The Quirkless Hero: Deku!

by PolarKarma-No.777

Midoriya Izuku, by his idol, was told that he couldn't be a Hero. The hope he held for so long was shattered in an instant. However, he wouldn't—couldn't let things end there. He was only told that he couldn't be a Hero because no Quirkless had become one before. He was going to be a Hero. He was going to show the world that Heroes don't have to be born. They can be built.

36. Chapter 36: Happy Birthday!

Jirou rubbed her face as the elevator dinged once more and a shirt-wearing Midoriya stepped out. Their eyes met before the blushes on their faces brightened, forcing them to look away from each other. He scratched the back of his head, shaking it, "W-What're you guys doing here?"

Ashido threw her arms into the air, "Happy birthday, Midori!" as the group made their way over to the pair.

Kaminari chuckled, nudging the rocker's shoulder, "Maybe it's Jirou's birthday, yeah?"

One of her jacks stabbed into his head as she blushed and growled, "S-Shut it."

Yaoyorozu explained, "We avoided bringing any food as to avoid spoiling your appetite for your dinner."

Kirishima smiled, "So, we're just gonna hang out with ya."

Midoriya smiled thankfully, "T-Thanks." He shook his head, blushing, "But you really should've said something."

Kirishima shrugged, "Eh, Ashido wanted it to be a surprise."

Asui commented, "Didn't work out, though."

The explosive-blonde walked up to the Quirkless student who automatically stumbled back, "K-Kacchan?"

Bakugo shoved a nicely-wrapped box into the Quirkless' hands, "Here." He turned and began to leave the building, "My Mom says, 'Happy Birthday'."

Uraraka turned and gave the blonde a confused look, "Eh? You're not gonna stick around?"

He scoffed, "Fuck, no."

Kirishima blinked, "E-Eh?"

Ashido gave him a thumbs-down, "Boo!"

Kaminari shook his head, "Come on, man."

Bakugo left the doors with a, "Fuck off."

Todoroki chimed in, "Well, there's eight of us still."

Kaminari held up the numbered sticks, (after tossing one away), "So, let's play the King's Game!" He was met with an array of agreement.

Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck, "'King's Game'?"

XXX

The group sat in a circle amongst the couches of dorm's living room with a coffee table in the center of the circle. On said table, there was a cup holding the labeled sticks, in arms-reach of everyone. It was a strange looking get-together as eight individuals were in the summer version of the school uniform—ties and all, while one was in a casual shirt and a pair of gym-shorts.

Midoriya shifted, rubbing the back of his neck, "For some reason, I feel out of place…"

Kaminari stood "So, let's set up some ground rules-"

Yaoyorozu spoke firmly, "Nothing… indecent."

Several of the boys and girls blushed as Midoriya questioned, "N-No one w-would do that, right?"

Jirou coughed, fighting the blush away, "It-It's for the best."

Kaminari coughed, "R-Right, nothing like that." He looked around, "Uh, anything else?"

Midoriya looked around before answering, "N-No, I-I don't think so."

Kaminari nodded, "Okay then, other than anything indecent, the King's Orders are…" Those who knew of the games motto finished with the electric-blonde, "Absolute!" Kaminari took his seat, "Alright then. Everyone, grab a stick."

Todoroki shifted as he was slightly pressed against Yaoyorozu, "It's a bit crowded."

Yaoyorozu coughed, "Y-Yes."

Kaminari nodded, "Ready? One, Two…" Those who knew how the game worked shouted as the group pulled their selected sticks from the cup, "Who's the King?!"

Ashido bounced onto her feet, "Woohoo! I'm the King!"

Kaminari chimed in, "Remember, you can't name people, you can only use the numbers."

Ashido pouted, "Darn." She thought for a moment, "Um…" She grinned, "Number five!" She jutted her red-marked stick into the air, "Reveal the name of your first crush!"

Kirishima blinked, "Eh, starting with something embarrassing already?"

Todoroki looked at his number, looking up at the group, "I never really had a crush."

Ashido deflated slightly, "E-Eh?"

Todoroki thought for a moment, "My…" He looked off to the side with an annoyed look on his face, "Dad didn't really let me hang out with many kids."

