Chapter Text
When Izuku was four, he was diagnosed as quirkless.
When Izuku was six, he won his first game of hide & seek against his dad. And for some reason couldn’t find a specific toy in his bedroom anymore. Oh well, at least it wasn’t any of his All Might plushies.
When Izuku was nine, his father suddenly had a business trip overseas. He wasn’t able to see him anymore after that. They did still call from time to time, but it strained his relationship with his dad, making the calls less frequent to once or twice — if lucky — a month.
When Izuku was fourteen, his childhood friend took things too far.
That same day, he met All Might. Things were looking up, until they weren’t.
“Without power, can one become a hero? No, I should think not.”
And then he saved his childhood friend from drowning and got scolded for it.
“There was absolutely no reason to for you to put yourself into danger!!”
Guess he had to rethink his decision on becoming a hero.
“I AM HERE!!”
Things took a turn for the better since he met All Might again and he told him that he could be a hero.
He did have to undergo a rigorous training regiment, but now he had a quirk, a chance to enter U.A. high and become a hero!
All he now had to do was pass.
~ 10 months before the entrance exam in the UA teachers lounge ~
“Did you all see the news?” Midnight, aka Nemuri Kayama, asked the staff as she walked inside with her usual flourish.
“You mean the one with the reckless teenager?” A monotone voice, belonging to Eraserhead, also known as Shouta Aizawa, asked.
“Yeah! I found out not too long ago that the green-haired kid apparently was little Izuku! Or well, not so little anymore, but you get what I mean!” Kayama continued excitedly as she caught the other teachers’ attention with her statements.
“Wait really? That kid? The kid that waltzed in here like a decade ago? With that weird dad of his that Nedzu said was handled? That was him?” Present Mic, aka Hizashi Yamada, asked with a hint of surprise lacing his voice.
“Yeah! I was also surprised. I'm glad he's doing fine, although, maybe a bit impulsive. But he has always kind of been like that, hasn't he? Especially when he was little. Remember that?” Kayama continued happily.
“How could we forget a moment like that? Those questions were far deeper than I ever expected from any person, let alone a six-year-old.” Ectoplasm commented as he sat relaxed in his chair.
“He surely left an impression.” Cementoss, otherwise known as Ken Ishiyama, added to the conversation.
“Ah man, I kinda wish I was here in the teachers lounge that day…” Power Loader, or Higari Maijima, sighed as he hears his colleagues talk again about the green haired kid he missed the meeting of.
“Don’t worry you’ll get your chance.” Thirteen, aka Anan Kurose, comforted Maijima as she herself hadn’t met the kid either since she joined as a teacher a bit later.
“Do you think he might try the entrance exam?” Yamada voiced his thought out loud.
“Oh, I hope he does!” Kayama vocalized with a bright smile. “Then we could see him every day and help him whenever he needs it!”
“I hope as well! It would be great to nurture a mind like his to its fullest potential!!” A chipper voice entered the conversation as Nedzu walked inside the teachers lounge.
A few of the teachers jumped a bit and one sighed. “Just don’t take over the world with him.” Aizawa muttered as he let himself sink into his sleeping bag while ignoring the sound of the maniacal laughter of the principal.
~ The day of the entrance exam ~
When Izuku took the subway to get to the exam, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu. He felt like he had taken this train before. It was probably because of one of the times when he travelled to a different city to observe another hero that wasn’t in his city.
After that good forty minute ride, he made his way up the hill where the school was. That sense of déjà vu hitting him again as he walked up and through to the school gates.
A memory flashed in his mind from the time he was six.
He stopped walking as he realized why everything had felt so familiar.
He had been here…
And he had even accused his dad of being a villain…
So embarrassing!
He prayed nobody would remember as he shook his head and restarted walking to get into the school while keeping his eyes on the ground.
His prayers were not met.
Ectoplasm was explaining and giving out the written exams to all of the students with his clones.
Izuku kept his head down, looking at his own pen, awaiting when he would be given his paper. He said a small thank when he got his exam and hoped he wasn’t recognized.
