OF HEROES AND LEGENDS
Ch. 1 Natsuko Kukida
It was a warm sunny morning when rubble and debris flew haphazardly through the air, narrowly missing the path Natsuko Kukida was walking on. With a single raised eyebrow she looked above, pulling the earbuds from her ears.
`Damn.` She realized with annoyance that her plans to take the train to school had quite literally been derailed. What seemed to be a giant rampaging shark was stomping around the tracks and smashing everything in his path. `Another third-rate villain pissed off they sold out of his favorite comic or something. How stupid.` As a larger crowd began to gather around her, a boy who seemed to be around her age emerged. He was bursting with excitement as it was clearly etched onto his face. He had wide green eyes that matched his unruly green hair. His freckles only added to his boyish look. Natsuko didn't recognize the logo on the buttons of his typical junior high uniform but realized he must be local if he was heading for the same station.
"Who's fighting him?" he excitedly chirped. Before Natsuko could elicit a response indicating she neither knew nor cared, he answered his own question. "It's Kamui Woods! The popular young superstar!" Many of the people standing nearby quietly expressed awe at the knowledge the boy possessed.
Natsuko scoffed, muttering "You a hero otaku or something?" The boy in question sheepishly grinned, blushing while shaking his head and hands back and forth rapidly.
"Oh, hehe, I, uhh…" They were interrupted by the heroic shout of the hero Kamui.
"Stand down, you big lump of evil. You're charged with unlawful use of a power during commuting hours, as well as battery and robbery. Here's your punishment." Natsuko looked up and squinted, looking at his arms as they began to take on not only the look, but the shape of a tree. The boy next to her began to bounce up and down in excitement.
"Ah! Here it comes! His ultimate preemptive strike…" No sooner had the boy called the attack that it was launched.
"Lacquered chain prison!"
"Canyon canon!" Just when it seemed Kamui had everything all wrapped up, a newcomer emerged launching a massive, oversized kick to the villain. It caused a large tremor that rocked the entire downtown district. The costumed woman was giant and her outfit left little to the imagination following every curve of her body. "Today's my debut! Pleased to meet you all! You can call me Mt. Lady!" She bent over alluringly to pose for the cameras and press that seemed to have their jaws on the ground. Natsuko crossed her arms feeling her left eye twitch as a vein popped out on her forehead. `Damn perverts.` This hero was only a glory hound who used her looks to gain popularity. Natsuko was a bit old fashioned and had some anxiety over the fact that in high school it was standard practice to hike up the uniforms to well above your knees. She wasn't going to be the victim of a windy day like some sad girl in a manga or anime. Natsuko had a bit more class than that. This is also what led Natsuko to the idea that her hero costume would be modest as well. She blushed at even the idea that boys at her school would get to ogle her body whenever they wanted if her costume was the typical female standard. `Not on my watch bastards.` she thought, clenching her fists.
"Gigantification huh...as a quirk it's fairly likely to attract attention and popularity, but isn't it also somewhat limiting since it'd be easier to inadvertently damage the city while on the job?" the green haired boy had spoken up again, interrupting her train of thought to give an analysis of the situation. Natsuko agreed in not so many words as she scoffed and shrugged her shoulders.
"A flashy quirk for a flashy person. Seems about right to me." The boy quickly looked up and nodded in quiet agreeance shocked that she had even dignified him with a response, before going back to his furious notetaking. An older man took notice of the boy's notes and smiled widely.
"You taking notes?! Aiming to be a hero huh? Good luck kid!" Natsuko looked down to the notebook in question. It looked old and worn out from many years of use. Natsuko outwardly rolled her eyes but inside she felt admiration stir within her. If she had the same amount of dedication to her hero studies as this boy then surely she could get into U.A. High on her own instead of relying on Toshinori's recommendation. Natsuko sighed balling her hands into fists at her sides, making her knuckles turn white as a cold feeling settled in her chest. `I WILL clear mama's name and discover the truth about her disappearance, even if I have to walk through hell and back to do it.`
Later that day...
"So class, today we will be handing out the intention forms for high schools. Please be sure to select 3 choices and have this form ready to be returned to me by next week. Natsuko-san I believe you are the only one in the school this year applying to Yuuei High School. Here's the form." The entire room grew quiet as Natsuko took the form from her teacher. A deep blush formed across her face as she quickly sank into her seat. Whispers began to spread like wildfire through the room.
"Ne-ne, I heard it takes a national score of 79 to enter there this year."
"No way, I heard it was 85!"
