Author's Note: I was reading the latest chapter of MHA the other day and all I could think was, "Damn, Horikoshi's really made OFA a cheat code. Midoriya lucked out lol." However, this development also throws a wrench at my story because I don't want to make Midoriya too OP, so I decided to give OFA to someone else. Doesn't mean Midoriya won't get it later on.

Origins 1.02: U.A., Here I Come!

Every time I entered the house, the first thing that hits me was the smell. Then my stepfather, but that was a totally different case. Although the usual scents were often pinewood and a variation of cheap beers, today was different. My mother was home early so we were instead greeted by the flavorful aroma of a half finished home cooked meal. Katsudon. My favorite.

I also noticed more things than usual, thanks to my newfound senses. There was a family of twelve rats living in the attic, the water filter in the furnace was leaking, and the wooden pillars supporting the house was in danger of falling apart thanks to termites and fungi. Didn't need a quirk to figure out the last one.

But there were some good things too. For one, my stepfather was nowhere in the vicinity, hence the house was cleaner than usual. I also sensed my mother cooking in the kitchen with her fast motions creating disturbances in the air. She didn't seem exhausted, which was rare. Usually when she came home, she just sat on the worn out couch, dazed and dreary, while drinking a cup of the darkest coffee. I hated how broken she looked sometimes.

"Welcome home, Izuku," she greeted while chopping green onions on the kitchen isle. I guess she must've heard me enter the house or something. She was facing slightly perpendicular from the entrance, however, so she didn't notice the gruff, bearded figure behind me.

"Hi mom. How was work?" I asked. I sometimes wondered why I did, given how repetitive our lives seemed to be. Work sucked, school was okay, and the traffic was a hindrance as always. Even so, I always found comfort in the routines and small gestures. They provided normality in a world slowly descending into madness.

"You wouldn't believe how rude the customers were," her voice had a tinge of annoyance, "I was doing cashier work, right? And this old man comes up to me and..."

She turned around and saw Chiron. Her voice trailed off and her smile faded.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Midoriya." Chiron greeted with a grim nod.

"Chiron-san, what're you doing here?" Her expression changed between concern, guilt, and fear, mirroring those of Chiron's, but more obvious. She looked at me and her expression darkened.

Dropping her knife on the table, she walked with an agitated gait and grabbed my cheeks with her palms, causing me to pucker up like those gyarus you saw on social media. I tried wiggling out of her grip, but the effort was futile. Sometimes I wondered if she had a hidden quirk. Super strength? Super hearing? Super Intuition? Most mothers I knew had a variation of the three.

She brushed the hair covering my forehead, her fingers traversing the area above my right eyebrow.

"Oh..." She gasped. She turned to Chiron; her growing anger was etched on her face with a sharp frown.

"You told me you wouldn't let this happen," she said, her voice dangerously low, "So why on earth is my child coming home from school with huge scars on his throat and forehead?"

Scars? It took me a second to realize what she meant, my mind flashing back to the events of earlier.

I caressed my forehead and felt a nasty scar just above my right eyebrow. I lowered my fingers to my neck and felt another three where the talons pierced through.

Chiron's jaw clenched. He stood there for a moment, guilt palpable from his posture, contemplating how to frame the situation in the best possible light and avoid dealing with my mother's wrath.
"I am sorry for breaking the contract," he started, "But I didn't know a monster was-."

"I don't want to hear your lousy excuse," mom hissed with a wavering voice, "This isn't about the contract. It's about you being incompetent in your job and letting my kid get hurt!"

"I'm trying! I definitely tried!" he brushed his hair with his hands, grabbing them in frustration, "You think I can juggle thirty annoying twats and their pubescent hormones without messing up once?"

"You should've noticed!"

"I did! And your boy came out fine!"

"This is what you call fine?" She pointed at me, "He looks like he got attacked by a bear!"

"Can someone," I raised my voice to be heard over their argument, "please explain what the hell is going on! Cus I swear to god, the two of you have more secrets than a knitting circle."

Both of them came to their senses and stared at me like I popped out of thin air.

"Honey," mom's expression softened, "there's no such thing as secrets in a knitting circle. Also, watch your tongue."

"Stop avoiding the question, mom," I said bitterly. I was tired of her keeping secrets. She never told me anything about dad or why she remarried to the worst person I've met. Now this?

"Alright," She conceded with a weak voice. Her shoulders slumped in defeat, more so than usual, and her eyes skimmed the floor, trying to look at everything but the expression on my face. "How much do you know?"

"Not much. Random terms like contacts, pacts, and synonyms of the like," I shrugged, "The fact I have a quirk."

I left out the part about my father being a Greek god because it was too crazy to fathom even after the events of today.

