Told y'all this would happen.
Okay, before anything let me get ahead of some stuff. It will be apparent that certain things won't work exactly the same as canon. For both Naruto and BNHA. I know how the Substitution actually works, but like a lot of things in Naruto, it's so, not dumb, but weird. The Transformation is an actual Transformation and yet no uses it in battle aside from Naruto. Why?
For the BNHA side, it is a shounen, and so some stuff will not translate well to text. Visual stuff like waterfalls of tears, sweatdrops, nosebleeds and All Might's blood spewing. Plus, some characters are extremely flat like Ojirou or full-on blank like Koji and Shouji. I had to make adjustments to personalities as well as the world in general just to ground the story and then also to be able to make stuff more fleshed out. You'll see what I mean if you haven't already, but that's the long and short of it.
I know I'm preaching to the choir with what I said above. This is fanfiction, we all know the deal, but I just had to get that off my chest lol. I love reading what you guys have to say, but I don't always have the luxury to respond to all of you especially when you ask something that leads to a spoiler.
I take most of your concerns(the valid ones) into consideration, but often it's something I can't assuage without spoiling the plot which is a no-no or it's addressed in literally the very next chapter lol. I already spoke about the tempo of the fic, but I think with how quickly I've been pumping these out (if I may be so bold) and with how long this story will actually be, I'm content with keeping the current tempo. Not every chapter will be balls to the wall action, I'm afraid.
Izuku let out a groan as he slammed into a tree. He slowly rose back to his feet as he looked at his opponent. Bakugou's face morphed into an eerie smile that was unnatural to Izuku. He'd seen Bakugou smile like this before countless times. However, this was especially unsettling because Izuku knew who was actually in control of Bakugou.
"It's too bad the kid with the devil wings left," Sludge-Bakugou said his voice deep and slimy, "I now only have you to contend with."
Sludge launched forward with another attack and Izuku was able to parry it. However, he did not press his advantage as he saw Bakugou's face twist into a pained grimace. He paid for this as Sludge hit him with a palm strike to the chest.
In sheer desperation, Izuku channelled chakra to reinforce the entire front side of his torso. It was no moment too soon as Sludge used Bakugou's Quirk to blast him away.
Izuku rolled and rolled before coming to a stop on the ground. His chest ached and his head felt like it was spinning and his mouth tasted coppery, but considering there wasn't a hole in his chest, he considered that a win.
"I thought I put enough in that to kill you," Sludge said as he looked down at Izuku, "Maybe you're tougher than you look."
Izuku frowned as he rose to his feet. He was reluctant to fight Sludge because of the effect it might have on Bakugou. Sludge's real body was inside of Bakugou so would any hits even work on him?
Izuku thought back to the fight between Kamui and Sludge inside the giant. The sludge dripping out of Bakugou probably meant that there had to be a time limit and stronger attacks seemed to decrease the time Sludge had like with Kamui's attack.
So, all in all, he had to beat Bakugou up to save him.
Oh, no.
Izuku deepened his stance as Sludge tried to attack with a left hook. He caught Sludge's arm before slamming him into the ground. A spray of sludge escaped from the villain's mouth proving Izuku's theory to be correct. He held onto the arm before he stomped all over the villain's face and chest. He then kicked Sludge in the side causing more liquid to spill from his mouth. Izuku took a few cautious steps back as the villain struggled to his feet
Time to kick things into the next gear. His hands flashed through handseals with no sign of rigidity or awkwardness. Ram for control, Tiger for power and then Horse to bind it all together.
"Fatebreaker!"
Chakra spread from his core and seeped into every inch of his body. His muscles and joints and bones all became stronger and tougher as they were flooded with chakra. Wisps of chakra leaked from his body as his muscles tensed with stored power. The Fatebreaker was his first jutsu and it was simple in its design. Much like the Body Flicker, the more chakra he used, the more power it had. At his strongest, he had punched through a tree pretty easily. Beyond that and he lost control and there would be no boost.
Still, though it was cool. Actually, chakra was cool. Izuku wondered if he looked cool. He felt cool.
No one wanted to be the guy with lame names for their moves. Everyone had awesome names for their moves literally everyone and it seemed like the better hero, the better the names they came up with.
"You can name your techniques whatever you want," Sludge said as he got back up to his feet about five metres away from Izuku, "You will still—"
He had said that out loud, didn't he?
Izuku tensed up before he sprinted at Sludge. The wind was whipping his face as he closed in on Bakugou's captor. He closed the distance between them catching Sludge off-guard in the blink of an eye.
"—lose!"
A powerful right hook slammed into Sludge's face with a loud crack. Slime flew through the air once more as the villain cradled 'his' jaw. Sludge tried a left hook again and Izuku parried it before he lashed out with a rising kick that Sludge barely managed to block.
His foot smashed into Sludge's arm with a loud crack before it sent the villain stumbling. Sludge tried to raise both his hands, but his right arm fell to his side limp as a wet noodle. He probably had to dial it back a bit. He was breaking bones before the multiplier, but that could also be due to the Sludge affecting Bakugou's durability.
Izuku rushed forward again and he connected with a flurry of punches to Sludge's torso. The punches had a harsh staccato rhythm and all the while slime began to spew from the villain's mouth.
Sludge tried to hit Izuku with an explosion, but he avoided it with ease. Having only one useable arm seriously hampered Sludge. Izuku was able to stay away from any and all blasts since they only came from one side.
Izuku smashed another flurry into Sludge's gut making the villain keel over. He pushed the villain back and when Sludge rose, Izuku finished off the barrage with a powerful uppercut.
Sludge flew through the air before he landed on his back. A deluge of slime flew from Bakugou's mouth and Izuku was about to attack until he saw a pair of yellow eyes open in the sludge.
The slime was still wrapped around Bakugou by thin threads. The more Izuku looked it at, the more it looked like some odd marionette technique. Bakugou was dragged to his feet by the sludge and he seemed to slowly regain consciousness.
"Deku? What the—argh! What the fuck happened to my body?!" Bakugou tried to speak, but he groaned from the pain of being moved around like a puppet in his current state, "What the hell is this?"