"I also heard that the entrance exam is really cutthroat." Natsuko sunk further into her seat hoping her hunched shoulders would swallow her completely.
"Oh and Natsuko?" She looked up to her teacher's questioning gaze. "Are you sure you want to defer All-Might's recommendation and take the entrance exam?"
"EHHHHHHHHHH?!" The class erupted in awe as Natsuko slammed her head on her desk with a groan, praying for the school bell to ring.
"What a snob, rejecting All-Might's recommendation. How ungrateful can you be? She must really think she's better than everyone." Natsuko frowned rolling her eyes as she brushed past the two girls from her class.
"I don't know why. She never uses her quirk. It's probably something really stupid or useless." Rushing out of the school gates and onto the sidewalk Natsuko stretched her alarms above her head, thankful for the half day. She looked up at the birds flying above her head as she tried to forget the commotion her teacher had inadvertently caused. There were in fact, a few students who Natsuko talked to regularly but even they wouldn't understand the complex relationship she shared with the nationally ranked number one hero All-Might. Natsuko scoffed kicking a can. It was just yesterday that she was scolding him for having no food in his house yet again. She swore if she didn't hang around so much he would forget eat and starve to death. 'Moron…' Natsuko quickly ducked into the underpass to take the shortcut to All-Might's or as she called him Toshinori's house. 'Might as well make sure he bought food. Maybe I can make some nabe if he got enough vegeta-"
"It's you again!"
"Huh?" Natsuko quirked an eyebrow up at the boy walking towards her. Her eyebrows rose in surprise at seeing the green-haired fanboy for the second time that day. "Hey Hero Otaku. What-"
"Look out!" He frantically yelled while pushing Natsuko roughly into the wall.
"Hey!" She turned and gasped at the sight before her. A grotesque looking slime being had enveloped most of the boy's body. It had even covered his mouth, clearly restricting his ability to even breathe. Natsuko backed up against the wall in fear.
"Stop wriggling like that. I'm just gonna take control of your body for a lil' time, good? It'll hurt for 45 seconds then the pain will disappear." The slime was oozing everywhere trying to swallow up the boy completely from the inside. Natsuko's eyes widened.
'Stop it.' Natsuko thought as she shook in her spot with her eyes wide in despair. 'STOP IT. DAMMIT WHY WON'T MY BODY MOVE? I CAN'T EVEN SCREAM PROPERLY!' Natsuko squeezed her eyes shut and held her hands so tight that her nails began to dig into the flesh of her palms drawing blood. She quietly gasped snapping her eyes open as a memory pushed it's way forward in her mind
10 YEARS AGO
"Mama you're bleeding!" A four year old Natsuko exclaimed in fear as she ran into her mother's legs. Her mother however, was unfazed as she sat in the old wooden chair at the dining room table.
"I'm alright dear," she laughed gently as she tenderly ran her hand through Natsuko's shoulder length blonde hair. Natsuko looked up into her mother's lavender eyes which she had inherited.
"See this blood Natsuko?" She nodded with wide eyes. "This blood shows that I fought hard for the people I vowed to protect as a hero. And as long as I still have blood to bleed then I can keep fighting for all the precious people in my life. Understand?" Natsuko scrunched up her nose and stared hard at her mother's still bleeding shoulder before finally locking eyes with her her again.
"I think so mama."
CLACK! Natsuko snapped out of her reverie as she heard a charred notebook drop to the ground. The boy was struggling more than ever as she stood up tall. She glanced down at her hands now bleeding from her palms. 'I-I want to be a hero just like you mama.' Natsuko steeled herself and took a step forward in defiance.
"I refuse to cower in fear from a guy like you!" She yelled. "You're not even a villain! You're just an overgrown bully going after kids!" A gravelly laugh gurgled forth from the creature before her.
"You got guts kid, but you're too late. His times up!" 'Oh no!'Just when Natsuko thought the boy had finally run out of air…
"I'm here!" A loud and deep voice boomed throughout the tunnel.
"You've gotta be kidding me", Natsuko relented. 'His timing is impeccable.' She sweatdropped.
"Do not worry kid! Texas Smash!" All-Might drew back his arm and swung so hard that just the air from the blow caused not only Natsuko's hair and clothing to blow around her like a typhoon had settled in but the villain to be blown completely off of the boy who had passed out. All-Might crouched in front of him and began to lightly slap his face. "Wake up kid. Hey!" 'So uncool.' Natsuko frowned. "Hey All-Might." Natsuko nonchalantly greeted him with a quick wave of her palm. She knew better than to address him by anything other than All-Might when he was in his hero form.
