(A/N) So this is my first MHA fic. It is not beta-read. All mistakes are mine and mine alone. This is cross-posted on AO3. Please leave a review and tell what you think of the story. The next chapter should be up tomorrow.

Prologue: Memories

5

"Fuyu!" Izuku ran up to his blue-haired friend who had been missing from class for a few days.

"Hey, Izu!" Fuyu enveloped the curly-haired boy in a hug. The two had been best friends ever since the entire class turned on them when they were four, due to their quirklessness.

The greenette's smile fell a little bit. "My mommy told me about what happened to your mommy. I'm really sorry."

The little girl sniffled a little bit, and felt tears well up in her eyes.

"Thanks, Izu." Fuyu brightened a bit before continuing.

"But guess what, Izu?!"

"What happened, Fu?!"

The pink-eyed kid outstretched her hand and twirled it. Immediately, a light breeze kicked up and made the fallen cherry blossom petals swirl through the air.

Fuyu giggled at her best friend's awe.

"The quirk counselor named it Wind. I can manipulate wind however I want!"

"That's so cool, Fuyu! Imagine all the cool things you could do with it!"

"Thanks, Izu. It's not very powerful right now, but my father said he'll train me to be more powerful."

"You're gonna be such a great hero someday! Me too." Izuku giggled. "Maybe one day we'll both tie for number one hero."

"It's a plan, Izu."

The curly-haired boy's face fell for a minute, realizing something. "Wait, now that you have your quirk, you're probably not gonna want to be my friend anymore. No one wants to play with a quirkless loser like me."

"Izu! Why would I do that? I don't want to hang out with mean bullies. You're my best friend. Nothing will change that."

Izuku wiped the tears from his eyes and embraced his friend. "Thanks, Fu."

6

Katsuki Bakugo and his lackeys stood in a circle around Izuku, who was on the ground, crying.

"Hey! Get away from Izu." A small blue-haired girl ran over to her best friend, shielding him from the bullies.

"Tch, looks like the other quirkless loser came over to save her wimpy boyfriend."

Fuyu blushed heavily. "He's not my boyfriend. But either way, you guys shouldn't make fun of him. It's mean."

"What the hell are you gonna do about it, you worthless extra."

"I-I'll f-fight you if I-I h-have to!"

"What can you do against me? I have the most powerful quirk in the class, and you don't even have one!" The blonde boy said, letting off a small explosion from his hand.

The pink-eyed girl took a deep breath bracing herself. She concentrated on wind, remembering what Izuku had coached her on.

A gust of wind kicked up, and all of the bullies fell flat on their butts. To say they were shocked would be an understatement.

"What the hell? Since when do you have a quirk?"

Fuyu smirked. "I got it last year. I'm gonna be a hero when I grow up!"

"You won't be better than me! Besides, if you have a quirk, why do you still hang out with useless Deku here."

The little girl scowled. "It's not nice to call him Deku. His name is Izuku. You shouldn't be mean to him like that! Heroes are supposed to be nice, not mean bullies like you guys."

"Tch, whatever. Play with the crybaby if you want. Not my problem."

7

Fuyu will always remember her 7th birthday as her worst. It had been almost two years since her mother died. Thankfully, her father ignored her most of the time. Oh how that was about to change.

He woke her up before the sun was out, yelling at her to get ready and fast.

Rushing her out the door with no breakfast, the father led his daughter down the Dagobah Beach, the once beautiful beach-turned-junkyard.

"I'm going to start training you on how to use your quirk. My mother had a similar quirk, except she actually created wind, unlike you according to the stupid quirk counselor.

I'm doing this because I'm not gonna let you become a worthless, quirkless whore like your mother. You're gonna do something useful with your quirk. Clear?"

Fuyu nodded, and her father grazed her arm with his claws for it.

"Answer me with your words, damnit."

"Ow. That hurt, daddy."

"Does it look like I give a shit? And don't call me daddy, it's too childish for someone training to be a hero."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, show me what you can do with your quirk."

Young Fuyu concentrated in the air currents, and made them change their speed and direction. The sand around them swirled through the air. The pink-eyes girl kept this up for about a minute, before breaking her concentration.

