Sorry for the long wait for an update. I've been busy packing and putting things in storage. I'm getting ready to move and it's been taking all of my time. I don't know how long it will take for things to settle down but I haven't abandoned this or any of my other stories. Updates will be sparse but they are still coming. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
To Be A Hero
Chapter 4
The day finally came! Izuku was excited to finally be able to go to class at UA. After his performance at the entrance exam, he had been sure that he wasn't going to get in. But a week later he received his results and to his amazement, he had actually passed. And then two weeks later he was finally going to start his classes.
During that time, he hadn't really done much except go over his hero journals just in case he needed something from them. But he only went through them mostly out of boredom. All Might had been busy and hadn't spoken to him aside from the night that he got his results. Izuku knew that he would be busy, after all, All Might was going to be a teacher so he needed to get ready.
Although, there had been something else on Izuku's mind. Part of the reason he had been going over his hero journals was because he was seeing which heroes became heroes because of their quirk and which ones became heroes despite their quirk. And the reason for that was an article that came out in the news just a couple days after the results for UA. The article was about UA accepting their first Quirkless student ever. Not only that, but the article claimed that the examinee had also been the only one to take down the giant robot during the exam when it was worth zero points. At first, Izuku had thought that they were talking about him but then he saw the name of the examinee and it was a boy called Seto Kamiya.
That name sounded familiar and as he looked through his journals, he remembered why. In his very first journal, he had entered a hero by the name of Sora Kamiya and her hero name was the Cerulean Siren. She was the mother of Seto and according to the article, she had trained her son all of his life in order to prepare him to one day be a hero. The article had pictures that had been taken at martial arts tournaments and of them running at the park. It continued to say that Seto, despite being Quirkless, had been at the top of his class and had also been undefeated in his last two tournaments.
The more he read, the more Izuku felt like he had failed somehow. Because their stories were almost the same. It was like they were the two sides to the same coin. They were both born quirkless and lived with single mothers. But where Seto's mom was a hero and supported his dream, Izuku's wasn't and didn't. He knew that his mother loved him, he never questioned that and he still loved her dearly. But if he was being honest with himself, he wished his mother had been more like Seto's mom. When he was told that he was quirkless, his mother didn't tell him what he wanted...what he needed to hear. Izuku had felt like less than nothing because he didn't have anyone show him any kind of support for his dream. At least until All Might told him that he could become a hero.
But while they were both born quirkless, Seto didn't let that stop him and that also fed into Izuku's feeling of failure. Seto trained his body and learned martial arts in order to achieve his dream to be a hero one day. A quick web search showed Izuku articles of Seto entering past martial arts tournaments for kids and his steady rise to the top. But that wasn't all, during his web search Izuku also found articles from years ago of Seto also winning awards for scholastic achievements in sports, mathematics, and science. It seemed that Seto was determined to show the world that anyone could be great even if they weren't born with a quirk. From what he found, Izuku had been amazed that someone could have achieved so much. It made him feel unworthy of All Might's quirk. If anyone deserved it, it was Seto.
But as much as Izuku felt like he might've been unworthy compared to Seto, he felt a spark of hope ignite within him! All Might chose him as his successor for a reason and he also said that he could be a hero as well. So with a smile, he grabbed his backpack and left to face the world!
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On his way to school, Izuku continued to look at more articles about UA and he wasn't surprised to see that most of them were about the decision to allow the first ever quirkless student into the hero course. Some were praising the move while others were condemning it, saying that it would be a miracle if the student lasted more than a few weeks. But Izuku was sure that Seto would do well in UA, after all, he was determined to outshine everyone. Yet there were a lot of people who didn't share his sentiments. The majority of the comments made on those articles were negative. Some saying that the boy must've cheated to get enrolled.
Izuku wondered if it had been him that had stayed quirkless but still managed to get in, would he be able to withstand the pressure? The attention from all eyes watching him to see whether he succeeded or failed? Just imagining it made him feel like throwing up.
