Chapter Text
In this world, eighty percent of the population was born with a special superhuman ability called a ‘quirk’. These amazing powers range from various mutations and evolutions among the people, ever changing and evolving across multiple generations.
"Hey Uraraka! Will you not play?"
"Don't invite her, she is quirkless!"
The unlucky twenty percent, however, are destined to live a life without an ability that makes them special. So called quirkless, a fossil from a time where babies did not glow.
"Can't keep up with the rest?!" the boys shoved her away. "This girl is useless!"
"Yeah, right? I bet she is adopted!" the other girls shamed her into a corner. "I don't want her close to me, she drags everyone down!"
Uraraka grew to withdraw herself. She was the only one between all her classmates to not have a quirk. When the teeth of babies start to grow, they seek to use them as of instinct to keep their development strong and healthy. The same idea could be applied to quirks, young kids seeking outlets to get a better grasp on their new abilities. And so that made young Ochako a very easy target for harassment.
Uraraka came from a family with struggling financials, she watched her parents collapse tired from work time after time. They were great parents with great empathy, who taught their loving daughter to think and act the same. In consequence, Ochako learned the mentality of not asking. They were already working too much, they didn't need more burns on their backs. She never wanted to be more burden, quite the contrary, she dreamed of lifting them all away. If you did not bring money, then do not bring problems
So she never told them about the bullying. They did not need another problem to worry about. If she couldn't solve it, she would just take it and keep going until the harassment died out. They never learned what was happening with their child, until a fateful day.
The classmates were going to dress as one of the heroes they liked. Ochako took all her willpower and asked her parents for a Thirteen costume. They worked hard and managed to get her an incredible gift. Their daughter was skipping in excitement under the big astronaut helmet. She came back that day, carrying the destroyed costume in her hands, the broken helmet with cracked gaps where her crying eyes popped out.
Ochako's parents learned what their daughter was going through, what she was bottling inside her heart all this time. Ochako herself, however, crying in shame, learned she did not hide it well enough.
She withdrew herself from most social interactions ever since. The bullying slowly decreased as the years went by, as the perks of being invisible. She was lonely, with no real friends, but it's all worth it if her parents had less load to carry. She always smiled, in spite of her pain, it was the facade she carried all the way to the end of middle-school.
Ochako Uraraka, thirteen years old, a quirkless girl with no friends. There was, still, one hope for the future…
"I-I want to be a hero!" she showed an innocent drawing she made of herself in a pink hero costume in front of the entire class. "I want to go to U.A and become a pro hero, so I can make lots of money!"
Silence sat down for a few seconds. People did not expect a delusion to be her choice for a future career. A laughter escaped one of the girl's mouths, then suddenly every other kid started laughing, mocking and pointing at the stupid absurdity of her dream.
"Uraraka, are you sure about that?" the teacher came closer in an attempt to soften the bullying. "Why don't you choose something more in your reach? There's nothing wrong about looking for different paths in life." said with an apathetic smile.
"B-but, everyone wants to be a hero…" she held the paper close to her face, ready to cover her eyes. "Why can't I be a hero too?"
"It's because you're quirkless, get a grip!" she heard one boy yell among the laughter.
"But…!" one girl yelled, "If you're so worried about money, maybe you could use some of your other attributes!" her clique reaffirmed her with praises. “What attributes ?”
Uraraka looked down in shame. She walked back to her table deep in the classroom, every other kid mocking her with their eyes and smiles. Oh she hated those smiles. A single moment of attention in a long time and that's how it went. Thankfully, as soon as the next kid came forward with their own dream of becoming a hero, everyone had completely ignored her.
Leaving school, there was really nothing much in her life. She lived two hours by train. Their parents thought the bullying would stop in a different school and that traveling more distances would give her more independence. Well she was not in any clubs, there was no one she could hang out with, and she carried just the money necessary to go day by day.
How could a quirkless girl enter the most prestigious hero courses in the entire country? Could even someone born without a quirk become a hero?
"Maybe I should start skipping lunch again…" she thought out loud while looking at her drawing. "Then, I'll save some money so I can try to build some gadgets!"
She skipped through her imagination. Lots of heroes use gadgets to add into their quirks, not so many depend on their gadgets to do their work. She also skipped the fact she had no idea what to build. An electric gun? A grappling hook? Some throwable weapons? Better yet, she skipped how she would build a hero gadget in the first place. It was an area she had zero knowledge on.
"And even if I did… wouldn't they put me to a support course instead?" she talked to herself as she went under a short tunnel.
For a moment, she thought of ripping the drawing apart. All the bullying, all the people looking down on her, all these bottled emotions that never were allowed to breathe fresh air. She held the paper close to her heart, because she knew destroying it would destroy her little hope of being something more. Destroying this drawing would mean she was giving up.
