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THE HURRICANE

OC x Izuku Midoriya

'for those with the hunger to achieve.'

Chapter 8: The Switch

My father was livid when I got home.

"How in the Hell did the top hero school in all of Japan fail to stop a simple villain invasion?!" He made a fist. My mother was much more level headed about the entire thing. She waved her hand dismissively as we all sat around the table. I ate quietly, staring at my father. The vein on his forehead looked ready to bust.

"Hun, we can't expect perfection. Afterall, don't forget what happened when you went through UA." Mother's tone dropped in suggestion, as though something scandalous happened. I tried not to read into it. Father slammed his fist on the table.

"How can you sit there like that? Our daughter faced a villain attack and you look like we're talking about the weather!" Oh was he ever pissed. He rubbed his head and looked exhausted. "It took the entire faculty to protect the students from this attack..."

I swallowed my food and looked down at my bowl. The attack didn't startle me as much as it did my dad, but I would be lying if part of me hadn't been changed by the battle.

"Mr Aizawa broke both his arms, ribs, and his skull trying to protect us," I said quietly. My parents looked at me as I stared at the table. "Even though he knew there was no chance of winning, he didn't hesitate to jump into the fray and fight whoever he could. He didn't run away, didn't try to make us help him. He wanted us to run, to protect us. And I just- I wonder. At what point does one become so heroic? And... I think that I want to become a hero even more now."

I gently reached to touch Dad's hands. They were always so large compared to mine. Scarred, deformed from breaks and large wounds. They always looked strong to me. I gently put my hand in his and looked up at my dad. He stared at me with anger still bubbling beneath the surface, tinted with sadness. I gave a soft smile, squeezing my hand against his.

"It's okay dad, I'm safe at UA. I know it."

Dad dropped the subject after that, though I had a feeling my poor mother would be hearing allllll about it later on. I tried not to overthink the fact that he would drop it so suddenly either. Normally if Dad was mad, he was livid at everyone for hours. Not that he was mean or anything, he just looked ready to rush outside and murder for the sheer release of his frustration. I could understand the short temper part, I could get pretty nasty too when I wanted to be, but sometimes I wondered how the Hell my mom and dad got together. Maybe it was a match made in quirk heaven for them.

This brought me back to the revelation I had during the USJ attack.

All Might was getting weaker, and Midoriya was somehow gaining a quirk.

"Hey- uh, Mom? Dad? I had a question... about quirks." They both glanced at me while continuing their meals.

"About quirks? That's funny, you usually hate the topic." Mom tried to tease, but I frowned at that. Unimpressed, I decided to ignore the fact.

"I actually wanted to know... Is there any way a quirk can become weaker? Even if the person isn't? You said quirks were physical abilities, so they need to be exercised as such." I looked between the two. Dad cleared his throat first.

"Well, with old age quirks can eventually weaken. The body wears down, so it's not a surprise that quirks work the same way kiddo. But if you're asking if quirks can get weaker without old age as a factor? If the person is in perfect shape and healthy... No, I can't see a reason for it to happen." He tilted his head, looking suspicious. "Why? What prompted this question?"

"Oh- I just- It was a subject we didn't cover because of the attack." I lied to my parents and felt awful for lying to them. But it wasn't my secret to tell. I didn't lie to Midoriya or All Might, I really would pretend I saw nothing. Because in the slim chance Midoriya wasn't lying...

I would feel absolutely disgusted with myself.

Classes had been cancelled for a few days, before we finally were allowed to return. To be frank I would've come right back, but was forced not to leave the house. Instead, I spent most of it running on the treadmill and watching a movie at the same time. It was a good way to take a relaxing jog and still be entertained. Though I was also the type of dork who would sprint as fast as I could during the action scenes just to get more excited.

Finally the next morning I was up and out the door for school. At least it was a change of scenery. My commute to school was pretty quiet, but as I stood on the bus I caught a glimpse of green in my peripheral.

Midoriya was standing just one space over from beside me.

"I was quirkless."

I looked away, biting the inside of my cheek. The rest of the ride to school was relatively uneventful. Midoriya was further on the bus than I was, so I exited before him. With the boy literally behind me, I carried on to school trying to focus on other things.

Like explaining to Yukino why I needed a new staff.

She was gunna kill me for not telling her more about the USJ incident, but I didn't want her to worry too much. Yukino may be on the quieter side, but she could be pretty violent when worried. She might even take away my staffs completely. I did have two left...

"Arakawa!"

