"Why are you being so mean? You're making him cry, Kacchan." a green haired boy said. The kid stood in front of a child crying on the ground. The green haired boy stared back at the three kids in front of him with hands clenched. He was shaking nervously at them.
"If you keep on hurting him, uh, I'll uh, I'll stop you myself!" The boy shouted, raising his fists. The three kids stared at him completely dumbfounded.
"Hmmph." Kacchan smirked. The kids behind him both smiled as their quirks started to activate. The chunkier kid to the right of Kacchan expanded his red dragon-like wings and flew a foot off the ground. The kid on Kacchan's left raised his hand in the air and let his fingers extend a foot long.
"You wanna pretend to be a hero?" Kacchan asked, punching his other hand. The punch created a small explosion on his arm.
"You don't stand a chance without a quirk, Deku." Kacchan smiled. Deku flinched back in fear of what was gonna happen next. The three kids came running towards him with their quirks ready. Deku crossed his arms and covered his face preparing to be pummeled by the three kids.
Kacchan created little explosions in his hand as he ran towards Deku ready to beat him up, but then his explosions flew right off his hands, causing him to stop in surprise. The other kids by Kacchan's side reared back at the fast moving fire and smoke from Kacchan's explosion. The dragon wing kid flew back and fell on his bottom. The kid with the extending fingers yelped as the dragon kid sat on his extended fingers. Kacchan looked at his hands before realizing what happened. Kacchan glared and clenched his fist. He looked to his left with the other kids eyes following him.
"You." Kacchan glared. Deku peeked one eye open through his crossed arms and looked at Kacchan. He noticed their attention was away from him and looked to his right. A few feet away stood a little girl with her hand raised. Her hair was only slightly darker than Deku's. Her green hair had given away her identity.
"Sis?" Deku squeaked out, still crying.
"Don't you dare hurt my brother, Bakugo!" The girl screamed. The fire from Bakugo's explosion now hovering above the girls' open hand. The little girl looked at the flame on her hand and opened her mouth. She took a breath and inhaled the flame until she had it all in her mouth. The kids behind Bakugo looked at her in confusion. Bakugo glared at her and growled in frustration.
"You ate my explosion, flame breath!" Bakugo yelled at her, clenching his fist. Unlike before, Bakugo didn't activate his quirk in his hands. The girl smiled and showed her teeth. Through her smile was fire burning inside her mouth, causing the kids behind Bakugo to gulp.
"You want it back?" She dared. Bakugo growled at her, clenching his fist tighter. A few seconds later, he unclenched his hand.
"You're lucky your sisters here to protect a quirkless loser like you, Deku."
"C'mon lets get outta here." Bakugo ordered, the other kids deactivated their quirks and followed behind Bakugo. Deku watched them leave and dropped his protective stance. He sighed in relief and wiped the tears away from his face.
Deku heard the sound of a gulp and looked to see his sister swallowing the fire in her mouth. She exhaled and a small amount of smoke exited her mouth. She sighed in relief at the events that occured. She heard sniffling and made eye contact with Deku.
"Ami..." Deku said with tears in his eyes. Before she could react, Deku ran towards her and hugged her.
"You saved me!" Deku cried out, huge streams of water escaping his eyes. Ami looked at Deku with concern and gently pulled him away from her.
"You're welcome...Izzy." Ami said nervously, dropping the serious expression on her face. There was another sound of sniffling from behind Deku that made Ami peek behind her brother. Deku's eyes widened and turned towards the kid he had been protecting earlier.
"Hey, it's okay. Kacchan and the others are gone." Deku said, putting his hand out in front of the child. The kid looked up at Deku and saw him trying to smile through the tears on his face. He looked unsure of him and noticed the girl beside him. The child made eye contact with Ami and immediately grew fearful. He got up from the ground and ran away as fast as he could. Deku looked at the child in confusion and shouted at him.
Wait. You didn't thank my sister!" Deku shouted, trying to get his attention. Deku looked back at his sister and saw her staring at the ground with tears forming in her eyes. She turned back around and started walking away.
"C'mon, Izuku...Let's go." She said, quietly. Izuku stared at her in silence. He couldn't see her face but he could hear the sounds of her sadness. Izuku looked down at the floor in hesitation. He couldn't understand why the child would run away from his sister like that. He watched as two tears fell off his face and hit the ground.
Years Later
"Here's the sad truth. All men are not created equal. When I was four years old, I learned that some kids have more power than others." Izuku narrated. Izuku ran past several people on the sidewalk as he headed towards his destination.
"But that won't hold me back. If anything, it pushes me to do better." Izuku said to himself as he ran through a puddle on the floor. Izuku could barely stop himself as he rushed towards a disturbance on the street nearby. Barely catching up behind him was a girl with long green hair that parted on the right. She wore a black school uniform with a red handkerchief on the collar. She ran past the people on the sidewalk barely holding onto her breath as she tried to catch up to Izuku. The people around her watched her struggle before carrying on with their day.
"Izzy, wait up!" She shouted at Izuku.
"Sorry, Ami." Izuku apologized, doing a weird dance as he waited for the stop light to turn green.
"But I don't wanna miss whatever hero could show up here!" Izuku said. Ami finally caught up to Izuku at the stop light and panted heavily. She touched both her knees and took this chance to relax. Then the stop light turned green. Izuku was flooded with energy and started to run across the street. Ami looked up at the green light and groaned.
"Oh c'mon." She muttered, feeling drained.
Izuku ran through the crowd and looked up at the train tracks above. Ami was slowly catching up and saw the same thing Izuku did. Her eyes widened at the situation in front of them.
"Izzy, why do you always insist on going to these?" Ami thought, continuing her approach. Ami looked to her right and read a sign attached to a street light.
"Tatooin Station? What? Did he miss the train?" Ami thought. Ami caught up to Izuku and started to pant heavily again.
"I don't...know.. how.. you're not tired, Izuku." Ami said, barely able to catch her breath. Izuku was too caught in the moment and looked at the giant figure that stood on the train tracks. Ami looked at the massive crowd of onlookers that stood between Izuku and the criminal on the tracks. She also looked up at the figure and felt a small bit of concern for her safety. The figure was a giant muscular man that had an elongated face built like a monster. The giant of a man looked around the front and back of the tracks he stood on and began to roar loudly into the air.
"Man…" Ami said in awe.
"That's one huge supervillain!" Izuku said, excitedly.
Qing Qing City
"The first incident was in Qing Qing City."
Inside a hospital in the city, a baby sat in a small crib. The newborn cried out in its room as its body was enveloped in a bright yellow light. The father of the child looked at the baby in shock through the hospital window.
"An extraordinary child was born who radiated light. After that, reports of people with superpowers popped up across the globe. No one knew what was causing these quirks. Before long, the supernatural became the totally normal. Dreams a reality. The world became a superhuman society, with about 80% of the population possessing some uncanny ability. Our streets looked like scenes from comic books. As cities swirled with chaos and confusion, a new profession dominated our collective conscience. It was an age of heroes." Izuku narrated.
The criminal roared into the sky and destroyed a support column on the bridge. The crowds screamed and covered themselves in fear. Ami saw the falling debris and started to get worried. She then heard giant footsteps run from behind her. She quickly turned to see a muscular hero run right past her. Ami recognized the man and felt relief.
She watched as the man jumped beneath the falling debris path and caught it with his hands. A sense of relief filled Ami, the feeling of worry was replaced with excitement. Ami watched as another hero named Backdraft showed up to protect the crowds. She stared into the crowd of onlookers and watched Izuku run inside the crowd. Ami looked at Izuku with concern before she sighed. She smiled and turned away from the fight.
"At least the heroes are here." She said, watching the scene from afar. She could see the action from her spot as the villain remained up on the train tracks. Ami watched as a new hero showed up to fight the villain. The wooden hero landed on the rails before jumping high into the air. The villain slammed his fist into the spot where the hero was and groaned. The villain looked up at the hero and shouted.
"Get away from me or I'll break you, toothpick!" The villain shouted.
Inside the crowd, Izuku looked at the hero with excitement. He couldn't resist nerding out to the heroes while a bystander watched.
"It's Kamui Woods!" He exclaimed, watching Woods use his arm to grip the support beams and swing higher into the air.
"He may be new, but he's making a big name for himself!"
"One look at that dopey grin and I know what you are. A fanboy." The bystander said, pointing at Izuku.
"Ehh. Sortof." Izuku agreed, looking away in embarrassment.
