Hello all, time for another chapter of Green Gaul!

I'll be honest, this chapter didn't pan out the way I wanted, mostly due to the changing seasons causing my asthma to start acting up, plus a lot of crap going down at my job thanks to the upcoming Black Friday and Boxing week sales. But it should provide some much-needed answers as to HOW Izuku ended up the way he did and ended up at UA.

The next chapter will show how the Magic potion affects Class 1-A, the "Declaration of War" and possibly Izuku's first outing outside of UA without chaperones! :O... but then... who with?

Also, with the Sports festival coming up (the dreaded arc all MHA writers hate), it will be very condensed, and the results will be vastly different from how they were in canon; plus there will be a special 'exhibition' match afterward. So I hope you look forward to it.

And for those wondering what's happening with the villains, don't worry... they'll show up sooner than later.

Onto the Reviews!

solbandgus: Hope you enjoy this chapter!

SonicMax: That's the plan, but it is still nowhere close to that.

[MHA and Asterix and Obelix all belong to their copyright owners, as I do not own any of them.]

Chapter 9

Izuku Midoriya: Origins

"DUDE! That's totally unmanly!"

"Kirishima!" Iida suddenly exclaimed, "While I understand your anger, suddenly shouting is not going to help!"

"Oi, that goes for you too, Class Prez." Jiro suddenly spoke up, her ear jacks poised to strike at the blue-haired speedster like snakes about to get their prey, though the look on her face was one of pain as both the shouts from Kirishima and Iida had given her a headache thanks to her super hearing.

Seeing his mistake, Iida quickly bowed to the punk rocker, "My apologies Jiro! I did not mean to shout as loud as I did."

"Well, maybe you can lay off and let Midoriya continue his story then." She replied, pointing at the larger man who was bemused at the antics of his classmates, especially as he had just told them what his 'diagnosis' was regarding his Quirk status.

Even if he is quirkless, Izuku was glad for his classmates to learn about the Magic Potion earlier in the day, as he doubted any of them would believe the larger man was anything but quirkless. What was odd, though, was the way Mina had scooted closer to him, and the look on her face was pure anger, something Izuku would have to ask her about later.

"Ah! I am sorry, Midoriya; please continue."

"I-it's fine, Iida… and thanks, Kirishima." Izuku beamed a smile at the redhead, who merely returned the favor with a smile of his own.

"So, yea… I was told I was quirkless, and once it was reported to my school, the other kids eventually found out, and well, you can imagine what happened."

"Children can be cruel, unintentionally or not, at a young age." Momo gently spoke up, sipping some of the tea she had brought for everyone to enjoy, "but surely some of the teachers would have tried to stop it."

"I can't remember the exact number, but I know a couple did try… the others just ignored whatever the other kids did to me. In the end, it doesn't matter what happened to them, or it's something I like to try and not think about."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"I didn't know at the time, but when I was brought into UA, my mom had mentioned it to Nezu… and he said he'd 'take care of it' once she gave him the name of my school then." Izuku said, looking a little disturbed, as did a few others within the room. The horrors that would have come onto those teachers when the diminutive white-furred creature got his paws on them flashed through their minds. They were all silent until Tokoyami spoke up to bring them out of their funk.

"Such revelry in the dark."

"That's one way to put it. Anyway, during this time, my dad worked overseas as a salesman for a support company in America and requested some time off to take mom and me on a trip he had won during a company event." Izuku said as he flipped to another photo book page and showed it to his classmates.

Standing with a much younger Izuku (who was blushing hard due to the coos from the girls and snickers from the boys) and his mother was a quite frankly plain-looking man, and it was apparent where Izuku inherited his curly locks of hair, though not much else, given the differences between him and the much older Izuku sitting with them.

"The trip was to France?" asked Aoyama, who had been snacking on some assorted cheeses on a platter he brought for everyone to share; Izuku gently nodded his head, reaching out to take a sip of some of the tea he had been offered by Momo previously.

"It's a place both my parents wanted to visit for a good while, and at the time, it was the best option to sort of let things cool down a bit." Izuku said after taking a deep but slow breath; some of his classmates could feel the temperature in the room drop slightly as Izuku continued, "We were going to be gone for three weeks; the first week went off without any issue, we saw the many sites of Paris, and it's many museums… granted I barely remember anything from then, but I do know it was fun."

Everyone looked at the pictures of a quite happy little Izuku standing and posing with the various statues or just being a toddler with multiple shots of his mom and dad sprinkled in, often led around by the rambunctious child. Izuku's cheeks flared a little as Mina looked between him and the much younger version of himself, gushing slightly from how 'adorable' he was and still is under her breath for only the green-haired man to hear.

