Chapter 02: One of Those Days

Izuku lets out a soft sigh as he entered the apartment he shares with his mother, Inko.

"I'm home," Izuku announced.

"Welcome back, Izuku!" Inko greeted from the couch. She looks up from the book she was reading to see the passive downtrodden on his face. A common look he bears whenever he returns from school. No matter how many times she sees this, it would never get easy.

Inko is a sweet woman who loves her son dearly, Quirkless and all. She also a tad bit overprotective of Izuku and who could blame her? The Quirkless was seen as scum of the Earth by some people and the Midoriya parents were worried for their only son. Inko still remembered the phone call between her and Hisashi after the examination. She was in hysterics, worried for her son's safety, and Hisashi did his best to calm his wife down before she hyperventilates. She even started to apologize, something that Hisashi struck down quickly. As it turns out, Hisashi's mother was born Quirkless and before he could apologize, Inko stops him.

No one was at fault. Not Inko, not Hisashi, and especially not Izuku. It was something just out of their control. An unfortunate circumstance. Not long after, Hisashi came home to give his family emotional support. Unfortunately, Hisashi soon had to return to work so he could continue to provide for his family. With a heavy heart, he leaves, but not before telling Izuku he loves him.

Now, it was just Inko and Izuku.

"Bad day, sweetie?" she asked him.

"No. Not really. It was…a day, I guess," Izuku said. He pushed down his sleeves so his mother wouldn't see the bandages, covering wounds from a latest beating. "I'll be in my room." After replacing his shoes for house slippers, he heads to his All Might themed room.

"Izuku?" He stops in front of his door. Inko had risen from her spot. "Do you want anything specific for dinner later?"

"…Not really. I'm…sorry," Izuku said before he opens his door, goes in, and closes the door with a soft click.

Inko could feel her heart ache again as she knows that her son is hurting and is going to continue to hurt. He really wanted to be a Hero and Inko wanted to support him but…in order to be a Pro like All Might, Izuku needs a Quirk. Which he doesn't have. She really wishes that things were different…

"I'm sorry, Izuku," she apologized, tearfully and quietly. "I'm so sorry…"

There was very little time for Ruby to duck as a fist flew towards her. She throws a punch of her own at her older sister, Yang, but the blonde caught the fist in her hand. Ruby then goes in for a kick on Yang's side, but the other girl was able to catch it. With a smirk, Yang pulls Ruby around before spinning her and pinning her to the ground.

"3 for me, 0 for you," Yang smiled. She pokes Ruby's nose. "Boop." Ruby swats the arm away half-heartedly and rises back on her feet.

"More like 2.5 for you and 0.5 for me. I so got you on the side last round."

"Maybe. What do you think, Uncle Toshi?" Yang asked her honorary uncle, who is seated at a table set up on the back patio of the house as he watched the sisters spar each other. A mug of tea is placed beside him.

"She did manage to make you stagger with her kick. Moments like that can make or break your chance to win the day," Toshinori explained. "If Ruby had took the initiative and strike again at that moment, she could've won that round."

"HA! Boo-yah, Sis!" Ruby gloated. Yang rolled her eyes and pulls her sister in a headlock.

"Yeah, yeah. Ya did good," she said, ignoring Ruby's flailing arms. "But, you still need to work on your hand-to-hand. Whatever you have cookin' up, it ain't gonna help ya all the time."

"They are just regular goggles for now, Yang," Ruby groaned as she tries to pry herself from her sister's grasp. "And they are called support gear for a reason. Soon, I'm gonna make something so I wouldn't need to train like crazy."

"Hmm-mmm," Yang hummed. "Ya know, Rubes. All Might didn't use support gear."

