The day I discovered my powers, is the day EVERYTHING changed. I theorized endlessly about its source, or if it was even a quirk in the first place, and if it was; about why it took so long to manifest. But I later decided that my ability might not be a quirk at all. I do not think that a mere quirk could be this, this HAX.
You see, when I informed my mother of my powers, when she returned home, after hours of crying together and mutual apologies, she decided to change my status in the National Quirk Registry. So my bio was updated from 'Quirkless', to a quirk I aptly named 'Trumpcard'. Because that was essentially what my ability was. A trump card. It gave me the ability to choose a specific super power, In accordance to the situation, making me both extremely versatile, and drastically reducing my weak spots, since I could just switch powers on the fly or even use two or more abilities at the same time.
The name of my superpower also referenced what I suspected was the true origin of my powers. The beaker I had foolishly consumed in a fit of depression, labeled with the words 'Project Trump'.
Of course, as with most quirks, it had it's limitations. As far as any limited experimentation I performed had gone, I could only hold on to an ability for a limited amount of time before I began suffering from tiredness, migraines and extreme disorientation, and I also couldn't hold more than two abilities at once. Despite these limitations, however, my dream to be a Hero seemed much more feasible, and immediately, I began to plan a training regimen to increase my stamina and musculature and to also achieve a level of control over my quirk before UA's entrance exam, which would be taking place in ten months.
Now, a week after the discovery of my ability, I was getting ready to go on my first early morning run. It was a Saturday, so I didn't have to go to school. My plan was to run a previously outlined two kilometer path from my home to Dagobah Beach, and upon reaching there, exercise a little more and then start practicing my powers. Of course, upon returning, I planned on buying a couple weights for building my musculature. I had a pretty limited time to get in shape, something I had foolishly neglected despite my drive to become a Hero.
Putting my red shoes on, and pocketing my phone, I opened up my IPod and retrieved the wireless earbuds. I read somewhere about how workout music could be pretty relaxing, and since I'd never worked out a day in my life, I decided to try it out and see what happened. I chose my song, and finally left the house. My mom was still asleep since it was still pretty early, so I didn't bother waking her up. I did make sure to leave a note telling her where I was though, so she probably wouldn't worry. Much.
Halfway to my destination, the morning wind mildly cold and the streets devoid of life with only a interspersed smattering of people here and there, I was already breathing pretty heavily. It seemed my stamina wasn't something to write home about, but that was exactly what I sought to correct with my training regimen.
As I huffed and puffed my way through the streets, stomach and legs burning like there was no tomorrow, I could feel a persistent warmth niggling at the back of my mind, as if to offer assistance. I had come to associate this warmth with my power, and I had to consciously hold myself back from tapping into it, from accessing the wellspring of power that I knew was just hovering around me, waiting to used.
Half an hour later, I reached my destination. Dagobah Municipal Beach, a formerly beautiful site of recreation and romantic getaways. The years hadn't done it kindly, as it was now filled with trash washed up to the beach by the ocean, and later filled with machine parts and plain old waste by the people of the city. As I entered the trash infested wonderland, I panted heavily, desperately searching for a moderately clean area that I could lay down till I was moderately rested up. My feet dragged behind me, almost limp due to the brutal punishment that I had just put them through. When I finally found a place closer to the ocean that was free of debris, I collapsed onto the sand and spent over ten minutes breathing in as much air as I could.
When I was sufficiently rested, I began to perform a set number of push ups, sit ups, crunches and squats. I kept it all within 30-50, since it was still my first day, but despite my precaution, I hadn't even gotten halfway through before I was fervently wishing for death to relieve of my misery. My stomach and noodly arms practically sang in a united chorus of pain and strain, and my body shook incessantly. Sweat poured down my face and ran down my body in rivulets, despite the fact that the sun had only just peeked over the horizon. I rested for another ten minutes, and then shoved aside physical conditioning to begin focusing on the main event. My powers.
My Quirk can be compared to something like an encyclopedia. An entire record of various abilities divided into sections, and searched through the use of specific keywords that brings forth an array of powers outlined under said keywords. When I began using my power, I thought of ways I could move objects without touching them, and soon enough, my mind bloomed with hundreds of possibilities, each more esoteric than the last. I settled on plain old telekinesis, though it was a hard choice between that and Gravity Manipulation. Telekinesis itself had it's own variations, hundreds of them really, but I persevered against temptation and chose the 'true' telekinesis. Or what I considered 'true' telekinesis anyways.
