Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Waking up felt strange to Izuku, but it was understandably so being laid out on asphalt. Blurry vision gave way to a blue screen that was staring down at him. It took a little effort to really even read. His eyes did not want to make out the bold letters, but soon did anyway.

You have met all the requirements to complete a secret quest.

[You now qualify to become a Player.

Do you accept? {y/n}]

(Yes)

A secret quest? That was, what could have been the quest, slowly he sat up, finding himself on the sidewalk. It was surprising that there was no pain. After all, Katsuki had hit him after class before he had exploded his notebook and threw it out the window. Looking around Izuku was met with a sight he didn’t think he would ever see. 

“All Might?” Izuku questioned aloud, he was still under the underpass where he had been attacked by the slime villain. That's right, he was walking home examining the damage to his notebook thinking about how stupid Katsuki was for having told him to k- telling him what he did. It could ruin his chances to become a hero. 

All Might was crouched over a puddle of dark green, scooping the contents into a soda bottle, another bottle already full of the sludge was sitting right next to him. The hero hearing their name looked up and smiled at the young teen in his signature smile.

“Aw most EXCELLENT! YOU ARE AWAKE! MY APOLOGIES FOR GETTING YOU CAUGHT UP IN THAT VILLAIN HUNT, MY BOY! I normally would never accept such failure, but thanks to you I was able to capture the villain! THANK YOU!” The hero was loud and bigger than life and Izuku couldn’t help himself but smile at his hero who had saved him. The hero nerd couldn’t help but bounce a little as the hero bowed and izuku got to have a close look at his hero. 

“Now why don’t we get you off the ground young man!” All Might moved carefully up to Izuku after storing the villain who was contained in the bottles in the pockets of his pants. Carefully he helped Izuku up to his feet. “Tell me, Young One, are you having any difficulty breathing, ah, can you hear it, the ambulance is almost here!” And at the hero’s words Izuku did pick up on the sirens. He could hear the city as a whole, the birds the faded sounds of traffic 

“Um, n-no, A-All Might, sir, I, feel okay, um c-could I get, an autograph and I oh, where-” Izuku looked around for the notebook that he had had in his notebook but found his backpack and notebook to be missing. “Huh but I-” 

“Not to worry Young Man, I have you covered!” The hero barked out, grabbing Izuku’s attention back from the ground and Izuku's confusion of the lost backpack and notebook. The hero pulled from a different pocket a small handheld notebook and quickly wrote out his autograph before pulling the paper and holding the paper out to Izuku who took the scrap of paper reverently. 

“Thank you, sir, I’ll treasure it forever,” This earned a loud booming laugh from the hero as the ambulance pulled up. The paramedics came out and one came up while the other went around to the back. 

“All Might, sir, we’ll take it from here,” The paramedic gave the pro a smile as he looked from Izuku, to the prohero, and then back to the boy. He looked happy, and he definitely wanted to say more but was being professional. 

“Well then I leave him in your capable hands,” All Might’s hand gently patted Izuku's shoulder. The hero made Izuku feel not just small but safe, even as he urged the teen toward the paramedics with a gentle push. The other one came up with the stretcher. The parametric bent down to the teen’s height with a smile on his face. 

“Well then, let's get you checked out, huh? All Might said over the phone that the bad guy blocked your breathing there for a moment? Can you tell me your name?” The questions drew Izuku’s attention off the hero long enough to really examine the first paramedic, he was tall with tattoos on both his forearms, one looked to be a medical bag, and the other a medical cross done in gray scale. He had Short brown hair that was carefully trimmed on his head and his face. He had no noticeable quirk, but no doubt it was something health related. 

“I, I’m Izuku Midoriya,” Izuku answered carefully as he looked at the other who was bringing the stretcher up to the nervous teen. 

