Hello everyone. I've been a lurker on this website for quite a long time. I used to write before and am taking up the pen again. I know I'm probably very rusty, but any and all reviews to help me get better are welcomed and appreciated.
Heads up for people reading this.
Italics - thoughts
Bold - All Might in Buff Form
Bold Italic - Buff All Might thinking, cause even his thinking is in bold
Disclaimer: I don't own Boku no Hero Academia in any form. Yet.
I hope you enjoy the story. I have made some alterations to canon which I will enumerate at the end.
It was another regular day in Musutafu City. Bakers baked, students rushed to school, people shopped in malls, businessmen were busy on their phones and all in all it looked like your everyday city. Everything was completely normal and par for the course, including the guy snatching an old lady's purse and running off while shooting lasers from his eyes at the caped crusader flying after him. This was an ordinary happening in a world where almost everyone had a quirk which would make them the envy of comic book heroes from a century ago.
Elsewhere, at Kaishi Preschool, a group of children were doing what children do best, having fun and making a mess at the same time, while playing their favorite game: Heroes vs Villains.
"Everything is fine citizens. Why you ask? It's because I AM HERE!" shouted a cute freckled green-haired boy as he flourished his arms towards the children acting as helpless citizens while pointing at his best friend.
"Prepare to DIE hero! I shall crush you and then become top hero!" shouted the said blonde best friend.
"Uh Kacchan, I don't think that was the plot we discussed."
"Who cares! I didn't wanna play a shitty villain dammit! This is the hidden motive of the villain I'm portraying. Now, prepare yourself hero!" exclaimed Bakugo as he swung his fist towards Izuku who matched him.
Suddenly, sparks flew from Bakugo's fist and pops could be heard as a miniature explosion flared into existence. At the same moment he felt his fist being pushed back by a small but unknown force.
Both Izuku and Bakugo froze and then looked at each other as if it to confirm that they weren't dreaming and were lucid. Then both whooped up in joy and started shouting together.
"My Quirk just activated!"
"Kacchan did you feel that! I felt myself pushing you. Oh my god, I can do so much with this. Can I just push objects out of the way or pull them to? How high is my weight limit? Can I push both organic and inorganic things? MaybeIcanusethistocreate…"
"Shut up! Who cares about that push! Did you see my hands? I created a freaking explosion. I have the coolest quirk ever! I'm gonna be the number 1 hero with this and be the greatest hero that ever lived!"
"You're right, your quirk looks amazing Kacchan. I wonder how big an explosion you can create. Your hand smells funny so maybe it has something to do with your sweat. Maybe you can store it for bigger explosions. Iwonderifitcancausedifferent…"
"Shut your mumbling. Let's finish this game!" shouted Bakugo with his characteristic irritation as he drew back his fist.
Izuku also raised his fist, albeit a bit meekly since his heart wasn't in the game anymore. As their fists connected, both of them tried to activate their quirks at the same time. Izuku felt the pushing force his punch exerted, yet it felt so laughably weak compared to the miniature explosions popping from Bakugo's hand. With a loud shout of "DIEEEEEEEEEEE" Izuku's fist was pushed back and Bakugo struck his chest, slightly singeing his clothes and knocking him down.
"YEAH! I win!" shouted Bakugo as he went on to show-off his quirk to the excited bystanders.
Unbeknownst to both of them, this encounter was a prelude to their future interactions for a long time.
"His quirk looks like it is the result of a mutation from your quirk caused by a negative interaction with your husbands quirk. He still has the vestigial toe joint which makes his having a quirk be an exception to the norm. Though from the previous records, these quirks tend to be weaker than their parent quirk, rather than being stronger as is the norm. It looks like currently he can push objects weighing about 2kg away from him for a range of 5 meters. Barring something extraordinary happening, I don't think this will increase too much over the years. All in all, a useful ability to have at home perhaps but I don't expect this to be hero caliber."
