A/N: Thank you so much, everyone! I'm pleased by the responses I got so far! They were very insightful and have given me the courage to proceed with the chapters. Your support and excitement for this AU is just amazing to me, it really is.
Once again, I acknowledge the OOCness of some of the characters in the first chapter. I understand that it seems pretty radical, but do keep in mind that things will get better when the Hero Club is formed. Just bear with it for now. Also note that this is my first time writing for "My Hero Academia". Have a little patience and give me time to grow. For this fanfic, I'm actually using a writing system that I have never used before, where I've already finished a few chapters in advance and I'm constantly proofreading and revising them in my spare time.
So do know that I am trying hard for this one. Rest assured, my intent isn't to disappoint. I've heard some horror stories about the MHA fanbase in general and I want to make sure we all get through this story relatively unscathed.
Anyway, I'm done rambling. Let's get on with the chapter! ENJOY!
"I can't thank you enough for this, Shimura-san."
"Ah, don't sweat it. It's my pleasure, Midoriya-kun."
With relieved eyes, Izuku followed Shimura out of the convenience store, his hands holding onto new shopping bags with replacement milk and eggs inside. The blond man put his wallet back into his pocket, grabbed one of the bags in his right hand, and started ambling down the sidewalk. Izuku followed right behind his heels like a stray puppy.
"You told me you were being picked on at school," Shimura said, his lips bending into a frown. "But you didn't say it was that bad. To be frank, I thought the worst those punks were doing to you was take your lunch money or somethin'."
"Well, I'm just used to it..." Izuku replied glumly.
"That's unacceptable, Midoriya-kun. You need to stand up for yourself. Like Yamikumo."
"I try to, but..." Izuku swallowed a little in his hesitation. "It's just...different. And no one stands up to Kacchan. No one. Not unless they were asking for a beating."
"Kacchan?"
"The guy with the spiky blond hair."
Shimura looked over his bony shoulder with surprise. "That walking time-bomb?!" When Izuku nodded, he refocused on the path ahead of him. "Huh. With a temper like that, I guess it's understandable... What are the adults doing about it?"
"Not much. Half of the school is in the palm of his hand, and the other half are mostly afraid to tell on him so they could avoid landing a spot on his hit-list." Izuku took a deep breath of defeat. "He does get sent to detention, but it's not much of a deterrent for anyone. ...And Kacchan's the best baseball player the school has ever seen."
"So the teachers go soft on him as much as possible, so their star athlete doesn't miss out on any games. Can't say I'm surprised."
Shimura gazed towards the lonely street. The breeze picked up again, scattering even more articles of litter all over the cracked asphalt. In an alleyway on the other side of the street, a trio of shady characters were taking shelter, eyeing the duo with a sinister interest. Regardless, they refused to budge an inch, lest they compromise their hiding spot.
"This town's been going further and further down the drain since the Shie Hassaikai took over..."
Shimura kept his voice low so Izuku could hear him, but unbeknownst to him, he was unsuccessful in that attempt. The green-haired boy solemnly lowered his head, his mind momentarily flashing back to better times...
Suddenly, his friend's voice brought him back to reality.
"Setting that aside, how're things going at school? Are you keeping up those grades?"
Izuku sighed, downcast. "Barely..."
"Well, that's because you've got your nose stuck in manga all the time. It's gotten to the point where you're treating the books like living people. Reading's good, but you need to divide your time more evenly. You're not gonna graduate at this pace." When Izuku didn't respond, Shimura turned his head slightly and asked, "What about friends? Have you made any yet?"
Izuku prepared to respond, but Shimura quickly added, "And they'd better not just be online friends!"
The boy frowned miserably and put his hands in his pockets. "...No, not really..."
Shimura shook his head. "You need to find someone who'll be willing to stay by your side, and quick, kiddo. If this is the kind of bullying you face in school every day, you're not gonna be able to rely on me to stand up for you all the time. And to be perfectly frank, you were lucky I happened to be out shopping for groceries!"
"I'm used to being alone..."
"You're also used to talking to me. If so, then you must be perfectly able to talk to other people."
Izuku stopped walking. Shimura heard the footsteps behind him cease, and he looked back.
"Other people take things too seriously, though..." Izuku replied softly. "And these things are always things I can't really take seriously in turn. Academics, future jobs, girls, so on and so forth..."
"Hey, didn't you mention there was a club for manga and anime lovers over there?"
Izuku nodded once. "Yeah."
"Then why don't you join it? You'll definitely find lots of like-minded people there, and you'll make a lot of friends then!"
"They're..." Izuku looked away sheepishly. "They're...too weird, though. I can't talk to them. Especially the founder." The green-haired boy smirked hollowly. "Yeah, she's a real piece of work..."
"Well, I don't know what to tell you, Midoriya-kun. Your mother and I won't be around forever. You've gotta find someone else who will listen to you and care about what you have to say. Otherwise, you're just gonna be alone in the world, and that'll be a whole lot scarier than facing off against a group of bullies."
"I understand, Shimura-san..."
At that point, Shimura reached a small three-way intersection. After looking both ways, the thin man crossed the street, closely followed by Izuku.
"Ummmm...so," he said awkwardly, "since you haven't made a single friend yet, I assume things are still the same with that Uraraka girl you've been gushing on about?"
The boy exhaled sadly. "Yeah..."
"I guess that one's more understandable. She's your crush and she doesn't even know you exist."
Izuku merely exhaled again. Then, after walking a couple more blocks in complete silence, he heard Shimura announce, "Well, here we are, kiddo."
