"Various ways." Keizo casually stated as he entered the room.
"You've got numerous bruises and contusions, you're lucky you're so tough, that kick could have fractured your chin."
The master's words made the gears in his head turn leading to a realization that made him angrier. "You were watching."
"I was. I also heard everything you said. Do you want to explain yourself?" He said in a serious calm tone.
All I did was speak the truth and try to make that idiot realize how weak he really is."
"And yet who is the one in here covered in injuries after their loss?"
"Whatever, he just got lucky." he said with venom as his eyes still excluded anger.
"Is that so, well your injuries aren't that serious so you're free to go." Akaza get's up to leave the room but as he gets to the door.
"By the way, you're expelled from Rising Sky, never return."Keizo said, his tone still calm yet serious.
Akaza turns around to look at the master with a narrow expression that is neither shocked nor angry. "Any reason why?"
"We don't condone your time here, and the path you're choosing to walk for yourself is one we can neither guide you on or watch over you from." Their eyes make contact one final time before the boy leaves, never to return.
Aldera Elementary
It was the final day of classes before summer break and all the kids were looking forward to moving on to having fun in the sun and as for one final assignment the student's in one particular homeroom had to stand in front of the class and say what they wanted to be when they grew up. While some said doctors, teachers, mangakas, there was an unsurprising number of those who said heroes. While that wasn't too shocking, the declaration of one student left the class in a roar of laughter despite the teacher's protest.
"My name is Izuku Midoriya, And I'm going to be a hero!" He said with a wave of enthusiasm. He kept that even in the face of his classmate's resounding laughter at his goals as he returned to his seat.
"Alright everyone I'll see you all in the new semester, have fun and enjoy your break. Their teacher stated before dismissing the class.
"Can you believe what deku said in class today? That idiot is still going on about being a hero." one of bakugou's lackeys, Hashiga, mentioned as a group of four were walking down the street after leaving school.
"He doesnt have quirk but still say's stupid things like that, actually it's getting kind of sad. Teseki said.
"That Quirkless loser's gonna learn one of these days, the only one who's gonna go to the best hero school around is me! He's got a lot of nerve putting himself on the same level as me. Said a arrogant Katsuki Bakugou.
"I don't know." Tsubasa chimed in. "He might not be so weak after all."
" What the hell are you talking about?" Katsuki demanded to know.
"I mean, I was walking with my parents through the trail in the park a few days ago and I saw him in a clearing off the trail practicing fighting moves. He looked really serious while he was doing it too.
This time it was Hashiga's turn to speak, "Now that you mention it I've seen him down there to, but he wasn't doing fighting moves he was sitting criss cross like an idiot."
"So the useless deku thinks he can fight now. "Bakugou's lips forming a devilish grin. "Let me see for myself, show me where you saw him.
Izuku, while normally would be at the dojo his masters had to take a trip out of town and so all classes were cancelled for today. That was why he was here at his personal training spot, just because he wouldn't learn anything new today wasn't an excuse to not practice at all. So here he was practicing his Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu techniques, he was getting in the zone with his warm up exercises and every jab, knee and elbow strike felt great, they were fast and hard hitting and his kicks were even more so. His mind was calm, the sound of the flowing stream close by and the tranquility it brought continued to make this the perfect training spot, his own little sanctuary until it wasn't.
"Oi deku!" Came a voice that the greenette knew all too well.
Turning around he could see Kacchan, Teseki, Hashiga and Tsubasa coming down the hill towards him. "I was so focused on my training I didn't even hear them coming." Izuku thought, upset with himself.
"Hey everyone, what's up?"
"So, here you come down here to practice fighting moves." Kacchan said mockingly.
"Well it's not just my moves I also like to come down here to meditate, This is a very tranquil spot."
"Why do you practice down here anyway?" Hashiga asked.
" Didn't you just hear me say that it's a tranquil spot."
"He meant why are you training at all you useless nerd? Bakugou said, shooting an angry glare at him."
