"Come on Izuku! Keep going!"

Inko Midoriya watched with worried eyes as her son picked himself up off of the ground after losing possession, and rushed back to help on defense. Watching Izuku play was something she loved doing, but was also getting harder on her heart as her son grew older. In the beginning, she was so happy for him to be joining a team and to have the possibility to make lots of friends. Izuku was shorter and of smaller frame than a lot of the other kids his age and that in turn lead to him being an easy target for some of the bigger kids. This led to him not having a lot of friends and being pretty lonely. Some days after school, come home upset and confused as to why some kids treated him so poorly. It was so hard for her to watch her son come home and be on the verge of tears just because of something he couldn't control. Since joining the team though, she has noticed the days that Izuku comes home upset are much fewer and farther apart than before, but it's plain to see that even though his day may not have been great, he is always looking forward to practice twice a week and just excited for the weekend to come around so he can play. It's taken his mind off of other troubles and for that she is grateful.

Regardless of the small victories playing football has brought about, Inko can't help the way she feels when the realities of Izuku's troubles are multiplied on the field. They are evident and plain as day. No matter how much she wants to ignore the outside factors and focus on how much fun Izuku is having, she can't help but see it with her own eyes and acknowledge it's existence. The way her son is just a little too short, the way her son is not as technically gifted, the way her son is one step behind, literally and figuratively, compared to the other kids. The proof is abundant. But where Izuku lacks physically, he makes up for it with mental aspects; things like desire, intellect and heart. The kid works his damn tail off. If he loses the ball, he doesn't pout over it. He immediately changes gears from offense to defense and adapts accordingly. He also has an innate sense of tactical positioning that is impressive for someone this age. Most kids will chase the ball and move to what they think is the right position, but Izuku will move according to where he thinks he will be most dangerous going forward, or try to cut off important passing lanes, or try and place himself where he can help his team. The hours of watching the pros on the weekends and taking mental notes has proven very pivotal in that area of his game. Above all though, his most important trait is that he leaves absolutely everything on the field. Inko always finds herself impressed at how exhausted Izuku is after every game and can't help but smile each time. The adorable way that he gets into the car after each game and his mouth just won't stop moving about all the different things that happened during the match, until his mind matches the same tired state his body is in and he falls asleep.

Inko readjusted her focus to her son's game just in time to see one of Izuku's teammates, a slightly taller kid with spiky hair and an angry look on his face, give her son an earful and a smack over the head. "I swear, Katsuki, I will come on to the pitch and drag you off by your ear if you don't cut the crap, do you hear me?!" A loud and equally angry look woman with spiky sand-colored hair that was strikingly similar to the boy who hit Izuku, but more feminine looking, had come up and stood next to Inko, before fiercely yelling at her son. The berating of her son was returned with a lippy, "shut it you old hag!" much to the mother's annoyance. After regaining her composure, the woman turned towards Inko and smiled, "Sorry about that Inko, Katsuki just never seems to learn, or care for that matter," and a short chuckle escaped from her. Inko couldn't help but let out an awkward laugh in return and smile, "sure is the same old, same old, isn't it, Mitsuki?" The two moms had known of each other since their two sons went to the same school, but hadn't ever interacted as the boys weren't exactly best friends, b their interactions increased when both of their boys were placed on the same youth team. Mitsuki was quite the opposite compared to Inko when it came to the relationships they had with their kid. The Bakugou duo were both spitting images of each other and as such, heated fits of yelling and name calling were common. A very stark contrast to the loving and understand relationship that the Midoriya household entertained. Away from her child though, Mitsuki was as normal and down to earth as most parents, but still a little on the fiesty side. "It's just boys being boys," Inko said, a more natural and relaxed grin on her face. "Doesn't change the fact that Katsuki seems to give your kid more of a hard time than the others."

Mitsuki had turned back towards the field and watched as her son barreled a kid over that was trying to steal the ball off of him before he fired a shot into the back of the net. None of the boys ran up to congratulate Katsuki on his goal, as he just calmly jogged back to his half for kickoff. It was when he reached the half way line and got into position for the restart that Izuku made his way over and offered out a hand, "Way to go Kacchan!" The outreached hand was left untouched by his teammate and his hopes of getting a friendly high-five were turned down by Katsuki yelling, "You think I care, Deku? Get your stupid ass back into position!" Saddened by his teammate and friend's denial of his attempt at being courteous, and at the choice of nickname he was addressed with, Izuku strode back to his position. Deku was the name Katsuki had been calling him ever since they joined the same team. The name contained the same characters as Izuku, but meant 'worthless, good-for-nothing' and accurately portrayed the way Kacchan treated him and felt about him. Izuku hadn't necessarily done anything to deserve being treated poorly, but was the perfect target for this boy's violent tendencies. It was just his nature and Izuku saw no signs of that changing any time soon.

The game resumed shortly thereafter and Izuku continued to play his game. The opposition wasn't the best team they had faced and his team held a comfortable lead, so there was no need to make any rash decisions. He was being very sure to control his position and break up play from a deep defensive midfield position, a role he created for himself at this stage in the game. In his gut, he found it unnecessary for him to contribute to the attack, especially when he had Kacchan in front of him. The game had been pretty textbook as far as their season went. Most games, Katsuki dominanted the attack and Izuku just tried to be as helpful to the team as he possibly could, working the midfield the way he saw fit, and since his coach didn't say anything to change his style, he didn't see a need to change anything.

The ball came to Izuku's feet and he quickly glanced up to survey the field. A teammate was positioned well just below the strikers and, should he get the ball, would be in a perfect position to create an attacking opportunity. Rolling the ball out from between his feet, Izuku made a pinpoint pass straight to his teammate, but the ball was swiftly intercepted before it reached his intended target, and the counterattack was on for the opposing side. With a quick pivot and an instantaneous bit of acceleration, Izuku tried his hardest to cut off the angle that would be the most efficient way to goal, but was too slow, as he had to watch his opponent blow by him and make his way to the edge of the 18-yard box they were defending. The boy on the ball had his run slowed down by a defending teammate, but the opposing team still had the advantage in numbers going forward and looked threatening. Trying his best to fix his mistake, Izuku dashed towards the center of the goal box, in hopes that he would be in a good position to clear the ball away should it come through. As he predicted, the player on the ball had dribbled towards the end line and was looking to cross towards the middle. The ball was lifted in to the box and on a path to reach the small area that Izuku was covering. Preparing himself for a big jump that would hopefully give him just enough height to clear the ball, Izuku bent his knees and sprang up as high as he could. He had only reached about half way up before Izuku felt the wind rush out of his lungs and his weight fall towards the ground. His head was the first thing to hit the floor, and it bounced, as the rest of him hit the ground. Izuku instantly felt dizzy and disoriented, his vision was blurry and he had a hard time focusing. His hearing became extremely sensitive, the sound of the wind rushing by him was amplified and the footsteps of the other players in the box sounded like earthquakes all around him. Mustering what strength he had, Izuku made an attempt to stand back up, but a heavy weight landed on top of him, his head smacking against the floor once more. This time, Izuku made no attempt to get back up as his brain pounded in his head and his vision slowly faded out.

First chapter down. Really enjoying how this is going so far. If you want longer chapters let me know, otherwise I'll leave each important bit to be as long as I see fit.

Thanks for reading and thanks to 'Phoenix X 2' for the first review.