Chapter 1 - Perfect Premiere
The world was dark, devoid of color, and held a harsh chill across its face, the rain high above continued to pour despite the already accumulated bleakness. The ground was rugged and cold, while someone sat on their knees, basking in this heartless world, their head cast down toward their legs, scarred and trembling from the cold as the rain made their nerves jolt from the sudden sensation.
"No one has come to save you, have they?" A voice, strong and prideful, even so, a gentle tone laced their words, enough to excite a motion from the kneeling figure, their head craning back to face the shadow over them, blocking out the rain. "Or is it you do not wish to be saved?"
Two sentences and he had figured the person out, even as cold, lifeless eyes looked up at a strange ray of unfamiliarity before them, the word, they couldn't place it as a large hand sat between them, offered to the person who's eyes finally broadened a little. "Even if this is the case, someone so young shouldn't be left out in the cold, let us talk someplace else."
He offered his hand, the first to offer anything to the person in so long, the months had all but slipped by them at this point, so why did their hand reach out? Was this simply accepting the reality of their situation? Or... was this light that shined from beyond the person's shoulders what they had been begging for? A symbol of... hope.
Someday everyone realizes life is not always fair, and that some are gifted above others simply by chance, while the rest are left only with two choices. To give up and accept what's laid out before them, or take what they've got and moved forward.
Others... aren't always given that choice.
In our society, eighty percent are gifted with abnormal abilities, making comics into reality with powers over just about anything you can imagine, the other twenty percent are what we called 'Quirkless', though their duty to the world is not any less as important as what has become the norm, Heroes and Villains.
There are those that would do anything to achieve what they desire, all that ever truly matters is how they get there, that is what defines a person among the two. Once a path is chosen it's not always easy to reshape again.
So let me start by saying, hi, my name is Yuki Azuru, this is how I became a Quirkless Hero... sort of.
"Come on, come on! Time is ticking, Young Midoriya so put all you've got into this!" On a trash-filled bank of a beach once encapsulated in beauty, now a dump, a frail, skeleton of a man barked orders down from a pile toward a boy hauling said trash off the beach and into a skip waiting motionlessly in the car park above
The boy was rather skinny himself, sweating up a storm to keep up the pace he had made for nearly the whole afternoon, his emerald eyes continued to focus on the task despite the exhaustion threatening to take over, all while his blackish-green hair clung to his face.
Despite all of this, a pair of LED lights flashed from left to right, tracking the boy's movements with piqued curiosity, it had baffled the lights that followed him, although they did not question the boy's motives since from out the frail Number One Hero's eye a smile had formed on his face at the sight of the lights and who owned them.
Midoriya returned again, not realizing at first that he was being watched by more than just All Might, but as his eyes tracked the sensation his body suddenly tripped over itself, and his face slammed into the sand. Or he nearly did, say for a pair of arms catching him quickly.
He winced, blinking a few times as the figure sat him down on his knees, at first he thought it was All Might, but by the time he adjusted to the figure his face paled and he shrieked, falling back onto his ass. The LED lights belonged to a metal mask, the lights inside the eye sockets adjusting to appear confused since no mouth was present on the face.
It covered the person's hair too, while said person wore a blue tank-top with wrist bands strapped to their toned arms and a pair of grey shorts and white sneakers, knee-high blue and white socks too. It, from the person's figure, was a girl too.
"W-w-what are you!?" Is response only made the eyes slant in annoyance, upon seeing this Midoriya waved his hand shakily. "No sorry, I-I didn't - not what I meant!"
"Hahaha, you scared the focus out of him!" All Might laughed, making the girl blink, turning her head toward him, then pointing at Midoriya. "Oh right, I never spoke about him, have I?" Her eyes flattened again and All Might chuckled, grinning. "Hey, the less that know the better, and besides I was preoccupied learning ahead of time."
She pointed again to Midoriya, himself relaxing a bit more, looking curious. "All Might, do you know her - Wait, she knows about your secret!?"
"Yes, but not to worry she's a good friend, and a big fan like yourself," All Might answered, while she rubbed the back of her head bashfully, eyes averted. With a pat to the head, All Might addressed Midoriya. "I'd like you to meet Yuki Azuru, another student of mine, but nothing like you in that regard."
Now Midoriya was more open-minded to the strange girl, holding out his hand with a small smile. "Sorry about that, I'm Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you."
At first, she looked to his hand, then to his kind smile, then hesitantly, her hand slowly reached out to shake his, eyes still dilated into an adverted gaze, but they changed to a normal stare upon feeling the warmth in his hand, and the smile he wore made her relax.