Izuku had rushed home in excitement after school, and continuously blabbered to his mom about how he had awakened his quirk and how it was so great and how he was going to be a great hero like All Might. They had immediately driven to the doctor to have his Quirk Assessment Test. It had taken an hour before the doctor came back with the results, and before his words systematically decimated Izuku's dreams and self-confidence.
Inko tried to keep a brave smile on her face for her son, her ball of sunshine. She looked angrily at the doctor and fumed, "You don't know that! His quirk could grow a lot over the years. You don't have to be so rude."
The doctor, used to dealing with overbearing and distraught mothers, raised his hand in a placating gesture. "I know Ma'am, but I was just spelling out how it looked from a scientific viewpoint. Nothing in the world is impossible after all, just that some events are more likely than others, and hence from my viewpoint, it is a bit far-fetched to expect this quirk to develop such that it becomes hero caliber."
His mind went to the other child he had tested today. After all this is not even close to the boy with the explosions earlier. Now that is a hero's quirk if I've ever seen one.
Izuku struggled to contain his tears and slowly accompanied his mom back to their car. Their drive back home was in an oppressive silence, with Izuku deep in his thoughts, and still looking on the verge of a breakdown. Inko was trying hard not to wail, seeing her baby in that condition, but knew she had to maintain a strong front for her boy.
Izuku immediately ran to his room on reaching home. Inko prepared a quick dinner and carried the tray to his room. She paused before the door and gathering her resolve, opened it.
Inside she found Izuku before the desktop, watching a video he had watched countless times before. He turned to his mother and with bleary eyes and a hoarse tone whispered, "Mom, even if the doctor says my quirk won't be hero caliber, I can still be like h-him right."
"I c-can still save people with a smile on my face, r-right mom? I can still follow All Might's footsteps, right? I can be a great h-hero right?"
The dam inside Inko burst and the tray fell from her hands, forgotten. She rushed to her boy and hugged his small form tightly as tears burst forth from her eyes.
"Izu, I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry," wept Inko.
But these weren't the words Izuku wanted to hear from his mother. He had been looking for a reassurance not an apology and consolation. In another timeline, he might have become disheartened. In some other timelines, he might have fallen into a depression. However, in this timeline, neither of those happened. Seeing his mother's tears, determination filled him. He hugged his mom back and his following words imprinted themselves into Inko's mind.
"D-Don't cry mom. I promise you, I'll b-become a great hero. I'll show everyone. I'll d-defy all expectations mom. I'm not g-gonna give up. Ever!"
Aww man, does he have to hit so hard. Geez, he should learn to hold back. What if he injures someone seriously? Izuku's thoughts were filled with such complaints as he slowly trudged back home from school. Seven years had passed since that fateful day at Kaishi Preschool and he was now studying at Kawarimi, the only public school near his residence. And Bakugo was of course not just going to the same school as him but was also his classmate and the reason for his current distress.
Izuku had just defended yet another hapless victim from Bakugo's bullying and had taken his place as the subject of his ire. Their friendship had stagnated over the years, with Bakugo getting much too prideful for Izuku's tastes and keeping a company of lackeys that Izuku didn't desire associating with. Curiously though, Bakugo generally refrained from directly harassing Izuku, keeping his remarks to the snide "Useless Quirk" or "Deku don't get in my way", perhaps feeling an inkling of something for his ex-best friend. However, he didn't hold back when Izuku directly interfered in his attempts to show dominance over the extras. And so, Izuku was heading home with another singed shirt and slightly bruised ribs.
One more year and then four more years of Junior High and then I can finally apply to U.A. Man time passes so slowly. Izuku was in bit more of a funk than usual because he had hit a roadblock in his progress for Repel, the rather unoriginal name he had given his quirk while registering it. In his defense, he had only been 4 at that time.
After his proclamation of never giving up, Izuku had thrown himself into developing Repel as much as he could while also maintaining a good score in his studies. Whenever he had spare time, he practiced pushing objects around to try and increase his limits. He also made extensive notes on the quirks of heroes and his fellow students and took extensive care to think of strategies revolving around his quirk that he could use to face them in battle if it ever came to that.
