Deku has a persona. Toru witnesses its awakening.

Persona Deku

"Okay, everyone, let's all welcome Midoriya-kun to our school," Izuku's new homeroom teacher said, planting his hand on Izuku's shoulder. Izuku looked out over his new class. Most of them didn't seem to care, which suited him fine. As long as no one asked about-

"Ooh, what's your quirk?" A feminine voice at the back of the room asked. Izuku's stomach dropped. Of course someone would ask. His eyes darted over to the student who spoke, and Izuku blinked.

The girl was bouncing in her seat, and he thought she had her arm raised. It was hard to tell, because she was invisible. The sleeve of her uniform was raised, so it was likely she did. It was an amazing quirk, and Izuku could imagine the applications it had in hero work.

When her bouncing stopped and her sleeve lowered, Izuku realised he'd just been staring. Cheeks flushing, Izuku coughed. "E-Erm. I-I'm...quirkless…" he muttered, looking down at the floor.

"Ok, that's enough, now," the teacher said, quieting the whispering Izuku's reveal had kicked off. "Thank you, Midoriya-kun," the teacher patted his shoulder, "there's a seat free behind Hagakure. Raise your hand, Hagakure."

Someone in the back of the class muttered something, and those nearby snickered. The invisible girl's sleeve slowly raised back up again. Izuku walked past her to his seat, and he could have sworn her shoulders were drooping.

"Two freaks sitting by each other. Makes sense," the boy next to Izuku hissed over, and Izuku flinched. So much for a fresh start...

"What does that say about you?" Hagakure whispered, her upper body turning slightly towards him. "You're sitting here with us, yeah?"

Izuku's eyes were wide as he stared at her. She was...standing up to the guy? His eyes snapped to the bully, who sneered at her but didn't make a scene. He was...just taking it? No way. Like it was going to be that easy. The boy looked at Izuku, and Izuku quickly turned his gaze forward.

After a moment he realised he was staring through Hagakure's head, and he tensed. Was that rude? It was probably really rude. Shaking his head, he focused on Hagakure. Her shoulders were turned towards him, and he realised she was looking at him.

Izuku stared at his desk. He'd already made a fool of himself and outed himself out as quirkless. A new start, indeed.

Izuku remained tense for the rest of the morning until lunch time. He tried to avoid looking at the boy next to him once their teacher dismissed them. Experience told him that the boy would start on him as soon as the teacher was gone.

"So, Midoriya-kun, right?"

Izuku blinked. Hagakure had turned around in her seat and was...talking to him? Maybe there was another Midoriya in class, right behind him? He looked.

Oh, right, he was at the back of the class. Maybe she could also see through walls, and communicate with someone in another room...although he wasn't sure what that had to do with invisibility.

"Um?"

Oh, right, she was talking to him. A girl. A girl who was talking to him. Yes. Perhaps this is when Izuku should talk back.

"A...Ah...Uh…"

Hmm, yes, much speech, very conversation.

Hagakure giggled. "Hey, relax, yeah? I'm not gonna bite your head off or anything."

He wasn't worried about that, but now he wondered if he should be? How big were her teeth? There's pretty much only one way to know, and the thought both terrified and...no, it pretty much only terrified him, actually.

"How about we just introduce ourselves properly?" she said. "I'm Hagakure Toru, nice to meet you…"

Izuku stared for a moment, then realised he needed to respond. "Um...M-Midoriya Izuku…"

"Great!" Hagakure bounced. "So, Midoriya-kun, how do you like our school so far?"

Izuku wasn't prepared for such a question! He hadn't even taken any notes yet. "Um...I-I don't really...have an opinion yet? Sorry."

Hagakure's upper body moved side to side quite obviously. "Don't sweat it! It's your first day, after all! Ooh!" Izuku nearly fell out of his chair at her sudden exclamation. "I know! How about I show you around? Give you the full tour!"

She wanted to...hang out with him? In a capacity. A girl wanted to exist within the same vicinity as him? Even knowing he was quirkless?