"Natsu- ah I mean young lady! Are you alright?" Natsuko looked herself over quickly and shrugged.
"Uh, yeah." He smiled that ridiculous smile of his and practically bellowed.
"Excellent! I'm glad to see that no harm came to you!" Natsuko walked closer to the pair on the ground.
"What about him? Should we take him to a hospital?" It seemed however that Natsuko spoke too soon as the boy slowly came to.
"I'm really sorry you got involved in my removal of the villain." The boy seemed to go into shock at All-Might's admission of guilt. "You seem to be doing well. This is the most important." Completely starstruck by this point, the boy was in a daze as All-Might continued, "Anyway, it's thanks to you and the young lady that I have succeeded so thank you! I did a checkmate without problem, at the end! He exclaimed holding up a soda bottle holding the slimy villain inside. Natsuko nearly did a double take. 'Wait. When did he…?' All-Might exited the underpass as they followed and looked ready to leave them where they stood. This seemed to snap the boy out of his daze as he frantically began searching for something.
"I forgot! C-Can I have your autograph? Ah, on my notes…Please!" He ripped open his notebook and to his shock, All-Might was already one step ahead of him having already signed it. "Wow! T-Thank you so much! What a treasure! It'll be my this family heirloom!" 'Geeze', Natsuko sweatdropped. 'So uncool.'All-Might continued his large stride down the street.
"Now I have to bring this fellow to the authorities! Check out my exploits on TV, kids!" All-Might bent over to stretch as the boy struggled to speak.
"What…? Is that it…? But I still…" All-Might crouched down and Natsuko knew what was coming next. She backed up to to not get caught in All-Might's whirlwind. The green-haired boy however had different plans. Before she could stop him All-Might leapt into the sky in a single mighty bound. Natsuko held onto her skirt in the rough gust of wind, scowling in their wake. 'That Idiot!' Natsuko did her best to follow but they were long gone. She knew Toshinori had to be close to his limit and she had no idea what would happen if the boy were to see him in such a state. Natsuko considered using her quirk to try to catch up to them but decided against it. Even if she could move faster, she had no idea where they ended up. Natsuko surveyed her surroundings realizing she had ended up back in town. 'Might as well get some groceries. Toshinori never seems to have any food when I come over. Stupid...he needs to keep his strength up.'
Natsuko exited the grocery store with a bag of vegetables, potatoes, and some beef in hopes it would be enough to make nabe and curry for the next few days. "Oh my god! What do we do?!" Voices carried to Natsuko's ears as she rounded the corner to see utter chaos unfolding before her. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd. 'No way! It can't be! Toshinori already took care of this guy-unless…' She quickly scanned the sky above. 'This is bad. If he's not here that means he's reached his limit! This better not not be that stupid kid's fault!' Natsuko bit her lip and clenched her fists feeling useless as the pro heroes did their best to hold off the villain. 'It's no use. None of their quirks can stop him.'
"Is- is that a child being held hostage?" A woman questioned. Natsuko whipped her head up and sure enough, a boy with blonde hair about her age could just barely be seen through the muck. By the looks of it he wasn't going to be able to hold out much longer either. Natsuko inched forward shaking. 'I-I'm afraid but...I can't just do nothing again. Mama please watch me. I'll make you proud.' Just as Natsuko dropped her bags and made to move in, a blur went by her. The crowd began cheering.
"A hero who can stop this guy! Finally!" Someone shouted.
"Wait! It's another kid!"
"Get out of there! Leave this to the professionals!" Natsuko couldn't believe her eyes. The same punk from earlier was now running right into danger head first. Natsuko hesitated with baited breath as the boy...threw his bag? Natsuko couldn't help but sweatdrop at what she had just seen.
"You moron! What are you thinking?! Use your quirk!" Natsuko shouted in anger. She ran forward no longer able to watch the shit show transpire before her any longer. The villain had rounded on the boy even while suffocating the other who seemed to be at his limit. 'Okay Natsuko. All you have to do is touch the the boys and get out. One touch is all you need and then you can get out of there.' She had just latched onto the green haired boy but realized she had severely miscalculated how fast the villain was. The boy sat terrified facing his doom and now she had no choice but to either save him and herself or die trying to reach the other boy as her window of opportunity closed rapidly. 'SHIT! I'M NOT GONNA MAKE IT!' She extended her arm as far as possible but the villain reached out from his body enveloping her left arm in muck. He began to pull her in as she panicked when suddenly a thunderous rumble rocked the ground she stood on. Slowly she turned to see that All-Might had arrived. He grabbed onto the boy trapped in the Villain and Natsuko luckily was able to latch on as well.
