Age: 11
I have thirteen notebooks lined up on my shelf.
The first five are... hard to read. They are full of clumsy crayon drawings, tear stains, and crumpled pages. They are the record of a child desperately looking for a sign that he was special.
Notebook number six marks the change. The handwriting becomes sharper. Drawings of fantastic hero costumes are replaced by muscle diagrams, diet charts, and biomechanics notes that Kacchan dictated to me while I tried not to vomit after running five kilometers.
Sometimes, when Kacchan isn't looking, I open notebook number 5. The date of the last entry is the day of my diagnosis.
"Quirkless."
I remember the cold of the doctor's office. I remember feeling the floor disappear, as if I were suddenly a ghost in my own life. In a world where everyone flies, breathes fire, or moves things with their minds, being "normal" is being invisible. Or worse, being a mistake.
But then... I remember the shift.
It wasn't a motivational speech from a movie. It was Kacchan turning off my computer monitor and telling me to stop crying. It was Mom, saving her own tears to become a fortress of healthy food and firm smiles.
Inko Midoriya doesn't apologize to me anymore. She asks me: "Did you do your stretches?" She isn't trying to protect me from the world by hiding me; she is armoring me so the world can't break me.
And Kacchan...
Kacchan is a force of nature. He is brilliant, violent, and terrifyingly smart. Sometimes he looks at me with eyes that seem much older than an eleven-year-old's. As if he knows things that are going to happen. As if he's in a race against a clock only he can hear.
He taught me not to be a victim. He taught me that if fate closes the door, you go in through the window. Or you break down the wall.
"Midoriya. Stop daydreaming and sweep the tatami."
Sensei Ogawa's raspy voice brought me back to reality.
The dojo was empty. Kacchan had left twenty minutes ago, grumbling something about testing a new propulsion theory in the woods. He never stays to clean. He says his time is too valuable to sweep dust.
I stay. I always stay.
"Yes, Sensei," I replied, grabbing the broom.
Ogawa was sitting on the edge of the platform, cleaning his glasses with a piece of cloth. He was a man who looked carved from sedimentary rock: layers and layers of hardened experience.
"Bakugou is a prodigy," Ogawa said suddenly, without looking at me. "He has the body, he has the Quirk, and he has that tactical mind that's scary. He will be a great hero. Possibly number one."
I stopped, resting my chin on the broom handle.
"I know. He's amazing."
"Yes. But he has a weakness."
That made me look up. Kacchan? Weak?
Ogawa put on his glasses and looked at me. His eyes were dark and sharp, eyes that had seen too many crime scenes.
"He relies too much on his ability to overwhelm. His solution for everything is 'more power' or 'more speed.'" Ogawa pointed at my chest. "You don't have that luxury, kid. And that makes you dangerous in a way he doesn't understand."
I put down the broom and walked closer.
"What do you mean, Sensei?"
Ogawa gestured for me to sit next to him.
"Bakugou fights to win. You fight to survive. There is a difference."
The old ex-cop extended his hand. He had old scars on his knuckles.
"I've been watching you in sparring matches. Bakugou corrects your stance, teaches you to hit hard. But when he's not looking, you do something interesting. You use fear."
I blushed.
"I... I don't want to be afraid."
"I don't mean your fear. I mean theirs." Ogawa smiled, a small, cunning smile. "You make yourself small. You shrink. You make your opponent think: 'I already won.' And just when they lower their guard... snap. You take them down."
Ogawa touched my shoulder.
"Bakugou is a lion. He roars, dominates, and destroys. You are a snake in the grass. He will never teach you to be a snake because he doesn't need to hide. But you do."
My heart beat fast. I always thought my tendency to hesitate or be cautious was a flaw Kacchan was trying to fix.
"Can you... can you teach me more about that?" I asked, feeling a mix of nerves and excitement.
Ogawa nodded.
"Listen well, Midoriya. On the street, there are no points. No referees. If a villain grabs you and you don't have super strength to break free, you don't try to beat him in strength." He lowered his voice. "You break his pinky finger. You stomp on his instep. You throw dirt in his eyes. 'Honor' is for those who can afford to take a hit. We can't."
I stared at my hands. Hands full of calluses from Kacchan's weights, but "normal" hands after all.
Kacchan was building me a body of steel and a strategist's mind. But Sensei Ogawa was giving me a hidden knife.
"Tomorrow, when Bakugou leaves," Ogawa whispered, with a conspiratorial glint in his eyes, "I'll teach you how to dislocate a joint with less than three kilos of pressure. But there is one condition: don't tell Bakugou."
I looked at him, surprised.
"Why? Kacchan wouldn't mind. He always says winning is what matters."
"Exactly," Ogawa interrupted. "He analyzes everything. He's a data machine. If you tell him today that you know how to break fingers or attack pressure points, by tomorrow he will have already developed a perfect defense against it. And you will lose your advantage."
The Sensei leaned closer.
"If you want to walk by his side, Midoriya, you need to have something he can't predict. An ace up your sleeve. Surprise him."
I swallowed and nodded slowly. It made sense. Kacchan was always three steps ahead. To catch up to him, I had to stop giving him my roadmap.
"Understood, Sensei. It'll be our secret."
"Good. Now finish sweeping."
I went back to the broom with new energy.
I admire Kacchan. He is my light, my guide. He saved me from the abyss. But while he looks toward the sky, flying with his explosions, I am down here, learning the dirty tricks of the ground.
And maybe, just maybe, the day Kacchan is cornered and his calculations fail, I will have the surprise that saves us both.
I smiled to myself.
Sorry, Kacchan. I'm keeping this lesson for myself.
Author's note: I'm not really convinced about this chapter. I'm banging my head against a wall, but I decided to upload it anyway. Sorry for the quality of this chapter.