Chapter Text
Uraraka entered the DVD into the player and went back to her sit. No one knew where it came from, but they all wanted to know what might be recorded on it. It was Mr. Aizawa’s turn to watch over them and he got dragged by his eager students into movie night. It’s not so bad, he will probably just fall asleep in the middle of it.
“Everybody’s ready?” Uraraka asked and her class made confirming noises. She pressed play.
….and paused after 3 seconds.
“Deku?!” she turned to the boy next to her, along with the others.
Because on the screen there was a little kid who was clearly little-Midoriya, crying.
Everyone talked together, asking the poor boy some very good questions such as why is he on the DVD, where is it even from and why was he crying.
“I-I don’t know! I have never seen this before!” he leaned his head in his arms in panic.
“That’s enough!” Iida got up to shut the chatter after seeing the distress of his friend. “If Midoriya says he doesn’t know what this is all about then he doesn’t. We will probably get our answers if we continue watching. That is, if this is ok with you, Midoriya.” He put his hand on his shoulder.
“I…I guess?” he answered with a small voice. It would be a lie if he says he wasn’t as curious as the others.
Uraraka gave him one last look to make sure he was ok with this before pressing play again.
“That’s mean, Kacchan. Can’t you see he’s crying? If you keep going, I-I-I’ll never forgive you! “ Little Midoriya shouted, standing in front of another crying kid.
Midoriya’s blood froze. He knew exactly when this event happened.
The camera’s angle changed to show three little kids, the one in the center was undoubtedly Bakugou.
“Even though you’re Quirkless…you’re pretending to be a hero, Deku?” Little bakugou said with a smile as he and his friends both prepared their quirks.
Uraraka paused again.
“Quirkless?!” asked Kaminari.
“But Midoriya isn’t quirkless…” said Ashido.
“Dude, why were you so mean to him?! That’s so unmanly.” Kirishima asked Bakugou.
Bakugou got up. “Tch, what is this stupid movie?!” He went to Midoriya and held him by the collar of his shirt. “Admit it, Deku. You planted this DVD here!”
Midoriya raised is hands in front of his face, frozen completely. As many dangerous situation as he’s been into, Uraraka never saw him as scared as in that moment. “I swear I didn’t, Kacchan! I-I don’t know how it got here or who filmed this!”
Aizawa immediately separated them. “Enough. Learn to behave yourself or I’ll send all of you into your rooms and movie night will be cancelled.”
He’s definitely not getting payed enough for this.
“I’m out of here.” Scoffed Bakugou. “Call me when you morons choose a movie that doesn’t have Deku in it.” He walked away.
“Yeah, maybe it’s not the best idea to watch that?” asked Uraraka, looking at Midoriya who still looks like he just saw a ghost.
“Whatever happened there it’s clearly a matter between Midoriya and Bakugou and we shouldn’t pry.” Said Yaoyorozu.
“But we can’t just let it be! Bakugou has clearly bullied Midoriya.” declared Sero.
“And what’s the whole “quirkless” thing?” asked Hagakure.
“Like Yaoyorozu said, as concerned we are about our friend, that doesn’t give us the right to pry in his past against his will. We can ask him about it later and let him decide if and what he wants to tell us.” Said Iida.
The rest weren’t happy about it but had to agree.
Uraraka tried to turn off the TV but instead… the video started again?
small Midoriya recoiled back as small Bakugo and his friends lunged at him.
Cuts to sun shining and small Midoriya is seen laying on the ground on his back.
“Uraraka!” scolded Iida.
“I-it wasn’t me! I tried to turn it off, I swear!” She handed him the remote and let hi turn it off himself but it didn't work.
Currant Midoriya’s voice narrated:” All men are not created equal. This was the reality I learned about society at the young age of four. And that was my first and last setback.”
The view of a beaten up toddler Midoriya switched into an older version of him, probably at middle school, running in the streets.
“Ok so we can’t turn it off, we can’t get the DVD out and we can’t unplug the TV.” Yaoyorozu summed up the situation with a hand on her chin as Midoriya’s friends all hugged him.
“Then what are we suppused to do?” Asked Jirou.
“It seems like the only solution we have right now is watching?” she replied, defeated.
“Maybe it’s somebody’s quirk?” wondered Todoroki and even the possibility of a new mysterious quirk wasn’t enough to stop Midoriya’s moping.
Midoriya ran to a scene with a Giant Villain
“That’s a huge villain!”