Taking another small breath to calm himself down, Izuku flipped the page to one of his family standing in front of a large stone archway with thick wooden doors opened outward, "It was the second week where the touring guide company we signed up with had decided to take our group to the French countryside, and that's when everything changed."

Opening the photo album's bindings, Izuku removed at least four of the pages from within and laid them all out towards his classmates, who all leaned closer to get a good look. Aside from the still adorable images of Izuku as a toddler, they could see the ancient buildings and how nothing had looked out of place or aged. It was a little jarring, considering how even shrines not quite as old as the Gaul village that were dotted around Japan still had some wear and tear from the years they stood, even with how well-kept they were by their attendants.

"Such pristine stonework! I cannot imagine how much time it would take for the upkeep." Iida proclaimed as some of the others nodded their heads in agreement, "Midoriya, I'd assume the current caretakers of this historic site had some sort of stone quirk to keep the buildings up to code?"

"No…" Izuku said with a gentle smirk, "The Gauls don't have a quirk user like that in their group."

"I see; well then, I'd assume- wait." Iida suddenly stopped, furrowing his brows, "What do you mean 'the Gauls'?"

Izuku leaned forward slightly, tapping one of the pictures where a clear visual of what everyone assumed to be an actor dressed up to look like a Gaul was currently handing out toy shields and helmets, "Most, if not all of the people here that are dressed up have connections or are descendants of the ancient Gauls, even more interesting is that some of them are French Pro Heroes who are stationed there to protect the place."

A few murmurs and gasps rang out in the room, and a comment of 'I thought that one looked familiar' came from Aoyama. Izuku chuckled gently, leaning back against his bed as he continued to speak, "As to your original question, Gramps told me when I asked him long ago that it was due to his druidic magic that keeps the stones as 'fresh' as they are. They still need to replace the hay roofs and do other routine maintenance from time to time, but the buildings could take a beating before you even see so much as a spec of dust fall from them."

"I still cannot fathom that such a thing as 'magic' actually exists." Momo spoke up suddenly, her arms crossed under her chest as she huffed, "There has to be a logical explanation for everything Getafix can do."

"Trust me, I thought the same when I was younger…." Izuku chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his head, "Eventually, it was just something I accepted."

"I have a question, Midoriya." Todoroki spoke up from his corner of the room, an empty bowl beside him as he rubbed his chin, "Is there a reason why a bunch of pro heroes were stationed at the village? Or I assume it has to do with the Magic Potion?"

"Pretty much the latter." Izuku crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the bi-colored man, "Remember when my Grandpa asked Aoyama about the Gauls? Well, some villains believe the stories or know the truth about the existence of the Magic Potion. But, the recipe to make it or where the stores of it are kept have either been lost to history or, in the case of the recipe itself, only Getafix knows it."

"So the villains actively attack the historic site to kidnap Getafix or locate a stash of a long-forgotten elixir?"

"A kidnapping would never happen." Izuku sighed softly and was now looking up at the ceiling, "Up until I fell in the potion, Getafix was very recluse, hiding his existence from the world, and the history books were revised to say he was essentially dead, having been lost out at sea during one of Asterix and Obelix's final adventures."

Izuku's emerald eyes moved down from the ceiling to look around his classmates, "Only the 'Chief' of the Gauls knows that Getafix is still alive, and he made so much of the Magic Potion that he buried or stored much of it in the most obvious of places."

"So, he hid it in plain sight for anyone to find?" Kirishima asked, holding his pillow underneath his chest and looking up at Izuku, who chuckled at the question.

"Not in plain sight, so like a kid would up and drink the stuff. But it's well hidden that you could walk by it and never notice it."

"As fascinating as this is, Midoriya… it is getting rather late, and some of us have our tests with the potion in the morning." Iida spoke up suddenly, his arm waving as it usually did, causing many of his classmates to grumble and a noted protest from Mina of wanting to hear about 'Baby Midori', much to the large boy's embarrassment.

Sighing softly, Izuku turned the page to a picture of a vast tree smack dab in the middle of the village, with its canopy about three stories high. Its white bark was pristine and looked thick, though, near the center, the mighty trunk seemed to split into a web of roots that weaved in and around the area, acting like a barrier. Koda, the avid nature lover he was, was shocked to see such an odd tree, and he raised his hand to get Izuku's attention.

"Yes, Koda?"

The large rock-headed man looked nervously to and fro, feeling all the eyes of his peers on him as he shook in his seat before quickly moving his hands in rapid succession.