"Why else would I be training? So I can be strong enough to be a hero. I'm strong now, but I've got a long way to go. The training during summer break is always intense but when I'm done I'll be way stronger than I am now."
"Teh, you, strong, what the hell are you even talking about deku? No way in hell is a quirkless loser like you strong! Let's be honest you've been practicing in secret for who knows how long because you think you'll somehow beat me. Guess what nerd, your quirkless ass will never match up to me!" He smuggly yelled. "But if you think you can come on and try it." his hands now forming tiny explosions.
Izuku could only look at his once childhood friend "How does my training to be stronger have anything to do with you?"
All four boys looked at the greenette in shock, especially the explosive blonde. " The hell you just say to me deku?" "Like I said Kacchan, how does my training to be stronger have anything to do with you?" The greenette repeated his previous words with a calm voice and expression. "I started on this journey to gain the necessary strength and skill to be a hero, everything I've acquired up til now was for that goal. None of it was for the purpose of beating someone else, or showing how great I am.
Bakugou was fuming at that response, "You think you're better than me don't you deku?"
"I didn't say that. You came down here to try to pick a fight because you heard I've been training and you need to satiate your ego but that's not something I have any interest in doing myself.
The blonde had had enough of the deku's mouth, he charged at the boy firing off an explosion with his right hand. It all happened so fast, Izuku side steps with the blast completely missing him and using the momentum of Kaachans attack he grabs his wrist with his right hand, hooks his arm past his elbow with his left, he gives him a little spin before sweeping both his legs and slamming him hard on the ground still holding his right arm.
"Kacchan this is stupid why did you attack me?!"
The pain to his pride and body still reeling he uses another explosion forcing Izuku to let go. "So all you can still do is body throws."
"Far from it! But we don't need to fight Kacchan, it's pointless."
The blonde rushes again letting off a flurry of explosions when he got within range. He was so busy in fact he didn't notice the other boy about to launch himself from a tree on his left side.
When Kacchan was about to fire explosions Izuku had jumped to the side of a tree at his two o'clock, he was so fast that not one of the four other boys present saw it. Kicking off the tree he goes flying at the unsuspecting Kacchan, shifting his body he brings his left knee upward and it connects to the side of the ash blonde head.
Izuku looks down at the unconscious boy and sighs. "He's unconscious. Can you three please take him home? I have more training to do." The other three boys did it without question more out of fear than concern for their friend. After they left Izuku had to sit down for some meditation to get his mind right and it took over forty minutes before he could get back to training.
"First Akaza then Kacchan. What is so bad about me wanting to be strong anyway? Why does everyone expect so little of me just because I don't have a quirk? Why do people have to be so mean about it? What's so bad about not having a quirk anyway? That doesn't mean everything, I can be quirkless and still be strong. No matter what anybody says I will be a great hero like All Might, I just have to never lose heart and keep training. I can do this. I know I can."
Chapter 3 Your limits are your own
Izuku Midoriya is now 12 years old, And has come a very long way in his five years of training at the dojo. He has essentially completed his training in all of his disciplines receiving his black belts in Karate, Taekwondo and Jiu Jitsu respectively and as for Wing Chun and Muay Thai, He is very proficient. He even had his own nafuda added to the wall of students who completed their training at the dojo. It was such an accomplishment that he, Inko and the masters went out for a celebratory dinner, Keizo insisted he had to treat his favorite disciple. The masters knew Izuku would never stop training and sharpening his skills but were still surprised when he said he would keep coming back to the dojo to train. As Keizo has said many times " Training never ends" and in his own words he wasn't strong enough yet and Rising Sky had become a second home to him.
"Good to see we're not done with you yet, there's still a lot left to teach you kid." Michiko stated delightedly.
"Yes, you may even be ready to learn some of our personal techniques." Keizo said, both delighting and horrifying his student.