Izuku promptly looked up at the bold, comforting neon sign that read 'PLUS ULTRA MANGA CAFE'. Its normally luminous lights were no longer active, giving it a strikingly lifeless look. Even more depressingly, Izuku could see Shimura's lonely upper-story home just above the sign, empty and overlooking the street that cut through downtown.
Even so, when Shimura unlocked the front door with a set of keys and opened it, Izuku could feel a soft but exhilarating blast of air coming from within the manga café like the breath of a beast, welcoming him back with its subtle power and grandeur. He held on to the straps of his backpack, feeling extremely honored to be back in the café, even though it was already past closing time.
Shimura walked inside and set his shopping bags on the nearby wooden table boasting brochures of manga- and anime-related merchandise. The soft impact of the bags drew Izuku's attention, and he followed the blond man inside. The two walked over to the simple, almost humble front desk, which bore a few colorful posters of different manga properties, as well as a sticker-covered cash register.
"Holy whoa," Izuku said, his green pupils scanning the empty, soundless scenery. "This place sure is a whole lot different after closing time." He then looked at Shimura, who, to his surprise, was approaching a backdoor in the far corner of the café. "Wh-Where are you going, Shimura-san?"
Shimura turned his head towards him and replied, "Well, the newest volume of Our Hero Academia was sold out, kid. But the newest shipment arrived earlier today, so I'm just gonna look for that box and give one to you." He smiled a friendly smile. "Then I'll look for a copy of that other volume those boys wrecked. Just wait there, alright Midoriya-kun?"
"A-Alright!" Izuku stood rigid, like a soldier at attention. "I-I'll be waiting patiently!"
Shimura blinked slowly. "Heh. Even if you cannot stand up for yourself and socialize properly, you do take after Mikumo Akatani in a lot of other places, don't ya, kid?"
"W-Well, o-of course!" The boy gazed at the floor, his expression now dreamy. "He's...He's an inspiration to me..."
Shimura stared at him for a moment, then he smiled strangely.
"I'm really happy to hear that."
Izuku's lips loosened a little as he watched Shimura go into the backroom, the door slowly closing behind him with a low creak. Then, once silence took over the atmosphere, he surveyed his surroundings. Once bursting with as much colors as the covers for Our Hero Academia, it was now painted with the brilliant, pinkish-orange light of the setting sun. He could clearly see dust accumulating on the bookshelves, tables, and reading booths. Shadows reigned where the sunlight could not reach, giving the entire café the overall resemblance of a powerful, dramatic scene in an anime.
Izuku took a deep breath and approached one of the bookshelves. Lining every nook and cranny were rows after rows of manga series, many of which he had read and finished. All of them contained their own little worlds, ready to pop out, as if coming to life, for the reader's viewing pleasure. He had the narratives of so many manga series memorized...
He began walking further down the aisle, scrolling through the contents of the bookshelf to see if there were any manga series that he hadn't read yet and that merited his interest. He did see a few unfamiliar titles, but none of them peaked his interest. By the time he reached the other end of the shelf, he realized he already read everything that needed to be read on that shelf.
"Hmmm..." Izuku gazed towards the next bookshelf. "Maybe there's something there that I can read..."
Something told him that would most likely not be the case at all. Even so, he prepared to stroll over to that shelf when something else caught his attention. In Izuku's peripheral vision, he could see a sliver of darkness beckoning to him. He slowly inched his head towards that tempting sliver of darkness, and he realized that it was coming from within a door that was left ajar. Its wooden surface was slightly jutting out from the wall it was hinged on, provoking a slight sense of discomfort inside Izuku. The boy wanted to alert Shimura to the open door.
However, that discomfort was quickly drowned out by a stronger sense of curiosity, one that was still building.
Izuku looked over his shoulder, towards the door that Shimura took to the backroom. His instinct to alert the café owner was pushed to the back of his brain, and he quickly, impulsively walked towards the ajar door. Once he reached the door, he grabbed the metal handle but then paused. One half of his brain was telling him to close the door, but the other half was telling him to fully open it and gain access to the room inside. Izuku lightly bit his lower lip as he mentally debated with himself on how to proceed.
Then...
"Who knows?" said the devil on his shoulder. "Perhaps there'll be some brand-new manga volumes in there. Ones you've never read before."
Izuku swung the door open without a second thought and was greeted with darkness. Then, without wasting more time to debate with himself, he groped around the edges of the doorway in search of a light switch. He immediately found one and flipped it, flooding the mysterious room with bright, pale-yellow light.
"H-Huh?"
It seemed to be a private office, secluded away from the rest of the manga café. There was a small bed and an equally small desk with a simple folding chair behind it. The desk and chair were facing a wall that bore a life-sized poster of All Might, a supporting character of Our Hero Academia, his wide, toothy smile as infectious as ever. Surrounding that poster was a myriad of awards, all related to accomplishments in manga creation, all proudly displayed in glass cases. Scattered all over the desk were white sheets of paper with sketches, each of them in a different stage of completion. Some were half-done, a vast majority were still in the beginning stages, and only a couple seemed to be complete.
Now fully enveloped by curiosity, Izuku approached the table and took a closer look at the sketches...only to realize...
"HOLY WHOA!" he thought, his eyes widening, his mind racing. "These are sketches for the upcoming Our Hero Academia volume! I remember seeing some of these at the Yokohama manga convention! But they've got a whole lot more details, and I see a lot of other scenes!"
Before he could restrain himself, Izuku dug his hands into the sketches and scoured through them one by one, examining each individual sheet of paper. As he dug further and further into this unprecedented trove of material, his giddiness and excitement rose rapidly.