He remembers that he asked the teachers a lot of questions. He just hoped they would be so used to that from students that they wouldn’t remember their interactions.
Ectoplasm couldn’t believe it. He actually came! After around a decade later they finally saw the green-haired child again that randomly waltzed in here one day.
He had to let the others know.
It seemed that maybe luck was on his side today.
The written portion of the exam went pretty well to his standards or at least he hoped it did. It felt like he did good, but maybe he failed miserably.
He can’t think like that! It’s over now anyway.
On the plus side, it didn’t seem like Ectoplasm had noticed him, but maybe he did. It’s hard to read someone when they’re wearing a mask.
He now had to listen to a speech about the practical portion of the exam. He wondered which hero would explain it.
He finally found his seat only to realize that luck wasn’t on his side after all.
Of course.
Of course, he had to sit next to Kacchan.
He just hoped he would be left alone, like it has been since the Sludge Villain incident.
When Present Mic entered the stadium, it was of course with a loud yell.
“WELCOME TO TODAYS LIVE PERFORMANCE!!”
He scanned the crowd as he yelled, and he couldn’t believe it.
Ectoplasm was right!
He really was here!
He grinned and continued to announce the presentation.
“Excuse me! I have a question!” A candidate loudly said. “There are four robots on the handout and yet you only explained three! If this is an error it is highly unbecoming for Japan’s top hero academy!!”
“And, you, with the curly hair! You’ve been muttering this whole time! It’s distracting!! If this is some sort of game for you then please leave!” A tall boy wearing glasses pointed and yelled.
Izuku didn’t know what he had done in his past live to be this unlucky in this one.
He clasped a hand over his mouth and muttered a small apology as he sunk in his seat.
He just had to be called out…
And if the teachers didn’t already realized who he was, then they definitely did now.
“Alright, alright. Examinee 7111, nice catch. Thanks!”
Izuku was so glad that the attention was brought off him, but Present Mic undoubtedly knew who he was.
The recognition in his eyes gave it away.
Oh boy, now he not only had to make sure he didn’t disappoint his mom and All Might, but now also all of the teachers here…
Who all would be watching him.
How could he do this?
He hasn’t even used his quirk yet, he wasn’t even sure if he received it correctly. The memory of the hair left a bad taste in his mouth.
Izuku was snapped out of his thoughts when people started to pack their things.
It seemed like the presentation has already ended. He missed it.
He started packing his things and make his way towards where his assigned testing location.
Okay, he had to stay calm and be logical.
He may not be able to use his quirk, but he could do what he was the strongest at: analyzing.
The bus ride to the testing grounds was fortunately — or unfortunately depending how you looked at it — not too long.
He and the other examinees got off the bus once they arrived at the designated area. A huge gate stood imposingly in front of them that would lead them to the faux city with these robots.
Just how much money did U.A. have?
Izuku closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to stay calm.
This was it.
The moment where his future would be decided.
“AND START!!”
He snapped his eyes back open and ran into the open gates.
No time to waste.
“WHAT ARE YOU ALL STANDING THERE?? THERE IS NO COUNTDOWN IN REAL LIFE!! GO!! GO!! GO!!”
Present Mic yelled as he stood on that balcony of that tower he and the other teacher would be observing the examinees from. Once he was satisfied that all the students were doing what they were supposed to do, he went inside where the others were.
“Did you all see him? He was the first to enter on my signal!” He exclaimed excitedly as he looked at the other teachers.
“Yeah, we did! He really has grown, hasn't he?” Midnight replied with the same enthusiasm.
All Might, or Toshinori Yagi, looked a bit confused around at his colleagues. “You know young Midoriya?” He asked.
The other teachers turned to him.
“You know little Izuku?” Present Mic questioned, speaking for all the teachers present there.
“Uhm, well…” Yagi started as he tried to come up with a reason that didn’t out his secret with One For All.
The teachers started to grow suspicious of All Might as they shared a glance. “I find it rather strange that a grown man knows a young child and is unwilling to tell us why.” Aizawa said a little accusatory while looking at Yagi with narrowed eyes.