Ashido blinked, "Oh…" A bout of silence followed the reaction. She quickly shouted, "REDRAW!" before starting up the next round.

"One… Two… Who's the King?!"

Asui let out a ribbit, "Ah, it's me."

Kaminari snapped his fingers, "Darn it!"

Asui ordered, "Number five ride number six's shoulders for the next ten minutes."

Kaminari sighed, "E-Eh?"

Kirishima turned to his fellow victim, "Eh, so you're number five, Kaminari?" He stood up, "Alright—alright, let's get this over with."

Midoriya smiled kindly, "I'll set up a timer on my phone."

Kaminari fumbled with his words as he wobbled on his classmate's shoulders, "O-Okay, h-here we go!" Kirishima stumbled due to the blonde's shifting weight, "W-Whoa!"

Kirishima grunted, "Don't move so much, Kaminari."

Kaminari stuttered fearfully, "S-Sorry." He pumped his fist into the air, causing Kirishima to stumble, "R-Redraw!"

"One… Two… Who's the King?!"

Uraraka smiled, "Yay! It's me!" She thought for a moment before answering, "U-Um… Number six through eight, do a tongue twister!" Midoriya, Ashido and Kaminari reacted to the order.

There was a moment of silence before Ashido took a deep breathe before shouting the twister, "AKABA-JAMA AOBAMA-MAKIPA!"

Everyone blinked before Asui asked, "Which tongue twister was that?"

Ashido blushed before hanging her head, "T-The pajama one…"

Uraraka turned to the blonde on the redhead's shoulders, "K-Kaminari!"

Kaminari forced out, "KONU KUGE HAKINUKE NIGU KUKUI DA!"

Jirou commentated, "Ah, this is really going downhill…"

Uraraka turned to the last victim, "Midoriya?"

Midoriya took a deep breath, "There is bamboo growing in the bamboo grove because he wanted to grow bamboo in the bamboo grove so there is bamboo growing in the bamboo grove!" He was meant with a bout of stunned silence before Uraraka cooed and several of them gave a casual, quiet applause. He blushed slightly, chuckling awkwardly.

Ashido and Kaminari looked at Midoriya with shocked expressions. Ashido was the first to speak, "You can do tongue twisters?"

Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck, "Y-Yeah…"

Kaminari sighed, raking his hand through his air, "Aw, man, you make it seem so simple…" He growled before pumping his fist into the air, "Redraw!"

"One… Two… Who's the King?!"

Kirishima shrugged, "Numbers one through eight, name the grossest thing you've ever eaten."

Todoroki spoke simply, "Root beer."

Midoriya frowned, "Apple-skins…"

Jirou grimaced, "Natto."

Yaoyorozu shook her head, "Rice-pudding."

Asui stated, "Sea-cucumber…"

Uraraka frowned, "Licorice."

Ashido sighed, "Green pepper."

Kaminari shook his head, "Tomatoes."

Ashido turned to Midoriya, "Apples-skins?"

Jirou turned to the blonde, "Tomatoes?"

Kaminari turned to the rocker, "Natto?" He shook his head, chuckling, "Jirou, really? Natto's like a kiddy treat."

Jirou shook her head, shivering, "It's just… icky, okay? I can't stand it." She pointed at the blonde, "But you can't judge me. Tomatoes, really?"

Kaminari recoiled, "It-It's just bitter, alright?"

Ashido murmured to the Quirkless, "'Apple-skins'?"

Midoriya mumbled out, "S-Shush…" He quickly diverted the conversation back to the game, "R-Redraw!"

"One… Two… Who's the King?!"

Ashido smirked as she waved the stick through the air, "Number one sit in number six's lap for the rest of the game."

Jirou blushed, "E-Eh?"

As did, Midoriya, "W-What?"

Jirou shook her head, furiously, "W-What a-about anything indecent?"

Ashido shrugged, "What's so indecent about sitting on someone's lap? It's like sitting on a chair, right?"

Midoriya meekly stated, "S-Sorry…" as Jirou stood up.

She shook her head, "D-Don't worry, I don't blame you." She glared at Ashido before making her way over to Midoriya, "E-Excuse me."