It wasn't as if his efforts weren't bearing fruit. Though the weight limit for Repel was still only about 10 kg, its range had increased to 30 meters, meaning that he could push stuff in an area as large as a classroom with ease. He had also been practicing to Repel multiple objects at once and had been able to do upto four objects at once. However, as soon as he used his quirk on multiple objects, the weight for each got drastically cut down, such that while pushing four objects, he could move a combined mass of 5 kg only. And all these limits hadn't increased in the past six months despite his best efforts.
At least his 'Hero Analysis for the Future' volumes were coming along nicely, with 13 volumes already done. Silver linings as they say.
All in all, Izuku knew he was in a rut. He needed to think of something more to do with his quirk rather than just increasing its limits. He needed to go 'Plus Ultra' as U.A. liked to call it. And if he was ever going to get there, he had to adapt its motto right now. Because all men aren't created equal, I need to work extra hard to catch up with the likes of Kacchan. But what do I do to make my quirk 'Plus Ultra'?
It was then he chanced upon what would be a fateful conversation between two high schoolers walking home.
"Man, physics makes my head hurt. Like how is it even relevant with all these supernatural powers that we have. How do you explain anti-gravity or invisibility huh?"
"Actually, the recent scientific advances suggest that quirks can be explained scientifically. The quirk factor within us allows us to manifest forces. So, invisibility could be explained by refraction and anti-gravity could be due to opposite forces…"
"Dude, stop being such a nerd. Urgh all this talk of forces reminds me of that lecture by that guest professor from U.A. What with which direction the Force is applied from mattering a lot and how recoil is dealt with. Argh, just thinking of this is making my brain melt man. Let's hit up the arcade, what do you say?
"Sure. Maybe you can finally beat me at Mortal Combat XXXV."
"You're on, my dude. I'm gonna open a can of whoop-ass on you today for sure."
Whether that happened or not is a matter for another story as they are not the main characters of this story. The main character of this story however had a shocked expression on his face, as he realized the significance of what the author had made him overhear.
This! I can work with this. I need to look up some science videos tonight for sure! And with this Izuku got back home with a spring on his step, only to be immediately subjected to his mother's not so tender fussing for coming back late and injured. After a lot of extra bandages and some delicious Katsudon for dinner, Izuku settled in his room, loaded up his desktop while taking out a battered copy of his most cherished notebook, 'Quirk Ideas for my Future' and settled himself for a long night of brainstorming.
"So, students, you have just one more year here at Aldera," said a serious looking teacher as he entered his class. "You should be thinking more seriously about your future. I'll now distribute the career aspiration documents." He then proceeded to throw the said documents because littering is fun right? "Oh who am I kidding, all of you want to be heroes right?!"
The whole class went up in an uproar simultaneously exhibiting their quirks, which was totally against school rules.
"Pff, don't put me in the same category as these extras," said a particularly brash blonde belligerently.
"That's right Bakugo, you want to apply for U.A. right?" responded the teacher while looking through his class notes, and not reprimanding Bakugo for his tone or words at all.
Bakugo basked in the whispers of U.A. High's notoriously difficult entrance and its place as the top hero school. He knew he could make it there because he had worked his socks off for it, far more than anyone he knew, except perhaps one. While people praised his quirk and natural genius, no one saw the sheer amount of hard work Bakugo put.
"Oh right, Midoriya, you're also applying for U.A. right?"
These words resounded inside Bakugo's mind. After a second to fully process what he heard, he turned his eyes to the boy meekly sitting at the back corner, who had been the target of countless bullying incidents over the years. Though he ignored Deku most of the time, his perpetual pestering presence always caused irritation to him. He saw how hard Deku tried, yet never saw any result worth mentioning coming out of it. Bakugo was practical to a large extent and seeing Deku waste his time trying to become a hero when he clearly didn't have the talent for it, no matter how hard he worked, irked him.