Kamui Woods ran on the train tracks and quickly jumped to avoid the arm crashing down on him. He landed on top of the arm and raised his other arm up. He extended his right arm and attached himself to the villain's left arm. The villain flung his arm outwards, causing Kamui to fly above the villain and land himself onto the train station. The smoke cleared as Kamui looked up at the angry villain and started to talk.
"Assault, robbery, and illegal use of powers during rush hour traffic. You are the incarnation of evil." Kamui said, hardening his fist.
"There. His special move!" Izuku pointed.
"C'mon, tree-man, show us something flashy." The bystander said
"Binding Lacquered Chain Prison!" Kamui shouted, shooting a huge amount of wood out of his arm.
"Canyon Cannon!" A woman's voice shouted. To the surprise of everyone a new hero had arrived and kicked the villain with the one shot.
"Huh?" Kamui Woods said in confusion. Both Izuku and Ami looked at the giant woman in surprise. The villain hit the ground hard and fainted from the force of the kick. The giant woman landed on the empty street opposite of the train tracks, giving onlookers a view of her hero costume.
"Money shot. Money shot. Money shot." A row of people with cameras said, surrounding Izuku.
"Piece of cake for the world's next hottest hero. Hi there everyone, I'm Mt. Lady. And you don't have to worry about this bum anymore." She said with an emphasis on bum.
"Money shot. Money shot. Money shot." The people with cameras said.
Ami clapped from her spot behind the crowd and listened to the cheers. She stopped clapping and started approaching the crowd. She took one look at the crowded space and stopped. She looked at the amount of people in the crowd and gulped. She gripped her hands and made an effort to breathe through her nose. After half an hour, the police had arrived and arrested the villain. Mt. Lady stood beside the captured villain and waved at the crowd. Ami looked at the waving hero and felt happy. Her feelings quickly faded when she saw the wooden hero still on the train tracks looking disappointed. She looked around and wondered if anyone else was seeing him and realized it was just her.
"That sucks. Mt. Lady's getting the credit." She thought to herself.
When the crowds had mostly dispersed, Ami looked around for her brother. She looked on the sidewalks and walked around for a bit. Knowing Izuku he was probably writing this stuff down. Sure enough, there he was. Ami spotted Izuku standing in the middle of the road, mumbling to himself. He was writing stuff down into his journal, unaware of his surroundings. Ami got close to Izuku without him noticing and listened in on his mumbling. She could hear him talking about the hero, Mt. Lady and her quirk. She rolled her eyes and let out a tiny laugh. Izuku was always doing this whenever a hero had saved the day. She stared at him and heard a bystander call out to him. She watched from the sidewalk and saw a man talk to Izuku.
"What's that fanboy, you taking notes over there? You wanna be a hero too, huh?"
"Yes. More than anything." Izuku exclaimed, with a smile. Ami looked at Izuku and felt herself frown at his words.
"Oh, Izuku." She sighed, looking down at the sidewalk with a hint of remorse. She looked at the time on her phone and grew wide eyed.
"Izzy, we gotta get to school!" Ami called out to Izuku. He was caught off guard by the outburst but also freaked out at the realization. He watched his sister run away and quickly put his journal away.
"Wait, sis! Wait for me!" Izuku exclaimed, running towards his sister.
Aldera Junior High
"So, as third year students, it's time to start thinking seriously about your futures and what you want to do with your lives." The teacher said. The whole class was silent and had their full attention on the teacher. Except for Izuku who was writing notes down on his journal.
"I could pass out some career aptitude tests, but why bother." The teacher said,quickly grabbing the aptitude tests with his hand. Izuku watched as everyone in his class activated their quirks in unison.
"I know you all want to go to the hero track!" The teacher laughed. The class then bursted out in cheers with everyone showing off their quirk. Izuku looked at them all with embarrassment and a hint of jealousy. Off in the back of the class, Ami looked at the classmates around her showing off their quirks and felt nervous. She looked to her side at a boy with a quirk that inflated his head. She fixated herself on his quirk to make herself feel better. Unlike her classmates, Ami wasn't so keen on using her quirk.
"Yes, yes, you've got some very impressive quirks but no power usage allowed at school. Get ahold of yourselves." The teacher said, calming down the class.
"Hey, teach. Don't lump me in with this bunch of losers. I'm the real deal, but these guys will be lucky to end up as sidekicks to some busted D-lister." Bakugo gloated, provoking the class.
"You think you're better than us, Katsuki?"
"Let's go, I'll take you all on." Bakugo challenged them.
"Huh. You've got impressive test results, maybe you will get into U.A. High." The teacher said.
"He's gonna try for the national school?" A student asked.
"That school has a .2% acceptance rate. It's impossible to get in." Another student commented. Izuku heard them and quietly put his head down in shame.
"That's exactly why it's the only place worthy of me." Bakugo said, standing up on his desk.
"I aced all the mock tests. I'm the only one at this school who stands a chance at getting in. I'll end up more popular than All Might himself and be the richest hero of all time. People all across the world will know who I am. And it all starts with U.A. High!" Bakugo shouted, with his fists in the air. Ami looked at Bakugo and rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah, the Midoriya twins. Don't you wanna go to U.A., too?" The teacher asked. The whole class grew silent after hearing that. Izuku heard the teacher and quietly raised his head, looking at Bakugo in fear. All of his classmates' eyes were on him. They stared in silence for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.
"Midoriya? You're kidding, right? I could see your sister, maybe, but there's no way you're getting into the hero course without a quirk." A student said. Ami stared at her brother with an embarrassed expression. She could see the faces of every student around her laughing at her brother. After that comment by one of her classmates, Izuku stood up out of his seat.
"Actually they got rid of that rule. I could be the first one." Izuku stated, getting out of his seat. Before he could react. Bakugo came charging towards his desk and slammed his fist onto Izuku's desk. Before Ami could react, Bakugo activated his quirk and destroyed Izuku's desk. Ami watched as Izuku was pushed onto the back of the class from the explosion.
Ami looked at Bakugo with fire in her eyes. She couldn't believe Bakugo would use his quirk on her brother like that. Actually, she could. But she was still angry at him. She gripped the sides of her desk and gulped. Feeling a tingling sensation move up from her body and into her mouth. Ami gritted her teeth and a small bit of smoke emitted through her mouth. Bakugo caught this in his peripheral vision and held back his restraints. He made sure he used it just enough to fly smoke off of both his hands. Ami glared at his move.
"He's remembered. I can't collect smoke." Ami thought to herself.
"I'm too far away from them to use my quirk, too. Damnit. Kacchan please don't do anything physical." Ami begged in her mind. Bakugo saw she was unable to do anything and grinned.
"Listen up, Deku. You're even worse than the rest of these damn rejects you quirkless wannabe. You really think they'd let someone like you in when they could have me?
"No wait. You've got it all wrong, really! I'm not trying to compete against you. You've gotta believe me." Deku said, crawling back against the wall.
It's just that. I've wanted to be a hero since I was little. I may not have a quirk but I can still try my hardest can I?"
"You'd never be able to hang with the best of the best. You'd die in the exams! Defenseless Izuku. The school's already crappy, you really wanna embarrass it more by failing so hard?"
12:02 PM The Same City
A woman's scream disrupted everyday life in the city. Rushing out of his store, a man shouted out at the thing that just robbed him.
"Hey, get back here," He shouted, "Someone stop that monster!"
The sludge monster laughed at the store owner and continued running away. He ran past several pedestrians on the sidewalk
"Yell all you want, sucker. This cash is mine." The sludge monster said, cash slipping off his body. Pedestrians across the street watched the scene take place with strangely calm expressions.
"Dude, where are all the heroes?"
"Weird. Normally someone would swoop in right away."
"Maybe they're all still busy from that scene this morning," The man said watching the sludge villain escape.
"remember when we didn't have to worry about randos with quirks all the time?" The man asked. Exiting the store behind him, a skinny man looked at the escaping sludge villain and flexed. His body stretched outward into a completely muscular form.
"Seriously, there's no stopping him."
"Yes there is" The man said, getting the pedestrians' attention.
"You know why?" He asked. The sludge villain heard the deep voice and looked to his left. HIs eyes were shocked to see who it was. His eyes widened at the signature smile that was on his face.
"Oh no." The sludge villain thought.
"I am here."
Aldera Junior High
Ami sat in the back of the class on the right side. She watched Izuku pack up and followed his example. She pulled books into her backpack and accidentally dropped her item on the floor. Her eyes widened at the clanking sound and was relieved to know everyone had left already. She stared at the metal object on the floor and bent down to the floor. She quickly grabbed it and wiped the dirt from the ground off of it. It was her personal lighter. She smiled at the shine coming off the metal and remembered a memory from her mind.