A theme song began.
Midoriya fall on his back completely red as his character on TV tried to reach All Might.
His friends crowded around him and waved on his face to make sure he was enough air they would have missed the next part if it wasn’t for Sato.
“Guys look! It’s us!”
The screen filled with colorful pictures of the different classmates, each posing next to their name written in English letters, as an electric guitar playing in the background.
“How…?”
“That was SO COOL!”
“It’s a show? about us?”
“That’s actually pretty Incredible.” said Shoji as they all watched the theme song.
“SUPER incredible!! Man, I didn’t know we look this cool when we fight!” Kaminari clenched his fists.
“But how?!” Ojiro asked again, holding his hair.
Kirishima sprinted out of the common area and knocked on Bakugo’s door. There was no replay. He knocked again “come on, bro! you gotta see it! it’s a TV show about US!”
He heard a grumble in respond. Kirishima sighed:”ok man, I’ll call you when they’ll show you do something badass, alright?”.
No answer.
Kirishima came back to the common area. “So, what did I miss?”
“Not much, TV-Midoriya was explaining about quirks and heroes origins. Our Midoriya is still passed out from shock.” said Sero.
“What, don’t everyone already know that?” Kirishima asked.
Sero shrugged, “I don’t know man, we don’t understand anything of what’s going on either.”
“the profession that everyone once dreamed about and admired came into the limelight. That profession is….”
The villain was causing harvoc in the middle of a crowd of civilians. He ripped a large portion of an electricity pillar that was about to crush a bunch of standbys but then…
“Oh, it’s Death Arms!” Said one of the civilians.
“He carries out justice through his great physical strength–The Punching Hero!” added another.
A line made of water separated the crowed from the scene. “Everyone, this is dangerous. Stay back, stay back!” the hero warned.
“The rescue specialist, Backdraft, is here, too!”
“That’s a lot of exposition, people don’t normally talk like this.” Noted Jiro.
"But man, turning into a monster’s an amazing Quirk. What did he do?” someone asked his friend, Midoriya was in the back, trying to get a view of the scene as well but was too short to see anything well.
“He stole someone’s bag and went out of control when he was cornered. Some amateur. Stole someones’ bag and then got himself cornered.”
“A Quirk like that, and he’s a bag snatcher?”
Midoriya tried to pass through the crowed to get a better view of the battle as another hero joined the scene, cheered by an excited group of fangirls:”You can do it, Kamui! “
For the first time since if all begun, Eraserhead commented:”This is exactly why celebrity-hero culture is so dangerous. Those people are here, risking their lives for a show.”
“Get away!” the villain yelled at Kamui who jumped to stop him. Midoriya finally found a place in the crowed where he can see. “Who’s fighting?” he asked, excited.
The wooden hero swung away from the villian’s jab, using his lengthened arm as a vine.
“Kamui Woods! The young and talented rising star!” he answered his own question.
The man next to him smiled, “You were the one asking, but you gave a perfect commentary, kid. You’re a fanboy, aren’t you?” he pointed at him.
“Uh, well…” the boy blushed.
Tsuyu chuckled “once a fanboy always a fanboy. Ribbit.”
“Huh?” asked Midoriya who finally woke up after fainting. He watched the TV along with everyone else, but looked more like he was staring through it instead of processing what’s going on on the screen.
The camera followed the fight between Kamui and the giant villain, filming in angles and quality you can only see on movies.
“Illegal use of powers during rush hour and robbery resulting in bodily injury. You are the incarnation of evil.” Kamui declared.
Jirou giggled:”Dramatic, much?”
“It really does feel like a movie.” Uraraka said, and then hugged Midoriya who sat next to her: "with Deku as the main protagonist!” the boy looked like he was ready to faint again.
“Yeah why IS Midoriya the main character?” asked Kaminari.
“I think it’s clear none of us have the answers to any of our questions about this dark mystery and that asking them again will not help. All we can do is watch.” Said Tokoyami.
“Besides, Midoriya would make a great protagonist…” murmured Todoroki.
Kamui’s arm grew and expended, shifted into different branches.
“Oh, here it comes!” cheered Midoriya.
“Show us something flashy, Tree-man!” the man next to him joined.
“Pre-emptive…” the boy started.
“ …Binding….” continued Kamuri
“…Lacquered Chain Prison!” they finished together.
The brunches grew from his arm and lunged to the villain, about to imprison the villain but then-
“Canyon Cannon!” a giant woman kicked him right before the brunched reached their target.
