I have finally gotten this done! I've been meaning to write this, and I'm excited to share this with everyone. Special thanks to those who drew sketches of the characters in this story! Those people are, StarAmulet, Pollar-Bear-Alley, Mamioli, Artistgirl5935, Wolffang Comics, MaxTheSlasher, and Micro-Zen! All of these people are on Devianart, and they all have very awesome art. The cover art for this story was drawn by ArtistGirl5935. One thing that I should say before the story starts is that this is set before Izuku meets All Might and inherits One for All from him. I hope you enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. I only own the OCs.
Izuku picked up the nearly empty glass off of the table before he wiped it down with a cloth. He walked into the kitchen and set the dirty glass into the sink and tossed the dirty rag into a bin. Midoriya sighed in exhaustion. "Don't rest just yet," a voice warned. The boy looked up and saw the assistant manager, Emica Ito. "Your break isn't for another ten minutes," she said, wagging her finger playfully.
"Yes, I know," Izuku replied.
"Come on, just a little bit longer, and then you can rest a bit," Emica encouraged. Izuku looked up at her and smiled. She was a very sweet lady, but boy was she stern. Emica's head turned towards the door as the bell jingled. A girl with red hair, cat-like ears, and a tail walked through the door. The thing that caught Izuku's eye was the All Might shirt that she wore. "Oh, I better go get her order," Emica said. "Midoriya, the people at table three just left," she said, pointing over to the table.
He nodded and walked over to the table. He had gotten this job to help his mother. It didn't pay very well, but he had just started only a week ago. Izuku cleared the table and put the dishes into the sink. After he had cleared a few other tables, Emica walked up to him, holding a cup and saucer. "Midoriya, would you like to give this to that girl over there?" she asked, pointing to the girl he had seen before.
Izuku looked at her questioningly. "Yeah, sure," he answered slowly. Emica smiled brightly before she handed him the cup and saucer. The green-haired boy walked out to her table and set the cup down.
The red-head looked up from her notebook. "Oh, thank you," she said, pulling the cup closer to her. "I've never seen you around here. What's your name?" she inquired.
"My name's Izuku Midoriya," he replied quietly. He could feel his face turning red.
"I'm Shun Sakura," she introduced. "Well, I better get back to studying."
"I, uh, noticed your shirt," he finally said timidly.
Sakura looked down at her shirt before she stretched it out so the whole thing could be seen. On the top of the shirt were the words, "The Symbol of Peace: All Might!" Underneath it was All Might with his signature smile spread across his face and his hands on his hips.
"Are you a fan of All Might too?" Sakura asked. A big smile formed on her face and her eyes lit up with excitement.
"Yeah!" Izuku replied. "I've been a fan of his since I was little!"
"He's so cool!" Sakura exclaimed. "I wish I could be a hero like him," she said, stirring her drink with a spoon.
"Well," Midoriya started, "who says you can't?"
The girl stopped stirring her drink and looked up. "What?"
"Who says you can't be a hero?" he repeated.
"I don't know," she responded. "I've just never seriously considered being a hero- not for a long time anyway. My quirk really isn't suited for hero work in the first place." Shun's eyes flicked down to her cup and she took a sip.
"What's your quirk?" Izuku questioned. His eyes widened as he realized how rude that might sound. "If you don't mind me asking!" he added frantically.
Shun giggled. "I don't mind," she said nonchalantly. "My quirk is called Speedster. I can run at inhuman speeds," the red-head explained.
"Wow, that sounds pretty cool!" Izuku exclaimed.
Shun glanced up, surprised. Her cheeks turned a light shade of red. "No one's ever told me that before," she muttered.
"Really?" he asked with genuine surprise. "That quirk would be amazing for hero work," the green-haired boy added. "Do you have a top speed?"
"Yeah," Sakura responded. "Last time I checked, my top speed was two-hundred, fifty-eight miles per hour." The way she said it made it sound like it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Whoa! That's fast!" Izuku commented.
"Yeah, but if I run at my top speed for too long, then I become too tired to move a muscle," she added sheepishly. "So what about you?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" Izuku replied confusedly.