"That's mainly because they were more of an encumbrance rather than helpful…to him." Toshinori was quick to add the last part. Unlike Tai, Toshinori doesn't want the girls to know his heroic identity. "However, you still need to train yourself, Ruby. Support gear are just that. Support. You need to hone your skills to have a better understanding of your development as a hero. As you are now, support gear will only dampen your progress because it would cause you to have little understandings of your Quirk's limitations and how to overcome them. Using your goggles as they are now are good enough for the time being and you can add more support once you start your training for the provisional license exam, because at that point, you have a better understanding of your Quirk. Until then, focus on your body and mind."

"You heard the man, Ruby," Yang said. Ruby grumbles.

"You still need some improvement yourself, Yang," Tai said as he closes the sliding door behind him. Yang let's go of her sister, who stumbles to the ground.

"Like what?"

"You're gonna need a way to counter leg-based attacks."

"Yeah, I guess I'm gonna have to leg up on strategies."

There was a twinkle in Tai's eye. "That's right. Remember what I said about standing up for yourself."

"All I need is a leg to stand on." Toshinori gave a small sideways smile. He's been exposed to the pun wars between the father and daughter, and he found them endearing, no matter how cringy the puns get.

"So prideful. Someone's gonna have to bring you down a leg at some point."

At this point, Ruby had enough. "Agh! Enough with the leg puns. I can't stand them!" A moment of silence filled the air before all three blondes started laughing. Realizing what she had done, Ruby groans pitifully in the soft dirt, her face a bright red. "Why did I say that?"

"You may be a Rose, little sis, but you're still a Xiao Long," Yang laughed.

"I knooooow…" The muffled wail only encouraged for more laughter. Unfortunately for Toshinori, he laughed a little too hard for his lungs and a cough erupted from his throat, along with a glob of blood into a napkin he grabbed from the table. Ruby whipped her head up at the sound. "Uncle Toshi?"

"You okay?" Yang asked worriedly.

"Toshinori?" Tai voiced, half-rising from his seat. Yes, he has been aware of Toshinori's condition, but that doesn't stop him from being concerned.

"…I'm fine," the tall man coughed. "Really, I am. It's normal for me." After wiping away the specs of blood off his lips, he gives the family of three a smile. "Laughing like that was actually refreshing. I just overdid it a little." He hadn't had such a good laugh in a long while. Sure, he gives a hardy gut laugh as All Might, but that's mostly to defuse the situation at hand.

"You sure you're okay?" Ruby asked as she got up her feet and walked up to him. "All Might isn't overworking you, is he?"

"There are no worries, Ruby," Toshinori reassured.

"I've been meaning to ask," Yang said. "Why are you here? I mean, it's awesome that you're here and all, but you haven't been around much since your accident. What's up?"

"As much as I want to tell you, I'm afraid I can't disclose anything," Toshinori said. "Yet, at least."

"Ooooo, is it a secret mission?" Yang grinned. "Is All Might incognito?"

"Is he? Is he? Is he? Is he?" Ruby asked with each bounce.

The older man lifts a finger to his lips. "You know the old saying, 'a mouth can cause trouble*.'"

"Awwwwww…" the sisters groaned in disappointment.

"Enough of that girls. Go wash yourselves and get to bed," Tai said.

"Fine. Goodnight, Uncle Toshi," Yang said as she heads inside.

"Night!" Ruby said and followed her sister, but not before giving the tall man a hug. The tall blonde looks up to the star-filled sky. It was blink and you miss moment: a giant shadow flew by, blocking the light of the stars as it did.

"I'm gonna take a guess that Qrow is working late," Toshinori asked.

"The woes of an underground hero," Tai answered jokingly. "Thanks for stopping by, Toshinori."

"I've been needing to see you guys in person for some time. I just…couldn't find the courage until now," Toshinori said, he rubbed his neck.

"Well, you came. And that's all that mattered," Tai said. "Please, be careful on your way."

"Hey, Tai. Before I go…" Toshinori pointed towards some trees in the back.

Tai smiles. "You didn't need to ask, Toshinori," he said. He places a hand on the other man's slouching shoulder. "You're family."

