Chapter 3: Izuku Midoriya: Origin of a Hero
Bakugo threw the door shut behind him. His mind whirled. Being involved in a villain attack that required his being rescued was certainly not near the top of his list of a fun time. Sure, he realized that some opponents would simply be too much for him as he was now—the rampaging villain-at-large that had attacked and killed the pair of heroes known as Water Hose last year came to mind, for example—but he was also not even in U.A. yet. He had a lot of room to grow.
Even still, the fact that he had to be rescued from the villain still was sour in his mind. Douchebag ambushed me, he thought. There was no doubt in his mind that he could have taken that villain if he had known it was coming.
"Katsuki! That you?" his mother poked her head around the corner. Bakugo really was the spitting image of his mother, from the skin tone that they shared to the naturally spiky ash-blond hair to narrow eyes with sharp crimson pupils, and though he didn't like to admit it, he had picked up a lot of his personality from her as well.
"Yeah, it's me," he said with an unusually quiet tone. His mother frowned as he she approached.
"I saw the news," she said. "You alright? All Might had to step in, right?"
"He did," Bakugo nodded. "I'm fine though."
"I'm glad," she reached up and ruffled his hair, and he swatted at her hand with a growl. "However that villain got you won't happen again, right?"
Bakugo met her eyes with a dangerous glint. "Of course not."
"Good," she turned around. "Dinner will be ready soon."
Her son gave the barest of nods and stalked upstairs. He tossed his bag onto his bed and robotically walked to the bathroom. He was fortunate to survive; he knew that. He had already started to choke when Midoriya had charged in. And if All Might hadn't saved them both, well, it wasn't a thought he was keen on entertaining. But that wasn't what gnawed at him.
He recalled what he had seen through strained and teary vision—a small boy with thick green hair running in and dodging the attacks of the sludge villain. But Midoriya wasn't nearly that fast normally, and he certainly lacked that faint glow around his body as well. The hell did you do, Deku?
Was it possible, that all this time, the boy had a quirk all along? No, that was impossible, he reasoned. Quirks didn't magically appear, and they certainly didn't manifest at age 14. So then, how? He scowled at himself in the mirror. He had to get to the bottom of this.
<<<>>>
"Oh, Izuku!"
Midoriya had maybe half a second to react as he opened the door to his apartment before he was engulfed by his mother in a hug that threatened to crack his ribs.
"Mom," he wheezed, trying to get her attention.
"Oh, my baby!" she cried. "I saw the news; I was so scared! Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you? Did you inhale any of that monster? Are you getting sick? How could those heroes not do anything? You were lucky All Might was around. What were you even thinking?"
"Mom," Midoriya tried again, his face beginning to turn blue as she continued to apply her crushing hug. "Be… hind… me…"
Inko's eyes shot up and she spotted the man who had been accompanying her son. "Oh!" she let go of the boy, who collapsed to the ground, desperately sucking in air. "My apologies, I, umm… didn't see you there, Mr…?" she raised her pitch as she bowed in greeting, silently asking the man to fill in the blank.
"Yagi," the man smiled as he returned the bow. "Toshinori Yagi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Midoriya. I represent All Might's agency."
"Oh, where are my manners?" Inko blushed and gave a small, nervous chuckle. "Please, come in. Can I get you some tea?"
It wasn't long before all three were seated at the dinner table, steaming cups of green tea in front of them. Midoriya tenderly rubbed his ribs.
"I apologize if this sounds rude, Mr. Yagi," Inko pressed her lips against her knitted together fingers, catching both the skeletal man and her son in a sharp glance. "But just what is your connection to my son? I hope you'll understand that I have to be at least a bit protective of him, and today was enough action. I don't want my little boy in any more trouble."
"Mo-oom," Midoriya whined, his face turning red. "You're embarrassing me." His stomach flipped and twisted at the thought of her labelling him 'her little boy' in front of his idol. He knew All Might was right in suggesting their discussion continue in the privacy of his home and with his mother, but embarrassing was embarrassing.
Yagi chuckled. It astounded him the range of character that Midoriya played today alone. From bashful fanboy to hero to child. It warmed his heart to see the youth so full of life after having his being threatened not long ago. "Don't worry, Young Midoriya," he looked at the boy with a soft grin. "Your mother is only doing her duty out of her love. You should be grateful." He turned his dark eyes to Inko, trying to soften the sharp lines of his face as much as possible.
"I understand your concern, Mrs. Midoriya, but I can promise you that I am here only for two reasons. The first was to escort Young Izuku here home. I didn't feel comfortable letting him wander home alone after that scare."
Inko nodded, her mouth set in a thin line. "Same thing with Katsuki, too? All Might saved him as well."
Yagi tapped his chin. "The other heroes were crowding him, trying to accompany him, but I think he insisted he go home alone. There isn't much we can do if he refused an escort."
"I see."
Midoriya looked between his mom and his hero, a frown creasing his face. Why had Inko gotten so cold? There seemed to be a war of words behind the sentences the two adults passed between each other, but it was passing him by completely.
"As I said, I work at the All Might agency, I'm more or less his secretary. He asked me to take care of Young Izuku after the incident. He had to go file information with the police regarding the events of the villain attack."
"Yes…" Inko spoke slowly, as if chewing on the words spoken to her.
"You see, your son did something very heroic today. Very boneheaded and foolish, but heroic nonetheless."
Midoriya shrank in his seat, his face steaming, as Inko's eyes flicked to her son.
"This was actually the second encounter Young Midoriya had with this villain."
Inko shot to her feet. "What?" she whirled on Midoriya who tried very hard to sink through his chair.
"All Might rescued him then as well, and the two had a brief talk. Young Izuku expressed his desire to be a hero but said that he was doubting himself; that his quirklessness was holding him back."
Inko gnawed on her lip. "Right…"
"The fact is, is that when he charged in to help that Young Bakugo boy, Young Izuku here displayed a rare trait that those with truly heroic spirits possess. All Might believes that this young man does have what it takes to be a hero."
