Chapter Text
1772
Izuku Midoriya gently places a bouquet of Bougainvilleas in front of a small stone. It had been four years since he had seen her. He misses her smile, how sweet her laugh sounded, and how much she loved him. Her death created a void in his heart, one he believes he will never be able to fill for as long as he lives.
"Mom," he says, "I'm sorry I haven't visited. I've been busy writing. I know you thought nothing good would come of it, even if you never said it. I have never been happier to tell you you were wrong." Izuku takes a deep breath. "I'm leaving, mom. I don't know if I'll ever be back. I wrote a letter to father about the hurricane. Someone found a copy of it and decided to publish it in The Royal Danish American Gazette. A few businessmen read it and are sending me to New York to get a proper education at King's Collage. They say that I'm smart enough to make it there. I hope they're right. I couldn't bare to leave you only to fail."
Izuku runs his fingers over the inscription on her gravestone. Inko Midoriya, loving mother and friend 1729-1768,* it read.
"Goodbye, mom. I love you." He stands up. He has a long journey ahead of him. If he doesn't leave now he'll be late. God knows the ship won't wait for him, or anyone for that matter.
As Izuku makes his way to the docks, he walks slower than he usually would, even as the November breeze chills him. Pausing for a few seconds here and there to take in the town he grew up in. After all, this will likely be the last time he sets foot here. Regardless of how many hardships he has faced while living here, how much grief he feels when thinking about what he has lost, or the sacrifices he's had to make to survive, he's saddened to leave. He'll miss the friends he's made, and the places he played as a child.
"Midoriya!" someone yells from behind him. Izuku turns to see his boss--or I suppose ex-boss now that he's leaving--, Tenya Iida.
"Good morning, Iida. Is there something I can do for you?"
"No, not at all! I simply wanted to congratulate you. I read your letter in the paper, and I must say, I am quite impressed. You truly have a way with words. It is too bad I will be losing my best clerk, your work was always impeccable," Iida says, hands chopping rigorously as he speaks. Izuku has never understood why he did that when he was especially passionate about something. He always found it strange, but who is he to judge? He mumbles and writes notes near obsessively.
"Thank you, Iida. I'm on my way to the docks right now. Would you like to join me?"
"Why yes! How considerate of you! I have some business there myself!" Iida was being rather loud, though Izuku is used to it because he's been working for him since he was 13, around the time his cousin stabbed himself.**
Their walk consists of Iida telling Izuku about how he found Hagakure resting her foot on one of the tables. "It was disrespectful of blah blah blah," in all honesty, Izuku is not paying attention. He's had a million and a half conversations with Iida about the same thing, more or less. It does, however, help put him at ease. The normalcy is comforting and distracts him from the fifteen(if he's lucky) days at sea he will have to endure.
All too soon, they reach their destination. With some final parting words from Iida, Izuku is on his way to Captain Aizawa's ship, the EraserMic. Odd name, yes, but a ship is a ship. As long as it gets him to the colonies, Izuku could care less what it is called. The man has a soft spot for children, and although Izuku is 17, an adult already, to Aizawa, he fits under that category. Izuku thinks that is why he is being allowed on his ship at all. Aizawa is not fond of people, after all.
ding dong, ding dong, the church bell rings.
"Oh no! I'm gonna be late," Izuku immediately brakes into a sprint. Aizawa is so going to kill him.
By the time the EraserMic comes into view, the bell is on it's eighth and final ring. He is officially late. Ugh, he's so tired. He was not prepared to have to run today. Especially so early in the morning. Izuku weakly climbs the ship's ladder, huffing for breath. He's much too malnourished for this much exercise. He reaches the top only to find captain Aizawa glaring at him as though he has committed treason against the king. He hasn't, not yet, at least.
"O-oh, hello, Aizawa," he stutters nervously, hoping Aizawa won't kick him off the ship.
"You're late," Aizawa grunts sternly. Oh boy, he sure isn't happy.
"W-well, you see, I visited my mother, that distracted me quite a bit, and then I ran into Iida on the way here, and I guess I lost track of time, and this is probably the last time I'll be here, and I'm stressed and sad and I--"
"Whoa, Midoriya, you're muttering again," says Hizashi Yamada, Aizawa's first mate, slinging an arm around Aizawa's soulders. Izuku suspects they are a couple, but because two male betas being in a romantic relationship is heavily frowned upon, he keeps his thoughts to himself. Izuku also shuts his mouth. His rambling can get out of hand.