"Have you already tired out from using your quirk?"

"Yes, sir."

"Pathetic. You know what you are? Weak. You'd be a liability in a fight, tiring out that quickly. And that swirly sand thing. Useless. You have been given an amazing quirk, but you're awful at using it. You're just wasted potential."

Fuyu felt tears welling in her eyes at her father's harsh words.

"And don't start crying. You're not a fucking baby. You can't be soft like that if you wanna be a hero."

The little girl sniffled and wiped away the unshed tears.

"Before I start training you on your quirk, I guess I'll build up your strength and stamina. First go run to that large fridge over there and back. Go, quickly. Faster. Don't be a slow ass."

Mr. Takahashi forced his daughter through several exercises before calling it quits around lunch time. Fuyu's poor 7 year-old body felt battered and exhausted, both from the exercise and her father's claws. She greatly welcomed the relief brought on by the hot shower afterwards.

8

"Whatcha writing, Izu?"

"I've started a journal all about heroes' quirks. I try to watch every fight I can on the news and then I write about their quirk. I even created a few different ways for them to use it! Of course, I also have a list of questions to ask them if I ever meet them."

"Wow, that's really cool, Izu. Maybe I should start writing about that kinda stuff. Except maybe I'll analyze villains' quirks."

"Villains?!"

"Well, I can't copy you exactly. Besides, isn't part of being a hero finding your opponent's weaknesses and exploiting them?"

"Well, I guess."

"Good! Now, tell me about All Might's recent fight with Toxic Chainsaw. I can start my journal with him."

"Okay! So actually, it all started…."

9

Fuyu and Izuku were sitting on his couch, watching the debut of Kamui Woods.

"Hey, Izu?"

"Yeah?"

"So I was thinking about adding more stuff to my journals."

"Like what?"

"So you know how I write different ways a villain's quirk could be used for good?" After his nod, the girl continued, "So I was thinking about adding how heroes' quirks can be used for evil."

"Fuyu! Why would you say that?!"

"I mean, Izu, you're always talking about how there's no such thing as a 'villainous' quirk; that a person is defined by their actions and how they use the power that's been given to them.

I want to do it more to teach myself responsibility over my quirk. I could easily use it for bad things, but I don't, unlike Katsuki, who uses his explosions to bully you. Or even take my dad's quirk for example. He has retractable claws on his right hand which act like actual claws, and the claws on his left hand can heal any wound inflicted by his right hand. His quirk would be perfect for a surgeon or a doctor, but instead he's a secretary for some no name agency."

"I guess that's a good idea. So where'd you want to start?"

"Well, I was thinking about the top ten heroes. Like Best Jeanist could easily cause someone to strangle themselves with their own clothes. And Present Mic could cause hearing loss or even rupture someone's eardrums. Not to mention that he could implode someone's brain if he manipulated his scream to the right frequency. And don't even get me started on Endeavor."

"Gods, Fuyu, that's a bit morbid. But I guess you're right.

The girl smirked. "Aren't I always?"

10

"Fuyu?" Izuku had once again been saved by his best friend. She was always swooping in to defend him every time the boys in the class began to pick on him.

"Yeah, Izu?"

"I-I want you to stop protecting me. I can take people bullying me. It just makes me look weaker if you're always there to defend me."

"You know I would never want to make you look weak. I just don't want you getting hurt by their quirk."

"Yeah, well if I'm gonna be a hero, I can't always depend on you being there to save me. What kind of hero would I be if I couldn't do something against a few playground bullies."

Fuyu smiles softly at her best friend's statement. She could respect his wishes.

"Alright, Izu. I'll stop swooping the second someone corners you. But if someone starts using their quirk and they really look like they're gonna hurt you, there's nothing you can say that'll keep me from helping.

I know our classmates' quirks aren't that powerful now, but they'll just get stronger. I don't like seeing you in pain, Izu. I care about you too much."

The greenette blushed. "Thanks, Fuyu. And thank you for always being there."

"Awww, you're making me get all sappy. Come here, give me a hug."