“Well Mr. Midoriya, let’s get you on the bus and looked over, huh?” The second paramedic spoke up, he was a black man, no hair on his head or face, he had kind eyes, not so much focused on the hero as Izuku. He too had no obvious quirk, but he was already wearing gloves, so maybe it was touch based, or so Izuku thought. He was so thoroughly distracted by the two nice paramedics he didn’t notice All Might walking up to a detective who had pulled up at some point without Izuku noticing. 

Just before Izuku could be coaxed onto the stretcher he looked back to the hero that was handing the bottles to someone in a trench coat. The two of them were talking about something, and while Izuku was nervous, he had to ask, he had to ask the hero who told everyone that anyone could be a hero. He needed to hear it directed at just him and no one else. 

“Wait, All Might!” He called across the street at the large hero, ignoring the gentle words from the paramedics that were trying to coax him away from the hero. “All Might, can anyone be a hero, even someone who is quirkless?” He called and for a moment, everything went silent for izuku. The Paramedics had gone quiet, the one wearing the gloves having pulled off one and touching the teen’s arm and shooting a look to their partner as the Detective and All Might looked at Izuku. The silence was deafening, and Izuku could swear his ears were ringing before the rejection even came. 

“I’m sorry,” The loud boisterousness was gone as he addressed him this time. “But, might I suggest something else, like the police, or even becoming a paramedic?” The rejection had been soft. But it had been just that, a rejection. Izuku for once didn’t feel the need to cry, but rather just felt numb. He went with the paramedics without a word after that. 

Chapter Text

Izuku had had a long day, in less than 6 hours, the boy he thought had been his friend, or at least had been his best friend at one time, told him to kill himself, he was attacked by a villain, and then while he was down, woke up to All Might saving him. The hero hadn’t stayed long, only enough to make sure Izuku was in the hands of the paramedics before running away with a detective as Izuku was being loaded up into the ambulance as if hell itself was about to swallow the city and he had to save it. It was just long enough for his dream to be crushed, but that persistent screen stared at him throughout it all: Waking up, having his heart crushed with his dream, and the hospital visit. The divide in reactions to his presence there at the public facility. Three large groups that dictated his life. Those who looked at him in pity, those who looked at him in disgust, and the smallest group, indifference

Izuku sat on the bed within his hospital room, now completely alone for the first time since he had woken up on the asphalt. His mother had come in about an hour ago, crying before she had even seen him. He was in good health, his head doctor who looked at him with pity had decided to keep him overnight for observation just to be sure that he was okay. After all, he was a weak and quirkless child who All Might himself had saved. His mom had been quick to agree, staying till the last moment till the nurses had asked her to leave. 

It was his first chance to check the messages that were waiting for him. A small board that had been sitting at the edge of his vision waiting patiently for Izuku to read it. It had two messages waiting for him, and he hoped that maybe there were answers inside waiting for him. 

The subject lines read as 

[Congratulations! You have become a Player.] (Unread)

And

[Daily Quest: Train to become a powerful hero] (Unread) 

The second line of text made Izuku’s breath hitch. Train to become a powerful hero? He had to reread the line more than once. It was insane. All Might had told him as they waited for the ambulance that Izuku could never become a hero. To pick out a different dream, an achievable one. 

Yet it made sense, he had never trained to try and achieve his dream, he had studied heroes and decided to follow them, but never once had he tried to train. The thing every hero mentioned at least once, training, how they made their body physically capable of doing their job. How could he ever become a hero while he was just a twig, no wonder All Might didn’t see behind the child who had stood right in front of him and only saw what Izuku told him, a quirkless child unable to put in the work.  

“Um, train to become a powerful hero?” The screen stayed motionless, unresponsive to his words. Thinking for a moment he tried again. “Open?” The screen changed and rather than an email or answer, Izuku found himself looking at a list, though a short one. 