"I'm… sorry, Koda, but could you do that a little slower? Sign language is something I'm still not a hundred percent fluent in yet." Izuku asked with a gentle smile, hoping it would calm Koda. Thankfully, it did, and the animal speaker could relay his message, "Ah, right… Well, the tree is supposed to be a 'Witch Willow', but Getafix used his magic to grow it to a large size to hide his home."

"Geezus, that's what his magic can do?!" Kaminari whistled softly, taking into account Kyoka's and Shoji's heightened hearing, "Also, how do you know sign language?"

Izuku rubbed the back of his head, smirking gently, "It was something Aizawa suggested; knowing even the basics of sign language, one could communicate silently to a teammate… I just happened to go past that reason, thinking that if I ran into a civilian that couldn't hear or something, it would be best to know it just in case."

"And that is quite an admirable feat and one we all should consider." Iida spoke up suddenly, looking at the picture of the giant tree before shifting to look at Izuku, "I take it this is one of those places Getafix stores some of the potions?"

"I don't know if he keeps any of them there, but it's where he makes it…." Izuku's finger gently tapped the picture a couple of times, the room silent as they waited for bated breath for him to finally explain how he got his powers, "It was the afternoon when a villain group had attacked the village, I got separated from my parents because of the crowds panicking, as one of the villains had an explosive quirk. Thankfully, I was told by my mom that if we should be separated, the big tree would be our meeting spot, or to ask one of the 'villagers' for assistance."

"So, I was alone, in a fierce battle between heroes and villains all around me, and while I was terrified since I didn't know what was going on with my mom and dad, I knew I needed to move up high to possibly see them and call out to them."

"So, you climbed the tree, kero." Tsu said from his side; Izuku gently nodded his head before continuing.

"An explosion had caused me to not only lose my footing but also the force of it caused me to slip into one of the crevices of the roots." Izuku gently took a deep breath, steadying himself as he could feel two hands on his shoulders; one felt slightly cool to the touch, while the other was warm and had a very familiar soft touch to them, "I don't remember much; but from what Getafix told me, I fell in through his window, having been lead there by the different roots guiding my path, and ended up falling into his giant cauldron full of the Magic Potion."

Everyone continued to remain silent as they waited for Izuku to continue the story, many of them clutching their pillows or plushies they had brought with them, "I was in there for… maybe half a minute or so… I remember taking a few gulps of the potion as I struggled for air until Getafix was able to pull me out, having been temporarily stunned from my sudden entrance. But, the damage was done, and a quirkless little boy suddenly had the strength to level mountains."

"I was out for a few days, a side effect of having consumed too much of the Magic Potion, and when I woke up, we were already on a plane back to Japan. Me, my mom, Getafix, and Nezu…"

"Wait, when did the dean get involved in the story?" Kaminari asked with a raised eyebrow, "And where was your dad? He didn't return to his job after all that, right?"

Everyone, aside from Izuku, who had been staring hard at the photo album, all gave Kaminari the stink eye, or others just slapped their foreheads at the utter stupidity of his question. Jiro made her dislike the blonde's question by jabbing him with her ear jacks.

"Ow! Come on!"

"Dude, seriously?" questioned Sero, looking at his friend, who shrugged.

"What? What other reason would there be for his dad not to be-" Kaminari had begun to question, but then his brain finally caught up, and his facial expression quickly morphed into regret as he looked to Izuku, "Holy crap, man! I am SO sorry!"

"It's fine, Kaminari, and truthfully, I barely knew my dad, as he was working overseas for most of my life at that point." Izuku said with a gentle sigh, "I can count how many times he visited us with a single hand. But, to answer your question in regards to Nezu…."

"He had been in France during that time, scouting a potential new recommendation student, taking in the sights and tourist attractions after his task was complete, and was there in the village when it was attacked. In fact, he helped the French Heroes by offering strategies and the like. And when he overheard Getafix and the chief talk about my 'incident' and offered to shelter me, my mom, and Getafix here at UA."

"That must have been difficult for the Chief to agree to, considering Getafix is the only one who makes the Magic Potion." Sato commented, leaning his back against the wall.

"Grandpa goes back every summer, spends the break there, and makes a year's supply of the potion before he comes back. Nezu usually goes with him and one or two of the other teachers, just in case." Izuku smirked at Sato, "Though this year, I am to accompany him back to France… dunno why though, and whenever I've asked him, he just says, 'you'll see.' ."

