The sun forced me awake. I checked the time: 8:23 AM.
"Shit, I'm going to be late."
[Aldera Junior High]
[Distance: 1.6 miles]
[Student hours: 8:30 to 16:00]
I can't even run a mile in seven minutes and now this had to happen. Ignoring the dizzying pain in my head, I opened the door and ran down the steps three at a time. My feet pounded on the metal steps over and over again, becoming a sort of internal rhythm for me to focus on.
The gate opened with a crash. My Quirk had already given me a shortcut to the building. Several angry drivers honked at me as I ran through the streets. Street names and distances flashed wildly in my eyes as I ran as fast as I could.
[Estimated arrival: 8:40]
I'm really that out of shape? My Quirk began looking for bikes, scooters, and other forms of transportation that might get me there faster. Most of them were either locked or only accessible through phones. I could probably hack them with enough time, so I made another mental note to come back to these places later. After 30 seconds of rapid searching, I found someone's bike leaning on a lamppost. Thank you, random citizen!
"Hey! Return my bike!" I didn't dare look back, and my legs straddled the ground as they desperately tried to find the pedals. Just let me disappear already. A confused noise escaped from my pursuer's mouth. I looked down for a second and realized with a shock that I had made the bike invisible instead of myself.
[Estimated arrival: 8:31]
[Current time: 8:26]
"Yeah, I've got time," I whispered to myself. My legs had already began to feel tired from pedaling so quickly, and I still wasn't sure if the person I stole the bike from was angry enough to chase me across several lanes of traffic. The bike had returned to its normal appearance once I had stopped concentrating on it.
I swerved a hard left and almost clipped the flowers off of a sidewalk display. People who were looking at their phones forgot what they were doing just to get out of the way, and I think my elbow might have launched someone's brand-new device into a pile of dirt. I was surprised that I was still keeping my balance. These brick tiles are kind of hard to bike on.
A truck's horn blared as I ignored the red light and streaked across a busy lane of traffic. My Quirk had calculated the speeds and directions of all the cars beforehand, saving me from getting thrown into the next building over. I was almost there.
[Current time: 8:28]
Aldera Junior High was one of only two schools in the Musutafu district. Even so, it was much bigger than my school at home. Giant stone gates surrounded the premises. The school itself was made out of the same material. All I could see were various shades of gray.
The schoolyard was filled with students all milling about. Within the grounds, people used their Quirks freely. I counted several cases of extendable limbs, a couple with mutant Quirks, and one kid who created explosions from the palms of his hands.
I was close enough to see the students clearly. I dimly wondered why none of them were in such a hurry as me. To see people with Quirks that were usable at actually getting places quickly annoyed me. A lot of heads turned my way, and there were even more eyes on me than when I was on the street.
At the gates, I stopped the bike abruptly, almost sending me flying across the pavement. I ran through the gates barely in time. Finally, my Quirk paid off! Then, I noticed a large sign right outside the door.
Homeroom begins at 8:30. For the next 15 minutes, students can use this time for studies or spending time with friends.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"
Izuku Midoriya was ready for another day at school.
His body still ached from the beating Bakugo had given him the day before. He was used to this kind of treatment ever since he was young, and he accepted that this was normal, that this was going to be a major part of his life. There wasn't much he could do about it, being Quirkless.
He vividly remembered the doctor's visit. He was about four years old, the time when most people manifest their Quirks. He anxiously waited for the doctor to reveal his results, to tell him what his Quirk was. The doctor pored over a mountain of reports: Quirks present in the family, blood tests, and X-rays. With one final glance, the doctor fully faced him.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Midoriya. Your son is Quirkless."
"What?" His mom was stunned.
"Do any of your family members have Quirks?" The doctor began taking notes on his clipboard.
"Well, his father can create small fires from his hands, and I can attract small objects." She picked up his All Might figure that had dropped to the floor. "Are you sure that he's Quirkless?"
