AN: Sorry it took me so long to update. I know I said every two weeks, but once a month is probably more realistic for me. I'll try to shoot for that, but don't be discouraged if it takes even longer. Thank you to everyone who has already followed/favorited/reviewed after only two chapters! In case there is still confusion I will make the following points.
I made Togata, Hado, and Amajiki the same age as Izuku and everyone in Class 1A so they can be in the same grade as him. They are all eight years old.
At this point in the story, it is seven years before UA.
Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia.
Chapter 3
This was a foreign experience for Izuku. He was eating lunch with his classmates. You could imagine it had been a long time since he experienced that. It didn't go exactly as he planned though. It wasn't good or bad per se, just peculiar.
Once Izuku had agreed to have lunch with the two boys, Togata had pushed his desk towards Izuku's. Amajiki had hesitantly moved his desk closer, but it was still about five feet from the other two. Togata sat across from Izuku while Amajiki ate alone at his desk doing his best to not look at them.
And Izuku thought he was nervous. It made Izuku feel better knowing there was someone just as nervous as him. Amajiki was a relatively new student as well. Togata had informed Izuku that he had just joined their class one month ago. Togata went on about how he had made it his mission to be the new kid's friend and get him to open up. He had made some progress, but one month later and Togata still felt like he barely knew Amajiki. The purple-haired boy got so embarrassed by Togata talking about him that he went to the corner of the classroom and Togata had to pull him back to his desk.
Izuku felt bad for thinking this, but he felt more comfortable knowing there was someone worse at social interaction than him. He wondered what happened to make the other boy like this. Just being near someone terrified him. Togata had decided to let Amajiki eat at his desk off to the side and accept that he wasn't going to participate. He overheard Amajiki quietly telling Togata something about imagining his head as a potato. Whatever that meant.
"So Izuku! Which heroes do you like!" Togata asked another question. He was trying to learn as much about Izuku as he could.
"Oh. Ummm All Might?" Izuku phrased it like he was asking if that was the correct answer. He wanted to smack himself. Just because he wasn't as bad as Amajiki didn't mean he wasn't nervous too. He had been guarded about all of the questions Togata had thrown at him. Especially the ones concerning his school and where he was from. Baby steps.
"Well yeah. Everyone loves All Might! I'm talking about other heroes. Who else do you think is cool?"
It was a harmless question. They're just talking about heroes. Nothing personal. This was an area Izuku was confident in. "Oh of course!" Izuku let out a chuckle. "I guess I also like the Water Hose Duo and Aquapulse."
"For real! Aquapulse is really cool!" The blond boy beamed.
Izuku smiled. That was just the push he needed. "I know! I always watch him whenever he's on the news or internet. His quirk is so powerful. Not only can he generate from his body, but he can manipulate it as well. He has so many different moves. Like when he traps people's bodies in a water sphere, or when he shoots out water bullets, or he sends out a tidal wave of water, or-"
"Whoa. Slow down there. It's hard to understand when you're speaking so fast," Togata interjected. Izuku's rant had been unexpected after getting such simple answers from him. He still smiled since he was talking more so he wasn't discouraged.
Izuku felt like he was naked again. "Oh. S-s-sorry. I shouldn't have s-s-said too much. I'll b-be quiet."
"Nononono! It's ok man. You didn't do anything wrong. It was just hard to understand you when you're talking so fast." Togata couldn't have him clam up again. Amajiki was a hard enough shell to crack. "How about you tell me about the Water Hose Duo. I actually haven't heard of them."
The other boy's reassurance put Izuku at ease. He hadn't blown it yet. "Ok. It makes sense you haven't heard of them. They're a team of two rescue heroes, who are also married that deal with pulling out fires." Elemental quirks were quite common throughout the world. The majority of them being fire and water. There were thousands of pro heroes that dealt with fire rescue. Some people simply called them honorary firefighters as opposed to pro heroes. Izuku didn't see the difference. An old-fashioned firefighter using a fire hydrant and hose is a hero in his eyes. They were considered heroes before quirks came around. Like with the police, they sort of lost their relevance in their current society.
"Hmmm. There's definitely a lot of those. Why do you like those two specifically?"