"O-oh, sorry, I didn't even realize I was doing it," he says softly, trembling slightly, both from exertion and embarrassment. This luckily seems to soften Aizawa.
"Don't be so stiff, kid. Shouta here is a huge softie!" Yamada claps a hand on Izuku's back as he laughs loudly. If Iida and Yamada were in a loudness competition, Yamada would most definitely win. Yamada continues, "He probably won't even yell at you!"
"I'm not so sure about that..."
"Shut up, both of you," Aizawa says lowly. "Hizashi, give the order to hoist the anchor. Midoriya, take your things bellow deck. Asui will show you to your hammock." Yamada solutes dramatically with a loud Yes, sir before following his captain's orders. Aizawa's eyes turn to Izuku. "Now." Izuku squeaks and scurries off.
As he makes his way bellow deck, he can hear orders being given and Aizawa's crew rushing to obey. Above deck is much nicer to look at. What Izuku sees bellow are crates stacked precariously on top of one another, old, worn hammocks made of animal skin hanging so close to the ceiling Izuku is not sure how to get on them, and rats running away from a girl only a few years older than him as she attempts to wack them with her broom.
"Excuse me," he starts, "Are you Asui?"
"You must be Midoriya. Aizawa said you'd be here." She sets her broom down and gestures for him to follow her to the back of the room. "This hammock and hook are yours, but it's all you get. I hope you didn't over pack," Asui points to a small hammock he doesn't think he can fit in and a rusty old hook begging to give him tetanus. He hangs his satchel on it anyway.
"Thank you, Asui. I appreciate it."
"Call me Tsu," she insists.
That seems a bit forward of her, but he can't think of a reason to deny her request.
"O-okay, T-tsu."
"Did you bring a coat with you?" Izuku looks down at what he's wearing. White trousers, a button up shirt, and a large, oversized, checkered green frock. This is what he always wears. Should he be wearing more? He didn't think he'd need anything else. It's not like he could afford more clothing if he did anyway. How cold could the Atlantic be anyway?
"I have a blanket in my bag?" It's not supposed to be a question but Izuku is too confused to make it sound like a statement. The blanket of which he speaks is so thin it does almost nothing against the cold.
Asui squints her round eyes and her mouth parts as if she is astonished by the what he just said. "You've never been at sea before, have you?" Her question sounds rhetorical, so Izuku keeps his mouth firmly shut.
She sighs, "I'll see if we have any extra clothes you can borrow." She turns and heads for the stairs, but stops a few steps before she reaches them. Asui looks Izuku in the eyes, her long green hair sways as she turns, and says, "Oh, and it'd be best if you waited here until we are out of port. No offense, but you'd get in the crew's way." She's gone before he can answer.
Izuku thinks that's fair. He would most definitely get in the way. He reaches into his satchel and pulls out the book he's been reading: The Man of Feeling by Henry Mackenzie. It was a gift from one of the businessmen who is funding this voyage. Ken Takagi, Izuku remembers. He steps on the edge of the crate closest to him as he attempts to hoist himself onto his assigned hammock. Unfortunately, the wood on the crate was not strong enough to hold Izuku, and collapses under his weight. Before he can register what the sound of splintering wood means, he's laying flat on his back with his legs in the air. He lets his feet rest on the floor with a groan.
Pat, pat, pat.
Oh, there's a rat on his chest now. This might as well happen. The thing just walked right onto him. It must be really desensitized to people. Which is surprising considering Asui was just in here beating them with her broom.
In another universe, one where he isn't a bastard orphan with no money, he might have freaked out in this situation. But as it stands, he's used to living in unsavory locations with human waste being thrown out people's windows and onto the streets with no regards to those passing by. Well, that's not entirely true. It's customary to yell "look out bellow" three time before emptying your poo buckets. Still, disease is rampant. He's seen more than enough rats for a lifetime.
And that's why he just stares at the rat perched on his chest. The rat does the same. They just stare into each others eye for a long moment. "This is weird," Izuku thinks aloud. He gently uses his hand to nudge the rat off of him. It walks away, and because he is weird, of course he says, "Goodbye," with a wave.