"Sketches of characters I've never seen before! Personal notes on world-building and character development! Sheets for test dialogue!" Izuku scanned every last word, paying very close attention to even the way the Japanese characters were curved. "And...And all of it is in Toshinori Yagi's handwriting! The Toshinori Yagi! No way! I...I think...I think I'm holding his notes! His notes! All of this has gotta be super-valuable!"
Izuku stared out of the doorway, then back at the detailed notes and sketches.
"All of this... All of this was in Plus Ultra Manga Café and I didn't even know about it! But...But how...?"
"Hey, Midoriya-kun!" Shimura suddenly called. "Sorry it took me a little while, but I... Hey, kid? Where'd you go?!"
Izuku instantly let go of the paper he was holding, and covered his mouth to restrain the scream that was boiling within his vocal cords. Once he calmed down, he lowered his hands and called out, "I'm-I'm coming, Shimura-san!"
He stepped out of the room and returned to the front desk, where he found the skeletal blond man waiting with a brand-new copy of the newest Our Hero Academia volume. Shimura set the book down and crossed his bony arms.
"Didn't I tell you to wait over here, Midoriya-kun?" he asked, his tired voice a little stern. "Man, you could never sit still, not when it comes to manga, at the very least."
"S-S-Sorry, Shimura-san..." replied Izuku, his mind still reeling from his discovery. "Um...Shimura-san...?"
"Yes?"
"Ummm...why do you have a whole bunch of Toshinori Yagi's notes and sketches...?"
Shimura's eyes suddenly widened. "What?"
He flicked his stare towards the door, which was now left fully open, proudly exposing the room within. Then, he looked back at Izuku, who was staring back at him with curiosity. Putting two and two together, the frail man immediately broke out into a sweat...and blood started spouting graphically out of his mouth, creating a horrific sight.
"OH, CRAP!" he gurgled loudly.
"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" Izuku shrieked, bewildered by this sudden, random turn of events. "I'M-I'M SORRY! I-I DIDN'T MEAN TO PROVOKE YOUR CONDITION LIKE THAT! I-"
Once the spouting ceased, Shimura coughed a couple of times and procured a handkerchief to wipe the copious amounts of blood from his lips and chin. Then, he quickly moved over to the front desk so he could wipe it clean of the blood that managed to jettison out onto its surface.
As soon as he was done, he stared at the boy with an irritated frown and said in a low voice, "You know, kid, you should never poke around in places where it's clear you're not welcome..."
"I-I'm sorry!" stuttered Izuku. "I-I just..." He stared at the floor guiltily. "I just wanted to see if there was anything new for me to read..."
"All you had to do was ask. I have a record of all your purchases in this joint. It may be long, but I would've been willing to pore through it..." Then, Shimura's face slackened back to its original sunken, perpetually exhausted look. "You won't tell anyone, will you, kid...?"
Izuku was taken aback. "Tell anyone what?"
Shimura misinterpreted his reaction and gave him a soft but kind smile. "That's the spirit." He turned and casually threw the handkerchief into the nearby trashcan. "Now, let's look for that other volume-"
"W-Wait, tell anyone what, Shimura-san?" Izuku interrupted, his curiosity getting the better of him again.
"That I'm Toshinori Yagi, what else?!"
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
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...
...
"WWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT?!"
"What, you didn't-?" Then, Shimura realized his mistake and started spouting blood again. "OH, CRAP!"
"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"
Fortunately, it didn't take long for the blood to stop spouting again. Unfortunately, though, it left Shimura exhausted, and he had to clean his lower face and the desk with less energy than ever before. Plus, Izuku simply wouldn't stop firing off word after word after word in his gushing overreaction.
"OHMYGODICANTBELIEVEYOURETOSHINORIYAGI!" he chattered loudly. "THEONEANDONLYTOSHINORIYAGI! BUTHOWISTHISPOSSIBLE! IMEANYOUREALLBUFFANDBIGINPUBLICANDYOURESOLOUDANDENERGETICTOOWHILEYOUREJUSTSKINANDBONESRIGHTNOW! IMEANISITPOSSIBLEFORYOUTOEMPTYALLTHATOUTINJUSTTHREEMONTHSIFSOTHENTHATSANACCOMPLISHMENTFORTHEAGESAND-"
"Jesus Christ, slow down, kid!" Toshinori exclaimed with concern. "You're gonna lose your breath and faint!"
Izuku took his word for it and stopped speaking. His shock and excitement and all of the other jumbled emotions left him completely overwhelmed and he was panting loudly and rapidly, as if he had just run a marathon. As soon as he regained his breath, he heaved out three words with all of the energy he could muster at the moment.
"This...is...unbelievable..."
Toshinori sighed. "Well, now that my secret's out in the open for you, I'm gonna have to ask you again to not tell anyone about this conversation, Midoriya-kun."
Izuku looked up. "Not tell anyone?! But why?!"
"You should know why, kid."
At first, the green-haired boy was about to protest, but then, he realized something.
"The person who appears at all those manga conventions," he said slowly, his mind thinking about the huge, ridiculously buff man who always cosplayed as All Might and wore the suspiciously obvious name-tag of Toshinori Yagi as he stood on the bright stages. "He's not you, is he?"
"Nope. He's just a part-time actor who needs some money for medical school tuition. I supply him with all the scripts and flashcards he needs so he can say the right stuff when he gets interviewed by the fans and reporters... He has nothing to do with the creation of the manga itself. That's all me."
"Whoa..." The boy looked at the floor again, this time with disbelief. "That does explain why he sometimes hesitates and stumbles during the interviews. Oh, and that interview two years ago!"
