Deku

"Are you okay?" Down on all fours, Ai hovered over the burnt boy sprawled flat on his back in front of her. Despite the pain, he was still able to freak out about the proximity of their faces, torso shooting straight up as he retreated backwards on his hands, bum and feet. Surprised yet oblivious, she followed suit. "Don't move around so much! You're hurt." The concern in her voice calmed the boy down, and when she closed the distance once more, he didn't run away. She placed a hand on his forehead, and almost immediately, a warmth embraced his body that contrasted that of the attacks he faced earlier from his peers.

"Healing… quirk?" The boy questioned, witnessing as the inflammation on his exposed skin reverted until he was no longer red. Ai pulled her hand back and smiled at her work.

"Something like that," she responded. "Cell regeneration is what my auntie told me it was called." Ai leaned back to sit on the ground, the two children staring at each other from a minimal distance. It was weird, because normally Ai was too shy to approach anyone, but with this boy… she felt comfortable.

"Whoa," the boy whispered, but then his voice suddenly changed in volume. "That's so cool!" It caught Ai off guard, more so when he sprung forward and grabbed her hands in his. "You restored my health so quickly – I feel as if I'm back at 100%! And it didn't even seem like it took you any effort at all. That's amazing – u… um…" It was then that this boy had realized that he had no idea what his healer's name was, nor did he realize that his exclamation caused Ai's face to flush. Though that may be since his own face flushed when he saw the position that the two were in. "I-I'm so sorry! I acted without thinking… I don't even know your name and h-here I am-" Just as he began retracting his grip, he was pulled back by the very same hands he grabbed.

"Ai Shuzenji." Her voice was calm, but the sparkle in her eyes and the smile on her face brought to light the overwhelming happiness she felt in that moment. "And you?"

"I-Izuku… Midoriya." He felt like he was going to pass out. From the brightness of her demeanor to her soft hands… It felt like something out of a romance movie! Only when her grip tightened was he pulled out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"Ah… Nice to meet you, Midoriya-kun!" That was the cherry on top. Any second now young Midoriya felt as if his soul would leave his body until he heard her voice again. "I saw what you tried to do for that kid… The one who was crying earlier." His bashfulness gradually subsided as she continued to speak. "That was really brave of you, Midoriya-kun. You acted like – like a true hero!" Those were the very first words of encouragement that quirkless Midoriya heard for his dream. Not yet knowing of his future encounter with All Might, he could feel the hot tears pouring down his cheeks. Ai couldn't help but smile. It made her heart warm. "Let's do our best to become heroes together, okay?"

Midoriya reciprocated the strength in which Ai gripped his hands, pulling away only one arm to wipe his face as they grinned at each other. "Y-Yes… Let's do our best, Ai-chan!"

Bakugo

"I'm not gonna be stuck at the bottom with the rest of these rejects!" The classroom raged in retaliation, and all except for two were complaining of the harsh title that Katsuki Bakugo had just given them. Midoriya and Ai sat near the back of the classroom, quietly listening and not daring to speak out against their intimidating peer.

"Oh, if I remember correctly, you want to go to UA High, right, Bakugo," the teacher questioned. Most of the students were surprised to hear his choice, which was ranked at the top 0.2% in the nation that year.

"That's exactly why you guys are just extras!" The inflamed boy mounted his desk, exclaiming, "I'll definitely surpass All Might and become the top hero!"

"Oh yeah," the teacher interrupted, "Midoriya and Ai wanted to go to UA too, right?" It caught everyone off guard. However, instead of commending comments like how they previously thought of Bakugo, the whole classroom erupted with laughter. A quirkless boy and a girl whose quirk was only useful for assistance was quite the amusing duo.

"Midoriya?"

"No way!"

"You can't get into the Hero course just by studying!"

Ai's best friend stood from his seat, timidly facing the crowd as he stammered, "Th-They got rid of that rule! There's just no precedent…" Before either him or Ai could react, the angry peer had already exploded the poor boy's desk.

A string of insults later, Ai leapt to her feet, reaching out for Bakugo just as his hands began emitting a fiery threat. "What the hell can you do? You're quirkless!"

"Leave him alone-" But she was too slow. As soon as she tugged on his sleeve, he turned on his heel and threw a left-handed punch out in her direction. It shot a mini explosion past her as his fist stopped right next to her ear. She was frozen in her spot, and the fact that Bakugo was tall enough to loom over her didn't help with the fear that made her knees wobble. However, despite being scared, she refused to release her grip.

"Let go of me, you side character," he growled. Bakugo's gaze shifted back and forth from the quirkless boy who sat petrified against the wall, and the short girl in front of him who flinched at the affliction of the smallest release of energy.

"N-No…" Her hand was trembling slightly, but she wouldn't let Midoriya handle any situation like this alone. "Heroes don't act the way you do, Bakugo-kun." Ai's voice shook, but everything she said was clear. "Th-The way I see it… Midoriya-kun will be a bigger hero than you could ever dream of being. Because he has the one thing that you don't – a kind heart!"

The classroom had gone silent, and everyone witnessed as it became physically evident that Bakugo's anger only rose with her defiant words. He ripped his sleeve from her grip only to use the same hand to clench her collar, bringing her face dangerously close to his. She had to shift her feet from her heels to her toes in order to keep her balance while her hands found their way to his forearm, though no matter how much she squeezed, he wouldn't let go.

"You've gotta be kidding me," he hissed. "Having a quirk that doesn't even let you fight back – is just as useless as being quirkless!" Ai winced at his volume, but that was just the beginning of it. "And you dare speak to me like that? Remember this: I'm going to surpass All Might and become the top hero." Ai had no time to react except for the squeal that left her throat as Bakugo suddenly spun, dragging her with him before entirely shoving her to the ground. Fortunately, he threw her in the direction of Midoriya, who had cushioned her fall. "And you two rejects will be stuck staring at the top – at me!" He jabbed a thumb against his chest, his crimson stare never faltering as he held eye contact with Ai. "Katsuki Bakugo, number one hero!"

Eventually, the teacher finally came in and stopped the madness, and everyone returned to their seats. Midoriya was discouraged from speaking for the rest of class, except for immediately after the incident to make sure that his best friend was okay. Ai also grew quiet, though less out of discouragement and more out of observation. Throughout the whole lecture, she couldn't take her eyes off the back of Bakugo's head. His words rung in her mind like a perpetual flashback, and his eyes… were impossible to forget. Back then, he didn't even have to use his quirk as he spoke, but she remembered how much he glowed.

An unwavering passion to become the number one hero, Ai thought. He's amazing. Perhaps she had been staring for too long, but Bakugo glanced back from his seat, a permanent scowl on his face as he saw her almost immediately stare down into her lap. A small 'tsk' was what left his lips as he turned his attention back to the front.

I'll show her, he thought. I'll show them all.

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read and giving your opinion (: You can also find this story by searching its title on these other platforms, or going to my profiles:

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