“It’s not like that! I swear! I was just helping him train, that’s all!” Came the hurried response as Yagi did not want his colleagues to think like that.
“So you were helping someone to get in?” Aizawa pressed on.
“No! Of course not! The boy just needed a mentor, and I just happend to be there!” Yagi explained further in panic.
“And why did you decide to mentor specifically?-” Aizawa’s interrogation got interrupted by the principal’s coughing to get their attention.
“I think that we should talk about that later and focus on the examinees that are taking the test right now, don’t you think?” Nedzu said in his usual chipper voice, earning a small embarrassed nod from Yagi and a grumbled response from Aizawa who decided not to voice his protests.
“Excellent. We’ll see how good you’ve been training this boy as well then, Yagi.” The principal stated as he turned back to the screens, missing the nervous nod from All Might.
The other teachers also turned back to the screens, focusing on the exam again and not about all of that.
All Might prayed that the quirk transfer went well and that Young Midoriya would handle it well because otherwise it would feel like his colleagues would murder him if something went wrong.
He really dug his own grave, didn’t he?
Okay, okay, okay.
Asses, breathe, and analyse. What could he do?
The one-pointers were the weakest ones, and they toughen up the higher the point. That he understood. But they must have a weakness each.
As he was running he saw a robot with a giant ‘1’ painted on it. It was quite obvious which was which, at least he didn’t have to worry about that.
One-pointers are quick, but they have bulky arms and their stomach is exposed. That must be their weakness. Once they try to hit, it is hard for them to move. All he needs is some type of staff or something to hit the middle.
He glanced around as the others already caught up to him. They were already fighting some robots which made him nervous.
There!
A pole was sticking out, broken off from the sign that was a victim of flying debris while the other side was barely even embedded into the concrete. Izuku made a dash for it and managed to grab it, some of the concrete still hanging on to one of the ends of the pole. Now he just had to find a robot and hope that his analyses weren’t wrong.
It didn’t take too long before he could test his theory and luckily he was correct. He barely managed to dodge the blow of the one-pointer before he quickly spun his metal pole right at the stomach area. It was scarily easily how he separated the torso from the lower body.
Alright, he had one point. He could do this.
“SIX MINUTES LEFT!!”
He could not do this.
How was he supposed to pass like this?
He had to find more robots and quick!
Two-pointers look like scorpions. Hopefully they are a bit like one too. If they are, that means that the tail is the weakest point. If you cut that part off they will have no more defense mechanism.
Three-pointers were bulky and and have a lot of protection around them, yet it is also their weakness. They are incapable of moving fast, and their head armour gives them blind spots, which means it is best to attack them from behind or above. But how was he going to do that?
Everywhere he ran he only found people destroying the robots there. Nothing was left for him. The hopelessness was starting to well up within him. What was he supposed to do?
The ground suddenly started to rumble. Was this an earthquake?
Suddenly a shadow loomed over him. Now he kinda wished it was an earthquake instead because what was that?!
A robot higher than the buildings around them was looking down at the examinees.
Was this the zero-pointer? Wait. 0-pointer, 0P… OP… Overpowered…
You have got to be kidding…
“LESS THAN TWO MINUTES LEFT, FOLKS!!”
His hands started to shake and he dropped his pole as the people around him started to run past him. He cursed his luck as the pole rolled away from him. It would be idiotic to go after it with that thing coming towards you.
He started to run with the crowd before he heard a loud “HELP!!” coming from where the robot was headed. He stopped and turned around before seeing a brunette stuck underneath the rubble.
His mind went blank.
He didn’t think.
He just moved.
And suddenly he was high up in the air with the zero-pointer falling backwards with a dent in its face.
Wait-
High up in the air??
Gravity started to pull him back down as pain shot from his legs and arm. Was this One For All?!
No. Focus. What was he supposed to do now?!
Okay, he still had an arm left he could use. If he just timed it right and used the right amount of energy he could nullify or lessen the gravitational pull he was falling by resulting in no death-
He was pulled out of his concentration by a slap across his face by the brunette. His fall slowed to a stop before she muttered a weak “Release”, resulting in them both crashing much softer to the ground before she threw up. Izuku guessed it was from quirk overuse.