Once again his training had become absolute hell, Michiko was trying to teach him something called the Inner eye, a technique that allows the user to perceive and predict the movements of an opponent. If mastered, you can tell what someone is going to do even before they do it by taking in the overall visual of your opponent, becoming aware of breathing, slight movements and their next attack. There are two ways of doing this, the first is to keep a calm mind and read your opponent. The second way is mentally hyping yourself to read an opponent, both Keizo and Michiko figured Izuku would be best with the former method.
Keizo had begun to teach Izuku a technique in which he called the perfect defense, it's called the Seikuken and it's a very handy and valuable technique to know. The Principle involves controlling the entire radius around one's arms, basically making a spherical shield around the user. Controlling everything in that radius makes for excellent offense and defense and there are ten levels to learning it. Izuku added these new regimens to his training though he knew it would be tough, but what was new about that.
Crack! "31," crack! "32," crack! "33," Izuku, now 13 years old, was doing one of his usual training exercises, he was doing one armed push ups while his arms and legs were balancing on two foot posts while Keizo used a small bamboo stick to swat at his arm and knock him off his balance at unpredictable times. This was a form of training he's done many times but as of the past few weeks his entire body has been acting weird. "50!" Izuku having finished fifty reps with each hand and dodged all of Keizo's swings it was time to move on to training with Michiko. Today she had the usual, using cones and having him jet from one to another at various angles and tossing in one or several balls to make him catch before they hit the ground.
His training had once again stepped up and his morning routine had become harder as well, now he was doing 300 push ups, situps, squats and a 25km run. It was harder when he lived at the dojo during breaks because they would make him train with weights and Keizo would join him on his run. But not in a running partner kind of way, more of a tying a big tire to Izuku while Keizo sat on it as he ran kind of way, he hadn't acclimated to the new routine but rolled with it anyway because according to his master it was a hell he brought upon himself.
After finishing his training for the day Izuku's body was in complete agony and while he normally welcomed it, the intense pain that ran through his body with every movement he made just made it hard to even function. But he was still moving his body somehow, it was almost as if he were a ghost. He keeps moving despite the pain he's in but it's like he doesn't feel it.
Cough cough, he buries his face into his arm. Taking note of the blood stains on his shirt, this had become another recurring oddity over the past couple of weeks.
Flashback two months ago
Izuku was currently doing a rather unorthodox exercise, he was walking upside down across the edges of several giant pots and doing an upside down push up at the center of each while Michiko sat crisscrossed on his feet. He had done nine laps of this already and he had eleven more to go but when he went for a push up to end his tenth lap it happened.
Crack! The teacher sitting on his feet noticed as everytime Izuku went for another rep she would hear the same cracking sound. His reps also seemed to be getting harder but she figured it was just because she was sitting on him and they increased his laps. She took note of how she still heard the cracking sound while she ran Izuku through his speed drills. Her student insisted he was fine so she left it alone that day, but the next day when he was training with Keizo, Izuku was doing full upside down sit ups while his teacher fans a small fire below him.
"100" Izuku said, flipping himself off the bar to face his sensei.
"So you wanna go fishing? I can move on to the next level of learning the seikuken. I just need to" cough, cough, cough, Izuku instinctively buries his face in his arm and is shocked by what he sees on his shirt.
"That can't be good?" Said a wide eyed Izuku turning to face his master.
What, what is it?" Keizo asked concerned among seeing the blood on his student they immediately went down to the clinic though Izuku said he was fine, his teacher wasn't taking any chances and forced him to do a CT scan which surprisingly showed no internal bleeding and he isn't showing any symptoms of known diseases so they dropped it and got back to training. They went to the river to catch fish as part of his seikuken training.
Two days later Izuku is doing some co-training with his masters. He is currently on a post doing one legged squats while holding two heavy jars with his hands fully stretched out to the sides while his masters look at him worriedly, not because he started struggling after his thirtieth rep but because of the very concerning cracking sound they were hearing on every rep.
Crack! "39!" Crack! "40! Crack "41!" Izuku grunted as continued his workout.
Michiko looks to her brother saying what's been on her mind for the last few minutes, "You'd know better than me so, is it normal for his bone to be cracking like that? And even more so should they be this loud for us to hear them?"