Oh, now the boat is rocking. It's a lot more intense than he had expected. Gosh, he is going to get sea sick, isn't he? He's not looking forward to that. Just as he thinks this can't get worse, Yamada walks in.
"...Midoriya?"
"Yes?"
"Why are you on the floor?" That question is totally fair, but Izuku doesn't know how, or want to answer it.
So he goes with a simple verson: "Hammocks are difficult."
Yamada nods like he knows exactly what happened. You know what? He probably does. Seems like the type. Thankfully, Yamada moves on rather quickly.
"We'll be out of port in a few minutes. Tsu told me you don't have any warm clothing, so I brought an old coat of mine."
"But it's not that cold?"
"Kid, you'll need it. The farther north we go, the colder it'll get. You don't want to be in New York in November without a scarf."
"I see..."
Izuku and Yamada start the next half hour talking about the weather up north, and end it with Yamada demonstrating the proper way to get into a hammock, only for him to fall out himself. Yamada laughs while explaining that he hasn't had to sleep in a hammock since he was promoted to first mate. After a while, they decide to go above deck. Yamada excuses himself to his duties. Izuku decides to explore the ship, as things seem to have calmed down since they first set sail.
When he makes it to the front a strange emotion comes over him. In front of him, all he can see is ocean and the rising sun. It's as if, before this moment, his reality hadn't sunk in. And now that it has, he feels freer than he ever has. He's out! Finally, after years of wishing, he was out. He wants to scream at the top of his lungs. He wants the world to know that it can't touch him anymore.
Izuku leans as far over the railing as he can without falling. The brisk ocean breeze hits his face violently, shaking his green, curly hair. But he can't find it in himself to care. He's smiling so hard his cheeks hurt. When was the last time he felt so happy? He hasn't smiled genuinely in years, but right now, in this moment, there is a light, joyful laugh forcing its way up his throat. He's never sounded more gleeful.
"You better not fall in." Ah, Aizawa has been watching him. He probably thinks Izuku is weird. But he is in such a good mood that his anxiety can't take hold. He turns his head toward Aizawa, cheeks flushed red and eyes watery. From the cold wind or emotion, he'll never know. Aizawa cracks a small grin, raising his hand to ruffle Izuku's hair affectionately.
"Don't catch a cold, problem child." With that, Aizawa leaves and Izuku is on his own again. Not that he minds. He likes it here.
Izuku spends the next two weeks reading and admiring the ocean. He may have grown up in a port town, but seeing the ocean this way is different.
Izuku can't contain his excitement when he first sees New York come over the horizon. Aizawa decides to join him and lets Izuku rant and mumble until the sound of gunshots cuts him off.
"What was that?!" he exclaims, alarmed.
"Gunshots," is Aizawa's monotone reply.
"I know that! I meant why are there gunshots??"
"We're passing Weehawken." Aizawa gestures to a portion of the land they are passing.
"And that means gunshots, why?"
Aizawa sighs. "See that small ledge on the cliffs? That's Palisades on the Weehawken shore. It's a popular spot for dueling because you can only access it from the river, which lessens the chance of interruptions."*** The way Aizawa explains things is what Izuku imagines a teacher would sound like. Unfortunately, Izuku has never been to school. That's for rich kids, as far as he's concerned.
"We're about to enter the Manhattan port, so I have work to do. You should gather your things. Remember to stay out of the way." With that, Aizawa begins to order his crew around. Izuku, of course, does as told. He waits below deck for Asui to get him.
Once he sees Asui, he's rushing to get off the EraserMic before she can say a word. Eager to see the world. What does New York have in store for him? Izuku can't wait to find out.
Just ask he takes a step off the ship, he hears Aizawa call out to him.
"Problem child!" There, on deck, leaning over the railing, are Aizawa and Yamada. Izuku gives them a questioning look. He thought for sure they'd be thrilled to get rid of him.
"If you can't make it out here, you are always welcome on our ship," says Yamada.
A burst of confidence fills him.
"Mr. Aizawa, Mr. Yamada, I appreciate the offer," Izuku says,
"Alas,
"There's a million things I haven't done, but just you wait!"
They look proud of him, he thinks. Yamada yells one last thing before he leaves, a question. Somehow, it's the perfect thing to say. His surroundings seem to echo his answer along with him.
"What's your name, man?"
"Izuku Midoriya."