Daily Quest - Train to Become a Powerful Hero

Goals 

-Push-ups [0/10]

-Sit-ups [0/10]

Caution- failure to complete will come with penalties.
Warning - Daily Quest will become more difficult once released from hospital

The list he saw didn't seem to be a hard training regimen that would whip him up into being a hero. But it was a start, right? It wasn’t like he was hooked up to any machines or anything. The nurses and doctor weren’t all that worried, they just wanted to make sure that ‘his weak system’ didn’t catch anything. Which he agreed with for different reasons. The slime villain had been in the sewer, and he swore he could still taste the villain on his tongue. So, this, this was the start. Well then, he should brush his teeth until he gets the taste out of his mouth.

It took Izuku about an hour to do the work out, having struggled to meet the requirements that the Daily Quest required of him. He felt like he had done far more than just the 10 reps of each exercise that he had been told to do. Once he sat back down on the mattress the screen reappeared. 

Daily Quest - Train to become a powerful hero
Complete
Rewards - 3 stat points, and 1 mystery box.

“Mystery Box?” Izuku asked aloud, not even thinking about keeping his voice to himself. The line that held the spoken text blinked with light and a glowing ball of light appeared in Izuku’s lap. Far a moment, Izuku’s heart spiked, nervous for this new happening. A moment later and the ball shifted, turning into a notebook and pen, causing the curly haired boy to blink in surprise. “Wh- but,” He sputtered in the empty room as he lifted up the ‘gifts’ to better inspect them. It did bring his attention to another small issue: what had happened to his backpack and notebook? Leaning back and falling against the pillow, Izuku sighed. So if this was a video game type of quirk then what would it be, wait, an rpg right, and didn’t they have inventories?

At that thought a new box opened up before Izuku: there were two tabs, one listed as Inventory,  and the second tab which was open listed Bag Inventory. sitting back up quickly Izuku couldn’t help his happy smile on his face. The Bag Inventory holding my textbooks, pens, pencils, and his notebook. Tentatively Izuku reached out to tap the notebook icon that read Hero Analysis for the Future , rather than click a button, his hand phased through the screen and the teen felt something against his fingers. Grabbing it, Izuku pulled out the desired damaged notebook. So his things really had been stored just like they would be in a video game. Looking over the notebook for a moment Izuku than held it tight to his chest. 

“Um, show me messages?” The inventory screen shifted to the side and the desired window opened before him. Showing the same two as before 

[Congratulations! You have become a Player.] (Unread)

And

[Daily Quest: Train to become a powerful hero] (Read)

“Show me the first one?” Izuku experimented with the commands. Needing to know if there were phrases or codes he needed to figure out, though thankfully the system seemed to understand and the first message opened up. Reading the message, Izuku could hardly contain his rising bile,looking at the welcome message that acknowledged him as a Player. Curiosity had driven him to look at the message while he had been eating his breakfast, now he wished he hadn’t for what he read at the bottom of the screen. 

Consumed 1 Holy water of Life

Water of life

Item: S class

Type: consumable 

A mysterious potion that can cure any disease or effect with powerful magic. The effect will only take place when the entire potion is consumed . Extremely Powerful Healing potion

2 Remain in Inventory (Locked Item)

Reading the message Izuku couldn’t help but wonder, how close had he come to dying, or did he die before this quirk, his quirk, saved him. Was All Might even in time to actually save him? Or had he died before All Might even had a chance to save him?

Chapter Text

Looking up Izuku eyed a peculiar door, if one could call it that, a large circle that was split in half with a key hole close to the middle. The circle was really just a shimmering void in space, the edges sparking with energy. He was standing in an alley behind a bar, there was trash and gunk along the sides that were packed into the sidewalk, and bags in and up against the dumpster. 

Izuku had a little time before school. He had left his apartment early to complete his daily quest before school was supposed to start, but that hadn’t been his only excuse, his mother had discovered the damage on Izuku’s uniform from Katsuki the day before, leading to the older woman’s disappointment and being informed that she would be picking up more hours at the clinic. Looking down at the key lying innocently in the palm of his hand that had been a reward in the special box, Izuku made up his mind.

“Just a peek,” He reasoned, “Just to see what’s on the other side.” Izuku lifted the key into the shimmering air within and the electric circle changed, wooden doors materializing and opening inward and looking just inside was an urban dystopia. Taking a step inside to look around, he jumped as the doors slammed shut behind him and vanished, locking him inside. Dread pooled in the male’s stomach.