"…Thank you…"

The moonlight and stars shined as Toshinori made his way along a stone pathway going uphill through a long garden arch decorated with white roses that stand out beautifully in the night. The hero marveled at the flora as he reached top. There, waiting and with the moon in view, is a stone bench and placed in front of said bench was a memorial stone with a plaque. Etched in the plaque was a rose symbol and below it was the name 'Summer Rose' and the words 'Beloved Wife, Hero, Mother, and Sister – Blood or no' and the birth date '19XX年XX月XX日' and the death date '20XX年XX月XX日'. And just below all this is a line from the woman's favorite poem written in her mother language, English: Thus Kindly, I Scatter.

Toshinori takes a seat on the bench and leaned his arms on his knees. A sorrowful smile appeared as his blue eyes glistened from unseen tears.

"Hey, Summer," he said, his voice cutting through the silence. "It's…been a while…hasn't it?" He had a lot of things to say, things about how he is, what he's been doing, what's been happening, and what's going to happen…but, the moment he sat there, Toshinori's mind went blank. Like when you studied hard for an exam and the moment you are given the quiz, suddenly everything went blank. There was no excuse as to why he hasn't visited Summer for so long. He sighs. "I'm sure you know what happened me. Maybe Tai or Qrow had to told you. Or perhaps…Mirai…" He breathes deeply, as much as what remained of his lungs can, anyway. "My time as a hero is getting smaller and smaller, Summer. Very soon, I'm gonna have to find a successor and…" Toshinori swallows back a lump in his throat. "I might be seeing you again sooner than I thought…" His grip on his pant leg tightens. "I wonder what you would say to me. I wish…I wish you were here…I mean, I think you are here in some way, but…it's not the same…" He grows quiet on that lonesome bench.

As All Might, he could figure out his problems with a good punch, filled to the brim with confidence and stride. But…as Toshinori Yagi, weak and crippled…he's less of a hero and more of a liability…He's merely a shadow…and not a good shadow…not like…

Toshinori gets up and turns to leave. Something small flutters against his sunken cheek. He grasps for it and looks. Laying on the palm of his hand is a white rose petal. Toshinori could feel a chill go up his spine and goosebumps prickled his skin. On a sentimental level, he fought back the tears that threatened to return. A smile formed on Toshinori's face as steam emanated off his skin. His muscles grew and contorted under his skin as his once spindly fingers turned thick curled over the petal. Now musclebound as All Might and full of heroic conviction, his sunken eyes look up at the star filled sky.

"See you later, sis," All Might said before he flew into the air in a single bound.

Yang sighed with content as she made herself comfortable in the large tub, her long blonde locks coiled in a loose bun. The hot water felt nice after a day at UA. Suddenly, she could feel her big sister instincts kick in and looks at her sister, who is with her in the tub, leaning on the side. The younger girl seemed frustrated.

"So, how was school, sis?" she asked Ruby.

"Huh? Oh. It was okay," she said offhandedly. Sensing that there is more to it, Yang moves close to Ruby, the bath water burbled on the acrylic.

"You suuure?" Yang inquired. "Ya know you can tell me anything. Right?"

Ruby stares at her sister for a moment. "…Winchester." Yang's semi-serious face turned 100% serious.

"As in Cardin Winchester? What did he do this time?" the blonde asked with a hint of venom dripping.

"Just the usual stuff. Being a big jerk to Jaune and me," Ruby grumbled. She sinks a little into the bath water, only up to her nose and made littles bubbles.

"Sure ya don't want me to come over and punch his lights out?" the blonde asked.

"I'm sure, Yang. And you're in UA! Don't go all vigilante!" Ruby scolded.

"Okay, okay…" Yang sighed. She looks over at her sister once more, seeing that she is still a little upset. Then, an idea pops into her head. She creeps close to her sister and with her left index finger, she pokes Ruby on her side, enticing a giggle from the younger girl.

"*giggle* Yang, what are you doing? *giggle* Yang, stop it! *giggle* I mean it!"