He continued this train of thought as he made his way to school. And as he walked down the halls of UA towards his homeroom, he idly wondered if perhaps Seto would have been a better candidate for All Might's Quirk. Izuku was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice that someone was in front of him until he bumped into them. Startled, Izuku tried to quickly stammer out an apology when he saw who it was. Seto Kamiya was standing in the corridor and he had been looking down at his phone. It was just the two of them in the hall and Seto had glanced over his shoulder to look at him. And once he recognized who it was, his smile turned into a frown. He turned around to look at him and Izuku was able to see for the first time that Seto was taller than him.
"So you're the one All Might chose as his successor, huh?" Seto asked despite already knowing the answer.
Izuku's eyes widened as his voice made a sound that he was sure he had never made before. He staggered backwards and started muttering things that he wasn't sure were even Japanese.
"Will you shut up? I already know All Might's secret, after all, he's my father." Seto said, hoping to shut the boy up. But it only served to make Izuku's voice go into an even higher pitch. It was quickly giving Seto a headache. "Shut up, you damn nerd!"
That had the intended effect and Izuku shut his mouth tight. He couldn't believe it! All Might had a son! And it was Seto! Suddenly the two conflicted parts within him started warring once more. A million things went through his mind. Among them was why All Might hadn't told him about Seto? Was he actually worthy? Was he just a placeholder for Seto? Did Seto hate him for taking what should have rightfully been his? So many emotions and questions raged within him but he forced himself to settle on one.
He steeled himself and looked up at the boy in front of him. "How did you do it?" He asked.
Seto stared at him for what seemed like hours but it was only a couple of moments. Izuku knew that Seto knew what he was referring to. If he knew All Might's secret then he must've known about him as well. From his research, Izuku knew that Seto was just as brilliant as he was skilled in martial arts. And from the look of understanding, Izuku knew he was right. But instead of also seeing sympathy or camaraderie, Izuku only saw loathing in Seto's eyes.
"You want to know how I did it?" Seto asked with a humorless laugh. He leaned in and poked Izuku's chest. "I did it by refusing to back down each and every time that I was beaten down by the world. I got back up again and again, Midoriya. Can you say the same thing?"
Izuku stood frozen as he stared into Seto's eyes. A part of him had hoped that maybe they could've been friends, after all, they both knew All Might's secret and they were both going to the same class. But that hope quickly died in Izuku's chest as he stared at Seto. It was clear that Seto despised him because he honestly couldn't say that he did the same as him.
"Don't think for one second that just because we both know the same secret that that will somehow make us friends. I hate weaklings like you, Midoriya. The only reason you were picked to be his successor was because he pitied you. That and I turned him down when he offered it to me." There was so much venom dripping from his voice that Izuku honestly felt like he would cry. Kacchan bullied him in their old school but it had never reached the level of true hate. "So do me a favor, Midoriya, be a good boy and stay the hell out of my way. I'm going to show the world that even someone born without a quirk can be the number one Hero. Because unlike you, I'm not a coward."
And with that, Seto turned around and walked away, leaving Izuku all alone in the hallway. He was trembling, his eyes were watery, and he felt like he was one insult away from crying. Having been treated like that made him remember all of his worst memories from his previous school. But this time it felt ten times worse because it came from someone like him. Someone born quirkless with no powers to speak of. And those feelings of doubt and unworthiness he had been feeling all week were only compounded after that confrontation.
A large hand landed on Midoriya's shoulder, startling him. Looking up, he saw All Might in his powered down form. "Young Midoriya, I'm sorry for that."
"Y-You saw that?" He asked, wiping his eyes clean.
"Yes. I had hoped that Seto would come to see you in a positive light and perhaps the two of you would become friends but I see now that won't be possible." All Might sighed. "It seems his hatred of me has extended to you as well."
"Is he really your son?" Izuku asked, quickly drying his eyes and trying to steady his voice.