"Even with the quirklessness?" Inko cocked her head. "How can All Might be so sure that Izuku can handle it?" She kept her eyes fixed on the man in front of her, not noticing the frustrated pout that gripped her son.
"Let's put that aside for the moment," Yagi motioned with his hands as he spoke. "This trait of Young Izuku's—the fact that his willingness to and desire to save people is so strong that he acts entirely without thinking at all—is both very useful and very dangerous. It could lead to more harmful actions like vigilantism, which is both illegal and potentially deadly. We would rather see the young man's heroic energy put more… productive use. All Might is offering to personally train your son so that he can attend a hero school."
Midoriya's face lit up and he nearly shot out of his seat. He affixed his mother with a pleading look, mentally begging her to sign off on it.
Inko sat back stunned. All Might, the All Might, was offering to personally train her son? Her darling Izuku, whose sole goal in life had been to become a hero, who had faced roadblock after roadblock now had a golden ticket being presented to him. And yet, even as her mouth moved to say yes, her tongue blocked the words from escaping. A pit of dread opened in her gut and couldn't shake the dark feeling surrounding them.
This man was being far less direct than she would have liked; there was a secret that he wasn't saying and the knowledge of that made her hesitate. Oh, Hisashi, what do I do?
"Please forgive me, but I find it a little hard to believe that All Might would be willing to take a young boy on with no experience. He doesn't even have sidekicks who work directly with him," she said finally. She tried to ignore the shattered and betrayed look her son shot her. "How do I know that All Might will keep his word? He must be terribly busy. Is he offering Izuku a recommendation?"
"Mom," Midoriya's wide green eyes bored into his mother. "Why can't you just let me try? Please, this is a perfect opportunity!"
"It's a little too perfect, Izuku," she replied. "I know this is your dream, but you have to understand that you need to look at everything here before you make a decision. You can't rush these things."
"But…"
"No, your mother is right, Young Midoriya," Yagi gave a gentle look to calm Midoriya's rising anxiety. "I understand this does sound a little too good to be true. It's a dangerous world, and it would be irresponsible for a parent to simply sign off on their child undergoing life-altering training to enter a dangerous profession without wanting to, at least, be sure of their safety."
He sipped his tea and let out a hum. "You're asking a lot of good questions, Mrs. Midoriya. Let me be as transparent as I can.
"The truth is that All Might's time as a pro hero is rapidly coming to an end. His many years have taken a toll on his body, and he can no longer adequately perform his duties. While he still can, he's decided to use his power to uplift the newest generation of aspiring heroes. Starting next spring, All Might will be the newest faculty member at U.A. high school's hero track."
Midoriya's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. All Might was going to teaching at U.A.? This was the first he was hearing about it. It must have been something the man had kept from the news outlets.
"In that regard," Yagi continued. "Part of Young Izuku's training will be handled by other members of the faculty, especially in the rare instances where All Might is away until he starts school. That said, the plan was not to give him a recommendation to U.A. All Might told me that he would prefer that the boy earn his spot just like everyone else. Someone like Young Izuku is an exceptionally rare case, so upmost care will be taken to get him ready for the entrance exams. That, of course, means that the training will be transparent as well. You are more than welcome to have up to date information on everything."
Inko sighed as she leaned back in her chair and gnawed on her lower lip. It really did sound too good to be true, and the thought of Izuku working with All Might set her on edge just a bit too much. She shook her head. This is about Izuku, not me, she chastised herself.
"I… see," she said after a moment. She glanced at her boy, so brimming with anxious energy. It was going to impossible to say no, she had realized.
"There is one more thing," Yagi's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She tilted her head in questioning. "It regards Young Izuku's quirk."
His quirk?
"The doctor said that I was quirkless," Midoriya frowned, but Yagi shook his head.
"I apologize, but that's not what I saw, Young Midoriya."
Inko perched her chin between her fingers and thought hard. Yagi had to stifle a laugh at how much like her son she looked when the boy had shot off into his own tangent of thought. After a moment, she spoke, albeit slowly. "Izuku, I… think Mr. Yagi might be onto something."
Silence rang out around them as Midoriya shifted his confused look to his mother. Inko suddenly stood up. "Pardon me a moment," she said quickly before she scurried off further into the apartment.
Yagi quickly pulled out his phone and began to scroll through it, looking for something.
A few moments later, Inko came rushing back, holding a small folder. She had never been more thankful for her habit of filing documents than now. "This is the doctor's official diagnosis for Izuku's quirk status," she explained. She took out a paper and began to read quickly, muttering to herself until she came across the passage that she had been looking for. She underlined it with a pencil and slid the folder over to Yagi.
"Patient shows all predicative signs of having a quirk yet has registered no reading that would be indicative of a power. No reason as to why can be determined, therefore the patient is deemed 'functionally quirkless'," the man read out loud. "The keyword being 'functionally,'" he paused to think for a moment. "I'd like you both to take a look at this."
Yagi pushed his phone forward for both Midoriyas to look at. It was a shaky video of Midoriya running into the fray. "Backdraft has a camera on his costume that is on at all times, several pros do now, actually. I got the footage from him," Yagi explained. The mother and son watched transfixed as Midoriya bolted into danger, ducking, and weaving around the villain's strikes. The lashing tendrils of slime from the villain were far quicker than he remembered them being.
"What's… that?" Inko sounded shaky and breathless as he paused the video, pointing at the image of her son. It was hard to make out, but she could tell that there was a soft yellow glow that encompassed the boy's slight frame.
"Keep watching," Yagi replied. Inko sat, mystified, her mouth open in both shock and horror, as Izuku hurled his bag at the monster, grabbing his notebook out of midair and plunging it into the villain's eye.
Izuku, to his credit, watched with silent, wide eyes, as if the boy on the screen was an illusion or a dream. "Th-that's… me?" his voice was whispered, and Yagi doubted at that moment that the boy could have spoken louder, even if he had wanted to.
"It is," Yagi nodded. "That, Young Midoriya, is your quirk."
