Chapter 3:
Many years ago. Humanity went through an evolution. The first recorded cases of super powered individuals were reported. Then across the world, powers became more common. We began calling these strange powers, quirks. Then, like wildfire, they spread through the entire world. Now it's believed that almost 90% of the world's population has some kind of quirk. Almost overnight, the supernatural became the totally normal. However, there remained a few who were born without a quirk, called the quirkless. I would know about them because I used to be one of them.
My name is Izuku Midoriya, and this is how I became the world's greatest hero. But you already know that story. You know about how I inherited the quirk One for All from my idol, All Might. You know how I went to UA to train to become a hero, and how I became the number one hero in the world. However, in life, you never know what your future may hold so this is not the story of how I became the world's greatest hero. Instead, this is the story of how a new generation became something greater.
My Hero Academia Next Generation: New Heroes:
Hana POV:
"A warehouse. That's what I see." I blankly told Deku as he just shook his head in disappointment at my bland response.
"No look closer, what do you see." He spread his arms out and gestured all around him at the dark messy building. I still didn't understand what this had to do with "training". He's just taken me to a run-down old warehouse in the one of the most desolate areas of Tokyo.
"I see a training field" Deku put his hands on his hips and took the classic hero pose as he turned around to face me. That's when I wondered if posing would be part of the training.
"This. This is where you're going to train me?" I asked him a so was genuinely confused about what this place had to do with "training". I've been doing a lot of getting confused lately.
"What you expect, a gym?" He sarcastically quirked his eyebrow looking very smug. I scoffed at seeing this. Even if he was a shining beacon of peace, he still had a sense of humor.
"Alright so what do you want me to do?" I further asked as I still didn't understand what exactly this training was.
"Well, it's very simple, I want you to clean out this warehouse." He continued to speak proudly and for a second I thought he was joking.
"Wait, the whole warehouse?"
"Why, of course! This whole area used to be such a lovely place, but it's become quite the junkyard!" He walked over to one of the oil drums just lying around.
"So, you're job." He then picked up his leg and smashed down on the barrel flattening it. "Is to restore this place to its former glory.
"This whole place? You can't be serious!" I exclaimed as it seemed nearly impossible. He was right, the place was a junkyard. All manner of trash was strung about, and not just bags. Fridges, appliances, even old cars. It seemed like a junkers paradise.
"I am young Hana Izumi!" He proclaimed yet again as he threw me a bundle of rope. "No point in starting small. Move that fridge over there!"
"C'mon this is ridiculous!" I was frustrated with how lax he was being about all this "training". "You know I don't need to do this!"
"Really, well then, hit me?" He offered and I was confused at first.
"H-hit you?"
"Yeah, shouldn't be no problem if you really don't need any training."
"Ahh, okay fine!" I responded as I got ready and threw a punch straight at the hero's face. However, he just lightly raised his right hand and pushed my fist out of the way before it made contact.
"Really is that the best you've got?" He condescendingly asked me which only made me madder. I gritted my teeth and went to throw two more punches, but both were deflected.
"Maybe I made a mistake in picking you." He was goading me on, and I played right into it.
"Ahhhh!" I let out a guttural yell as I threw a swinging punch at the hero's face, but he just pivoted to the side and my fist caught air. This caused me to lose my balance and I fell on my bum. I was still rather angry and was not in the mood to hear a lecture from my self-proclaimed mentor. So, when he stuck out his had to try and help me up, I slapped it aside and got up on my own.
"This is stupid! I'm out of here!" I did not like being embarrassed and if this was his idea of helping me, I was not having any of it.
I turned around and began to make my way back out the entrance we had come through. Never wanting to come back here again. However, Deku dashes in front of me and blocked my path. I was about to explode on him when I looked up into his face and saw he no longer had his famous ear to ear smile. Instead, his face was adorned with a simple curved lip. In many ways, it felt much more comforting than the famous grin he always put on, like it was more genuine.
"Hana, you are the most cynical person I know." The hero explained as he took a knee and put his hand on my shoulder, but I rolled it, so his hand fell off. He looked a little hurt by this but kept smiling anyway. "You always see the worst in any situation."
"Well, you don't survive out here by being the trusting type." I coldly said while looking into his emerald eyes.