Toshinori laughed hollowly in reminiscence. "Yeah. The idiot forgot his lines and just resorted to telling bad jokes. ...I was at my wit's end praying that alone wouldn't blow my cover."
"Some fans did think that was a little fishy, but no one really wanted to dig deeper. But if word gets out that you've been using an actor as a mouthpiece, it'll be a big scandal throughout the manga community."
"Correct." Toshinori sighed again. "Look, kid, I'm not trying to be cold towards the fans or anything. It's just...well, look at me." He gestured at his horribly frail, wiry body. "For the first year of Our Hero Academia's publication, everyone was clamoring to see the one and only Toshinori Yagi in the flesh. If they realize the author of the manga that inspired them so much was just a weak old man who couldn't hold his own in a fight with someone like that Kacchan fellow, then they'll lose hope in what they've come to believe in."
"That's not true!" Izuku protested. "You, Toshinori Yagi, are actually standing before me and I feel no less inspired than I was just a couple of minutes ago! Actually, I'm...I'm so, so honored to know you're him!" He smiled happily and warmly. "I...I knew you way before Our Hero Academia went into publication."
"Wow! Look at that, Mommy! Plus Ultra Manga!"
"Plus Ultra Manga, huh? That sounds interesting, Izuku! Hey, let's check it out!"
"Hi there, welcome to Plus Ultra Manga. Huh, I see we've got a first-timer here."
"Hi there! I'm Izuku! Izuku Midoriya!"
"Nice to meet you, Izuku. I'm Shimura."
"Wooooow... You look like a skeleton!"
"BLEEEEEAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"
"Izuku, look away, honey!"
"You were the one who introduced me to manga in the first place. My love of manga comes from you..."
"Welcome back, Midoriya-kun!"
"Hi, Shimura-san! Has the newest volume of Lone Piece come in yet?"
"Uh-huh. It's waiting over at that shelf. I have it marked just for you."
"Thank you so much, Shimura-san!"
"And to know that the author of my newest favorite manga of all time is actually you...it's something even I could never, ever dream of..."
"Welcome back, Midori- Hm? Midoriya-kun? Were you just crying?"
"N-N-No..."
"Are the bullies picking on you again?"
"No... Yes... I-I tried to stop them, but-"
"Hey, there's no buts about it. Even if there's no way out, that's no excuse to submit. You stand up to them, kiddo, and you do it with resolve. Bullies always avoid people who show their inner strength. One day, you'll have the strength to show them why they should never mess with the likes of you! Alright?"
"Alright!"
"That's the spirit, kiddo!"
"And that's why I would never lose my faith in you, even if I knew your secret!"
When Izuku looked up, he saw that Toshinori was smiling perhaps the widest smile he could muster.
"Thanks, kiddo..." he replied gently. Then, his frown returned. "But I'm afraid other fans won't think the same way. Plus, the recent direction I've been taking the manga has proven to be divisive for the fan community. Some are pretty much yelling for my head. With a fanbase like that, it'd take a miracle for everyone else to have the same mindset as you.
"And even if you set that aside, there's still the little problem of the paparazzi descending upon the town. As you already know, I've never been in the best shape my whole life. I don't think my health can take being harassed by rabid fans and reporters. It'll disrupt my work.
"That's why I think it'd be for best if you didn't tell anyone what happened today. Not a single soul in this town. Not even your mom. Got it?"
Izuku wanted to object, but he knew Toshinori had a point. After all, his freak-out made the sickly café owner spit blood twice today! He couldn't even imagine how much that condition would be aggravated in the presence of a whole crowd of die-hard fans. So, his shoulders slumped with defeat.
"...Got it..." the boy replied.
"Good."
Toshinori started walking towards one of the bookshelves. Izuku watched him go for a second, before grabbing the book he retrieved from the backroom and following right behind him.
"You know," the mangaka continued, "I'm glad I got to be honest with you, kid. I always knew you of all people would be understanding towards my dilemma. And I'm proud to have you as a fan."
"Thanks, Shimu-" Izuku suddenly started to sputter with confusion. "I-I mean, T-Toshin- I-I mean-"
"It's okay, kid. You can call me whatever you're most comfortable with."
"O-Okay...Shimura-san..."
At that moment, the two approached the bookshelf, which held a number of Our Hero Academia volumes for sale. Izuku watched Toshinori, who was scanning through the section in search of the penultimate volume in publication. Just then, a thought popped into the boy's head, and he needed to express it as soon as possible.
"Hey, Shimura-san?"
"Yeah?"
"...Why'd you start writing Our Hero Academia?"
Toshinori continued searching, but his posture suddenly looked more rigid.
"Didn't you already learn that from the other guy?" he asked.
"Yeah, but that's the thing." Izuku gazed at the carpeted floor. "Now that I know the person who I thought was Toshinori Yagi is just an actor, my curiosity is back, and I gotta hear an answer from the real Toshinori Yagi. So please, I just want to know if the story is actually true."
Toshinori paused for perhaps the longest moment. Then, he replied with a soft voice of reminiscence, "Well, a lot of that story is still true. I loved reading American comics as a kid, and I was inspired by the adventures of the superheroes that were featured in them. For the longest time, I wanted to repay those comics for entertaining me and inspiring me. That's why I decided to become a mangaka. And that's how Our Hero Academia was born. It came out of my love for American superheroes."
"I see... So what part of the story is not true? The part where you studied in America?"
"No, that part's true as well. You heard me speak perfectly good English to that tourist last month."
"Okay... So you didn't work part-time with AT Comics?"