"Yes." All Might nodded. "I got married in secret twenty years ago in order to protect any future family that I might have. I had powerful enemies back then and I wanted to ensure my family's safety. So no one ever knew I got married except for a select trusted few." He sighed again. "I'm a great hero but a terrible husband and father. Young Midoriya, know this, I chose you because you have the heart of a true hero. Never forget that, even when you begin to doubt yourself."
"D-Did you really offer your quirk to him?" Izuku asked. He wanted to know why Seto hadn't accepted such a powerful quirk. It didn't make sense to him why anyone would reject it, after all, with it it was almost guaranteed to make the wielder as great as All Might himself!
"Yes." All Might said, smiling sadly. "He's my son after all but sadly he wasn't my first choice."
"What do you mean?"
"It's getting late and you must hurry to class. I'll tell you more after classes have ended." All Might said. "Just know this, Seto doesn't truly hate you."
With a nod, Izuku made his way towards his classroom. Today might not have started out as well as he had hoped but it was still early, he had plenty of time to make a good impression.
With a smile on his face, he opened the door only to quickly duck as something large flew past him and crashed into the wall behind him. "What the?"
Standing in the doorway was a girl with long orange hair and teal eyes wearing the UA school uniform. And one of her hands was enlarged to the size of a beach ball. And she looked mad.
"You want to say that again, Kamiya?" The girl said, glaring at the prone figure on the ground.
Turning around, Izuku was surprised to see Seto, of all people, lying on the floor in a heap. He heard the blue haired boy chuckle as he got up, his cheek slightly red from where he was struck.
"All I said was that you're grown since the last time that we saw each other." Seto said with a playful grin. "You're the one who hit me out of nowhere."
The girl blushed as she continued to glare at him. "You looked down at my chest when you said that!"
"Hey, I was looking down at your hands, thank you very much." Seto said. He walked up to her, taking her hands in his and bringing them up to his lips, giving them a kiss. "Your hands have grown even lovelier than the last time that we spared. I'm sure that you must've improved since then."
The girl's demeanor seemed to change in an instant, going from angry to happy. But then she seemed to realize that she was supposed to be angry and yanked her hands away. "W-Whatever. Just be glad that I'm in a forgiving mood or else I'd pound you."
Seto leaned in and whispered so that only she and by close proximity, Izuku could hear. "I wouldn't mind it if you'd pound me."
The girl's whole body seemed to blush from her toes to her head until steam came out of her ears. Seto then went for the kill because he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before walking past her with a chuckle.
Izuku watched for a moment as the girl seemed to remain frozen in place, her brain seemingly fried before she came to her senses with a shout and she spun around before charging back in. Izuku followed her inside and he got his first glimpse of his classmates. He instantly recognized Kacchan and Ida, both of whom were talking to one another about desks or something. But the rest were new to him aside from Seto who was sitting in the back with a group already around him. He wondered just how many of their classmates knew about Seto's past? Did they know that he was quirkless? Did they care?
Just then, a boy with red hair pulled out his phone and began showing those around him something. "See? I told you it was true. He got first place!"
"He took down that robot with some help from us. Ribbit." A girl with long green hair said. "They even put it in the papers."
"No way..." Izuku could hear some of them say.
He looked over at Kacchan and saw that he had heard them. The explosive blonde got up from his chair and walked over to them. "Are you two talking about me? Because I can assure you that no one took down more dumb robots than me."
"And who are you supposed to be?" A girl with shoulder length green hair said.
"He's Bakugo, he got 2nd place." A blonde boy next to the redhead said. "I took the test in the same section. He was absolutely ruthless but apparently it wasn't enough. He got beat out by one point by someone who doesn't even have a quirk!"
This made several of the people in the group chuckle good naturedly but Kacchan didn't take it like that.
"The hell are you talking about? There's no way a quirkless nobody beat me!" Bakugo said, practically growling.
"And yet this quirkless nobody still beat you. Isn't life funny?" Seto said, leaning back against his chair. He smirked at Bakugo and gave him a little nod of acknowledgement.