The villain fall from the force of the hit. The camera showed the shocked faces of Midoriya and the civilian, and then the confused heroes.
“Huh?” Kamuri asked no one in particular, his vines still ready to attack.
The giant lady landed gracefully and held her arm to the villain she just knocked over, offering him to get up.
Lines of paparazzi appeared taking pictures of the new heroine.
“Today is the day of my debut! My name is Mt. Lady. A pleasure to make your ass-quaintance.”
A few of the girls groaned as Mineta looked like he was ready to jump at the TV, hearts in his eyes.
“I thought you hated her.” Kaminari asked, amused.
“She’s a demon but she’s a hot one…” Mineta answered, drooling.
“You are impossible.” Yaoyorozu murmured, her forehead rested on her hand.
Even more paparazzi appeared, and everyone cheered for the newest hero.
“Sh-she got the credit.” mumbled Kamuri, still shocked.
The narrator explained, “Along with the superpowers came an explosive increase in crime. As the country was stuck in the slow progress in drastic law reforms, courageous people started performing heroic acts from out of comic books. Guarding against superpowers and defending against evil. Heroes were soon accepted by the public, and it was established as an official position. Based on their performance, they are paid by the government and gain renown among the masses.”
“In a system where being flashy and popular determinate your worth, it’s easy to forget the purpose that should be the top priority of every single hero: protect civilians. It’s one of the reasons why you learn “hero ethics”. So once you go pros, you won’t let anything distract you from it.” Said Aizawa.
“Yes Sensei.” they all answered, but Mineta murmured ‘why does everything have to be a lesson…?’
Midoriya pulled out his notebook and muttered to himself: "Gigantification, huh? She looks like she’ll be popular, and it’s an amazing Quirk, but thinking about the damage to the city that’ll go hand in hand with that, its use might be limited? No, but whether or not she can control the size…. “
“Hey Deku, for how long have you been writing those notebooks?” Asked Uraraka.
“Umm, ever since I wanted to be a hero, which was in kindergarten… At first it was just drawings and then I learned how to write.”
“That’s so cool, Deku!”
“Uh, thanks, Uraraka.”
“Hey wait, you’re taking notes? You wanna be a hero? That’s great! You can do it!” said the person who stood next to Midoriya during the villain attack.
Midoriya lit to those words like a light bulb.
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
Title sequence-Episode 1: Midoriya Izuku, origins.
Everyone looked at Midoriya again, who squeaked and tried to disappear into his seat.
Scene: Aldera Junior High
“Hey, that was your school, right Midoriya?” Asked Iida.
Midoriya nodded slightly.
A class of middle schoolers sat at their desks and listened to their teacher lecturing. If you looked well enough you could see Midoriya’s head resting on his desk at the third line.
“Since you’re all third years, it’s time for you to think seriously about your future. I’ll pass out handouts for your future plans now, but…you’re all…pretty much planning to go into the hero course, right?” He tossed the papers he held in his arms.
“Is everything in your life this dramatic, Midoriya?” asked Jirou.
“Well, It’s a fact that you have to have drama for a good show, n'est-ce pas?” Asked Aoyama.
“Yes!” The entire class sans Bakugou and Midoriya cheered and activated their quirks.
“Yes, yes, you all have wonderful Quirks! But using your powers at school is against the rules!” the teacher tried to calm the eager teens down.
“Teach! Don’t lump us all in the same group. I’m not gonna be stuck at the bottom with the rest of these rejects!” said Bakugo. leaning with his legs on the desk and his arms behind his head.
“Was he always this arrogant?” wondered Shoji.
“Where IS he, anyway?” asked Sero.
“In his room, I tried to call him back here but he didn’t want to come.” replied Kirishima.
“That was uncalled for, Katsuki!“ his classmates raged.
“You all should shut up like the extras you are!” he hissed.
“How does he have any friends?” asked Sato.
“He can actually be pretty nice in his own way, once you learn to see past…well, that. Right Kirishima?” asked Ashido.
“Totally, those days his remarks are all bark and no bite.”
“Are you two aware that if Bakugou was here you two would be dead now, right?” asked Kaminari.
"Oh, if I remember correctly, you want to go to U.A. High, right, Bakugou?” Asked the teacher.
“U.A.? That national school?!”
“It was in the top 0.2% this year, you know!”
“Their acceptance rate’s always really low, too!”
