Chapter I. A Dream is Only the Beginning
"You've finally met the person you admire so much. He even saved your miserable life. And, on top of all, he autographed your notebook! So, why this long face?" Plunged in his somber thoughts, Izuku reproached himself. "Well, after all, it would be really selfish to delay a great hero. Anyone could be needing help even right now".
The arguments were convincing which, nevertheless, couldn't make him feel better. A reflection of the scrawny boy with a huge backpack and ridiculous red shoes appeared in the dusty cracked window of an abandoned store. As his head was hanging down, Izuku's face was almost impossible to see behind the curly strands of black hair that were staring, haphazardly, in all directions. This was partly the reason why Izuku didn't notice when three guys about his age emerged from around the corner. He brushed elbows with one of them and mumbled an apology. Before he could finish his next step, Izuku felt a strong hit on the chest. Unable to keep feet, he thudded onto the pavement and grazed the skin on his palms, trying to break the fall.
"Deku!" A voice roared that Izuku knew very well. It was Katsuki Bakugo's, the very classmate that set his notebook ablaze. "Get your eyes open and watch where you're going, nerd!"
"S-sorry, K-ka-ch-chan… I didn't want to…" Izuku murmured, shrinking his head and trying to get on his feet. Katsuki disdainfully measured Izuku with his eyes and clicked his tongue with irritation. His disorderly spiky blond hair reflected the explosive personality of its owner. He roughly pushed Izuku on the chest with his foot. The foot slid upwards and left a trail of dirt on Izuku's cheek. Hitting against the ground with the back of his head, Izuku squeezed his eyes and reflexively buried his face in hands.
"You can shove your apologies!" Katsuki growled and, accompanied by the approving whoops of his sidekicks, bent over the shivering kid, stepping onto his stomach. One could see a number of tiny explosions go off between Katsuki's outspread fingers. He stretched his hand close to his victim's face, threatening. Smelling the stench of burning, Izuku quickly faced aside. A small but powerful blast left a hole in the pavement. The sharp splinters cut Izuku's soot-stained cheek. Katsuki's sidekicks guffawed simultaneously but Izuku didn't hear them due to severe ringing in the ears.
"Now I forgive you" Katsuki's voice sounded vaguely, as if underwater. He rose up straight, took his foot off Izuku's belly, and, overstepping his lying classmate, went ahead, like nothing ever happened. His lackeys were quick to follow him.
Finally, Izuku was left, lying on the ground and staring into the sky. He didn't hurry to stand up. That area used to be a hive of activity but all the merchants had to live the place, eventually, owing to frequent attacks of prowlers and thugs. The superheroes could never spare time for those because of their jam-packed schedules. This street was empty most of the time so there had been no sense in waiting for someone to come and save him from Katsuki's bullying.
"You are the one who dreams of becoming a hero" his inner voice woke up, so in the wrong time. "What kind of a hero are you if you always need to be rescued?"
"A shitty hero" said Izuku out loud. His dirty cheek began to swell and the throbbing pain in his graze was growing stronger. "I need to go before I catch an infection". On thinking that, Izuku awkwardly got back on his feet and, without even shaking the dust from his clothes, stumbled towards the station.
Sneaking into the bathroom before his mother could peek out of the kitchen, reacting to the sound of the door opening, Izuku threw his draggled uniform into the laundry basket and looked at himself in the mirror. The left half of his face, stained with soot, bruises and gore, had swelled significantly. Izuku sighed. No wonder the people on the train kept clear of him! Many mistook him for a hooligan. Others chose to act like they didn't see him.
Wincing in pain, Izuku patiently cleaned his wounds. Just a few scrapes, although quite deep in some places. If he's about to cry over something like that, he'd better forget about making a career in the hero business.
"Izuku, dinner is ready" his mom said, knocking at the door to the bathroom. The sound of the water running stopped, and in a couple of minutes Izuku went out, with a towel wrapped over his moist head.
"I'll be right there, need to put something on" Izuku quickly muttered. His mother caught him, nimbly, by the wide sleeve of his bathrobe, pulled him closer and dragged the towel off his head.
"Have you been fighting?" she unclenched her fingers, giving a slight cry at the sight of her son's damaged face.
"I fell over on my way from school" Izuku lied, automatically putting his hand on the cheek. "I'm fine, it doesn't even hurt anymore".
