Hello, everyone! Welcome to my Edens Zero/My Hero Academia AU story, which started out on my forum, but is finally becoming a full story on the site itself! If you don't want to spoil yourselves, I recommend waiting until the chapters come out one after another. With all that said, let's get this thing started! This is "Through the Rough"!

"Hey, are you okay?" a voice asked as Izuku slowly roused himself awake. He looked to his right to find not the boy he had protected, but rather a little girl with ash blonde hair, wearing a blue shirt and a sky blue skirt. "Can you get up?" she inquired of him. The little Quirkless boy managed to sit up, wincing from the bruises Katsuki and his friends had dealt to him. "What happened?" the little girl questioned curiously out of concern. Tears pricked his eyes as his lips quivered.

"N...Nothing..." he claimed in a stutter, "I... just tripped..." he mentioned. The girl didn't seem convinced, staring at him worriedly as she remained crouched beside him.

"If you wanna tell me, you can," she assured to him, "I wanna help you," she said, much to his surprise as he blinked. He glanced down at the ground, looking at his dirtied shirt and shorts, along with his red shoes. His lips quivered again before he sniffled.

"I... w-was trying to help somebody from getting hurt..." he stammered out as the girl listened with intrigue and surprise upon her face, "But... th-they knew I... d-didn't have... a Quirk..." he mentioned, "So they... hurt me instead..." he told the girl beside him.

"You don't have a Quirk?" she asked with a tilt of her head. Izuku merely nodded to confirm it. She glanced off to the side for a moment in thought, blinking as she remembered something. "Do you wanna be a hero?" she inquired on. The little boy nodded again. "Well, you can still be one!" she pointed out, balling her little hands into fists.

"Huh?" Izuku uttered in confusion.

"Like those heroes in comics that fight with cool gadgets or just kung fu and stuff!" she noted excitedly, "You could become the first Quirkless hero!" she mentioned. Hearing all of that brought a brightness back into the little boy's eyes. He saw the little girl stand up. "Can I walk you home?" she offered, extending her right hand out to him, "I don't wanna leave my new friend behind," she pointed out with a smile. Blinking in surprise, Izuku took her hand without thinking, allowing her to pick him up from the ground. Moments later, they were together on the sidewalk, hand in hand. "What's your name?" the little girl asked of the boy after a moment.

"I...I-Izuku..." he stuttered in response.

"Nice to meet you, Izuku!" she greeted back, "My name's Rebecca!" she introduced as she kept smiling. The little boy nervously smiled back and blushed a little. She reminded him of a dream he had where All Might would take his hand and walk him home just like this.

"D-Do..." he stammered, getting her attention, "Do... you have a Quirk?" he asked of her.

"Yeah," she answered with a nod, "My mom says it's an Ether-Type Quirk," she mentioned.

"Ether-Type?" Izuku repeated in confusion as they continued their trek.

"Oh, there's some people who've got the same Quirks as their moms or dads," Rebecca told him, "It's when something called Ether inside our bodies makes up a power that we can control," she explained on, "Wanna see mine?" she asked of him.

"Oh, um... sure!" he responded with a stutter. Rebecca giggled, closing her eyes to concentrate. Before too long, Izuku glanced down in amazement to find the bright blue winged symbols upon her legs. "Whoa..." he uttered out.

"My mom let me name my Quirk Leaper," the little girl pointed out, causing him to perk up, "I can move really fast!" she mentioned excitedly, "Hang on!" she called out before she dashed into a sprint, causing Izuku to yelp out of shock. They sped past surprised adults, laughing happily all the while.

"Hey..." the little boy began to say, getting his new friend's attention, "do you wanna be a hero, too?" he asked her. She blinked in surprise.

"Well... I guess I do now!" she replied happily, "Let's be heroes together!" she insisted of her new friend, who nodded with his own smile.


"Hey, Rebecca!" a voice called out, catching the attention of the Leaper Quirk user as she looked up from checking her phone to see a group of girls approaching her, "You gonna be able to hang out with us at the mall after school?" one of them asked.

"Oh, uh, sorry..." she apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, "I'm swamped with courier work and taking care of Happy..." she pointed out to them.

"That's too bad..." another of the girls said, sounding disappointed.

"But you're so dedicated, Rebecca!" one girl with pigtails mentioned, "You manage your time so well!" she added as a compliment.

