Chapter Text
Izuku was seven years old when he learned that the world wasn’t kind. It might be fair to some, sure. But it was cruel. It was unkind.
That day, Kaccha -Bakugou and Izuku got into an argument.
Izuku was friends with Ka -Bakugou back then. Even when he got hit and burned and told he was worthless for being quirkless by Bakugou. He was still friends with him. Because Bakugou was, well… Bakugou.
That day, though, everything changed.
They were in the forest. The same one with the river and the fallen tree.
“Get away, Deku! No-one wants to hang out with your worthless ass!” Bakugou had shouted, pushing Izuku away.
Izuku was just trying to stop himself from falling. That was all.
But, as Izuku tried to grab Bakugou’s right hand, something within surged forward. The instant Izuku had touched Bakugou, his right arm exploded into a mist of red.
Izuku had stepped back, horrified. Bakugou was on his knees, screaming inhumanely while he clutched his stump of an arm. All that was left was a small stub on his shoulder.
Blood fell from it, dripping to the ground. Bakugou’s two friends both had backed away and started running by then. At the time, there wasn’t anything Izuku could do. He was too afraid. He was in a panic. He had blacked out within moments.
———^———
Izuku knows he’s not perfect, no-one is, but god dammit why was it so difficult to rebuild a gun using his quirk. He knows it’s not exactly legal but it could be useful. Who knows?!
He’d been trying to learn how to make a gun for one main reason; to master fine control of his quirk. Steady improvement has been showing over the years. He can now make a spoon with fancy shapes all over it from a block of metal, but some things are still difficult. A gun has all sorts of contraptions and little pockets and turns within it, it’s hard for Izuku to visualise it all.
His quirk is quite powerful, though. He can quite easily construct larger objects and morph large spaces for long periods of time without much exhaustion. The thought is what tires him the most. Creating a visualisation of something complex is the most tiring thing with his quirk. If he didn’t have to think, his quirk would be so easy to master.
He only recently gained a good grasp on how the human body works. Most of that comes from wanting to apologise to Bakugou though…
He still remembers how his quirk manifested, all those years ago.
Bakugou hates him now, more than he could ever. Izuku ruined his life. He went from being an up-coming hero to someone to pity. “poor Bakugou. You think you can be a hero when you still can’t even write properly or get changed by yourself?”
The world was always cruel and unkind.
It just took some people a moment to realise it.
———^———
Izuku sits in the back of the class, looking through his notebook, reading over his anatomy diagrams. The human body was so very complicated wasn’t i- “-doriya!”
He jumps up, slamming his notebook closed and overhauling his gloves back into their place around his hands. “Y-yes?”
Some people giggle, but most don’t say anything. Izuku wouldn’t do anything to hurt them, ever, but they know Bakugou, and while Bakugou is pitied, he can still talk. Most people in the school fear him to some degree. Every laugh directed at him always as a tinge of nervousness. It makes Izuku feel sick, horribly guilty, but he can’t do anything about it, so he just ignores it as best he can.
“We’re doing our career aptitude test. Just wanted to mention that you were going for UA. I look forward to seeing you get in.” Izuku’s teacher glares down at him, daring him to admit weakness. The school knows how powerful Overhaul is, so they want to have the reputation. Izuku does his best to say no but the truth is he does still want to be a hero, so he ultimately had to let them push him.
“Oh yeah… Bakugou’s also going for UA,” the teacher mumbles, although everyone can hear him.
Most of the class is about to laugh but Bakugou shoots up out of his desk, “Hell yeah I am and there’s nothing you fucks can do to stop me. Ya hear that?!” He slams his left hand -his only hand- into the table, scorching the desk and blowing a sweet-scented smoke everywhere.
Bakugou… is a difficult person. Izuku tries to be friends with him all the time but Every Single Time he comes up empty. Bakugou refuses any help from anyone. His parents are the only people allowed to even touch him.
The class continues with the tests being handed out and Izuku doing his best to answer accurately.