Midoriya slumped back in his chair, his eyes glazing over as the magnitude of what he had seen began to creep into his psyche.
"I had totally forgotten that the doctor had labelled him functionally quirkless," Inko muttered to herself. She looked up at the man across from her. "How is this possible, and what now?"
Yagi sighed in thought. "Honestly? I don't know how it's possible. Perhaps both questions are solved in one move though. I would like to take Young Izuku to see my doctor at U.A., have her look him over, try to diagnose his quirk, or at least some measure of it, and from there, we can develop a training program for him. Does that sound acceptable?"
"I…" Inko knew it was selfish to delay saying yes, even as her son whirled on her with massive, pleading eyes.
Yagi chuckled. "You both have a lot to consider, I understand. You don't have to answer tonight. How about I give you until Friday evening? I'll come back here around seven pm. How does that sound?"
Inko nodded after a moment. "Yes, that sounds good."
With a grateful nod and bow, Yagi stood and began to walk to the door. He paused as he opened the door, turning around. "Thank you for the hospitality, it was wonderful talking with you, Mrs. Midoriya," he bowed again. "Oh, one more thing before I leave. It probably would be best for Young Izuku to not be at school tomorrow. After all the events of today, he could come down with a minor illness, and activating his quirk for the first time will have drained his energy as well. He should probably rest for a bit."
"Thank you, Mr. Yagi for everything so far. You've given us a lot to think about," Inko bowed in return.
The door closed behind the man and Inko took a second to take a deep breath. Midoriya was behind her, his verdant orbs glittering in nervous anticipation.
"We'll talk more about it later," Inko gave him a slight smile, hoping to tide him over for the moment. "I'll get dinner ready, and you go take a shower, you don't smell the best."
Midoriya sniffed under his arm and winced. He nodded and scurried off with red painted cheeks.
Inko sighed and walked into her room, tossing the file she had taken out onto the bed as she sat down. Reaching over, she picked up a framed photo. The man in the photo wore a bright, wide grin as he embraced a slimmer, more cheerful Inko from behind. Inko caressed the photo, watching her fingers trail around where a young Izuku beamed at the camera from Inko's lap.
She fought back tears, though she didn't fight hard. Oh, Hisashi, what do I even say? She let her mind drift back.
<<<>>>
"We have a hospital appointment on Friday for Izuku," Inko dried a plate absently as she stepped around the corner and leaned on the wall. Her green eyes narrowed fondly at the sight in front of her; the man leaning back in a reclining chair, dark, curly hair rustling ever so slightly as he angled his face upwards to her direction.
"Oh? What for?"
His voice was soft and measured, though it carried enough for her to hear. He shifted a bit, adjusting his weight as the small child asleep on his chest tightened his grip on the man's short-sleeved button up. Jade green eyes, with warm, phosphorescent yellow rings around his irises that suffused a calming energy, never left the sleeping boy, and his mouth hung slightly open, glowing dimly from the inside, a soft yellow radiating comforting heat to the child.
"For his quirk assessment, silly," Inko put the plate down as she walked over and gently ruffled the Hisashi's hair. He pressed up into her touch, his eyes sliding shut and a gentle trill welling up out of his throat.
"I thought you were supposed to be Jade Dragon, not Jade Kitty," she teased as she buried her hand deeper into his black hair. The trill continued to roll out and he opened his eyes, a tender love inhabiting his orbs as he held Inko still with his gaze.
"Well, with such a lovely woman like yourself being ever so warm and gentle with me, I can't help but want to purr sometimes," he gave her a charming grin.
"You are being way too slick for your own good, mister," she rolled her eyes and he chuckled softly. There was a beat as she walked across the room to the couch and leaned against the arm of the furniture. Inko sighed. "He's been talking about becoming a hero, you know. He keeps telling me how he'll get a quirk like yours and be your sidekick."
The rings around Hisashi's eyes gleamed ever so brighter as he stroked the sleeping boy's hair. "It'll take many years for him to reach that level if he even inherits my quirk. Though, I wouldn't say no to helping train him if he wants."
"I don't know if I want it, Hisashi."
Those eyes, somehow warm and understanding, yet cool and logical all at once flicked up and met hers. Inko sighed. "It's just… I support you; I love you, but your job scares me. And the thought of pushing my only child into that life too… I don't know, am I being silly?"
Hisashi didn't answer right away. He stood, clutching Izuku close to his chest, and walked to the boy's bedroom, returning alone after a moment. He sat on the couch and pulled her down to cushion with him, wrapping her in a hug and pressing a kiss to her hair. "No, you're being a good mother," he murmured into her scalp. He pulled away. "I won't push him into anything. Hell, I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was his age; before I understood what a hero really did. Kids don't understand what it means to be a hero, but that's good. I'd be sad if we had to rip that innocence away. If Izuku wants to be a hero, let's encourage him, but make sure he knows he doesn't have to continue that way if he decides he doesn't want to. I'll protect him and you either way."
"I know, but… I don't know," Inko looked at her feet. "I'm scared of losing you both. I know how dangerous it can be. Just last week, some crook tried to stab you from behind. You would have been hospitalized or worse if your suit hadn't protected you."
"Yeah, you're right. I wasn't watching my back. I'm glad that Ingenium kid was there to help me out. It's just some of the hazards of the trade, unfortunately. You're right to worry, yes, but at the same time, we heroes have an important duty. It's why we train, why we work hard. To keep everyone safe, and we have to push ourselves to do that."
Inko nudged her shoulder into his chest and rested there for a moment. "You did a good job not telling me I'm being dumb while still saying it, you know."
"I never was able to get one over on you," he laughed. His smile dropped ever so slightly. "Look, it's a big world, not everyone will be like All Might and become a household name in heroics. Even me, I'm not even that big time. If Izuku wants to dream, let's let him. We're here to parent him, not control him."
Inko let out a hum and basked in his heat. "Yeah, I know you're right. But I'll still worry. That's my job as a mom."