"No, I did. I learned a lot from my work experience there."
"Oh. Then how about your first manga about fantasy creatures running a modern hotel resort? Did it really get canceled because you didn't know where to take that idea?"
Toshinori crossed his arms. "I don't know. What do you think, Midoriya-kun?"
"...I guess that's true too." Izuku's eyes brightened with intrigue. "So what part of your story wasn't true, then?!"
Toshinori frowned ambiguously, and Izuku could've sworn he heard a sigh of longing emanate from the man's throat.
"It's...It's complicated, kid. I probably shouldn't have been that forthcoming with you-"
"But I wanna know!" interrupted Izuku.
"I told you it's complicated, kid!" Toshinori quickly resumed his search. "And...And extremely personal. Just...Just lemme find that manga for you."
Izuku stared at his longtime friend, the person who turned out to be his favorite mangaka ever, as he continued scouring through the bookshelf. At first, he wondered why such a deep question about his personal life rattled Toshinori so much, but he soon decided to drop the matter out of respect for him.
Then, as Izuku mulled over the extremely unlikely conversation he just had, something else sparked alive in his mind.
"I wonder how Shimura-san would feel if I told him about what I wanted to be..." he thought.
"Ah, here it is!" Toshinori announced. He clasped his fingers around the book and pulled it away from its brethren. "And in good condition too!" After looking at it for a second, he held it out towards Izuku. "Here, Midoriya-kun. You take good care of it. And don't let those punks trash it like the last book. The fans would be beside themselves if they knew I was supplying you with free copies of my own work."
"Thank you so much, Shimura-san!"
Izuku grabbed the book, but then paused mid-movement. Toshinori blinked with concern.
"Midoriya-kun? What's wrong?"
"Shimura-san," Izuku began emotionally, "your work...it's inspired me so much, just like how American comics inspired you. It has brought so much color to my gray world." He finally pulled the book away from Toshinori's grasp and held it tightly to his chest. "I...I've never been too good at anything else in life. I scrape by with my grades, I'm not popular at school, I'm not good at any sports, I can't join any clubs... I've never belonged anywhere. The only places I know in my life are home, school...and this place."
Izuku fondly, slowly scanned his surroundings. Eventually, his eyes settled on the life-sized cardboard cutout of the main characters of Our Hero Academia. His smile widened at the sight of it.
"This place brings me all the joy in life, not school," he continued. "This is a place where I can be free. Like a portal, it's where I can leave this world and enter the worlds of all the manga that I read. Those...Those are the places that I know I belong to." He laughed dryly. "I know. Pretty depressing, huh?"
"Well, I think I can relate..." Toshinori replied, but Izuku didn't seem to hear him.
"But manga gives me a purpose in life. Especially Our Hero Academia. When I follow Mikumo Akatani's adventures as he learns how to become a superhero, I project myself onto him. I see myself in his shoes."
Toshinori chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot."
Once again, Izuku didn't hear the blond café owner. "And then it hit me last year. I've always been beating myself up for not fitting in anywhere, when I should've been paying attention to what I always do and apply it in real life. And that was when I realized my purpose. What I want to do in life. I kept thinking it over, and I think this is what I really want to do."
The man's sunken eyes widened with a bright surprise. "You did?! Wow, great job, kiddo! I knew you had talent hidden in there somewhere. All it took was some soul-searching! And now you were able to find the goal that will define the rest of your life!" He crossed his arms proudly. "So, what do you wanna be?"
This time, Izuku heard him and answered his question with a smile.
"I want to be a superhero."
"Ah yes, a superhero! A great profession for an attentive and knowledgeable fanboy like- wait, what?"
"I want to be a superhero," Izuku repeated with more clarity. "Like Mikumo Akatani."
The dam was now broken. There was no turning back now. No more regrets.
An awkward silence fell upon the manga café. The only distinguishable sounds were the chirping of birds perched outside the building. But Izuku stood his ground, facing his idol while feeling as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest. Eventually, Toshinori fully processed Izuku's strange declaration and opened his mouth.
"Listen...Midoriya-kun... I...I don't wanna kill your dreams or anything, but...d'you have any idea how..." The café owner suddenly rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Oh, how should I say this...?"
"I know what you're thinking, Shimura-san," Izuku said, his voice hardened with resolve. "But I'm one-hundred percent serious. I want to become just like Mikumo Akatani and all the other heroes in Our Hero Academia." He stared out of the window longingly as the golden sunlight peered through it. "A person who helps others for the sake of good and nothing else..."
"Then why not become a police officer? It's a respectable job, and it suits your criteria perfectly!"
Izuku's eyes darkened slightly. "You know how it is here." He stared at Toshinori again. "I want to help people on my own terms. And I want to do it behind a mask. That way, people can be inspired by the sight of a nobody like me, stepping up to a seemingly insurmountable challenge. And once they see me doing the right thing and standing up against evil, then they'll realize if one of their own could do it, then so could they. I want to become that kind of symbol to people..."
Toshinori's eyes widened with awe. "That's...That's honestly admirable, kid..." Suddenly, he frowned disapprovingly. "But you're forgetting one thing."
"And that is?"
"YOU'RE GONNA GET YOUR ASS HANDED TO YOU!"
Izuku fell over in surprise and dropped his books in the process. As the teenage boy scrambled to pick them up, Toshinori ruffled his unkempt hair with slight distress.
"I'm sorry about that, Midoriya-kun," he said solemnly. "I...I understand you want to save this town and help others. And it's not wrong to think that, trust me. But the thing is, your approach is just so...so ridiculous!" His blue eyes brightened in remembrance. "Not to mention reckless! I just have to tell you that!"