"No, no it isn't, and no they should not. But Izuku says he's fine and I've inspected him and given him an Xray and there is nothing wrong with his bones or joints." He said casually, still unable to make sense of his disciples' changes.
After finishing his fiftieth rep izuku drops down from the post, letting the pain have him as he falls on his back.
"You ok kid?"
"Yeah sensei, just need to lay here for a while."
"Rest is good, but the cracking noises and the coughing up blood don't concern you at all?"
"Not that it's not concerning, I just feel fine. I'm in pain all the time but it's a good kind of pain. I don't mind it, it just means I'm getting stronger.
Keizo could only chuckle and smile at that response. "Yeah sure, let's just chalk this up to you being on the virg of breaking your limits, you've done it before after all. Just let us know if it gets too tough Izuku."
"Will do."
End Flashback
Izuku was currently sitting in the main house with his two masters having some tea and relaxing after a long day of training. Today he did something he didn't do too often, which was having a sparring match with one of his teachers. Michiko beat the crap out of him under the guise that it was training for his inner eye, but she was too fast and hit him way too hard for him to predict any of her movements. He was also covered in several bee stings on his body from his seikuken training, Keizo took him to a cliff where he had to balance himself on three rocks while his master poked a hole in a bees nest and they went straight for him and not his master. Dodging the bees was part of the training, this was a very long day.
Izuku taking a sip of tea looked at Keizo, "Master, I know you said as far as my disciplines go there's nothing else to learn but do you think there is anything i'm still missing?
Keizo took in his student's words, actually surprised this question came up and the fact that it took so long. "Izuku, admittedly I'm surprised we're even having this conversation, especially considering how long we've been training together. At this point if there's anything you're missing, it would be your own style."
"My own style."
"Yes, Your own style. Despite the fact that you've learned several martial arts you still don't have your own style. You tend to use your disciplines interchangeably when you should invent a style suited for you that incorporates everything you've learned."
Izuku thinks back to all the training he's done for the past six years and ponders what his style could be. "It sounds pretty hard."
"No. It's actually really easy." Keizo bluntly stated before taking a sip of tea.
"Wait really?" the boy asked, shocked.
"Yes." came in a voice he registered as Michiko's, and then came the pain. "Because with all that you've been learning from day one inventing your own style would have been so laughably simple it's frustrating you haven't done it by now! " the brown haired woman stated as she continued hitting him with a bokken.
"Ok! I'm sorry I'll get on it! He pleaded, shielding his head while Keizo smiles watching this madness unfold.
One week later
Just as the masters said the training to create his own style was incredibly easy and training and sparring with the masters made it even easier. He now has his own fighting style that incorporates all his disciplines and according to Keizo he's close to finding his seikuken. That's why he's here training in the woods behind the compound, perfecting his form to it's up most brilliance. The pain of each day has faded a bit, the cracking in his bone has stopped and hasn'r coughed up blood in a while so safe to say he got over whatever that was about.
He was throwing a series of punches, kicks, chops, incorporating knee and elbow strikes and Jiu Jitsu motions, the speed of his attacks were a blur to all who couldn't follow them. He finished his warm up and got serious, using some image training he threw attacks as if he were actually fighting someone, he attacked, blocked and countered his mind opponent then going for a finishing punch with all his strength what happened next shocked him.
Boom! A shockwave blasted from his fist the wind pressure tearing through the forest in front of him, uprooting trees and leaving a scar of destruction that stretched for at least 60 meters.
"Woah!...Woah!...Woah! That happened! How did that happen! How did I do that! Wait, did my quirk just manifest? Is this because of my training! I gotta figure this out! Senseeeeeei!
Finding Keizo and bringing him back to the scene the master was shocked at what he found, a line of destruction that according to Izuku came from one punch. He asked Izuku to repeat this same attack and upon doing so the shockwave produced increased the line of destruction to 70 meters.
"Odd, very odd, how does it feel when you do that Izuku?" The master asked curiously.