“Uh oh.”

Izuku was running through passages at random trying to just get away. The Dungeon was a horrible, no good, awful idea. It was massive and Izuku had yet to find an end to it. It was a dystopia in every sense of the word, it looked like one of those videos of a war zone with collapsing walls and rubble around every corner. Burned or just plain rusted and abandoned cars in the roads. The only relief was there were no bodies. What was not a relief was the two monsters that were chasing him since he entered this crazy place. They were just as fast as he was when Izuku put all he had into running away. 

Just like he was now, turning a corner out of the alleyway, and clambering over some of the rubble before sliding down to take off running again, Hearing the angered screeches of the small winged creatures behind him. He hadn’t meant to wake them up when he had walked into the dungeon, the flying rat-like lizards had woken up when the doors had slammed shut behind him and took him as the one responsible for waking them up, which…. They weren’t exactly wrong. He turned the next alley hoping he would lose them both and finally take the chance to breathe. Though Izuku had to ruin it as he watched one speed past and he let out a breath of air in relief. Apparently his sigh was too loud as the second heard and spotted him as it flew by. 

“Oh crap,” Izuku sometimes wished he could curse like Katsuki, and well, even in stuff like this it wasn’t the easiest thing to do. It quickly charged and Izuku turned around to find that he had run into a dead end. There was no running away anymore. Turning his face towards the ground, Izuku looked around for anything that could work, and found a 2 by 4, about the size of a bat, a little smaller, but it was something other than stones. He grabbed the piece of wood and as the lizard closed the distance he swung and hit it soundly with the makeshift bat, sending the lizard into the wall, though that hardly did any damage. The thing hit the ground and with a wheeze it turned to Izuku, opened its mouth and breathed out a noxious gas that smelt of disinfectant but three times worse, that made Izuku cough and move to quickly get out of the gas, towards the mouth of the alley. Though as he came out of the gas he knew he couldn’t go out there. There was already another monster out there. And while these were tiny creatures, Izuku knew unlike his school yard bullies these would kill him. 

There was a sound coming from the creature, for a second Izuku thought it could be chuckling but no, that wasn’t it. Its neck flap was coming in and out, it took a moment but Izuku was sure the little beast, this tiny western dragon was laughing at him and his terror. It was up and scurrying after him and Izuku took a step back while raising his makeshift bat and swinging again. He missed his first swings, only to get it the second time as it lunged at his boot and almost bit him. Squawking as the second hit landed, it went down this time. Breaths came heavy and Izuku stood there, terrified. How could he have come this far? To come to this point. The creature had already started to move again. The green scales looked so different from his mother’s hair, lighter, almost to the point of toxic neon. Its tongue began to click, it was almost like Katsuki’s quirk, where once it needed to spark a few times before it could properly start an explosion. It was going to release the gas again, and maybe it could light it. Full of terror and an urge to never die again, Izuku moved forward and swung twice more. The first hit stopped the clicking. The second, there was a crack and it stopped breathing. 

Izuku stood there watching the cooling body of the animal. Breaths hitching as he found himself silently crying, not even noticing how two screens appeared on either side.

Izuku had to keep fighting, the second dragon had come back after the death of the first, and as Izuku wandered the barren land he would find three more one by one. It was on the fifth and last that the plank he had been using as a club to kill the small dragons. He was tired, exhausted even, and yet there was no sign of a way home. As he peeked around a corner, he had hoped to find nothing, and yet, peaking on what Izuku had dubbed to be main street, he was met with the sight of not more house cat sized dragons, but rather a knight. He seemed to be as tall as All Might, a red plume coming from the back of his helmet to his waist, glowing a deep purple around black plates of a dark metal, a long flowing cape that covered most of his frame from behind. Yet it wasn’t just the pointed spike on his helmet and more along his shoulder pads, but the aura of power that seemed to surround him. All Might had this type of aura, maybe, or at least something far kinder, lighter even. This one was heavy along his spine and chest, making it hard to breathe.