"That is true, but maybe that's not such a bad thing." I quirked and eyebrow at where he was going. Must heroes felt like impossible symbols of positivity, what could cynicism do with that.
"Maybe you can use that. "
"That's your power, that's your drive, your determination, your strength." He then brought his other hand off his knee and pointed right at my chest. "In here."
"Well, pointing at my boobs is a really wired way to-"
"No, no, no! I meant your heart! I'm sorry that was very rude of me! I apologize!"
"I'm just kidding." I explained to him, so he understood the joke. After he fixed his blushing face to look as normal as mine. "I get it."
"You see, I'm your mentor now, and that means you have to trust me." He looked right into my cold grey eyes with his impossibly pure smile, and I knew he was right.
"I do, and I will." I told him, for the first time in my life feeling entirely assured in that statement. Be it our meeting at the fruit stand. Our conversation at his office, or the fact that I'd let him lead me out to the middle of a preverbal junkyard. I trusted him.
"Good, because it's time to work." He roused me back up as I turned back around to see the mountains of junk piled up in the warehouse. "You may have a strong heart, but now we just need to get that to your muscles!"
I laughed at this obviously as I remembered what I had asked him when we first met, "Is it worth it?". I knew what I was signing up for I was gonna work like hell to do this.
"C'mon, Hana! You only have ten months till the entrance exam!" Deku would constantly remind me as I tried in vain to pull a wreaked truck across the warehouse concrete.
"I know that!" I let out a guttural yell as I pulled with all my might at the vehicle. It was looking like the truck might move, but I tripped and fell on my back panting after giving up, he came over to me.
"Hahaha, I love this part!" He sarcastically said as he pulled out his phone and took a picture of me in pain on the floor, and for a moment I considered raising my right hand and showing off my middle finger, but I realized I was gonna need to learn restraint if I was gonna be a hero. So, I decided against it.
"Remember Hana, this isn't just about training your body! A hero always helps-" Deku would have continued with his hero speech but I interrupted him, very much in my character.
"Helps out the community, I remember Deku." I told him he helped me back onto my feet. "Just let me at it again."
"Put your back into!" He yelled at me again this time when I was pushing a fridge that seemed cemented to the ground.
"I'm trying!" I yelled back at him in between my grunts and the squeaking of my shoes that kept slipping under me.
"Every time you feel like you're at your limit! Remember why you started down this path!" I was beginning to get tired of his constant speeches, but I let his words soak in and I remember my sister, my mother, all the good I wanted to do. Then I let that desire burn up my insides and boil my blood, and the fridge moved.
It was like a domino effect, it started to screech as I pushed it, the I got more traction, and I was able to move it at a constant speed. I didn't stop till I reached the other end of the warehouse where there was a loading dock full of junk. Once I reach end I collapsed, my entire world was spinning, and I could barely remember my own name. However, I was still able to stand up as I saw Deku come running over to me.
"That was amazing!" He clapped me on the back, and I felt my entire body shake from the impact. "Oh, I'm sorry was that to hard?!"
I audibly laughed at hearing his nervous response. No one would think the symbol of peace and current number one hero to be so nervous, but over the past couple of weeks I'd gotten familiar with his nervous and dorky side.
"Nah, I'm good. I'm just." I stopped mid-sentence as I felt my entire body grow very weak. I clutched my stomach as I felt a sharp pain coming from the organ. Then I bent over by the junk pile and vomited right next to it.
As I whipped my mouth and composed myself again, I felt embarrassed as I looked back over at the great big man staring down at me. I felt like a dog that had just pooped in the house and was about to get scolded for it. I managed a shaky "S-sorry." And a dodgy smile.
"Oh, don't worry about that, I threw up at least ten times before I was ready!" He gave me a thumbs up and another ear-to-ear smile. I didn't really know what to say back so I just stood back up and said, "Thank you".
"Hustle, Hustle young Izumi!" Deku barked at me as he blew the whistle he was wearing on his neck. The piercing sound hurt my ears, but I couldn't focus on that because I was too worried about the pain in my legs. When we arrived at this junkyard of a warehouse one of the things, we'd noticed was that there was a mountain of destroyed oil drums. So, Deku's answer, clean it all out in one day.
"Argh, huh!" I groaned as my stomach felt like a rock and my legs were burning up. It didn't help that as I dropped the barrel I was carrying, I looked back over to see the mountain had barely gotten any smaller. But as I was getting up, I felt a big hand touch my head.