"And you're the best at it," he kissed her on the cheek.
A buzz stole his attention, and he was off the couch in an instant grabbing his phone. "Jade Dragon," he said with a suddenly authoritative tone. There were several moments of him grunting in response and nodding before he finished with "Understood. Thanks, I'll be right there."
"Going already?" Inko had stood and held up a silvered briefcase that contained his costume.
"Yeah," Hisashi took the case and cupped her cheek in his palm. "The villain I've been tracking down for the last few months may have made a move. I'm going in to investigate."
"Well, be careful, okay?" Inko's eyes flitted around the ground before she glanced back up and met Hisashi's warm orbs.
"I will," he smiled. "I love you."
"I love you too."
They kissed, lingering for a moment, soaking each other's presence into themselves. Then Hisashi turned and left, the door shutting behind him.
She smiled, checking on Izuku's sleeping form tucked in his blankets. She sat in the recliner, opening a book, waiting for Hisashi to come back.
He never came back.
<<<>>>
Midoriya had chuckled at the idea that he would need to take a day off school because he would be "too tired" after activating his quirk. He respected All Might's opinion of course, but he hadn't felt any negative effects during or after the incident. In fact, if anything, he felt more energetic than usual, though his mother reasoned that was because of the adrenaline he was receiving from pure anticipation.
It was true, to some degree, and he was downright giddy going to bed early, replaying the memory of the video All Might had shown him again and again. He didn't even notice his drowsiness creeping in on him as he pondered.
He woke up the next day at noon. Groggily, he had pulled himself out of bed, nearly faceplanting on his floor when his legs gave under his weight. Every muscle in his body screamed with a deep, burning soreness that he had never even come close to experiencing before as exhaustion rolled in waves against him.
His mother had given him a sympathetic look at he dragged his limp body out of his room, collapsing onto the sofa with a groan.
After dinner, once Midoriya was more awake, the two had had a lengthy conversation, and Inko had been upfront and honest with him, laying bare her fears of him being hurt. Midoriya suspected that her reservations had something to do with how his father had passed away, but he didn't ask, and she didn't say.
It had been a decade since he was gone, and Midoriya lamented that he still knew very little about the man. He knew that his father was a hero with a fire breath quirk, but whom, and how he had died was not something his mother ever talked about. Unable to find answers, even after searching online and by rooting around his mom's files, Midoriya had pushed aside the topic in lieu of pursuing his dreams.
But now, the unspoken truth of what had happened hung over them with a dark cloud, threatening to rain his chances out. It had made him feel guilty and like a bad son when he told her that he still wanted to pursue this road, and that Yagi's offer was simply too good to pass up.
In the end, Inko relented, making sure she was promised that he would be safe at all times. Midoriya had agreed but had barely paid attention to the promise as his mind was overcome with joy.
Returning to school the following day had slipped Midoriya's mind until he was already walking through the school's gates. Anxiety pulsed through his veins when he realized that he had gotten a few stares and whispers amongst his classmates. People congratulated Bakugo's bravery, even a couple days later, and Norakura made a special point to mention it again, so that Midoriya could hear it as well. Midoriya wasn't sure if any of them knew he had been involved in the incident too, but he guessed they probably did.
Oddly, Bakugo barely flinched at the praise, neither accepting nor denying it. He glared a hole into Midoriya's head but said scarcely a word all day. That was probably what made Midoriya the most uneasy. It was impossible to tell what his classmate was thinking.
The day was relatively uneventful, Midoriya reflected as he walked back home. Not that he would complain, his body was still pretty sore, and he didn't want anymore action for a bit.
Midoriya had just turned the corner, entering the street where he had been cornered by All Might, watching his shoes with a glazed expression when he collided with something firm and warm.
Blinking out of his stupor, Midoriya looked up to see Bakugo standing in front of him, a murderous glare burning in his eyes.
"Oh, uh, K-Kacchan, sorry 'bout that," Midoriya said quickly as he took a couple steps back instinctively.
"Deku," Bakugo's voice quivered with barely contained anger, but it held an even articulation. "We need to talk."
"Umm, I'm kind of busy right now, can it wait until like tomorrow or something?" Midoriya took a step to the side, mentally plotting his escape route as he spoke.
Bakugo's hand flashed out, seizing Midoriya's uniform and slamming him into the nearest wall. "No, it can't."
The blond leaned in with a glower. "I want to know exactly what is going on."
Nerves and adrenaline pulsed through Midoriya's veins, and his throat caught whatever words tried to slip out.
"You shouldn't have been able to even have gotten close to that sludge villain. How did you do it?" Bakugo continued.
"I…" Midoriya swallowed a lump in his throat. "I used my quirk."
"Bullshit. You're quirkless. Quirks don't magically appear," Bakugo's grip tightened as he snarled.
I mean, apparently, I'm being given a quirk as well, so I guess it can. But the way Bakugo's words curled around Midoriya's ear irritated the boy. A hot flash of frustration spurred him forward, pushing Bakugo's hand off him. "I told you years ago, Kacchan," he gripped his fists tight. "I told you I did have a quirk; I just never knew how to use it until then. And I told you I was going to be a hero, and I'm going to do that too."
Crimson orbs narrowed, and Bakugo clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Even if you have a quirk, you're still a useless nobody, Deku." He turned on his heel and started to walk away, pausing as he spoke away from Midoriya. "And just so we're clear, you didn't save me the other day, All Might did. I don't owe you anything."
Midoriya straightened his jacket and sighed, looking at the ground. He trudged home.
<<<>>>
In all the years Midoriya had been alive, he liked to think that he had accrued a fairly substantial knowledge of both the world of heroes—and especially of his idol All Might—and the world at large. After all, social media and the internet allowed anyone to access its vast reservoir of resources, and 14 years was certainly a lengthy time to learn.
However, even with all his knowledge working together, never had he imagined a scenario quite like this: riding in a car with All Might himself. In fact, the hero was driving him personally to U.A. He had been so giddy that he had nearly passed out.