"Fire quirks aren't as rare as you think. But given the uniqueness of her quirk I'd say practicing on a lighter should be useful." The doctor said to Inko Midoriya.
"Is it really safe for her to carry around a lighter?" Inko asked, putting a hand on her daughter.
"Normally I'd say no, but in this situation it could prevent another accident like at school from happening again." The Doctor explained.
"How so?" Inko asked.
"It's not unheard of that manifesting a quirk can cause some accidents to occur. Especially relating to quirks like your daughter's. However, most of them have no way of getting rid of their own fire. Fortunately for Ami, her quirk lets her collect fire. We don't usually encourage children to use their quirks at such a young age but given the circumstances, it's best she gets help with her quirk." The doctor explained.
"Not every fire user has the ability to stop their own fire. She should consider herself lucky." The doctor said. The voice echoed through her head as she stared at the lighter. She could remember as clear as day, when she had first manifested her quirk. It was a day she wouldn't ever forget.
"I don't know what you think you're doing, Deku, but we're not done." Bakugo said, getting Ami's attention away from her memories. She put her lighter into her backpack and stayed hidden on the floor behind her desk. Watching Bakugo and his friends show up. She looked at Bakugo with a glare and wondered what he wanted with her brother. Her eyes widened when she noticed the book he was holding. It was Izuku's Hero notebook.
"What's you got? his diary?" Bakugo's friend asked.
"Huh? Don't tell me you're taking notes on how to be a hero. That's so pathetic." The other one laughed.
"He's delusional." He said.
"Real funny guys, just give it back." Izuku said.
Bakugo went to activate his quirk, causing Ami to react quickly. She quickly stood up and inhaled as wide as she could. Causing the flames from his explosion quirk to fly over to Ami's mouth. Bakugo was caught off guard by the action and glared. The kids behind him were caught off guard by the flying flame and panicked for a second.
"So you're here, too, Habanero?" Bakugo said, with an annoyed glare. It didn't matter to Bakugo. He knew what to do with her around. Without turning around, he threw the notebook behind him and right out the window. Izuku freaked out at seeing his notebook get thrown out the window and flung his arms in the air.
"Hey! You know what that notebook meant to him, Bakugo." Ami scolded him. Bakugo gave her a passing glare before looking back at Izuku.
"Hmph. Most first string heroes show potential early on. People look at them and know they're just destined for greatness. When I'm the only student from this garbage junior high to get into U.A. people will start talking to me like that. They'll realize, I'm legit. The next big thing. That's not ego talking. I just know I'm good."
"Ego." His friend said behind his back.
"Here's a little word of advice, nerd." Bakugo said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't even think of applying or else." Bakugo used his quirk to make his hand smoke again while on Izuku's shoulder. Izuku stared at Bakugo in shock, completely startled by his actions.
"That's just sad. I thought you at least had some fight in you." Bakugo's friend said.
"He finally gets it. He'll never be a hero. Better to find out now instead of later I guess," Bakugo's other friend said.
"You know if you really want to be a hero that badly there actually might be another way. Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building." Bakugo said.
Izuku heard the words that escaped out of Bakugos mouth and turned around. He looked at Bakugo with a face that looked ready to cry. Izuku was clearly bothered by the words from Bakugo. Izuku wanted to say something, at least do something but he found himself unable to move. Bakugo had his fist raised and created small explosions on his hand as a threat display. Izuku looked at the exploding hand and froze, getting Bakugo to smirk. Ami heard the words that escaped Bakugos mouth and let out a small gasp. Her gasp caught Bakugos attention, getting him to stare at Ami. He saw the surprised expression on her face and clenched his fist.
"What are you looking at, Habanero?" Bakugo said, narrowing his eyes at her.
Ami gripped her desk with both her hands, unsure what to do.
"Is he trying to get me to use my quirk?" Ami thought.
"No. He knows me. He knows I wouldn't. Not even for this." Ami thought. She released her grip on the desk and sighed. She closed her eyes and swallowed the fire in her mouth, deactivating her quirk.
"That's what I thought." Bakugo said, leaving the classroom.
Ami watched Bakugo and his friends leave the classroom and sighed again. She looked at her bag and pulled out a bottle of water. She opened the cap and drank as much as she could out of the bottle.
"That jerk. He knows how I feel about my quirk." Ami thought, closing the lid on her drink. She looked up to the middle of the class and saw Izuku gathering his things in silence. His green hair covered his eyes, covering the sad expression on his face. Ami looked at Izuku with sympathy. She knew how Bakugo was around her brother, especially after discovering he's quirkless. She looked at him and didn't know what to say to him.
"Izzy." She called out to him. Izuku stopped what he was doing and listened to his sister.
"Yeah?"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Thanks for not letting him use his quirk on me." Izuku said.
"You know how he is, Izzy. I just can't believe he'd say that." Ami said, thinking about what Bakugo said.
"Yeah. I know…" Izuku frowned.
"Hey, I was supposed to go to the arcade with friends after school today. Do you wanna come? Blow off some steam, maybe?"
"Thanks, Ami. But I'm just gonna walk home. I need to go get my notebook anyway. See you later." Izuku said, leaving the classroom. Ami wanted to say something back but he left before she could get a word out. She stared at the door for a few seconds thinking about him. She frowned and stared at her desk in disappointment. She didn't like when her brother was sad like this.
"I'm sorry, Izuku." Ami thought. That was when a memory went through her head. Ami frowned as she thought about the past again.
"Mom, hurry!" a smaller Izuku said, running into the kitchen. Behind him was a smaller Ami that quickly caught up to him. They both had smiles on their faces as they reached their mother.
"C'mon, Mom. It's computer time!"
"Already?" Inko said, washing dishes.
"Faster, lets go!"
"Geez, I think you've added 10,000 views to this video yourselves, kids. I don't know why you like it. I think it's scary." Inko said, starting the video with Ami in her left arm. Ami looked at the video with a rush of excitement. Izuku was rocking back and forth on the chair with excitement. The twins were incredibly excited to watch their favorite video again.
"The video I loved was an old one. Disaster footage from a long time ago but more importantly it was the debut of the greatest hero the world has ever known."
"Who is this? The guys already saved a hundred at least and it hasn't even been 10 minutes. This is crazy, I can't believe it!" The reporter screamed.
"HA HA HA HA."
"Look! He's got more!" The reporter screamed in shock. The giant man laughed once more as he carried six people on his body. Two people were on each shoulder along with people on both his arms.
Fear not, citizens. Hope has arrived!" The man said. Izuku made noises with his mouth as his favorite part approached.
"Because I am here!" The man exclaimed. Izuku got up from his chair with glee, he raised his action figure in the air and ran around the room. Inko put down Ami and let her chase after her brother with glee.
"He's the coolest in the universe! And once we get our quirks, me and Ami are gonna be heroes just like him!"
"Yeah!" Ami exclaimed loudly, raising her arms high with happiness. Inko watched her children play with each other at the door with a smile. She hid the unsure look on her face from her children.
"Sorry, kid, it's not gonna happen." The doctor said. Izuku froze in place after hearing those words. The action figure he had in his hands dropped to the floor upon hearing the revelation.
"Oh dear. So you really think there's something wrong then? Most of the other kindergartners in his class have begun to show signs already. Even Ami..." Inko said, looking at Izuku with worry. Izuku's eyes were bulging wide. The hair on his face gave his wide eyes cover from the bright hospital light.
"My records say you're a 4th generation quirk user. What powers do you and the boy's father have?" The doctor asked.
"Nothing too special. I can float small objects towards me and my husband breathes fire. They're useful enough I suppose." Inko said, levitating the small action figure into her hand.
"Izuku should've already manifested one of these quirks or a combination of both like your daughter. But after viewing his x-rays, I don't think he's going to."
"This is an xray of your son's foot compared with an xray of your daughter's." The doctor said, putting both x-rays on the board to his left.
"You see when superpowers first began appearing there were many research studies conducted and doctors discovered a link between the bones in a person's foot and their likelihood of developing a quirk."
"People with powers have only one joint in their pinky toes. As you can see, your daughter has only one joint in her pinky toe. Her body has evolved into a more streamlined version of the human form. You can see here that Izuku has two joints in his pinky. Like roughly 20% of the population these days. Based on the research that's available, it's safe to say your son isn't going to develop a quirk."
