Chapter One: Roots Of Rhythm
Izuku Midoriya. A man with dark green unruly hair, and a goal to save as many people as he could in his life woke up in the place he'd be staying for the next year. He was a bit on the shorter side, only reaching about 5'11, but what he lacked in height he made up for in his quite muscular build. He was, as one would refer to, a total nerd, and was great with both numbers and most assets of geek culture. His eyes were bright green, and most would say they shimmered with a bit of boyish charm.
His life evolved around never being good enough for anything, but now here he stood in this prestigious university and proving all of those naysayers wrong. He would make sure to excel above and beyond so that his deeper goals could come to fruition. He was a determined man, but he wasn't an idiot; he knew there would be many challenges, but now was the time to be excited. It was his first day after all.
He was in a dorm on the campus of Yuuei University. He was one of the few students to get in with a scholarship, but it was thanks to his heightened intellect and near-perfect analysis. He was accepted into the prestigious university thanks to his mentor/sponsor Yagi Toshinori. Today was going to the first day of his classes, and he made sure to get up bright and early so that he could start the day off right.
Izuku rose from his bed, staring around his still unpacked room. He'd have to finish unpacking later today after classes as he moved in yesterday. The green-haired boy stood from his bed and stretched and smiled at the opportunity to start a new life here at this prestigious university. It was all thanks to one man that he'd have the chance to do great things in the world.
'Today's gonna be a good day…' Izuku thought as he went to prepare himself for his first day. Izuku stepped into his own private bathroom; it was attached to his bedroom and all the students got a private bathroom for their own personal use. He quickly undressed and stepped into his shower, making note of the terrible water pressure. The boy had a good build, he was lean but also quite fit with well defined muscular structure. He worked out quite often thanks to Toshinori.
As Izuku stepped out of his shower and looked at himself in his near-fogged up mirror he pondered if he should try and do something with his hair today. It wasn't exactly like him to try and tame the beast that was his unkempt hair, but trying to make it look nicer than it already did in it's shaggy state wasn't really his style.
He decided against it, and instead brushed his teeth and quickly got dressed for the day. He was going out in a plain red sweatshirt, black sweatpants and his trademark red hightops. It wasn't one of his more "flashier" outfits, but it was casual and comfy; something he could wear a bit proudly. This was going to be his first day at school, he had to show confidence. Even if only a little, he wanted to seem a bit prideful despite the fact he was a nervous wreck deep down.
The boy grabbed his longboard and yellow backpack and exited his room. His roommate, a quiet man with two distinct hair colors- White and red- stood in the kitchen cooking breakfast. He turned as Izuku exited his room, but said nothing and opted to return back to his breakfast. Izuku sighed, his roommate refused to interact with him at all.
He tried to introduce himself but all he got was a short conversation that was cut short by him locking himself away in his room. His name was Shouto Todoroki, and he was a thermal dynamic engineering major, but that was all Izuku had gathered from their conversation. He respected the option of keeping to himself but at least try to make thing's a bit less awkward, maybe? Izuku was awkward enough as it was.
The greenette shook his head and grabbed a granola bar, he didn't have time to be worrying about his roommate right now. He took a deep breath and exited his dorm, he'd need to hurry if he were to make it in time for his 9am class. He was an analytics major and had quite a lot to do in order to keep up with his mentors expectations.
Izuku exited his dorm building and hopped onto his longboard, using his left leg to push himself forward, and making sure he was cruising along the path safely. He'd weave his way through the students that littered the path here and there, and pull out his headphones to connect to his phone.
He'd opt to listen to one of his favorite bands, Deep Dope. They were an indie rock band and had put out a lot of singles and EP's before finally releasing a full album, one that Izuku had been listening to on repeat for a few days. A lot of the music had reminded him of his past days growing up and dealing with bullying and living with his widowed mother.