"Don't worry my sweet child," Sludge said with a smirk on his face, "I took your body for a spin, but the boy over there is better than I expected. He's practically a smaller version of All Might. So I have to do things like this. I feel no pain like this and I can still use your Quirk. Now, stand down, Green."
Izuku deactivated Fatebreaker as Sludge's words sunk in. This was some sort of warped hostage situation and so he had to tread carefully. Izuku did not want to find out if Sludge could kill Bakugou before Izuku could free him.
"I feel like All Might used me as a punching bag...You did this to me? How?" Bakugou said his eyebrows squished together in a frown, "Look, Deku just run and get a Pro. I can handle this from here."
"Not with a broken arm, Kacchan," Izuku said as he reactivated the Fatebreaker, "Let me show you what I'm made of."
"Deku, you idiot! Just—"
Bakugou's words were swallowed, literally, as slime enveloped his head. He struggled against the bonds, but he couldn't move an inch. Sludge leered at Izuku seemingly delighting in Bakugou's pain.
Izuku took a step forward, but he stopped as Sludge's grip on Bakugou tightened.
"Not so fast, Small Might," Sludge said to Izuku, "If you don't leave now then I choke your friend to death. Have you ever seen someone drown on dry land before? I have. It's pretty great. For me, not for them."
"What will you do with him once I leave?"
"Who knows?" Sludge said as he sensed Izuku's discomfort, "A Quirk like his could set me up nicely for life. I might even just keep his body. Bottom line is at the very least you won't have to see him die."
Izuku's eyes flicked towards Bakugou whose struggles had gradually weakened. He had to make a choice and quick. In reality, though, there was only one choice. There was no way he could leave Bakugou here.
He raised his hands to surrender and thankfully Sludge removed the slime around Bakugou's head. Bakugou seemed to be teetering on the edge of falling unconscious based on what Izuku could see, but ultimately he was alive.
Despite all that though, Izuku felt white-hot rage bubble up within him. He was mad at himself for luring everyone far out of town, he was mad at Bakugou for starting the whole fight in the first place and attracting Sludge here.
However, most of all, he was furious at Sludge for everything he'd done today. In a blind rage, Izuku felt a surge of chakra originating from his arms. He pointed his left hand towards Sludge and before he knew it a very familiar black rod was shot at the monster.
The rod blew straight through Sludge without harming the villain. Sludge blinked as he was unaffected by the attack, but he then trapped Bakugou in the chokehold once more with nary a word.
"You did this to him!" Sludge screamed, but he was barely audible over the thrumming in Izuku's ears.
Acting on pure instinct, Izuku used his left hand to form half a handseal as he prepared a Body Flicker. His right hand was pointed beside him and another rod burst from his palm before he caught it with ease. The noises in his head grew louder and louder and his vision flickered for a bit as he saw a flash of white and red.
"This time I'll crush the boy's head! Then I'll take your body!"
The deluge of sensations vanished as Izuku kicked off the ground in a powerful Body Flicker. Time seemed to slow down as he homed in on his target. He weaved out of the way of sluggish and slow attacks from Sludge before he stopped in front of the villain and drove the rod into Sludge's eye.
The villain let out a shriek of pain and he instantly released his hold on Bakugou. To Izuku's amazement, the slime began to bubble and boil as he drove the rod deeper into Sludge.
The many threads holding Bakugou captive seemed to lose their strength and his classmate fell to the floor. Sludge's very body seemed to distort and shift as Izuku fought to keep the rod in place.
Slime was beginning to wrap around Izuku's body. It was far less viscous than before and resembled green water more than anything. Still, though, the volume made it dangerous and Izuku felt as though he was stuck under a flowing river.
His grip on the rod became weaker and weaker as visions of falling into the river over a year ago overcame. The moment played on a loop in his
He struggled and thrashed as the water dragged him into his murky depths. He began to fight the onslaught off more as the watery slime began to seep into his nose and mouth.
In sheer desperation, Izuku was about to begin moulding lightning chakra despite being fully submerged in a liquid. He vibrated his chakra to the right frequency and was about to unleash it when he felt something land on the ground.
"Texas Smash!"
A strong wind blew over Izuku and the slime clinging to his body was blown off instantly. Izuku took a heavy breath as he fell to the ground. He had probably been under for less than ten seconds, but it had felt like ages.
He probably had more issues than he had first thought.
If it hadn't been for the guy who used a Texas Smash then Izuku—
He sat up.
A Texas Smash?
Izuku turned to see a tall blonde monster of a man holding up Sludge in a bottle. His hair spiked up above him and he had an impossibly wide and bright smile. It was—
"All Might," Izuku whispered as he stared up at his idol, "It's really you!"
"Indeed it is!" All Might said before holding a thumbs up to Izuku, "I thank you for saving your friend over here! If you hadn't intervened when you did then I fear he may have done something truly terrible to the both of you."
Izuku practically shone underneath All Might's praise. A lightbulb went off in his and he scrambled for his notebook, but when he opened it he was surprised to see that it was already signed by All Might.
Was he even human?
"I'll take the two of you to a hospital," All Might said as he fastened the bottle Sludge was in before picking up Bakugou, "Would you happen to have this boy's emergency contacts?"
"Wait you're gonna take me to the hospital? I have Kacchan's mother's number. We can go right now!"
Izuku put on his bag before he jumped on All Might's back. The man didn't even seem to flinch from Izuku's weight slamming into him full force. All Might adjusted his grip on Bakugou and Sludge before he turned to Izuku.
"Hold onto your boots, young man!"
All Might crouched down and Izuku latched onto him like a baby sloth to its mother. He was on All Might's back! He was being carried by All Might! That was one off the bucket list. Suddenly, All Might exploded high into the skies clearing miles within a single leap.
Izuku looked down on the aerial view of Musutafu that he was being given by All Might and he did the only thing he could do in such a situation.
He screamed.