It was when one of her worst fears materialized behind her back, coming from under the manhole.
"A medium-sized body… to hide in…" the sludge monster villain attacked, suddenly engulfing her entirely in its slimy grasp.
Ochako could not defend herself nor cry for help, the liquid body did not offer friction to stop it from entering her gullet. Struggling was useless. She was suffocating, losing strength on her legs.
"Don't worry little girl! I will only use your body to hide for a bit. In fourty-five seconds I'll possess you entirely!"
She felt herself losing consciousness. All her efforts were worthless. If only she was born with a quirk maybe she could fight back. Was that it? Was that how she would die? Was withdrawing herself all for nothing if she would be attacked anyways? Why did she even think of trying?
Is this the way of the universe to tell her she should have ripped the drawing?
Please… someone!
"Fear not kid, I am here!"
Her eyes took a glimpse of hope in the bright smile at the end of the tunnel, the iconic smile. One of the few smiles that genuinely cared. The big powerful smile of The Symbol of Peace.
"ALL MIGHT!?!!" the sludge villain shivered in the presence of the number one hero, but it was already too late.
"TEXAS SMAAAASH!!" a massive punch sent a shockwave that peeled the villain out of her body. So fast, so powerful. Her eyes just experienced the power of the symbol of peace.
"Hey? Hey? Hey?" All Might gave light slaps on her face to check if she was awake. "Thank goodness!" he said as she opened her eyes.
Ochako screamed in shock. It was not a dream. He was there, right in front of her, absolutely towering power and stature. He was apologizing for getting her caught on his villain hunt, being grateful for her as he successfully captured the sludge villain inside a soda bottle, but she was in awe with his presence and she could not focus entirely on what he was talking about.
"W-wait! An autograph! I n-need to ask you an…" she looked around for her backpack, then she looked at the paper with her drawing on the ground. All Might had already autographed the back of it.
"THANK YOU SO MUUUUCH!!" she bowed so many times her back started aching.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" All Might laughed as he turned around. "Now I need to go bring this fellow to the authorities. You can catch me on TV!"
Wait, Was that it? Uraraka thought. He saves you, gives an autograph, then leaves? She knew he was a very important hero, thus time would be extremely valuable to him. Who knows how many people he was yet to save. Even still, she felt there needed to be something more to say.
"Until next time…" he squatted, preparing to jump.
"W-wait, All Might!"
"THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!" he leaped high into the sky, carrying the sealed bottle with the villain in his pocket.
When All Might looked down, there was an additional weight holding onto him.
"HEY NOW!" Ochako held onto his leg before he could go away. "Release me! I appreciate your enthusiasm but…"
"IF I DROP YOU I'LL FALL!!" she yelled with the wind flapping her face.
"Oh, right!"
All Might looked around to find a place where he could land safely. Blood was already dropping from his mouth. His time was running out. Shit…
They landed on the rooftop of a building. There, Ochako could drop safely from him. She was still recollecting herself from the jump, she is not used to feeling the power of a quirk this much on her body.
"Hopefully the people downstairs help us get down, but I have no time for that!" he looked at the blue sky, analyzing where he needed to jump next.
"Wait! All Might! Please!" Ochako gasped for words, trying to stop him just for a quick moment.
"I'm sorry, young one! I don't have the time to…"
"CAN I BE A HERO, EVEN WITHOUT A QUIRK?!"
All Might stopped right on his tracks. The question finally stopped his momentum. Ochako closed her eyes, remembering every time she was put down by her nature, all the moments she was bullied by the kids around her, all the painful reminders of not being as special as everyone.
"Can someone quirkless be a hero just like you?" Ochako repeated herself, holding a tear to not fall.
"Quirks… they are…" a shock on his abdomen. He reached his limit. All Might could not hold his form for longer. Steam was gushing from his pores as he coughed away his strong form.
"Because I don't have a quirk, people always said I was useless or that I did not have worth. I've always thought that I never would be able to make my parents happy…" she turned her head down. "But your smile, it's so incredibly powerful! I want to make my parents smile just like…"
She looked up and saw a skinny man out of the steam where All Might should be.
"Just like… yours…" Ochako was dumbfolded. "Huh?"
"What? I'm All Might." blood gushed out of his mouth.
"WHAAAAAAAAAT?!?!" her eyes almost fled out of her face.
"You know when people hold in their gut in the pool to seem strong? It's like that."
She was speechless. Never in a million years could she imagine the greatest hero of Japan could be hiding such weak form from all the public.
