KEEP YOUR HEAD UP : PART 1
The young girl got off the train at her stop and slowly moved her way through crowded street in the evening rush hour.
She had a long day of giving entrance examinations to the prestigious Yuuei Academy and felt like falling asleep at the very moment.
Due to pressure and anxiety she hadn't slept well the night before and to make matters worse she barely had breakfast and forgot to bring lunch so she was famished as well.
"So tired"
She yawned and tried to focus to see where she was going. The crowd was getting a bit pushy.
She managed to push her way through to a less crowded area.
But then her eyes got shut and she stumbled due to being at her limit of exhaustion.
"Oh!"
*bump*
She found herself bumping into someone's chest.
This was followed by sound of something dropping on the ground while firm but gentle hands grabbed her shoulders and kept her steady.
Her eyes popped open and found herself staring into green eyes of an older man who was holding her.
"Woah! Are you alright Miss?"
He insisted her to come to a nearby restaurant which after apologising for bumping into him and picking up what he had dropped,reluctantly agreed so and they sat facing each other while waiting for the meal he ordered.
He was wearing a dull formal suit,giving appearance of a salaryman in his late twenties although his green hair were a bit messy with curls.
After a bit of silent awkwardness between the two she apologised again for running into him.
"Is your briefcase alright,Mister?"
It was the one he had dropped as he grabbed hold of her when she bumped into him.
He simply smiled and raised his hand to put her at ease.
"No need to worry Miss...?"
"Oh! It's Megumi. Megumi Taro."
He nodded lightly in acknowledgement.
"You can just call me Izuku. Nice to meet you Miss Taro"
They became more relaxed in each other's presence and had a conversation.
The pink haired girl,Megumi told him about being a middle schooler aspiring to be accepted to Yuuei Academy in the Hero course.
"I see. You want to be a hero. That's a noble profession indeed."
She blushed and looked down at the table on receiving complements.
It was something she just wasn't used to.
"Well,my quirk is nothing special. My teachers didn't have high hopes for me but I did my best. My parents do support me but also remind me of possibility of choosing something else if it doesn't work out."
She sighed and placed her hands on the table to rest.
"I can't say they are wrong. Just doing the physical part of the exam was exhausting and I don't feel confident about it."
Meanwhile the looked on with thoughtfulness. She had clearly gone through a lot and wanted to be careful about what to say to her. This part of his life had been... difficult.
"Here is your order,sir!"
The waitress brought their meal and this was immediately followed by a loud growl coming from the young girl's stomach.
Megumi blushed with embarrassment and Midoriya did his best to suppress his laughter. He already liked the girl.
"No way! You're a graduate from Yuuei Academy?!"
She exclaimed. It seemed like whatever nervousness she had before was gone,replaced by expression of surprise and even admiration.
Midoriya could swear seeing twinkle in her eyes like a child who thinks highly of a person.
Plus the food she ate must have helped to refresh her.
"That's right. But not from Hero course. It was in business course."
Her expression went back to normal.
"Oh"
She realised that it came off as rude,like she was disappointed by his answer and tried to clarify.
"I didn't mean it that way!"
Midoriya calmed her down.
"It's alright. Now, what is your quirk if I don't mind asking?"
She raised her hand and some kind of a pink translucent screen formed between them.
"My quirk is mental based. I can form barriers by focusing my mind."
The translucent screen disappeared.
"But it's not particularly strong and I don't have many practical uses for it"
Midoriya thought of saying something supportive.
"I think your quirk best in defensive ways. Just keep practicing and you'll figure things out along the way."
Megumi felt it was good advice and was curious.
"Did you develop your quirk the same way Mr. Midoriya? What is your quirk anyways? If I'm not being rude asking."
Midoriya maintained his smile but it faltered a bit,enough for Megumi to notice.
She began to panic believing she had crossed a line began to apologise.
"Sorry! I shouldn't have asked.."
Midoriya stopped her
"No! It's alright,really. No need to apologise"
He was quiet for a moment before saying.
"You see... I don't have a quirk."
A/N : It's AU where Deku is quirkless and not a Hero. Megumi is my OC.