Musutafu Hospital
Despite feeling pretty good overall, Izuku was still checked into the hospital as a precaution. He had called his mother to explain what had happened and thankfully she had been with Aunt Mitsuki which made things a lot easier.
Unfortunately, he hadn't been allowed to see them as a stern-faced nurse had all but forced him to stay in bed. When he woke up the next day, the very first thing he saw was Bakugou lying on a bed of his own.
The boy was scowling up at the ceiling no doubt replaying yesterday's events. Bakugou had been rather beat-up but was in perfect condition now. Maybe he'd been seen to by someone with a healing Quirk?
"Are you just gonna stare at me or are you gonna say something?"
Well, this was awkward.
"H-How are you feeling, Kacchan?" Izuku said and he was used to the eye roll that accompanied Izuku's usage of his childhood nickname, "You took quite a beating yesterday."
"Yeah, I know," Bakugou said with a sneer on his face, "I was the one cooped up in some room as some old lady kept kissing me!"
An old lady kept what?
"So are you going to tell me how you didn't get your guts blown out by that stupid villain?"
"I-I guess I got lucky—"
"Fine then don't tell me," Bakugou said as he let out a huff, "You need to get better at lying. Lucky? You beat someone using my body and my Quirk because you were lucky? How stupid do you think I am, Deku?"
"Okay—"
"I don't care about what you have to say, Deku!" Bakugou said his voice piercing the quiet of the room, "I don't wanna hear any more bullshit! I'll figure things out on my own and don't think you owe me or anything. You should have—"
The door opened to reveal a doctor who was then followed in by someone in a brown trench coat over some formal wear. The man stood by politely as the doctor spoke to the two of them.
"Izuku and Katsuki, I hope you had a good rest," the doctor said and there was a hint of exhaustion in his voice hinting at the rigours of his job, "I apologise for not being here sooner, but the hospital is rather busy after yesterday's events."
"I slept well, thank you."
"It was fine."
"That is good to hear," the doctor said before turning to the other man, "This is Detective Tsukauchi. He's here in place of All Might to get some answers about what happened yesterday."
Izuku felt a bit nervous as he learned why Tsukauchi was here. They hadn't done anything wrong, right? It's not like they could be expected to not defend themselves against a villain. Then again, he had stabbed Sludge in the eye, but that was only because of the intensity of the situation. Bakugou could have died.
"Your parents have already signed your discharge forms. I understand that you have the UA exams in just a few days, but I recommend taking it easy until then. Rest and recuperation is the name of the game."
The doctor then turned away having said all that he needed to. Izuku was pretty keen to see his mother as he felt that it was about time he got around to telling her about his Quirk.
Honestly, he wasn't sure just how much he was going to tell her, but he'd cross that bridge when he got to it. The longer he went without saying anything, the more he felt like he was gonna burst.
He just had to tell somebody.
"I'll leave you to it, Tsukauchi," the doctor said as he nodded at the detective before leaving the room.
"Hello boys," Tsukauchi said as he got his notepad out, "It's good to see that you're alright."
"Can we just move on?" Bakugou cut in and despite how rude it was Izuku was pretty grateful that Bakugou was honest enough to say so.
"You must be anxious to get home. I'll cut straight to the chase," Thankfully Tsukauchi didn't seem upset about Bakugou's bluntness at all, "The villain will be fine. He suffered no permanent injuries and is expected to make a full recovery. We believe its a side-effect of his Quirk."
Well, that was good news. In his blind rage, Izuku had not blinded a man. This was off to a good start.
"Can you explain why you were at the Agatarri Mall?"
Ah, there it was.
Izuku and Bakugou looked at each other and a beat passed before Bakugou spoke, "I wanted to see what Deku was up to."
"I see. And you, Izuku?"
Izuku glanced at Bakugou before sighing, "I was trying to get away from Kacchan."
"Why is that?"
Tsukauchi's response was rapid.
"I wanted some privacy to prepare for the UA exam," Izuku said after a moment's silence, "Kacchan has been curious about what I've been up to for and I didn't feel comfortable sharing that knowledge with him."
"I see. Bakugou were you the only one pursuing Izuku?" Tsukauchi as he turned to the other boy, "And before you answer, I will know when you're lying."
Izuku believed Tsukauchi immediately. You didn't get to work directly with All Might unless you were very good at your job. Tsukauchi probably spent his days interrogating hardened criminals. A bunch of fifteen-year-olds were probably ridiculously easy to read in comparison.
"No, there were a couple of others from our school too," Bakugou said his tone holding hints of resignation, "I used them to help me keep track of Deku."
"Did you and these other students use your Quirks to locate Izuku? Even though you knew it was illegal?"
"...yes."
"It's clear as day that there is tension between you. Did you and Izuku get into a fight with each other? And did you use your Quirk in that fight?"
"Kacchan—"
"Can it, Deku," Bakugou said before turning to Tsukauchi, "Yeah, I used my Quirk on him. I honestly wasn't trying to hurt him badly just maybe try to scare him out of taking the UA Exams."
"Why?"
"Our mothers are good friends and his mom told my mom that he's been staying out past midnight training all the time. It pissed me off that he kept doing this stuff without thinking of his mom."
"Is this true Izuku? Have you been staying out late to train?"
"Y-Yes," Izuku said as he looked down to his lap, "I just knew that I needed to work hard to make up for my past laziness and because UA will have the best of the best. Still, though, everything he said is true."
"I'll be honest with you boys," Tsukauchi said as he closed his notepad, "We already knew all of this from your other classmates. I just wanted to see if they omitted any facts and that doesn't seem to be the case."
"That being said you must be punished for what you did to Izuku, Katsuki" Tsukauchi said and to Izuku's surprise Bakugou didn't really react, "You have been given 25 hours of community service by a local judge to be served before you enrol into your next school."
Community service? That wasn't so bad. Quirk Usage laws were almost cruel at times. Izuku would have been gutted if Bakugou had gotten something more severe. No one was hurt and Bakugou was young so anything more would be rather harsh.
"Your record will be sealed and then eventually cleared since you are a minor," Tsukauchi continued without skipping a beat, "Furthermore, All Might has paid off the property damage you caused so count yourself lucky. Your mother has the paperwork."