His father had vanished when Izuku was at a young age, leaving Izuku to live with his mother. He had to learn to fend for himself early on as his mother worked her butt off to provide for them, but he never complained. It was his job as a son to stay strong and cherish everything that she did for their little family, even when he had started getting bullied in school.
He was always known as the scrawny, wimpy nerd who would never amount to anything. He had the ideals to be such a charitable and helpful person, and everyone continuously tried to beat a harsh reality into him that it was frivolous. His dream was flawed and he'd continue to find out that his efforts would be in vain.
However, now Izuku believed that he could turn those accusations around. He could- No, he would prove them wrong. He could find a way to help many in need. He would continue to find a way and persevere.
'I wonder what the other students here are like…' Izuku questioned as he reached his destination to the main building of the school and hopped off of his skateboard, picking it up and continuing his oddly confident stride inside. As he stepped into the building and headed for the direction of his class-to-be, Izuku found himself bumping straight into someone's back. They were a bit more built than him and were wearing a black t-shirt with green cargo pants and black sneakers. Izuku pulled his headphones off and shook his head.
"Oh, s-sorry about that!" Izuku said, backing away from the guy as he turned. His ash blonde hair seemed oddly familiar, but it merely peeked out of his backwards cap. But then Izuku caught his eyes and fear struck him to his very core. The man glared at him.
"Watch where the fuck you're goin- Deku?" The blonde questioned, using Izuku's "nickname". It was really just a nickname people used to call him useless as his name was spelt with the kanji for the useless wooden doll. This man in front of Izuku Midoriya was the man who was one of his biggest tormentors growing up. They weren't exactly friends, but they've known each other since they were essentially babies.
And now here was his tormentor standing right in front of him. Honestly hearing his childhood bully call him that name after coming to try and get away from him was going to send him spiraling into a fit of rage. However, it looked as though this man, Katsuki Bakugou, was more surprised than angry to see Izuku.
"Midoriya works fine, Bakugou. I-It's nice to see you and all, b-but I've got classes." Izuku mumbled, slipping past Bakugou and rushing off to his classroom's direction. Bakugou rolls his eyes and lets out an exhale through his nose, deciding not to attack the boy for walking off before he could say anything in response. He knew that it was only a matter of time until he'd have to berate the idiot for even being here.
Bakugou knew the nerd had what it took, but he never showed his potential to anyone. He was called useless, and ill-prepared to have any kind of successful future due to the cards he had been dealt in life. But here he was, and Bakugou had no idea why he even got accepted with what little money him and his mother had. He must've gotten help somehow.
'That damn nerd…' Bakugou thought, walking off to his next class. Truthfully, he was aware of how he had treated Izuku and how wrong it was, but it seemed it was too late to try and take any of it back now. Not that he wanted to or anything; he would never be friends with that nerd. Probably.
Izuku on the other hand would've loved to have such an admirable person for a friend, however, the boy had developed a superiority complex due to his natural talent for explosives. He loved fireworks, and researched many ways to get his hands on explosives to test out in random fields back when they were kids. He was essentially a prodigy for being able to get his hands on such things.
Izuku, on the other hand, excelled with analytics and numbers. It was his strong suit, but unfortunately it was frowned upon and due to his lanky stature back in the day he was forced to go through your typical highschool bullying. He had even been told to kill himself once prior due to Bakugou. So, to retract his statement from before, he wouldn't prefer to be friends with such an asshole. But Izuku digressed, Bakugou wasn't all bad when he wanted to.
Whenever people got too personal when attacking Izuku, say they made a comment about his mother, Bakugou would always step in and scare them off. No one would insult his aunt. Bullying Izuku was Bakugou's job, and although he had his lackeys, all they would do is sit there and agree with him. Perhaps it was just some cruel way of giving Izuku a reality check. The world wasn't just a bunch of numbers, sometimes things would happen erratically.