He mumbled sheepishly, "R-Right…"

Jirou took her new seat and both teenagers' faces burned as their cheeks flushed with blood. While their closeness had happened before, on the train, this was different as they were surrounded by their peers and classmates. The proximity and their audience made it worse. Their hearts thumped against their ribcages and their ears burned as their blood rushed through their heads.

The snap of a phone's camera shutter made Jirou snap to the acid-girl, "Ashido!"

Ashido gave her classmate a peace sign whilst chuckling, "Heh-heh…"

Jirou balled her hands into fists, hanging her head to hide the maddening blush on her face, "I-I… regret… everything…"

Midoriya stuttered out as steam seemed to pour out of his ears and his face burned red, "I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry."

Kaminari was let off Kirishima's shoulders as a timer went off, "Man, Midori, Mineta would be jealous of you."

Midoriya muttered out, "P-Please, s-s-stop t-talking a-a-about it-it."

Jirou glared with a bright-red face, "Yeah, stop."

Kaminari chuckled, "S-Sorry."

Jirou shook her head, "L-Let's just redraw." She looked over her shoulder, "We can use King to get us out of this."

Midoriya nodded, setting his arms at his sides and avoiding eye-contact with her, "R-R-Right."

"One… Two… Who's the King?!"

XXX

The game continued for the next thirty minutes. Sadly, Jirou nor Midoriya were able to become King and were stuck in their predicament for the rest of the game. The group took their time departing, one-by-one. Jirou hung back with the express purpose of avoiding Kaminari and Ashido as, no doubt, they would tease the rocker-girl for Ashido's embarrassing order. She stepped out the door as Kaminari and Ashido had long left her view.

Jirou shook her head, "Well, this was… a thing."

Midoriya nodded, leaning against the door-frame, "Yeah, it was nice."

She looked off to the side with a light blush on her cheeks, muttering, "Could've done without a few things, though."

He rubbed the back of his neck, blushing slightly, "Y-Yeah…"

Jirou waved and started to walk away, "Well, I'll see ya at Yao-Momo's place."

Midoriya waved back, "See you."

Jirou heard the dorm's doors slide shut as she walked towards Yuuei's front gate. Her mind wandered as she pulled out her phone, plugging her jack into her phone. She looked to the orange sky, noticing a mass of rolling clouds heading towards the city, "Eh…? Is it going to rain tomorrow of something…?" She began to look up the weather report for the next day, but stopped as she received a message from Ashido, grumbling, "Oh, boy…" She opened the message to find a picture of herself sitting on Midoriya's lap. While her face wasn't in the picture, but she could recognize her own head. She blushed as her fingers jabbed against the digital keyboard, 'DELETE IT'. She sent it with a huff as shook her head, blushing, "What a dumb order…" She stepped through the front gates as she shoved her phone into her pocket. "I mean… it would've been hilarious if it were anyone else, but the fact that it was me, makes it dumb…" She blinked for a moment, "W-Wait…" She pulled her bag in front of her before pulling it open to see a wrapped box within, "Crap, I forgot to give it to him…" She rubbed the back of her neck as she looked over her shoulder. "I guess I could just give it to him tomorrow."

A feminine and familiar voice grabbed her attention, "Ah, J-Jirou?"

The rocker blinked "Huh?" as she looked to see Midoriya's mom, "Oh, hi, Ms. Midoriya."

Midoriya Inko smiled politely and kindly, "H-Hello, how're you?" She carried several bags of groceries with one slightly overfilled.

Jirou smiled politely, "I'm fine."

Inko blinked, "Oh, you're probably wondering what I'm doing here."

"No, I heard from Midoriya that you're having dinner tonight."

Inko let a sweet smile grace her face as she nodded, sounding almost proud, "I see."

Jirou would've walked on, but she heard a bag's material began to rip, "Do you, uh, need some help?"

The mother nodded assuringly, pumping her fist determinedly, "N-No, I should be fine, but t-thank you."

The teen nodded, "Okay." She turned to walk on, but the bag fully ripped—sounding off audibly, and spun to see a bottle of soy sauce, can of chicken stock, and a bottle of vegetable oil rolling towards her. Both the mother and teen blinked, sounding off with an "Ah…" Jirou quickly picked up the fallen ingredients and walked over to Inko, "I'll just carry them for you."