"It just feels like I'm just throwing a powerful punch!" The boy said still in shock at the whole situation.
"Try a powerful kick."
Doing as his master said Izuku performed a roundhouse kick with all his strength, what followed next was a blade of wind that went flying straight ahead slicing down several trees before dissipating.
"Interesting, very interesting. Keizo said, holding his chin. "I'm no quirk doctor, but given what I know about quirk test's and having X rayed you on several occasions I'm pretty sure this isn't a quirk. Go see a quirk doctor but first lets run some tests here first, I have a theory.
"What kind of tests?"
Keizo looked at his student with a warm, welcoming smile before speaking. "Let's fight."
"What!" Izuku said, slightly horrified.
"Relax Izuku I wont be going all out but I want you to, these changes in you are interesting, as your teacher I want to know what you are and could be capable of." He said in a calm reassuring tone.
The master and student prepared to fight where they now stood, luckily this area was a pretty wide open space, even more so now that Izuku had leveled a good bit of it. They both take their respective stances, staring at each other for a moment and it began. Izuku's speed technique had drastically improved over the past two years, now his speed was just below mach 4. He rushed toward his master and threw a series of punches at him, but the master caught and blocked every blow, catching one of Izuku's punches with his flat palm and using his momentum to bring him closer then bringing his other arm to his student's waist Keizo flips him over his shoulder tossing him into the air. Izuku spins in the air to correct himself, bending his knees when he lands, looking forward where his master should be only to be met with a knee to the forehead Sending him flipping a good distance away. He gains his footing and jumps into the air, looking down he scans the ground for his master, finding him standing in the same place he kneed him.
Landing a few feet from his teacher, Izuku get's back in his stance. He charges the master again using a combo of kicks but Keizo blocks his side kick, tossing it to the side before sweeping Izuku's balancing leg making him hit the ground hard. Izuku flips back up, going after Keizo with a series of fast, powerful blows which the master dodges or deflects, speeding up his assault Izuku gets closer and closer to the master, in one circular motion izuku launches a hard punch to his teacher's chest. Putting his left hand behind his right Keizo catches it, tossing his hand up Izuku is left open for two flying front kicks to the chin bringing him off the ground, and in that same motion Keizo spins in the air and connects a flying side kick to Izuku's gut sending him back and knocking the air out of him.
Izuku was nowhere near tired or done after standing back up he rushed his sensei again, he gets close, closer than Keizo had let him get before, he throws a right punch that is deflected than a left that gets blocked, Izuku connects a quick kick to Keizo's shin that clearly stuns him. He takes this moment to finally strikeback, grabbing his masters head he pulls him into a Kao Loi, but instead of pulling his head back the master pulls it forward than down, the student's knee completely missing, Keizo does a full flip and his feet lock behind Izuku's head, "Your doing good, keep it up young one." he said before pulling back he slams him head first into the ground.
Getting back on his feet, Keizo back flips landing about ten feet from his still down disciple, who's head had left a noticeable impact crater in the ground." Hm, was that too much." The older man wondered, but his worries were proven unfounded when Izuku jumped back up. They went back to trading blows. Not only were Izuku's attacks strong and fast to begin with but they seemed to be getting stronger and faster. With their difference in skill dodging or deflecting his student's attacks wasn't too difficult a task but he was finding blocking them undesirable, Izuku throws a chop that gets deflected, the master spins and connects a reverse elbow to the back of his student's head sending him to the ground once again. Izuku flips forward and comes back again with a flurry of punches that get deflected, ending it with an elbow strike that gets caught, he was just barely able to use a back flip to dodge the high front kick that was coming for his face. Unbeknownst to Izuku his feet had made impressions in the ground when he landed.
