Chapter Text
Book 1: Hisashi’s Hero Analysis for the Future (Lines 1, 7, & 8)
- Strength is essential for hero work. It is what separates heroes from the civilians they protect. Heroes ought to be strong in mind, body, and heart in order to save.
- Strength of heart means being morally upright and persevering through challenges.
- Those with great strength of heart shine as symbols of true symbolism for others and push through great loss in order to keep fighting not out of vengeance, but for goodness.
Book 4: Hisashi’s Analysis of the Heart of a True Hero (Foreword)
I almost didn’t bother to write on this topic because you, Izuku, without a doubt possess the heart of a true hero. But it is my job to teach you everything I know. And so, let this notebook be for when you fall and are tempted by dark thoughts, as we all are from time to time.
Izuku felt the weight of expectations pressing down on him. He needed to keep pressing forwards. He needed to put on a brave face. He needed…
He needed his father back.
But instead he got Kacchan.
The same Kacchan who wouldn’t touch people’s feelings, including his own, with a 5 meter pole. The same Kacchan who made it clear his friendship was conditional. The same Kacchan who was secretly hurting because his only true friend was in deep mourning.
Izuku didn’t know about the hurt his blonde friend was feeling, but he did know that every day he seemed to be treated rougher and rougher. He did know that it hurt every time Kacchan told him that Hisashi was just another weak civilian they could live without.
He had taken a month off of gymnastics practice, so Izuku didn’t even have other people he could spend time with, besides his mother and she was going through her own grieving process.
So, Izuku held the notebooks Hisashi gave him close. As much as they hurt to read, it was a piece of his father. Izuku could pretend that the words on the page were being spoken by Dad as he combed his fingers through green hair.
“Come on shitty Deku, you’re gonna be late for class.” Kacchan kept moving forward but glanced back and said in a softer tone, “Stop reading that shitty notebook. Your dad’s dead, get over it.”
Kacchan continued walking forward, but the grieving boy stood up and quietly asked, “What do you have against my father?”
Whether Kacchan heard him or not, Izuku never found out because the blonde boy continued his journey to class without pausing, shortly followed by Izuku.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Another monotonous week passed of Izuku barely paying attention in class, stuffing his head into notebooks he already read, and being called out for his sluggishness by everyone.
Despite not having his hand up, Izuku was picked out by his sensei to answer a difficult question.
“Midoriya, that’s the wrong answer. I shouldn’t be surprised but it makes sense that you’d lose your spot at the top of the class eventually. It’s only natural.”
The rest of his classmates, none of whom knew the answer themselves, snickered at his failure.
“I guess he relied too much on Daddy’s tutoring.”
“Even a nerd like him will fall to the bottom if he just sulks all day.”
“Quirkless, fatherless, and now talentless too.”
Izuku, for the first time in several weeks, felt something other than grief.
He felt anger.
He didn’t act on it.
Book 2: Hisashi’s Social Analysis for the Future (Line 12)
You’ll face plenty of discrimination for your quirk status Izuku. I wish I could stop it, could make everything better and have the pain go away. But I’m afraid you’ll just have to endure.
Not even when somebody tripped him in the lunch line.
Book 1: Hisashi’s Hero Analysis for the Future (Line 19)
For any kind of strength, persevering through hardship and failure is not just necessary, but essential for growing stronger.
Or when instead of helping him up, the person behind him painfully stepped on his hand.
Book 4 (Line 48)
True heroes still get angry, but they control their anger.
Instead, Izuku took a deep breath and picked himself up.
He eventually got his lunch and silently took his seat next to Kacchan as usual.
Book 4 (Line 25)
Perhaps the hardest virtue to practice is forgiveness. A true hero is willing to mend differences and forgive so that they can focus solely on doing good.
But before Izuku could even take his first bite, his shoulder was shaken by Kacchan. “You need to cut it out with this moppy shit Deku. I mean come on, you don’t even stand a chance at making it into a D-list hero school at this rate!”
