A/N – So yeah… Halfway through this chapter I realized that it was going to end up far longer that I planned and wanted. This is because I am trying to keep the chapters in this story within a certain length because bloated chapter have hurt, and at times killed, my other fics. Instead, I decided to end this chapter around the midpoint of what I originally intended. So, fair warning, this chapter contains mostly set up and the pay off will be coming in on the next one.
My Will
Despite all the worry that the boy had felt the day before, Izuku could not help but be extremely excited at the moment; a sentiment that the green haired teen knew he shared with the rest of his class as they prepared for their very first Hero Course class with none other than All Might as their teacher.
"Did you know that All Might was a teacher here?" A blond boy named Kaminari asked.
"I heard rumors, but I didn't really think they could possibly be true." A redhead answered. If Izuku remembered right, his name was Kirishima.
Excited gossip like that filled the locker room as the boys from class 1-A prepared to don their hero costumes for the first time.
Discretely, the freckled boy glanced at the spiky haired blond on the other end of the room. Even Kacchan could not contain his enthusiasm as shown by a clear smirk on his face while he placed a large pair of grenade-like gauntlets on his arms.
While the other boys in the class were taking out their costumes from the special briefcases provided by the school, Izuku looked down at his backpack. Reaching into it, the young man pulled out the green jumpsuit that his mother had given him.
It had taken a lot of effort for the boy to explain to his mom how he had all of the sudden developed such a unique Quirk like, him and Aya had decided to call it Light Manipulation, and that then he had used it to get admitted into U.A.
To this day, Izuku was not completely sure that his mother had bought his made up explanation. However, the joy that seeing her son being able to follow his dream had brought her seemed to have overridden any doubts she had over the boy's newfound abilities.
A few days before the school term started, Izuku's mother had surprised her son with a present, a green jumpsuit she had bought for him to use as his superhero costume. The Quirkless boy had been so moved by his mother's gift that he had decided to forget about the custom-made gear that the school was offering, and instead take the jumpsuit as his hero attire.
Surprisingly enough, Izuku had received some pushback for this decision from none other than Aya herself. According to the AI, as a Lantern, Izuku should wear the designed Corp uniform created by the Green Power Ring. Aya went on to list all the attributes granted by the Green Lantern uniform, from self repairs to heat resistance, the boy had actually zoned in an out as Aya continue on her rant about why the GL uniform was a better choice for superhero costume.
However, this was a subject in which Izuku refused to budge. Even if the gear created by the Ring offered more protection, the green jumpsuit his mother had given him, after all they have been through due to his Quirkless status, was far more meaningful and, as far as the boy was concerned, it was more important than even the Power Ring itself.
Eventually, the two reached a compromise about what to do with the boy's hero costume.
Izuku took his time to slowly put his green jumpsuit on until he was the only one left in the locker room. Taking the Green Lantern Ring off momentarily, the high schooler put on his gloves before putting the Ring back on his finger. Casually, the young man noted how the Ring adjusted in size to fit his now gloved hand.
Taking a deep breath, the freckled boy concentrated on the Power Ring and channeled its energy outwards. Slowly, the boy could feel how the green light from the Ring spread through his jumpsuit, tightening its fabrics and reinforcing them, making the attire sturdier and offering more protection.
Next, the green energy moved upwards, concentrating around the boy's eyes before they formed a green domino mask around them. It was a silly aspect and it served no function whatsoever other than aesthetics since hero were public servants, but the mask was something Izuku really wanted to add.
Finally, the Ring's energy traveled back down to the teen's chest, where it formed a replica of the Green Lantern insignia from the Ring, which embedded itself over the jumpsuit.
"There… At least you will have some protection this way." Aya commented, making it clear that she was still not over the fact that Izuku had rejected the Corp's uniform.
For his part, Izuku glanced at his costumed formed in the mirror and took a moment to let the image sink in. "I'm here… I'm doing it… I'm really doing it…" He whispered to the empty room before turning around and exiting it to catch up with the others.
By the time Izuku caught up with others, his classmates were almost at the entrance to Ground B.
"Cool costume!" Uraraka called out from among the crowd, making the freckled boy blush. So far, the brunette had been the friendliest out of all the boy's new classmates, most likely due to the fact that he had helped her during the entrance exam. "I like the symbol in the chest, it matches your ring, and green is definitely your color, Deku." The girl added with a smile.
For his part, Izuku was slightly taken aback. "De… Deku?" He repeated.
The brunette gave her classmate a confused look. "Isn't that your nickname?" She asked. "Bakugo always calls you that and you call him Kacchan. The two of you are childhood friends, right?" The girl said.