All Might had shown up at the scheduled time the day after Bakugo had confronted Midoriya, and with an emphatic nod from the boy and a much more reserved quick discussion between the deflated hero and his mother, they had agreed to All Might's proposal. Midoriya thought he heard his mom say something about a lengthier discussion about the particulars of the training regime after his examination, but he had stopped paying attention when he saw All Might's American-style truck up close.
"You know, your mother is very thorough," All Might commented as the pair drove. "It's impressive. Most parents of prospective heroes don't know much about the training, or the risks involved, until the training has already started, but she seems to have a more intimate familiarity. Does your family have a hero connection, Young Midoriya?"
Midoriya tapped his lips with a curled knuckle in thought for a moment. "Umm, yeah, my dad was a hero, I think. I don't know much about him, though, he passed away when I was little."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." That explains a bit more about how she was acting, All Might noted.
"I… don't remember much about him, so it's okay. I don't even know what his hero name was."
The awkward mood in the car passed easily when All Might opened himself up to a private Q-and-A for the young boy, and he might have answered about a hundred questions in the near half-hour drive to U.A.
All Might grinned to himself as he watched Midoriya ask questions regarding both quirks and the inner workings of his hero agency, analyzing and stowing the material away for later use. He had to admit, the kid had academic potential as well as a heroic spirit.
Midoriya had been awed at the famous "U.A. Barrier", a high-tech gateway that allowed only authorized people entry into the impressive school campus. It was designed to keep villains wishing to do harm to heroes-in-training or the symbol of the hero educational system, but at the moment, All Might was happier that it kept out the media as well.
The campus itself was large, hosting several training grounds, including several ones the size and shape of entire city blocks, a stadium, a small forest, and the main school building, an impressively windowed building consisting of two tall towers connected by a pair of bridges in the middle, giving the structure a shape reminiscent of the Latin 'H'.
Midoriya was starstruck.
"Welcome to U.A.," a voice startled them from the side. "Young Mr. Midoriya, I presume?"
Midoriya squeaked. The voice belonged to a rather unique creature. It was a bizarre amalgam of various animals; covered entirely in white fur, it had a mouse-like head that held small, black beady eyes that seemed to pierce their very minds. A noticeable scar ran over its right eye. Canine-esque paws poked out of its white dress shirt sleeves. A thin, feline tail held aloft behind it. Dressed in a shirt and tie with an impressive-looking waistcoat and a pressed pair of slacks, the newcomer radiated a bizarre contradiction of auras, both relaxed and professional. Even with the orange high top sneakers it wore, it still stood just under three feet tall, by Midoriya's estimate.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," the creature continued with an eloquent voice. "I know what you're wondering, am I a dog, or a mouse, or a bear? Well, who's to say? All that matters is that I'm the principal."
"Principal Nezu, sir," All Might had recovered from the shock. "I didn't know you'd be meeting us today."
The… principal?? Midoriya's eyes impossibly got wider. "You're Mr. Principal, the pro hero!" He instantly bowed at the waist. "I'm so sorry, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
Nezu laughed, waving the boy's frantic movements off. "Don't you worry yourself. It's nothing official, after all. All Might told me that he had found a prospective student and was bringing him for a quirk analysis exam. I like to know all my students, potential or not, and I would be lying if I said that your case didn't fascinate me."
Midoriya stumbled on his words, a faint blush on his cheeks as he tried to navigate his mind through the compliment paid to him.
Nezu chuckled and led the pair into the school. It took Midoriya a few moments to realize that All Might was in his skinny form still and Nezu had recognized him. It made sense, he supposed. If All Might was working at the school, the staff would have to know about this form; the man could only use his hero form for three hours a day.
The walk was a bit longer than Midoriya had expected, but the time flew by as he tried to imprint the school's interior in his mind. If All Might or Nezu had asked him anything, he had entirely not heard, so absorbed was he with soaking in the surroundings.
The medical room was a surprisingly spacious room on the bottom floor of the school, with a few beds, an examination table, and a corner of the room that had a desk with a computer that had three or four monitors. There were several glass cabinets filled with various medical equipment.
"Ah, you're here. Good."
An old woman stepped into the room from an adjacent door. She was short, maybe a foot taller than Nezu was, with a wide, kind face, and silver hair tied into a tight bun with a hairpin shaped like a syringe holding it in place. Her lab coat trailed on the floor, and she walked with a cane shaped like a comically large syringe. Midoriya started forward.
"Oh my god, Recovery Girl!" he gushed. "The famous Youthful Heroine! You're a legend in the medical and the support hero communities. I didn't know you worked at U.A.; you're All Might's doctor? That's amazing!"
"Chatterbox, isn't he?" Recovery Girl smirked as she glanced up at All Might.
The hero chuckled. "He's certainly enthusiastic about heroes. You should here him talk about quirks."
"Well, that's what we're here to do," she replied. "Come on, young man, sit up here."
She tapped an examination table with her table and pulled a stool that she stood on as Midoriya hopped on the bed. She led the boy through several routine tests before having him spit into a tube and having him lie down in another room with a complicated piece of equipment.
"The saliva is for a DNA sample," she explained. "We're using it to look at your quirk genes. The machine you're in an MRI machine, and we'll be taking two scans. Once we take your initial scan, we'll do it again with your quirk active."
Midoriya paused, chewing on his lip. "Umm, I… actually don't know how to activate it. It kind of just did that one time."
Recovery Girl hummed in thought. "Okay, come back out here after the first scan."
The scan was relatively quick, and Midoriya soon stood in front of the adults with an embarrassed look on his face. "I tried activating it day after, but I honestly don't even know what it is, let alone how to use it."
"Most quirks are somewhat instinctual," Nezu mused. "Those with specific activation requirements tend to have natural attractions to those requirements. However, the fact that yours only manifested a few days ago rather than a decade ago means we're essentially in unchartered territory as is."
"I'm sorry," Midoriya looked at the floor.
"Now, now, there's nothing to be sorry for," All Might said. "We just need to figure out what the base of the quirk is so we can get an idea of where to go."
