Chapter 1
The wind howled in front of UA high entrance hall. The small break of trees and stone fence gave way to a spacious path where numerous students walked side-by-side. Some larger than others, others looked brave, others looked scared.
Some students vying for heroism, others just wanting the prestige of joining UA itself.
Amongst the crowds of vibrantly coloured children, with varying quirks and powers walked Izuku Midoriya: His coat wrapped around him tightly, his hood over the small tuft of dark green hair.
The dark navy laced over his body, covering almost all inches of skin. His hands buried deep into his large pockets.
However, most importantly for Izuku Midoriya's appearance. A striking factor he wore everywhere:
A high face mask, rising from the base of his shirt and to the tip of his nose. It's dual patterned grey and blue waved in the wind slightly as he stepped past the wide open glass doors. No one paid attention to the dully-dressed boy.
No one batted an eye at him when he completed the written exam, as he took a seat in the far corner and buried himself from the rest of them by the fabric of his coat. His answers cleanly written and smoothly pressed into the paper itself.
He made not a single noise.
When the teachers walked around the room to pick up each student's first entrance fee for the exam, he didn't rise to meet their eyes. He cowered under his hood at all the people. So many people.
He made not a single noise.
After they were finally bid to rise, he stepped into the orderly lines forming, until they dispersed from the main hall and suddenly broke away to a gaggle-formed hallway. Trying to maintain his blend of invisibility, he stood to the side, sliding along the windows.
He made not a single noise.
They soon opened to another hall, this one for presentations: The assembly hall.
The great doors opened with a snap. Students cooed in shock at the darkened room and swiftly shuffled in. Izuku stepped forward before being pushed back. He tripped on his foot, falling again and using his arms to maintain a balance with another step back.
He made not a single noise.
His eyes glanced forward, looking toward the blond cause of his momentary panic. His face scowled as their eyes met. His lips quirked into a smirk. Katsuki Bakugo.
A classmate of over a decade and tormentor for just as long. Just as he regained his ability to stand, his back suddenly collided with another person. He startled out and quickly twisted around, leaving the smirking blond to terrorise someone else.
A light brown-haired girl had fallen behind him with a smile and sigh-less laugh. Her hand wrapped around the back of her neck, "I'm so- so sorry!"
Her rosy cheeks almost shone in the light that filtered from the window, as if drawn on by pen, she flustered more as he offered her a hand to stand up. She smiled, nodding a thank you as he pulled her up.
"I'm so sorry, I was just looking at everything- it's so big here!" she exclaimed as other students bustled past them.
He made not a single noise.
Izuku nodded back to the girl and she took it as a reply. Currently, Izuku was trying to find a way out of this conversation, he really didn't want to mess up. "Well, I'm Ochako Uraraka, it's nice to meet you, so sorry for bumping into you."
At this moment, his quirk was the worst, because he came across as uncaring or arrogant in his mind. He couldn't even reply properly. He signed for her not to worry, however, as predicted, she didn't understand.
So many rarely did.
She did take an interest in his signing hands, looking down at them, "Oh- can you not hear? Wait- can you not speak?"
He nodded, pointing to his mouth without lowering the woollen mask.
"Well- I, good luck then," she smiled again, "I hope we meet again." With one last nod, Ochako Uraraka walked into the assembly hall too.
Izuku soon followed her lead.
He made not a single noise.
…
The rules of the entrance exam were explained, defeat robots and gain points. There were zero pointers too which one should ignore, like obstacles in a game. It was easy enough to gather. Each student was given a slip of paper and sent on their way towards a battle arena.
Robots were good at least, he could easily not harm people. Energy from a robot was far weaker in comparison to energy in a person.
The stroll over to the arenas was the same as the walk to the assembly hall, a walk filled with him by himself, not even being able to start communication with anyone around him and drifting in his own thoughts.
He couldn't even sigh, he could make no noise to show his emotion, except an exhale through his nose at the very least.
Alongside the other students, he probably looked the most sombre, well maybe the purple-haired boy looked a little more on edge than he did. Sadly, he couldn't see Ochako Uraraka from earlier close to him, however, he also couldn't see Bakugo, which was nice.
"And begin," Present Mic cried out. Everyone looked to the hero in confusion, there hadn't even been a countdown yet. "What's wrong? The tests started! Run! Run! The die is cast!"
The crowds all ran ahead, he saw the boy with glasses who asked Present Mic a question in the assembly hall and then he saw the girl from before run in.
As everyone ran in Izuku strolled in quietly, his footsteps light yet not deliberate. He needed not to run ahead, needed not to physically punch over a machine. He just had to wait.
His hands balled by his sides, the last time he'd used his quirk had hurt someone, as it always did, so he tended not to practise with it. He took the bus a few times each week to that deserted forest to practise, hopefully, enough control paid off.
Students left and right all fought the robots in vibrant ways, one boy had a laser from his stomach, glasses boy rammed into another with his speeded legs. Smoke, dust, and shrapnel rained around him. He avoided each rock and shard with relative ease, most pieces untoward him. The robots also seemed to ignore him. All the better.
Slowly, he made his way to the middle of the arena. 5 seconds should do it, with no elderly or young children around, 5 seconds should leave most people unharmed and the robots destroyed. He'd left enough time for others to get points too.
Actually, he might break the circuits which record this. Well, hopefully, they'd see enough.
His index finger slowly hooked around the top of his fabric mouth protector and lowered it around his neck. His mouth twinged as the cool air met bright red scars and black scabs. The lines and cracked skin around his frontal features etched deeply into his face.
He took one last inhale through his nose and opened his mouth, as soon as he breathed out the low drone of a hum filled the air. It would be heard by everyone for at least 500 metres he'd reckon, never having tested it before.