Warmth flowed through me as the power I had chosen seemed to somehow 'click' into place. It was weak at first, but I could somehow feel it 'charging', getting stronger and stronger. Looking down at my hands, I discovered my body was outlined in an almost invisible green glow, something akin to an aura. Clenching my fist, I grinned, filled with happiness, and then focused on the piles of debris before me.
My first target was a slightly rusted refrigerator.
Stretching my hands forward, I focused on my powers, and almost as if it was waiting for my prompting, information on how to utilize the telekinesis began to fill my head. At first, I was in a slight daze from the surprising Information overload, but I stubbornly focused on my set task. Seconds later, the refrigerator was floating around me In circles. Astounded at the gradual ease with which I had gripped the appliance with my telekinesis, I began to add a plethora of other debris to my collection of floating items. Soon enough, a veritable cloud of debris enshrouded by a light green aura was floating around me in complicated motions.
Little by little, I settled the debris on a neat pile, and then I 'released' the telekinesis. I was at first astounded at the instant loss of the 'warmth' and the wave of tiredness that washed over me. I reasoned it as me not having pushed myself this much before, or held on to any specific power for more than a minute. I was slightly frustrated at this, since it meant that in a combat intensive situation, switching between abilities might not be as easy as I thought. I was later proven right when I chose a minor Intangibility power. I noted that it was just a bit of a struggle getting the power to 'click' in place like the telekinesis. I again attributed this disadvantage to my lackluster stamina and physical condition. I AM pretty weak and gangly after all, even with the slight baby fat that I had.
For hours, I alternated between abilities, gradually practicing. Whenever it became a struggle to take hold of a power, I instead resort to either physically hauling trash by myself, or getting in a few extra exercises, like push ups or crunches. Unfortunately, I didn't really see any improvement by the time it was afternoon. On the other side of the spectrum however, I felt a pleasant ache both all over my body and in a sort of immaterial internal form. When two o'clock came around, the sound of my phone battery reaching low power sounded through my ear pods. I was honestly startled at the sound of the notification, since I had forgotten about the ear pods or the music that I was listening to, as crazy as it sounds.
It was when I removed the ear pods, that I heard vague sounds of grunting and exertion. I later discovered that I had accidentally activated my quirk, equipping an Enhanced Sensory Functions ability, but at that time, all I could focus on was the fact that I was apparently not alone. For a moment, I was frozen with indecision. It would've only been polite to greet this person, whoever they were. Judging by the sounds they were making, it was fairly obvious that they were working out, just as I was. However, I was notoriously socially awkward, and was afraid that I would either creep out this person, or embarrass myself. I sighed. 'Well, it wouldn't hurt to try'.
Pocketing my ear pods, I began to follow the direction of the voice. As I maneuvered my way through the heaps of trash, I soon realized that the person I was searching for was apparently as far away as the other side of the beach. It was understandable, seeing as I hadn't been exactly subtle with my powers, and they had apparently failed to take note of my presence. Though, as the person's voice became clearer the further I went, I began to take note of it's high pitch, and soon enough came to the conclusion that the person must have been a girl.
I was proven right when I finally saw them. And boy, was I surprised.
A brunette haired girl, with a round, sweaty face and perpetually pink cheeks was lying flat on a bench, and intermittently raising a barbell. She was wearing a black tank top that was even darker with sweat, and pink sweatpants that hugged her legs quite firmly. What really caught my attention, however, was her rippling biceps, fairly defined despite her obvious feminity. Certainly a lot noticeable than mine, considering mine virtually didn't exist at the moment. I admit, I was struck green with envy at that moment. But I soon got over it, with a promise to myself to get in shape as fast as possible.
I waited till the girl was in the midst of the pause between her reps, before I finally made myself known.
"Uh, e-excuse me." I began. The girl seemed startled, judging by the girlish 'eep' that she let out. Quickly angling her head towards the direction she heard my voice, our eyes met. And I froze.
"A-ah. Who're you? Didn't know anyone would be here." The girl said, her face easing into a smile as she mounted the barbell on the bench. It was only then that I absently noticed that it was actually a standard weightlifting bench. Something she should've been able to access at a local gym, instead of out here in a trash wonderland. I probably would've asked her about it if I wasn't so distracted.