He gritted his teeth at the pain and looked at the girl. She had helped him and it looked like it had taken a toll on her, but at least she doesn’t look injured. That’s a relief.
Now, how was he supposed to defeat any robots? He couldn’t even get up properly.
“AND TIMES UP!!”
Izuku felt like he failed the world the moment he heard those words.
He started to feel lightheaded too. Was that normal? His eyes started to droop and before long he fell unconscious.
The teachers watched in dead silence as the kid, they grew fond off, destroyed the zero-pointer while simultaneously destroying his own body before starting to plummet to the ground only to be stopped by the girl, he had saved, just meters away before he would’ve met the concrete.
They watched as the kid laid on the ground and passed out. To say they were worried was an understatement.
“That is what you call training him?” Aizawa voiced with annoyance in his tone, breaking the silence as he glared at Yagi. He was worried about the kid who now laid unmoving on the ground, but he wouldn’t admit that out loud.
“I did not teach him that!” Yagi hurriedly said as he was worried as well and showed it.
“It seems like you didn’t teach him much.” Aizawa said bitterly as he took a step towards Yagi, but was stopped from taking any more by Yamada who quickly came back from the balcony.
“Alright, alright, let’s all calm down.” Present Mic, or Yamada, said as he intervened between the two. “We’re all worried about the little listener, but let’s not take it out on each other.”
“It’s not just that. He’s supposed to teach an entire class this year but can’t even handle a single person.” Aizawa said as he looked very much upset and frustrated by this situation. “I can’t trust him alone with my students if he clearly can’t teach properly.”
Yagi was about to protest against those claims but got interrupted before he could.
“I have to agree with him.” Nedzu stated as he looked over towards his personnel. “I’ll let you in on his teachings, Aizawa, so you can intervene whenever you believe is necessary. Same goes to you Kan.”
Kan, or Vlad King, gave a nod of understanding as Aizawa sighed and gave a nod as well.
“And Yagi, this isn’t to discourage you from teaching. It’s to make sure you are properly teaching the students. You may be a good hero, but that doesn’t mean you are automatically a good teacher.” Nedzu vocalized as he looked directly at All Might who looked nervous under his stare as he nodded to his words.
“Excellent.” Nedzu said as he smiled and clasped his paws together.
When Izuku opened his eyes, it was to a bright light that made him shut his eyes again. He carefully opened them once more as his eyes slowly adjusted to the lighting above him. He had to be in some sort of infirmary or hospital.
He looked around the room and found a curtain around his bed and an IV that was attached to his arm.
What happened?
The memories slowly started to trickle back, and he wasn’t sure if he was glad for it or not. He had failed. He had one point. One point. There was no way he was going to get in now, especially since he embarrassed himself in front of all the teachers. He’ll never be able to show his face around here again…
As he was drowning in his negative and down-spiraling thoughts, the curtain suddenly opened and revealed a small old lady with a giant syringe for a cane.
Izuku looked over at the woman for a moment before recognition lit in his eyes.
“Recovery Girl?-” He muttered before coughing. His throat was dry and talking did not help one bit.
“Oh deary, don’t speak yet. I’ll fetch you some water.” Recovery Girl, otherwise known as Chiyo Shuzenji, said as she went and grabbed a paper cup and filled it with water before bringing it to the boy, who she heard so much about from he colleagues, who was now slowly sitting up in his recovery bed.
“Here you go, and drink slowly, young man.” She advised as she gave the cup to Izuku, who accepted it gratefully and, despite his urges, managed to drink it slowly by taking small sips instead of gulping it down like he wanted to.
“Thank you.” He uttered when his throat felt less bad and the cup was empty. He felt a bit tired but he was glad that at least his legs and arm were not broken anymore.
“You healed me. Thank you for that.” He said with a small, yet grateful smile as he placed the cup down at a little surface on his right.
“It’s no problem, deary. You had quite the nasty backlash from your quirk.” Recovery Girl said as she looked at him. “I would advise you not to use it when you’re alone, and, if you do, make sure it is in a controlled setting as well.” She stated as she started to take the IV out from his arm.