Izuku didn’t respond, even though the anger building in him wanted to more than anything. He had to forgive, forgive and control his anger. So he just picked up the piece of rice he dropped.
“I mean, what are you even sad for? Some shitty loser who got unlucky!?”
Izuku gripped his chopsticks harder.
Book 4 (Line 128)
Try and see the complexity of the person first, before their offensive actions.
“If you fall apart this easily after losing some side character, you’ll never be a hero!”
Izuku aggressively bit down on his food.
Book 4 (Line 129)
Sometimes, things come across as hurtful simply because of a misunderstanding.
“He must have been a horrible father to raise someone as useless as you’re acting right now!”
Izuku’s shoulders started to shake. The anger had turned to rage, festering just under his skin.
Book 4 (Line 127)
Always address disagreements calmly.
“You know, if you needed a wake up call this badly, maybe the old bag deserved to die!”
Book 1 (Line 50)
A strong man not only protects himself, but his family and those close to him.
Izuku’s chopsticks broke.
Izuku punched the blonde, who at this point was standing over him, across the face. “SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP YOU BASTARD!!”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Katsuki fell out of the booth with a shocked expression on his face, but the enraged boy was already rushing forwards. He launched a kick that the blonde had to use his work to dodge. His eyes widened when he saw that Deku’s kick had cracked the vinyl flooring.
‘Damn, I knew he wasn’t quite useless but what has auntie been feeding him?!’
Still, if Deku wanted a fight, Katsuki would sure as hell give him one.
Katsuki responded with an explosion that knocked the gymnast to the ground and followed it up by charging through the smoke. Katsuki didn’t start the fight, but he would absolutely finish it.
The blonde went for a high punch, but Deku emerged from the smoke in a crouch and hit Katsuki in the stomach as his own managed to graze the back of Deku’s head.
Both fighters took a moment to collect themselves and Katsuki observed his surroundings.
A crowd of students had gathered, chanting at them to fight. Katsuki barely caught a glimpse of the teachers, huddled together and conversing before his eyes snapped back to a fuming Deku.
The nerd took a deep breath in and out and said in an even voice, “I’m giving you one chance to apologize Kacchan…”
Katsuki barked a laugh at that. “And lose the chance to put you in your place?! Not a chance! I’ll end this fight right NOW!!”
With the final word, Katsuki let loose a large explosion that had the spectators covering their ears.
“Ha! Take that Dek-” Katsuki’s victory was cut off by a leg hitting his shoulder and forcing him on the defensive as Deku came jumping down from his momentary stepping stone of the lunch booth. The verdanette began launching a flurry of blows that Katsuki matched.
The explosive blonde managed to parry an elbow from his friend and land a solid punch on his side, but it barely seemed to faze the rampaging boy. Deku continued to press forward towards the crowd, until suddenly he pivoted to launch a roundhouse kick that was dodged and deflected by an explosion.
At this point, some extra of a teacher finally decided to grow a spine and shout “Alright that’s enough! Midoriya! Bakugou! Stop-”
“WHY DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH!?”
The question interrupted the teacher, but as Deku lunged forwards, Katsuki responded with a punch and a shout of, “BECAUSE YOU’RE USELESS DEKUNOBU!”
Katsuki would look back on that moment as the one where their friendship ended. He meant that Deku was acting useless in his state of mourning, but instead said something completely different. It wiped away years of tense friendship like they meant nothing. And, it drove both boys further into rage.
Deku, now locked in close-quarters combat with Katsuki, swept his legs out from under him and then proceeded to land a heel stomp directly on Katsuki’s chest.
Adrenaline blinding him to the pain, Katsuki roared as he grabbed Deku’s leg and set off a medium sized explosion that made him fall to the floor as well.
The fight devolved into yells and sloppy grappling for a minute. Both boys received devastating blows while the teachers and staff ran around like headless chickens. Katsuki ought to have had the advantage since he was unafraid to use his quirk in close quarters, but Deku’s flexibility let him dodge most of the explosions, sending them into the air where they triggered the sprinkler system in the cafeteria.