"I caught them on tv a few years ago. They had assisted some other pro heroes with a villain. They happened to be near the incident and sprang into action. Even though they're primarily rescue heroes they still helped fight the bad guy. Like a lot of other fire rescue heroes, the man and woman could both shoot water out of their bodies, in their case their hands. Their quirks were basically the same. I know heroes should help in any situation, but I still thought it was amazing how they didn't hesitate to fight."
Togata nodded. "I get it. They're not the best for combat, but they still helped anyway. That really is what being a hero is all about. There's always some risk in every encounter a hero faces."
Izuku started to smile again. "Right? All Might is so cool and powerful, but I also love the heroes that can save people without being crazy strong. That reminds me of another hero team I like. One of the members is actually related to the female member of the Water Hose Duo."
"Really? How so?"
"The two of them are sisters. The other one is a member of the—"
Izuku quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"N-n-nevermind. Forget I said anything," Izuku said nervously as his cheeks turned red again.
Togata could tell he was on edge again, but he was curious now. "Are you really that embarrassed to say who they are? It's ok. I won't judge."
"N-n-no. Forget it. They're n-n-not that interesting anyway." Izuku couldn't believe he almost revealed one of his darkest secrets.
"You're just going to keep me wondering now. I won't drop it so you might as well say it." Togata felt bad for pestering Midoriya like this, but he really wanted to know. He thought it was best for Midoriya anyway. He didn't want him to keep brushing his questions aside like Amajiki.
Izuku contemplated it for a little longer and leaned in towards Togata. "The Wild, Wild Pussycats." He whispered.
Togata did his best to stifle his giggle. He understood why Midoriya was embarrassed to say their name out loud. Togata had heard of the team before. Not necessarily for their skill. they had grabbed the media's attention for their 'cuteness' and extravagant costumes. He may be a nice kid but being an eight-year-old boy, he couldn't help but laugh a little. Izuku's face got even redder.
"I'm sorry…Midoriya…I swear…I'm not trying to make fun of you," he said in between giggles.
"It's ok. I get it." It was going better than the last time kids found out he was a fan of the cat-themed heroes. Bakugo had taken one of his hero analysis notebooks and started brushing through the pages until he stopped on the page he wrote about the Wild, Wild Pussycats. There may or may not have been little hearts drawn around a sketch of the team….
Ok fine! He had a little crush on them (excluding Tiger), so sue him!
The whole class had a field day when Bakugo announced his secret. You could imagine the names immature little boys would call someone after learning they like people associated with the word "Pussycats." Izuku should have just begged his mom to homeschool him. Only the first day and he's already embarrassed himself twice.
Once Togata had stopped giggling, he gave Izuku another reassuring smile. "Ok, I'm good. Sorry for reacting like that. I've heard of them, but I don't know too much about them. I'm sure they must be cool too if you like them."
Midoriya looked at Togata carefully to see if he wasn't making fun of him. Maybe talking about what they do would help. They may have a 'girly' name and outfits, but when you look past that you would see that they are a powerful team "Ok… They're a rescue team just like the Water Hose Duo. They specialize in mountain rescue. Their members are Mandalay, Pixie-Bob, Ragdoll, and Tiger. Mandalay is the sister of the female member of the Water Hose Duo. Her quirk, Telepathy allows her to speak into people's minds, even from far away. Pixie-Bob's quirk, Earth Flow allows her to manipulate soil in a variety of ways. Ragdoll's quirk, Search allows her to sense the location of people around her and know their weaknesses. Tiger's quirk, Pliabody makes his body elastic-like making him more flexible.
"Wow! They have an interesting mix of quirks."
Izuku was happy to hear that. "What makes make them such an efficient team is how each of their quirks plays a vital role in rescue operations. Ragdoll can use Search to detect where the injured people are and where they're hurt. Pixie-Bob can use Earth Flow to make the soil flow like water which the team can ride on. She also can remove debris that has fallen on the injured. Tiger can use Pliabody to fit through narrow passages like caves that have collapsed. Mandalay can use Telepathy to communicate messages between the team for when they need to split up and to send reassuring words to the injured.
Togata was taken aback by Midoriya's knowledge. "You have a really good understanding of their quirks. You get all that from tv?"
"They explained the basics of their quirk and what they do. For some of that stuff, I came to my own conclusions. It's not that hard to guess given their abilities. There aren't many videos of them since their rescue operations tend to take place out in the middle of nowhere. That's another reason I think Mandalay's quirk is great for communication. There's usually isn't good phone service So I'm guessing Mandalay can call for backup with her Telepathy. The range of her quirk is unknown, but I've heard they're usually able to get assistance quickly.