"Here, have some water!" Deku told me as he handed me a water bottle that I rapidly drank from. Though just as I was getting comfortable. "Alright that's enough!"
He took the bottle from me, and I realized he was only gonna give me the carrot if I behaved. So, I just got up and ran back to the mountain. Deciding it would be done faster if I tried to take two barrels at once. Putting one under each arm, I was slow at first, but I was able to pick up speed fast. But that didn't help with the pain.
Moments Later:
"Ahahaha! Excellent work young Izumi!" The number one hero clapped my back, and I had the urge to vomit again. Instead, I just allowed myself to fall over as I was panting on the ground. But as I looked over at where the mountain of junk was, it was completely gone, and that fact made me smile.
I'd been training nonstop over the past couple of months. It was like a living hell but every time I went back to that god forsaken warehouse, I remembered why I was doing this, and I got renewed vigor. However, this day was different as I got here a little early and saw Deku on his own. As he was rolling up his sleeves and punching some kind of pillar, I realized I'd never actually seen his arms, and now I knew why. Looking at this skin of his arms looked like a winding river. All across his arms were long black lines like scars that cut deep and appeared to be affecting him. As if on cue, one of his hands began to shake uncontrollably, and he just used his other hand to grab it and steady it until the extremity stopped vibrating.
"Woah, what happened?" I ran in to ask him as I thought maybe he'd been in a fight or something recently and gotten injured.
"Oh, nothing, sorry, that's just and old scar." He attempted to brush me off as he turned away and rolled his sleeves back down.
"Looks more like scars. What happened?" I emphasized the S and persisted further to which he just sighs at being caught.
"I suppose it's time I tell you then." He seemed to be defeated and I wondered if maybe I had done something wrong, but instead of saying anything he just led me over to a small bench we sat on. It didn't seem to be very stable, but we just sat there for the moment.
"Are you aware of my fighting technique, Shoot Style?" He asked me and I had never really thought about it, but I remember seeing some fights and that he only used his legs for kicking and such. So, I lightly nodded, hoping that's what he meant.
"You see, when I was a hero in training, like you. I overused my arms and… critically injured them." He continued in with his story and I was shocked by what he was saying. Those scars were that old?
"What do you mean you overused your arms?" I asked him to laugh a little expecting some kind of joke or funny little Deku line. But he was deathly serious in his tone.
"Hana, One for All is a powerful quirk, but it gives as much as it takes." Deku had told me more about his quirk in the weeks we'd spent training, One for All. I learned more about his old mentor All Might and the nature off it, but I was still confused about what he was saying, and what exactly One for All is.
"It gives you power, but if you can't control that power, it will destroy you." I felt chilled to my core by what he was saying. I was like a warning, to not make the same mistakes he did.
"So, I've lost complete control of my arms." He put his hand into a fist as the hand just began shaking and the fist dissolved. "I can hardly throw a punch anymore."
This was the scariest part. If any villain found out about this, the symbol of peace could be hurt, actually hurt. Deku had been able to stop crime so effectively because he seemed untouchable. However, this real weakness could break the symbol and with it, the entire hero society. That's when I realized the answer to a question, I had always been too scared to ask.
"That's why you picked me."
…
"I'm getting weaker Hana; I can feel it. So, I needed someone to carry on this power, not just for me. But for the rest of the world." Deku looked down solemnly as his hands began shaking again. But I could tell he wasn't going to deny further. "The world needs it's symbol of peace, the world needs you."
It was a lot to take in. Obviously, I'd thought about what kind of hero I wanted to be, but number one, the new symbol of peace. That felt a little out of my league.
"I'll do my best." I tried to reassure him even though I felt terrified about what the future may hold for not just me but my mentor as well.
"That's enough." He clapped me on the back and finally went back to smiling brightly at me to which I returned. Then I heard the bench we were sitting on begin to creak slightly, just before the whole structure caved in and we fell on our butts. We of course laughed at this as I brushed aside the debris and stood up.
"Guess that's my cue." I sarcastically said as I went back over to the trash to start working again. Knowing that my mentor, Deku would be watching me the whole time, and having more drive then every to finish my training. Not just for me, but the rest of the world.