"Okay. I'll start from the beginning," my mom let out a sigh and a shudder, "But this might take a while, so take a seat. Want tea?"

I nodded and Chiron declined.

"No thank you, I'll be leaving soon."

She returned to her kitchen workspace, pulling out a kettle from a cupboard. Chiron and I sat on opposite ends of the cheap round table and he stared at his clasped hands with tired eyes. Figuring out he wasn't going to talk, I watched my mom fill the kettle with water, placing it atop a gaslit stove. She went back to the dining area and sat down on the chair beside me. She cleared her throat.

"The stories we tell of the ancient greek gods," she began, "are not so much myths but history."

She stopped, allowing me to process the absurd statement. Even after I got over my shock, I still had a hard time believing her.

But the demon lady evaporating into dust? A golden sword sprouting from a dollar store pen? Chiron giving the middle finger to common sense with his foldable horse legs? Such things were impossible and broke every conceivable scientific laws I knew.

Magic, I heard a voice inside my head, sounding a lot like a certain centaur.

"With how much they're hiding, they might as well be myths," Chiron mumbled.

"Yeah," my mom agreed with a solemn gaze, "Your father was one of them. Poseidon. God of the seas."

"I see," I nodded, lost for words, "Well, that explains why he was never here. Godly duties must be loads of work." I gave a weak, sardonic laugh.

"There's a reason why, Izuku," she murmured, almost defensive. I knew she still loved him, with the way she talked about dad on the rare nights she drank near the fireplace. I saw it in her eyes, the way she blushed when she told the story of their first meeting.

"Let me guess. He got lost on the way to buy cigarettes," I joked, trying to hide the hurt and contempt brewing inside my stomach. I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. I hid them under the table.

"No, it's nothing like that," she shook her head in disagreement, "It was because of The Pact, Izuku. The agreement to never again interact with the mortal world and lock all monsters in the underworld. The one you met probably sneaked her way out."

I had a million question I wanted to ask, but my voice betrayed me, so I settled for the simplest one.

"Why?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"They're afraid of quirks and how powerful humans can become."

"That doesn't make sense! They're gods!" I threw my hands in the air, "They should be able to handle a bunch of humans."

Mom shook her head again. She looked like she was trying her best to remain patient and calm.

"All Might, at his prime, was just a bit weaker than Ares." she explained, "Imagine what would happen if a demigod, a being not bound by divine laws, were to gain such a powerful quirk and abuse their powers?"

"The Battle of Mustafu would look like a playground quarrel," Chiron scoffed.

Both of them went silent, their eyes pondering on the hypothetical horrors. As for me, I couldn't fathom Chiron's remark. The Battle of Mustafu was regarded as one of Japan's biggest tragedies. About seventy percent of the city was lost and a thousand more lives were gone along with it. If that battle was a petty quarrel... then I wouldn't want to know the scenario they were imagining.

"The gods were so afraid of this happening, t-they..." my mom's voice cracked and tears welled in her eyes, "...killed their children." The kettle started to boil in the background, the shrill whistle from the rising steam matched the fury I felt inside. "One by one. In their sleeps."

The more I heard of these gods, the more repulsed I became. I felt a lump in my throat. There was a pregnant pause in the conversation and beneath the silence was the underlying question everyone was afraid to ask.

"W-why am I alive?" I croaked, forcing the question out of my throat.

"Because you're quirkless. I convinced him you weren't a threat to the gods," her eyes was distant, as if remembering an unpleasant memory. I, on the other hand, almost laughed at the irony. Turns out, the reason why I'm alive was also the reason why my life sucked. Go figure.

"Poseidon decided to spare you. He placed a seal to your powers, only breaking when you're in life or death situation," she grimaced. Her expression grew softer and she gave me a warm smile, "So here you are, alive and well. You've grown into a decent person... despite our circumstances."

I closed my eyes. My eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"So what now?" I asked to no one in particular. I wasn't sure what to do with the information. Gods were real, monsters were real, and my birth was a typo in the grand scheme of things. Was I just going to be hunted for the rest of my life? No. I had a quirk - or powers, whatever you wanna call it. I had to be a hero -monsters and gods be damned- and make use of the chance I've been given.

"We need to transfer you to a place with a lot of strong quirks; a place where monsters won't be able to find you. I can probably get you into U.A." Chiron suggested, speaking up from his silence. I gaped at him, baffled, like he grew an extra head. "It's the least I can do."

I couldn't believe it. Was this the universe's way to repay all the shit they've given me? It was just too... convenient. Too easy.

"No," I rejected the offer, "It's too expensive and too far away. Going there is too much of a burden for my mom. I could settle for a cheaper one."