"A powerful smile, huh…" he sat down on the floor, his clothes now so baggy they flail with the wind. "You seem like a good kid, so please don't share this online."
He pulled up his shirt, showing a massive impact scar on his torso. Respiratory system almost destroyed, stomach removed. He explained how he wasted away from the after effects of the surgeries and how now he could only be a hero for three hours a day.
She held her mouth so it did not fall on the ground. Was that the consequences of being a hero? Were all the heroes hiding scars like that?
"I asked for this to never be made public. I'm the symbol of peace, I save people with a smile, so I could never be daunted by evil. I smile, so I could scare away all the fear and pressure. A pro should be ready to risk their own life…"
"And that's why I can't be a hero… right?" Ochako interrupted his monologue. "I don't have the power to sacrifice myself…"
All Might frowned from hearing her words. In front of him was a weak girl with great dreams. He wanted her to be truly happy, but he could not simply say yes to her, he could not send a child in danger.
"You could still work as a police officer. They get mocked a bit, but it's still an admirable profession." he lifts himself up, heading downstairs. "It is not wrong to have dreams, kid. But you need to be realistic. I'm sorry…"
All Might leaves the rooftop. Ochako ponders the words of the greatest hero. She knew it, deep down she had already accepted that cold reality. She was looking for a way to reject it, find some type of support or affirmation, someone to say that she could chase her dreams.
It was all fantasy. She needed to be realistic.
She still remembered the way her parents looked, when she arrived home with her broken astronaut helmet. The way they were terrified by the idea of their daughter suffering at school, on how their eyes were fighting to keep the tears away. A sad smile as they hugged her to give comfort.
"Mom, dad…" Ochako hugged them back. "Why can't I be a hero?" she cried in their warm embrace.
"We're so sorry, Ochako…" her mom told her. "I'm sorry we can't give you what you want…"
"Please, my little Ochako, forgive us!" her dad allowed the tears to fall. "It's not your fault, it's not your fault…"
No, mom. No dad. That was not what I wanted to hear that day…
She reminisced those memories on her slow walk to the train station. What would she do now? Was there anything else she would like to do in her life? She held her tears with every step, making sense of her situation. Everybody wants to be a hero, but not everyone will manage to become one. Most people will face this reality of giving their dreams up in favor of something closer to their grasp. If everyone managed to be a hero, then villains would not roam the streets anymore.
A commotion of people surrounded a villain attack on a narrow street. Uraraka took a glimpse of the fire and destruction, then moved on. Heroes were already arriving at the place, it should all be sorted out soon enough.
"Wasn't this villain the one All Might was trying to capture?" she heard one woman say.
"All Might? He was here?" she stopped.
"Where is he right now?" she turned her face back.
Desperation pierced her heart. She walked inside the agglomeration, pushing the crowd aside so she could see it on the front row, behind the perimeter put by the heroes. Yes, it was the sludge villain. He was in possession of another middle schooler, an aggressive blond boy who was offering way more resistance than what she could ever do.
But how? Didn't All Might capture it on the soda bottle? Where was the… Oh no!
She covered her mouth, the bottle had fallen when she jumped on him. The villain escaped because of her. It was her fault. Not only was she useless to help, she was also making everything worse. Her legs paralyzed in fear, her heart jumped faster and faster in anxiety. She was preparing to have a panic attack.
Mt.Lady appeared to the rescue but the street was too narrow for her to fit. Every other hero was the physical type, none possessed a power like All Might had to finish this off quickly and safely. And worse, even if All Might arrived, he already spent all his energy in his hero form. Now people will put this disaster on his back too. And it was all her fault. She did not help at all, she only made things worse.
Why am I still around here? Ochako stopped her thoughts. Everything around her was numbing out. The cacophony of the people screaming for help was fading out, her vision blurring away. She was about to faint on the spot.
"PLEASE!! SAVE KACCHAN!!"
A boy with green curly hair pleaded for help as the hero pressed him back to the perimeter. His crying screams fueled her body with adrenaline. She locked her focus on the boy losing the battle against the sludge. His face, his eyes, he was sad, sad like her parents were when she got bullied, sad like the boy right beside her, screaming for a hero to take action.
When she woke back to reality, she had already taken the first step forward.
"GIRL, WAIT!!"
Ochako ran towards the boy, no thoughts in her head, no understanding of her actions. The sludge monster attacked up front. She was trusting her instincts this time. Spinning around and throwing her backpack on the villain's liquid face, she got in contact and began peeling him off the blond boy.
"Who– WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! BACK OFF!!" the boy screamed as she desperately tried to remove the villain piece by piece.