None of these thoughts were at the forefront of his mind though. For right now, his mind was consumed in anger. Anger at Deku trying hard again to no avail, anger at Deku trying to steal his limelight, anger at Deku to even think he was equal to him, anger at Deku for thinking he wasn't an extra, anger at Deku, anger at Deku, ANGER AT DEKU.
His fist burst in an explosion which sent his desk flying away. He then turned his bloodshot eyes to Deku and growled, "What makes you think they'll even take someone with as useless a quirk as yours huh? You dare think you're equal to me!"
Izuku was trembling, but he met Bakugo's stare defiantly. "Quirks aren't the only thing that matter. I scored well in their mock test too. Besides…" I have a lot of surprises with my quirk that nobody has seen because they're too busy feeding their massive egos bullying others.
"Huhhhhhh? Can't hear you DEKU!" Bakugo then slammed his fist down on Izuku's table. The teacher, who had hitherto watched the confrontation without action, then cleared his throat and asked Bakugo to calm down as a suspension wouldn't look good on his record. Bakugo went back to his seat, but his eyes screamed further retribution.
Hmph, what a joke! I almost get mauled here by Kacchan and all the teacher can think about is the record of his star pupil. I hate public school systems. Izuku lamented as the bell rang for the end of school and he started collecting his notebooks, only to stop as a familiar fist slammed onto his desk for the second time that day.
"So, you really think you can make it to U.A. huh? What makes you think you have anything that can bring you on the same level as me?" questioned Katsuki, in a much calmer tone, though his eyes betrayed his smoldering anger. His eyes then alighted on the notebook on the table.
"Quirk Analysis for the Future Vol. 27? HUH. WHAT FUTURE DEKU?" shouted Bakugo as his hand landed on Izuku's shoulder with a light explosion, slightly burning it. "Get this through that thick head of yours that the only person who'll make it to U.A. from this public school of extras is ME. Capisce? And as for your future," Bakugo's hand lit up in an explosion which burned the notebook badly, which he then proceeded to throw out of the window.
"The best way to work for your future would be to jump out the window and hope to be reborn with a better quirk." Bakugo then walked away with his lackeys, paying little mind to the words he had just spoken.
Idiot, what's he doing spouting things like that. What if someone committed suicide on hear that? That would reflect oh so well in his record now, wouldn't it? Izuku quietly gathered his things and went down and gathered his now burnt, soggy and fish bitten notebook from the fishpond. Idiot fishes, eating anything they get.
He then walked back home, ruminating in his thoughts. Is a strong quirk really that necessary to be a hero? What makes a quirk strong? Is it versatility? That would make Kacchan's quirk quite strong, but mine is also strong then. Is it firepower? Wouldn't that be stupid, considering that heroes do rescue work more than fighting. Maybethereisametric…
Not realizing that he was mumbling quite loudly, Izuku entered a tunnel and didn't realize the immediate danger he was in as a black mass oozed out of the manhole behind him.
"Hm, you'll do till I get a better one."
The black mass descended on Izuku, who turned around too late to save himself. Black, viscous sludge clogged his nose and mouth and Izuku started choking.
C-Can't breathe. Wait, Izuku, d-don't panic. What's the first thing you need to do? Unclog airways. What then? Get away from the monster/villain/sludge/whateverthisis. Okay, so this is what I do. Long accustomed to getting into tight corners due to bullying, Izuku had trained his mind to be able to think of objectives and actions quickly, inspired by a certain detective from two centuries ago. His plan of action formulated, Izuku used everything he had to first Repel the sludge covering his nose and mouth. The heavy, viscous sludge moved away only a few feet. He then used everything he had to repel against the side of the tunnel he was stuck to. The tunnel being much much heavier, didn't move an inch, but Newton's third Law came in handy, and Izuku was shot out of the corner.
He turned to take his bearings when the manhole cover exploded out and hit the tunnel roof.
"Don't worry kid. For I AM HERE!" said the voice which was the bringer of hope to people all over the world, unless they were into villainy. He released a powerful punch whose shockwave tore the sludge villain into pieces, when he then promptly collected in empty cola bottles. "Are you all right kid?"