The girl was, while not beautiful in the conventional sense, extremely cute. Well, it was it's own form of beauty too, I guess.
"O-oh. U-um, I was, uh, a-actually, uh, I mean, I had no idea you were here t-too." I said rather eloquently. I blushed in embarrassment, both at my stuttering and at the fact that I WAS TALKING TO A GIRL! Well, as close to talking as my halting enunciation was.
The girl sat up on the bench, wiping her face with the face towel around her shoulders, and smiling rather gently at me.
"Yeah. I'm actually working out, as you can see. And yeah, know it's weird doing it out here, hehe. You haven't told me your name though." She said. She had already begun to stand up, and was now walking towards where I stood next to a dilapidated husk of a vehicle. I started, having totally forgotten of the fact that she had asked me to introduce myself.
"Ah. I'm Izuku Midoriya. Y-you can call me Izuku though." I replied in an 'almost' stutter free manner. She smiled, her eyes closing shut in a rather cute gesture, then held out her hand to me, In gesture of a handshake.
"Nice to meet you, Izuku-san. Call me Ochako then. Ochako Uraraka." She said as I hesitantly reciprocated her handshake. I absently noticed that her grip was strong, though most of my attention was focused on not making a fool of myself. The slight blush I had on my face definitely wasn't helping in the slightest in that regard, unfortunately.
"So, uh, you're working out?" smooth, izuku. Real smooth.
" Yeah. I'm kind of preparing for UA, you see?" She chuckled nervously, twiddling with the bangs that framed her face. My attention was instantly grabbed.
"UA? You're joining the Hero Course, aren't you? Me too! What's your quirk anyway? It's probably a Brute Class, that's for sure. Something to do with super strength? Maybe weightlifting increases your strength somehow? That must be why you're lifting the barbell. But the weights attached to the barbell isn't that much, so your Brute classification probably isn't very high..." At this point, I was lost in my own world as I brainstormed her quirk. An unfortunate bad habit I possessed was the tendency to mutter out loud. Couple that with my fanaticism for Quirks in general, and it made for a pretty unsettling combination. My companion, however, didn't think so.
A giggle broke me out of my reverie, and I blushed in mortification when I realized what I had been doing.
"Your funny. Are you a fan of Quirks? You sounded pretty nerdy there for a second."
"Uh, yeah! Yes, I am. Sorry for t-that actually. It's a bad habit. So, um, I was actually training here too. I'm also planning on taking the UA exams too." I muttered, staring down at my shoes and running a hand through my messy hair. I should probably get a haircut sometime soon.
"Really? So, we'll be future classmates too, huh? That's great!" She exclaimed, bouncing in her apparent excitement. I gave a tentative smile, and soon enough, I and Uraraka-san got to talking. We exchanged contacts when the sun began to set, promising to text each other whenever we could. By the time it was late in the afternoon, and I was jogging back home, I was half convinced that I had imagined the whole encounter. It was only occasional glances at her number in my phone that assuaged me of this assumption.
Fortunately, I held on till I reached the privacy of my room before I began to freakout.
"OHMIGOSH I talked to a girl!!"
The months passed relatively quickly from then on. I met her personal trainer not long after I became friends with Uraraka, a skele-uh, I mean, man named Toshinori Yagi. When I saw him, I felt a vague sense of familiarity, and something about his almost glowing blue eyes and it's intensity seemed to tug at my memory. He also acted quite a bit awkward for the first few weeks we interacted, for reasons that I wasn't aware of. He may have been naturally shy, but I doubted it, since he seemed to carry an intense aura of charisma about him. Shy people were rarely THAT charismatic. He also seemed pretty shocked when I revealed my abilities to the both of them. It was probably due to it's sheer versatility. Trumpcard was pretty strong quirk after all.
Sometime around eight months after, just a couple months before the entrance exams, Uraraka finally demonstrated her Quirk. Like I assumed, it was a Brute, though a pretty high level one, with the horrifying drawback of her bones breaking anytime she used it. Fortunately, I managed to help her with it when I learned that she had been shoving her entire power into specific places, instead of evenly distributing it around her body. When we made this particular breakthrough, I was a witness to the beautiful scene of pink lightning bolts zipping all over her frame. Though her overall strength seemed to decrease, due to her not being able to contain her full power, the percentage she was able to use safely jumped from five percent to ten in the following months. I myself had managed to increase the number of abilities I could hold to four in total, though it came with a higher and faster stamina drain. Sometimes, when the stamina drain reached critical levels, the powers I might've been using at that particular time involuntarily dropped.