Bakugou clicked his tongue but said nothing more. He glared down at his lap and Izuku was positive he did not want to know what was going through the boy's mind.
"Now onto the fight with the Sludge Villain," Tsukauchi said and Izuku was thankful for the change in topic, "A boy called Akuma said the Sludge Villain took over your body. Do you remember anything after that happened?"
"Only that he was fighting, ugh, losing to Deku after taking full control so he was going to use me as some sort of marionette. I had a broken jaw and arm. My whole body was in a lot of pain. I told Deku to run for it before that monster tried to choke me out. I remember nothing after that."
"Could you fill in the blanks, Izuku?"
"I, uh, fended off the villain for as long as I could and eventually I managed to beat him up enough that he tried that marionette thing with Kacchan," Izuku said being truthful but vague.
"That villain was no joke for untrained children like you," Tsukauchi said his tone laced with some curiosity and...was that...respect?
"According to your mother as well as the other students, you don't have a Quirk. How did you manage to beat him off if this was the case? You did quite a number on Katsuki's number. All Might tells me Recovery Girl was rather annoyed at him for not getting there sooner."
The mention of All Might made Izuku's already substantial guilt multiply. He had already paid for the property damage done to the mall and now he was in hot water with another Pro? All because Izuku had chosen to run instead of talking Bakugou and his goons down.
"I do have a Quirk. It's this internal energy that boosts my natural speed and strength...or at least that's what I know it can do for now. That's what I've been sneaking out to master," Izuku said finally causing Bakugou to turn towards him in shock.
"What the fuck, Deku? Why didn't you use it against me in our fight?"
"It's against the law. Plus, I didn't want to hurt you, Kacchan."
"You couldn't hurt me if you tried!" Bakugou all but screamed at Izuku. His brows were pulled into a heavy frown and he had a sneer on his face.
The lies left Izuku's mouth with surprising ease. He thought it would mollify the other boy, but it only seemed to make him angrier. He scolded at Izuku before rising to his feet.
"I'm going to see my parents."
"Sorry about that," Izuku said and Tsukauchi took a beat before waving him off, "It's not an issue. Continue your explanation."
"The whole fight was pretty hard and I got very lucky to hurt him enough to leave Bakugou's body," Izuku said as more lies left his mouth, "I stabbed him in the eye with a pipe I found nearby when he tried to kill Kacchan. A few seconds after that All Might beat Sludge and then took me here."
"Is that the whole truth?"
Izuku took a deep breath.
"Yes."
"Okay," Tsukauchi said as he rose to his feet, "That's all I needed. I'll leave it to you to inform your mother of your Quirk. It would probably do her the world of good to know you can take care of yourself."
Izuku looked at Tsukauchi in surprise and the man seemed to read his surprise in an instant.
"You have a Quirk after not having one practically your whole life," Tsukauchi said as he stopped at the door, "I think you and your mother would benefit from having that conversation in a more private location."
Musutafu Police Station
Toshinori paced around Tsukauchi's office in his shrunken form. He had spent the whole day speaking with Nezu from UA about the finer details of his potential position at UA.
It had provided a welcome distraction from the encounter he had had with the two boys and the villain on that mall.
Before he had subdued the villain with a Texas Smash, Toshinori had paused in his advance to come up with a solution. He wasn't a master tactician like Sir Nighteye or Best Jeanist, but he had decades of experience under his belt so he was no slouch.
The presence of the two boys had made things tricky. The Sludge Villain had somehow worked his way into the very being of the blonde boy. He had been worried that any attack on the villain would indirectly harm the boy.
It was then that the green-haired boy garnered his attention.
Toshinori had been surprised when the boy had fired a metal rod from his hands at the villain. He had thought the boy had a strength Quirk based on the state of the captured boy whose body had been used as a weapon similar to the giant against Kamui.
He then received the surprise of his life as the boy summoned another rod before he sprinted towards the villain at an amazing speed. No, amazing was underplaying it. The boy had moved unnaturally quick.
It had to have been a Quirk.
The problem was Toshinori was certain that he'd seen the rod manifest from the boy's skin. Furthermore, once it had pierced the Sludge Villain in the eye it was clear that it had a horrible effect on the villain, understandably, and he had freed the blonde boy giving Toshinori his opening.
There were two conclusions. Either he was going blind which wasn't the case or the boy had two, maybe even more, Quirks. If that was the case then Tsukauchi had to scope out the boy and see what he was like.
He had checked into the boy's parents and their Quirks to ensure it wasn't a Quirk Marriage.
It wasn't.
Izuku was born Quirkless.
He obviously still had One for All so Toshinori knew of only one way someone could get aQuirk or indeed multiple Quirks. A dull ache formed at the side of his chest and he felt blood seep into his mouth.
If All for One had somehow survived their last battle then his search for a successor to One for All had just become all the more urgent.
The door opened a moment later and Toshinori all, but rushed Tsukauchi as he walked into the office. Tsukauchi held him at bay as he offered Toshinori a cup of coffee.
"Take this and take a seat," Tsukauchi said and Toshinori acquiesced to his friend's request as the detective settled on the other side of the wall.
"What did you get?" Toshinori said after taking a sip of coffee, "Tell me I'm not going crazy."
Tsukauchi took a deep gulp of his coffee before saying, "You're not going crazy, Toshinori. The boy is definitely hiding something."
"What did you find out?"
"Izuku and the other boy have known each other long and their parents are close friends, but the same doesn't go for them. In fact, the reason they were at the mall was that Izuku was running away from Katsuki."
"He was?"
"Yeah," Tsukauchi said with a heavy sigh, "Apparently, Katsuki wanted to beat some sense into Izuku's head about his weird behaviour. For months now, he's been coming home late constantly and Katsuki heard of this through his mother."
"Why would he do that? What was he up to?"
"Training for Hero Course exams. He thought he was far out of his depth and needed to work harder than everyone else," Tsukauchi said as he put his coffee down, "None of those were lies. The actual lies were interesting though."