"Well... I am fast..." the Leaper Quirk user admitted in reply, chuckling a little. There was only one year left for her at Aldera Junior High. She was already on track to enter the hero course at whatever school she'd choose. Over the years, she had been spending her time working partly as a mail courier thanks to her Quirk along with various other odd jobs. After leaving the orphanage where she had been raised upon getting into middle school, she had to make a living for herself. And she was happy to do that while still in school, no doubt thanks to her former caretaker.

'Thank you... Witch,' she said inwardly with gratitude. The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. As Rebecca sauntered about the halls, she started to pick up on some chatter from one of the classrooms. And then she heard frantic screaming. She widened her eyes upon recognizing the voice, quickly hurrying over to the classroom.

"Izuku!" she cried out. She gasped in surprise to find the Quirkless boy with smoke coming off from his shoulder, no doubt due to the heat being put onto him from Katsuki's hand. The two of them and the others perked up as they noticed the Leaper Quirk user standing at the doorway.

"R-Rebecca..." Izuku stammered out.

"Hmph," Katsuki scoffed, shoving him aside as he and the others headed for the doorway. Rebecca stood there firmly, taking on a serious look.

"What were you doing to Izuku, Kacchan?" she asked the Explosion Quirk user as he approached.

"We were just giving him a little friendly advice is all..." one of the boys responded with a shrug.

"Though I thought he'd at least have a little fight in him..." the other boy remarked as he chuckled with his friend. Rebecca glared at both of them angrily.

"Hey, here's one last piece of advice for you, nerd," Katsuki said, getting her attention along with that of Izuku's as he was turned away, "Just pray that you'll be born with a Quirk in your next life," he advised, "and take a swan dive off the roof of the building!" he added. Rebecca froze in shock. Did... he really just say that? Whether it supposed to be a joke or not didn't matter. Katsuki had essentially just told Izuku to kill himself. Tensing his shoulders, the freckled teen turned to face his bully with a fierceness in his eyes. But he sneered back, letting small explosion burst off of the palm of his right hand. "Something wrong?" he asked. Izuku shrunk with fear, unable to speak.

"Yeah, there's something very wrong..." Rebecca growled out.

"Huh?" Katsuki uttered. At that moment, the Leaper Quirk user slapped him across the face with her left hand. Everyone else in the room gasped in shock.

"How the hell can you just say something like that?!" Rebecca shouted angrily in question, "Even if that was supposed to be some stupid joke, it's not funny!" she pointed out, "You can't just go around telling people to kill themselves!" she mentioned, gnashing her teeth together as she was ready to smack him again. However, Katsuki grabbed her arm by her wrist before she could.

"You're trying to get into UA too, right?" he guessed, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm not trying to one-up you, Kacchan," Rebecca pointed out, "I just wanna be the best hero I can be," she stated, "Same with Izuku," she added, looking past him to the freckled teen.

"Rebecca..." he uttered out, shocked by her defense of him. However, that look vanished into one of horror as he noticed the smoke coming off of her gripped wrist. She winced from the burning feeling.

"Neither of you are getting into UA..." Katsuki declared as he sneered at the Leaper Quirk user, "Compared to me, you two are just nothing more than bugs..." he added mockingly. Something started bubbling inside of Izuku. Something that hadn't happened since his childhood.

FLASHBACK

"Ah!" Izuku yelped as he hit the ground on his back, whimpering with agony.

"Heh!" Katsuki laughed, standing amongst his friends as they glowered over the Quirkless boy in the playground with them, "What's your problem, Deku?" he asked of him as he sat up, "You know you can never be a hero without a Quirk..." he pointed out mockingly.

"...Maybe you're right..." Izuku admitted as he sat up, "But... I can still try!" he proclaimed, "Th-There's nothing wrong with that!" he stammered out as tears pricked his eyes. Katsuki just grinned deviously. He punched his right hand, making a small explosion burst off from it.

"You're just never gonna learn, are you?" he guessed. Izuku grimaced in fright, expecting another barrage of bullying from the Explosion Quirk user and his friends.

"STOP IT!" a familiar voice called out as a figure suddenly ran out in front of the freckled boy, outstretching her arms protectively, "You meanies leave him alone!" Rebecca yelled with a fierce expression upon her face.

"R...Rebecca..." Izuku stuttered in disbelief.

"Who's that?" the boy with the gargoyle-like wings asked.