Immediately, Yuki bounced to her feet, taking a look around the beach inquisitively, tapping a finger to her chin then with a large flash in her eyes she pointed to Midoriya then to All Might, eyes wide as though shell-shocked. While Midoriya found it weird why she wasn't talking at all or making a sound, All Might smiled and sighed.
"Yeah, that's right, I'm training Young Midoriya here to be my successor, surprise." That had her look to Midoriya again then she stepped in closer, crouching down to inspect his body, which in turn made him turn completely red, though she managed a silent giggle at his reaction, that made his embarrassment turn into interest
"H-Hey, not to be rude but... are you okay?" His question made her quit her inspection, Yuki stood up, pointing at herself before her eyes blinked, then became downcast, finger lowered slowly. In only a few minutes he had figured out her 'issue', one that made her disheartened. "...You're mute... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" she tapped a knuckle to his head
Holding out a small note he read it out loud, while All Might watched on with simple amusement at the two's introduction. "'It's okay, you didn't know' - Yeah, but that seems really personal to bring up?"
She shook her head, finding his kind-hearted nature to be welcoming, something only All Might had really shown her since they met. With a wave of her hand, she flicked the note over and Midoriya read it again. "'It is, but you're alot nicer than most, so I'm okay - Anyway, back to work.' Wait-"
"She right, young man! We cannot stray from the Dream Plan for too long! Back to it!" All Might returned to his muscle form, pulling Midoriya to his feet as he got back to training, despite wanting to talk to Yuki more, too many questions of her involvement with All Might, why she was wearing a mask, it was alot to process but it had to wait
From the air, Midoriya snatched a new piece of trash from the sky, seeing it to be another note as Yuki skipped up the steps, all while Izuku lifted another two tires while staring at the note, eyes wide as he stuffed it into his pocket for safe-keeping, All Might smiled knowingly at what it read.
'Until next time, Izuku, glad to make a new friend outside of All Might. Talk later... sort-of, okay?' Under it was a number and a smiley face. With this new connection, Midoriya no longer felt fatigued as a new drive pushed him beyond his limit once more. He had never had a real friend outside of Bakugo, although their relationship was unstable at best and he wouldn't really call him a 'friend', so to have met Yuki was truly a blessing.
"...Five Percent..."
With a breath, Yuki held out her right arm, seeing her veins turn bright red under her skin like magma, the sensation flowed to her eyes under the mask, while a voice echoed those words mechanically into her ears, the tingling sensation ended at her fingertips, feeling power overwhelm just her arm.
With a smile she balled up her fingers, throwing a wide jab to the punching bag, seeing dust fly from the other side, followed by the left hand sending the same shockwave of energy back again. Each consecutive punch rattled the chain, her breaths slow and steady with each hit that gained momentum, ending it all with a roundhouse kick that broke the chain, making her wince at the heavy 'crash' as her mask's eyes dilated to pins.
"Again with the racket, we might need to get you a new setup sometime." All Might spoke from the doorway into the training room, scaring Yuki slightly at his arrival this late at her place. Before she could make any comment he held up a key, and her shoulders slumped. She forgot to lock the door. "Always forgetting the little things."
Her eyes rolled, crossing her arms. Then she pointed accusingly. "Hey, I'm a busy Hero I can't always keep track of my mundane life." His weak argument made a glowing eyebrow raise, finger tapping to her forearm. All Might sighed. "All right, I'll talk."
Her actions changed quickly, skipping back into the small house and into the kitchen to flick the kettle on, All Might himself taking a seat. "You really do need to work on your people skills, nearly gave Young Midoriya a heart attack and had him asking me a million questions, hahaha - ACK!" He coughed up blood, making Yuki freeze in horror
In a flash, she had written down a response. 'That's fine I'm not too worried about his questions, he's very curious, and nice too'. Tapping her pen to the next page she flicked it through the air for him to grab again. 'He's like you, that Hero-Shine is in his eyes like yours'.
All Might chuckled once. "He's alot like you too, Yuki." That had her pause while making tea, turning her head. "You both have promising futures I can tell, and you are both extremely curious about people and the world." Then he grinned. "You both also geek out when you first met me."
Now that made her turn her head away, all while he laughed at her embarrassment, even with a mask it was annoying. Bringing the tea over she sat down and glared at the Number One Hero diligently. 'From the beginning or I burn you'.
"Always with the threats when you're embarrassed - Alright, let me start back to that sludge villain..."
