Bloom
Izuku Midoriya learned early that not all men were created equal.
"Stop it!" she yelled at the trio of bullies as she stood over a fallen classmate. The mean-spirited boys looked from across the playground, taunting smirks stretched over their childish visages.
"Bakugo, look! Deku's standing up for the villain!" chubby Tsubasa said, his red wings slowly pulling out of his back.
Bakugo glared at the green-haired girl with a malice belying his years before sneering.
"Guess that means Deku's a villain too!" he replied, "Ain't that right, Deku?"
Bakugo punched his palm and a miniature explosion flared from it. He smiled. Izuku looked at him pleadingly, the corner of her eyes stinging with unshed tears.
"Kacchan, you already made him cry! I won't stand by and let you hurt him anymore!" She shouted as she put up her arms to defend herself. The three bullies began their attack.
A couple minutes later, Izuku lay sprawled on the floor, the boy she defended sitting over her bruised body. He was saying some words but she wasn't really listening as she slowly rose from the ground. She gave him a wobbly smile.
"It's okay." Izuku said, "I'll always get back up."
Izuku always wanted to be a hero. Of course that wasn't a very strange goal. Society was dependent on the costumed forces. Merchandise and news reports constantly advertised the glamorous profession, so much so that heroes were seen as celebrities.
Izuku idolized all types of heroes, from combat heroes like Endeavor and Gang Orca, to rescue heroes like Thirteen and the Wild Wild Pussycats, and even support heroes like Recovery Girl. However, there was one hero that Izuku looked up to most of all and that was the Symbol of Peace himself, All Might. When she was younger, she would constantly watch a video of his debut, in which he saved over a hundred people in fifteen minutes, so much so that it was permanently etched into her mind. His radiant smile, his exuberant laugh, and his proclamation of "I am here!" were all icons of heroism. She wanted to be like him: a heroine who saved people with a wide smile on her face.
When she was taken to the doctor at age four, she was excited but also a little bit nervous. This was when she was going to be told if she had a quirk or not. She didn't know if her father had a quirk but she knew that her mother's allowed her to pull objects towards her. She also knew that quirklessness was a definite possibility, given that her uncle was quirkless. It didn't detract her love for him at all. He was the goofiest and most fun-loving person she knew, but if she wanted to be a hero like All Might a quirk would be absolutely necessary.
When the doctor announced that she was bound to unlock a quirk, she was elated. She thought it might be similar to her mother's quirk and immediately tried pulling the doctor's stethoscope towards her with a wave of her hand. The doctor looked at her with a puzzled look. Inko immediately showed him what Izuku was trying to do and he chuckled.
"Sorry, kiddo, but just because you're going to get a quirk doesn't mean you'll get it immediately." he said.
Izuku immediately stopped trying, but her cheeriness didn't wane.
Izuku never knew her father. It wasn't like she really needed to. She lived with her mother and uncle, both of whom showered her with more love than any child could ask for. She'd arrive home from school to the hugs, kisses, and home cooked meals of Inko Midoriya. Izuku would tell her mother about her day and her mother would listen with a smile on her face. When her uncle Mikumo returned from work, he would ruffle her fluffy hair and the two of them would watch the television together. Oftentimes they would watch the news for any hero fights and they would analyze the quirks being used. This sometimes led to some arguments, which Inko would come in to break up before it got serious.
Of course Izuku was still curious about him but when she asked she would get different answers. Her mother called him 'an absentee S.O.B.' (it'd be years before she learned what that meant) while her uncle Mikumo would bluntly say 'Your father's a very busy public defender' and would leave it at that. All in all, Izuku never thought much of her father.
One cloudy day when she was nine, her family attended a funeral. It was a very private affair; there were only a total of ten attendants including them. Her mother and uncle cried throughout the entire service which made her feel uncomfortable. 'Am I supposed to be crying too?' she thought.