"Do you still have that video on you, Toshinori?" Recovery Girl tapped her finger against the head of her cane.
"Oh, yeah," All Might fished his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through it, handing it to the others. "Here."
Midoriya looked over Nezu and Recovery Girl's shoulders as they watched the video.
"It's a whole-body effect, judging from the aura," Nezu noted.
"The fact that it appears and vanishes around him like that tells me it's an internal power that he's bringing to the surface," Recovery Girl nodded in agreement with the principal. She glanced at All Might. "A bit like yours."
"Oh! Then I have an idea, Young Midoriya," All Might brightened. He waved Midoriya closer to himself. "Now, do as I do."
He widened his stance and clenched his fists as if bracing. "Tighten your core," he instructed. "Close your eyes and breathe."
Midoriya did as he was told, taking steady breaths.
"There's something inside of you, an energy. You might picture it like a fire or a raging vortex of water or whatever. But it will have a distinct feeling. Try to coax it out."
Midoriya's brow furrowed as he tried to feel his form. At first, nothing happened, and he felt a bit confused with All Might's instructions, but as he concentrated, he felt the world slipping away from him. He focused himself into this mental space and began to feel around, searching for something, anything. Suddenly, he felt something brush up against him. Mentally, he turned, seeking out what it was that he had touched.
He groped around blindly for a moment or two before grasping the energy. It curled around him, undulating with a bizarrely calm sensation. All Might had made it sound like he was to find a maelstrom within himself, but this was different. Though vaguely flame-like in shape, it flowed similarly to a liquid, and it pulsed as though it was a heartbeat, slipping soothingly through his fingers and caressing his frame with a gentle repose. It was a large mass, almost the size of him, glowing with an ethereal pale blue light. The outer edges seemed to almost reach out in curiosity, licking at his skin.
He winced as it came close, but the energy was almost frighteningly tranquil as it swirled about him, and Midoriya could tell there was something akin to a temperature gradient within the power. The wisps of energy that reached out to him from the edges of the quirk provided a cool sensation, and he could feel it spread, blooming across his chest and stomach like cold water on a hot day. However, though he couldn't will himself forward to get closer to it, the core of the power was warm, almost searingly hot, and he could feel glimpses of heat that seemed to leak out from within.
"Young Midoriya!"
All Might's voice pierced the haze that had been blocking out the world and Midoriya's eyes snapped open.
"Wha-?"
"It worked!" All Might beamed at him.
Midoriya instantly noticed the cool feeling that had spread across his core had persisted to the conscious world and the edges of his visions were tinted with a pale yellow. He looked down at himself, noticing the faint, but gentle aura around him.
"Wonderful, now, get in the machine, please," Recovery Girl stepped forward and Midoriya noticed that she seemed a touch slower than before. He walked into the room and lay down in the MRI machine again.
It took nearly half an hour for the results to be processed and even more time as Nezu and Recovery Girl looked over the results. Midoriya, his quirk now dispelled, sat in his chair next to All Might and nervously bounced his leg while fidgeting with his fingers. All Might patted him on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Okay," Recovery Girl sat on her stool, Nezu finding one of his own as well. "Here's what we can tell so far.
"His quirk seems to be an emitter type, specifically an enhancer. That energy that surrounds you stimulates your muscles and nerves. Your brain's motor and processing areas are activated at a greater rate," she reached over and turned a monitor around to face Midoriya and All Might. On it, there was a scan of his brain, various parts coloured in the analysis, but the specifics of it eluded him.
"So, what you're saying is that my quirk enhances my body's ability to react and move?" Midoriya paused, hoping for confirmation before he began to think about it too deeply.
"Essentially. That's what we think anyway," Nezu chimed in. "With more testing, it'll become clearer, but it should improve your muscle coordination and nervous system to give you greater speed, strength, and reaction time."
"I sense a 'but' coming," All Might stroked his chin.
"Well, we're not sure of the drawbacks just yet," Recovery Girl tapped her cane on the tile floor. "That said, even with the enhancements to his body through his quirk, he's still not strong enough to handle the rigors of the hero course, and definitelynot strong enough to handle One For All yet."
Midoriya's head snapped up. "Wait," he said quickly. "You both know about…?"
"That All Might here intends to make you his successor and pass his power down to you?" Nezu smiled calmly. "We do."
All Might cleared his throat. "Recovery Girl and Principal Nezu are the only ones in the faculty that know the specifics of my quirk, though the whole of them know about my weakened state."
"You picked one hell of a project with this boy, Toshinori," Recovery Girl muttered. "He'll need to train his body, his quirk, and his combat ability if he wants to pass the entrance exam."
"There is always the option of not giving him your quirk until after the school year has started," Nezu noted. "Depending on how the young man proceeds in his training."
"But wouldn't it be smarter for me to take One For All now and then train with it and my quirk. so I get used to it?" Midoriya tilted his head.
"If this quirk was anything other than One For All, that would be the smart way to tackle it," All Might sighed. He looked at Midoriya. "But this quirk is less like a container of power, like yours probably is, and more like a plant. Each of my predecessors who had it before me nourished and grew it bit by bit until I was able to add in my contribution. It grows and expands. At the level of power stored within it now, it's liable that your body would simply be unable to handle it. Your limbs would probably explode off your body if you tried to use it."
"W-wait! Explode!?"
"Which is why you'll be training first," All Might said quickly. "We'll get you into a shape that can withstand the power." he leaned close to Midoriya. "But honestly, this is likely going to be hardest thing you've ever done. I need to know you're willing to commit to this full throttle."
It was a lot of information to take in, everything from his quirk to the insane power that All Might wielded daily that he would be taking on himself. But being in U.A., meeting Recovery Girl and Nezu, talking about quirks with All Might, it had been the most amazing few hours of Midoriya's life. He felt closer to his dream than he had ever been. He had to follow through. For his mom, for his father's unknown legacy, for himself, for All Might.
"I can do it," he said firmly.