As it turned, two glowing slits in the helmet, with what looked to be a scar on the metal right over the right eye, scanned in Izuku’s direction. The green haired boy jerked away, and hoped it hadn’t noticed, but knowing his luck he likely had already been detected, so he turned trying to run back the way he came. 

Yet not even five strides away, there was as far as Izuku could tell a shift in the shadows from the dislocated building right next to him and there in front of him was the very knight he had tried to run from. He appeared so suddenly that Izuku bounced off the large being’s frame falling back onto the butt he scrambled back from them, the aura that surrounded them was far from faded, if anything this close it felt even stronger. Scrambling away the knight stayed completely still, the two of them watching each other for a very long moment before suddenly one spoke.

“You are the chosen,” The words seemed to vibrate through the air and it made Izuku flinch away, not yet curling up, but it was a near thing. “You need not fear me today, Little Prince.” A clawed hand was offered to the terrified boy, and for a long moment all was still, until tentatively. Izuku reached out and hesitantly took the offered hand. His hand was small in the palm of the knight who carefully pulled him to his feet. 

“Wh-who are you?” Izuku asked as the knight released his hand and took a step back. 

“I am called Igris, for that is the name I was given by my Kings.” He answered me, he kneeled, his head still held high, and proud, a large sword that Izuku had not noticed before shifting against Igris’s back. “I am a Marshall in the Second Shadow Monarch’s army.” He spoke clearly, even though his voice still vibrated in the air, and sounded wrong. His kneeling to be more on Izuku’s level let Izuku feel more comfortable, as he not quite cowered under the shadow’s gaze. 

“Is this king, is he a hero?” Izuku found himself asking, hope starting to swell that he might just be saved. Hopeful that he had found a way out of a maze that was made of this destroyed city he had found himself trapped in. 

The knight hummed low, tilting his head to the side. “Of a sort,”  was his very cryptic answer before he rose to his full height, reaching behind him the knight pulled a small sword that sat within what looked to be a leather sheath. “I have seen you. Using the stick to defend yourself against the ale dragons that haunt this territory. This will better serve you.” Izuku hesitantly reached out. Entirely nervous as the weapon was dropped into his waiting hands. The weight surprised Izuku, almost dropping the sword as it hit his hands. He was quick to hold it close to my chest cradled in my two arms. Looking down at it, the weapon’s title appeared thanks to the system. Common short sword, no bonuses. Even without any bonuses, the weapon was a welcome relief. The worry about what to do now that the plank he had been using as a club was gone. He was still anxious about the now known ale dragons, but it wasn’t as bad now. With each kill it had been getting slightly easier and easier, The System even saying he had leveled up once. 

As Izuku kept looking at the sword the knight reached out and gently set a clawed hand over his arm, and held out a small trinket. “The King before you kept his power a secret for a time for the safety of himself and his family.”  His words seemed almost soft, reverent despite the same volume as before, clear and easy to understand. “Things are not the same in your world. He informed me once you had found me I was to give this to you to use before others.” The trinket in question looked to be a small stone shaped like a spike, with a rune in the middle. Careful not to drop the sword, Izuku carefully took it. Another set of screens popping up. One identifying the stone as a rune stone giving the ability of Ruler’s Hand, that I only had to crush it to gain it’s power, and the other a quest to immediately break the stone for the reward of Ruler’s Hand. 

He knew his mother and him had had an awkward conversation that morning, when Izuku had tried to show his mother his quirk’s inventory system, only for it to deny him access and his mother to give him a rather awkward lecture on how it was okay that he was quirkless and that she would always love him. So to have something not just to show his mother, but to the world, it marked the change to everything. 

“Crush it and we shall begin,” the words sent a chill down Izuku’s spine, dread and panic rising, thinking that he might just have to fight this knight.