Izuku shook his head and wandered straight into his class where he came face to face with a scruffy, homeless-looking man, which he assumed was either a teacher, or a very scary student. He looked like he hadn't slept in ages. The professor nodded to Izuku in greeting and gestured to the seats where other students were littered about. There was a rather beautiful girl with long black hair that was in a ponytail, and one with short pink hair and a lollipop in her mouth. There was also a rather tall man wearing rather… Formal attire, with his glasses shining in the light.
There were a few other neat faces in the class, but Izuku didn't really have much time to continue looking around due to a rather sudden voice speaking up behind him.
"Oh! You're that guy from orientation!" A feminine voice spoke, drawing Izuku's attention to behind him. It was a short brunette girl with a bob cut and really rosy pink cheeks. She did seem a bit familiar, yet due to her being in such close proximity, Izuku was red-faced and his brain was close to malfunctioning. "I tried to look for you after, but you were nowhere to be found! I really have to thank you for helping me back then, I would've lost my way if not for you!"
"Oh, you were the girl from before…" Izuku started, reminiscing back on their first orientation. "I-It's no problem. I'm happy to help someone in need."
Upon Izuku arriving for orientation after being accepted into the university he had encountered this girl before. She had been trying to find her way to the meeting hall and so Izuku took it upon himself to lead her all the way there. He had prior knowledge of the campus as he visited it quite often due to this being the place where his mentor graduated from.
He entered the event building only to see a distraught brunette on her knees trying to pick up a bunch of papers while panicking. He had taken it upon himself to head over and help the girl keep her cool, as well as help her find her way into the meeting hall. Seems she had remembered his face because here she was with a bright smile on her face.
"Seriously, thank you so much for back then! I would've lost my head if not for you, I really appreciate it!" She thanked, bowing slightly out of courtesy.
Izuku waved his hand dismissively, "It's fine! Oh, but I never caught your name…"
The brunette giggled slightly and held a hand out for the boy to shake. "I'm Ochako Uraraka, a physics major. I've always had an interest in gravity and the like, I hope we get along as friends!"
Izuku took her hand firmly, nearly shocking her with how strong his grip was, and smiled joyfully. "Of course! I'm Izuku Midoriya, an analytics major."
The girl nodded and the two of them decided to have small talk idly while sitting and waiting for the teacher to begin the lesson. Izuku learned a bit about the girl, namely her love for sweets and her job at a nearby cafe. Perhaps he'd go and visit said cafe tomorrow for lunch.
Speaking of jobs, Izuku would have to find one soon enough. Perhaps the nearby animal shelter would be hiring, it was definitely one of his favorite spots to visit as a kid. He would frequent the shelter often to volunteer, and also just to see all the animals in need. It was a bit of a happy place for him, at least until the bullying started to worsen.
Suddenly the professor cleared his throat, drawing the students attention to the front of the room. "Hello students, I am your professor Shouta Aizawa. I will be your instructor for your academic and professional skills class for this semester, and I hope none of you will be causing me any sort of trouble. I won't hesitate to get you expelled from the university."
The students' eyes went wide, and a few of them were more confused than shocked. Why would a teacher threaten to get a student expelled on the first day? "Call it strange if you will, but I see that it's perfectly rational if you dare to disturb my class. I will be teaching you the harsh reality that is the professional world and I expect you all to listen and succeed. If you have no plans on it, you can leave right now and I'll have you removed from my roster."
'What kind of teachers is this university hiring!?' Izuku thought, gulping down his anxiety. This teacher was really tough already on the first day! Weren't these professors supposed to be way more laid back than their highschool predecessors? Why was this scruffy looking man so damn hardcore!?
"Now, onto the first lesson of the year. Never expect someone in a professional setting to show you any sort of respect or compassion. That is a foolish mistake and you will almost always fail in any job interview or business deal if you expect any kind of mercy." The man expressed, pointing to the board that somehow now was presenting a slideshow on professional behavior in the workplace.
Izuku eyed the presentation and looked as if he was about to pass out. Getting this intense on the first day was really causing him to panic like crazy.