Calming his mind, and though it wasn't perfect, Izuku attempted to use the seikuken. His master, noticing the change in his student also initiated the technique, slowly inching towards each other with their eyes locked, once within range of each other they attacked at once. It was a blur of punches, blocks, counters and dodging at such a close range that any untrained spectators would be mesmerized and mistake this for a serious fight. Going at this for over a minute, the speed and power of his attacks as well his reaction times increasing, Izuku uses the inner eye. Seeing the full range of his master and becoming honed in on his rhythm, speed and technique and even his breathing, Izuku finds reading and predicting his masters moves easier, especially since neither of them have broken eye contact since the initial exchange. Stopping a right punch with a flat palm and dodging a left, he catches a right chop then hooking his master's elbow, spinning and pulling on his gi he goes for a slam but to his shock he only sees a shirt. Sensing the incoming strike he was just able to jump out of the way of his master's incoming kick from above.
The two get back into stance and Keizo rushes first with Izuku just barely able to block and dodge his strikes, he gets a hand on both his master's wrist but before he could do anything Keizo grabs onto him and he takes two knees and a back flip kick to the chin forcing him to let go and sending him in the air. Izuku flips to correct and comes at the master again.
"Stop!" Keizo calmly said with an outstretched hand
Izuku had to take a couple breaths to relax and fully register his master words as he was still in battle mode. "Wait, are we done with the test?" "Yes, I've seen all I need to see. Look around Izuku", the master gestured to the area and upon inspection of their battleground the greenette could see craters, impressions and cracks in the earth as if an earthquake came through all around them, the green haired boy just looked around dumbfounded. "How did this happen? He asked, genuinely wanting to know how this happened, "This happened mostly from the shockwaves from our fight." Keizo calmly assures his student.
"You've advanced far in such a short time Izuku, though I was holding back, I can tell from fighting you that your body has changed considerably, where once your fist's felt like and unmoveable mountain that will forever stand, and now your fist's feel like a vast ocean with bottomless depths." The master had a theory but medical science couldn't prove it, and if it was true Izuku would have to get far stronger to test it and they would need to confirm that he was still quirkless. Holding his chin and gathering his thoughts he looked at his student who was still processing his teacher's words. "Izuku, have you ever heard of the limiter?" he asked. "No sensei, this is the first time i'm hearing of it." Keizo gathered his words before responding to his student, "Well the theory is that every living being has a certain limitation to their growth, no matter how hard a creature tries it can't grow stronger than it's biological limitations allow it to. Human being's are kind of a small exception to this as unlike other animals we can change ourselves, be stronger, run faster, jump higher but we all each have our limitations. Now, this is just a theory. But I think with the extensive training you've done essentially everyday for the past six years, you've managed to remove yours."
The greenette upon hearing his master's words brought on one specific question. "So, does that mean my power is infinite?" He asked genuinely, wondering what his master thought.
Giving his student a stern look before speaking, "No, I wouldn't go that far. Your strength isn't infinite but your ability to get stronger is. Far beyond what should be humanly possible."
"I see, so what now?"
"Obviously you get stronger and refine your technique, but not so strong that you can't control it!" He said in a stern voice, ending this statement by pointing in the direction of the path of destruction he had made almost forty minutes ago.
"But don't forget to go see a quirk doctor asap." The master stated before they began to walk back to the compound.
After giving Inko the news she took Izuku to a quirk doctor and got the confirmation that he was still indeed quirkless. So now he would just keep doing what he'd always done and if Keizo's theory panned out then so be it. He was right about being able to control his strength; he didn't want to have an accident like in the woods in the future. So he got back to training, after a few more months he finally mastered the seikuken and the inner eye. He would be applying to U.A and until that time he would do everything in his power to be the most well rounded applicant he could be. He continued his training at the dojo having intense sparring matches with the masters in order to test and measure his strength. He got stronger, faster, his technique, control, perception and reflexes improved every week. For some reason his hearing got a lot better too, he was able to pick up on an conversation in the courtyard at school despite being on the second floor and hearing all the chatter in his own class. He even took the time out to invent his own super moves for both close, long range and even aerial combat.
It was just a normal morning at Aldera Middle School, students were mingling among themselves before class was to start. Izuku scrolled through his phone looking through the latest hero highlights enjoying a very peaceful morning until it was brutally interrupted.