“W-wait, but I, you are- I don’t think I can fight you,” Izuku was quick to wave his hands, dropping the sword and the rune stone with a clatter on the pavement in his panic, yelping and jumping away as Igris’s eyes narrowed at the action. The knight reached out his clawed hand and the two objects came to float before the panicked middle schooler. 

“Do not drop your weapon, again,” the words were strict and Izuku rushed to grab it again holding it tight to his chest now. “We will not fight, yet.” Izuku could only gulp as the yet seemed to be a promise for the future. “Your world has not trained you, as such I will start your training, when we meet again we will fight. And should you lose, I will kill you, and this power will pass to another far more worthy.” the aura pulsed far more strongly in the air this time, and I knew for certain, this being was not someone to anger, or to trifle with. He was far more dangerous than Katsuki, or the villain from the other day… maybe even All Might.

Chapter Text

Igris was a teacher that was thorough, he didn’t just make sure Izuku crushed the runestone, but also taught him how to use the ability called Ruler’s Hand, it was really telekinesis. A bit weak, but with Igris’s guidance the green haired boy was able to go from picking up a tiny stone to a fist side rock before they moved on to the next thing, he showed the one he called ‘Little Prince’ how to use the sword, and a dagger. Going over forms and correcting every fault with a calm patience that came from a teacher. It felt like hours he drilled Izuku, and the training was far more exhausting than killing the dragons had been. By the time Igris finally called it and escorted the teen back to the gate he had long lost track of.

“This is where we part ways, Little Prince,” the shadow spoke as Izuku turned to face the knight that had been training him all day. The teen, having come in in a nice and clean middle school uniform, was now covered in sweat, dirt, scratches, and nicks from training with Igris and fighting the cat sized dragons. His sword and dagger now hidden within his inventory. 

“Do we really have to fight the next time we meet?” Izuku questioned the knight, having grown used to the aura around the large figure while they had been training. In their short time together, Izuku knew that he didn’t have a stone's throw of a chance of fighting the being before him let alone winning, and he was going to come after Izuku with the intention of killing him. 

“Power such as what you will come to wield must be tested.” He spoke, the rumble that was the vibrations in the air finally fading away now looking down at the younger being, his plume shifting behind him. Seeming to be almost hesitant with his next words. “You will be strong even if you do not take up the gauntlet, but it will not be enough to complete the quest set before you.” The mention of the quest to become a hero gave Izuku some resolve, he still didn’t like the idea that he would need to fight his first mentor in such a way, but, he also didn’t want to give up just because he had to fight someone. 

“I understand,” the teen lowered his head, not liking the coming future. With careful movements taloned fingers reached out and gently had Izuku raise his head. 

“You bow your head too often, Little Prince.” The knight spoke in the same careful tone. He seemed to fidget more for a moment, before he bowed his head, a small tilt to his chin. “Do not grow lax in your training,” and with that goodbye he stepped around the teen he had tried to encourage, and with a raised hand he gestured to the door, making it clear that Izuku was to leave, and with slow hesitant steps he walked through the swirling portal and into the alley way he had come into the dungeon he had wondered in from. Looking back he caught no sign of the night, or the hellish world he had left behind as the portal collapsed behind him. Coming out to the street he was greeted with an unwelcome sight. He had left in the morning with a clear blue sky above his head, and now it was late in the evening. He couldn’t have been gone that long…. Could he? 

A screen popped up on his left at shoulder level, alerting Izuku that he had received several texts from his mother. Quick to pull out his phone from the inventory he found that he had missed dinner time and that his mother had been calling and texting for the last hour trying to find him. He couldn’t help but groan as he looked at himself and knew he was going to be in for another uncomfortable conversation. But as he was about to start walking home. He found himself hesitating. Looking both ways on the street he made sure no one was looking. The street is much quieter in the night than in the morning, if you ignore the off key singing coming from the bar on the one side of the alley Izuku had just come from. He would need to check out this time difference between the real world and the dungeons later. Right now he would need to get home.