His test results will likely be tampered with to make it say ‘Hero’ either way but Izuku holds out hope for a truthful test.
———^———
At the end of the day, Izuku makes his way home. It’s the same day as any other. Down two blocks, through the park, a right, a left, under a tunnel, a ri-
Izuku pauses, hearing a gurgling noise from the grate underneath the tunnel. He pauses, slowly inching closer to inspect it.
He flicks his finger, retracting his cotton gloves and overhauling them into something more akin to an artist glove. He wouldn’t be able to pick up the manhole cover so it’d just be easier to-
Izuku stumbles back in surprise as a giant green mass bursts out from the gaps in the grate.
As the goop grows two eyes and says, “oh would you look at that! Is it my lucky day? Getting a meat suit this quickly surely is a pleasure.”
Yeah, no I’m not dealing with that. Izuku instantly slams his hand into the ground, forming a wall between him and the sludge.
He overhauls his glove back to normal and fixes himself up, dusting himself off. He turns to leave only for his wall to be slammed through, and for sludge to go flying everywhere. Izuku himself goes flying from the force, but manages to land on his feet and stabilise.
He looks up and sees him. All Might. The Symbol of Peace.
Izuku runs right up to him, “Will you please sign my notebook?!” He bows as low as he can, offering his notebook with both hands. He's never bowed so low to the ground. He can see each bump in the concrete. Each speck of dirt.
“Ha, of course young man!” All Might grabs a marker out of nowhere and swiftly flicks his hand with easy expertise. He’s probably had to sign a lot of notebooks.
“A-All Might, c-can I ask you a question?” Izuku bounces on the balls of his feet. He can’t believe it! It’s All Might! Right in front of him!
“You just did young man!” All Might laughs, “but go ahead!” All Might turns and starts scooping up the villain into two bottles, but keeps an ear turned.
“D-do y-you have a-any advice on b-being a hero?” he asks, still flustered.
“Well, assuming that you’re the one that put up that wall, I’d say my first bit of advice is to make sure you don’t ruin other people’s experience! For all you know the next person who enters this tunnel might be trying to get away from a villain only to find their pathway blocked!”
Izuku scrambles to apologise and quickly repairs the tunnel.
“But for something more general…” All Might pauses, hand on his chin. He hums for a moment before turning and smiling a little bit wider, “Always make sure you smile to let people know they are safe! Smile in the face of adversity so that villains know you are not afraid. In this world, the people who smile are the ones who are the strongest.” All Might’s tone takes a slightly more personal shift as he finishes talking.
Izuku bows once more, “T-thank you, All M-Might!”
All Might laughs once more, “You’re welcome, young man! Now, I must be going. Heroes must always fight time as well as villains!” All Might waves both bottles, now full with the sludge villain, before placing them into his pockets securely. “Thank you for your continued support!”
Izuku stands there in awe as All Might flies into the sky.
Amazing.
———^———
It took 7 months, but Izuku finally figured out how to make a functioning gun from a block of metal. It was hard work but it could be useful!
Now he just needs to decide what to do next… he’s got 3 months until the UA entrance exams so he needs to learn as much as he can! He did find a garbage dump of a beach on a walk a little while ago. Maybe he could try and use the scraps to create more complex large objects…
Izuku snorts as he imagines himself creating a car.
———^———
The day of the entrance exams, Izuku makes sure he’s got everything ready, waking up early for his daily run before returning and putting two eggs onto the stove. He lets them cook, adding a little salt in while he waits.
As he cooks breakfast, Inko makes her way out of her bedroom. “’morning, mum!”
“g’morning ‘zuku,” she mumbles, still quite sleepy as she rubs her half-lidded eyes.
He hums a reply as he starts preparing the bread. He grabs the loaf and lets his quirk cut two slices out before placing them into the toaster. He sets them to 3.5 -the perfect toast setting- and presses down the levers. “How was your sleep?” he asks as he turns back to mum.