Izuku looked a bit bashful as his cheeks reddened. “Ah, yeah, I’ll… I’ll do that. Thank you..”
“You’ve been out for about an hour, so take your time and when you think you’re ready to go home, you can tell me.” Recovery Girl commented as she put the IV away while the boy she was taking care of gave a nod in understanding.
“Now, I suppose the others could come in now. Do you mind?” She asked as she started to make her way towards the entry but stopped at the door for his response.
“Uhh…” Izuku was a bit confused about who she was talking about. The others? It’s not like he had any friends who joined him in trying for the exam. Or friends at all. “I.. I don’t mind.. I think..” He said while looking between her and the door.
Recovery Girl gave a small nod and opened the door. “You can enter but you better be quiet and careful. The boy just woke up.” She said sternly to whoever was on the other side of the door.
“Hey little listen-! Ow!” A cheerful and loud voice started before getting cut off by Recovery Girl’s cane hitting their arm as they, who Izuku now realized was THE Present Mic, along with two other people, THE Eraserhead and THE Midnight, entered the room.
To say Izuku was surprised would be an understatement. Who would be expecting some of the staff of this establishment to visit you, especially after you failed and embarrassed yourself so badly?
“I told you to be quiet.” Recovery Girl chastised as she huffed in exasperation as if she hadn’t expected anything less.
“Sorry, sorry.” Present Mic apologized to Recovery Girl before turning his attention back to Izuku. “Hey, little listener,” he started a little more quieted down as he came closer to the infirmary bed with the other two following not too far behind, “how are you feeling?”
Izuku watched as they stopped and now were standing around the bed he was lying on. He wasn’t sure whether to be excited, nervous, embarrassed or ashamed. He truthfully felt a little overwhelmed.
“Oh uh, yeah, I’m fine, t-thanks to Recovery Girl, of course.” He answered a bit sheepishly as he lightly scratched the side of his cheek with his index finger. He was trying to keep calm. It’s not like it was a regular experience to be meeting these pro heroes, let alone at the same time!
“You gave us quite a scare,” Midnight expressed, “though, I can speak for everyone here that we are glad to hear that you are alright.” She ended her phrase with a soft smile and genuine smile that Izuku was not used to being on the receiving end — the genuine part at least.
“Ah, sorry, I hadn’t meant to do that..” Izuku responded while not meeting any of the adults’ eyes, “I hadn’t expected this either..” he added more quietly as he fiddled lightly with the edge of the blanket.
The adults shared a look with one another since they hadn’t expected that response.
“What do you mean you hadn’t expected this, little listener?” Present Mic inquired as he looked at the boy on the bed.
Oh, was he on strong pain meds or something? He couldn’t share his secret with All Might!!
“Uh… W-well.. I was still figuring out my quirk, since it only recently developed due to my body not being ready to handle the quirk due to not having enough body mass and as you noticed it is quite destructive so I avoided to use it since I didn’t want to hurt anyone or destroy any of my surroundings.” Izuku rambled at a rapid speed, managing to come up with a somewhat believable reason on the spot while moving his hands animatedly.
The adults needed a moment to digest the overload of information they just received, but when they did, they looked somewhat convinced, which Izuku took that as a win.
“How recently are we talking about?” Eraserhead, for the first time after entering the room, spoke up, “have you gone to a counselor yet?”
“Ah, no.. Not yet.. I don’t even know who would accept someone of my age since it is unusual to get a quirk this late..” Izuku answered a little more subdued after that panic of earlier, looking down at the blanket he was lying under again.
Maybe he shouldn’t answer when exactly, but from his answer they could most likely tell that it happened very recently and not a year ago or even earlier.
“Besides, I probably won’t get in.. so I probably won’t be using that quirk much anyway..” he said with a small smile, hiding the pain and the embarrassment at the memory of only getting 1 measly point.
Some part of him felt ashamed for not getting enough points. He should’ve been stronger, better. Wasn’t he supposed to be good at analysis? Or was he wrong about believing in that just like in his chance of getting in this school?