After the trip to the doctors, Izuku sat alone in a room with nothing but the computer on. Inko stood at the door with Ami standing a foot away from her mother. Ami heard what had happened to her brother from her mother. She couldn't understand why he didn't have a quirk. It felt completely impossible in her young mind. Ami watched her mother open the door with Izuku inside. Ami took a peek in the room and saw Izuku staring at the computer watching the same disaster footage they both loved. But something was different about it now. Ami wasn't getting the same amount of excitement she felt when watching it before she developed her quirk. And now, she learned a different perspective on the video. She felt herself begin to cry at the scene in front of her.
"See that, Mom?" Izuku said.
"There's always a smile on his face no matter how bad things get. Even when things seem impossible he never gives up." Izuku said, turning the chair around. Both Inko and Ami teared up when they saw a crying Izuku pointing at the computer screen. Ami saw how red her brother's face had gotten and noticed his shaking while he pointed at the screen.
"Do you think...I can be a hero, too?" Izuku asked. Silence filled the room as Inko slowly approached Izuku. Inko dropped to the floor and grabbed onto Izuku with tears on her face. Ami watched the scene play out at the door.
"I'm sorry, Izuku. I wish things were different." Inko cried out.
Ami felt herself cry at the scene in front of her and ran up to them. She got up on the chair and hugged her brother.
"Mom. Ami. That's not what I needed you to say. Couldn't you see? My world was crumbling, there was only one thing I wanted to hear." Izuku narrated.
Izuku left school a while ago. He looked down at his notebook and saw it was starting to dry. Izuku remembered leaving the classroom and exiting the school. He walked over to where his class's window was and saw his notebook floating in the water surrounded by fish. He pulled it out of the water, happy that it wasn't burnt from Bakugos attempt to blow it up. Thinking back to the present, Izuku stopped walking as he approached the underpass.
"I made a decision that day. No matter what anyone else thinks, I have to believe in myself. And I'll keep smiling just like him." Izuku thought, raising his fist. He started to laugh just like All Might as he walked through the underpass. His laughing blocked him from hearing the sewer grate move. Behind him, the sludge villain appeared out of the sewer. Izuku heard the sound of sloshing and stopped laughing. He turned around and saw what was rising out of the sewer. His mouth was open in shock at the thing in front of him.
"A villain?" Izuku thought out loud. The sludge villain maneuvered out of the sewer and opened his eyes. He stared at the green haired boy and showed his teeth.
"You'll make a perfect skin suit for me to hide in, kid." The sludge villain said. Izuku heard the words and started to run away. The sludge villain quickly caught up to him and jumped onto Izuku. He quickly pulled him back into the darkness of the underpass and shoved his sludge into his mouth. Izuku screamed through the sludge as he felt it enter his mouth.
"Don't worry I'm just taking over your body. It'll be easier for both of us if you don't fight back. It'll only hurt for a minute. You'll feel better soon." the sludge villain assured him.
"I can't breath." Izuku thought, realizing the sludge villain was also blocking him from breathing through his nose. Izuku felt himself getting exhausted from the attack and tried pulling him away from his face.
"Grab all you want my body's made of fluid. Thanks for the help. You're a real hero to me, kid. I didn't know he was in the city. I gotta get out of here fast before he tracks me down." the sludge villain said.
"My body...getting weak. I think I'm dying. No way. This can't be the end. Somebody ...help!" Izuku thought as he slowly started to lose consciousness. Then the sewer grate suddenly flew into the ceiling. The sludge monster heard the sound and looked behind him. His eyes widened when he saw the figure that appeared out of the sewer.
"Have no fear you are safe. Now that I am here that is." The muscular man said, The sludge villain raised his fluid arm into the air and lunged it toward the man. The hero quickly ducked under the arm, easily dodging the attack. He smiled and rushed towards the sludge villain. The villain widened its eye and extended his other arm towards the hero. He watched the hero reel his arm back and shout.
"Texas SMASH!" The hero shouted, punching the sludge villain's hand. The air pressure from the punch vibrated the sludge villain's body. He felt hurricane winds fly towards him and yelled. He was unable to hold himself together from the strength of the punch.
"I can't hold together!" The sludge villain said before blowing up. Izuku felt himself breath again and opened his eyes. For a split second, he saw the figure of a muscular hero stare at him.
"Is that...All Might?" Izuku thought, before falling unconscious.
"Hey. Wake up. Hey." All Might said, lightly slapping the unconscious boy repeatedly. Izuku felt himself regain consciousness and heard the man's voice. He looked up and saw All Might look at him with a smile.
"Thought we lost you there." All Might said, Izuku screamed and crawled back at the sight of his favorite hero.
"Well looks like you're moving around all right. Sorry about that back there. I didn't mean to get you caught up in my justicing. Usually I pay more attention to keeping bystanders safe. But it turns out this city's sewer system is pretty difficult to navigate. Hahaha!" All Might exclaimed. Izuku stared up at him in total shock. He couldn't believe what he was looking at.
"Anyway you were a big help. Thank you! I've captured the evildoer!" All Might explained, showing off the soda bottle with the sludge villain trapped inside.
"The most amazing hero in the entire world. All Might. The real thing, in the flesh, standing right in front of me. He looks so much cooler in person!" Izuku thought, staring at All Might's huge smile.
"Holy crap, I've gotta get an autograph. I got a pen around here somewhere. Please sign my notebook."
"AH. He already did!" Izuku exclaimed, opening his notebook to see All Mights signature taking up an entire page. Izuku quickly started bowing his head in respect.
"Thank you so much. This'll be an heirloom. A family treasure passed down for generations to come!"
"Uh heh." All Might said, giving Izuku a thumbs up.
"Welp. I've gotta get this guy to the police so they can take care of him. Stay out of trouble, see you around!" All Might said, starting to stretch his legs. Izuku stopped his bowing and stared up at All Might.
"Wait. You're leaving? Already?"
"Pro heroes are constantly fighting time as well as enemies." All Might said.
"He can't go yet. There's still so many questions I have to ask him."
"Now stand back. I'm taking off." All Might warned. He quickly jumped high into the air at incredible speed, reaching high in the sky.
"Thanks for your continued support!" All Might shouted. He felt a force on his leg as he flew in the air and looked back. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the green haired boy holding onto his leg with his mouth flapping in the wind.
"Let go. I love my fans but this is too much!" All Might, grabbing the boy.
"Wait, we're flying! If i let go now I'll die." Izuku shouted. All Might stopped his attempts to get him off him as he realized his position.
"Oh that's a good point."
"I just have a lot of things I want to ask you personally. You're my all time favorite hero All Might!"
"Okay. Okay, I get it. Just keep your eyes and mouth shut." All Might said. Izuku listened to the advice from All Might and did as told. All Might grabbed on to the boy and looked for somewhere to land. He coughed a little and felt blood escape his mouth.
"Shit…" All Might said,
All Might found a building to land on and dropped onto it. He let Izuku down and made sure he was a distance away from him. Izuku took huge breaths as he regained his senses. He looked deader than usual after the dangerous thing he did. He was happy to be back on solid ground again.
"My whole life just flashed before my eyes."
"Not a very smart move. Bang on the door for a while, someone will let you in. Now I have to go. See you on the flip side."
"Wait. Not yet. One second."
"No. I don't have any time."
"I have to know!" Izuku shouted, reaching his hand out. Memories flooded in his mind as the past came to him. He thought about the words that his mom said to him all those years ago.
"Sometimes I do feel like I'm a failure. Like there's no hope for me. But even so, I'm not gonna give up. Ever." Izuku thought.
"Is it possible to become a hero even if I don't have a quirk? Izuku blurted out. All Might heard what the kid said and stopped.
I'm a normal kid without any powers. Could I ever hope to be someone like you?" Izuku asked. All Might heard his words and turned his head.
"Without a quirk?" All Might asked. All Might winced in pain. He felt like a sharp blade had just stabbed through his skin.
"Oh no. Not now, damnit. Not here." All Might muttered through his pain. All Might crouched to the floor and started to emit smoke throughout his body. Izuku was too caught up in his own words to see what was going on.
"People think I don't have a chance. That not having any powers makes me some kind of weakling. Even my sister thinks so. My classmates like to make fun of me." Izuku frowned.
"But you know what? That makes me wanna prove them wrong. Ever since I was a kid, I thought that saving people was the coolest thing you can do. I want people to see my fearless smile and feel safe and be the kind of hero everyone in the world looks up to. Just like you." Izuku said, looking back up. Izuku looked up at the skinny man staring back at him with a surprised expression. His mouth dropped at the sight of him and started to freak out. All Might looked at him in his skinny form with piercing eyes and frowned.