"A-All M-Might!" shouted a hitherto shell-shocked Izuku as he came down from his adrenaline high. "C-Can I please have an a-autograph?"
"Of course, you can kid," boomed All Might in a tone still much too loud for one on one conversations as he signed Izuku's burnt 'Hero Analysis for the Future Vol. 27' while taking a cursory glance through it. Woah! This kid's analysis is incredibly detailed. Does he want to be a quirk researcher?
Shit my time limit's approaching. This piece of sludge took way too much time. "I'm sorry for getting you involved in this mess kid. Such a rookie error by me. Anyway, I must be off. Take care kid." And with a mighty bound All Might jumped away.
Except, something wasn't right. Huh, did I gain weight again? I definitely feel heavier. As he looked down, he say Izuku holding onto his leg for dear life.
"Waiiiiittt, I stiiiiill neeeeed toooo asskkkk sooooomeeethiiiing," Izuku shouted out with difficulty, what with his mouth being blown backwards by the winds created by All Might's Jump.
"Let go Kid!" shouted All Might as he tried to lodge the boy free. Something else fell free, which he failed to notice.
"I'll diiiiieeee iiiif I doooo thaaaat," whimpered Izuku. All might realizing the same, shouted at him to hold tight as he alighted on a nearby rooftop.
"What were you thinking kid!" boomed All Might. A little bit of blood came out of his lips and he realized too late that he was out of time.
Izuku meanwhile had shut his eyes and was wracking the best way to phrase his question to his idol. After thinking for a bit, he said, "Please All Might this is really important to me. Is a strong quirk necessary to be a hero? If so, what exactly makes a quirk strong?" He then looked up, only to shriek like a baby and fall back on his haunches on seeing an emaciated man with his eyes covered in shadow vomiting blood.
"W-where's All Might? Where did he go? Who are you?"
All Might sighed, as he explained about his 5 year old injury and how a Symbol of Peace couldn't afford to succumb to evil. He then asked Izuku to keep this quiet, before proceeding to answer his question.
"I won't lie kid. Having a strong quirk definitely makes becoming a hero easier. As for what makes a quirk strong, a lot of things like versatility, firepower, ease of use come into play. I think the most important thing is how the user can use it. Every quirk can be strong, so I would say anyone can be a hero. However, with some quirks, it's much easier to see what to do with them, like say super strength or pyrokinesis, while for other's its much harder. Don't worry though, even if you don't have a quirk easily suited for hero work, you can still help out by being part of the police, or the rescue forces. There's plenty of ways to become useful to society." With that, and another request to keep his condition a secret, All Might walked away to hand the villain over to the authorities, leaving behind a thoughtful Izuku.
The most important thing is how the user uses it huh. My quirk has no firepower, but maybe I can still do this. Indirectly, if I use it well, doesn't this mean I can be a great hero. Well, that's definitely validation. From All Might, no less! And i also got his autograph! Today is such a good day~
Shrouded in happy thoughts, Izuku continued his journey home. Only to come to a crashing stop as he heard shrieks around the corner.
"The Slime Monster is back."
"He's attacking a kid right now."
"Wasn't All Might after him? What happened to that?"
Terrified, Izuku turned the corner and saw the sludge villain from before engulfing a student from his school, while surrounded by a blazing inferno. He realized with horror that it was probably his fault the villain got free in the first place. Seeing the pro heroes not taking any action due to their quirks not being suitable filled Izuku with indignation. Aren't pros supposed to be able to defy the odds.
All rational thought left his mind however when he saw the terrified eyes of the boy caught by the villain and recognized his hair. Without conscious thought, he had already broken into a run and ducked past the cordon set up by the police. Unaware of the pros screaming in the background, he rushed towards the villain, as his brain conjured the best plan for action, while being carefully watched by a set of piercing blue eyes.
Okay, first things first, I need to make sure Kacchan can breathe. If I use Repel only on the sludge, both of them will be pushed. My Repel isn't strong enough to push just Kacchan. Damnit, think Izuku. Oh wait, this might work. It'll at least buy us some time.