"How so?"
"You see Izuku was born Quirkless and up until yesterday everyone in his life believed that to be the case."
"But on that rooftop—"
"Exactly. Izuku lied to Katsuki about why he didn't use his Quirk— his reasoning being that he didn't want to hurt the other boy and that it was illegal."
"Which was the lie?"
"Both. Although, I doubt even Izuku himself knows he was lying about the first one."
"So he has no qualms about breaking the law?"
"Not necessarily," Tsukauchi corrected him, "He could have simply been afraid or wanted to keep things a secret until the UA exam or he could have been blackmailed for someone for all we know."
Toshinori sighed, "So? How does that help us?"
"I think Izuku didn't show his abilities because he was afraid of revealing where he had gotten them from," Tsukauchi said with such patience that it made Toshinori feel a bit guilty about his own impatience.
"I believe he is rather strong as he lied about the fight with Sludge," Tsukauchi said unaware of the thoughts brewing within Toshinori, "He said he was lucky to have dealt so much damage, but he definitely did not feel that way. Plus, he said the rods you said he had summoned were actually pipes picked off the ground. Another lie."
"So, Izuku was born Quirkless, but now has two Quirks and potentially more judging from the damage sustained by Katsuki," Toshinori said to map out their findings, "So, it's not impossible that All for One could have gotten to him."
"If All for One is still alive then I doubt Izuku would be working for him," Tsukauchi said as he stared off into space, "He is very reserved and still tried to calm Katsuki down despite their altercation yesterday. I'm too much of a realist to rule it out, but I do think there's something we're not seeing. He is lying about how his abilities worked too and that has me worried."
"That has you worried? The kid stabbed someone in the eye," Toshinori said to his friend, "The kid blinded the villain from yesterday. What fifteen-year-old does that and doesn't react in any way."
Tsukauchi averted his gaze as he coughed, "Maybe one that does not know he blinded a villain?"
"Why—"
"He's a kid, Toshinori," Tsukauchi said with a sigh, "I know that your battle with All for One left scars that weren't just physical, but this kid is a good kid. He has enough to deal with as things stand. Telling him about what he did to a villain who is going to be jailed until death won't do him any good."
Toshinori felt a surge of pain as Tsukauchi mentioned the name of his greatest foe. Was he being too harsh on a child? He was obviously a huge fan of his from how he'd freaked out on the way to the hospital. Did the kid know that he spoke his thoughts out loud or not?
"That being said," Tsukachi said after taking a sip of coffee, "He is hiding something. It could be anything even your All For One theory. I could be wrong and you could be totally right, but we just don't know enough as things are. Thankfully, you should be able to find the missing links yourself."
"Wait, me?" Toshinori said as he leaned forward, "Why me? Subtlety has never been my strong suit."
"Not just subtlety, all your suits are terrible."
Toshinori groaned.
"Live a little, Yagi," Tsukauchi said with a smile on his face, "But to answer your question, I have two reasons. One, he is a massive fan of yours so you can get closer to him. I wouldn't be surprised if he got a tattoo of you on his face. Hell, he looked like he was gonna cry when he heard that Recovery Girl was mad at you."
"Okay and the other?" Toshinori said as he kept himself from rising to the bait.
"Oh, those exams I mentioned," Tsukauchi said with a smirk on his face, "He's going to UA's and so is Katsuki. So you can keep a close eye on him and figure out what we're missing. You just need to finally accept Nezu's offer."
Oh, no.
"Do I have to?"
"It's for the best and you know it. Plus, if this kid is on the straight and narrow, which he probably is, then you would be giving him and a generation of new heroes first-hand tutelage from Japan's Greatest Ever Hero."
"You can lay off the flattery," Toshinori said drawing a smile from Tsukauchi, "I'll do it. This could just be nothing."
Deep down, though, Toshinori knew it wasn't nothing. This was a fishy situation and it stunk to high hell. Wait, actually—
"Was that you? Disgusting!" Toshinori pinched his nose as he glared at his friend, "You couldn't have waited a little bit?"
"This is my swamp."
"You. Are. Gross."
A week later ~ Midoriya Residence
The last week before the UA Exams had been a lot calmer than Izuku had expected especially when you took into consideration the way it had started. It had flown past under a pile of textbooks, push-ups and an absurd amount of food from his mother.
Since they were all minors, the police report had been sealed and Tsukauchi had given Izuku's mom and Bakugou's parents a simplified explanation. He had not mentioned Izuku's 'Quirk' which was something Izuku was thankful for.
Apparently, Bakugou had chosen not to say anything about it either as despite his mother spending a ton of time on the phone with Mitsuki, the issue never came up. It did make sense. Bakugou would probably try to see it for himself first hand before doing anything else.
Izuku had chosen not to do too much physical conditioning beyond the bare necessary to keep his body in good shape. He couldn't go full out this week or he'd be exhausted and competing against other students who were fresh and well-rested.
Izuku practically lived at home for the whole week. Only leaving the apartment to go for a run to clear his head. The furthest he'd gone from his house was to retrieve the rods he'd made against Sludge.
They were surprisingly easy to find almost as if he had a sixth sense of sorts guiding him. As he walked away from the mall, the construction crew had arrived to repair the damage done to the mall. Hopefully, they would take the litany of rocks destroyed in different ways as a byproduct of the fight and nothing more.
He did not make the mistake of dispelling them by channelling his chakra into them. This meant that unlike his escrima sticks, he could not use the Surface Sticking to keep them in his hands.
Where the chakra rods(for lack of a better term) had a leg up on his escrima sticks was that they were amazingly durable and light. He hadn't been able to put a scratch on them even when using a kunai.
If he could somehow make more of whatever that metal was then it would probably come in handy. Perhaps he could get a Support company to lace it or the metal from the kunai into his hero suit or something. It never hurt to be more durable.
Well, he had actually made himself more durable when fighting Sludge-Bakugou. He could reinforce his body, but Sludge lacked Bakugou's skill with his Quirk. Bakugou could probably punch through Izuku if he were so inclined.