Somewhere
Ami was quiet as she walked the streets with her friends beside her. A girl with orange hair walked beside her along with a boy with short hair. Her friends smiled and laughed at a joke she had ignored. Ami's friends held hands as they laughed at the joke from the boy. Ami's friends were dating each other. They were head over heels in love with each other, which often made Ami feel like the third wheel. Her friends were the only people she talked to daily. They were also one of the few people in school who weren't afraid of her quirk.
Ami stared down at the cement with a frown. The words that came out of Bakugos mouth were still fresh in her mind.
"You know if you really want to be a hero that badly there actually might be another way. Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building." Bakugo said.
Ami gripped her backpack straps at the sound of his voice in her head. She couldn't believe he'd stoop that low in his daily insults towards his brother. She knew in her mind why he would target her brother so much. She didn't want to admit it but she knew he was right. Unlike her, Izuku wasn't blessed with a quirk like her. It's not common for twins to share the same quirk unless you were identical. Even so, she wished he had been born with a quirk. She could understand how Izuku felt even though she had a quirk. She thought back to the day her quirk manifested and closed her eyes.
Ami sat in her seat, crying her eyes out. Inko looked at her daughter with concern in her face and attempted to put her hand on her shoulder. Ami saw her hand and quickly batted it away.
"Don't. I don't want to hurt you."
"Principal Takedo, What happened? My daughter wont let me touch her ever since I arrived here."
"Your daughter manifested her quirk today and started a fire. She was playing with the other students in her class when she suddenly got the hiccups and started spewing fire out her mouth. She tried to cover her mouth, but the other kids swarmed her. They didn't know any better, they just wanted to see her quirk. But she hiccuped and accidentally set some of the students' desks on fire."
"Oh dear." Inko said, putting a hand on her face.
"Was anyone hurt?"
"Fortunately, one of our other students used his quirk to let smoke out of his hands and activate the sprinklers in the class. When the sprinklers activated, it prevented her from hiccuping more fire."
"That's a relief."
"After that, your son, Izuku Midoriya, directed her to the sink where she spewed fire into the sink until her hiccups stopped. You have a smart kid, he knew the sink was nonflammable and told her to spew her fire there. It's thanks to him and the other student, Katsuki Bakugo, that nothing bad happened to her or the other students."
"Sir, I'm so sorry for what happened. My husband can breathe fire, I didn't realize what would happen if her quirk were to suddenly activate at school."
"It's no problem at all, Mrs. Midoriya. I've seen my fair share of accidental quirk-related accidents in my years at this school. Nothing of value was lost in the accident. However given the potential dangers of her quirk, I have to recommend immediate quirk counseling starting today as well as a doctor's visit."
"Mhmm." Inko agreed, signing her name on the approval sheet for quirk counseling.
Ami entered her class for the first time since the accident and immediately got the attention of every kid in class.
"Ami!" Izuku shouted with joy. Ami looked at Izuku smiling at her and smiled back. Her smile quickly faded when a new voice spoke up.
"Hey, fire breath. You set my desk on fire." Bakugo shouted from across the room.
"I'm... sor-
"You could've hurt someone with that quirk. Only villains have flame quirks. You're a villain, Ami." Bakugo shouted. Ami looked at the boy and felt tears fall down her face. She didn't want to hurt anyone. She didn't want to be a villain. Ami looked at the class and saw their expressions. They were afraid of her. Everyone was afraid of her, except for Izuku.
"That's not true, Kacchan! All Might said anyone can be a hero no matter the quirk. And don't forget, Endeavors a hero too. And he's got a fire quirk, too." Izuku said, defending his sister with pride.
"That's right, class. The hero Endeavor has a fire quirk too. This is a great time as ever to bring up fire safety rules. Ami please take a seat." The teacher said. Ami sniffled and slowly walked towards an empty desk. She looked at Bakugo from her seat and blew her nose. At that moment, she believed what Bakugo said. Ami broke out of her memory and returned to reality.
"Stupid, Bakugo." Ami muttered out loud. The insult had gotten the attention of her two friends who looked at her with concern. The orange haired girl put her hand on Ami's shoulder and grabbed her attention.
"Hey, are you okay?" She asked.
"We heard what Bakugo said during class and felt bad." She said.
"I thought him and Midoriya were friends?" The boy asked.
"They are." Ami said.
"Yeah? Then why's he such an ass to your brother just because he's quirkless?" The boy asked.
"He's just being a jerk because he wants to go to U.A. High as well." Ami said, letting go of her backpack straps.
"But, Ami, don't you wanna go to U.A. High as well? Why doesn't he come at you, too?" The boy asked.
"It's because he knows." Ami answered in a low voice.
"Huh? Knows what?" The boy asked, with a puzzled look.
He knows I ignore my brother because of my quirk. That's why I don't go near him."
"But you don't go near anyone, except us of course." The orange haired girl said.
"Yeah, that's only because you guys aren't affected by my quirk." Ami said, attempting to pull her lighter out.
"Oh let me." The orange haired girl said. She snapped her finger and a small candle sized flame appeared at the top of her finger. Ami looked at the small flame on her friend's hand and smiled. She inhaled and let the small flame fly into her mouth.
"Gotta keep practicing right?" The girl laughed.
"Thanks." Ami smiled. Her and her friends crossed the streets and laughed together as they made jokes. Ami was smiling at the happy couple beside her and sighed, closing her eyes.
"At least I have you guys."
"Idiots!" A voice shouted.
Ami quickly opened her eyes and saw Bakugo in an alleyway with his friends to her right. Ami saw Bakugo and felt a small bit of anger well inside of her. She stopped in the center of the alleyway and stared at Bakugo. He hadn't noticed he was there yet.
Ami clenched her fists and stared at him. Her friends realized she wasn't beside them and turned around. They were unaware of Bakugo standing in the alleyway.
"You two go on ahead. I'll catch up with you."
"Alright. Later, Ami." The orange haired girl waved.
"See ya." The boy waved.
Ami waved back at them and watched them leave. When she was clear, she turned back at the alleyway and stared at Bakugo. He was yelling at his friends in front of him. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her lighter. She looked at it for a second then back at Bakugo. She flicked the lighter and quickly inhaled the flame. With that done with, she started her approach. Ami entered the alleyway and walked past an empty soda bottle. Unbeknownst to her, a small green sludge stared at her walking past him. Ami thought of something to get Bakugos attention and thought of something.
"Hey, Kacchan!" She yelled.
"Huh?" Bakugo heard her voice and turned around. He saw the approaching woman and raised an eye.
"Is that you, Habanero?"
"Midoriya's sister? What is she doing here?" The kid with extendable fingers said, gulping. He remembered the last time she had approached him and Bakugo.
"What the hell do you want? Have you been following me or something?" Bakugo asked, glaring at her menacingly.
Ami saw those angry eyes and kept her serious expression. She knew about his intimidation tactics. She also knew his best one wouldn't work on her. She clenched her fists and approached the blonde with each step getting louder. Off to the side, the sludge villain watched the scene unfurl.
"Why would you say that to him, Kacchan?" Ami asked, covering her face with her hair.
"So that's what this is about, huh? Deku." Bakugo said.
"His name is Izuku." She gritted, angrily.
"You got a problem with what I say, Habanero?"
"I do. We're friends, Bakugo. You know it's his dream to become a hero just like us. What the hell's your problem with that?!" Ami shouted.
"Cut the crap. We're not friends. Not you or that quirkless idiot. And don't act like you believe in him. I figured you out a long time ago, fire breath.. You don't believe he can become a hero, either."
"A quirkless superhero? Give me a break. You don't want him to become a hero, either." Bakugo said. Ami's eyes widened. She felt the fire inside her start to activate. She remembered when Izuku had asked her if he could be a hero. And she remembered what she said with regret.
"The second he tries to be a hero, he'll die and you know it. Why bother letting him believe he's good for anything. That's how people get killed."
"You're wrong about him. He has a drive just like you, Kacchan. That notebook you tried to destroy earlier today. He writes down everything about being a hero in that notebook. Sometimes I wonder if he was ever jealous of me. We're only three minutes apart and I'm the one with a quirk. But I realized something. He wasn't jealous of me. He was proud of me. He... was happy for me. I got a quirk and he didn't. He didn't…." Ami said. She looked down at the cement and watched her tears hit the ground.
"He's an inspiration, Kacchan. And a hero always inspires others. So, guess what, Kacchan?" Ami asked, Bakugo was completely caught by surprise from her words.