"Like, your quirk," Shun corrected.
Izuku's gaze turned downward. "I… I don't have a quirk…," he replied quietly.
Shun gasped and held her hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry for asking!" she apologized. "It must be terrible!"
"It's fine," Midoriya said. "I might not have a quirk, but I still want to be a hero." Shun stared at the boy. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't. "People always tell me to give up, that it's never going to happen, but I'm not going to let go of my dream. I'll keep trying no matter what!" he finished. A look of realization came over his face. "Sorry, I've got to get back to work," Izuku said quickly before he rushed off.
Shun stared at his retreating figure. There was something about what he had said that really stuck with her. Emica walked up to the table and leaned on it. "So… did you have a nice chat?" she asked. The devious smile on her face told Shun all that she needed to know.
"Oh, hush," Shun said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Emica shook her head with a chuckle before she went back to her work. Sakura finished her drink and left a tip on the table. The bell on the door jingled again as she walked out of the cafe.
As she walked, her mind dwelled on what Midoriya had said. He didn't have a quirk, but he refused to let go of his dream. Even though it seemed impossible for him to be a hero, he still wanted to be one.
Sakura came upon the front door to her home. She walked inside tiredly. "Hello sweetie!" her mother called from the kitchen.
"Hey mom!" Sakura called back. The red-head made her way to her room. Once she was inside, she threw her backpack on the floor and went over to her desk. Shun opened the bottom drawer and dug around in it before she pulled out an old notebook.
Shun blew a thin layer of dust off of the top of the notebook. "Geez, has it really been that long?" she muttered in surprise. She flipped the notebook open to see one of her old sketches. Underneath the sketch was a messy note. It read, "Great job, Kabu!"
"Grandma, look at what I drew!" a young Sakura exclaimed, holding up her drawing proudly.
He grandmother looked the drawing over before she said, "It looks great, Kabu! Is it a costume?"
"Mhm," she nodded. "It's going to be my hero costume when I'm older," she stated proudly.
Her grandmother scooped her up into her arms. "You want to be a hero, too?" she asked with a smile. "I hope I can keep up with you!" Shun giggled at her grandmother's comment.
"I'm going to have to keep up with you, grandma," Sakura said. "I'm going to be just like you when I grow up!"
Shun smiled at the bitter-sweet memory. She shook her head and flipped through the notebook. There was at least one messy drawing on every page. There were drawings of pro heroes, potential hero costumes, and a few drawings of her parents. Sakura finally got to the end of the notebook. She flipped the last page and an envelope slipped out.
She stared at it curiously. The envelope was worn and old. Sakura broke the seal on the envelope and pulled out the note inside. The note was also old and worn, so she carefully unfolded it.
Shun recognized her grandmother's handwriting on the old letter. The letter read, "You probably already know this, but I have been injured during a fight. I wanted to write you this letter in case this injury takes my life. Kabu, even if I do die, don't lose hope. Keep working hard to achieve your dream. I want you to know something: Whether I am here with you or watching you from the sky above, I'll be cheering you on. Keep on going, my little Kabu!"
Sakura clutched the paper tightly and shook as she held back tears. It was just like her grandmother to always support her. Shun took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
"People always tell me to give up, that it's never going to happen, but I'm not going to let go of my dream," Midoriya's words echoed in her head. He was born without a quirk. In a world of superpowers, he was born without one, but he wasn't giving up. Why should she?
Shun gave herself a minute to collect herself before she walked out of her room and into the kitchen. "Dinner's going to be ready soon," her mother said as she dashed around the kitchen.
Shun took a deep breath before she spoke. "Mom, you know when you told me to start thinking about what I want to do with my life?" she asked.
"Yes, what about it? Did you decide on something?" her mother asked, turning her full attention to her daughter.
"I think I did," Sakura answered. "I want to be a pro hero, like grandma," she said, her eyes full of determination.
Well, that's it for the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. You can find Shun Sakura's bio on my Deviantart page. I'd link it, but isn't very friendly towards links.