Today was gonna be a long day.
"Ugghhh…" Izuku groaned as his final teacher for the day, a drool heavy man nicknamed "Ectoplasm" by the students, announced the end of the lesson and allowed the students to leave.
The greenette was absolutely exhausted after today. His professors had all assigned some form of homework for the week and it was already looking like Yuuei University was no joke.
Just to add onto that, Izuku had to encounter Katsuki Bakugou of all people on his first day! It was his childhood bully, and here he was probably planning to do the same things he did before. He had even encountered the boy a second time during lunch, probably making his new friend, Uraraka, concerned for his well being.
Bakugou had essentially forced his way into their conversation and began asking questions on how Izuku had even made it into the university.
Bakugou was really something else…
"Seriously, that guy was so intense during our first class. How is he a professor!?"
Izuku shrugged and sighed as the girl caught up to him to meet him after his second class. Luckily for them their first two classes were rather close to one another and they would have time to talk more during their shared free period. The two opted to use it for their lunch period, but decided against going outside of campus due to Uraraka being short on cash.
"Honestly, I'd rather not question it. I've seen way worse when it comes to people-" Izuku started, before being cut off.
"Oi! Deku!" A gruff voice was heard from behind the duo, causing Izuku to flinch in fear and halt his stride to the school's cafeteria. It was named "The Lunch Rush" due to it's surprisingly good food, and how often the place was packed.
Uraraka turned her head while Izuku stood frozen, locking eyes with a rather tall and scary looking blonde guy with spiky hair. His eyes were a crimson red, and his scowl deepened as he noticed that Izuku was talking to a girl. When the hell did Deku gain the balls?
"Y-Yes..?" Izuku spoke, causing Uraraka to grow shocked at Izuku responding to such a rude nickname. The boy seemed a bit startled by it himself, but the blonde approached calmly regardless, and placed a hand to the greenettes shoulder.
"The hell are you doing here, nerd? I thought I told you this place was too rough for the likes of you. You fuckin' stupid or something, grass-for-brains?" Bakugou questioned, forcefully turning Izuku to face him. The boy clad in a red sweatshirt gulped, and quickly glanced at Uraraka who was watching the scene out of confusion and worry for the boy.
"I-I got accepted here, Bakugou. I'm doing just fine, obviously this place is for people like me." Izuku mumbled in response, beginning to shrink in anxiety.
Bakugou rolled his eyes, "Come on, Nerd. We're getting lunch, and don't bother introducing me to the broad, I don't care."
Izuku sighed and turned to said brunette apologetically. She was more confused by the fact these two had some kind of "friendship". It was honestly kind of worrying to see.
"Sorry, he might be joining us…"
Izuku sighed, before his phone began vibrating in his pocket. He was receiving a call from someone, which he assumed could be either his mother or .
Izuku didn't have too many contacts in his phone, it was mainly due to the fact that he had literally no friends growing up. He only had Inko, his mother, and Bakugou. Although that second one was forced upon the two boys by their mothers.
A little later on he had obtained the personal contact of Yagi Toshinori. His mentor, father-figure, and his idol. He nearly fainted when had suggested they exchange contacts, but now he has obtained even a girl's phone number!
Granted Uraraka had been the one to suggest it, and Izuku stood there blushing like an idiot, he still got a girl's number! Maybe college really was where Izuku's life would turn around after all.
'Let's see here…' Izuku thought as he pulled out his phone and checked the caller ID. It was , perhaps he'd want to talk about school or how he was faring with his roommate.
"Hello?" Izuku questioned, answering the call and putting the phone up to his ear. He began to pack up his bag as his mentor's booming voice came through the phone's speaker.
"Hello, my boy! How are you faring on your first day?" The man questioned, his smile audible through his chipper tone. Izuku swore that the man never stopped smiling when facing the public eye, but in private he looked more like a meek man. It was probably due to his injury that he suffered back in an accident a few years back.