Before he could dive even further in negativity, Eraserhead spoke up again.
“It still would be better to at least get some control of your quirk. If you happen to get in a situation where you accidentally use your quirk as a reflex, counseling would make the damage towards you and your surroundings a lot less grave.”
“He’s right, little listener! Besides don’t get your hopes down! Maybe we could offer some help to ensure you won’t get hurt from that quirk of yours!” Present Mic suggested with a grin to the surprise of everyone in the room.
Izuku couldn’t believe what he was hearing. There was no way they were actually offering this. Didn’t he embarrass himself in front of everyone here?
Midnight quickly piped in with just as much excitement, “Zashi, that is such a great idea! And if things get bad, Shou could always erase his quirk.” She said while referring to Eraserhead as ‘Shou’ and placing her hands briefly on the man’s shoulders, who looked used to this treatment.
“I also think that getting training on that quirk of his here is the safest options, and that way I can also keep taps on his healing. Just get Nedzu’s permission, but I don’t think he’s going to mind.” Recovery Girl chimed in from her desk where she was filling out paperwork.
Was Izuku dreaming?
After lightly pinching his arm, he confirmed that he was, in fact, awake.
They were actually suggesting he gets training on THE prestige UA premises?!
“I’m texting Nedzu!” Present Mic exclaimed as he reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone to presumably ask his boss.
“W-wait!” Izuku wanted to ask so much, but he didn’t even know where to start. “A-are you sure?” He managed to ask since this was all so overwhelming.
What was his mom going to think? How was he going to explain this to her? Maybe for safety reasons she would be quicker to agree? Oh gosh, his dad. Well, he did ask his mom not to talk about him attempting the UA entrance exam to his dad. His father hated heroes, so if this was going to happen , IF, then he was just going to have to keep this quiet from his dad as well.
“Of course we are sure!” Midnight responded with a smile as she glanced at Izuku before looking back over the shoulder of Present Mic who was busy making up a message.
“We wouldn’t have offered this if we weren’t sure, kid.” Eraserhead added.
Tears were forming. Izuku was managing to hold it back for the moment. Why were they being so generous and kind? Why were they willing to give up their free time to help someone like him?
“Thank you…”
“Kid, we don’t even know if we’re allowed to yet.”
“Still.. Thank you for trying..” for not giving up on him, for still wanting to help him even if he failed so badly went unsaid.
A ding of a message being received went off from the phone in Present Mic’s hand who’s eyes quickly seemed to skim the message before lighting up.
“Got the approval!” He shared with a wide grin, “now we just need to set up the dates and time and- Little listener, are you okay?!” He asked, concerned and worried when he saw the tears streaming down the kids face.
“I’m fine..” Izuku quickly reassured as he wiped at his eyes with his hands. “I’m just happy and grateful..” he added with a watery smile, unknowing melting the hearts of the people around him.
Before the others could add more words to the conversation, Recovery Girl was shooing them out, saying that they had pestered her patient enough. A ‘see you soon’ was the only Izuku heard before Recovery Girl closed the door. Izuku sniffled and wiped the last few tears away as he looked up towards Recovery Girl where she was making her way to hm.
“There, dearie,” She spoke as she gave him a few gummies, “eat these and you can slowly start to make your track home. Nedzu will most likely contact you and your parents-”
“Just my mom is fine.” Izuku interrupted quickly before feeling a wave of guilt. “S-sorry, my dad.. he’s just not really around and-”
“It’s fine dear, I apologize,” something akin to understanding flashing in her eyes of what Izuku wasn’t entirely sure of, but he ignored it for now, “what I was trying to say is that Nedzu will contact you and your mom soon to be discussing this arrangement further to ensure everyone is on board.” Recovery Girl said with a encouraging (?) smile.
“Thank you.” He said again with a brighter smile.
When the boy in her infirmary ate the gummies she gave him and left not long later with his belongings, having given her a wave and another smile, she looked at the closed door he had left from.
Shuzenji felt horrible.
She shouldn’t have brought up the boy’s father when All Might had killed him.
Although, now they had extra confirmation that the man was dead since they couldn’t find his actual body.