"Don't worry bout the expenses," Chiron flashed a mischievous grin, "Since Mustafu High School is a well respected school, I can use your scholarship and remarkable grades to leverage a scholarship in U.A.

"But my English grades are terrible!"

"Nothing your sweet english teacher can't fix. I just have to pull a few strings and there," He winked, "As for the travel time... bah, that's a non-issue. U.A. has a lot of empty dorm rooms I can sneak you in."

I opened my mouth, then closed it. I was a mess. I was so used to getting the short end of the stick, I didn't know how to react when life decided to drop a pot of gold in front of me. Should I be happy? I probably should, but the better half of me -the one broken by time- was afraid, thinking there was a cruel trick or a catch behind the metaphorical pot of gold.

"I... I don't know how to repay you," I stuttered.

Chiron gave me a fatherly smile.

"You don't owe me anything," he said, "And if you really want to thank me, then here's what you should do. Forget about the gods, the monsters, and everything you know about the divine realm -hell, even me! As far as you're concerned, that world does not exist."

He stood up from his seat and placed a firm hand on my shoulder.

"This is your story, boy. Make the most of it."

He adjusted his coat and made his way out of the kitchen. I followed him down the hall and to the front door. His hand rested on the door knob, but he didn't make any effort to open it. He turned around and looked at me once more.

"Farewell, Midoriya," his eyes glimmered with sadness, "I hope we never see each other again."

I smiled.

"Me too."

I watched him make his way to the car before another question popped in my head.

"Mr. Chiron!" I called out. "What do I do with the sword?"

"Keep it," he answered, "It doesn't work on mortals so the worst you can do is property damage."

"And if I accidentally use it on a demigod?" I voiced out my main concern -which he shrugged at with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

"Then you're doing the gods a favour."

I spent the whole week training and if I were to sum up my powers in a few words, I would settle for "Japanese Nightmare Fuel." Based off what I knew about Greek mythology, Poseidon was the bringer of earthquakes and tsunamis. Him being my dad meant my powers were a subset of his, which probably won't be PR friendly in a country stricken with those natural disasters.

I was a hydrokinetic, to start off, and a very powerful one. I can manipulate water within a hundred meter radius with inhuman precision. Solidifying water? Trivial. Changing the water's temperature? Bit of a headache, but manageable. Blasting a large hole on a refrigerator with a water cannon? Easy money.

I could also generate tremors. The easiest way to use this power was through touch, but I've managed to produce a small shockwave by stomping my foot. However, this power was less intuitive, so it required hours of practice to see noticeable improvements. So far, I've only been able to break glass cups and topple unsteady objects on the table. Cool, but lacking in utility.

If there was another way to describe my powers, I would settle for "convenient as hell". I've been using them for almost every occasion now. I used water to open doors and lift objects from far away. I even tried using water to write, wrapping a tiny stream around the pencil and guiding it with my mind. It was kinda like discount telekinesis, but it worked so I wasn't complaining.

But the most convenient aspect about my power was the ability to heal.

Imagine this. You've trained for an hour straight, none stop, and your body could no longer move due to exhaustion. Most people would drink a bottle of protein shake or whatever and call it a day. Not me. I would simply lie down on a body of water, let my body fix itself, and do my workout all over again. Fresh as new.

I started with a ten mile jog from my home to Dagobah Municipal Beach Park, a hundred squats, a hundred pushups, and heavy lifting of trash scattered across the beach. There was a reason why it was called the dumpster capital of Japan. Used to, at least. Now, thanks to me being an upstanding citizen, I was proud to say the beach was cleaner than my room.

I really need to clean my room. I thought while carrying a refrigerator over my head.

With a stifled grunt, I threw it on the pile of trash I accumulated over the week. I was shirtless. Sweat dripped over my newly acquired abs down to my workout shorts, as I panted while clutching my knees. Once I've caught my breath, I sat down on the sand, toes touching the water, and basked on the relaxing sensation of my body fixing itself. I sighed in contentment, while watching the sunset paint the sky with a pinkish hue.

I've been doing this for a week, but it never ceased to be beautiful.

I took a few more minutes of healing and admiring the view before bidding my goodbyes to the beach. Halfway to where the beach met the wayside, a thought popped in my head, causing me stop on my tracks. I grinned.

Might as well leave a parting gift.

I turned around with my arms stretched out and willed a hundred foot geyser to erupt from the ocean, spraying thousand of litres of salt water into the sky. The geyser crashed with a loud bang, creating foam and a sizable amount of mist upon impact. A rainbow formed where the sun touched the mist, making the scenery even more beautiful than it once was.