"Mikumo's hero name means 'reckless'," Izuku replied defiantly as he stood up. "He gets himself into dangerous and life-threatening situations so he could help people in need. He may be afraid of what the consequences might be, but he still goes ahead because that's the right thing to do. He can't just ignore that." He stared into Toshinori's eyes determinedly. "Tell me, Shimura-san, why can't I think the same way?"
"I'll tell you why, Midoriya-kun." The café owner yanked one of the books out of Izuku's grasp, showed its cover to him, and tapped it with his index finger. "This is a work of fiction. This isn't something that can be applied to real life!"
"So you're telling me you didn't write that for the sake of inspiring readers?"
"W-W-Well, o-of course I did! But..." Toshinori lowered the book. "I was hoping my readers wouldn't take the inspiration so literally, though."
Izuku clenched his fists. "Shimura-san, I know what I'm saying is ridiculous. I really do. Trust me, I laughed at myself a couple of times for thinking that."
"Then why not consider a more realistic alternative?"
"It's just like what I said. Reading manga, becoming invested in the world of fiction, is what gives me purpose. And their worlds and all their rules make more sense than this one. If I can think more like a manga protagonist like Mikumo, then this world can probably make more sense as well."
"That's not an excuse, Midoriya-kun." Toshinori crossed his arms again. "To be honest, it sounds like you've been reading too much manga in your spare time. An obsession like that, it's unhealthy for your mind."
"But don't you feel like this world would be a whole lot better if it were more like a manga, Shimura-san?!"
"Even if I did, there's nothing you or I could do to change it! Society doesn't have the time to mold itself in your image! Kid, you have to accept the world as it is!"
"But...But I can't!" Izuku looked at Toshinori's feet. "I just don't understand why the world is what it is. I can never bring myself to care about anything except for manga. That's why I thought if I became someone like Mikumo Akatani, then I would finally find purpose in life..."
"If you care about manga so much, then why not become a mangaka like me? Like a superhero, you can inspire people anonymously with the messages you put into your work. And you can spend your free time delving into the worlds that you yourself have created! It should be the perfect job for you!"
"But I'm only inspiring people with sketches on paper. I want to do more than that..." Izuku then looked up worriedly and started waving his hand rapidly. "N-N-Not that I think y-your job is b-b-boring to me or anything, Shimura-san! I wasn't trying to insult it or anything, honest!"
Toshinori's frown became more pronounced. "So you're being serious, Midoriya-kun. You want to become a superhero."
Izuku nodded vigorously. "Yeah! More than anything else, Shimura-san!"
"I see. Okay. Let's say I'm mugging a person on the street. I've got a knife and nothing left to lose. You see me and rush into action. Tell me, Midoriya-kun, what will you do to stop me?"
Izuku's eyes widened, and his mind raced to come up with a fighting strategy. "L-L-Let's see, I...I, uh... So, by nothing to lose, you mean you'd be willing to stab me?"
"Yeah. I can also take the woman hostage and slit her throat if needs be, as long as it meant escaping. Tell me, what will you do?"
"I'll...I'll just disarm you!"
"And how will you do that?"
"I'll, uh...I'll..." Izuku rubbed his chin as he struggled to visualize such a fight. "I-I'll knock it out of your hand...w-with a karate chop!"
"A karate chop?" Toshinori asked, baffled. "So you know martial arts?"
"N-No...b-but I'll ask Kendo to train me!"
"Who's Kendo?"
"A student in the classroom next to mine. She's very good at martial arts."
"She?" Toshinori blinked with hesitation. "Uhhh...I thought you weren't good with talking to girls?"
"Holy moly, he's right!" Izuku thought with terror. Then, he replied, "I'll-I'll just have to overcome that fear, l-li-like a-any h-hero would!"
"O-Okay..." Toshinori blinked, a little impressed by the boy's resolve. "But let's say you ask Kendo to train you. Will she do it?"
"Of course! She's a pretty cool person if you get to know her!" Then, he sighed sadly. "Which I don't..."
"And will she be in on your mission to save people as a superhero?"
"O-Of course not?!" Izuku exclaimed. "She wouldn't get herself involved in something like that!"
"So what if she was the person I was robbing? What if she was the one I'd take hostage? And what if she recognizes your fighting style as you try to protect her?"
"I-I'd..." Izuku paused for a moment, then frowned angrily. "Hey, you're trying to make this a no-win scenario, are you?! That's not fair, Shimura-san! You're not giving me any chances to-"
"Life's not fair, Midoriya-kun," Toshinori interrupted, his tone brutal. "It's unpredictable, a series of random occurrences. No matter how much mankind tries to control it, life somehow finds a way to make their efforts blow up in their faces. It has always been this way and it always will be. Sometimes things go your way, other times they don't. You never know.
"And that's the problem with your dream of being a superhero. Applying the tropes of Our Hero Academia onto the real world is like trying to make something out of puzzle pieces from two different sets, because unlike the real world, those tropes are systematic and unchanging. Concrete."
"Not if you try!" protested Izuku.
"You'd waste your time if you tried, kid!"
"Mikumo tried, and he's now got a real shot at becoming a hero! Why can't I?!"
"Jesus Christ, I can't believe you're taking this so seriously! What if you really got hurt?! D'you have any idea how I'd...?" Toshinori paused, seemingly thinking about what he was going to do next. Then, he held out a hand. "I'm very sorry, kid, but I'm gonna need that other book back now. Bringing you here is proving to be a huge mistake."