Mission accomplished.

Back at the Midoriya residence, Izuku and Inko had just got finished dinner and the mother is washing the dishes as her son sat in the living room, watching the news. There was another villain attack, though the culprit had fled the scene before any heroes, even the underground heroes, arrived. Thankfully, there were no casualties.

/While there weren't a single death in the attack, the collateral damage was immense,/ the reporter announced, showing scenes of a building, a convenience store probably, looking worse for wear. Broken windows, sliding doors blown off, and the inside looking like an earthquake had occurred.

/Do you know who may have been the cause of this incident?/ the news anchorman asked the reporter.

/While we can't rule out the possibility of a different assailant entirely, the most likely suspect is the Wicked Gentleman, Roman Torchwick./ A mug shot of an orange haired man with a bowler hat appeared on the corner of the screen. /At the sight of his crimes, he has always left behind his calling card, which the police were able to retrieve from the sight./ Below the mug shot is the image of a playing card, black with orange designs. The card looks like it was designed to be a joker card: the back has a grinning face, like something from a carved pumpkin and the front has a drawing of Torchwick in place of the joker. The word 'Wicker' is written on the top-left and 'Gentleman' is written on the bottom-right.

/This has been the third attack this month. Can you tell us if the heroes and police have any plans on catching this criminal?/

/As of now, we were given no statements on the matter. Although, it is possible that they plan to approach this diligently as the Wicked Gentleman has been confirmed to be Quirkless according to medical records found in Brunswick, Lower Saxony, Germany./

/Quirkless or no, a criminal is a criminal. I can only hope that this doesn't encourage what remains of the Quirkless to follow in Torchwick's footst—/ The channel changed to a cooking show abruptly. It startled Izuku slightly.

"Sorry, Izuku. The news was getting too negative for me," Inko said, putting down the remote. "I've read an article about watching the news can actually make you very anxious the longer you watch it. We don't want that, now do we?"

Izuku glances over at the anxiety inhaler seating next to him. It looked like an asthma inhaler, but instead of containing medications that helps treat inflammation, it instead contains CO2 to help calm him. He only ever used it when he's suffering a severe panic attack.

"…Right…" Izuku muttered. He turns back to the tv. The lady on the show was presenting a recipe for some kind of stir fry, but Izuku didn't care. Not really. His thoughts went back to the news and what was said. "…Mom, did you change the channel because you thought that I—"

"No!" Inko interjected quickly, surprising both herself and her son. "I…I know well enough that you would never do such a thing! You are a good boy, Izuku. I know it and you know it as well."

Somehow, Izuku smiled, albeit tiny. "…Thanks, mom."

Despite that, it was clear to both of them that Izuku still has his doubts. That if there is a snowball's chance in hell that he could become a hero one day.

Yep, just another of one of those days.

After the bath, Ruby enters her room, dressed in her pajamas and a towel hung around her neck. She turns the light on as she entered. Her room's main color was a vibrant red accented with black and bits of pink and white.

The girl walks over to a desk just below her bed. Said bed was originally a bunk bed that Ruby and Yang once shared, though after the latter moved out to her own room, the former had the bottom bunk refurbished into a desk. On the desk are few tools, screws and nuts, a Campos graph notebook, and (most importantly) her goggles.

Ruby walks over to her desk, her sock covered feet padding against the wood floor. She sits down in the chair and picks up her goggles. They looked like ordinary goggles at first glance, just an old pair of aviator goggles. She slips the goggles over her eyes. She places a finger over a small knob located on the left side of the left eyepiece. She moves the knob up and down. As she did so, the front of the goggles moved forward and back as the sight zoomed in and out.

"Looking good," she muttered to herself. Then, the zooming stopped, even though Ruby kept moving the knob. "Or not." Ruby takes the goggles off and looks for the problem. Finding it, she picks up a screwdriver to fix it.

After a few minutes, she heard her father. "Light's off, Ruby!"