The train ride home passed like a blur to Izuku, and suddenly he was already standing in front of the main entrance of the apartment he and his mom lived in. He unlocked it and entered, calling out a ‘I’m home!’ to his mom who he could hear making dinner as he closed the door behind him and took his shoes off.
“Izuku? Welcome home! How was it?” His mom called out, sounding a little nervous.
“Uhm..” he made his way further into the apartment and walked into the kitchen area. He didn’t really know how to explain how it all went. On the one hand, he knew he had failed, but on the other, he was offered a once in a lifetime opportunity, getting help from actual pro heroes for his quirk. “I think I failed..” he decided to start with.
“Oh honey.. I’m sorry,” Inko said as she looked over at Izuku with teary eyes, putting down the knife on the cutting board where she was chopping some vegetables.
“But, the teachers may or may not have given me an opportunity to help me with my quirk that just so happen to have activated at the practical portion of the entrance exam..” He quickly interjected before she could completely tear up.
His mom looked shocked and became completely quiet.
“Your..” she slowly started blinking a few times, “quirk?”
He might have forgotten that she didn’t know about that.
“Ah, well.. Due to my new training regiment, I was getting more body mass and apparently my quirk needed more muscles before it could active, I believe it was a dormant and I think I might have a minor mutation in my foot which could explain the extra toe joint-”
“Thats great sweetie, I’m so happy for you!” Inko, with tears running down her face now, hugged her son, interrupting his hurried explanation.
“I’m happy too, mom.” Izuku said as his own eyes watered. Could you blame him? Today had been a rollercoaster of events.
After a minute, they broke the teary embrace and wiped their eyes after almost flooding their apartment.
“Now, what is this about an opportunity with the teachers?” His mom rightfully asked as she looked at Izuku.
She didn’t seem disinterested, in fact, maybe even a little hopeful. It was probably because heroes were going to help him in a controlled environment and that would put her more at ease.
“I’ll explain after dinner. I’m a bit tired from… everything. Besides, you should be getting an email from Nedzu where it is explained in much greater detail than I could offer.” Izuku said as a small smile started to form on his face.
“Alright, we’ll do that.” She responded with a nod before going back to the counter and resuming her cooking.
While his mom did that, he went and took a shower, wanting to freshen up before dinner. He didn’t want to think how he smelled, considering, well, everything that happened in UA.
As he came out of the bathroom, his mom was placing the food down on the table with it all being done now.
Once they both sat and paid their respects, they dug in. It didn’t take long before a question came from the side where his mom sat.
“I just want to be certain since I will most likely be agreeing with this arrangement, but what will we tell your dad?”
And oh.
He hasn’t thought about that yet.
“It’s just.. he already hasn’t been made aware you were trying for UA and-”
“I-I think it’s best if we don’t tell him, you know how he is…” Izuku interjected as he looked down at his food, playing a bit with a piece of carrot with his chopsticks.
“… Alright.. will you tell him after you mastered this quirk of yours though?” She said after a second of silence.
Izuku looked up and wanted to insert his disagreeing thoughts on that as well but his mom didn’t let him.
“Izuku, I know the relationship you two have right now is less than ideal, but you can’t hide everything from him.” Inko said while looking Izuku in the eyes, wanting to express her concerns on this topic.
It was true that he and his dad’s bond have slowly been draining since he was about 9. That was when his dad out of nowhere decided to ‘leave for a business trip’ and hasn’t returned since. Izuku didn’t want to call people liars, but he truly could not believe his dad would stay across the globe for his work and never have any time whatsoever to visit, not even once during those years.
It just didn’t make sense.
And it hurt.
“He rarely calls.. He won’t truly miss anything..”
“Izuku.” His mom looked at him with that expression that only parental figures have.
“Okay, I’ll tell him once I’m ready… just.. just not now..” Izuku conceded, looking down at his food before taking a bite.
His mom gave a nod. “That’s fine..”
It was silent for a few moments as the two ate their warm meals.
“I’ll read the details of this training arrangement and, if it’s safe enough, I’ll agree to it.” Inko spoke up after swallowing the food in her mouth.