"Wh-Wh-What?!" Realizing what Toshinori was going to do, Izuku held on to the manga tightly. "N-NO!"
"Trust me, this is for your own protection, and I don't wanna take it from you by force. Now hand it over."
"NO!" Izuku shouted so loudly that his voice cracked. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with Shimura- no, Toshinori Yagi of all people! "I...I didn't even get to finish reading it- AGH!"
With a reluctant sigh, Toshinori yanked the book out of Izuku's arms. The boy gasped with a horrified surprise, but didn't do anything to stop him. He could only watch as the blond man put the books into the shelf. And once he did, Toshinori's shoulders slumped, and he didn't look at Izuku as he spoke again.
"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga. Once you're able to do that, you're free to come back in and read to your heart's content."
"B-But-" Izuku began, his voice becoming increasingly shaky.
"Don't make me kick you out, kid!" Toshinori glared at the silenced boy, his blue eyes glowing with anger and...something else. "I have nothing but utmost respect and compassion for you, kid! And that is why I gotta shove this in your lap! I can't have you run around town in some flashy costume, beating up criminals and endangering your life, all because you think manga is the only thing that'll make life better for you! Because it isn't!"
The two stared at each other for a long time, Izuku with invisible grief, Toshinori with evident ambivalence. At that point, the sun had gone below the horizon, and the golden sunlight bathing the café faded into a muted pink glow. Eventually, the café owner turned his face away from Izuku.
"You should be getting home now, kid..." he said softly. "Your mom's probably worried sick about you."
Realizing his idol, the one he had always known but had just realized, had spoken the final word about his dream, Izuku took a couple of steps backward, slowly shaking his head in disbelief. Then, blinded by his accumulating mix of emotions, he turned around and bolted towards the main doorway.
"Don't forget your groceries!" Toshinori called, the tone of his voice distant and noncommittal.
Izuku gritted his teeth angrily, but he instinctively grabbed the bags before bursting out of Plus Ultra Manga. Then, tears flowed from his eyes as he ran down the darkening, twilight-lit streets.
"Life's not fair, Midoriya-kun. It's unpredictable, a series of random occurrences. No matter how much mankind tries to control it, life somehow finds a way to make their efforts blow up in their faces. It has always been this way and it always will be. Sometimes things go your way, other times they don't. You never know."
"I should've known he would say that," he thought. "I should've known my dream was stupid, even for him. I should've known that he'd respond that way! But I just had to be a complete fanboy and tell him of my dreams! Now I just wound up embarrassing myself!"
His teeth tightened even more against each other as he wiped his cheeks. Then, he stared into the horizon as the hue of gold and pink began to fade into a serene dark-blue. His vision started to blur again, forcing him to wipe his eyes.
"And I'm still crying over it. Now isn't that pathetic or what...?"
"Fear not, citizens! For I am here!"
"Fear not, citizens, for I am here..."
Izuku heaved out a long, glum sigh. He was almost fully enveloped in darkness, and the only source of light was coming from his nifty laptop, which illuminated his face like some sort of heavenly beam. His green eyes stared into the trending online video, which was replaying a now-famous scene from Our Hero Academia's anime adaptation, specifically its first season. All Might had just arrived at the scene of an unexpected Villain attack on the grounds of U.A. High School, saving all of Class 1-A from the brink of certain death.
The scene then switched to the protagonist, Mikumo Akatani, who was wearing a smile of immense relief and admiration for his superpowered idol. Upon seeing that character's youthful, ordinary, lame-looking face, partially draped with long locks of purple hair, Izuku realized for the first time how much he actually resembled Mikumo.
"I guess Shimura-san projected me onto him while designing him," he thought. A smile subsequently crept onto his face. "He thought I was the perfect model for protagonist material. ...I...I'm actually humbled by that. Perhaps I should thank him..."
"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga. Once you're able to do that, you're free to come back in and read to your heart's content."
"Shimura-san's right. I care way too much about manga. I'm so wrapped up in it that I don't think about anything else. I mean, who wants to become a superhero in this day and age, am I right?! It's so ridiculous! How could I have thought of something like that in the first place?! HA HA HA!"
Izuku glanced at the open door of his closet. Hanging on the door was a cosplay outfit he got from the Yokohama manga convention last year. It was an accurate replica of Mikumo Akatani's outfit, tailored to fit his body perfectly. It was perfect for a real-life superhero outfit. If he did modifications on it to make it look better, then...
The boy stood up from his chair, approached the door, and took the costume off the door hanger so he could look at it.
"But even if being a superhero a ridiculous, unrealistic thing to dream about, it still feels natural to me... I want to save people, just like the characters in Our Hero Academia. Why? Why is it wrong to want to do something like that in today's society? Why must people dismiss such things as childish daydreaming...?" Izuku's eyes narrowed bitterly. "It just shows how content the town is with its current crime-riddled state, despite all the damage it's doing to the townspeople."
Suddenly, Izuku heard a soft pinging sound coming from his laptop. He quickly rushed back to his chair and checked the private chat he was a part of. As expected, there was a new message from the other participant.
Hand of Shigaraki has joined the chat
Hand of Shigaraki: Hey, Smelly! Have you read the newest OHA volume yet?! Just got mine!
Izuku smiled and signed in.
Yamikumo-PU has joined the chat
Then, he quickly typed a response.
Yamikumo-PU: I didn't get to finish it. It got confiscated.
He leaned back and waited for a response. It didn't take long for him to hear another ping.
Hand of Shigaraki: CONFISCATED?!
Then, there was another message.
Hand of Shigaraki: I thought your mom was cool!
Izuku went back to typing. His fingers moved animatedly across his keyboard.
