Chapter Text
“Happy Birthday, Izuku!!”
Izuku’s eyes widened as he saw his mom leaning toward him, holding a big box wrapped in blue-and-red paper and tied with a bright yellow ribbon.
What could it be? A new All Might suit? It must be a big one since the box was big, so he doubt, those were ridiculously expensive.
A new All Might figure? Same case, one that large would cost even more. But… Mom did get a new job. Maybe—just maybe—she could afford something like that now…
His smile stretched from ear to ear. His hands, sweaty with excitement, reached for the box. He almost felt the air leaving his lungs as he fumbled with the ribbon, moving clumsy from anticipation.
Then his smile faded.
“A… a l-laptop?”
It was better than anything he ever dreamed for.
He remembered asking for one years ago, but mom said he was too young for one, and he’ll be fine with only his desk computer. Then, when that one broke down, she told him to go to internet cafes.
She never had bad intentions, Izuku knew that. Being a single mother was hard, specially for a kid like him. That’s why he never asked for one again.
“Yeah…” She said softly. “Since you started middle school a few months ago… and you’re turning thirteen, I thought you’d need one. For homework and… for watching those All Might videos you love. I know it’s not the best laptop, but—”
Before she could finish, the little boy lunged forward and hugged her, burying his face into her chest.
“Thank you, mommy. It’s the best gift ever!”
Later that night, Izuku sat on his bed. The room was dark, lit only by the soft glow of his new computer. After singing happy birthday and sharing cake with his best friend—his mom—he couldn’t wait any longer. It was time to try it out.
He’d heard his classmates talk about it at school, laughing together about their adventures and inside jokes.
Maybe now… maybe they’d play with him.
Being born quirkless had always made socializing hard. He used to have friends back in elementary school, but once everyone else developed their quirks except him, the distance grew. Slowly, painfully, his world became lonelier and lonelier.
But maybe this could change something. Maybe his classmates would like to be around him if he could join their games. He might not have a quirk but now, he has a way to connect.
He couldn’t wait for the summer break to end.
With that hopeful thought, he looked back at the bright screen. His new laptop was practically empty—just Minecraft and the browser app.
Maybe he needed a social media profile? A messaging app? His classmates where always talking about those things.
He hovered his cursor over the browser icon. Mainstream social networks like Facebook or Instagram felt overwhelming. Too many people. Too many chances to be judged. Maybe he could start somewhere else, in a place for people like him.
“All Might Fans Forum” typed into the search bar, then clicked Search. He opened the first result that popped into the results.
It was a page filled with videos, posts, and fan discussions about the number one hero. There were profiles too, people using pseudonyms and anime avatars, chatting freely without ever showing their real identities. Maybe… this was the perfect place for someone like him.
Sure, he wanted make friends at school— real friends, real life friends. But for now this would work. Until he felt confident enough to interact with the boys at school.
He clicked the “Create Profile” button and filled out the form, even using his school email address to sign up.
“All_Mighty_Boy” He typed as his username — a bit disappointed that “AllMightBoy” was already taken. He set his profile picture as a Golden Age All Might one he found online.
Excited, he made his first post.
“Hello everyone!! ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)
I’m new here and I wanted to make friends with people that love All Might!
I just turned 13 and my favorite All Might is Golden Age! But I actually love all his ages, I’m his biggest fan!
Comment if you wanna talk about All Might with me.
Have a SMASH day!! ٩(^ᗜ^ )و”
As soon as he posted it, his post was filled with lots of comments. People wanted to talk with him about All Might!
People wanted to talk with him.
He felt like crying.
Suddenly, a chat request popped up into his screen.
Dynamight:
Dude, delete that post. Moderators might take it down and ban your account. There are a lot of creeps here, don’t accept their requests.
[22:39 p.m.]
With some fear, Izuku did as the mysterious message said. Deleted the post as soon as he could, he just wanted to make friends, not to get banned from the community.
Seconds after that, he noticed he needed to thank that anonymous man for his gentle advice. He pressed on accept request and started to type.
All_Mighty_Boy:
Sorry, I’m new in the community, but I promise it won’t happen again!
Thank you for the advice, sir! (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ )
[22:45 p.m.]
Dynamight:
sir???? the FUCK u talking about?????????? im also 13. its not my fault ure dumb for our age sybau
[22:46 p.m.]
Izuku looked at the screen. He already messed this up.