Presently, we were both lying flat on the sand of a sparkling clean Dagobah Municipal Beach, just a week before the exams. We had just finished a light spar, and we were enjoying the view of the stars. The sun had set almost an hour ago by then. I was filled with contentment, both because of the fact that I would soon be fulfilling my dream, and also because I would be fulfilling it alongside my first real friend.
"Hey, Izu-kun. Wha-What do you think about being the Symbol of Peace?" Ochako's quiet voice broke me out of my ruminations, and when I turned to face her, bits of sand biting into my cheeks, I found her staring up at the early night sky, her face twisted into a delicate frown. For a few seconds, I didn't reply, mostly due to my lack of understanding of what exactly she meant.
"I don't understand. Do you want to be the next Symbol of Peace?" I asked, sitting upright in the sand and staring down at my friend, who continued to stoically watch the early stars. For a few minutes, neither of us spoke, and I began to feel apprehensive. Before I could begin to truly worry though, she replied.
"Yeah. I-I mean, I dunno. I... I don't think I have what it takes," here, she looked at me, and I was a bit shocked to discover the tears welled up in her eyes. "You'll probably be a way better Symbol of Peace than me, Izuku. You know, that's why I admire you. You have the heart of a true hero. I... I-I don't think I do."
I was stunned. For a minute, my mind was swallowed by the densest, most darkest black hole in the known universe. Not only because she had complimented me. I was definitely going to be flustered as all hell later. But this, the tears that Ochako, my first, closest friend, was desperately holding back, demanded my utmost attention.
For as long as I had known Ochako, I always found myself admiring her deeply. Her empathy, her friendliness, her bubbly attitude, the aura of soft charisma she exuded, and the sheer presence that seemed to take her over whenever she was determined. Ochako could make friends with the devil himself. Hell, she could probably turn Kaccha- Bakugo himself into a saint. She was a ball of sunshine, a person always with a smile that was guaranteed to calm down a raging dragon, the person I admired the most after getting to know her, and experience her drive and her heart. Ochako was the closest person to an ideal Hero that I had ever met.
And this person, was on the verge of tears.
"That's not true, Ochako. That's not true at all." I whispered. Suddenly, in a burst of inspiration, I cupped the hand closest to mine.
"You, Ochako Uraraka, are the single most heroic person I have ever met. I-I've never told you this, but I consider you my Hero, you know. I don't really know how to give a-a pep talk, but if there is a person you assume is more heroic than you, then I either do not acknowledge them, or I haven't met them yet. If you ever want to be the next Symbol of Peace, you'll," I paused. Involuntarily, my mind flashed back to the Symbol of Peace that I had the displeasure of meeting. I winced. " No. You'd be an absolutely terrible Symbol of Peace."
Here, Ochako's face, which had begun to look vaguely enraptured, became stricken, like I had just pronounced to her that she was the most horrible human being to ever walk the face of the earth. A tear fell, and I felt my heart squeeze, but I bulldozed on.
"You'd never be a Symbol of Peace. You'd be something even greater. A Symbol of Hope. I assume that you admire All Might, which would explain the reason why you seem fixated on this Symbol of Peace nonsense. B-But Ochako. You aren't All Might. You'll never be All Might. You never wear that giant grin, you'll never laugh that booming laugh, and you'll never pose that gallant pose. No. You a-are Ochako Uraraka. My best friend. You have your gentle smile, your soft laugh, your caring touch, your charming aura, and your unbreakable determination. You, Ochako, are going to be the best Hero you could ever be. Not an e-emulation of a preexisting Symbol, but a creation of your own Symbol. A-At least, that's what I believe."
Her face was expressionless. For a moment, I faltered, fearing that I had somehow offended her. That I had utterly crushed her dreams of becoming a Symbol of Peace.
But the crushing hug that followed, the engulfing embrace that threatened to shatter my ribs and the choking mixture of laughter and sobs that wracked her frame served to assuage my fears.
A week later, we took our first step into becoming the Heroes we wanted to be.