She received a nod as a reply.
“You know I just want the best for you.”
A more assured nod followed. “I know..” Izuku added quietly before continuing to finish his plate.
The rest of dinner was in silence. Neither of them felt like carrying on the conversation, so it ended.
Later in the evening, when Izuku was back in his room working on his analyses notebooks at his desk, a knock interrupted his writing.
“Can I come in?” reverberated from the door.
Izuku closed his notebook and called a ‘yes’, turning in his chair to look towards the entrance of his room.
Inko opened the door and gave a smile towards her son as she slowly walked into his room.
“I’ve read everything regarding this arrangement and I can only see the positives in it.” Inko started.
“Does that mean…?” Izuku said slowly while looking at his mom with a hopeful gaze.
“Yes, starting this Sunday you will go to UA to get help on handeling your quirk. I believe this is the safest option as well, since it is UA with pro heroes there to guide you. I trust that you will be in good hands there.” Inko stated with a smile as she watched her son light up in excitement at the prospect.
She at first wasn’t too certain about all of this, but with the school’s reputation and safety measures that would be taken place — reassured by Nedzu in the contract —, she figures that there was no safer place for her son to learn how to control this new quirk.
Izuku stood up and wrapped his arms around his mom who hugged back.
“Thank you.” He said to her.
He was extremely grateful. He may not go to his dream school but at least he has people that were willing to help him! Sure, he has his mom, his dad, and All Might but his mom was quite overprotective, his relationship with his dad was not the best at the moment — to put it mildly — and All Might… Well, he wasn’t sure. Maybe he could text him to ask a few things?
“It’s no problem Izuku, I’m just glad that you have this opportunity. You’re growing so big and strong and oh… I’m just so happy for you.” Inko said as her voice started to become wobbly.
The Midoriya tears were coming and nobody could stop it.
Later that evening, when everything was settled down and everyone was doing their own thing, Izuku pulled out his phone to text All Might. He didn’t expect a reply immediately but maybe in the following days. It was a Thursday, he hoped he would at least get an answer before Sunday arrives.
He wanted to know what was safe to say. Was he allowed to talk about his connection with All Might? If yes, to what extent? Only that they knew each other from the sludge incident? From the fact All Might helped him train? That Izuku knows All Might’s secret of his time limit and Injury? Did the pro heroes working at UA know about his injury? Didn’t All Might say it was a national secret? He probably shouldn’t bring it up then. Of course, it was stupid to think otherwise. But his others questions still needed answers.
He really didn’t want to mess this up.
When Sunday morning arrived, he, in fact, had received no response from All Might even if he had clarified the reason why he was texting. Maybe he was bothering the man too much? He shouldn’t have sent that many texts.
Was he disappointed? Disappointed that he choose him? A worthless Deku? Someone who couldn’t even handle the simple task of getting into a school?
He shouldn’t think that negatively. There were other hero schools as well. Maybe he could try for those? Their entrance exams were later than UA’s since they knew they couldn’t compete with the amount of people wanting to go to the top hero school of Japan instead of theirs.
His train stop came sooner than expected, and he must have been more lost in his thoughts than he originally remembered.
What school he’ll inevitably go to, is a matter for later. First, he has to get the hang of his quirk and what better way to do that then in the place where he originally wanted to go to. It may not be what he had hoped for, but it was better than nothing.
He got off the train and made his way towards his since-childhood-dream-school, UA.
Walking this path now with less stress on his mind about exams and less people around him, made him remember the time when he was six and walked the same route.
He hoped no one would bring it up. That would be embarrassing.
He arrived at the large gate, still looming over him, even if he now was older and bigger.
He strutted towards the intercom button, déjà vu hitting him again. It was strange that he was standing here once more, not only because he was here a few days ago but also the fact he had been here around a decade ago.
It was odd, but he was grateful for this chance. Even if he couldn’t make it into UA, this way he wouldn’t be a bother or danger towards the people around him, he could become more useful, and he would have a better success rate at other entrance exams.
Plus, he won’t break his bones anymore. That had really sucked.
He took a deep breath and pressed the button.