The green haired boy scratched the back of his head and awkwardly looked away. "Yeah… He… He gave me that name." The young man admitted. "Because it's supposed to mean useless…" The young man revealed.
Now it was Uraraka's turn to look surprised.
"You see, Kacchan and I have been classmates since kindergarten, and at every turn he has always been several steps ahead of me." Izuku explained. "I'm always so far behind that, in his eyes, I am not capable to stand in the same stage as him… To him I'm just a useless waste of space." The boy said the things he had always known in his mind, but never dared to say out loud.
The short haired girl narrowed her eyes. "But your Quirk is so strong… Surely it counts for something."
Izuku hesitated for a second on how to respond. "I… I got my Quirk very late…" He said, keeping his explanation as vague as possible. "By then, Kacchan's mind was already set… And to it, I will always be just Deku…"
The pair of students remained silent for several seconds before Uraraka finally spoke up. "I may not know you as long as Bakugo has… But I can tell you for certain that you are not useless." The young woman said with conviction. "The distance between the two of you is not as large as you think. Bakugo was first in the entrance exam, but you came in third! Plus, you actually surpassed him in the ball throwing test yesterday!" She reminded him.
The boy felt a sense of elation at her words.
Uraraka continued to speak. "And it's not just for your Quirk, but also because you were the one guy who stood against a giant, seemingly unstoppable, opponent despite having nothing to gain from it, and all just to help a girl you didn't know but was in trouble." The young lady declared.
Once more, Izuku was left stunned.
"And, while we are at it, I do think the name Deku fits you." The girl continued. "Because to me, Deku stands for you can do it!" She stated with a bright smile.
The green haired boy continued to have trouble finding his voice as he let this classmate's words sink in. "Deku does not have to mean useless…" He thought. Looking at the brunette, the Quirkless boy returned the smile and nodded. "You're right." Deku finally responded.
"Alright! Let's see what you're made of, you rookies!" All Might's booming voice called up as the students finally stepped into the training zone.
Looking around, Izuku took note of the area. Ground B looked like any random street one would find in the city, with building, fake stores, and even street signs.
All Might stood in the middle of the street in his muscled form with his ever-present smile while wearing one of his older superhero costumes that still used a cape.
"Now, today's exercise will be an Indoor Battle Trial!" The Number One Hero announced. "You'll be split into Heroes and Villains and face each other in Two-on-Two battles!" He revealed.
"Wow, they're throwing us immediately into the deep end." Izuku heard Kirishima whisper.
"We're going straight into combat training. Awesome." A black haired boy called Seto answered.
The green haired boy watched with a mixture of amusement and horror how his idol fumbled his way through the explanation of the exercise. The greatest hero of all time even had to check his notes every so often to make sure he covered everything and often got flustered by questions from the class.
"Ehem… To summarize, the Heroes will be tasked with either capturing the Villains or retrieving the bomb… While, on the other hand, the Villains have to either keep the Heroes away from the bomb until the time runs out or find a way to incapacitate them." The Pro Hero said before finally putting away the piece of paper where he had jogged down all of his notes. "And now, we'll decide the teams at random via lottery!" The blond announced as he brought out a lottery box.
There was a sense of anticipation throughout the class as All Might reached into the box, causing most of the students to hold their breaths.
"And the first team is…" The Number One Hero said as he pulled out two pieces of paper.
Izuku fidgeted on his feet as he did something that was extremely rare for him, cursing under his breath. "How can I have this much bad luck in my second day of class…?!" The young man wondered inside his head. "Is it some sort of karma that, because I got the Ring and managed to get into AU, the world keeps finding new and exciting ways to mess with me?!" He questioned.
"I do not believe such an effect actually exists, Lantern Midoriya." Aya chimed in; not realizing it was a rhetorical question.
The green haired boy shook his head as he thought over what had just happened. Not only had he been placed on the Villain team for his first Hero Course exercise in UA, but then the name that All Might had pulled out of the box alongside his had been none other than Kacchan's.
Now, the two childhood friends stood in opposite ends of the room with only the fake bomb between them.
"Lantern Midoriya, your emotional levels are notable unbalanced, are you perhaps scared to team up with Bakugo Katsuki?" The AI inquired.
The young man quickly shook his head. "No… It's not that… I'm just…" He said in his mind.
Carefully, the freckled boy took a glance at the blond, finding him glaring intensively at the ground, clearly more displaced with their current situation than green haired boy was.