"I think she's one of those orphan kids being raised by that Sorceress Hero..." the boy with extendable fingers answered.

"Doesn't matter who she is," Katsuki chimed in, getting their attention, "Anyone who'd defend someone useless as Deku is stupid," he remarked, lunging forward. Rebecca didn't have time to react as the Explosion Quirk user blasted her back with a blast from his right hand. She fell onto the ground beside Izuku on her back, wincing in agony.

"Rebecca!" he screamed in shock, seeing her slowly sit back up.

"Haha!" Katsuki laughed, getting his attention as he turned to see the devilish smile he worse on his face, "Guess anyone who even likes Deku is as useless as he is, t-!" He didn't even even have time to finish his remark as he was punched in the face, being sent stumbling back. Everyone widened their eyes in shock. Rebecca was especially surprised as her eyes shimmered. Standing in front of her was Izuku. And he didn't look afraid anymore. He looked angry. Righteously so.

"Don't hurt Rebecca!" he shouted, balling his little fists tightly.

END FLASHBACK

Seeing Rebecca held by the boy who bullied him for almost all of his life made that anger bubble in Izuku once again. He clenched his fists tightly. He gnashed his teeth together.

"Kacchan..." he snarled out, catching the Explosion Quirk user's attention as he glanced back and blinked in surprise to find the fierce expression of anger in the freckled teen's eyes, "LET... HER... GO," he demanded in a growl. Both Katsuki and his friends were quite stunned by the change in tone that he displayed. A once meek boy now had the expression of a fierce man. It was in that instant that Rebecca freed herself from the grasp of the Explosion Quirk user before jogging over to her friend's side.

"...Tsk," Katsuki scoffed after a moment, turning away, "Neither of you'll get into UA," he proclaimed before heading out, "I'm just that much better than you..." he stated. That left Izuku and Rebecca alone in the classroom.

"...Hey-"

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Rebecca," the Quirkless boy apologized, interjecting her while gathering his things as he put his backpack on.

"No, it's okay..." she assured with a shake of her head, "But... why do you let him treat you like that?" she asked him. He glanced away ashamedly.

"...I guess if I tried fighting back, he'd just get what he wants and prove that I'm weaker," he told her in reply.

"So you're being the bigger person..." she realized, "Huh..." she sighed, "Can't we at least tell a teacher-?"

"I don't hold grudges, Rebecca," Izuku interrupted again, "Kacchan's a jerk, but he'll just make my life even worse if he gets in trouble because of me..." he pointed out, "Besides, he hasn't gotten in trouble already..." he mentioned in remembrance. Rebecca glanced down sadly. She followed him outside, seeing him grab his burned and soaked hero notebook from the small pond outside school.

"Kacchan did that?" the Leaper Quirk user guessed, receiving a mere nod in response from Izuku, "Huh..." she sighed out, "Hey..." she began, getting his attention before he could walk away, "do you need a hug?" she guessed with a small smile, holding her arms out to him. He blinked in surprise before managing to smile.

"Yeah," he answered. The both embraced each other warmly.

"Remember, you're gonna be the best Quirkless hero this world's ever seen!" Rebecca pointed out to him, pulling herself back and putting her hands onto his shoulders, "You just gotta go Plus Ultra, right?" she guessed with a wink.

"Eh-heh..." Izuku chuckled out as he blushed a little, "R-Right..." he stuttered out. At that moment, the Leaper Quirk user felt something buzz in the pocket of her skirt. She pulled out her phone and gasped.

"Oh crap, I'm gonna be late!" she exclaimed, quickly removing her shoes and shocks from her feet, stuffing them into her backpack.

"Leaper breaks any shoes still, huh?" the freckled teen guessed, causing his friend to giggle sheepishly.

"It's why I usually just wear sandals..." she pointed out, "See you tomorrow, Izuku!" she exclaimed in farewell, activating her Quirk as her markings glowed. She sped off quickly as her friend waved goodbye. He took a deep breath and exhaled a calmed breath. He wasn't going to be deterred. No matter who would tell him differently, he would still do his best to become a hero. Even if he didn't have a Quirk.

END

And that brings an end to the first chapter of this AU story! Quick reminder that this is a separate project from the Omni Force canon, so don't worry about pairing issues here. Also, chapters will be coming out per the amount of reviews one receives. At least five are necessary for the next chapter to come out.

Thanks for reading the start of this AU story, and I can't wait to show you more!