Then it happened, a cry ruptured from the back of his burnt voice box as the world around him stilled, the robots all slowed, the air filled with rays of white, yellow, blue, and red rays of light. Energy in its simplest form all swarmed into his mouth. All fell into the sky from their circuits: phones, a microwave, a plane, a robot. It mattered not as they all started to collapse.
The energy swarmed his scarred mouth with a static feeling, he then caught in the glimpse of his eye a boy began to falter, he was a little too close to Izuku not to be affected. He saw the boy slowly fall to the ground, along with the domino noise of robots. Everyone around him started to falter, and the robots all died out.
As soon as he saw the ones around him fall he quickly closed his mouth with a gasp. His knees gave way and he fell to the ground. It shouldn't be too much to dispel later on at least, hopefully it wouldn't hurt.
His stomach felt woozy and his throat burnt at the revelation. The crowds of students all turned to face him with a glare, they probably didn't like him stealing their thunder - well energy. He imagined a few of them would feel relatively cold now, lacking of energy to keep fighting.
No more robots made a sound as the klaxon - it must run on something other than energy - sounded and the exam came to a halt. He could hope no one got hurt. Then he saw the largest robot, it seemed that Klaxon didn't mean stop.
…
He staggered his way to the forest, passing by splintered wood and thrown rocks as his stomach churned with fire. In a heap he fell to the ground, his hands gripped at his stomach, threatening to rip it open with his bare hands.
With struggled and stiff muscles he managed to pull down his mask, then opened his mouth.
The piercing sound of thunder broke through his lips as the invested energy dispersed around him, threatening to ruin the landscape he had nurtured to be his own. The small rock he sat on each time for lunch - an activity he always had to do in private - was flung into the air as powerful forces fluttered the leaves of the trees away. Branches fell into the fray and blew into the air, far away from Izuku.
All he could do was cry out as the sound of the thunder ripped his voice box once more. The air fluttered around him in spectacular swirls. It might look pretty, but it hurt, it hurt so badly.
The pain soon dissipated as the energy fell into the sky and back into the universe as a whole. Izuku was left shivering on the floor, alone and in fear of his power. That 0-pointer really took it out of him, it hurt so much, but saving someone made it worth it after all, saving someone was human.
…
People ran from their gaze at him as the 0-pointer destroyed buildings and rubble flew into the air. A dust smoke screen fell into the open which engulfed the robot's feet. He stood, staring at it. It was just energy, of course, a lot more energy than the previous ones. "Help!" he saw the girl from before trapped under rubble and falling from fatigue.
He had done this. As always, his quirk did this, hurt people. He had to help her, he ran, his legs running and burning the pain of before. At least he could utilise some energy from before. Yet, what did he do?
Using his quirk too close to her would knock her out for certain, and might hospitalise her for a few days. What choice did he have? She was nice to him, and if that wasn't good enough for him, then he didn't know what was.
His finger unhooked his mouth cover once more, the fabric neck fell around his own. He breathed in and screamed. The energy from the robot poured out. Its red tendrils fell into Izuku's mouth with a deafening fuzz, like he was consuming pure static.
It burned away his lips - like that one time before which scarred him - and burnt the back of his throat.
The robot carried on forward with sluggish movements, then slowly, with slow being the operative function, it began to stop. Its arm swiped at a building, yet had not the force to keep on moving and it fell stuck in the concrete.
Its legs gave away and tumbled over itself. Izuku stood there, frozen to the spot and transfixed at the behemoth. The light soon flickered out of its head. With a sigh, he quickly pulled up his mask and ran to the girl.
She was unconscious now but still breathing - a welcomed relief if there ever was one. His fingers pressed to her forehead, she was still warm enough. With a glare in the other direction, he pressed his mouth to her forehead as he lowered his mask - to make sure no one saw - a few embers of energy fell into her skin, absorbed by her pale stature.
As he parted his mouth, with another pull-up of his mask he glared to the stone on her body and heaved it off. It took some effort and he fought back a grunt but soon it was released from her hold. With a grin - which was only seen through moon-curved eyes - he fell to the side and lay on the rubble. Relief at saving a person as well. Those embers should save her brain activity from any damage too.
…
He struggled home that night from the forest, his legs felt weak and kept giving way. He probably looked drunk - if he knew what looking drunk was. The moment he stumbled through the door his mum caught him with a grasp. "I've got you Izu, I've got you, it's okay, mum's here."
His eyes drifted to her own caring eyes as she stumbled and helped him to the sofa. "Wait here, I'll be back with tea." She hurried to the kitchen as he fell in a heap on the sofa. He felt bad, making her worry like this, what choice did he have though? He would blow up an entire city again if he built enough energy again, something which had taken 4 counsellors and a lot of media manipulation to cover up and forget.
Izuku Midoriya: the perfect aspects of both his parents' quirk and all he wishes for was to speak, to say one word.
Soon his mum appeared with tea on the small coffee table and placed it down, "you didn't bleed again did you?" she asked. A phrase for if he coughed up blood, they'd have to contact the doctor again if he did, thankfully, he hadn't.
He shook his head from side to side and signed 'just energy release, hurt' with sluggish movements.
"That's okay, that's good at least. How did you do?" she sat on the sofa's edge.
His hands moved again, 'Did good, think, met a nice girl, saved her too, felt good.' His movements more sluggish than before.
"Well done, I'm proud of you. Well, you're a real hero now, aren't you." She smiled with him as she swept loose hair from his face.
A nod was all his answer was, his hands too tired to sign further, and soon he fell into a sleep, his mother by his side.
Izuku Midoriya, with any luck, a hero.