"I–I don't know…!" Ochako stuttered. "I–I just…”
Tears fell from her eyes, fear and anxiety of getting hurt, the frustration of being useless her whole life, but now she had the determination to finally feel she was doing something good.
“I thought you were in desperate need to smile!"
"YOU STUPID CHILDREN!!" the sludge villain towered against her, trying to push the boy back inside him. His attack fell. Ochako closed her eyes.
All Might appeared out of nowhere. Stream coming out of his muscles and mouth. He grabbed the sludge attack like it was just a bit of paper glue stuck in your fingertips.
"Such stupidity! I was not following my own lesson here. A pro should always be ready to risk their lives!!"
DETROIT SMAAAAASH!!
All Might held us both with one hand, and with the other the villain got obliterated. Winds ascended in a small tornado, rain fell in the aftermath, extinguishing the fire. With one punch, the number one hero changed the weather. An even more powerful display of ability than before. Everyone cheered and smiled, congratulating his and the work of the other heroes around.
Ochako for a small moment imagined a future where they would be smiling and cheering for her.
She got a very big sermon from the heroes to not do that again. Interfering like that in hero work complicates rescue plans and puts her and other people's life in more danger. Being quirkless is an aggravating factor. Let the professionals do their job without interference. Thankfully they let her go with only that because she was still a young kid.
Ochako walked a lonely street in the orange sunset. She had dozens of missed calls from her parents who already knew about her recklessness. They were very worried that she got hurt in some way, but she calmly explained everything to soothe their hearts with ease. Of course she skipped the part about meeting with All Might.
"HEY!!" an enthusiastic voice came running from behind. Ochako turned to see the same boy with curly green hair from before.
"Oh, it's you!" she put her flip phone back in her pocket as the boy grasped for breath.
"M-my name is Midoriya. I-I, I did not manage to do anything because I…" he jumbles between his words, fidgeting with his fingers. "I know that Kacchan is a pain, b-but…"
Ochako seemingly smiles at his earnest attempt. The boy's face was red, exhausted from the run and burning in shame by such a cute girl in front of him. He fixed his composure and bowed his body the best he could.
"I-I wanted to thank you for trying to save him!"
Something warm fills Ochako's heart, an emotion she is not used to, something that was lacking or forgotten for such a long time.
"You're welcome!" she closed her eyes and hit the biggest smile the entire day, bowing back at him. He did not know she could only move forward because of him.
Midoriya turned back behind him, worried about the time to go back home. “I-I gotta go now, thank you!” he waved back at her, his fingertips had little soft pads.
I should thank you, dummy! she held back her breath as the boy went away. She already cried today and she does not want to cry again. This little adventure today, although dangerous, was really fun. She turned to walk home, thinking back on all that happened today. Her hero dream is still crushed in a big pile of sorrow, but after everything she felt the energy to try picking up every broken shard and maybe turn it into something new.
Do whatever is fun with whatever you have. The solidification of Ochako’s ideas.
“I’M HEEEERE!!” All Might pops out from a street corner.
“A-All Might?! What about the reporters?!”
“Ha ha hah! Shaking them off is nothing for me! Because I am ALL…” his body puffed out, coughing a comical amount of blood, unable to finish his sentence.
“A-are you sure you’re doing good?” she realized how he exerted himself way more than he should, feeling guilty once again.
“Kid, I’ve come to thank you, and revise what I said earlier… I also have a proposal.” he gazed up to the sky, back to my face. “Without you… if I hadn’t heard your story, I’d have been nothing but fake muscles and insincerity. So thank you!!”
“Wha– why are you telling me this…” she frowned in shame. “It was my fault that the villain attacked again, I’m just a stupid quirkless girl…”
“You’re wrong!” he shouted. “Of all the people in the scene, it was only you, the quirkless girl, who ran into action! If it was not for you, I would not have spurred into action!”
Uraraka felt the weight in her mind and body disappearing. All the bullying, all the troubles, all the challenges, left her body as All Might spoke. The tears are flowing back, she could hold them back for much longer.
“Most of the top heroes show signs of greatness even as children. Many of them claim that…” she fell to her knees in disbelief. “…their bodies moved on their own, even before they could think!”
We're so sorry, Ochako… she remembered. Please, my little Ochako, forgive us!
“That’s what happened to you back there, right?!”
“YES!!” she screamed in tears. She held her heart with one hand, as the other held the ground. She never asked for too much, she could not force herself to it. But one thing she always dreamed of, what she always wanted to hear…
“YOU TOO CAN BE A HERO!!”
Fantasy. It just became reality. The number one hero, All Might, gave it to her.
“And that’s why I believe you’re worthy of inheriting my power!”
Uraraka cleaned her face, lifting up one of her knees. She looked up at him.
“What?”