Chapter Text
Izuku Midoriya was an… interesting individual. His quirk came in later than most, but it was no less impressive. Kinetic Awakening. Sounds cool, and it is. It can affect an object's inertia, making it go faster and hit harder, or even help it come to a sudden stop. But it can also mess with it on an atomic level, turning potential energy into kinetic, and… boom!
He got his quirk while visiting relatives in America, accidentally blowing up a table learning to play rummy. It was this trip to America that peaked his interest in playing cards and a certain accent. Since he could perfectly replicate All Might’s voice and face, learning Cajun was no trouble at all, and it became his favorite way to talk.
Of course, since he was a late bloomer, the time he spent quirkless was time spent with his friend Bakugo getting his ego stroked and turning into a bully. Since Izuku’s quirk had a similar explosive quality to his own, he decided Izuku would be a better rival than a friend, and it didn’t take long for Izuku to reciprocate.
It was nearing the end of the school year, and to celebrate Izuku got magenta highlights in his green hair. It worked surprisingly well. He walks down the street in his Alderra uniform, doing card tricks along the way. One of his many hobbies was practicing his sleight of hand. A ruckus gets his attention and he flips one last card before looking up to see a giant villain causing trouble.
Packing away the cards, Izuku takes out a notebook as Kamui Woods makes an appearance. His quirk was explosive, and as such he couldn’t risk going too far, so he takes notes and analyzes other heroes and villains to see how they fight.
As the wooden hero prepares to restrain the villain, a giant hero in white spandex comes out of nowhere and kicks the villain in the face. The suddenness of it has Izuku pause in his note taking before he flips to a new page as the new arrival speaks, showing off her... assets for the hoard of cameramen. “A piece of cake for the next hottest hero. Hi everyone, I’m Mt Lady.”
Izuku shakes his head. ‘She many things, but she ain’t no lady.’ As the street clears, Izuku gives the dejected Kamui a final look. ‘C’est la vie, mon ami.’
Izuku touches up his notes and sketches in homeroom. In Alderra, Izuku didn’t have any friends, although to the confusion of many, it was by choice. Many mutual friends between Izuku and Bakugo chose Bakugo under the misguided assumption his quirk was better. But the ladies- he sees one girl looking at him out of the corner of her eye and he winks with a rogue-ish smile and she giggles- they could be persuaded.
The teacher speaks at the front of the room. “Alright, you’re all third years now, so it’s time to think of your futures. I would hand out these career forms, but,” he tosses them in the air “I know you all want to be heroes!” While most of the class show off fairly average quirks, Izuku rolls his eyes.
Bakugo stands up on his desk. “Don’t bother putting me with these losers. They’ll be lucky to work for some D-lister, but I’m gonna be the most powerful and rich hero there ever was! I aced the UA mock exam, so you can all kiss my ass!” Izuku chuckles under his breath.
After classes are over for the day, Bakugo decides to try and corner Izuku in the empty classroom. “We’re not finished here, Gumbo.” He looks at the title. “Hero analysis? Is that a fucking joke? You’re some weirdo with a speech impediment and I’m the future number one hero!”
Izuku glares up at his self appointed rival. “Kacchan, there is no version of this that ends well for you, so why don’t you gimme my stuff back, yeah?” That old childhood nickname was now used more as a taunt than a term of endearment.
Bakugo hums before pressing his hand to the book and activating his quirk, burning the pages. “No.”
Izuku chuckles mirthlessly. “Couyon zuwa.” His eyes glow an eerie purple color and he flicks a glowing card from his sleeve into the air just in front of Bakugo’s face. He didn’t charge it much, only just enough to flash and send some singed debris into the blonde’s face. With Bakugo thoroughly distracted, Izuku snakes around him, grabbing his notebook and bag, and even pickpocketing Bakugo’s wallet for fun before dashing for the window.
Jumping out of it, his eyes glow bright as purple energy coats his legs, and it makes a purple wave on impact with the ground and cancels the inertia. As he struts away from the school, he mutters to himself. “Boom.” He hears the card he slipped into Bakugo’s collar pop with an enraged cry and he laughs to himself.