Inko pauses, taking her time to stretch and yawn before landing herself onto the couch. “Not too bad, sweetie. Had a bit of a late night from work but it’s fine! How did you sleep?”
The eggs are ready. “That’s good! I slept well; I think. Nervous for the exam but I’m ready,” he makes a determined face, not bothered by the fact that no-one can see him. “I’ll be a hero for sure.”
He hears a sizzle behind him alongside smoke, “shit”
———^———
UA, the alma mater of Best Jeanist, Endeavor, and the one and only All Might. The gates of this glorious school stand tall in front of him.
Izuku’s eyes shine with awe. He can’t believe it. He’s finally here!
He makes his way in, ignoring the familiar but distant shouts of Bakugou. He passes by a brown-haired girl as well as a group of friends containing a tall guy with six arms, a guy with a bird for a face, and a guy who looks like he’s made of rock.
Other people walk towards the campus, all nervous and likely gearing up for the exams, just like Izuku.
He passes through the gates, noting the small gap in the wall surrounding the campus that probably holds the defences.
He enters the building, ready to move into the future.
———^———
Izuku did well on the written exam, he thinks. None of the questions were that hard and he’d had plenty of time to check over his answers when he’d finished.
Now it’s on to the physical exam!
Present Mic takes them through the rules of the game. Three robot types that are worth points equal to their respective number and 20 minutes on the clock to get as many points as possible. There’s also a fourth robot that’s meant to be just filler. Seems simple to Izuku.
Izuku makes his way onto his respective bus for his zone -each student was given a card with their respective zone number on it to keep peers from the same school from working together- quickly arriving at their destination.
Izuku hops off, followed by a nervous girl with dimples and a face that kind of reminds Izuku of marshmallows for some reason…
After that, a boy who seems all too happy to act like a straight piece of wood with how tense his movement is. Following is a guy with a spike for hair and then another boy wearing an overly stylish belt. He does realise this is a physical exam right? Unless it has to do with his quirk…?
“-GO!”
Izuku looks up to see most of the group starting to rush in to the already open gates. Dammit! He quickly rushes to catch up. Going along the main route, Izuku is quickly rushed by three robots. Not caring for what their values are, Izuku simply runs by them and dismantles each with an easy tap of the finger.
He runs off down the street to find more but is cut off by- “Woah!” Izuku barely dodges a stray piece of debris as the spike head guy rams a robot into the corner of a building. Izuku runs over and repairs the corner before the building collapses. Would not be fun if a building collapsed in the middle of an exam.
A few moments later, Izuku slams his hand into the ground, splintering the road and shredding the field of robots in front of him to pieces. He taps the ground quickly once more, leaving the road to reform the way it was before.
A robot falls to the ground next to him, surprising him. He looks over and sees marshmallow girl tapping robots and sending them into the sky to let them drop moments later.
Huh. A unique quirk for sure… No, Izuku! Focus, this is an important exam! Analysis later, deconstruction hands on robots now.
Izuku finds another batch of robots, easily sliding his way under the first as he glides his finger along the underside. The two adjacent get a face of metal spikes coming from the first as Izuku jumps up behind it. He grabs the face of the fourth, turning the machine to dust while letting his right hand form a spike into the last one.
He quickly fixes up the terrain before continuing on.
A stray robot flies right at him as he makes his way onto the street. Izuku puts his hands in front of him, not really able to register what the hell is being thrown at him with how fast it’s going.
No impact arrives. Izuku looks up to see the same robot floating inches from his face.
Looking to his right, Izuku sees marshmallow girl again. “Oh thanks! You saved me there!” An awkward laugh and a wave later, the two move on to find more robots.
Only moments later, Izuku feels a quick rumble before the ground beneath him crackles and crumbles. He runs and runs as the concrete rises like a wave. He’s not able to dodge the rock that slams into his leg.
Ow.
He’s pinned to the ground, but not for long. He grabs his leg and incinerates it, groaning but holding through the pain. He gets up before grabbing the remaining stump once more and reforming the leg separate from the large rock. Could he have destroyed the rock instead? Maybe, but it would’ve been a stretch to reach it.