It had gotten late, the entirety of the world was silent bar the stray noises and distant sirens from afar. Sat wrapped up in a thick blanket was Yuki, her eyes glued to the wall while holding herself closer to the covers, shivering a little but not from the cold but of how isolated she was, of course, she had been like this for years but sometimes that icy loneliness creeps back into her head, making her feel alone despite the voice that at times would be there to talk to her, but it was silent, sleeping in its own, strange way.
With a slight flick of her fingers, her hand pulled up the covers, hiding her under with her phone as she sent a message to one of three numbers, while it was an anxious feeling to bother them at this time she needed someone to... talk to, sort-of. Although the worry of being too needy did arise, she had only met the boy earlier today, hell, she didn't even know if he thought of her as a friend given her less-than-impressive introduction.
Even so, either she tried or face insomnia keeping her up all night. The former was far better.
Yuki: Hi, sorry for this but... are you alright if we talked for a moment, again, so to speak?
Yuki: Sorry as well if this seems a little... sudden, I understand if I am being a bother
...
Her phone buzzed and her eyes lit up brightly through her hair.
Izuku: I wasn't expecting this, but sure... what do you want to talk about right now?
Now she was in a tight spot, not actually expecting to get this far if she were being honest, so what could she talk about? It could be about All Might and his Quirk? Since she had their signals secured anyways, but no, that didn't seem right. Maybe... well, she had one idea, though it was a gamble.
Yuki: Call me weird but... anything... I just need to talk to someone...
Izuku: Why? Is something wrong?
That made her sigh softly. Okay, so it wasn't weird, that was good, although he did take a while to answer back it did help to keep her attention.
Yuki: No, I just... have a hard time sleeping sometimes... I like talking to people if I'm not a bother
Izuku: You're not if you want to talk I'm all ears... honestly having someone to talk to that isn't the greatest hero of all time is cool!
Yuki: I'm happy to hear that, thanks ;)
Yuki: Izuku? Why... what made you want to accept All Might's power if you don't mind me asking?
Izuku: I want to be a hero that can save people with a smile on my face
That had Yuki's smile turn to surprise, reading the line diligently while another came through
Izuku: I never had a Quirk, so I was picked on for it, it was hard, and alot of the time I wanted to just throw my dream away, like life had nothing better to do than to put me down
Izuku: But I wanted to be a hero so badly, even without a Quirk I would strive to be one no matter what, and save people no matter the cost
Yuki's smile returned, tucking herself in closer as she read through the texts over-and-over again. It was strange, having a friend with this much passion toward an ideal like hers, she too had the world against her, and so when All Might offered his hand to her she felt as though her dream had finally been given a chance to stand out. Izuku was the same and it made her happy.
Yuki: You and All Might are quite alike indeed
Izuku: Really? Thanks, but what about you? Why do you want to be a hero?
Yuki:... I'll tell you... once we've become UA students, how's that?
Izuku: Whaaaat, no fair, I told you my reason! :(
Yuki: Fufufu. I'll tell you this much since you're my friend, I was like you in a way, and someone offered me their hand toward my dream, that's all~!
Izuku: Fine, I'll wait a few more months
Izuku: Are you feeling better now?
Izuku: Yuki?
Izuku never realized it, but Yuki had finally fallen asleep without realizing it herself, softly breathing with her phone tucked into her hands. After a while of waiting, he eventually realized she had fallen asleep instead. On this end, he wore a smile even though his nerves were all shaken from texting with a girl, but he managed one without hesitation or rewrites.
Izuku: See you next time, Yuki! :)
Several Months Later...
Time flew by and so did the training from the twelve levels of hell alongside All Might himself and Izuku's first, but fascinating friend. The two were rather awkward at the beginning between his workout routine, cobbled with Yuki's far more tactile attitude that had him dealing with near heart attacks that made her silently laugh. Yuki herself had no other friends outside her guardian and All Might, so to have someone around her age was a welcoming change.
Both herself and All Might arrived at the beach at the break of dawn, coming to meet with Izuku before they headed off to UA, Yuki would be lying if she said she wasn't a nervous wreck, even just a bit, about the day ahead, but All Might assured her that she was ready, all that mattered now was passing on All Might's Quirk to Izuku, and Yuki grimaced at the thought given how he informed her of how that would happen.
Seeing the sun stretch across the horizon, the sky turned pink with dark clouds as the sloshing of waves echoed from a distance. Just then, as both stretched and made their way over to the railing, a sudden cry tore across the sky, startling them both as Yuki's eyes drawn to the source, locking onto the large mound of remaining junk, and up high toward the golden ray that illuminated the boy.