"Izuku's already a better hero than you'll ever be!" She screamed as loud as she could. Bakugo and his friends stood there completely in silence at her outburst. None of them expected her voice to get that high. But before they could speak, sludge began to pile up behind her. Bakugo and his friends saw the sludge behind Ami and widened their eyes. Ami was worn out from her outburst and slowly turned her head to see what noise she was hearing behind her.
"Wha-" She looked up at the giant sludge laughing at her and felt her heart skip a beat.
"A villain?" She thought in fear.
"He he he. That was very entertaining, kid. I was gonna try and take that kid's body but now I'm not sure which is better. I'll just take the body of whoever dies first." The sludge villain said. The sludge villain charged towards Ami and extended his sludge towards her. She let out a gasp and tried to activate her quirk before she felt someone grab her shoulder.
Meanwhile, Izuku couldn't stop screaming. Right in front of him was a skeleton man that had been All Might only a minute ago. Izuku was stunned when he saw the skinny man. He had no idea what to think after seeing him. His appearance was off putting to Izuku that he couldn't have possibly been All Might.
"Wait. Who? What happened you deflated. Where'd All Might go? You, you're not him. You're a fake. An impostor!"
"I assure you that I am, All Mi-" He coughed up blood before finishing his sentence. Izuku freaked out again at the sight of the coughing man.
"AHHHH! Impossible!" Izuku freaked out.
"You know how guys at the pool are always sucking in and flexing and trying to look buff? I'm like that." All Might explained.
"This can't be real!" Izuku freaked out.
"No. I'm dreaming. All Might's a giant of a man who saves everyone. He defeats all obstacles and wins the day with a fearless smile." Izuku said. All Might scoffed at the comment.
"There's plenty of fear behind that smile." All Might said, taking a seat on the floor.
"I'm counting on you to keep your mouth shut. Don't go talking about this online or telling your friends." All Might asked. Izuku looked at All Might with a puzzled look. All Might then lifted his shirt and showed Izuku his wound. Izuku reeled back in disgust at the sight of the horrific wound.
"Pretty gross, right? I got this in a big fight five years back. My respiratory system was basically destroyed. I lost my whole stomach. All the surgeries have pretty much worn me out and it can't be fixed. Right now I can only do hero work for about three hours a day. Rest of the time, this is what I look like." All Might said. Izuku was beyond shocked to hear those words. He thought about what he said and wondered what happened five years ago.
"No way. Five years ago? So does that mean it was the fight with Toxic Chainsaw?" He asked.
"Wow, you know your stuff. But no, the punk may have landed some hits but he couldn't bring me down. Most of the world has never heard of this fight. I did everything I could to keep it under wraps." All Might said
"I'm supposed to be the guy who's always smiling right? I'm the symbol of peace. People everywhere have to think I'm never afraid. But honestly, I smile to hide the fear inside. " All Might said. He raised his hand up and clenched his fist tight.
"It's just a brave face I put on when the pressure is high. This job isn't easy. Pro heroes are always having to risk their lives. Some villains just can't be beaten without powers. So can you be a hero? Not without a quirk." All Might answered truthfully. Izuku listened to what All Might said and lowered his head.
"I see."
"If you wanna help people there are plenty other ways to do it. You can become a police officer. They get crap because the heroes capture most of the villains but it's a fine profession. It's not bad to have a dream, young man. Just make sure your dreams are attainable. Realistic. Understand?" All Might said, leaving the buildings roof
"Now let's get you to the station." All Might, grabbing his pocket. His eyes widened when he felt the lack of a bottle in his pocket. He pulled out both of his pockets and looked around the stairs. On cue, a large explosion was heard from a mile away. All Might looked out the window and saw the explosion. He let go of his pocket and gritted his teeth.
"Not good."
From the rooftop, Izuku saw the explosion and temporarily snapped out of it.
"A villain. I wonder which hero will show." He turned and ran towards the exit before coming to a stop. He remembered what All Might just said to him and slumped his shoulders in defeat. He sighed before walking off
All Might ran as fast as he could in his skinny form towards the location of the explosion. He hoped for the best that the explosion meant the situation was under control. He looked up at the smoke from the blast and gulped.
"Almost there." He thought, continuing to run.
Tatooin Station
Citizens were screaming as they ran past the fire and smoke in fear. Explosions blasted smoke towards their directions as they ran.
"It's a monster!" A woman cried out.
Three heroes showed up to the scene. One of them was Death Arms. They stared up at the culprit that stood in the middle of the road. The sludge villain was laughing at the sight of the heroes. Death Arms looked at the Sludge villains body and saw another body squirming within it.
"It's taken someone hostage!" He shouted. He slammed his fists into each other and rushed towards the villain with anger.
"How dare you prey on a child!" He roared, slamming his fist into the sludge villain. His fists made contact with the sludge and had no effect. Death Arms groaned and was surprised to see how ineffective his punch was. The sludge villain laughed at the action and let the hero's arm slip into his fluid body.
"What the hell is this? Some kinda goo?" Death Arms said, trying to get his arm out. The sludge villain slapped him away and flung him to a metal garage door. The other two heroes approached Death Arms with concern.
"You okay, Death Arms?" The bird hero asked.
"Heads up." The other hero warned, dodge the assault from the sludge villain.
"Stay back or I'll snap his neck." The sludge villain demanded. Bakugo wiggled his head out of the sludge villain's grasp and roared loudly.
"You picked the wrong guy to mess with! I'm gonna sink you back to whatever sewer you crawled out of. Let me go!" Bakugo yelled, creating gigantic explosions out of his hands. Down a small alleyway, the explosions shook the ground and shaking was enough to wake up Ami. She woke up on a pile of trash with no memory of how she got there. Ami lifted her head out of the pile of trash and stroked her forehead. Everything that happened before she was knocked out came flooding back to her as she recovered. Ami gasped as she remembered the last five minutes. The sludge monster rised above her head and looked down at her. The intimidating presence gave Ami a shiver even now. She immediately looked around the alleyway for any sign of Bakugo and his friends. She could only hope they managed to get away in time. She tried to think how she ended up in this pile of garbage and was blanking.
"The sludge guy must have thrown me to the side and went after Bakugo." She thought.
"Bakugo." She gasped. She then heard another explosion to her right and saw the sludge villain in the center of the blasts. She was so close to the sludge villain it's a miracle he hadn't noticed her yet. Ami couldn't believe the position she was in. Trapped in an alleyway with no escape. A real villain was right in front of her and Bakugo was missing.
Among the crowd, All Might arrived. He looked at the action and winced. He tried to go into his muscle form but couldn't. He gripped his shirt in anger at the mistake he made.
"I must have dropped him in the air. I was distracted worrying about my time limit. I can't believe I made such a rookie mistake and after lecturing that kid about what it takes to be a hero. I'm pathetic." All Might muttered, shaming himself.
Izuku walked the streets, reading his notebook. He looked through all his notes on different heroes he had seen. Words from his past slipped back into his mind as he read the book. He closed it and sighed.
"Even All Might said it. A hero needs a quirk. Don't cry, damnit. Deep down you knew this all along. You've just been avoiding reality. That's why you were trying so desperately to prove yourself wrong." Izuku thought. Another explosion rocked the ground, shaking the sidewalk Izuku stood on. The explosion interrupted his sadness and made him look up. Up the street, he saw the crowds and the smoke.
"That's strange. Is the fight from earlier still going on? Why am I here? Did I subconsciously walk this way to check it out?" Izuku thought. He crossed the street and approached the crowd, thinking to himself.
"I shouldn't even stop, all my notes are useless." Izuku thought. He looked up ahead and saw what was happening. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the sludge villain was there in the middle of a burning street.
"That's the guy who attacked me!" He gasped.
"That can't be right. All Might captured him. But the bottle, if he dropped it...that means it's my fault." Izuku thought, realizing he did this.
"Why aren't the heroes doing anything?" a citizen asked.
"It looks like they met their match plus the villain captured a kid." another citizen said.
On the other side of the crowd, Ami got out of the trash pile and slowly approached the entrance to the alleyway. She took a look at the sludge villain and her surroundings in fear.
"Why aren't the heroes stopping him?" She thought.
"They're all just standing there. Looking at him. Why are they just looking at him?" She looked at the sludge villain more closely and realized someone was inside him. She let out a small gasp as she realized the situation.
"They can't do anything because the villain has someone. But who?" She thought. She didn't want to think of what the person could be feeling inside that sludge villain.
Back in the crowd, Izuku was sulking in his own self blame. He covered his mouth in disgust at his own failures. He put himself down in his mind. To the left of the crowd All Might gripped his shirt in anger. He too was blaming himself for his own failures.