The doctor only repeated the same thing. "People with Quirks have one less joint in their pinky toe. Their bodies have already adapted to be able to use their abilities. If you take a look at your son's foot, there are two joints. I'm sorry."
Ever since Izuku left the doctor's office, he couldn't stop crying. Tears poured down his face as he rewatched a video on his computer. All Might was seen heroically raising his fist, a villain incapacitated at his side. All the time, his mother kept crying and hugging him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
It had been ten years since that memory, but Izuku only became more determined to reach his goals of becoming a Pro Hero. He kept detailed notebooks describing every aspect of other heroes' Quirks, hoping to use that knowledge in the future. That was why he would succeed. He would probably be beaten up again, but that didn't matter, as long as his goal was in sight.
I had already taken my seat when the bell rang. Watching the other students file in, I had another glimpse of the "normal" parts of society. My seat was in the front, unfortunately. No one wants to be in the front. It didn't help that I could hear the other students whispering about me.
"Isn't that a new kid? He wasn't here last week."
"Cool! I wonder what his Quirk is." I looked at them suddenly, which at least shut them up for a moment.
As the class begin, I saw everyone taking out their notebooks before realizing that I had no supplies of my own. Looking next to me, I saw a boy with messy green hair taking out several books as well as some colored pens.
[Target: Izuku Midoriya]
[Quirk: None]
Man, that's gotta suck, I thought. To him, I said, "I might have left my notebook at home today. Can I borrow one of yours?" He nodded, though he looked like he didn't expect anyone to talk with him. I gratefully accepted the book and started to take notes.
After going though one day in this bizzare new world, I forgot how boring school was. We were in math class, the same subject that I had learned to grasp easily. Though I already knew all the topics involved, the teacher's stern expression told the class that he didn't want to see any slackers. Instead of taking notes, I began to daydream. My notebook was slowiy filled with other people's information as a way to deal with the boredom.
I heard my name and snapped back to reality. "Shiraseru. Shiraseru. I expect you to pay attention when you ask me a question." I rubbed my eyes and looked at the board." The problem read, If x^2 - 5x = 6, what is the sum of the possible values of x?
"It's -5." I didn't even need scratch paper for that one.
"Yes, that's right. How did you get your answer?" His smile was uninviting, like he was waiting for me to fail.
"Move the 6 to the other side and factor to get (x - 6)(x + 1). Add the roots to get -5. You could also use Vieta's formulas. For any quadratic ax^2 + bx + c = 0, the sum of the roots will be -b/a and the product of the roots will be c/a." That was probably enough for the teacher to think I understood the topic, and I went to draw on my notebook again. The teacher scowled and continued to teach the class, and he pointedly ignored me every time he asked a question. I mean, if he didn't want to call on me, that was his problem.
I still didn't have a backpack yet, so I shoved my notebook in my jacket. As I was about to leave, a group of kids started to gang up on the green-haired boy. "Hey, Deku. Do you really think you can get into UA quirkless?" Sparks leapt from his hands.
[Target: Katsuki Bakugo]
[Quirk: Explosions. They are created when he sweats nitroglycerin from the palms of his hands. He can detonate them at will and use ot for attack, defense, or maneuvering.]
Midoriya backed up, afraid. "W-well... they got rid of that rule. I still have a chance..."
"Ha!" Bakugo laughed, a sound devoid of any humor. "You know, there is another way for you to be a hero." Midoriya looked at him, hopeful. "Take a swan dive off of the roof and pray that you'll be born with a Quirk in your next life!"
Midoriya didn't answer, and I was still standing there awkwardly. Bakugo and his goons walked out of the room, laughing.
"Does he bother you a lot?" I turned to Midoriya.
"No, he's usually like this." He didn't look at me, and he continued to throw things in his backpack. "I've known him since I was little. I don't know what I did to make him so angry, but that's just the way it is."
"Okay. See you tomorrow." I made a point to go back to the cafeteria and get a little more food for dinner. What was it with Midoriya and Bakugo? I remembered scanning Midoriya's backpack earlier. There was one notebook he didn't take out at all. Come on, think.