Middle-Schooler-Midoriya, the same as his counterpart in real life, covered his head and tried to make himself smaller.
That’s exactly why you guys are just extras!” Bakugo stood at his desk. “I aced the mock test! I’m the only one at this school who could possibly get into U.A. I’ll definitely surpass All Might and become the top hero! My name’ll be inscribed on the list of top earners!”
“While his attitude is disgraceful, his passion is certainly inspiring…and he did get in UA eventually.” Iida noted, thoughtfully.
“But he wasn’t the only one, Midoriya did as well.” added Todoroki.
“Why did he think he’s the only one who could get in?” Asked Uraraka.
Sero chuckled: "Because it’s Bakugou.”
“Oh yeah, Midoriya wanted to go to U.A., too, right?” The teacher remembered. Midoriya raised his head from his desk slowly, still looks like he’s wishing like the ground can swallow him whole. The students stared at him quietly for a second before bursting into laughter, causing him to flinch in fear.
“Huh? Midoriya? No way!”
“You can’t get into the hero course just by studying!”
“Th-They got rid of that rule! There’s just no precedent….” He tried to protest weakly.
“Hey, what’s so funny about that?!” asked Uraraka.
“Their reaction is indeed very odd… Especially considered that Midoriya did get in…” said Tokoyami.
Bakugou went to his desk and exploded it, causing him to fall on the floor.
“Hey, Deku! You’re below the rejects! You’re Quirkless! How can you even stand in the same ring as me?”
“Uraraka, pause the video.” ordered Aizawa.
“I can’t! it doesn’t-” her words cut off when surprisingly she did manage to pause.
Aizawa got up and walked to Midoriya, who from the way he looked at him you could have thought he was looking at a dangerous villain instead of his teacher.
“Midoriya. You claim to have no idea where this footage came from but that’s not what I’m asking. I want to know if what happened here happened in real life as well.”
Everyone were silent as Midoriya looked around, trying to find ways to escape the situation but with no use.
“I-I, well, it’s not that it didn’t happen but it wasn’t, it’s not-”
“Midoriya. Yes or no?”
“Yes.” he admitted, looking at the floor.
“I see, I will have to have a conversation with Bakugou and your middle school teachers tomorrow.
That seemed to break the green-haired boy from his freeze.
“No! please don’t, Sensei! it was a long time ago! Things changed, Bakugou did.”
“That’s no excuse. I can’t excuse any student of mine of this kind of behavior. Has he ever got punished for his actions? By any of your teachers?”
“Well, not really but-”
“Then it’s settles. I will have a talk to both.”
“Please, Sensei, I don’t want to cause any troubles!”
“It’s not troubles. It’s my job. No matter what happened between you two, his actions were not the actions of a hero.”
“But-”
“I will not continue this discussion.”
A moment has passed where Midoriya accepted his fate in defeat. Then, the video started again.
“No, wait, Kacchan! It’s not like I’m trying to compete with you or anything!” He scooted back against the wall. “Believe me! It’s just that it’s been my goal ever since I was little. And well…I won’t know unless I try…” His voice was shaking.
“Whaddya mean, unless you try?! Are you taking the test for fun?! What the hell can you do? You’re Quirkless!” Bakugo shouted, the view changed to see him and the class around him as ominous shades, all surrounding and mocking Midoriya.
“Is that why you were so scared when we first met?” Uraraka asked quietly.
“Yeah bro, you were pretty stressed for like, the first month” recalled Kirishima.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, ribbit.” added Tsuyu. “You could have told us, we’re your friends.”
“Yeah… I know. I just wanted to leave all of that behind me.” he said quietly, suddenly very interested in the texture of the floor.
“It’s ok, Midoriya. We don’t have to talk about that again if you don’t want to.” said Jirou.
“But we’re here for you, if you ever need us.” Added Iida.
Midoriya teared up a bit. “Thanks guys.”
12:02, somewhere in the same city.
A woman screamed, a man burst from a store and yelled:” Thief! someone!”
A humanoid Sludge-monster ran quickly, money bills falling from his stolen bag.”Catch me if you can!”
“Hey I know who’s that!” cried Kirishima.
“The sludge villain incident…” said Yaoyorozu .
“Huh? There’s no hero around.”
“Normally someone would come right away.”
“This guy’s taking advantage of the chaos from this morning.”
There are tons of people around who don’t know what to do with their Quirks.”