I stopped at the sound of my name. Since I was at school now it wasn't surprising to hear someone calling for me, though I wasn't sure why they would want to talk to me. I should've known there was only one person who would actually have the interest in speaking with me, and that was the green haired boy I thought was far enough behind not to follow.

He stopped a few feet from me, and the moment my eyes landed on him he looked terrified. I wasn't sure if it was my face or just him, but he looked so scared at that moment that I figured it was a combination of both. I did excel at Resting Bitch Face, and wasn't ashamed.

"Midoriya," I said back, but the boy looked like a scared bunny, which only got me more irritated. I tried not to get cranky. "What do you want?"

"Uh-" He choked on his own words. I waited, and finally he looked at the ground and scratched the back of his head. "A-A-About what you saw yesterday... I-"

"Forget about it," I dismissed. He looked surprised, and that was the last look I saw while turning back to the school. "I already told you, that's your secret. It's got nothing to do with me."

"R...Right..." He sounded deflated, but I carried on walking to class. The sadness in his tone struck me, and I clenched my teeth to stop myself from turning around and asking him outright.

It was none of my business, and besides... I had really, really fucked up if he was telling the truth.

Because that would mean I had chased away the only other person who understood what it meant to be quirkless, at least at one point. Probably the only person who would understand me on a different level.

Everyone was talking about the news the night before. A good chunk of the students in my class were there on the screen during the highlights. For once I had to agree with Bakugo when he yelled for everyone to shut up. I was also extremely confused by the mummy that walked into class claiming to be Aizawa. Wasn't sure whether I was impressed or concerned. Definitely leaning towards impressed.

Today was a pretty straight forward day, with Aizawa leading with probably the most interesting topic we would talk about this semester.

The Sports Festival.

It was the place to shine and show off your talents to agencies. Heroes would get to see you at work and decide whether they had an interest in you. You could show off your quirks and impress the crowds.

Or you could show everyone that you could be quirkless and still fight. Or, like Kaminari had the nerve to point out during lunch, possibly show I'm an absolute flop.

"Man, Shoji is so lucky. He can show off his unique quirk just showing up to the festival. Oh... Hey Arakawa. How are you going to stand out in this? I mean you don't have a quirk to show off." He ran his mouth, and I did my best to ignore him. Yukino fired off a text to me. I typed my reply while giving a curt response.

"Simple, I'll stand next to you and do nothing. You'll make me look like a star." Jirou barely hid her laugh behind her hand as Kaminari grumbled under his breath. I stood from my desk and gathered my things before heading out the door. Shouts of encouragement from Uraraka could be heard, but I left it behind in favor of going to find Yukino.

And hopefully not get murdered in the process.

Yukino Hiroshima had seem some pretty dramatic things over the years.

Namely events that pertained to a certain quirkless hero in the making.

She could remember the day Koga ripped her arm out of it's socket. It had been Yukino's fault, but Koga was so eager to try it again and again until Yukino got it right. And maybe it was because of that persistence that Yukino wanted to achieve things as well. Perhaps it was why she joined the support course, eager to cheer her friend on from the sidelines. It had become an almost unspoken rule though, that everyone in Koga's family adhered to.

It was the expectation that Koga would fail.

Yukino remembered the look in Koga's eyes when she told her about being accepted into UA, and the look her parents shared did not reflect their daughter's mirthful eyes in the slightest. Yukino always found it troubling that the people who handed Koga all the tools to succeed never actually expected her to. Perhaps that was why Yukino dubbed herself the lead in Koga's support team. Or perhaps it was the hellfire the girl held in her golden eyes every time she talked about dangerous themes. Or perhaps it was the warmth they held when saying how badly she wanted to show everyone that she wasn't delicate. That she wasn't a porcelain doll that needed to be tucked away and never truly heard or seen.

Koga was right, she wasn't made of glass. She was made of bones and flesh. Things that could break easily. And perhaps somewhere along the way Yukino forgot that 'proving them wrong' also meant 'breaking a few ribs' and then some. Because Koga looked at the world like it was staring back at her, waiting for her to fail.

Yukino sighed as she waited in the hall by class 1A. She had been a little late, but was hoping to catch Koga before she made her way all the way down to the support study labs. She fired off another text to be sure that she hadn't missed her, before more students came out from the class.

The green hair was hard to miss, as was the surprised look when he caught her staring. It was the boy who stared at Koga constantly; the one that apparently lied to her. Izuku Midoriya. And he seemed to recognize her as well. He stopped in his tracks about ten feet from her standing pose, his two friends also stopping before looking to her.