"Dude you're really smart! I never would of thought about little details like that," Togata exclaimed.
"Oh. T-thank you." Izuku blushed from the praise, but he didn't feel as embarrassed.
"Don't feel too embarrassed about liking the girl heroes. I think it's cool how you talk about their abilities. I've heard they have a lot of older fanboys that just like them because they're hot."
"Thanks. I appreciate that." Izuku was happy that Mirio was so accepting of him, and he got a chance to show off his analytical skills without going overboard. Also, it was true that a lot of male teens and men were fans of the Pussycats. For better or worse. Izuku remembered a tv interview they had done where they discussed the issues female heroes face with stalking and male harassment. The R-rated Hero: Midnight and the Rabbit Hero: Miruko had also been guests. Miruko is only a rookie, but she has already gotten plenty of fans. You could imagine Midnight has plenty of male followers as well. Luckily, she had been dressed in more appropriate attire than her hero costume. At some point, Pixie-bob, Midnight, and Miruko explained what would happen to any man caught stalking or harassing female heroes. Izuku wasn't sure exactly what because his mother had covered his ears for that part. She ought to have covered his eyes too. He was left to wonder what those hand gestures meant. He shuddered a little as he remembered what Miruko had demonstrated with her legs.
Izuku tried to banish that memory and moved on. "Heroes teams are great because they can make use of people with less powerful quirks. I'm sure some people think Mandalay isn't that impressive because her power is just speaking into someone's mind. Heroes like her have to rely on their fighting skills if they're ever put in a combat situation. Once again, they're primarily rescue heroes, but I bet they're prepared to fight villains too like the Water Hose Duo. If Mandalay was fighting someone, I bet she could speak into their mind to distract them. At least, that's what I would do."
Mandalay was his favorite of the Pussycats because she was a hero that had to work harder physically to be able to thrive. She had to be athletic and learn how to fight in order to be useful. Ragdoll too, but she had the advantage of knowing people's weaknesses. It gave him hope that if he could learn to fight, there's no reason he couldn't be a hero too.
Togata was getting more impressed by the second. "I hope you do plan to be a hero Midoriya. The way you talk about them and understand them is amazing. I can tell it's more than you just think they're cool. You've put thought into how they work and the dangers they have to face. I've never met someone as dedicated to heroes like you."
Izuku felt that fire rise within him again. "I do want to be a hero. Do you really think I can be one?
"Of course! By the way, what is your quirk? You didn't mention it when you were introducing yourself."
Like a switch, those good feelings were gone in an instant.
"Midoriya. You alright?" Izuku was silent. He was just looking around the room nervously while he tried to come up with an answer. How was he supposed to say, 'I turn into a puddle' after Togata praised him like that.
Togata was confused, but he could see Izuku was a nervous wreck right now. Again, he was used to this kind of thing from dealing with Amajiki. To think that another new student would have similar problems. He didn't think that Midoriya was as bad as Amajiki, but he also had some difficulty with social interaction. It clearly had something to with his quirk so he should just drop it for now.
"It's ok if you don't want to tell me your quirk. I was just curious."
Izuku calmed down and was able to make eye contact with Togata again. Izuku looked at him and didn't see any disdain on his face. He was just smiling at him. He could still smile happily at him after he Izuku had made a fool of himself so many times. This just seemed to give him cheerfulness and good vibes in general…Just like All Might.
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
"What are you talking about man? You didn't do anything wrong. You just surprised me is all. Don't worry about it. Everyone gets nervous being in a new town or school." Mirio could tell it was more than that with Izuku, but he decided to let it be for now. It would just take some time like with Amajiki.
'Maybe mom was right,' Izuku thought. He tried latching onto that fire he felt before. He's had some setbacks, but those are bound to happen. The only way others will accept him is if he accepts himself.
"Sorry about that. My quirk is called Liquification. I can turn my whole body into water."
"You see man! I knew you could do it! That sounds like an amazing power!"
"Oh no. It isn't much. It sounds cool when I say it like that, but what really happens is I just turn into a puddle of water."
"You kidding man? That sounds like a useful quirk."