Elsewhere:
Shiho's POV:
"Hiya!" I yelled out as I continued to bash the punching bag right in front of me. The past months had been tough, but I'd been able to work through them. I was still experimenting with the detonate solution and was working on making more of the plastique. Still, I need to work my body, and that's why I was here.
"Ahh." I let out a sigh as I backed away from the bag I had been beating. Looked down at my knuckles and saw the red color of my skin, that's when I knew I should stop before I start bleeding.
This had been just another day for me however, if I wasn't working on the detonate solution then I was training at the beach. If I wasn't doing either than I was practicing at the gym. I let out another sigh as I rested on one of the benches in the gym and took a drink of water. That's when I was looked over at a small mirror by one of the boxing rings.
I had never been one to gawk at my reflection or even loved looking at mirrors. But I couldn't deny, I looked good. Seeing my reflection, I spun around to see the muscle tone I'd developed. I was just wearing my standard workout clothes of shorts and a sports bra so I could see the muscles I built up. I felt good.
In some mix of validation and rewarding myself, I laughed at seeing how much stronger I'd clearly gotten over the past months. That's when I reached out my hand and put it against my own reflections. Looking at my own eyes is said out loud.
"I can do this." I might have been only saying it to myself, but it made me feel stronger. It made me feel like I actually had a chance.
So, I gave myself one final smirk than walked back over to where my backpack was to head back home.
Moments Later:
"You know you're going to have to talk to him eventually." Mom chided me as we ate dinner, without dad, for the third time in a row.
"What's there to talk about?" I of course knew what she was referring to, but I just wanted to hear my mom say it.
"Shiho, it's not healthy to hold a grudge, especially against family." She continued to lecture me further and I figured she was about to pull out the power point.
"It's not him I have a grudge with." I suppose this confused her as she quirked her eyebrow and looked at me quizzically. "It's his bitch pupil."
"SHIHO! You know we don't you that kind of language here!" She smacked me a little on the shoulder and I giggled a little.
"Sorry, mommy." I jokingly said as she also giggled a little bit, and the tension was released.
"Besides, you don't even know anything about Hana."
"I know enough, I know he chose a petty thief over me, I know he lied to my face."
"Your father, he didn't choose anyone over you, if you would talk to him you would see that."
"Well maybe if he were here, he could tell me that himself."
An awkward silence consumed our dinner table for a moment, we just ate and barely looked at each other. I did feel like there was some things I had said that were too harsh, but as if said back at the beach. I am done playing nice, so I didn't regret it.
"So, Mei tells me you're progressing really fast in your support studies." It was very mom like to change the subject when things got heated. She was never one for confrontation.
"Yeah, I really enjoy it. She lets me exercise some of my creative muscles." I went along with her because I really wasn't in the mood for another heated conversation.
"That's good." She said very blankly, and I thought that would be the end of it, I was mistaken. "You know, the UA entrance exam is coming up in a few months."
"Five to be precise" I corrected her to show that I knew about the date and that I was ready for it.
"And, the support course has been losing students, and I'm sure your aunt Melissa would love it if you would join." Mom suggested as I allowed my fork to hit the plate I was eating from. I looked straight up at her as I realized the reason for this conversation about UA.
"Besides, Aunt Mei could write you a great recommendation." As she said this, our eyes met and she wavered a little, likely seeing that I was unenthused.
"Mom, you know I can't do that." I bluntly told her to which she lightly nodded and seemed to be done with this topic. But she worked up the courage to say one more thing.
"But why?" She asked and for a second I thought It was a stupid question. "Can you al least tell me why?"
I thought about that for a second and I really considered it. Why. I had never really thought about it. I had always just told myself I was gonna be hero, but I'd never asked why. After all, I loved working for Mei at the support agency. Even if I wouldn't technically be a hero, I would still be helping people. So, I considered it, I really considered it. However, as I thought about it more, my stomach felt like it was getting tied in knots, I started sweating, and overall, I just felt… bad. That's when I found my reason.
"Because it's something I have to do." I pointed my finger down at the table to emphasize my point. "Not something I want to do."
"Something I have to do."
Mom just lightly nodded, and she seemed to understand what I was saying. "Then go out there, and knock 'em dead!"