"The lesson I left you with...I should practice what I preach! A pro should always be ready to risk his life!" Blood was seeping out of All-Might's mouth and it worried Natsuko. He must be pushing past his limit. All-Might reared his arm back and gave a mighty yell. "DETROIT SMASH!" The power of his blow was so strong that the villain blew right off of Natsuko and the boy and rain began to fall. Natsuko let go of the boys and held her hands out feeling the water slip between her fingers. Her eyes were large and she stood in awe. 'No way…'
"He changed the weather with a single punch!"
"Amazing. That's All-Might!"
After All-Might's massive display of power the other heroes gathered up the villain's body for custody. The heroes berated Natsuko and the green haired boy for meddling where they shouldn't have. Natsuko huffed, crossing her arms at her chest. 'At least I had a plan…'
Once the chaos had died down, the green haired boy formally introduced himself as Izuku Midoriya. Natsuko returned the favor and they soon discovered they were indeed the same age and both planned to enroll at UA High. The two walked and talked-well Natsuko listened as Midoriya talked at a million miles a minute it seemed.
"Hey Deku!" They both stopped to see who had yelled but Midoriya already knew without having to turn. His shoulders sunk as he was berated. "I never asked you to save me!" Bellowed an angry blonde. His rage was so palpable it was like he was literally going to explode.'What an ingrate.' Natsuko thought to herself. "As if you could! Huh?! Well?! I could've beaten him myself. How dare a quirkless failure like you pity me. Trying to win me over?! Don't you dare mock me!" Natsuko frowned gritting her teeth. "And you!" He shouted, pointing at Natsuko. "I especially don't need to be saved by a girl! You were just as useless as he was! You might as well give up that dumb fantasy of yours because I'M going to be the greatest hero ever known!" Natsuko frowned raising her fist.
"Hey Dumbass! This useless girl and quirkless loser just showed you up in front of hundreds of people. Try showing some gratitude!" The boy froze and huffed before angrily huffing and stomping away. Natsuko smirked before thinking back on what the blonde had said. 'Was Midoriya really quirkless? Man he's dumber than I thought!, she sweat dropped.' As Midoriya and Natsuko rounded the corner a figure appeared out of the blue.
"I AM HERE!" he sputtered coughing up blood while reverting to his far less impressive form. Natsuko and Midoriya nearly jumped out their skin as All-Might appeared.
"Tosh-er All-Might!" Natsuko corrected herself quickly. "What are you doing here?" She briefly panicked but realized Midoriya must have seen him in this form already. Toshinori stopped, not expecting Natsuko to be there but turned to address Midoriya next to her.
"Kid. I've come to thank you and revise what I said earlier…" he trailed off and Natsuko couldn't help but wonder what they had previously spoken about. "I also have a proposal." Natsuko gasped and looked back at Toshinori from Midoriya. 'He couldn't be...could he?'
"I got in your way…" Midoriya looked dejected at the ground. "Even though I'm quirkless I dared to ask if…"
"Exactly!" All-Might interrupted. "Of all the people at the scene, it was only you, timid and quirkless who acted. You spurred dear Natsuko and me to action!" Natsuko smiled softly while Midoriya looked on in awe. "Most of the top heroes show signs of greatness even as children. Many of them claim that their bodies moved before they could think. That's what happened to you back there right?" Midoriya bent forward collapsing while clutching his chest in what seemed to be pain and started to sob so deeply he gave large shuddering breaths.
"Yes." was all he could manage from his position facing the ground. Natsuko frowned and sunk to her knees, reaching for Midoriya's shoulder.
"You idiot. Don't you realize what he's saying?" she glanced up at Toshinori as if to confirm what she truly believed to be true in that moment even with all the odds stacked against this quirkless loser. He nodded subtly confirming her unasked question and she looked back at Midoriya with determination and resolve shining in her eyes. It was a look Toshinori would go to hell and back just to see again after her mother passed.
"YOU CAN BE A HERO!" They shouted in unison.
*Author's Notes*
Hey everyone! Alexz here. This is my first MHA ff and I'd really love to get feedback on it. With Natusko I'm trying really hard not to make her a Mary Sue. A lot of her story will revolve around her mother and her past so please look forward to it! As for her relationship with Midoriya, I'm aiming for a brother/sister one. P.S. I didn't reveal her quirk on purpose but maybe some of you can guess from the hints I left ;)