Izuku was stood atop the mound, screaming out in a cold sweat with all his might as the two were hit by the sunlight and a soft ocean breeze, Yuki's eyes were wide with awe, seeing the pile and from her mask's analysis of each component it was clear he had lifted far more than she believed to be humanly possible, even for her. He had cleared it all on the final day, every last speck of trash was completely gone from the sandy beach that now stood far brighter than before.
"Hey... hey! Holy crap, kid. You even cleaned outside the area I told you to," All Might was left gawking at the sight, while Yuki's eyes drifted back up at Izuku, seeing him fall to his knees after all of his back-breaking work. "Seriously, there's not one speck of trash left on his beach!" All Might practically vibrated on the spot. "Only a few seconds to spare but you exceeded my expectations! "Holy... Super Crap!" He immediately buffed out, while Yuki was alerted to Izuku's sudden rise in speed
Her legs dug into the pavement and leapt into the air, quickly catching her friend as the two landed softly on the ground, his head resting against her chest and in the crook of her arm while he took in every ounce of air possible. Her eyes quickly displayed confetti before widening with pride at all he had done, and with a heavy smile he looked up at Yuki.
"I finished everything... I did it... All Might... Yuki..." He was exhausted, anyone could tell but even now All Might couldn't help but laugh as he came to greet his successor. "Do you think I'm ready now?"
"Excellent work, and yes, you are Young Midoriya, I'm blown away right now!" All Might praised as Yuki helped Izuku to his feet. "I knew you had it in you but this is beyond," He then procured his phone, holding it out as Yuki tried not to laugh at the image displayed. He kept that all this time, creepy... "Look at this, it's you crying ten months ago."
"Um..." Izuku didn't feel all that flattered by the reminder
"But look at how far you've come, such improvement!" He wasn't wrong as Yuki did sneak a look herself, seeing his frail body had properly melded into a fit, athletic body fit for One For All, from her view he looked to be stronger than she was, if she could whistle she would so instead she gave a small clap with her eyes curved up happily
"There's still a long road ahead before you can inherit my full power set... But it's starting to look like you can do it!" He proudly motioned to the mountain behind him, while Izuku felt tears begin to form over hearing those words, and seeing Yuki's approval overall had done him so much in terms of motivation over the months. He now had a mentor, a chance to be a hero, and a best friend he wished came around sooner
"All Might... do I deserve this? You put so much time and energy into helping me, even you, Yuki," He held his head up, trying his best to stay strong but that lingering ghost still held on to his heart. "How did I end up so lucky?"
Sensing his doubt, All Might put a hand over his shoulder assuringly. "It was your hard work that did this, not ours," Yuki did the same on his other shoulder, offering a note
'You won't be alone if you doubt yourself I'll come and torment you some more.' Yuki flicked his nose while All Might stood before them and Yuki silently trembled, knowing what came next
"Now for your reward, Izuku Midoriya," All Might plucked a strand of his golden hair. "Someone told me this once, there's a difference about being lucky and being deserving, one an accident the other a reward, never mix the two up, take this to heart, kid, you earned this through your valiant effort and actions."
Yuki started to turn green, gripping Izuku's shoulders firmly as he remained stoic, woefully unprepared for the task at hand, she made a silent prayer to the Gods and offered Izuku up to All Might's next challenge.
"Eat This." He held out the hair. Izuku blinked and Yuki coughed, shaking at the thought
"Huh?"
"To obtain my power you have to swallow some of my DNA, that's how this works!" All Might explained as Izuku tried to back up but Yuki held him down, shaking her head solemnly with a shaky thumbs-up. Izuku held up his hands in defense even as the hair grew closer to him
"This isn't exactly how I imagined it! Yuki, don't make me!" Izuku begged but turned white at her head pointed in the opposite direction, glass shattering in his eyes. "You're offering me up like this!?"
"Come on there's no time you'll both be late at this rate! Eat! Eat! Eaaaaaaaat!" All Might and Izuku both cried out in different tones, Yuki closed her eyes and tried not to face them
"Sorry, buddy... but there's a limit to what I can do here..."
To Be Continued...
[My Hero Academia - Perfected]
Written by Silent Slender
OP 1 - Peace Sign
And so another small start to see if it takes off or am I simply wasting my time. This here is something I came up with while watching the show, thought it might be fun to try something a bit newer than most. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, seeya in the next one, maybe!
Next Chapter: A Perfected Entrance Exam
The months have passed and Izuku and Yuki are prepared for the trial ahead, with a few bumps along the way, the two must now prove their hard work was not wasted, time to go beyond, Plus Ultra!