"Well now, that's what I like to hear," Nezu smiled. He slipped his phone into his pocket as he spoke. When did he have that out? "Toshinori will come up with the specifics of your training regimen, of course, but I'd like to introduce you to another teacher if I may, Mr. Midoriya."
Midoriya blinked. "Oh, y-yeah, sure." Another teacher? For what? Then again, if Midoriya could meet another pro hero, he wasn't exactly going to refuse.
A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door, and then it opened. In walked a burly man, clad in a blood red bodysuit with thick black trim and knee-high white boots. Hefty white vambraces were attached to similarly white gloves, and a rigid tube ran from one of the gauntlets to his back. His hair was short and spiky, light grey in colour, and did little to draw attention from his large, square chin, that had a pair of pronounced canine teeth sticking up from his bottom jaw. A wide, yellow face shield covered his small, carmine eyes.
Midoriya barely noticed the scars adorning the man's cheek and neck, his sheer presence commanding the boy's attention. The man towered over everyone in the room save for All Might, but the number one hero's thin form was dwarfed by the powerfully muscled and broad frame of the newcomer.
"Wait, you're—" Midoriya started under his breath.
"Mr. Midoriya, this is Sekijiro Kan, better known as—"
"You're the Blood Hero: Vlad King!" Midoriya shot to his feet. "Your Blood Control quirk is famous for its versatility! You're super popular with whole groups of kids at my school!"
"Well, thank you, young man," Vlad King rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "That's kind of you to say. It's nice to meet you." He looked up and saw All Might. "And a pleasure to finally meet you as well," he extended his hand, and All Might shook it.
"Vlad King here will be helping you practice with your quirk," Nezu said to Midoriya.
"Really?" the sparkle in the boy's eyes both intensified and diminished in confusion within instants of each other. "But, why?" He spun to face Vlad King again, his cheeks reddening. "N-not that I wouldn't want to, sir! B-but, it's just, if All Might is helping me train already, why specifically is Vlad King also working with me on my quirk?"
"All Might isn't always going to be available, and his time limit will make it difficult to show you much with his power to help you train yours," Nezu explained. "Vlad King is also a master with using complex emitter quirks, so he'll be able to help you out."
Midoriya nodded in understand. He reached out and shook the man's hand, marvelling at how it engulfed his. "Th-thank you, sir."
"It's no worry," Vlad King grinned. His fangs made it look far more vicious than his voice was. "Honestly, I was pretty interested hearing about a kid who just unlocked his quirk needing help training. A lot of the teachers were curious about you."
Midoriya blushed.
"Well, I think it's time I got him back home and let his mother know about the tentative plans," All Might rested a hand on Midoriya's shoulder. There was an odd warmth that emanated from the man, and Midoriya leaned into it unconsciously. "I'll come up with a training plan and schedule to accommodate us all and we'll get started. After all, we only have 10 months before the entrance exam."
"Yeah," Midoriya felt a bit overwhelmed. "Oh, uh, one more thing if I could?"
The others looked at him.
There was a rustle and Midoriya suddenly held out a small notebook and pen. All Might glanced at the boy's back, trying to figure out where the items had come from.
"Can I have your autographs?"
<<<>>>
Midoriya looked at the landscape in front of him with wide, blinking eyes. Next to him, Inko looked much the same. Yagi rested his fists on his hips and looked at the scenery in front of him with a puffed-out chest.
Well, Midoriya noted. 'Scenery' might be a bit of a stretch.
The land in front of them was ocean-front property, though few would notice, their attention stolen by the absolute mountain of garbage strewn about the sand. It ranged from small bits of plastic bags and other minor trash to full appliances and similarly sized large items like tires and wooden shelving.
"Welcome," Yagi extended a hand in a sweeping gesture. "To Dagobah Beach. It was a popular tourist location when I was a kid, but it's since been turned into a dumping ground after trash started washing up on the beach. Truly a shame." He shook his head in a disappointed manner.
"So…" Midoriya started. "What are we doing here?"
Yagi had shown up as he said he would, a few days after Midoriya's exam at U.A. He had handed Inko a thick stack of papers in a manila envelope, then piled mother and son into his truck and driven south for 10 minutes.
"I told you that I would be in charge of building your body up, didn't I?" Yagi grinned. "You need to build muscle, Young Midoriya. Become stronger and you'll be able to pull more out of your quirk, and vice-versa. So, your task will be to clean the beach."
Midoriya gaped. "C-clean it?"
"That's right," the man nodded. "I could put you into a gym and have you build muscle that way, but this has two advantages over that. The first is that you'll be building more functional strength than traditional strength, working your whole body at a time. It'll be more akin to the type of strength you need in rescue scenarios. The second is that you'll be doing the community a great service, and that is a heroic thing to do."
"Is this not… a bit dangerous?" Inko bit her nail.
"Of course, which is why they're some important ground rules we're going to cover first," Yagi replied. He turned to look Midoriya in the eye. "Number one: you never come here without me to supervise. Number two: you see anything that makes you even remotely unsure, and you tell me immediately, no questions asked. Number three: you wear gloves at all times. Got it?"
Midoriya nodded.
"Excellent! Let's get started!"
<<<>>>
"Now, draw out your quirk more."
Midoriya shut his eyes and focused, retreating to the space in his mind that he had found his quirk. He reached out to the mass of power, he watched, slightly fascinated by how the energy seemed to respond to him, meeting his hand with a tendril and curling around his form. The cooling feeling bloomed across his chest and stomach.
"Excellent," Vlad King clicked a stopwatch and glanced at it. "7.9 seconds." The large man grinned at Midoriya who was still bracing, holding the power steady. "Now release it."
Midoriya's shoulders dropped and the glow around him vanished.
All Might had told him that this training would be the most difficult thing he had ever done at that point, and he had believed the top hero, but the saying 'seeing is believing' had applied quicker than Midoriya had anticipated. He was three months into his training now, and it was brutal.