After the pallbearers lowered the casket and the service was all but over, one of the other attendants walked up to them. He was a gangling fellow wearing a dark trenchcoat with a suit underneath. He had a hat on but she could see a few stray blond hairs poking out from underneath it. He bowed to them before saying, "I'm sorry for your loss."
Her uncle muttered a thanks. The man looked like he wanted to say more, but instead he began coughing violently. Izuku saw the man wipe what looked like blood off his chin.
"Are you sick, mister?" Izuku asked. The man looked at her with his fiery blue eyes and she flinched. The whites of his eyes were instead black. Izuku shrunk into her uncle's side at the man's stare.
"Just some injuries, young one. Thank you for your concern." he replied with a small grin. He bowed again before leaving.
The three family members returned to their mourning in silence as the pallbearers began shoveling dirt into the grave. Izuku watched as the men's hands turned into miniature shovels, gathering the dirt until the grave was finally complete. Her mother's hand entwined with her own as they walked towards the tombstone. It read:
Here Lies Hisashi Akatani
2412-2447
He Always Bounced Back
She recognized the last name on the tombstone as her uncle's. All this time she assumed that her mother and uncle were siblings but that wasn't actually the case. Her uncle shared the same freckles that she had just as she and her mother shared hair color. Her mother and uncle looked nothing alike, but he did look like the picture of the deceased. Adding all those facts together, Izuku realized that she was looking at her father's tombstone. For the first time during the funeral, Izuku cried.
Izuku never knew her father.
And now she never will.
"Students, you are in your final year here at Orudera Junior High." the teacher said to a full class of students. He held in his hand a stack of papers, "So, it's time to think about your futures."
Most of the class looked dead, as if they couldn't care less about what he was saying. He tsked before throwing the paper in the air as if they were confetti. "Who am I kidding? You all want to be heroes, don't you?"
The entire class erupted with noise, each student displaying their quirks. Most were mundane and seemingly useless, like extending their fingers. Some had potential like turning into a rocky substance and lifting things with their mind. Some had their quirks already active, like the boy who looked like some type of clothespin.
"Yes, yes, you all have wonderful Quirks but you know it's forbidden in school." he said. 'Though that did wake you all up.'
"Hey, Teach! Don't lump me in with these losers!" one Katsuki Bakugo said as he leaned back in his chair, "As if they could be heroes with their crappy Quirks!"
"Get over yourself, Bakugo!" the entire class roared simultaneously.
"SHUT IT!" he responded with matching intensity, "Extras don't have lines!"
The teacher rubbed his temples with his fingers as he said, "Ah, Bakugo. You must be aiming for UA High School, right?"
"That's right!"
At that statement, the class began chattering to themselves. "That prestigious school?" "Only the best of the best get in there!"
Bakugo jumped out of his seat and onto his desk. "Stupid chattering extras! I aced the UA mock exam! I'm way above you bozos!" he continued, "In time, I'll even be greater than All Might, the best there is! I'll surpass him and become the greatest the world has ever known!"
"Hey, Midoriya, you're also going for UA, right?" the teacher asked.
"That's correct, sir." Izuku replied.
The entire room went silent at the teacher's statement, including the boisterous Bakugo. Then some students spoke up.
"Aren't you aiming a bit too high?"
"Yeah, UA has a crazy low acceptance rate!"
"You got a decent Quirk, but you gotta be realistic. Why not try Ketsubutsu or something?"
Izuku didn't reply to the naysayers, instead saying to the teacher, "What about those papers, Mr Museki? Shouldn't we be filling them-"
Suddenly, her desk exploded and she was launched backwards. She yelped a little when her chair hit the ground with her butt still on it.
"Don't act like you're better than any of these extras, Deku!" Bakugo said, standing over her fallen form, "All your Quirk's good for is being the perfect punching bag! You're nothing compared to me!"
Izuku gave her former friend an almost bored look. "Was that really necessary, Bakugo?"
"Shut it, Deku! You might as well be Quirkless! What can you even do?!"
Izuku stood up, rearranging her desk and chair before sitting back down. "Whatever you say, Bakugo."