"Deku! I'm getting real tired of you ducking me, you useless nerd!"
Turning around and responding begrudgingly "Hello Kacchan, how are you this morning?
"Don't give me that shit idiot, I told you to come down to the shitty beach so I can kick your ass!
Merely nodding and acknowledging his word, "Yes you did." the blond shot a deadly glare, "Why didn't you do it? You scared?" He goated, just another of many attempts to make Izuku fight him since his loss two years ago. "Well I had training and you know how it is, nothing is more important than that." "Bullshit! You keep running from me because you're a damn coward you loser!" He growled, very much on the verge of exploding. Letting out a deep sigh, "I've told you over and over again, my strength is meant to help and protect people, it will never be used to stroke my own ego or belittle others."
"Is that what that bushy brow bastard says?"
"No, those are my own words."
Looking down at the sitting greenette before going to his own desk, "It doesn't matter what you learn at that shitty dojo, you'll never be better than me."
"How many times do I have to say I don't care about that, and the dojo wasn't so shitty when you wanted to join was it?" Izuku stated, making the explosive teen glare at him, forcing him to remember an unpleasant memory.
It was about a week after their fight two years ago, at first when he came to and realized he lost his emotion was unsurprisingly pure rage. Not only had deku beat him, but he had been training both his body and a speed quirk he'd been hiding for years, how far had he climbed, and how much better was his quirk than his own. He demanded his mother find out where deku had been training and take him there. Mitsuki after getting the name of the dojo from Inko, she and her son went over to talk to the masters about katsuki getting similar training. When they got there both were impressed at seeing a dozen people practicing forms in the courtyard and the little blonde was excited to learn these things, combine them with his quirk and put useless deku in his place. Speaking of useless deku, the blondes saw him practicing on the far end of the property, locking eyes and the blonde boy shooting a glare before he entered the dojo with his mother.
"What do you mean NO!" Mitsuki Bakugo wanted an answer from the brown haired woman who just denied her son.
"Like I said, no." Michiko Tabihara responded calmly in a way that only her brother could rival. He has a look in his eyes that I don't like, and I can tell just from looking at him he's not the type to uphold the standards we honor here." Katsuki glared at the older women "You won't let me in but you'll train that quirkless deku! That doesn't make any sense!
Michiko looked at the angry child with a raised eyebrow, "Quirkless deku? I assume you mean Izuku, and I also assume you're the boy he knocked out the other day, yeah he told me", she bluntly stated as his glare deepened.
"Ok, hypothetically we took you on and trained you, what would you do with it?"
A arrogant grin spread across his lips, "I would use it to be the strongest hero ever, I'd kill any villain I faced and never lose to anyone and I'd surpass All Might!"
That's why , good day.
Even after he was rejected by the dojo he's made dozens of attempts to get Izuku to fight him again over the past two years. However the grennette always found a way to avoid him, one time he even came to the dojo yelling for Izuku to come out and fight him, but after getting the literal toss from Keizo he second guessed ever coming back to the dojo.
The bell rings as the teacher enters the class, "All right class let's take our seats." The class adjusts preparing for the day, "alright kids, first of all we have a new transfer student and today is his first day at Aldera, lets make our new student feel welcome, that's your cue. In walks a handsome boy who is above average height with light grey hair and brown eyes, he steps in front of the class to introduce himself.
"Hello, my name is Takumi Fujuwara, I'm a leo, I like playing basketball and Inventing things, my dream is to be a great inventor, one who can help the world with his creations and I hope we can get along and be friends." the boy said, with an aura of confidence.
"Great, another nerd." Bakugo said under his breath
"Fujiwara got perfect scores on his entrance exams, english, math, science, I'm sure many of you can learn from his example." The teacher stated.
This statement got Izuku interested in his new classmate, he currently had the top marks in his year so the new guy could definitely be an academic rival. He also said he's an inventor, definitely something to talk about later.