The gates of UA High, the number one Hero Academy in the entire country, and one of the top most in the world, loomed over me. The school itself was a quadruple conglomerate of glass and concrete titans, seemingly built with the sole purpose of inspiring awe. I felt every bit of that awe as I stood a couple feet before it's arches.
For close to ten minutes, I stood enraptured. Then, I returned my attention to the phone in my hands, to the email that had been sent to me the night before.
Quirk: Trumpcard.
Quirk User: Midoriya Izuku
Quirk Classification: Trump 12 (potentially infinity)
Quirk Description: The User can select various abilities, with seemingly no end to sheer variety. From super strength, to invisibility, mineral physiology, etcetera, the user literally has no limit to what they can wield. The only known drawbacks is the time needed to charge a power to adequate strength, and the stamina drain of this ability.
Midoriya Izuku's abilities is both extremely versatile, and potentially very, very powerful. With the express permission of his legal guardians, we, the Hero Public Safety Commission, would like to personally train him and help him attain his full potential as a future pillar of society. In the likelihood of your agreement, please send your reply through this particular email address.- Hero Public Safety Commission.
Last night had been a night of intense discussion between I and my mother. The Hero Public Safety Commission was a law enforcement agency responsible for managing the interactions between heroes and society as a whole and for investigating the most dangerous cases of criminality. They were also known for taking promising heroes under their wings and raising them as future prominent heroes. Case in point, the Number Three Hero, Hawks.
While I was honestly flattered and more than a little giddy to be noticed by such a prominent organization, famous for raising first class heroes, it had always been my life long dream to attend UA High. My mother had been of the opinion that I would be safer under the protection and tutelage of the government. While I had later succeeded in convincing her otherwise, afterall, there was no safer school in Japan than UA, I had to give them due credit. The Hero Public Safety Commission would probably have been just as excellent a choice. However, I was notoriously stubborn when it came to fulfilling my goals, and I wasn't about to drop what had been my dream school since virtually forever.
"Get out of the fucking way, Deku!" I heard a very, very familiar growl from behind me, followed by a particularly violent shove that sent me stumbling. Katsuki Bakugo, my most eminent bully, stalked past me with his trademark angry gait. As he walked towards the school entrance, I heard mutters of the word 'worthless' among the general undecipherable vitriol he spat.
"Hey... Bakugo-san." I whispered to myself, then sighed quietly. Somethings just never change. I did notice the slight height I had gained over him though, to my eternal satisfaction.
"Izuku?"
I spun rapidly, and lo and behold, standing behind me was a brown haired angel. Ochako Uraraka.
Over the course of ten months, she gained a noticeable bulk in muscle, and a pleasing aesthetically fit shape, though it was now mostly hidden by the black coat and scarf she wore. The leggings showed her defined, long legs to the fullest though.
I had also gained considerable muscle mass, something I was very proud of, and I was also now a full head taller than her, where before we were more or less of the same height. My curly green hair was also slightly trimmed too, just enough for me to comb it down to a vague sense of normalcy and submission, though it was still very much curly.
"Ochako-chan! When did you get here?" I exclaimed In pleasant surprise. I also noticed that she wasn't looking at me, but rather staring after Bakugo with narrowed eyes.
"Do you know that jerk, Izuku? Why is he calling you Deku? You're not useless!" She said lowly, with something vaguely resembling a snarl permeating her normally soothing voice.
"Ah. Yeah. T-That's Bakugo Katsuki, a former... acquaintance." I said, purposely glossing over our relation. Ochako didn't seem to notice, as she looked at me right after, and smiled in that dazzling, breathtaking way of hers.
"Well, don't listen to him then, Izu-kun. You look more like a 'Dekiru' to me, y'know. You give off that 'you can do it' vibe." She said with a grin and an energetic fist pump, before walking towards me and taking my hand, dragging me towards the entrance. Utterly oblivious to the way my lungs constricted, and my heart skipped a beat, at her nonchalant words.
"Y'know, I kinda like that name. I think your new nickname will be Dekiru. Now come on, Dekiru-kun. Our Hero Academia awaits."
AN: Review, will you kindly? _Please tell me what you think. I'm eager for your critiques. No flames tho. .We'll be seeing our first Interlude the Chapter after the next. Guess what? It'll be Ochako's POV;).