"W-Well, it is a bit of a struggle already... But it's nothing I can't handle, sir." The boy exclaimed pridefully, causing a chuckle to come through the phone. Yagi swore that the boy was so ambitious that it reminded him of himself when he was younger.
"I'm glad to hear it! How are your classes? Have you made any friends in your classes at all?" Yagi questioned, causing Izuku to think of Uraraka and Bakugou who had essentially forced their way into a small friend circle.
"U-Uh, yeah… You could say that. Classes have been good though, a-aside from my academic and professional skills professor. He's really intense." Izuku noted, zipping up his backpack. Yagi snickered slightly, remembering that Izuku had registered under Shota Aizawa for that class.
"Yeah, that's understandable… Anyways, I just wanted to call and check up on you for the day, my boy. I've got a meeting to attend to, so I'll see you tomorrow." Yagi said. Izuku hummed in response and the two hung up their phone call.
In all honesty, this whole college experience is going to be quite a pain for everyone here. There's a lot of people who are looking like they're already struggling and it's only the first day.
Izuku knew all too well that feeling of hopelessness, but he wasn't going to let the difficulty put him down. In fact, he'd use it to help lift him to greater heights! Just like Yagi Toshinori!
Izuku pulled his skateboard out from underneath the desk he was sat at, and headed for the door. He'd pull out his headphones, but before he could even put them over his ears he caught onto a certain sound. It was almost as if someone was crying.
He looked around his vicinity, spotting a small figure curled up against the wall, sniffling. It seemed as though onlookers were just watching them or ignoring them, and it didn't sit right with Izuku. Why would you leave someone like this to suffer alone, it just struck a nerve with him.
"Woah! H-Hey are you okay?" He questioned, The figure peered up from their knees, revealing that it was a girl with short purple hair. She would notice a pair of red hightops in front of her. Her eyes then moved higher and was met with the freckled face of Izuku Midoriya. She had a class with him if she remembered, that academic and professional skills course, he had been talking to this one brunette girl quite a bit.
"Wh-Why do you care." The girl questioned, hiding her face once more. Her tone was filled with malice, she had no friends here and was on her own. On top of that she was becoming increasingly overwhelmed with her new environment and was having a panic attack. Her day was going great.
Izuku felt bad for the girl, she must have been having a rough time adjusting to university life. He shouldn't just leave her like this, but she probably wasn't going to move anywhere anytime soon…
Izuku placed his bag down beside him as he sat right beside her. The girl must have heard him sit down as her head turned slightly so that she could see Izuku sitting right beside her. He gave a gentle smile to the girl, causing her to blush slightly. Why was he still here?
"What are you doing..?" She questioned as her sobs began to come to a halt. Izuku ruffled his hair, and began reaching into his backpack. If he remembered correctly he had tissues in there somewhere.
"It's not good for you to sit alone while you're like this. You seem like you could use a friend, so I'll sit here with you for as long as you need." He said, pulling out a small package of tissues. He handed them to her, which she hesitantly took from his hands.
"Why..?" She questioned, sniffling softly. Izuku gave her a confused expression and quirked one of his eyebrows. Why wouldn't someone help when someone obviously needed it? It made no sense to him, the question was confusing.
"Everybody needs somebody in the darkest times of their lives." He stated, giving another soft smile. He wasn't really sure why anyone would leave someone to feel so overwhelmed and alone, but he wasn't going to just sit by and let someone suffer like he had for years.
"Thank you... Thank you so much."
So hello all! This is a new fanfic I've created, titled "Blossoming Performance".
This fic is set in a modern quirkless au, and the cast of MHA are going to be enrolled in Yuuei University where they're to face many obstacles of modern prestigious education.
If you've read my oneshots set in this universe, "Why'd You Do It," and "Chance Encounter" then you know exactly what's to come in this fic.
Anyways I hope you guys enjoy, and I'll see you in the next chapter. It's titled: "Delicate". And hopefully it will be released soon!