The good news was that he could eventually make a defensive jutsu. One that was less apparent than some of the ones in the Scroll. An invisible chakra shield would be less obvious than rock skin after all. A chakra shield would have come in handy today.
It was that thought that made Izuku remember what the goal for today was.
He had to pass and he had to pass in style. Within the constraints of his allowed arsenal that was.
Nervous energy buzzed and crawled underneath Izuku's skin. This was make-or-break. He had not applied to any alternatives to UA because there were no alternatives. If he stumbled at this obstacle then it wouldn't bode well for his future as a hero, chakra or no.
"Izuku!" his mother said knocking on his door, "You're gonna be late if you don't get into the shower now!"
It was enough to draw from his thoughts and he gave a reply to his mother before getting undressed. They had to be there by 12:30 which was half an hour before the start of the theory exam. They'd receive more information and an actual debriefing at the examination centre.
Izuku popped into the bathroom and to his surprise, the shower was already running and very hot. His toothbrush and toothpaste were also set to the side of the sink. It must have been his mom that did this.
Clearly, she just wanted him to worry about the exam only.
While it could wait for after the exam, Izuku decided to give her peace of mind. It was the least she deserved after the tumultuous events they'd both gone through in the past year.
Inko watched as Izuku slowly picked at his food. She could tell he was nervous, but she wasn't sure what to say to motivate him. She didn't even broach the topic of the Sludge villain beyond making sure her son was okay.
After Izuku had failed, she had never thought they'd be in this situation. She'd done her research. None of the heroes that were officially ranked were Quirkless. It was practically an oxymoron to have a Quirkless Hero.
She'd given up on her son's dream not long after finding that out. Izuku had always been withdrawn, but maybe she should have realised that her actions had been shameful at best and debilitating at worst.
How did it feel to have no one believe you could reach your goal? How did you keep the same passion and drive when you faced ridicule and derision at every turn? How did you not give up?
These were the questions Inko had been stewing on for long now.
Izuku had become fixated on UA following their trip to the resort. He ate more, studied more, exercised more and slept less. It drove her up the wall when he'd stay out late, but she did her best to never show it to him.
She'd already let him down once before. She did not want to pile onto the pressure he was already putting himself under. So she tried her best to keep a sunny disposition so that Izuku could only worry about himself.
She was lucky to have a sympathetic ear from Mitsuki who was going through the same thing with Bakugou. He also stayed out late and worked himself to the bone. Inko knew that their sons' personalities didn't mesh, but it was deeply ironic that they mirrored each other in this aspect.
She never wanted to hurt her son. Any sane mother would do the same or so she had thought.
Now after taking into account the resort trip, Izuku's rigorous training and now the Sludge villain debacle, she had to wonder just whose feelings she was trying to spare.
Izuku's or her own?
"M-Mom?" Izuku said and she looked at her son to see his hands fidgeting ever so slightly, "I have something to tell you."
Why did he seem so nervous?
She reached across the table to still his hand, "Just take a deep breath, Izuku. Whatever it is, you can tell me."
She did mean that. She couldn't let what was plaguing Izuku ruin his exam. Not after all she had done, albeit inadvertently, to railroad his confidence.
"C-Can I just a get few moments to, uh, steady myself?" Izuku said and she nodded immediately.
Inko had something she had to get off her chest herself and she hoped that what she had to say would help Izuku to open up.
"I actually had something I wanted to say to you before you left," Inko said causing Izuku's eyes to widen and he stared at her in surprise.
"I don't think I've been fair to you," Inko began as she stared off towards a corner, "I gave up on your dream without thinking about just how much it would affect you."
With a heavy heart, she recalled their argument a few months ago.
"You've been working so hard. You're ranked second in your year, you've gotten so much bigger and you beat a strong villain just a week ago," Inko said and she smiled as Izuku blushed heavily.
It reminded Inko of herself. They were both terrible at receiving praise.
"What I'm trying to say that is that I'm sorry," Inko said finally, "As a parent, I'm supposed to do what's best for you and I failed to do that when it came to this. Izuku, I just want you to know that Quirk or no Quirk, I know you'll blow the competition away. That's how amazing you are."
Tears had begun to leak from her eyes from the catharsis of just laying all that on the table. She quickly wiped them away only for them to return as she saw tears begin to leak from Izuku's eyes as well.
"Thank you so much, mom. That really means a lot," Izuku said and he took a deep breath before wiping away his tears, "I think I'm ready to tell you now."
A confused silence settled over Inko as Izuku rose from his seat and walk towards the wall. Inko was about to speak, but she felt her words escape her as Izuku then walked up a wall.
"You, uhm, I—" Inko shook her head, "How? When?"
"Since the trip," Izuku said and it was almost as if a lightbulb went off in her head, "I can use this strange energy to do a lot of things. I want to tell you everything, but even I'm not sure what the limits are."
"You're not sure?" Inko said as she felt a flutter in her stomach, "Is it that powerful?"
"I think so," Izuku said as he walked back to her, "I want to keep what I can do under wraps until I don't have to anymore. I don't know when that will be, but hopefully, it's soon. I just had to tell you before this test. I should have done it earlier and—"
Inko cut her son off as she pulled him into a tight hug, "It's okay, Izuku. I understand why you didn't tell me and it's fine. Don't worry about not doing it sooner. Just focus on passing the exam."
"You're not mad? Or worried?" Inko couldn't blame him for the shock and surprise in his voice.
"I'm not mad and I will always be worried about you," Inko smiled a little, "I trust you to know what's the right thing to do. If you want to keep things a secret then that's what I'll do."
With Izuku going to boarding school, it was time for her to loosen the hold she had on him. He was a good kid and a good person, ultimately she knew that he deserved her trust and faith. He had for a long time.
"Thank you, mom," Izuku pulled her into a tight hug that she returned just as fiercely. It was the longest hug they'd had in years and it eased the pain in her heart.
"Don't mention it," Inko said before she heard Izuku's stomach growl loudly.
"Now eat your food! You can't get into UA on an empty stomach."