"I appreciate it, but it's not like other water quirks. I've tried to control water telepathically like Aquapulse, shooting water out of my hands like the Water Hose Duo, even shooting water of my mouth."
Mirio raised an eyebrow. "I understand the first two, but what's with that last one?"
"My dad has a fire breath quirk, so I thought maybe I have 'water breath.' You know? Like a Squirtle?"
Togata let out a hearty laugh. No one noticed, but a small smile appeared on Amajiki's face as well. He didn't look like it, but he actually was listening to what they were saying.
"I'm sorry, but I'm imagining that, and it looks hilarious."
This time Izuku didn't get embarrassed. He felt good that he was able to make someone laugh.
"So yeah. I tried all of those things, but nothing worked. All I can do is turn my body into water and turn back into my regular body. I can still see, and I can't feel pain, but what good does that do if I can't move? At most, I could make bad guys making a run for it slip on me." Izuku was trying to sound positive. At least he was able to tell someone else about his ability.
"What do you mean you can't move?"
"Huh? I just explained it. I just turn into a puddle and turn right back. That's all there is to it."
Togata suddenly got an interesting look on his face. He was looking at Midoriya like he had just figured him out. "Don't take this harsh man, but you've been thinking about your quirk all wrong."
"What?"
"I may not be as good at analyzing quirks like you, but I think I see the problem. You've talked about how you've been trying to control or shoot out water. I think your quirk just operates differently."
Izuku got over the criticism and was starting to really listen. Togata sounded so sure of himself.
"Go through the steps you take with your quirk again, but slower."
"Ok…I guess it's like activating a switch. I think about it and my body just turns into water and collapses. I can still see and can change my view like I'm moving my eyes around. I mostly just see what's right above me. Then I flip the switch again and the water reforms into my body.
Togata smirked slyly at Midoriya. "So, the water moved."
"Huh?"
"The water moved from being a puddle to forming the shape of your body."
…
Izuku's mind went blank. On the outside, he looked like he was in some kind of trance.
Togata smirked some more. "If you couldn't move at all, your body wouldn't be able to reform. You've never tried just moving around as a puddle."
Izuku could hear Mirio, but he still appeared to be in shock. The good kind though. Mirio almost started worrying when Izuku finally snapped out of it.
'Oh my God.'
His room looked so barren. All his toys, video games, and posters were gone. All that remained were his bed, desk, dresser, and lamp. He had been stuck in the house ever since the school incident. Not just because the school closed. He had been grounded forever or until he became a decent human being as his mother had shouted. Even though his parents were searching for a new school, the police had told them they should wait to send him back. They believed he was still unfit to be around other kids.
Bakugo squeezed his hands and gritted his teeth as he sat on his bed alone in his room. It was all he could do. Like the cops had said, he was not to use his quirk at all. He hadn't been allowed to use his quirk in the house, but back then it hadn't stopped him. He had only been allowed to practice in the backyard. Also, his mother had warned him that if he threw another tantrum, she would start throwing his stuff away. He couldn't use his explosions, hit anything, or shout.
'I'm going to murder that fucking nerd!'
Like the cops mentioned, he hadn't gotten any better. 'Everything was perfect until he had to go and ruin everything! I was the king of that school. All the students and teachers knew it except for Deku. Why couldn't he just know his stupid place? Now the adults like those cops are treating me like I'm some kind of villain. They should be worshipping me! Those dumbass cops are weak too. They're not even important anymore because of pro heroes. They're useless like Deku.'
He overheard his mother say that she had attempted to go to Deku's apartment to try to make amends. Apparently, they had moved away. 'Figures. Little Deku runs away again.' His mother had also informed him that he would begin counseling this week. He would get his stuff back and be able to go back to school once the counselor gave the ok. 'Stupid adults. Think they can tell me how to think!'
He was still furious, but after two weeks he realized, he wasn't going to get anywhere if he didn't cooperate. He formed a malicious grin on his face. 'I'll play along for now. As soon as I get out of this prison, I'm going splatter Deku's stupid puddle body all over the place!'
AN: Aquapulse is an OC I came up with. I'm planning to come up with more OC's for this story. Pro heroes or other students in their class. They may not get used much, but I love coming up with characters with different quirks. Let me know in the reviews or PMs if you guys have any ideas. I already have some in mind.
Thank you for reading!:)