Inko nodded, smiling out of both embarrassment and thankfulness, "R-Right, t-t-thank you very much."

Jirou smiled with a shrug, "No problem."

The mother and the teen walked towards the dorms, "S-So…"

She turned to the older woman, "Hm?"

"How is Yuuei? As a school?"

"Well, it's one of the best schools out there. There's a lot of work, but all of the Hero classes are fun—in their own right."

Inko nodded, "T-That's good." A worried look crossed her face before turning to the teen, "Midoriya hasn't been hurt or anything, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I ask about it sometimes, but I worry, and I wouldn't be surprised if he hid any of it to spare my feelings."

Jirou blinked, remembering a certain situation, "'A-Ah, it-it's pinching—it's burning! Someone, help me!'…" She waved off the worry, "He-He's fine. The occasional slip-up, but he doesn't get hurt too much or that badly."

Inko breathed a sigh of relief, "T-That's good."

They made their way to the front door of the dorm. Jirou knocked on the door and it opened to reveal Midoriya. A confused Midoriya who blinked at Jirou before looking at the ingredients in her arms and then his mother.

Midoriya automatically went to help Inko, "Oh, Mom, let me help you."

She smiled warmly as she entered the building, allowing her son to take the plastic bags, "Th-Thank you, Izuku." She turned back to politely bow towards the rocker-girl, "And thank you too."

Jirou returned the bow with a casual one, "No problem."

Midoriya spoke as he placed the bags on the island counter in the kitchen, "You should have told me when you reach the station, I would've come and helped."

Inko spoke as she followed her son, "I didn't want to be a bother."

He turned to his mother, "You'd never be a bother. Please don't go out of your way for my sake." He looked to his classmate, "And thank you for helping my Mom."

Jirou shrugged, "No problem." She blinked before reaching into her school-bag, "Actually, I forgot to give your birthday present."

Midoriya blinked and slightly blushed in receiving the wrapped gift, "O-Oh, thanks."

Jirou zipped up her bag, "Well, I better get going."

Midoriya nodded, "R-Right."

Inko bowed politely, "Have a nice day, Jirou."

Jirou bowed back, "You too." She waved as she made her way towards the exit, "Have a nice dinner."

She was met with a pair of "Thank you" from mother and son as she took her leave.

X|X|X

AN: Howdy, everybody! Happy holidays and such. This chapter is just for fun. I had more for it, but I couldn't fit everything and not everything worked. I did my best to maintain what you'd see in an anime. Tongue Twisters & The King's Game. I had a moments with billiards, twister, and some more shipping type of stuff in the King's Game. But you know, I didn't want it to over stay. I put a lot unnecessary research into this whole birthday thing. Gifting culture in Japan. Ingredients that go into a Pork Cutlet Bowl. What drinks pair well with a Pork Cutlet Bowl.

Anyway, I wanted announce somethings. First, the posting schedule will be maintained through the holiday season, but maybe not perfectly. We'll see how things turn out. There's also my next My Hero Academia fanfic. A Medieval AU. I figured out which characters will be considered the main party: Midoriya, Ashido, Uraraka, Jirou, Kaminari, Bakugo, Kirishima, Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu. Or respectively: The Librarian, The Demon, The Mage, The Archer, The Gunslinger, The Pirate, The First-Mate, The Bastard Prince, and The Knight. Main pairing? Ashido and Midoriya. Which Fantasy Races are Included: Check. Magic Rules: Check. History: Check. Entire Plotline: Check. There's only a few more details to settle and then I can get started on it. If anyone's curious about it, feel free to ask questions. (However, there are limitations in my answers because spoilers.) I'm honestly just excited about this project.

(The Japanese tongue-twisters, respectively: Aka-Pajama, Ao-Pajama, Ki-Pajama – Red Pajamas, Blue Pajama, Yellow Pajama | Kono kugi ha hikinuki nikui kugi da – This nail is a nail which is difficult to be pulled out | Takeyabu ni take tateka-keta no wa takeyabu ni take Tateka-ketakattakara takeyabu ni take tateka-keta – There is bamboo growing in the bamboo grove because he wanted to grow bamboo in the bamboo grove so there is bamboo growing in the bamboo grove.)

And so, criticize away, leave all your thoughts and opinions in a review, and thank you for reading!