“There’s no end to them.”
A conversation between 2 civilians occurred while in the background you could see a familiar skinny figure walking out of a grocery store. The figure grew larger and more muscular.
“All Might!” Kaminari exclaimed.
Jiro flicked his head gently:”Yeah, we know it’s all Might, now shut up and let us watch.”
“There is an end.” The figured declared and stepped into the sunlight. The three civilians immediately turned around.
Why?”
The sludge villain looked behind, eyes widened.
“Because I’m here!”
Scene: Classroom, end of the school day.
“The incident this morning is all over the headlines! I wanna hurry up and go home so I can write it down in my notebook.” Midoriya was about to put the notebook at his bag, only for it to be snatched from his hands.
“We’re not done talking yet, Deku.” Said Bakugo.
“Katsuki, what’s that?” asked a kid who came from behind.
“Huh? “Hero Analysis for the Future?” his friend read out loud the title.
“Seriously?”
“Midoriya…”
They both laughed.
“I-It’s fine, isn’t it? Give it back!”
“That’s just painful to watch…” said Shoji.
Bakugou exploded the notebook and Midoriya screamed.
“That’s mean…” he stammered.
Bakugou threw it out the window.
“WHAT?!”
“Bakugou I swear to god-” Jirou threatened.
“So that’s why your notebook was so burned?” Asked Uraraka.
“Guys, seriously, it’s fine.” Midoriya tried to clam his friends but with no use.
“Most top first-string heroes have stories about them from their school days. I want the shine of being able to be called the only student to make it into U.A. from this mediocre city junior high school. I mean, I’m a perfectionist.” explained Bakugou.
Midoriya was shaking.
“He’s so petty…” commented a kid.
“Seriously, that’s his reason?” Asked Ojiro.
“Petty indeed…” Tsuyu remarked.
Bakugou rested his half-quirk-activated hand on Midoriya’s shoulder.
“So anyway, don’t apply to U.A., nerd.”
“He’s lucky he’s not here now or else I would have punched his face.” Uraraka was boiling.
“If he didn’t think Midoriya could even make it, why bother threatening him?!” added Iida.
“Um…can I go?” Midoriya almost-whispered, he looked sick.
“Of course you can go, Deku!”
“Do you want us to join you?” asked Todoroki.
“We’re sorry we put on this DVD, we had no idea.” apologized Yaoyorozu.
“It’s fine I just-I have to go.” He left the room.
“Poor Midoriya…” said Hagakure.
“Yeah, man. I can’t imagine going through this, then having to watch this again with your entire class…” Said Kirishima.
“Do you think we should go after him?” suggested Tsuyu.
“I think it’s best we leave him alone for now, we can talk to him about it tomorrow.” said Todoroki.
Bakugou and the two boys were on their way out of the class.
One of them said on his way out: "Come on, you could at least say something back.”
“Don’t say that. He’s pathetic. He still can’t face reality.” answered his friend.
“Shut up!” Yelled Uraraka and threw a pillow on the screen.
“Uraraka!” Iida scolded.
“what? It was a weak throw…”
At the door, Bakugo sneered: If you wanna be a hero that badly, there’s a quick way to do it. Believe that you’ll be born with a Quirk in your next life and take a last chance dive off the roof!”
“BACKUGOU YOU’RE A DEAD MAN, DO YOU HEAR ME?!” Uraraka got up and was about to run to his dorm but was hold in place by Iida.
“Girls aren’t allowed to go to the boys’ dorms!” He declared and then added quietly, only for her to hear: “Aizawa’s here, tomorrow we’ll get him together after school, ok?” She nodded fiercely.
“Well, I’m a boy.” Todoroki said in his usual apathetic voice.
“Enough.” Aizawa’s capture weapon made everyone go back to their sits. “The matter with Bakugou will be taken care off by myself.”
Midoriya faced Bakugou and was seemed like he was about to say something.
“What?” Bakugo made explosions with his hands.
Midoriya’s confidence faded.
Scene: outside of school.
“Idiot! If I really jumped, that would mean you instigated a suicide! Think before you speak!” he ranted.
“Do you think he really-” Ashido was terrified.
“No way…” murmured Sero.
Midoriya stopped walking as he saw his notebook with fish surrounding it.
“That’s not fish food, stupid. That’s my notebook…” He grabbed the notebook.
“Stupid… Stupid bastard…” Midoriya looked at the notebook as the scene faded into a flashback.