"Maybe it's to teach you how to make the potion!" Mina sudden;y shot up beside him, her smile wide with curiosity as Izuku chuckled gently.

"I mean, it's possible? But he could easily show me here." Izuku countered, causing Mina to puff her cheeks out and sit back down, cross-legged and trying to think of another reason.

"I hate to interrupt, but to make sure I understand for my own sake…." Iida suddenly spoke up, his hand on his chin in deep thought before looking at Izuku, "You have been living here, on campus, since you were four?"

Izuku gently nodded, "Pretty much, and while I was kept away from most of the students for most of my younger years, anyone that did come in contact with me had a talk with Nezu afterward and signed an NDA to make sure my existence was kept a secret."

"That must have been lonely, kero." Tsu spoke up, placing her large hand on Izuku's arm, causing the boy to blush a little.

"At first it was… heck, I barely spoke with any of the teachers here at the time, outside of when I was with Getafix or my mom." Izuku chuckled gently, rubbing the back of his head again, "But as I grew older, I started to interact more with the second and third years, since they already signed the NDA and knew of the existence of the Magic Potion by then."

"Doesn't that mean you knew our teachers way before they started working here?" Kyoka said with a raised eyebrow, with Izuku nodding.

"Yep, most of them are my pseudo Aunts and Uncles, though a few have different monikers, like Midnight… she um…." Izuku shifted slowly, his cheeks blazing red once more, "She hated me calling her auntie, so she declared herself as my "big sister" when she was still a student, and it's… kinda stuck since."

"Dude, is that why she likes to tease you during Modern Art History?" asked Kaminari, his smile wide with Sero beside him with as big a grin as the blonde did. Izuku didn't answer, merely nodding his head in embarrassment. This had caused a few people to snicker, remembering how much Midnight really liked to tease the poor boy, and he often couldn't stop her.

"Ahem," Iida suddenly spoke up, catching everyone's attention, "I apologize again for interrupting, but I can guess that's everything?"

Izuku blinked for a moment before suddenly standing up, "O-oh, right, yea! That's the entire story, and s-sorry once again for having to lie to you all!" bowing as he spoke.

"Midoriya, it's alright; there were circumstances and legal ramifications involved, but it wasn't your fault." Yaoyorozu spoke up, with several others nodding their heads in agreement. Izuku gently rose up from his bow, smiling at everyone.

"T-thanks guys…"

"Now, as Iida stated, it is getting late, and we have a big day tomorrow. We should all get some rest." The heiress spoke softly, pushing herself onto her feet as a few others began to do the same, "And once again, Midoriya, thank you for trusting us to tell your story, and I think I can say that everyone here will never reveal anything, right?"

More agreements were heard, with a boisterous 'manly' coming from Kirishima. As everyone began to pack up their things, Izuku opened the door, thanking them once again as he smiled brightly, tears of happiness streaming down his cheeks as a few of the men patted him on the shoulder as they walked by.

Izuku closed the door, sighing gently as he leaned his head against the wooden frame for a moment before turning around and seeing that not everyone had left his room, and his two surprise guests were looking at him with evident worry in their eyes, "M-Mina? T-Tsu? I-is there something wrong?"

"We should be asking you that, kero." Tsu spoke up, her blank and expressionless eyes staring hard at him, "You went through a lot during the USJ, and we hardly saw you until classes this morning, kero."

"And even then, you looked like your entire world was falling around you, and I don't like seeing one of my best friends like that!" Mina proclaimed, grabbing Izuku's arm, with Tsu taking hold of his other one and dragging him towards his bed to sit down, "And as said bestie, you can always come to me if you need to vent or want advice!"

"Though it would probably be best to see Hound Dog." Tsu said with a tilt of her head, causing Mina to look across from where she was sitting and huffing at her frog friend. Izuku chuckled gently, fidgeting with his hands which caught the attention of the two girls.

"I-I was that obvious, huh?"

"That dark rain cloud above your head this morning pretty much gave it away, kero."

Izuku chuckled meekly, clasping his hands together to stop their fidgeting as his cheeks were growing rosy once again, "I can't go into too many details, n-not that I don't want to! There's no concrete proof yet… but suffice it to say, my training regiment is being adjusted, and until then, I can't work out."

"That doesn't sound so bad? I mean, people who work out and train do different workouts and adjust to areas to focus on." Mina raised an eyebrow, "Heck, I often have to take breaks so I don't tire out my legs from my dancing routine."

"And while that may be true, I'm guessing it's the only thing Midoriya does, considering it's either that or studying, right?" Tsu said with her finger on her chin still, looking at Izuku, who gently nodded his head.