He turned around and almost ran to his room. When he returned, wearing a fresh set of clothes, Inko was laying out medical supplies in the dining room. Without saying a word, she tended to Izuku's cheek. Then she put away the medicine box and after that she finally smiled.
"You have always been clumsy, Izuku. Eat, while it's still warm".
Izuku nodded and moved his plate towards himself. He had no appetite at all, but he was forcing the rice down his throat, not to raise any unnecessary questions from his mother.
"Did you do anything interesting at school today?" Inko broke the silence.
"We were filling up our career guidance forms" Izuku responded, happy to stop that senseless consumption of food. "We had to wright down the names of the institutions we want to apply to".
"So, you haven't changed your mind about applying to UA?" Inko cautiously enquired, putting the soft palm of her hand on Izuku's wrist.
"Why would I alter my decision?" Izuku asked with genuine surprise. "This has been my only dream ever since I was little. If there is any school that brings out real heroes it has to be UA!"
The mother opened her mouth to say something but, seeing fire in her son's eyes, she just sighed. Then she pronounced, mussing up his hair with her free hand, "I'm proud that you are so driven. You'll have to work very hard to enter UA and I, of course, will do anything I can to support you."
"Thank you, mom", Izuku said and added, broodingly, "I'll finish the meal in my room."
Grabbing his plate, Izuku scampered away and Inko heard the door clapping shut.
Izuku put the unfortunate rice on the desk and collapsed into his bed. Before he stated to his mother that he was still going to apply to UA, the whole idea hadn't seemed so realistic. There always had been a feeling that it would happen someday, someday in the distant future. Now he firmly set his mind on entering the hero academia, even without a quirk or special physical abilities. The entrance exams were due in about ten months.
"Only ten months left!" A wave of panic overwhelmed Izuku, making him jump on his feet and start walking fast about the room, muttering a dozen words per second while rubbing, uneasily, on his chin with his index finger. Just ten months – and he hadn't even commenced his preparation! Izuku stopped in front of a small mirror by the door. There he saw an ungainly scrawny boy with messy hair, freckles and a thin, chicken-like neck. The swollen cheek wasn't making him look any better. "I must face the truth – I may pass with flying colors on theory, but the practical exam will aim to check our special physical abilities. And I hardly even have ordinary physical abilities."
"I can only hope for a miracle", Izuku muttered, and, moving away from the mirror, he crabbed into his chair. He accidentally elbowed the keyboard on his desk. The cooler started its steady humming, awakening his computer. His mother had, probably, turned it on while Izuku was at school and left it that way afterwards.
The display rapidly went on and, despite it being not so bright, Izuku got blinded for a moment or two: his eyes had already adapted to the lack of light. After a portion of winking and rubbing his eyes he was able to look at the screen without difficulty. On the home screen, All Might's smile was shining. The shortcuts were arranger without any logic and, yet, strictly around the face of a great hero. The red icon of a new incoming message was blinking in the bottom right corner. Izuku clicked on it, without thinking twice.
"...Dear Mrs. Midoriya, I thank you for putting trust in my training techniques. I also assure you that in just one year your son will change beyond recognition. I have considered your request to spread the cost of my services. I suggest we settle on a six month clearance with a 30% down payment. The payment bill is attached to this letter. Best wishes, trainer Aoki Shuto".
"What is that?" Izuku asked himself in confusion and followed the link. He went to a site. At the top of the page there was a flaunty photo of a man in perfect shape. The picture was followed by a brief story of his success, how he transformed, from a weakling, into a mass of pure muscle. Shifting his gaze onto the bill, Izuku turned pale. He never saw such an amount of money. The very fact that his mother was planning to hire a coach for him, not even knowing his exact designs on UA, moved him deeply. She was really supporting him! She wanted to help him live out his dream!
Izuku darted out of his room. Inko had just finished cleaning up. She was sitting on a small comfy sofa, stitching clothes and watching TV every now and then. Throwing his arms around her neck, Izuku caught his mother by surprise. She gave a spontaneous shriek, dropping her sewing kit on the floor.
"M-mom" Izuku stammered, sobbing and gasping. Inko mentally prepared herself for a downpour of tears. "Mom… thank you… I'll find a part-time job and pay for the training myself! "
Inko kindly passed her hand over Izuku's hair and firmly hugged him.