He must have been quiet for too long, because Hagakure's body slumped. She tried to hide it by perking back up. "Don't worry! I guess it must be pretty weird for some stranger to ask you to hang out, yeah? W-Well, see ya later, Midoriya!"

She was out of her seat by the time he'd registered anything. "W-Wait, Hagakure-san!" He stood up. She paused and turned to him. "I...Um...Th-Thank you, th-that would be, um, really helpful, actually…" He looked away, biting his lip. "Um, it's just, um...you, er, don't mind...that, well, I'm…"

"What, quirkless?" she said, and Izuku grimaced and nodded. "Why would I care about that? It's, um, different, sure, but I can't really talk about being different, you know? I mean," she waved her arms about, and Izuku could only see her sleeves moving.

Izuku wasn't sure it was the same thing, but… Well, it's not like the quikless had a monopoly on having problems. He didn't even have a single train station... Whatever that meant.

"So! First things first, the cafeteria! Let's go!"

Izuku yelped as he was pulled along by an invisible force. The soft warmth on his wrist clued him in on what was going on. His face burned as Hagakure dragged him to the cafeteria, pointing out other locations as they went. Not that he always knew what she was talking about, not being able to see where she was pointing.

Despite that, Izuku couldn't find it in himself to complain. In fact, he was too busy wondering if this made them friends.

...Izuku was pretty rusty at friendship.

Izuku coughed as a fist buried itself into his stomach. Spittle flew to the floor.

"Midoriya!" Hagakure cried, being held back by two guys.

"See, now this is what happens to freaks," Izuku's neighbour in class said, punching Izuku again. Izuku would have fallen to the floor, if not for the other two guys holding him up.

The rest of the day had gone well. Hagakure talked a mile a minute at lunch, Izuku couldn't keep up. He'd been given an insight into how it must feel to listen to him mumble. Except, more inclusive? Hagakure actually stopped occasionally to ask him questions, but he'd barely get the answers out before she'd continue.

Even so, it warmed Izuku's heart to have someone to eat lunch with.

The rest of the day's classes had zoomed by, after that. At the end of the day, Hagakure asked if he wanted to walk to the station with her. His brain nearly melted, but enough brain power remained to agree.

So there they were, on the way home, Hagakure machine gunning conversation bullets and Izuku mainly listening and nodding. It happened before Izuku could even realise, and next he knew they were being dragged into an alleyway. Two pairs of guys dragged them apart, and the boy who sat next to Izuku in class swaggered between them.

Which led them to now, with Izuku getting another punch to the stomach.

"Leave him alone!" Hagakure yelled, grunting with exertion as she tried to get free.

"Okay," he said. He dug his fist into Izuku's ribcage a bit more and moved away from him. "I'll just knock you around for a bit, instead. I've been wanting to give you a good smack for a while now, Hagakure. Running around, acting like a complete freak. How many times have you snuck into the boys changing room, huh? Streaking around school and just being a weirdo? You make me sick."

"I don't do stuff like that!" Hagakure said, and Izuku could hear the tears in her voice. "I'd never!"

"Yeah, like I'd believe that. Just shut up and take your punishment. There's one good thing about your quirk, though. No one's gonna see how much I'm gonna beat your ass. Hey, maybe I'll go too far without realising. After all, how will I know how much damage you've taken?"

"N-No," Hagakure sobbed.

"And even if they did find out it was me, so what?" He raised a hand and with a flex it was encased in rock. "With a quirk like this, everyone knows I'm gonna be a hero. No one's gonna stick up for a freak like you over a future hero like me."

Izuku couldn't believe this. This guy wanted to be a hero? A guy like this? No way. How could anyone, wanting to be a hero, even thinking about hurting someone as nice as Hagakure? He had to help her!

"Hell! I'll be considered a hero already by putting a freak like you...IN THEIR PLACE!"

...But what could he do? He was just...quirkless Deku. People like this guy, and even Kacchan...they had the power to be heroes. What could someone powerless like him do against someone with the strength to be a hero...