"Hmph!" the ash blond replied before returning to his seat.
'The girl's right. I really should just hand them the forms.' Mr Museki said, gathering them while the students were occupied.
Soon class was over and the students were all heading home.
'That villain attack from earlier is all over the news.' Izuku thought as she looked at her phone, 'They're calling it Mt. Lady's big debut. I oughta head home and add her to my notes.' She reaches for her notebook only to feel the surface of the desk.
"Huh?" Izuku looked at the desk, but saw that it was gone. Bakugo along with his two lackeys stood in front of her and in his hand was her notebook.
"We ain't done, Deku." he said.
"Are we ever?" she asked, "Can I have my notebook back please?"
Bakugo slapped the notebook and an explosion ripped through it. He then tossed the book out a window.
"Okay. What the hell, man?!" Izuku said, "That one was almost full!"
"There's a thing about the best heroes: they showed greatness even at a young age. They have great origin stories too." he said as he pointed at himself with a thumb, "As for myself, I'll be the only hero to appear out of this piece of shit school. I can't have anyone else do that, can I?"
'What are you even on about?' Izuku thought before the boy clamped a hand on her shoulder. Smoke hissed off her uniform and she winced from the heat.
"What I'm trying to tell you is don't even try getting into UA, you goddamn nerd!"
Izuku was about to yell at him but she bit her tongue and looked down. The three boys walked away from her and towards the exit.
"Damn," Lackey #1 said, "At least say something."
"She won't say anything because she knows it's true." Bakugo said, "Her Quirk's shit, just like she is."
Izuku looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You're an asshole, you know that?"
All Bakugo did was bark out a laugh.
Eventually, Izuku found her notebook in a koi pond. "C'mon Mr Fish. That's not food. You'll get sick if you eat it." Izuku said as she pulled it out, causing an advancing fish to swim away in panic. She gave it a good shake before opening it.
"At least it's salvageable," she said, "Fricking prick." She put the notebook in her bag and began her walk home. "Let's see. I don't really have boxing class today so once I finish my homework, I'll have the whole afternoon to myself."
She began thinking over the day's lessons in her mind as she walked, but that quickly turned into Quirk analysis. She couldn't help it. It was like her brain was wired to do it.
She was almost out the tunnel when she heard a weird sound coming from behind her. She turned and found a grotesque wave of sludge seemingly floating in front of her. It reeked of sewage and had large yellow eyes.
"What the-"
"A medium-sized body to hide in. Lucky me!" it said. The sludge surrounded her, covering her mouth and trapping her limbs.
'A villain?!'
"Calm down, girlie! I'm just taking over your body for a bit. Should only hurt for a minute and then it'll all be over."
Izuku began struggling even harder at those words but the villain wouldn't budge.
"Seriously, kid, you're a real lifesaver! I had no idea he would show up in this town, but if I can hide inside you then I can get away."
'I can't breathe! I can't breathe! Someone help! Somebody! Anybody!'
"I mean, who would suspect a little girl like you? You're a real hero!"
'Am I really gonna die like this?!' Izuku thought, the sides of her vision blackening as she fought to stay conscious.
Just then, a loud pop and the clatter of a manhole cover alerted the sludge villain of another presence. He turned to look and his eyes widened in trepidation. It was the very man he was running from.
"Fear not, civilian! For I am here! TEXAS SMASH!"
A large gust of wind tore through the villain, separating sludge from flesh and freeing Izuku. Unfortunately, it also launched her several feet, where she landed on the asphalt in a heap.
After she recovered from the shock of the fall, she sat up before immediately vomiting to the side.
"Seriously, what is up with today?" Izuku said when she finished regurgitating.
"Sorry about that, kid. Didn't mean to get you caught in that attack, but he was really clamping on you." A very loud and familiar voice said, "I'm not usually one to make mistakes like that. It's a bit lucky I'm in this area. The cameras aren't rolling. Ha ha ha!"
Izuku looked up to see All Might, her idol and the Symbol of Peace.
'ALL MIGHT?!'