Izuku looks up to see what caused the wave… and he looks up some more, and some more, until finally the sky piercing robot is visible in all its glory.
“Holy shit,” Izuku gasps.
In the nearby distance, Izuku hears a groan. Barely audible, but there. It’s up ahead! He runs ahead, closer to the robot and sees marshmallow girl also trapped by some rubble. Couldn’t she just float it? Unless she’s at her limit. Wait the robot’s leg is just behind her, if it moves it’ll crush her!
Izuku sprints until he’s right next to her.
“Uh, hi! Are you ok?” He asks.
She gasps as he slams into the ground next to her, probably not expecting his sudden arrival. “I’m ok! I think I sprained my ankle and it’s trapped but otherwise I’m fine. I don’t think I’ll be able to use my quirk anymo-” She’s cut off by the noise of the robot’s legs coming to life.
“Ok, let’s get you out of here,” Izuku mutters before shouting so she can hear, “This is gonna hurt but you’ll be fine!” Izuku slaps the rubble, letting it disintegrate as he reaches for her ankle and quickly repairs it. She screams.
Loudly.
Izuku winces but helps her up and they both start on a run. At least the pain from Overhaul is fast, even if sharp.
The Leg is only a few metres from them now. Izuku could probably destroy it, but that’d be a lot of dust and he wouldn’t really want to leave that much clean up.
Sprinting side by side, Izuku and marshmallow girl instantly collapse once time is called.
Izuku flips onto his back, gasping for breath. “Well,” he says, “that was fun!”
They both go into a fit of giggles while everyone gathers up. Izuku sits himself up as Recovery Girl arrives.
“Is everyone well?” she asks to the crowd.
“We’re all good Recovery Girl!”
“No injuries here.”
“I am doing quite magnifique!”
As she turns to Izuku and marshmallow girl -he really should ask her name- he says, “We’re fine! She had a damaged ankle but it’s all good now.”
Recovery Girl sighs and walks over. “I’ll be the judge of that,” she grumbles. “Come on, dear, give us a look! Now, what’s your name?” she says not unkindly. Ah good, he doesn’t have to ask.
“My name’s Uraraka Ochako! Really, I’m fine,” she says as she rolls up the ankle that was previously damaged. “He repaired it, I think, with his quirk.” Uraraka points to Izuku.
Recovery Girl turns on him, her eye giving off a deadly glare, “Oh did he, now. Young man, that is quite dangerous of you! If you did it incorrectly you could lead to permanent damage for dear Uraraka here!”
Izuku bows quickly, “S-sorry for using my quirk on you without your permission Uraraka. D-don’t worry, Recovery Girl. I’ve spent a good three years examining how the human body is structured so I’m c-confident I got it right.”
“I’m going to trust you for now and only give you a warning, but in the future, if you want to use your quirk for medical purposes, you’re going to have to have extracurricular with me and have an internship as a quirk doctor in second year. Until then, only in utter emergencies are you to use your quirk like that, understood?”
“Y-yes Recovery Girl.” At this she nods, handing some gummies to both of them before walking off.
Izuku sighs. At least he only got a warning.
At the front gate, he starts walking off but is tapped on the shoulder. Turning around he finds Uraraka smiling at him. “Thanks for saving me just then! I wasn’t sure what I would do there, and you saved my life so thanks! I- uhh, here’s my number if you’d like!” She gives her phone over, open to her contacts. Her voice goes oddly high-pitched but Izuku ignores it.
Instead of copying her phone number, Izuku just creates a new contact and plants his own number in. “Send me a message and I’ll respond a little later. Thanks, Uraraka!”
Izuku smiles and Uraraka waves as they both head off in different directions.
“See ya, uh- Wait, what’s your name?” she shouts.
“I’m Midoriya Izuku!” He calls back, waving as she sends a thumbs up.
He got a new friend!
Hopefully they both get into UA too, or he’d have to find another person to be friends with.