"W-Well, that and eat because… you know…"

"Rrrrright! But didn't you go out and hang out with friends?" Mina asked, landing back on the bed and watching as Izuku began to look up at his ceiling as if he was trying to not say what was clearly causing the silence among the three. Mina blinked a couple of times before gasping loudly, "YOU HAVE FRIENDS, RIGHT?!"

"I-I do! I have you two!- A-AND the rest of our class!" Izuku quickly corrected himself before sighing, laying back on his bed, and looking back up at his ceiling, "... It's just… most of the other students tended to see me as a… Well, 'little' wouldn't be the correct term, but when you're in university, do you want to have a child following you, especially one that is a lot stronger than you can ever be?"

"T-that's… I mean…" Mina wanted to find a counterpoint to what Izuku had just said, but she eventually groaned and messed up her fluffy pink hair in frustration. Thankfully, Tsu was there to help defuse the situation before Mina went on a tirade.

"It makes some sense, kero, I have two younger siblings myself, and I love them dearly, but there are times when I even need a break." The frog girl gently placed her hand on Izuku's arm in comfort, "But I'm sure as you got older, there must have been students that were fine with you being around them."

"Well, you're right, and they have been really friendly with me, but I could barely hang out with them, what with their work studies." Izuku turned to look at Tsu, who tilted her head gently when her gaze met his, "They are currently in their final year, so they have been swamped lately."

"You think we could meet them?" Mina asked, excited once more with a big grin.

"I-It's a possibility, though with the Sports Festival coming up, they are going to be busy preparing, as well as our class since it will be our first year, and you will need to show off to get a possible internship."

"You mean 'we' will have to show off as first years!" Mina had moved to sit on her knees, looking at the pair before her before turning her gaze to Izuku, "No offense Izu, but I've been watching the festival for the last five years, and it would have been easy to notice you participating, given how freaking strong you are!"

Though the green-haired boy was blushing at the small nickname she had called him, he gently scratched his cheek, looking back up at the ceiling, "R-right, all of us… sorry about that."

While Mina hadn't noticed how off that last statement was, Tsu had definitely did, and the frog girl could tell something was up and that he was hiding something from them; whether or not it was his choice to say was a different matter, so she let it be.

Sighing gently and moving off the bed, Tsu looked to the pair that remained expressionless, "Well, it's getting late, and we should head back to our own dorms before Iida throws a fit."

"Yea, yea…" Mina sighed and hopped off the bed, with Izuku slowly raising himself up to escort them out of his room. However, as Tsu had left first, Mina once again lingered, gently bringing a finger up to signal Izuku to lean down close to her.

"What is it, Mina?"

"Remember when I gave you that massage back in your old room?" Mina whispered softly, making sure no one but the larger boy could hear her, and her smile grew wide when she saw his face go atomic red, nodding quickly to her question, "With all the training for the festival coming up, I might need some help putting on that lotion since I'll be trying my best to improve on my acid output, which means-"

"Y-you'll need someone to help put the lotion on in places you can't properly reach." Izuku finished for her quietly, while the pink-skinned girl nodded her head with a smirk, "B-But why ask me, and not one of the other women?"

"Well, I know you're constantly training to keep your strength in check, yea?"

"Uh huh…?"

"Well, think of this as helping a fellow student recover after a long and exhausting training day and as a way to help focus your strength!" Mina smiled at him before speaking more calmly, "Plus, you can't rely on those bracers all of the time, so think of this as training."

Izuku frowned for a moment, rubbing his chin deep in thought at her words, muttering to himself softly, which Mina giggled slightly from how cute he was, before the larger boy looked back at her, "W-well, when you put it like that, it doesn't sound like a bad idea, I just don't want to accidentally hurt you."

"Oh, Izuku, I'm not some porcelain doll that you'll break with a single touch! I'm a strong young woman who will be a hero!" Mina smiled, flexing her arms and posing overdramatically, causing Izuku to snicker at the rather adorable display. However, it was short-lived as the pink-skinned woman suddenly launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hoisting herself up to hug him close and whisper into his ear.

"Plus, I can think of other ways you can 'break' me."

Izuku froze as Mina gently let go of her hug, smiling up and winking before heading off towards her room, leaving the emerald-haired young man as still as a statue for a few moments before robotically entering his room and shutting the door.

Walking over to the desk, Izuku slowly picked up his phone and began to scroll through a text message app, looking for the appropriate group chat and entering his message.

Perhaps Mirio and Tamaki could give him some advice regarding women.

And to make sure 'big sis' Nejire never finds out.