Izuku looked at Katsuki as he held the journal, ready to blow up the new notebook with very little thought, almost a repeat of the last day Izuku had come to school, but the harsh words were missing, not that the teen was going to complain about that. And rather than feeling tears well in his eyes, it was frustration in his chest. He had gone home the night before to his worried and distressed mother. Who had fretted over his dirty appearance, and cried greater tears when Izuku distracted her by showing the power the rune stone had given him. Had picked up a box of tissues to hand to her as she fussed over her. It had been something to celebrate and had been more than enough to earn his mother’s forgiveness at his tardiness. 

He went to school the next day, refusing to get distracted, or to think much about the night that he had met the day before, right now just focusing on his childhood friend turned bully. He had killed dragons, sure they were tiny ones, just yesterday. He was almost killed by a villain even before that. Katsuki’s sparking hands and cruel words no longer felt as sharp as they had once been before. Reaching his hand out, he focused on the skill that Igris had taught him to use in the dungeon, power welled and Ruler’s Hand activated, and with a little effort the pages started to flex and with a sharp flick of his fingers the notebook flew into his hand out of Katsuki’s. The room was silent, a few of their classmates having seen the display, even the teacher at the front. The entire room is entirely still at the blatant use of power, of a quirk they had all been so sure that Izuku had never and would never have, and yet, before their very eyes it happened.

“Deku!” The growl was dangerous, low and harsh, red eyes having narrowed to a prick. The urge to run flared within the smaller boy, yet he stayed rooted to the spot. He had learned with the dragons a lesson he should have probably learned with his bullies from school. Running just prolonged the fight, and made everything last longer. “When the hell did yo-” 

“Mr. Bakugou,” The teacher snapped, drawing the attention of every student in the room. Granted there was only 5 at the time. They were cleaning their glasses for a long moment, all the students watching him or glancing back at Izuku, still a little shocked about the display they had seen. “Now, De- Mr. Midoriya.” The teacher corrected themself from using the name that had been used as a curse for so long, and Izuku could feel bitterness starting to rise with the frustration. “I think it would help everyone if we could run a little test, don’t you think?” He asked rhetorically as the plain man reached out, picking up a pen from a cup at the corner of the desk. Lifting it up between two pinched fingers. “If you would, do it again.” He commanded, and as much as Izuku didn’t want to in front of the glaring blond and the other students, and an unbelieving teacher, he copied his mentor’s actions when he had picked up the sword and stone, and reached out his hand. It took a moment to push down the frustration and grasp the object with his mind, he tried once, finding resistance. Blinking he focused further, and with a flex of his fingers, the pen flew out of the teacher’s hand and came to float just under his hand. Experimenting with the power a little he turned his hand palm up and the pen came to float over his palm. 

“Now, Mr’ Midoriya, return it,” The teacher instructed, and the frustration flared, the teachers never had others show their quirks like this. They saw it once and accepted it, why were they testing him, making him show off his quirk just because he had one now. Is this why whatever ‘King’ Igris spoke about before hid his power, to hide from poor treatment? 

Consumed in his thoughts he didn’t notice how the tips of his shadows started to shift, how the two desks on either side started to shake, to shift subtle as a power he had yet to tap into shifted and flowed just behind a lock only hinted to before. His head bowed a little, but not in fear or embarrassment, but instead his frustration was boiling into an anger he rarely ever felt, and in a move that felt far too natural, he flicked his wrist, and the pen flew through the air, impacting the board like a dart right behind the teacher. The pen was impeded into the chalk board right behind him, a small spiderweb of cracks surrounding it. Izuku stood stunned for a moment looking at the damage he had caused, everyone else in the room stood stunned with him, and after a few short milliseconds, Izuku snapped out of it, grabbing his bag, and taking off running, out of the door of the class room, down the hall, and out of the school building. He needed to get away. To think, to get out the energy that felt like it was sparking just below his skin, unaware as a screen popped up at his side. 

Skill learned: Dash 

Skill Learned: Dart throw