Izuku had to take a breath to calm himself as his bus slowed to a stop. He picked his bag off the ground as the disembark light lit up. He rose out of his seat and thanked the driver before disembarking.
He checked his phone to see the time and he calmed down a bit as he saw that time hadn't sped up. It was 11:35 so just under an hour from when check-in would begin. It should take him less than 10 minutes to trek up the hill to UA according to the internet.
As he looked up at the hill in the nearby distance, Izuku wasn't so sure.
The school overlooked the rest of Musutafu and while the view was probably great from up there, it was daunting from down here. He knew it would probably violate a lot of safety codes if UA were in the city, but putting it all the way at top of this hill was a bit much.
No public transportation would go up the hill and so Izuku was resigned to having to trudge up to the top. Although, that would not have mattered for today at the very least.
Izuku turned the final corner before the hill and he was greeted by the sight of a roadblock. It was blocking the only road leading up to UA and there were a lot of people upset by this news.
Cars had been forced to park everywhere and it was a congested mess that Izuku had to weave through. He finally made it to the roadblock and there was a queue he had to go through before going through the access gate.
This was probably just to strong-arm overly eager parents into staying far from UA. The school liked their secrecy like that.
He let his eyes wander for a bit as he took in his fellow examinees. The first person that he saw stuck out among everyone there. It was hard to tell, but he had to be close to two metres tall. Izuku was convinced he was a parent until he saw two older-looking people wrap him in a hug.
Well, then, that was a little terrifying.
Izuku kept scanning the crowd and every now and then. Mutations had dispelled any notions if a standard human template, so to speak. Even then, they were still amazing to see. Some mutations were directly linked to Quirks like with Gang Orca.
There was also the chance that the mutations were simply inherited and the Quirk was something else entirely. It was a difficult prospect to guess the Quirk of someone with a different body.
That only got worse with people that looked ordinary though. Could they control shadows or summon black holes or detach their limbs? All in all, there was a lot of room for uncertainty. He had no idea if they would face each other, but it surely couldn't hurt to start scouting.
The queue was moving terribly slowly and Izuku eventually got bored of trying to guess the Quirks of those around him. Plus, he was getting a few glares from some of those who had caught him staring.
A short boy with peculiar purple hair had looked downright horrified at Izuku's stare.
"Excuse me," said a deep voice.
He was drawn from that dark line of thinking as someone cut in line in front of him. Great. Izuku simply let the person be since it wasn't that big of a deal. It had nothing to do with it being a girl judging from her...spiky, orange ponytail.
Izuku sighed.
"Were you really going to let me cut in front of you like that?" Kendou said as she turned back to Izuku, "I've failed you as a teacher."
"I knew it was you the entire time," Izuku said confidently but it crumbled underneath a raised brow from Kendou, "...I don't like conflict."
"I don't know about that," Kendou said her voice dripping sarcasm, "You've done a number on my body more times than I can count."
A woman who was walking by froze in her tracks as she caught the last of Kendou's words. Kendou was looking elsewhere and so Izuku alone received the most judgemental state of his life thus far.
The lady tutted before walking off, "What has the world come to?"
"Ok, so change of subject," Izuku said quickly as he fought to suppress a blush, "How ready are you?"
"As much as I can be," Kendou said as they moved forward in line, "This month was torture. My dad really worked me to the bone. I probably ran through enough ice packs to build an igloo. It sucked. The only bright side was being able to punch his lights out when I was allowed to attack."
Well, then. Kendou was still Kendou.
"It's not all bad though," Kendou said losing the edge in her voice, "I know you learnt some crazy, new stuff too. There's no way we lose! Not to these people! Look at them! I bet you could knock most of them out with one hit!"
Did she have to say that so loud?
"What did she say?!"
"I'm coming after you, carrot top!"
"That green kid too. I'm gonna go straight for him in the exam!"
The gate clacked open as they were drowned under a litany of curses from nearby people.
Izuku said nothing as he looked at Kendou.
"...Sorry?" Kendou said looking down at the ground as she averted her gaze, "I guess I got a bit too excited."
"It's okay," Izuku said with a heavy sigh as they walked through the gates, "What's done is done."
"Awesome! Now let's go!" Kendou said her expression shifting back to a cheery disposition, "I want to beat the rest of these losers to the top!"
"I'm gonna squash him like a bug!"
Izuku sighed.
"...This one's on me."
Kendou and Izuku had split after they were finally allowed into UA. She wanted to use the bathroom as well as call her dad so they had decided it would be best if they just went their separate ways for now.
Izuku was still feeling a bit nervous as the time approached. Had he studied enough? Had he trained enough? Kendou seemed so confident not only in herself but in him too.
The same went for his mother. She hadn't been upset nor had she pried when she found out about his Quirk. He had expected anything, but such a casual show of faith.
It made him happy that they both believed in him, but he was still worried that he'd let them down somehow. Izuku shook his head to dispel those thoughts.
He had to believe in himself. He didn't quit after falling into that river, he didn't quit when he fought criminals and he didn't quit when facing Sludge. He wouldn't quit now.
"I'm...this. You.. to her. Why—"
Suddenly, Izuku caught snippets of a nearby conversation from around the corner. It was en-route the only way to the examination centre and so he unintentionally began to listen in on what seemed to be a private conversation.
Did this count as eavesdropping?
"I have told you this before," said a tall girl with a spiky ponytail into her phone. She stood off to the side of the path and her bag was at her feet, "I know what I am doing."
"Please tell Uncle that I am grateful for the recommendation. I truly am. However, I have been working hard to get in the traditional way. The way dad got in."
Okay, this was none of his business. Izuku tried to fly under the radar as he walked by the girl. He wouldn't want anyone to overhear and so he began to hurry past unfortunately in his haste to walk past he managed to kick her bag a fair distance away.
To make things worse, the sound of ripping fabric tore through the air as the bag got shredded by the thorn bush it landed in.
"Oh—mother, I will call you after the test," the girl said before hanging up and turning to him with a scowl, "You ruined my bag!"