"Ah, you're Arakawa's friend, right? Yukino Hiroshima?" The girl mentioned. Midoriya calmed a bit, giving a nod while the other boy gave a short bow. Yukino gave a small smile out of politeness.

"Yes that's me. I was hoping to catch Koga before she ran off-" Yukino cut herself off and stared at the three. Midoriya looked curious, then it grew to nervous when her stare became penetrating.

"Actually... Can you... Can you tell me about the USJ incident?" At this statement the three hero course students all looked between one another. Yukino decided she needed to edge them on further. "It's just that- well... Koga doesn't really like to worry me, and I know she doesn't mean to, but sometimes she won't tell me the full story. So... I just want to know if there was real danger."

The three hesitated, but to her surprise Midoriya was the one to speak.

"Yeah... It was real danger." He said quietly while looking at the ground. Yukino pursed her lips, looking at the ground as well.

"I just... I'm sure you've seen Koga in action. She's the type to hit first and ask questions later. And I get worried she'll jump into something she can't defeat, y'know?"

"Mmm, I don't think so," Midoriya surprised her. She looked up at him to see him holding his chin, as though analyzing something in his head. "It's true that Ko- I mean Arakawa jumps into a fight, but I don't think she does it without thinking. During the attack, all of her moves looked calculated, and nothing was wasted movement. I actually think she was several steps ahead most of the battle, and her attacks were precise and strong enough to actually do damage while not limiting or hindering herself and her allies. Plus, what Hagakure mentioned about seeing her fight in the landslide zone I think it's safe to say she can make detailed plans on the fly and still have the flexibility to enact them. The Nomu can't be considered a mistake considering he moved so fast I don't think anyone could even see him coming, and that Shigaraki guy was even pinned by her-"

"Uhhh... Deku...?" The girl asked nervously. Midoriya broke from his rant, possibly realizing he'd gone off on a tangent just then. His cheeks tinted pink as he covered his mouth with both his hands. He definitely did not intend to overshare, but there was something about the passion in his eyes when he spoke that tilted Yukino for a moment.

"I think what Midoriya is trying to say is that Arakawa is very good at what she does. She always keeps a level head, if a bit snappy, but she's not afraid to step up to the plate when someone is in need of saving." The other boy provided. Yukino looked at the three, and her smile from before couldn't come close to matching the one currently on her lips.

"I think... I think you know her surprisingly well." Her eyes strayed closer to Midoriya than the other two, and his face turned completely pink.

"Oi, Heartbreaker!" A familiar voice called. All four looked over to see Koga waltzing up to them, her resting face sour naturally. Yukino raised a brow.

"Ah Bonebreaker. 'Bout time you figured out I was here." Yukino teased, making Koga give her a cheeky grin. She waltzed up to the slightly shorter girl and leaned her arm on Yukino's shoulder.

"Well excuse me for going to the usual spot. Not every day you grace me with an escort down to the labs. Speaking of the labs," she shoved her hand in her pocket and handed a Yukino a crumpled paper. Her grin grew in size. "I figured you might like this new idea for a staff!"

Yukino peeled open the paper before giving a soured look.

"A grade school student can still draw better than you, so I see." She said gravelly. Koga didn't look the least bit bothered.

"Eh, you'll figure it out." It was then that Koga looked to the three still standing there and raised a brow. Yukino realized she had to cover up quickly and gestured to them.

"I figured I'd expand my clientele while I was here. These three are a great start." Yukino jumped in before they could talk. Koga smirked.

"Well, I'll have to agree. Yukino is amazing when it comes to support items. She is the one to build my suit and support items."

It was sort of distracting really, watching Arakawa talk so passionately about her friend. Uraraka noticed right away, as did Midoriya. He couldn't believe the flip in energy compared to earlier. He could've sworn she was plotting a murder when he saw her that morning, but now... Her gold eyes looked lighter somehow, warmer. Her whole face looked soft and loose, free and content. It was such a switch, all three of them thought, that they almost missed Yukino offering to build items should they ever need them.

Midoriya was still so confused by the girl standing in front of him, but even more so now that he had witnessed this switch.

It was even more strange to see her swap back for the rest of the day. And at the final bell when people staggered at their doorway to try and get a peak? Arakawa was ever the calm and quiet one with a mean look in her eyes.

"Move it," she said in her lower voice. "There's nothing to see here. Now get lost."

Bakugo huffed, coming from his seat and getting to the doorway. He stomped past Arakawa and glared at the crowd.

"Move it, extras!"

Midoriya wilted at the dirty glares the crowd gave. Iida was scandalized.