"It's all my fault. I'm sorry. So sorry." Izuku said.
"I'm a disgrace." All Might said.
"Help will show up and save the day I'm sure." Izuku thought.
"I'm not a real hero." All Might said.
"Someone. A real hero will come soon." Izuku said, covering his mouth. At the same time, both he and Ami got a look at who was trapped inside. Izuku noticed the hair and his eyes expanded farther than before. The prisoners face peeked through the sludge and stared into the crowd with fear. Izuku and Ami saw those eyes and realized who was trapped inside. And without even thinking about it, Izuku dropped his notebook and bolted.
All Might's eyes widened at the sight as well as the other heroes. From her spot in the alleyway, Ami saw who was running out towards the sludge mountain and panicked.
"Izuku?" Ami's eyes bulged out of their sockets at the sight of her brother running towards the sludge villain. Without even thinking, she dropped her backpack and ran towards them. Death Arms saw Izuku run out towards the villain as well as the girl rushing out of the alleyway and shouted..
"Stop, you idiots!"
"Ugh. This brat again." The sludge villain groaned. Bakugo heard his words and opened his eyes.
"Deku?" Bakugo muttered, barely getting a word out of the sludge.
"What am I doing?" Why am I running? And why can't I stop?" Both Izuku and Ami thought.
"What would a hero do right now?" Izuku thought, thinking of an idea.
"Page 25, right. Take this!" Izuku said, throwing his backpack at the monster's eyes. The sludge villain felt a soda can hit his eye and flinched.
"Kacchan!" Izuku said, grabbing onto the sludge villain's body. Ami pulled out her lighter and ate as much flame as she could. The flames surrounding the monster also vanished and flew towards her mouth. Up from above, Kamui Woods watched in awe as the flames surrounding the sludge villain flew to the girl. His eyes widened when seeing the girl.
"Damnit, I thought I got everyone." Kamui thought. He stood up and watched the flames enter her mouth. He looked around and decided to take the chance to swing around and save more people.
Bakugo watched Izuku claw at the sludge and forced his mouth out of the sludge. He quickly took huge breaths of air. He coughed before regaining his senses and watched as Ami jumped onto the sludge villain from above. Bakugo watched as both Izuku and Ami clawed at the monster with all their strength.
"What the hell? Why are you here?"
"I don't know, my legs started moving. Kacchan, I couldn't just stand there and watch you die." Izuku cried out.
"Izuku, grab him!" She shouted. Izuku quickly grabbed on to Bakugo's wrist through the sludge and pulled.
"What would a hero do in this situation? C'mon, Ami. think!" She said to herself. She then thought of something All Might would say.
"Eat this!" Ami said, opening her mouth wide open. The sludge villain watched Ami and saw a red glow light up her throat.
"What the hell?" the sludge villain said with confusion. He was then hit with a blast of flame that covered the top part of his body. The sludge villain felt the burn and roared in pain.
"She's drying me up. I need to put more fluid in between that fire and my eyes." the sludge villain thought to himself. He quickly moved the fluids in his body up towards the fire in an attempt to shield himself with his own fluid. This effort caused him to put less focus on the boy trapped inside him. Izuku managed to get a single hand out of the sludge monster before he realized what he was doing.
"Not so fast, kid. I'm not ignoring you!"
"Save the boy! This thing will kill him!" Death Arms shouted. The sludge villain swiped at Izuku and raised his fist high in the air. Izuku fell to the floor and saw the incoming arm and raised his hands to protect himself. Before he could get, a blur appeared between him and the sludge villain. The contact with the blur created a blast of smoke that engulfed the group. Ami inhaled the smoke and gagged on her own fire. She expelled every bit of flame in her body and nearly slipped inside the monster until she felt a piece of wood wrap around her stomach. She looked down at the wood with confusion before she was pulled out of the action and onto the floor. As the smoke cleared, Izuku looked up from his defensive stance and stared at All Might.
"I really am pathetic." All Might said.
"All Might…" izuku said.
"I told you the traits to make a great champion, but I see now I wasn't living up to my ideals." All Might said, breaking free from the sludge villains gasp. All Might quickly grabbed onto Bakugo's wrist and continued.
"Pros are always risking their lives. That's the true test of a hero!" He exclaimed, reeling in for a punch.
"Damn you, All Might!" the sludge villain yelled.
"Detroit SMAAAAAAAAAAAAASHHHHHH" All Might punched the villain in the center of his body and blew the sludge villain up with one punch, leaving Bakugo free from death.
Ami watched the scene play out safely on the street and was barely able to keep herself from falling. She was standing with support from the wooden hero next to her. She glanced at him and saw what looked like a glare on his face. She felt a raindrop hit her, causing her to look up. To her surprise, the sky had been covered with clouds and was starting to rain. The punch from All Might had caused it to rain. The crowd stood there shocked at the amazing display of power before erupting into cheers at the number one hero. Ami looked across the street at All Might. This was her first time seeing him in person. She remembered the days her and her brother would play hero together as children.
"He looks so much cooler in person." She thought to herself, excited but also exhausted.
"After that. The heroes collected all the scattered mounds of sludge and the villain went into police custody where he belonged." Izuku narrated. All Might was surrounded by paparazzi while the police made sure everyone was safe. Izuku had woken up after the incident and was immediately scolded by heroes.
"You moron. Do you have a death wish?" Kamui said with his arms crossed.
"There was absolutely no reason for you to put yourself in danger like that." Death Arms scolded.
"I know, sir." Izuku said, staring down at the pavement.
"At least we tried, right?" Ami cutted in, getting their attention. She sat on the pavement, drinking a bottle of water.
"You're not off the hook either, ms." Kamui Woods said.
"Jumping onto the villain like that and using your quirk was bordering vigilantism." Death Arms glared.
"You're lucky I pulled you out in time before that villain caught you." Kamui Woods said. He looked at the girl and thought back to his view. He was caught off guard seeing the flames that prevented him from doing anything suddenly fly forward into her mouth. It was because of that opportunity that he was able to get to her in time. Normally, he'd shy away from heroes with fire quirks, but this was a citizen he was dealing with. Not a hero. He crossed his arms and sighed.
"I cannot condone your actions today, but without your fire quirk. I might not have been able to rescue more citizens. You have my thanks." Kamui Woods nodded, walking off. Izuku and Ami heard his thanks and looked at each other. They smiled at one another with excitement. Then another hero walked up to them.
"Woah, it's Backdraft." Izuku said, excitedly. Backdraft approached the two and tipped his hat in respect.
"A fan, huh?"
"Yeah, I like lots of heroes," Izuku stated, he turned to look at his sister and noticed her nervousness, "But you're one of my sisters favorites!" He proudly exclaimed.
"Izzy." Ami said, feeling embarrassed.
"I am, huh? It's good to know I inspire people with quirks on the opposite spectrum of mine." Backdraft said.
"I'd like to know your names if you wouldn't mind?" he asked, politely.
"My name is Ami. And this is my brother, Izuku." She answered.
"You're siblings?" Backdraft asked, not realizing their similarities.
"Twins, actually." She corrected, glancing a smile at Izuku. Backdraft looked at the two of them and crouched down.
"What you and your brother did for that boy wasn't safe, you know."
"I know." They both said in unison.
"But you have my thanks for getting rid of the fires. It's because of you that I was able to safely maneuver more civilians out of harm's way. You have a very good quirk for helping with fires. If you ever want to become a hero, I'd like you to join my agency." Backdraft said, handing Ami another bottle of water. Ami accepted the bottle of water and chugged it down lightning fast. Using her quirk like that took a toll on her, she'd never used her quirk in an offensive attack before. She realized a long time ago her quirk made her dehydrated.
Ami sat there on the pavement feeling stunned. She heard the praise from Backdraft and felt herself start to cry. Tears fell from her face after hearing his praise. Backdraft saw this and felt concerned.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm sorry. I'm used to people calling my quirk dangerous." She smiled through her tears.
Bakugo stared at the ground in silence thinking things over. Surrounding him were two heroes that were praising his explosive quirk. He ignored everything they said and looked at Ami talking with Backdraft and then at Izuku who was getting up from the pavement. He narrowed his eyes at the both of them. When the dust had settled, the crowd dispersed and returned to normal life. Izuku walked home ahead of his sister. Ami told Izuku to go on ahead without her. She wanted to ask Backdraft a question.
She rushed over to Backdraft, who had just finished giving the okay on the building's safety. Ami could see him walking with firemen towards the fire trucks and called out his name.