"I'm so sorry!" Izuku said as he picked the rather ornate bag up from the bush and he frowned as he saw the state it was in, "It was an accident! I'll pay you back. Please tell me this isn't expensive! Not that I wouldn't pay you back, but—"
"Oh, there is no need to worry. It was not expensive at all," the girl said flippantly causing him to let out a sigh of relief, "I believe this was about seven hundred thousand yen."
Izuku just about swallowed his own tongue, "S-S-Seven h-hundred t-t-thousand?!"
The girl seemed to misinterpret his shock, "A rather good deal, no? Seven hundred thousand is rather cheap for one of Uwabami's exclusive designs. In any case, we should exchange contact information to make replacing this easier unless you have your cheque book on hand?"
A cheque book? Could he get away with giving her Bakugou's number? Probably not. It was tempting, though.
"I-I can't afford that!" Izuku said as he handed the bag back to the girl, "Seven hundred thousand is way too much!"
Who was this girl? Seven hundred thousand wasn't spare change.
"You are the one who damaged it," the girl reminded him with a glare, "What do you suggest we do now? Are you not able to reimburse me? You ruined it completely. There are only seven like it!"
"I-I don't think I can," Izuku said with a heavy sigh, "The only reason I kicked it was because it was in the middle of the path. I could pay it back eventually, but not immediately..."
The influx of cash from all his interviews had to be saved. It would go a long way to moving out of the apartment and not having to deal with the stupid stairs.
The girl took a deep breath before sighing, "You know what? Let us just move on from this. I should not have left my bag in the path. I was rather attached to this one, but I should be able to get another one just like it."
Weren't there only six of those?
"Are you sure? Because I can cover some of the cost?"
If he sold his kidney.
"I am sure," the girl said letting out a huff before she tucked the bag underneath her arm, "You have done quite enough. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a call to make."
That had been an uncomfortable experience. Ugh, why did he come down this road? Oh, right. It was because this was the only route to the examination centre.
Izuku stayed in the same spot until he was sure the girl was far away from him. There was no need to rock the boat, after all. Most other kids would have probably strong-armed him into paying for the bag, but she did not despite how mad she had been. What was a kid his age doing with a bag like that? Honestly, she barely even looked his age. If it were not for her uniform, she probably could have passed for an adult.
Well, it was either that or Izuku was seriously underdeveloped.
Izuku banished those thoughts as he continued down the path. He hoped he hadn't used up all his good luck for the day on his previous encounter. He'd need some luck especially if all of those people Kendou had offended came after them.
Ugh, why was he friends with her again? Other than her being pretty cool? Oh, right. It was because no one else his age would give the time of day.
Izuku turned one last corner and finally spotted the examination centre. He noticed a slowly growing crowd around a notice board and he assumed that it had his seat number. Before he dove into the crowd, though, someone pulled on his bag and dragged him out of the mess.
"What the—"
"Relax. I found your seat for you," Kendou said appearing out of nowhere, "303. It was sorted by schools and Aldera was right at the top. I'm at 278 so we're pretty close to each other."
"How did you get here before me? I didn't see you on the path..."
He had left her behind a few minutes ago and he hadn't seen her pass him.
"You didn't think there was just one way to get here, did you?" Kendou raised a brow at him, "You totally did, didn't you? This school is huge. How would that make any sense."
He wasn't answering that.
"Was dragging me backwards like that really necessary?" Izuku said trying to change the topic, "You could have just tapped me on the shoulder like a normal person."
Kendou brought a hand to her chest and was about to open her mouth, but Izuku beat her to the punch.
"Yeah, that's one on me. Let's just go inside. I have had enough weirdness for today."
He knew Kendou's deal by now. Questioning things would only make his head hurt.
"I feel like I should hit you for that," Kendou said as she narrowed her eyes at him and Izuku chose not to say anything.
He really didn't need to give her an actual reason to punch him and she would do it. He kept his eyes looking forward even as he sensed Kendou staring at him from the corner of his eye.
Weirdly, as they got closer to the hall, the stress that had been plaguing him began to ebb. He just wanted to get down to business. There was no fidgeting or stuttering or sweating or anything like that,
Between his mother accepting his Quirk so readily, getting on the bad side of a few people thanks to Kendou as well accidentally destroying a prohibitively expensive bag, there was nothing more this day could throw at him that he couldn't handle.
Absolutely nothing.
"Oh, yeah. Do you know a Katsuki Bakugou? He's from your school and he has the seat right next to you. Did you know he was gonna be here?"
He really shouldn't have been surprised.
Jutsu List:
Fatebreaker: A chakra enhancement technique Izuku developed from the Body Flicker. It boosts the explosive capabilities of the user's muscles ie sprinting, striking, jumping etc. The degree of the boost is dependant on the amount of chakra used. If one uses too much chakra then control is lost resulting in the deactivation of the technique.
Author Notes:
Don't worry. I'm off my high horse/soapbox now lol. I just wanted to respond to a couple of people in one go.
700 000 yen is about 7000 USD today. It was 2500 USD in 1982. BNHA is in the future. So, if the yen continued on a trend like that then you know that damn bag was mad expensive.
The rabbit is out of the hat, sort of. Izuku is now known to have a Quirk, but All Might and Toshinori are onto him. Lucky him. I had so much fun with this chapter between the fights, dialogue and all that jazz. Thanks for the continued response to the story. This is officially my most popular fic and we're just 7 chapters in so thank you to all of you.
Question of the day for here or on discord: What ship do you want to see? (and yes there is a hip/romantic subplot. Sorry Gen lovers.) I only read a handful of BNHA fics before starting this and unlike the other fandoms I'm in, I've no clue what the people are into. It won't necessarily affect the actual ship or anything, but my interest I piqued.
Finally, The first OC competition is officially open. What do YOU think Izuku's hero costume should be? I have a few in mind, but if any of you have anything cooler you've got to shoot your shot. Full credit will always be given. Please do try to join the discord server instead of putting the OC stuff in the comment section on FFN or on AO3. It makes it a lot easier to respond to you guys.
Server: discord. gg/ Ty68TdCDu6 (remove spaces)