Yamikumo-PU: No, it was the owner of the manga café I go to.
Yamikumo-PU: He says I've been reading too much manga.
...
Hand of Shigaraki: What a KJ.
Izuku sighed. Then, after pondering his next words, he typed in his response.
Yamikumo-PU: He's a friend. Don't be rude.
Yamikumo-PU: And I think he's sort of right, to be honest.
...
Hand of Shigaraki: You thinking of becoming a fake?
Yamikumo-PU: Well, unlike you, I go to school.
Hand of Shigaraki: School's for losers.
Hand of Shigaraki: Losers who eat up all the shit society has to offer.
Izuku blinked and pursed his lips. He never got to meet his online friend, who he liked to refer to as Shigaraki, in person before, but he suspected he was a NEET who hadn't seen the light of day for a while. But he was never one to judge, so he never tried to pry for any personal details.
Hand of Shigaraki: I know you're better than that, Smelly.
After reading the latest message, Izuku hesitated for a moment. Then, he resumed typing. As his fingertips punched in a new letter for his message, he could feel all motivation leaving his body. He didn't like what he had to say, but he knew it was still the truth.
Yamikumo-PU: I know I'm better than just sitting around all day.
...
Hand of Shigaraki: So you'd be willing to go out in the world?
Hand of Shigaraki: Even if you know the world is just a huge crap-fest?
Hand of Shigaraki: If society is so confusing in our eyes, why need it?
Izuku sighed glumly.
Yamikumo-PU: I don't wanna talk about this right now. Too depressing.
Hand of Shigaraki: Whatever you say, Smelly.
Izuku scoffed softly.
Yamikumo-PU: When will you stop calling me that?
Hand of Shigaraki: Once you edit that silly username of yours.
Hand of Shigaraki: Seriously, you can't expect to call yourself that and not be the butt of at least one joke!
Yamikumo-PU: PU stands for a phrase that means a lot to me! I can't just drop that, Shigaraki.
Hand of Shigaraki: PU, huh? By any chance, does it stand for "piss off"?
...
Yamikumo-PU: And you see, this is why you need to go to school.
Hand of Shigaraki: Wow, rude much?
Yamikumo-PU: Sorry.
Yamikumo-PU: Come on, let's talk about something else.
...
Hand of Shigaraki: Sure thing, bud.
Hand of Shigaraki: Whatcha think about Yagi's arc for the League of Villains as of now?
Izuku smiled and started typing an intricately detailed response. Before he could complete his post, however, he heard a voice call out to him through the closed doorway.
"Izuku, dear! Dinner's ready!"
"I'll be there in a moment, Mom!" Izuku replied, looking over his shoulder at the sliver of light piercing through the sides of the doorway. "Just let me finish what I'm doing really quick!"
He could imagine the woman nodding. "Alright, but don't dawdle for too long! Your food will get cold in no time!"
Izuku heard his mother leaving, her footsteps fading into nothingness. Then, he copy-and-pasted his original response in a private file, saved it, and wrote at a quicker pace.
Yamikumo-PU: Sorry, Shigaraki. Mom just called. Gotta eat.
...
Hand of Shigaraki: Oh, okay.
Hand of Shigaraki: Will be waiting for your return. Peace out.
Hand of Shigaraki has left the chat
Yamikumo-PU has left the chat
Izuku prepared to get up, but he found himself staring at Shigaraki's username for a while.
"You're not allowed to come back here until you find something productive to do at school, Midoriya. I don't care what it is, as long as you make friends and enjoy life beyond the pleasures of manga."
"I do tend to talk to Shigaraki way too much..." he thought. "And Shimura-san's never happy when he knows I just talk to people online. ...Maybe I should start off by distancing myself from Shigaraki bit by bit...?" He then shook his head in response. "No, I can't do that! Of all the people I talk to online, Shigaraki understands me the most and I'm sure he also appreciates my willingness to talk to him as well! No, I shouldn't do that to him..."
He looked at the computer for one last time. Then, he got up from his chair and left the room.
A/N: And thus marks the conclusion of this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
So, just for the record, Toshinori Yagi goes by Shimura in this AU. I will be referring to him by his real name from now on to avoid confusion, but Izuku will be referring to him by his alias. However, if this becomes confusing, I'll try to remedy it in some way.
And yes, Izuku has Shigaraki as an online friend. These are truly dark times.
Anyway, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:
-Dark Dremora:
1) I'm so glad you like the concept a lot! I think it'd be interesting to see what would happen if "My Hero Academia" was pretty much the same thing, except there were no such things as Quirks protecting them. The action would be different, I'll tell you that much.
2) I know, and I apologize for making those characters seem stunningly uncomfortable here. But I am a big fan of doing things differently and subverting tropes, and I guess this is an end result from me. Although I suppose I took Iida a little too far in that regard. Anyway, I promise, the next time you see him, he'll be more in-character (I hope). And I will give explanations as to why everyone acts so differently here. It actually ties into the theme I'm trying to set up for this fic.
3) My plan of developing IzuMina is going to be a bit slow and literally harrowing, actually. So keep an eye out for that.
-Whitetiger789: Like I told Dark Dremora before, I apologize for the off-putting OOCness and promise that things will improve from here, a bit slowly but definitely for sure.
-Tohsaka143: I'm so glad you're interested! Is there anything specific that reeled you in? Or anything you didn't like or found off-putting? Sorry, but I make it a habit to ask for specific details in my reviews, so I can easily figure out what my readers want and determine their current mindset.
-2010si: Would you mind being more specific in your review, please?
Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!