We both smiled at each other and the heated argument I was worried about happening, never came. So, I just kept eating until I was done and got up to go back up to my room. I needed to finish working on the detonate solution and I wasn't gonna waste any more time. After all, the UA entrance exam is only months away. I didn't touch my plate, mom always wanted to clean them herself, said something about her "motherly duty". However, as I was making my way up the stairs my mother called me.
"Hey Shiho!" I stopped at the top of the stairs and turned around at hearing my mother's voice who promptly came came running into the foyer. "What is it?"
"It's just." She wavered for a second as she stared up at me on the staircase. "Promise me, you won't lose yourself. Promise me, you'll still be the daughter I know."
I didn't really get what she was saying. Until I thought about it more and I realized how much I'd been giving up. I had virtually no friends anymore because I was always busy. Though I denied it, I did hold a grudge against my dad. And now I was going to go work a bomb. I was losing myself.
"I'll do my best." I told her because I didn't have the heart to say no, but I couldn't make that promise.
"That's enough." She said back with a smile that I adopted. She then nodded and went back to the kitchen. While I went back up to my room to finish working on the solution. As well as a couple of other tricks up my sleeve
Elsewhere:
Deku's POV:
I had just finished training with Hana for the day and it was getting extremely late. However, I had something I needed to get back at the office so here I was just waiting. I had a meeting to attend before it got too late, but it seemed my partner was running late. I looked at my watch to check the time to verify that they were over an hour late. Groaning I stood up from my desk and walked over to one of the windows of my office.
Staring out at the city, I remembered what All might had told me years ago. "Someone could be injured and calling out for my help right now, and I would never know about it."
This was the true burden of being a hero, the pain, the loss, the hardship. They never hurt as bad as knowing that you can't save everyone. All I could hope, is it's a lesson young Hana could handle better than me.
"Please let this work." I whispered to my faint reflection in the window. I was getting weaker, and I needed Hana to take my place, so I asked to nobody other than me. Because much like All Might before me, it was going to be my choices that decide whether or not she succeeds, and she has to succeed. So please let this work, let her work.
That's when I heard the distinct sound of high heeled shoes clanking against the wood floor of my office.
"Where have you been?" I rhetorically asked the woman as I spun around to address her.
"Always busy, and yet never late Midoriya." The smiling face of Mina Ashido informed me. To which I just tapped my watch and told her that. "The meeting was an hour ago."
"Well, if you must know I was busy with your new apprentices' sister." She elaborated and I decided to offer no input as I could tell she wished to continue.
"You can tell Hana not to worry, she's fitting in fine and even loves the dorm life." I could tell this was something Ashido loved to do. More than saving the day or stopping villains, she loved to help children. I was about to say something, but the woman cut me off.
"But that's not why you called me here?" She asked even though she knew the answer. I lightly nodded as we made our way back over to my desk, I wanted to look away from her so that I could hide my reaction to what she was about to say. "And what do you think, could it be possible?"
"I don't know Midoriya, it's a possibility." Ashido answered the question and I allowed a small smirk to cross my lips before it was replaced with a scowl.
"But you know what this could mean?" She asked me now and I finally took this opportunity to speak as I spun around to face her.
"Of course, I know what it means." I was unnecessarily mean spirited about this conversation, but Ashido let it slide.
"Just remember what happened to-" She attempted to calm me but that was the trigger that sent me over the edge.
"No shit I remember!" I yelled at her and while I felt bad for snapping at my friend I still had one more thing to say. "I will never forget!"
We were silent for a moment as I calmed down from my rage, making sure to say "sorry" for my outburst. She only nodded and said "it's okay" back. I moved back over to sit at my desk as she walked up to the front of it.
"But. It is possible?" I asked her, and even though she had already answered this question I needed to hear it again.
"Yes, it's possible." I nodded at her response not really excepting anything else. That when my eyes drifted off my pink friend over to a small, framed picture on my desk. It was a group photo with all of Class 1-A when we graduated years ago. It even had the big three, all our teachers and even the wild wild pussycats had shown up. We were all smiling and happy.
"Because, as we know." Ashido saw what I was staring at and chirped up, reading her mind I was able to finish what she was about to say.
"Quirks, are hereditary."
A/N: So, one thing I need to say is that I have been trying to write the whole "training arc". But I'm struggling to write because it's mostly just a montage, which is all visuals, and there's no real way to write visuals. So, between this and next chapter just try and imagine a similar training montage that happened with Deku happening to Hana and Shiho.