"Thanks to you, I've been able to apprehend the villain!" All Might said as he held out a couple of bottles. Trapped in the bottles was the sludge villain.
'Wow. He's really here! I'm not hallucinating or anything! He looks so majestic even in street clothes, like something out of a comic book!'
Izuku looked around for her bag. 'Autograph! I need an autograph before he leaves!'
She found her bag sprawled next to her and pulled out her ruined notebook along with a pen. She held it out to him.
"May I please have an autograph, All Might sir?"
"Anything for a fan!" he replied as he jotted it down.
"Thank you!" Izuku said with a bow, "If it's not too much I'd like to ask a-"
"I'll have to stop you there, kid!" he said, "I have to get this villain to the authorities."
"But I-"
"I'm sorry. A Pro Hero doesn't just combat villains but also time." He said as he bent his knees, ready to jump, "A couple seconds can be the difference between life and death."
"I see," Izuku said, "Sorry."
"No problem." All Might replied before he leaped, kicking up some wind in the process, "UNTIL NEXT TIME, YOUNG ONE!"
And he was gone.
'I just wanted to ask him if he thought I could be a hero,' Izuku thought, 'Just needed a little confirmation.'
All Might soared through the sky, thinking 'Man, I really dodged a bullet. I'm almost out of time.'
He landed on the building and promptly deflated into his true form, 'I wonder what that girl wanted to ask. Guess I'll never know.'
He reached into his pocket for the villain only to be met with nothing but cotton.
"Hmm?"
He patted his pants rapidly but found no trace of the bottles that contained the villain.
"Oh, you have got to be shitting me!"
"Hey, Bakugo. What's your problem with Midoriya?" Extra #1 said.
"Yeah, wasn't she your childhood friend or something?"
"It's her fault for messing with me!" Bakugo yelled back.
"What are you talking about, dude?"
"That Deku is always in my fucking way!" He continued as he sipped from his soda can.
"What do you mean?" Extra #2 asked.
"Always defending other extras, muttering constantly about trash quirks, having the gall to think that she can rub shoulders with me, you name it!"
"Wow! Didn't know you were such a tsundere, Bakugo." Extra #1 said with a snicker.
"What'd you say?!" the blond said, exploding the can in his hand.
"Eep! Nothing!" He yelped as he pulled out a cigarette.
"Put that shit away!" the boy barked at his lackey, "I don't need your stupidity on my record."
Extra #1 didn't comply, instead he and Extra #2 stared back at him.
"Didn't you hear me?!" he repeated, "Put that shit away!"
The two boys turned around and bolted, confusing Bakugo even more.
"A body with a good Quirk! Man, I hit the jackpot."
Bakugo turned around to find a large mass of green sludge.
"Looks like everything's looking up for Gesui!"
'Twenty more minutes of walking and I should be home.' Izuku thought as she walked through a one lane street. She then noticed a large crowd in front of her. 'What's going on? This street's not usually this crowded.'
She made her way through the crowd to get a closer look at what was happening. The center of the street was aflame with some pro heroes in the midst. Death Arms, with the help of some police officers, was holding back some of the crowd while Kamui Woods kept back the rest with his elongated wooden limbs. Backdraft was trying to put out as much fire as possible and Mt Lady was standing outside the street in her giant form.
'God, what type of villain has all these heroes playing damage control?' Izuku thought, scanning the area. She then saw the familiar sludge monster, this time wrapped around a new victim.
'Isn't he the one All Might captured? How did he escape?!'
She looked at all the heroes involved. 'The fires are keeping Kamui Woods at bay and Backdraft is helping but he has no back up. Mt. Lady's trapped outside because of the crowd. The only person who could possibly do something is Death Arms, but given that the villain's made of liquid, I doubt that he can simply punch him away. This is an awful scenario for every hero involved.'
Izuku then noticed the victim's appearance. Spiky blond hair, red eyes, looks oddly like…
Bakugo!