Eventually, Deku made the mistake of getting on top of Katsuki in order to start punching him out.
“GIVE!” *punch* “HIM!” *punch* “BACK!”
But before Deku could land the final punch, Katsuki, with blood flowing from his forehead into his eyes, unleashed an explosion using both hands that managed to send Deku flying into a lunch table, knocking the quirkless twelve year old out cold.
Katsuki took a few moments to stand on shaky legs, teachers yelling and sirens blaring in the background, before he let out a feral yell equal parts victory and self-hatred. Still blinking stars out of his eyes, Katsuki didn’t even feel his legs give out from under him as the twelve year old fell into the arms of a paramedic.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
“Mrs. Bakugou, Mrs. Midoriya, are you sure you want to hear these reports together? Your sons just got into a very serious fight.” questioned a doctor with her brown hair in a ponytail and frameless glasses resting on her face.
Inko and Mitsuki looked at each other and nodded. Mitsuki said, “They were good friends yesterday. Even if they’re not anymore, we still are. I authorize you to share Katsuki’s medical information with Inko.”
“And I authorize you to share Izuku’s medical information with Mitsuki.”
The doctor sighed, “Very well then,
Young Bakugou suffered a moderate concussion as well as a broken nose, dislocated shoulder, and fractured sternum. Those are the major injuries, he also has too many bruises to count and cuts on his hands and head that may lead to scarring.”
The doctor looked up from her chart to see a crying Inko being comforted by her friend. “My-My baby really did all that?”
“I’m afraid so Mrs. Midoriya, are you ready to hear about the injuries your son recieved?”
“Y-Yes.”
The doctor flipped a page on her charts.
“Young Midoriya also suffered a moderate concussion and a broken nose; he also has a third-degree burn on his left ankle and several second degree burns, especially on his arms. Your son also has several microfractures in his legs and arms and broke a few fingers, that’s proof he really went all out and pushed his body to his limits. Of course, there are a variety of bruises and cuts that need to heal as well.
Overall, there is sufficient damage that I would recommend suing for damages in ordinary circumstances. Both boys will have to stay at least two nights so that a quirk can heal their minor wounds. The school staff requested that Midoriya Izuku be put in a high security ward.”
“Absolutely not!” shouted both women at once.
The doctor put her hands up, “Calm down, we’ve observed that he is rather docile and kind, so we’ll be transferring him shortly. The school placed the blame squarely on Midoriya, but I doubt that’s true with Bakugou’s rough attitude towards our staff. Regardless, please wait to discipline them until they recover, or at least are more lucid. We have both of them on painkillers right now.”
Inko’s eyes teared up. “Oh Mitsuki, I’m so sorry! Izuku hasn't been dealing with Hisashi’s death well, if I had been more put together maybe this wouldn't have happened.”
“Don't worry about bullshit like that Inko. You know I’m the furthest thing from a perfect mother myself. The best thing we can do now is comfort them and have them give each other space. With injuries like that… sheesh, they're not going to be friends for a while.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Inko and Izuku both burst into tears the moment they saw each other. After several minutes of letting their emotions out, Izuku finally spoke.
“I'm *hic* I’m so sorry Mom…”
“Oh Izuku, I won't say that it's ok because you really hurt Katsuki. But, I'm sorry for not realizing how much pain you were in. We’ll both need some help and time. We can make it through this even if he's not with us.”
“DON'T SAY THAT!!”
“Midoriya Izuku! Do not-”
“He was everything to me! He was the only one who believed I could be a hero! I know you only think so because he convinced you and I just found out Kacchan always thought I was nothing but a useless Deku!” Izuku curled in on himself and sobbed.
“Just leave. Leave before I hurt you too…”
Meanwhile, just around the corner Bakugou Katsuki had snuck out of his bed, to do what we may never know because after hearing those words his lip trembled and he headed back the way he came.