11

The last day of elementary school Fuyu walked in with a black eye. The rest of the class didn't care, since she was shunned for hanging out with a quirkless person. When the teachers asked, she just wrote it off as her clumsiness during quirk training.

At the end of the day, Izuku cornered her to ask her the real reason she had a black eye.

"Fuyu?"

"Yeah, Izu?"

"Where did your black eye come from? We both know that your quirk doesn't have that kind of backlash."

"Izu. I did get it training. Stop asking questions about it."

"I'm not gonna leave you alone until I get answers. This isn't the first time you've come to school with injuries. Just last week you had a big scratch mark on your cheek, and I know for a fact part of your dad's quirk is retractable claws."

Fuyu scowled at her friend. "I got that from a stray cat I tried to pick up."

"What about the sprained wrist a few months ago?"

"I fell down the stairs."

"First day of school you had two black eyes, both of which you tried to hide with makeup."

"What do you want me to say, Izu?"

"I want the truth. You come to school with suspicious injuries for a few years, but I never said anything. And I know that you do a lot of quirk training, considering you rarely hang out with me after school. You always say you have to get home before your dad gets mad. Is your dad...hurting you? "

Fuyu bent her head, and answered in a small voice, "Yes."

Izuku immediately hugged his friend.

"Oh, Fuyu, I'm so sorry. What can I do? My mom's a lawyer, you know-"

The pink-eyed girl interrupted the greenette.

"No, Izuku. I can't let this get out. Besides, there's no way to really prove all that he's done. Even they did arrest him, I don't have any relatives, so I'd just be put into foster care"

"What has he done?"

"I mean, it's really not that bad, compared to some other kids. He's just very bitter that my mom was quirkless and never told him till she was pregnant with me. He got really made when my test results said I was quirkless. He's been training me since I was about 7.

He just...pushes my limits I guess. I'm always tired, with all the training he forces upon me. And when I don't meet his requirements…"

"H-He's n-not hurting y-you in other w-ways, right Fuyu?!"

"Oh gods, no. He just hits me a lot. Uses his claws, too. Though most of the time when he uses his claws, he heals them fairly quickly afterwards. I guess he doesn't want to leave too many scars."

The curly-haired boy frowned at her explanation. "Fuyu, I want you to know that I'll always be here for you, okay? I need you to tell me if it becomes too much."

"Okay, Izu."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

12

Fuyu woke up smiling for the first time in gods know how long, remembering that her father said he would be leaving for work very early today and wouldn't be home until almost midnight. The straight-haired girl had the whole day to herself, free to do whatever she wanted. Oh how that was about to change.

As soon as she stepped out of bed, she noticed the crimson blood that now stained her bed sheets and pajamas. She hurriedly made it to her bathroom and began to examine herself.

Seeing now visible injuries on her person, the tween stood and thought for a moment. Then she realized the only thing it could be, and her face dramatically paled.

Fuyu obviously knew about it. She and the rest of the girls grade had gone through that awful health class at the end of elementary school, not to mention all of the stuff she'd heard from the older students at Aldera.

Fuyu was lost. Obviously, her mother wasn't there to coach her through, so she did the next best thing she could think of.

The blue-haired tween went back into her room and grabbed her phone. She dialed one of the few contacts on her phone, and called.

'Hello, dear."

'Uh, hi Mrs. Midoriya.'

'Oh, it's lovely to hear from you, Fuyu. May I ask, why are you calling. Is something wrong?'

'Uh, well, you see….I, uh, started my period. I don't know what to do. Would you mind maybe coming over?'

'Oh, of course, dear. I'll just grab the key you gave Izuku, and I'll be over in a few minutes.'

Fuyu let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so, so much, Mrs. Midoriya.'

'Oh, it's not a problem, dearie. I'm just glad you had someone to call on for this kind of thing.'

'Me too, Mrs. Midoriya. Me too.'

True to her word, the green-haired woman showed up just five minutes later with a bag of supplies in hand.

The older lady passed the bag through the bathroom door to the younger girl.

"Do you know how to put on the pad, Fuyu?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Now, it might not fit perfectly, since I'm obviously a different size than you. I'll take you to the drug store later so you can pick out your own things. Okay?"