"Ugh!" Izuku's eyes widened. Pain rippled through his mind.

"Are you just going to let them hurt her? The first friend you've made in so long?"

A...A voice?

"Have the years of belittlement and pain destroyed your heroic spirit? Your desire to do right by others?"

…

"Will you take a knee and let this corrupted form of heroism prevail? Will you let the truth of what it means to be a hero die out? All because you believe yourself powerless?"

...No…

"No, you shall not! Within you resides the truth! The original spirit!

"Today's heroics is one of corrupted ideals and impure desires.

"Fame and fortune overshadows the wish to do what is good and right.

"This truth lies before you in this villain parading as a hero-to-be!"

...The truth...of being a hero…

"A hero is not defined by their skills, or their abilities, what they are born with, or their place in society!

"King and pauper both are unified by the spirit of heroism that burns in their souls!

"The weak and the strong alike lift their blades in defence of those in need!

"So, I ask you again. Will you bow out of this tale, or will you become the great hero of this modern day epic?"

I will! Izuku roared in his soul. His spirit was soaring. No matter what, at the very least, he would save one person. He had to.

"I am thou.

"Thou art I.

"Thou who art willing to defend the weak and the needy through the strength in your own two hands.

"Call upon my name and show the world what it means to be a true hero! Remind them all what they have forgotten!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Izuku screamed. Blue flames flared around him, and the boys holding him backed away with a cry. "LET'S REMIND THEM, GILGAMESH!"

"What the—!" The lead bully yelled, taking a step back as Izuku took a step forward. "I thought you were quirkless!"

"M...Midoriya?" Hagakure whispered. "Wh-What's that behind you?"

Behind him? Moving his now rock solid glare from the boy, Izuku looked behind him and almost jumped.

Floating behind him was a man. Or at least, what looked like a man. A man in golden armour with long, flowing brown hair. His face was covered by a fancy looking visor, as fancy looking as the rest of his armour. In his hands was a giant, golden, gilded axe, easily the same size as Izuku himself.

"Gilgamesh…" Izuku muttered, knowing it to be true.

"I am the Genesis of Heroes, the King of the Great Epic; Gilgamesh! I am also you, as thou art I. Together, let us show the world what it means to be a hero. Let us usher in a new age of heroism!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" The lead bully said, his arms encased in rock. His lackies gathered around him, flanking Izuku and Gilgamesh. "It's five against one, and you've just awakened your quirk, I'm guessing. Don't get cocky, you freak!"

"Hm, being weak is no evil thing in itself. But those weaklings who band together to terrorise those beneath even them? That is evil indeed! Izuku! My power is yours, as it is a part of you! Teach these cretins their place!"

"Yes!" Izuku raised his hand, and in his mind he knew what to do. Throwing out his hand, he saw, in the corner of his eye, that it was glowing blue. "Magaru!"

Gilgamesh swung his axe, and a great gust of wind buffeted the five, and with cries and yelps the gang of miscreants flew into the wall. They stared at Izuku in fear.

"Now, fiends, take this lesson to heart." Gilgamesh slammed the pommel of his axe on the ground. "Though you may be weak and vile in intention, let it be known! You shall turn a new leaf, and never harm another with evil in your heart. Make it so, or we shall visit you again with axe in hand and a heroic song in our soul!"

Izuku nodded to the exit of the alley. "You heard him. Get out of here."

They didn't need telling twice. Within a blink they were fleeing, and within another out of sight.

"Hm, methinks the cretins shall remember this well." Gilgamesh said, then vanished.

Izuku collapsed to his knees, feeling very tired. Summoning Gilgamesh must be very energy intensive. Something to write in his note...boo…

Oh...Izuku had a quirk now.

"M...Midoriya-kun, are you alright!"

Hagakure ran to his side, and Izuku realised that he had a friend, too.

He almost wasn't sure which was better.

The maiden fair at your side, fretting for your well being? This, too, is heroism.

Izuku's face turned red. Gilgamesh laughed in his mind.

...that might take some getting used to.