"You can't just call people extras just because you don't know their names!" Bakugo opted to ignore Iida, still glaring at the crowd. Midoriya was just counting down the minutes until he tried to blow someone up, or Arakawa curb stomped someone. Both looked pretty pissed at not being able to leave.

"Are you all as delusional as this guy? Here I was told class 1A was a bunch of hotshots. Now I think it's one big lie." A guy shoved through the crowd, coming to the front to look at the class. Bakugo actually growled while Arakawa grumbled.

"It must be nice, making it into the hero course. I like many others was forced to join a different track when we didn't get in. But that's not the end of the line. If any of us impress the teachers in the sports festival, they can look to transfer us in, which means that they'll inevitably have to transfer others out to make some room."

The guy looked right at Arakawa then.

"And to be honest, it'll probably be you. Kogarashi Arakawa. You're pretty famous around here. The first ever quirkless student to make it into the hero course at UA. Everybody's talking about you, wondering what kind of cheats you're using to get this far. But personally? I don't really care. Because it's your spot that everyone is going to be reaching for. It's the one I'm going to take."

It felt like the room had become hotter. Midoriya felt a pang in his chest at that statement. Could Arakawa actually be transferred out? Just like that? It was obvious she had worked so hard to get this far, and only to be shoved aside?

"Sorry, I was imaging that being the alias of the next big hero."

Bakugo grumbled under his breath before turning to leave. Kirishima and Iida both calling for him to say something other than calling people extras. Bakugo hesitated, then continued on.

"These people don't matter." Was all he had to say. Several people lost it at that, and Midoriya felt a bit more nervous.

TetsuTetsu from class 1B flailed above the crowd.

"What's the matter?! Is class 1A all talk and no action?! Man you guys really piss me off!" TetsuTetsu shouted again, but this time Arakawa made to leave. "Huh?! Hey quirkless girl! Got nothing to say! Go ahead and brag about how talented you are! Gunna be even better when you don't make it past the first round!"

Arakawa stopped, and Midoriya felt like heat was wafting off her she had so much rage. He thought she might murder someone, and though he couldn't see her face, he could tell the murderous look she had this morning would be tenfold now.

"You're trying to tell me I don't belong here because I don't have a quirk. What's your excuse then? Quirk not heroic enough?" She sneered. "Cut the crap. It's true that the ones in the final will get scouted more, but in truth the entire event is a popularity contest. Those that are talked about more will reach more agencies." She turned to look at the guy who threatened to take her spot, and even though Midoriya could only see the corner of her eyes, he knew Arakawa's were ablaze as a cocky smirk rested on her lips.

"So go ahead, run your mouth about how you're taking my spot, because at the end of the day, I'll be in that final, and you'll be sitting on the sidelines, still talking about me." She turned and, whatever look she gave made the students back off. They parted like the red sea, allowing her to waltz out of the room and down the hallway.

Despite the confidence that she showed, Midoriya couldn't help but be reminded of the fitness test.

"I'll prove it to every single one of you! I belong here!"

"You can bully me all the way, but one day I'm going to be a famous hero and we'll see who's laughing then!"

Midoriya felt his chest tighten as he imagined that day at the beach when they first met. Arakawa had proven to be a fiery and tough character, which made it even tougher to really grasp that she had been in tears when they first met. He wondered idly, if she was as strong as the front she put up. Or perhaps that too was for show? At what point did Arakawa begin and the façade end? He pictured the wide-eyed joy in her eyes when he told her he was quirkless and aspiring to be a hero, and his heart clenched again realizing that this sort of betrayal must've been normal for her. It had been for him. It had been normal to be lead along by people, who tricked you into being their friend, only to betray you in the end. He knew, he knew painfully well, what she was going through.

But he also couldn't tell her that. Knowing Arakawa, she'd likely take it as a slight, another lie. He wasn't in good standing with her. There was one way he knew to get her attention though, to make her understand what he said was true.

He'd have to take the tournament seriously.

Hi, I wanted to pop one more chapter in here, but I really really need to go update other fanfics, so this one will have to go on the back burner again.

I can't remember if I said this, or if my peanut brain is malfunctioning, but this story is expected to be 2 parts. Part 1 will cover about 65% of the series, and part 2 will cover the other 35% Plus an 'after' portion where we see how everyone ended up. I don't want anyone to be alarmed, because this IS a happy story with a happy ending, but the road to getting that happy ending is pretty rough. I really love Koga and Deku together, and you'll see why in later chapters. But anyway, thank you all for reading! Stay safe out there!

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Iland Girl