Inko still visited every day until her son was discharged, but there was a new tension between mother and son. Inko wanted to move past the tragedy; Izuku was stuck in a cycle of grief. Inko looked into a career as a legal aide; Izuku got suspended for the rest of the semester and had to be dragged back to gymnastics practice.
He never told any of the kids at gymnastics the reason for his prolonged leave. They didn’t know that his father had died or that he had gotten into a bone-breaking fight with his best friend. At least, he didn’t for the first month back.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Chiku was even more bored than usual and she knew the reason why.
It wasn’t the monotonous drills of gymnastics or her average, unnoteworthy school. It was the absence of Izuku’s constant mumbling during and after practice.
Sorry, Midoriya’s constant mumbling. He had started to call everyone, even friends he had known for years by their last names ever since he came back from his leave. He rejected invitations to hang out and was laser focused on the sport. Chiku was doing fine without him, it wasn’t like she noticed these changes immediately. But dangit, she wanted her friend back and he had three months at this point to get over whatever funk he was in.
So, knowing Midoriya was either first out the door after hard days or last out the door after training extra on easy days, Chiku watched and waited one day when they were expected to perform their full routine 10 times in a row in order to get ready for a competition. As soon as practice was over, she avoided the friendly conversation of the other girls and waited in her uniform by the boys lockers.
When Midoriya came out, he didn’t even notice her at first. Scowling, she got his attention with a flat, “Midoriya.”
The boy tensed, before turning around and asked with a faux smile, “Ah, Kooki, what’s up?”
Chiku observed him and tried to see under his smile. He was slouching, with the corners of his mouth twitching and bags under his eyes.
He was drained.
So instead of being confrontational, Chiku simply asked, “How are you doing?”
Midoriya was startled at that, but quickly answered with a polite, “Good, how are you doing?”
“I’m concerned.” Chiku responded. “You haven’t been very friendly since you’ve gotten back. I know I’m somewhat of a hypocrite for saying that, but I’m naturally stoic. You’re naturally mumbling and smiley and friendly. If you really don’t want to talk about what happened, that’s fine. But I’d really like it if the sunshine boy I became friends with came back.”
Midoriya started to defend himself while she was talking, and once more attempted to do so afterwards, but all that came out of his mouth were stutters. Eventually, his smile dropped into a frown and he let out a big sigh. He mumbled, “Come with me” and started to walk out of their gym.
Chiku followed him to a bench outside the facility. He didn’t talk for a few minutes, but patience was one of Chiku’s strengths so she was fine waiting.
Eventually, the quirkless oddity spoke. “My dad… he… he was murdered.” Chiku gulped. “They won’t even tell us the villain that killed him. I want to move on, to honor his memory but… then I got into a fight with my best friend, Kacchan. It was really bad. Like ‘we both got hospitalized’ kind of bad. That… that was my breaking point, the moment I realized that he was the only one who supported my dream of becoming a hero. I realized that my best friend had only ever seen me as a quirkless weakling. I- Everything’s falling apart without him. Kooki, *sniff* I don’t know what to do…”
Chiku placed a sympathetic hand on his back and started to rub. “Your life’s not falling apart and he’s not the only one who believes you can be a hero.” Midoriya peered up at her through hair that was too long. “You’re the best in our class, your determination inspires everyone here. If people can tell me, with my basic quirk, that I can be a hero, I see no reason that you can’t be a hero with your determination.”
Chiku suddenly felt herself nearly stumble as she was tackled by that wall that was Midoriya Izuku. A few seconds later, she realized he was sobbing and hugging her. Oh well, her uniform was dirty anyways.
“*sniff* Thank you for that Chiku! I really needed to hear it. *sniff*”
Chiku hesitantly hugged back. “Anytime Izuku, just know that you’ve got friends who see you as more than quirkless. It’s okay to grieve, but the world is boring without your smile.”
Izuku responded by giving her a big grin, making them both chuckle.
“Alright,” said Chiku, “let me get changed. I’ll come over to your place tonight to make up for lost time. Hopefully junior high will prove better for you.”
Izuku wiped his face one last time. “Yeah, hopefully…”