"Yeah. Thank you, again."

"Oh, believe me, it really is no trouble. Now, while you get yourself cleaned up, I'll throw your sheets in the wash for you. Do you want me to wash your pajamas while I'm at it?"

"Yes please, Mrs. Midoriya." Even though the mother couldn't see it, Fuyu was blushing heavily. She couldn't really remember anyone taking the time to care for her like this.

Once she was all done, Fuyu put on some loose fitting sweat and a t-shirt and met Mrs. Midoriya in the kitchen.

The curly-haired woman smiled at her kindly. "Are you feeling okay?"

Fuyu nodded and blushed.

"Good. Now, we can go to the drugstore to pick up your own supplies. Don't worry, it's still quite early and there shouldn't be many people there."

And so, Mrs. Midoriya took care of her son's best friend the rest of the morning, even making her a nice lunch before she left. The older woman really had been helpful, giving the tween advice and helpful hints.

"I want you to let me know if you need anything whatsoever, now or later. And remember, you're always free to come over anytime you want, whether to hang out with Izuku or if you just wanna talk."

Fuyu blushed and smiled for the millionth time that day.

"Thank you so, so much for everything, Mrs. Midoriya. You don't know how much you've helped me today."

"I was glad to do it, sweetie." With one final hug, the green-eyed mother left the tween to take care of her own son.

'I wonder if that's what my life could've been like if mom were still here. I miss small things like that. It's nice to simply be taken care of, to not have to worry about anything.' Fuyu thought wistfully, sipping her mug of hot cocoa.

13

You could say that Fuyu had a busy schedule. School took up most of the day, and a lot of her free time was occupied by her dad and what he called training.

To get more time out of her day, Fuyu began to lie to her father when she was about 9. Everyday she said she had some type of extra curricular or tutoring, when in reality she was sparring with Izuku at the local gym.

The blue-haired teen also worked odd jobs around the neighborhood, whether it be babysitting, shoveling the walkway when it snowed, or sometimes washing the car of a neighbor (very few people near her apartments owned cars, so it wasn't a big deal). And of course, there was the one neighbor who paid Fuyu to cook her a meal every time she came home drunk (Fuyu didn't ask Miss Emiko questions, she just collected the money the next day).

Fuyu saved up her money for various things. The straight-haired girl always made sure she had makeup on hand to cover any bruises or scars. And it was always nice to splurge on something girly like nail polish or a face mask.

Whenever the teen needed to buy herself some...hygiene products, she always slipped a couple hundred yen from her father's wallet. Fuyu never particularly felt guilty about that.

Fuyu also spent quite a bit of her earnings on notebooks. She and Izuku and both went through at least a dozen, not counting the ones they had rewritten (due to destruction caused by; you guessed it; Bakugo!).

The work not only brought her a 'steady income', but simply time away from her father, which was a blessing in itself.

14

For the first time in forever, Fuyu made it to school before Izuku. Her sperm donor had woken her at the crack of dawn to train.

As soon as she stepped in the classroom. The teen noticed something was off. Those who were there seemed tense in anticipation. Then, she noticed someone's phone propped up in the corner of the room, as is to record something.

Fuyu looked over to her best friend's desk, and she froze upon seeing what someone had placed there.

The first thing she noticed was the red spider lily. Taped to it was a newspaper clipping, one that proclaimed the recent suicide of a quirkless teenager in the Musutafu Prefecture.

The female grabbed the items and quickly threw them in the garbage bin. Angrily, she turned to face the class.

"What the fuck?! How dare you guys bully him like that. This is a new low, even for you guys. Do you understand how big of an effect this could have in someone. The teachers wouldn't even be able to ignore this kind of thing if I reported it, unlike with all your other shit.

If they found out you were suicide baiting, you would get a black mark on your record and immediately be banned from applying to any hero academy or even a good college.

I'm letting you off with a warning now, since I'm sure you don't understand what the fuck you tried to do, but if see it again, I'm beating all of you all's asses.

Clear?"

The students present were slightly shocked. Sure, they'd seen their classmate stand up for Midoriya, but they'd never seen Takahashi that...enraged by it.