The folder All Might had given his mother contained a detailed training regimen called "All Might's American Dream to Win Plan". It was a corny name, but the contents were serious business. Midoriya's life for the next ten months had been carefully planned, even times to eat and what to eat, along with quirk training and sleep were strictly scheduled.
The first week had been the hardest, and Midoriya had quickly decided that voluntarily waking up at five-thirty in the morning was something only done by lunatics and masochists.
He worked out six days a week, moving items at Dagobah, and had quirk training with Vlad King in an indoor training facility at U.A. that the teacher had called the "TDL" but lacked an explanation of what the acronym stood for.
Vlad King had appeared gruff and intimidating but was a soft and encouraging teacher with him. Together, the pair had discovered a couple new facets of Midoriya's quirk. The first was that the energy output was linked to his own stamina, and the few times that the boy had come to training either exhausted or beat up, his quirk was quick to peter out.
Vlad King had asked about the injuries that Midoriya seemed to brush off, but never received a straight answer. Midoriya hadn't wanted to say anything; the first time had been Bakugo, but the explosive blond had become pre-occupied with his own training and evidently lost interest in Midoriya for the time being. His lackeys hadn't however, and Midoriya's habit of not fighting back had reared its head.
Fighting back wouldn't have helped, though, and Midoriya knew it. They ganged up on him, cowardly operating in groups, spewing vitriol and hate. Part of Midoriya had wanted to strike back, to activate his quirk and beat them down, but it wasn't the heroic thing to do, and a more satisfying revenge would be to become a hero and prove them wrong.
All Might had asked if Midoriya was having trouble in school as well, but the boy had steadfastly denied any notion of something being wrong.
Midoriya shook his head to clear those thoughts. He was concentrating on his quirk, not his past. The second thing he had learned from training with his quirk was that it was possible to overcharge his body with energy. Doing so led to excessive exhaustion and he had nearly collapsed halfway through the exercise. Even the next morning, his muscles had screamed at him as he tried to get up.
But Midoriya never gave up. It was tempting, he had wanted to more than anything, some days, but he couldn't ever bring himself to do so. He had to keep pushing.
He practiced his quirk every chance he could, even a few times when moving garbage at the beach. Once, when trying in vain to pull a fridge free of the pile with All Might sitting on it in his buff form had led to Midoriya complaining that the hero weighed too much.
"Nah, I've lost weight, I'm down to 475 pounds nowadays," All Might had laughed.
The answer was touch too sarcastic for Midoriya's fraying nerves at the time, and a quick jolt forward with his quirk had sent the hero toppling to the ground as the fridge wrenched free suddenly. The man had laughed it off when Midoriya apologized later.
"You're able to draw more power out than at first," Vlad King's voice grabbed the boy's attention back to the exercise at hand. "But you're still taking too much time. On the field, time is an extremely precious resource. You need to become both precise and quick in your control."
To prove his point, Vlad King raised his hand, and a sudden flow of blood shot out of his gauntlets, quickly crystalizing into a two-pronged claw. Midoriya watched with wonder as the blood reliquefied and was drawn back into the vents on Vlad King's wrist. The whole process had taken barely a second.
"Now, again, draw the energy out," the hero barked. "Faster this time. You're not leaving today until you get it under seven seconds!"
"Yes sir!"
<<<>>>
Yagi watched with a shocked expression as Midoriya swung an oven from one side of the junk pile to another. It was so close. Just a few more pieces. A few more pieces and it would be done. He admitted that he had had his doubts when designing his plan for the young boy. Between quirk training and physical training and the very brief few lessons of combat basics that Vlad King had used the final few days for, Yagi had been unsure if Midoriya would be able to clear the beach.
And yet, he watched the child against the silhouette of the rising sun, once a small twig of a boy and now a built young man, seize the final piece of trash on the beach and lug it over to the scrap heap that would be taken away by a crew, a warm light of pride and hope ignited in his chest. He hadn't felt this way in years.
Midoriya cried out as he dumped the final piece, a deep, throaty, primal yell of accomplishment and relief.
This boy is… amazing.
Yagi buffed up into his hero form and launched forward, sweeping the boy up into his arms with joy.
"My boy," he said. "I'm so proud of you! You've done so much, grown so much, it's just unbelievable."
"Th-thanks," Midoriya stammered, his cheeks flush with both exertion and embarrassment at the sudden compliment by his mentor.
"And not a moment too soon, either. The practical exam for U.A. is in just a few hours," the hero glanced at his watch. "You've proven yourself worthy in so many ways, Young Midoriya. I'm proud—no, I'm honoured—to share this moment with you.
"Go home, shower, eat, and get yourself to the school. You have this."
Midoriya's nervous expression lit up at the praise. "I will!" He turned to leave, but All Might put his hand on Midoriya's shoulder, stopping him.
"Before that, though, there's one more thing."
Midoriya turned and gave the man a confused look.
All Might smiled widely. "I knew you had forgotten," he said. "And that alone speaks so much about your character, Young Midoriya. But before you go, I did promise you to give you my quirk, right? I believe you're ready now."
Oh. Oh. All Might had been right; Midoriya had forgotten, so focused was he on finishing the beach and working on his own quirk that the knowledge that he would be given One For All at some point had slipped his mind. And All Might wanted to give it to him now?
An excited shiver passed through him.
All Might stood, all seven feet of him, proudly and reached up, plucking a hair out of one of his bangs. He held the hair out to Midoriya.
"Now, eat this!"
"What?" Midoriya looked at the man blankly.
"Here," All Might pushed the hair into Midoriya's hand. "Passing the quirk on requires you to intake my DNA. If you eat it, the quirk will be transferred to you."
"Oh, I see," Midoriya looked uneasily at the golden strand between his fingers. Shrugging, he shut his eyes, opened his mouth, and pushed the hair inside, swallowing quickly and nearly gagging.
"Izuku Midoriya," All Might put hand on Midoriya's shoulder. The boy leaned into the warmth slightly. "You are now the ninth holder of this great quirk. Now, go kick this entrance exam's butt!"