"Kay!" Ruby responded, though she continued to work. About a minute later, she heard Tai speak again, this time in an authoritative tone.

"Ruby. Bed. Now."

"I am in bed, right now," Ruby said, idly. Another minute passed and at first, Ruby thought her father left her be. Then the lights in her room went out. So, she thought wrong. "…time for bed, then."

She puts her tools and goggles down and climbs up to her bed above. While not sleepy yet, she takes out her phone to text Jaune, who is no doubt at home now and in bed. And hopefully awake. Much to her relief, a response came through.

Me: You up?

Vomit Boy: Yep

Ruby snickered to herself. The nickname she has for her childhood friend has been tethered to the blue-eyed blonde since they were little. In fact, that was her first impression of Jaune: he threw up all over Yang's shoes when they first met. He was nicknamed 'Vomit Boy' ever since. As retaliation, Jaune had called Ruby 'Crater Face' after she ran into a wall with her Quirk. She has no doubt that Jaune is using it for Ruby's caller id on his phone.

Me: How was work?

Vomit Boy: Busy and weird…Good money, though.

Me: (Smiling Eyes) Maybe we can go to the arcade at some point

Vomit Boy: Oh, you've been saving your allowance?

Ruby stared at her phone for a beat.

Me: (Raspberry Face)

Vomit Boy: (Wink) Good night, Ruby

Me: (Smiling Eyes) Night, Jaune

Ruby turns off her phone and puts it on the charger on the wall before getting comfortable in her red plush comforter. She goes to lay on her side when her eyes landed on a hanging framed photo next to her phone. While the light of moon made most of the photo hidden, Ruby could still make out a smile.

A warm, motherly smile.

A smile she barely remembers anymore, yet still felt comfort.

"Night, mom."

Outside, the moon seemed brighter.

Izuku was still up. He laid in his bed in the darkened All Might-themed room, the only light being his phone. He was scanning through a hero forum about the fight earlier that afternoon. There was even a video of an interview after the fight.

A reporter had run up to Regina Ice, who was monitoring the police putting the villain in an armored car, her stance stiff and attentive. /Regina Ice, mind if we ask a few questions?/ Izuku noticed a look in the woman's eyes. It was a split second, but he was able to catch it. It didn't look like she wanted to because she was focused on making sure the villain doesn't do anything. Then, she looked somewhere else and smiled, almost with relief. Why? Oh. That's right. Flame High was there.

/Not at all,/ Regina Ice said turning fully towards the camera.

/Today marks the anniversary of your debut! Is there anything you wish to say for any aspiring heroes?/

/…To any students currently in the hero course or children wishing for the chance to be part of the next generation of heroes, listen well…the road to heroism is going to be long and hard. However, so as long as you don't lose that noble ambition, good things will come your way. Just have faith./

Izuku turned off his phone after that. He puts his arm across his stomach and laid there in the dark, mulling over the woman's words.

"Good things…will come your way…" he muttered. He glances at where his notebooks are. Hero Analysis Numbers 1-12 have a shelf dedicated to them. His grip on his phone tightens. 'I will become hero someday.'

'No matter what.'

Just another one of those days.

I wondered how in the world Izuku is born Quirkless to parents with Quirks, because Quirks are a genetic thing. So, maybe one of his grandparents was Quirkless and that gene was passed on to him. Speaking of Hisashi, I'm debating on him being divorced from Inko or dead because of Izuku's attitude (or lack there of) towards Hisashi.

(*) the expression is '口は災いの元 – Kuchi wa wazawai no moto'. Sort of like the English saying 'Loose lips sinks ships' or 'Speech is silver, but silence is golden.'

One last thing, I've made a tumblr blog dedicated to this. The link is available on my fanfic profile. It's virtually empty, but, it will slowly grow as the series go on.

Please comment, fav, and follow! They bring me joy! If you have questions about OHA, go to the tumblr page I told you about!