Suddenly, Bakugo's red eyes shifted upwards and caught Izuku's green ones looking at him. "What do you want, you bastard?!" The spiky haired teen shouted.
Despite himself, Izuku flinched. "Uhm… Should we… I don't know… Maybe think of a strategy…?" He offered in an attempt to at least try to cooperate for the exercise. "We're going against Tokoyami and Shoji… And we need to figure out how we are going to face them…"
Instead of responding, the blond narrowed his eyes and took several steps towards his classmate.
To his credit, the Quirkless boy managed to keep himself from stepping away.
"How long…?" Bakugo growled.
The green haired boy cocked his head in confusion at the sudden question.
"For how long… Have been making a fool of me?!" The spiky haired boy shouted as he came to a stop just a few feet away from his classmate. His red eyes burning with sudden anger.
"What… What are you talking about, Kacchan?" Izuku questioned back perplexed.
The answer only seemed to infuriate the spiky hared student even more. "That damn Quirk of yours!" He exclaimed. "You hid it all this time! Making everyone believe that you were Quirkless!"
Izuku's eyes shifted to the ground. "It's… It's not like that." The boy answered. "I know it's rare… But I only got it recently… I…" The freckled teen tried to explain.
"Don't give me that shit!" Kacchan roared. "You were just pretending to be Quirkless all this time!" He shouted. "What?! Were you trying to create some sort of sob story about a poor Quirkless boy suddenly gaining a Quirk and becoming a hero?! While playing all of us for fool?!"
The green haired boy shook his head vigorously. "You are wrong…!" He shouted back. "This Quirk… This power… I…" The young man continued his attempts at explaining but could not find the right words to do so.
By now, Bakugo was almost shaking with rage. "That's the reason why…" The young man growled menacingly. "That's they you have always looked me with eyes full of pity all of these years… Isn't that right, you bastard…?! Cough…! Cough…!" Having overexerted his voice out of anger, the spiky haired teen was sent into a sudden but powerful fit of coughs.
Immediately, guilt overwhelmed the green haired teen. "Kacchan… Are you alright?!" Izuku asked in concern as he took a step towards his classmate.
Bakugo simply forcibly shoved the freckled boy away from him. "I bet you love seeming me weak like this… Cough…!" The spiky haired teen spat out with a voice full of venom. "But make no mistake… Cough…! Even with my current condition, I am still a million times better than you! Cough…! Cough…! You damn nerd!"
Green eyes looked pleadingly at the pained student. "No… It's not like that…" Izuku muttered weakly as he tried not to let his guilt over Kacchan's situation suffocate him. "I… Just want to help you." He informed.
The blonde suddenly let out a primal roar. "I don't…! Cough…! Need your help…! Cough…!" He declared. "I never have...! And never will…! Cough! Cough…!" His red eyes were piercing daggers at his old classmate. "It doesn't matter if you have a Quirk or not…! Cough…! You will always be the same useless Deku! And I will win this whole thing by myself…! Cough! Cough!" The young man shouted walking away and out of the room.
All that Izuku could do was watch his classmate walk away and disappear into the hallway outside while he was left feeling as useless as his nickname indicated. "I just really want to… Make amends." The boy said to the empty room.
This whole time, the guilt over causing Bakugo's incident with the Sludge villain had continue to eat the boy from the inside. Every time he had seen Kacchan's empty desk back in middle school, every time he heard their old classmate mention him, and every single time he caught a glance of the spiky hair blond it felt as if it was Izuku's own heart that was being blasted, and now, right before their training exercise, everything came pouring out.
"Because of my meddling… That villain was able to get away… And ended up attacking you… And forcing you to…" Tears started to run down the freckled cheeks. "I'm sorry, Kacchan, I am so sorry…" The Quirkless boy said to the empty room with no one else to hear him. "All I want… Is a chance to… To…"
"Lantern Midoriya…" Aya tried to offer some words, but seemingly was unable to find anything that would help the boy as she remained silent.
Deku stood there all alone except for the fake bomb that he was supposed to protect and the fading echo of Bakugo's footsteps as the blond walked away, feeling weaker than he ever felt in his life since being told he was Quirkless.
Unbeknownst to the young man, the subtle, but ever present, glimmer of light around the Green Lantern Ring slowly started to dim.
A/N – The reason why this half of the original chapter ended up getting expanded was because of the scene in the middle between Izuku and Uraraka. There is something I want to get out of it that will become clear in the next chapter. Anyways, thank you for reading up until now and once again sorry for the structure issues with this chapter. If everything goes right, the next one should complete it.