"Backdraft! Wait! Backdraft!"
"Ms. Ami?" Backdraft said, recognizing her.
"I have...to ask you something. It's about my brother! I told him to go on ahead of me because I wanted to ask you something." She said, panting.
"Alright."
"My brother, Izuku. All his life he's wanted to be a hero. We used to say that when we got our quirks we'd be the best hero duo ever. We wanted to be like All Might so much. But then… I got my quirk. And he didn't. People used to make fun of him for being quirkless. Saying a person like him could never be a hero…" She frowned, feeling her emotions well up. She remembered all the insults and bullying through the years and tensed her body.
"I'm his sister, yet even I didn't think it was possible..." She said in a low voice.
"Yet even now, he still wants to be a hero. More than anything. Even when not a single person believed in him, he still didn't give up. And after seeing him run to Bakugo, I realized that. So I wanted to know...Backdraft." She called out to him, wiping her face with her arm.
"Is it possible? Can he be a hero even without a quirk!" She asked, loudly. Backdraft looked at her with his orange eye and stood there silent. Ami looked at the hero's mask and was unable to see what he was thinking. Backdraft thought of everything he just heard from her and gathered it all together. It took a few silent seconds before he knew what to say.
"There are many things I could say to that. My family has been heroes for generations. And before that, we were firefighters." Backdraft approached the crying Ami and looked down on her.
"Many people will tell you you can only be a hero if you have a quirk. And for the most part, it's true. But that's only looking at it in one way... As a firefighter, you go into a burning building not just to put out a fire. You go in to save lives and help as many people as you can. It's a dangerous job, but so is being a hero. But even before quirks, that's never stopped them from doing it, has it?" Backdraft said.
"Despite the risk, despite the odds. Your brother still went in did he? Despite his own fears, he risked his life to save another. To me, that makes him a hero." Backdraft said, truthfully. Ami opened her eyes and looked up at Backdraft and cried tears of joy.
"Anyone can be a hero, Ami. Even without a quirk." Backdraft finished. Ami bowed her head in respect and composed herself as best she could. She looked at Backdraft and wiped the tears of her face. He nodded at her and received a nod back. She thanked him before turning around and running off. Backdraft watched her leave and smiled.
"Thanks, Backdraft. For reminding me." All Might said, standing behind Backdraft. Backdraft heard the voice and jumped in surprise. He gasped and quickly turned around to see the smiling hero look at him.
"All Might?" He asked. Backdraft watched All Might move forward and jump high into the air, leaving him to his thoughts.
"Was he listening this whole time?" Backdraft thought.
Izuku walked in silence, he was disappointed that he was unable to talk to All Might again after the villain was defeated. He decided then that he'd try and write to him on his website when he got home. He was walking until he heard a familiar angry voice call out to him.
"Deku!"
"Kacchan?" Izuku said, turning around. He watched Bakugo run up to him and catch his breath before talking.
"Listen, I would never ask for a weakling like you to help me. Don't think you can look down on me. Huh, got that? I was fine by myself, you and your sister didn't help me! You did nothing. I don't owe you anything!" Kacchan shouted. He turned back around and angrily walked away.
"What was that? Kacchan is right though. It's not like I did anything against the sludge villain, but at least I tried. Guess now I should go back to giving up on my dreams." Izuku frowned.
Bakugo turned the corner and walked more casually than before. He heard running up ahead and looked up to see who it was. He stopped walking and recognized who it was. In front of him was Ami. She had been running without stopping just to catch up to Izuku and talk to him. She stopped running and started breathing heavily. She wasn't expecting to run into Bakugo. She made eye contact with his glare and tried to think of something to say. She opened her mouth to speak but Bakugo quickly interrupted her.
"Shut up." he said. Ami raised her eyes at the response.
"If you want to thank me then don't bother. I only pulled your ass away from him so I could bomb him with my quirk. I don't give a damn what you think about me, you hear! You mean nothing to me." Bakugo said, walking right past her. Ami stood there on the sidewalk going over what he said. She then remembered what had happened to her. Bakugo had grabbed her arm and threw her to the garbage pile in order to save her. Or at least, try to attack the sludge villain. Ami smiled at the revelation and sighed.
"See you around, Kacchan." Ami said, blankly. Bakugo heard the goodbye and gritted his teeth in anger as he walked away from her.
"That was the nicest thing he's ever said to me." Ami thought.
"Wait. I still gotta catch up to Izzy." Ami thought, sprinting around the corner. She reached the street and saw Izuku standing still.
"There he is." She thought.
"Izzy!" Ami shouted, waving at him. Izuku quickly turned and raised his hands up high and started panicking.
"Wait. Don't come any closer!" Izuku yelled. Ami was surprised to see Izuku panicking so much and looked behind him. She saw All Might covering his mouth and narrowed her eyes in confusion.
"Is that, All Might?" She thought. Then suddenly, All Might deflated into a cloud of smoke. Ami looked at the cloud of smoke in shock then her eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when she saw the figure in the clouds. All Might had just turned into a skeleton right in front of her. Her eyes locked with All Mights as his true form was revealed in the smoke. Ami stared at the skinny man with complete shock.
Her face turned a pale white as she saw the skeleton that had once been All Might. After a minute of screaming and a frantic Izuku trying to get her to stop, Ami finally calmed down.
"Izzy, what happened to All Might? Why does he look like that?" Ami stuttered, feeling pale.
"Hey, keep it down now. Someone could hear." All Might said, motioning his hand down.
I was hoping I could stay in my muscle form during all this incase you showed up but I suppose it can't be helped." He said. All Might looked around and made sure no one else was nearby. He then lifted his shirt up and showed Ami his wound. Ami looked at the wound and felt her eyes shrink. She covered her mouth in shock.
"I got this from a fight five years back. This was the best the doctors could do to fix this. Right now, I can't go more than three hours a day in my muscle form."
"That's terrible."
"I've already told Izuku to keep this quiet and now I ask that you do, too." All Might asked. Ami instantly agreed and nodded.
"I promise." Ami promised. She then remembered what Backdraft said to her and looked at Izuku.
"Izzy, I need to talk to you about something."
"What is it, Ami?" Izuku asked.
"It's alright, young lady. I overheard your conversation with Backdraft before I left. I'd like to take it from here if you don't mind." All Might asked, politely. Ami looked at All Might and nodded. All Might smiled at the two of them.
"I came here to thank you. And also to discuss your question from earlier."
"If you hadn't told me about your life. If you hadn't run into that fight, I would've been a worthless bystander watching from the crowd. So thanks."
"Oh no. It was my fault he was there to begin with." Izuku apologized.
"Wait, what?" Ami interrupted.
"I got in the way of his work and wasted his energy. And I almost died.…" Izuku said, looking the other way.
"YOU ALMOST DIED?" Ami shouted. Both Izuku and All Might shushed her.
"Right. Sorry." Ami apologized.
"I'm not done. You told me you didn't have a power. So when I saw this timid, quirkless boy try to save a life, it inspired me to act, too." All Might explained.
"What do you mean?" Izuku asked..
"There are stories about every hero. How they became great. Most have one thing in common. Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think. Almost on their own." All Might said. Izuku heard him and thought of all the things people said to him once more.
"For some reason, I remembered my mothers words in that moment." Izuku narrated.
"I'm sorry, Izuku. I wish things were different." Inko said. Izuku put his hand on his chest and resisted the urge to cry. He bent down and dropped to his knees. Ami saw this and put her hands on his shoulders.
"And today thats what I saw from you. Both of you." All Might said. Getting an appreciative smile from Ami. Tears were starting to fall down her eyes again as well. Izuku could barely hold back anymore and let the tears exit his eyes.
"You never told me, Mom. Back then, the thing I wanted you to say. The words I needed to hear." Izuku narrated.
"Young man, you too, can become a hero." He said, looking down at Izuku. Izuku looked up at Ami and saw her give him a supporting smile. They hugged each other for the first time in years. She started to cry as well as she attempted to comfort her brother. All Might watched the scene play out for a second. He felt a bit of joy at the affection between the siblings. He made sure to hide it and cleared his throat to get their attention.
"I didn't know it then, but what All Might was about to tell Izuku would forever change his life and my very own." Ami narrated.
"Izuku Midoriya. I deem you worthy of my power. My quirk is yours to inherit." All Might said, raising his hands. Izuku stopped crying for a moment and looked up at All Might with confusion. Ami also stopped crying and shared a confused look with Izuku. There was an awkward silence between the two as they fully realized what he said.
Huh?" Izuku uttered out.