God, I'm such a showoff. I admired the colorful spectacle, A fabulous one, at that.

I ran away before the heroes could apprehend me for illegal quirk use.

After a thirty minute jog, I returned home. Excited. Chiron emailed me two days ago saying the letter would arrive today. I entered the door, looking at the floor where the mails usually dropped by, with an excited grin on my face.

Nothing. There were no mails or packages lying around.

I heard a someone clear their throat. I looked up and found my stepfather by the hall, holding a letter with the U.A. logo. It was almost poetic. My disgusting past holding my future for ransom.

"U.A., huh?" he fanned the letter in front of me, "This shit's crazy expensive, you know. Sure, all dem rich kids could afford it, but you? You think I'll send your weak ass there just to fail?"

"I'm on a scholarship, Gabe," I said, keeping my voice composed, "It means I don't have to pay."

"You think I'm retarded? I know what a fucking scholarship is," he mumbled with a drunken slur, "But you're still not gonna go cus it's a waste of time. I'm gonna do ya a favor and throw this out, and while I'm at it, go get me a beer and be useful for once."

I couldn't believe it. Why was he so against the idea of me going to U.A., despite my scholarship? It wasn't like he loved me and he didn't want to see me leave. If anything, it was the opposite. He told me he wanted me gone as soon as possible. Why?

I suddenly realized the answer as I studied his hunched up figure walking to the couch.

"You're pathetic."

He paused in his tracks.

"What did'ya just say to me?"

"I figured you out," I enunciated my words like I was talking to a dim witted child, "You're the type of person who can't stand it when others do well. You're so miserable you lash out and stop people from succeeding because you don't want to be alone in your miserable pit of failures.

"Say that again," he snarled, pointing a finger at me, "Say that again one more time and I'll make sure you never open your mouth again!"

My expression softened. I looked at him straight in the eyes, not with an angry glare but with a gentle smile.

"You're pathetic," I repeated, my voice filled with pity. Despite how much I hated him, I felt sorry for him, knowing his life must've been sucked for him to end up this way.

I can empathize with him at a fundamental level.

Ever since I was young, I was obsessed with heroes. A hero worshipper, some would say. I had all the All Might figurines, posters, underwears, and whatever I could buy with my meager allowance. However, as time went on, I began to despise heroes. Even All Might. The flashy displays of their quirks rubbed me the wrong way and became a reminder of my quirklessness. I hated how happy they looked, living the dream I never could. In a way, Gabe and I were the same.

The only difference was, I learned to move on.

The pity in my voice made him snap. He swung his empty beer bottle at me and I watched it approach me in what felt like a hundred years. I could've easily dodged it, but didn't. I let the glass shatter on my head and watched the crystal fragments fly into a thousand pieces, each reflecting their own little ray of sunlight. The blow was painful. Warm blood dripped from my throbbing temples down to my cheeks. Some blood even got to my eye, but I stood there, unblinking. Unyielding.

Seeing I was still standing, showing no emotions, he screamed and threw a frustrated punch on the same spot. I caught his fist this time, and I squeezed it hard with every intention to break him.

His face contorted in pain and his knees buckled as I continued to twist his wrist while crushing his hand. I heard his bones pop as I dislocated his wrist from its socket. He started screaming and the shrill sound akin to a dying animal rang in my head. It was a sound I would never forget.

"Please," He whimpered. He was a hiccuping mess, half kneeling with his face full of tears. "P-Please stop."

With a deep breath, I let go. It was so tempting to go even further -kick him down or maybe knock a few teeth- but I had to let go and leave Gabe behind for good. For my own sake.

"Goodbye, Gabe," I stared down on his pathetic figure, "Get your own fucking beer from now on."

I ripped the letter from his hands and stormed to the washroom in the basement. I spent washing the blood and wounds off my head. After I was fully healed, I left the washroom and entered my room, which was only a bit bigger than a walk in closet.

Small, dark, and the roof was almost falling apart, but it was a space I could truly call my own. A refuge from reality.

With my hands shaking from adrenaline and excitement, I opened the letter.

Congratulations, Midoriya, it read on the upper right corner.

I didn't read the rest. I threw the letter on the bedside desk and ran to my drawer, digging into the depths of forgotten accessories and old toys. After a few minutes of searching, I found it. It was the same as I remembered. The cover was charred and the pages were wrinkled due to water exposure. On the front, the title was displayed in big bold letters and neat penmanship.

HERO ANALYSIS FOR THE FUTURE.

"I missed you, buddy," I whispered.

More Author's Note:

I'm developing a horizontal line addiction

Lizards are better than Frogs (Fight me)

No more Percy Jackson elements after this chapter. Hope you enjoyed the prologue!