The notebook appeared in my vision, and I mentally turned the pages. Every oage was filled with Quirk analysis. Strengths, weaknesses, special attacks- all of it was there. Even the illustrations were filled with the same level of detail. Even if I didn't get why Bakugo kept bullying Midoriya, I was impressed by Midoriya's commitment to his goal.
"I wish I could say the same for myself." The school gates were wide open, and I was planning on spending another day fishing coins from the vending machines. After turning a corner, I walked up to a fast-food place before suddenly hearing a loud crash.
I turned around. Signs and other debris had been carelessly thrown around, and the storm of trash was still raging on. People were screaming and running away from something. Then I saw fire. Bakugo.
While looking for him, I found something else. A villain.
[Target: Sludge Villain]
[Quirk: Flexible body completely made out of sewer sludge]
[Strength: Can't be defeated easily by punching or similar physical force]
[Weakness: Wind pressure or anything else that can blow it apart]
I had seen enough villains in movies myself, but getting up and close to one is fucking terrifying. The heroes make it look easy to fight them, but that's only on the big screen. In real life, there are real consequences. People can get hurt. People can die. There is no such thing as a "main character' that will never be harmed in any way.
The heroes didn't seem to make much progress. One punched the sludge with all his strength, but the goo sucked in his arm and flung him aside. Another crew was putting out the fire, a two-man team bending water to stop the flames from spreading. I vividly recognized the one that I had faced before enrolling in school.
Other heroes that I didn't recognize right away tried to help. I looked again at the scene unfolding. There wasn't a lot of room for fighting without destroying the entire street.
"Out of the way!" Someone shoved me aside, running full speed towards disaster. Midoriya? What are you doing here?
Okay. Remember. A vivid image flashed in Midoriya's brain: one of the illustrations of the sludge villain. Taking a solid stance, he took off his backpack and threw it as hard as he could. "Leave them alone!" His voice shook as he saw his fellow classmates trapped.
The villain gurgled. "Hey, I think I remember you!" Midoriya ran like he had never ran before, dodging flaming pieces of debris. What would a hero do? What would a hero do in a situation like this?
My brain had begun analyzing everything again, even though I didn't want it to.
[Midoriya: (0, 0, 0), -4.5 m/s]
[Villain: (-37, 5, 4), +0.1 m/s]
I focused on Midoriya again.
[Win probability: 13.7%]
The probability of a successful attack is always changing. It depends on a lot of factors: mood of the attacker, strength of the opponent, even the previous meals they have eaten. The more pieces of data I have to compare, the more accurate my prediction is. I turned away, fully expecting Midoriya to be killed.
I heard gasps from the crowd and I looked closer. All Might?! When did he get here?
[Win Probability: 87.5%]
By looking at their mouths, I could guess what they were saying.
"Young Midoriya, I underestimated you. I was foolish. Heroes are always risking their lives ti protect others- that's the spirit of a real hero!" All Might threw the sludge into the air. A million questions ran through my head and I had no time to process them all.
"DETROIT SMASH!"
All Might pulled back his giant fist and struck. The sludge was no match for the insanely strong gust of wind. Even I could feel it, and I was a good 20 feet- I mean 6.5 meters- away. Quirk won't even let me use the Imperial system, huh.
Now that the sludge was gone, it was time for cleanup. Bakugo, freed from his captor, started to walk away. "Hey, kid. With a Quirk like that, you could easily be a Pro Hero!"
"Knock it off!" Bakugo yelled before continuing to walk away.
Meanwhile, Midoriya was being chewed out. "It was stupid of you to just go barging in on heroes fighting! Be more careful next time!"
"Yes, sir." He glumly picked up his things. In all the chaos, All Might had mysteriously disappeared.
I stood there thoughtfully. Midoriya really wants to go on the Hero track, huh? I think I'll talk to him later and see what happens.