Before she could think about what she was doing, Izuku jumped into the scene and ran towards the villain. She shoved her hand into her bag and began emptying it of its contents, using each book as throwing ammo. Most were ineffective, sloshing into the villain's liquid form harmlessly. However one of them hit him right in the eye, briefly ruining his concentration.
Izuku immediately grabbed onto Bakugo and began pulling him, trying her hardest to set him free. The villain used one of his grimy tendrils to manipulate the blond's arm, sending an explosion at her chest. Izuku hissed with pain but ignored it, continuing her effort.
The sludge villain growled "You goddamn brat! You're dead!"
"Does she have a death wish?!" one of the heroes said.
"Get outta there!" said another.
"Just a little more and then he's mine! So butt out kid!" the villain said, sending a wave of sludge towards her.
"Pros should be ready to risk their lives!" A booming voice shouted, "Thanks for reminding me that kid!"
A hand clamped onto one of Izuku's arms and pulled her away, pulling out Bakugo in the process. Izuku saw All Might's wide yet blood red smile and knew that everything would be fine.
"DETROIT SMASH!" he yelled as he sent an uppercut.
The sludge villain was immediately turned into a mush as he was launched back. A large gust of wind ripped through the sky at such a force that clouds seemed to appear and before long it was raining. The rain began quelling the fires, which gave Backdraft some help. The police began scooping off wayward chunks of the sludge villain, while the media swarmed All Might, bombarding him with questions. While that was happening, Death Arms, Mt. Lady, and Kamui Woods began chastising Izuku as she sat on the ground. At the same time, a number of heroes who arrived late were praising Bakugo on his quirk, not knowing it was his quirk that caused the fires
"There was absolutely no need for you to put yourself in danger!" Death Arms said, "The pros had it handled!"
"Yeah, kid! What would happen if he got you too? Then we'd have two people to save!" said Mt. Lady.
"We appreciate the help, but leave it the pros next time," Kamui Woods lectured, "These situations are too dangerous for a kid like you to get involved in."
Izuku considered arguing that none of them were able to do anything, but she didn't bother. They probably would've refuted everything she said. Instead, she just got up, collected her things, and began walking away.
"Kid, you can't just leave. You haven't been checked for injuries."
"Thanks for the concern but I'll be fine." Izuku replied, "It's not like I did anything wrong anyway."
The heroes looked on in silence as she walked away.
She was almost at her house when she heard Bakugo shout, "Hey, Deku!"
Izuku groaned and looked back, "What is it, Bakugo?"
"I never asked you to save me, you useless shit!" " he said, his face a mask of pure rage, "I could've beaten him myself!"
At that point, Izuku was physically and emotionally exhausted from the day's events so she just stared back at him, not even trying to hide her exasperation.
"You trying to win me over?! Don't you fucking look down on me, fucker!"
"Hey, Bakugo." Izuku responded.
"What you gotta say, huh?!"
"Get over yourself, you gargantuan jackass." With that last sentence, Izuku turned back around and headed home.
It took a good fifteen minutes for All Might to finally shake off the media. Sometimes he wished that he could shrug them off like Endeavor or give short and curt answers like Edgeshot. Alas, it was far too late for him to reconstruct his hero personality.
He was currently jumping from building to building, trying to find the girl from earlier. He couldn't remember her name, though he did know it was written on the notebook he signed. Though what she did was reckless, he could see that she had the right mindset to become a hero.
'She'd be the perfect inheritor for One for All.' he thought.
When he asked the paramedics about her, they told him that she rejected medical attention. He cursed inwardly but swore to himself himself that he would find her.
So he searched the surrounding area. He checked in parks, in cafes, in convenience stores, on random benches, but found nothing. He checked for green hair in crowds and alleyways, but still came up empty. Fifteen minutes turned into thirty which turned into an hour. The girl was nowhere to be found.
At the point, All Might was running on fumes so he knew he would have to search again later. He still had to meet Sir Nighteye about something, but he resolved that he would try to keep tabs on the girl.
He had no doubts that she would make a great heroine.