With a plan of action formulated, Izuku used Repel on Bakugo while using Repel in the other direction on the Sludge Villain. It had taken years of practice, but he had finally been able to control the direction of Repel to not just be outwards away from him but being in any direction as long as he concentrated properly. However, while this was effectively pulling the target and not pushing, its range and strength were vastly reduced. It was still enough to create an air gap between Bakugo and the villain, and Bakugo wasted no time in unleashing a point blank explosion to create a further separation, before dissolving into a hacking cough as he took in a huge lungful of breath.
They weren't out of immediate danger however, as Izuku noticed that they were now surrounded by the slime on one side and the inferno on the other. The noxious odor was making him nauseous, but his brain was working at a hundred miles a minute to come up with something which could save them both.
As the villain closed in, Izuku hadn't thought of anything useful yet. In a last ditch effort, he grabbed Bakugo from the ground and with the help of Repel threw him up and beyond the reach of the Slime, leaving him trapped between it and the fire.
Bakugo watched in mute terror as he realized what Izuku had just done. Before he could shout anything though, a loud voice boomed.
"Fear not children. For I AM HERE." All might then threw an almighty punch which not only cleared the villain, but changed the weather pattern and caused a shower to douse the fire. To be able to do so much with just one punch showed the genius behind the Number 1 hero, or maybe just his extraordinary luck. In any case, the situation was defused, and after receiving a sound scolding from the pro heroes for jumping in without a plan (I had a plan! And what were you guys doing anyway.) Izuku started trudging back home.
He was halted on his path by a loud shout from his least favorite blonde, however.
"DEKUUUU! What the fuck do you think you were doing? Don't think I needed your shitty help or anything. I had the situation under control dammit."
"Yeah, Kacchan, you're right. I'm sorry." Not wanting any further altercations Izuku quickly agreed and started to hurry back home.
"Deku, I'm sorry for what I said earlier…"
Izuku paused as he thought he heard Bakugo apologizing, but on turning behind, and finding the street empty, chalked it up to his imagination. Heh, imagine Kacchan apologizing. Now wouldn't that be something.
He was stopped yet again though by a whirlwind rounding the corner, which turned out to be his most favorite blond in the whole world. He boomed, "I AM HERE" and then promptly vomited blood.
"A-All M-Might?! What are you doing here? Oh, if it's about the incident, I am really sorry about jumping in like that." And Izuku started bowing repeatedly.
"No kid," said the skeletal All Might. "You remember earlier when you asked if you needed a strong quirk to become a hero. I had forgotten to mention the most important part of being a hero. You see all the great heroes had something in common, when they saw someone in danger, they couldn't stop themselves from going to help them. This spirit of self-sacrifice is what makes a real hero. Kid, what's your name?"
Izuku, who had become increasingly overcome with emotion while All Might was speaking, blubbered out, "I-Izuku Midoriya sir."
"Young Midoriya, I do not know what your quirk is. I don't even care if you have a quirk. Let me tell you this. You can, no, you definitely will become a great hero."
Izuku broke down. Before he had conjured indirect validation, but this, hearing his idol say that he could become a hero no matter what, this was what made all the hours spent working for it worth it. Sniffling, he looked up with teary eyes and said, "T-T-Thank you A-All M-Might, you have no idea how much that means to me."
"I have some idea I think Young Midoriya. But anyway, there's one more important matter, rather request, I have to discuss. Young Midoriya, will you become my successor and inherit my power."
"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," shouted Izuku and then promptly fainted.
I thought this was a good place to end the chapter. Let me know what you thought about it, and whether you'd like longer or shorter chapters.
So the changes from canon are:
1. Izuku has a quirk. I hope to develop it and have a rational growth in power.
2. All the people are aged 2 years up. So by the time they enter U.A. they'll be 17. I think the students in BnHA are a bit too young for the dark themes they will face.
3. Izuku's Quirk Analysis Volumes are up to 27 as he is including how to battle each hero with his quirk if the situation arises.
Until next time,
Caprice24.