"Oh yea? Who the hell are you?" Bakugo asked, glaring at the blue haired boy.
"Seto Kamiya." Seto introduced himself.
"And you really expect me to believe that you're actually quirkless?" Bakugo asked, crossing his arms.
"I don't care what you believe, if I'm being honest." Seto said with a shrug. "I'm in this class and I was first in the entrance exam scores. I didn't get in because I got a letter of recommendation."
As Izuku was watching this exchange, he couldn't help but feel that this year was going to be anything but dull.
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After Aizawa scared the bejeezus out of him, Izuku made his way towards the faculty room where All Might said to meet him. He had already gotten his finger healed by Recovery Girl and she had given him some gummies to help recover his stamina. Izuku had thought that his first day would be interesting and he was right, Aizawa had made sure of that. They had a quirk assessment test of sorts where they had to see what the limits of their quirks were or something. Izuku was still a little hazy on the point since he had been terrified of being expelled on his first day. But luckily he managed not to get in last place. All of the training and muscle building over the last ten months had paid off. The person who got last place had been a girl named Kyoka Jiro. Luckily, it had all been a lie by Aizawa in order to get them to use their quirks to the fullest.
Sighing, Izuku knocked on the Faculty door and waited until he heard All Might say come in. Once inside, Izuku sat down on the couch opposite All Might. He took in his mentor's appearance. All Might looked tired, more so than usual. And as Izuku sat there, he wondered just what had happened to make All Might look like that?
"Young Midoriya...thank you for coming here. I owe you an explanation, one that I should've told you the day that I made you my successor." All Might began.
"You don't have to if you don't want to." Izuku tried to say but All Might shook his head.
"No, I have to because I don't want you thinking that Seto is unjustly hating me. He has every right to hate me, I've been a terrible father to him." All Might sighed. "Six years ago, after my battle against the villain who injured me...I knew that I would have to pass down my quirk to a successor sooner than I thought. My mentor suggested as much as well once the scope of my injuries had been discovered. And my wife and son were there as well...when Seto heard that I would no longer be the hero I once was...he put on a brave face, he took my hand in his, and he smiled at me." All Might smiled sadly. "He said 'Don't worry, Dad, I'll be the next number one hero so that you can rest easy. I'll be your successor!' I should have felt overjoyed but instead I felt a crushing dread. I had just survived the toughest battle of my entire life and I didn't want my son to experience the same thing. But more than that..." All Might thought about what Nighteye had told him, about his vision of the future. He sighed once more and shook his head. "I was scared of what the future held. And I let that fear control me...I pulled away from Seto...I told him that someone without a quirk could never be a hero."
Izuku's eyes widened. That had been what All Might had said to him when he asked him if he could be a hero even without a quirk.
"I crushed his dreams just like I had yours, young Midoriya, and I have regretted it ever since. I could no longer face my son so I left...I abandoned my family because I was too weak and scared to face them. I fled to America in order to receive the medical attention that I needed despite the fact that I could've gotten it here." All Might pressed his right hand to his forehead. "I was a coward, young Midoriya, and I ran away when my son needed me in his life the most. I learned too late that he had been kidnapped a few months after that battle by the Villain's henchmen as revenge and I wasn't there to save him." He smacked the top of the couch with the back of his hand. "For three weeks, Sora and several other pro heroes searched frantically for Seto. They eventually found him and Sora ended up killing the ones responsible."
Izuku couldn't believe what he was hearing. His hero was revealing a dark secret of his past that Izuku never would have imagined. And now he was hearing that Sora, the Cerulean Siren, had killed her son's kidnappers! A part of him felt that he had no business knowing this but he was honestly speechless. So he kept on listening as All Might was still talking.
"I don't blame my wife for what she had done...I honestly would have done the same thing. I know it might sound crazy, especially coming from me, but it's one thing for a villain to kidnap a child. It's a completely different thing to kidnap my child." All Might clenched his fists as he recalled the memory of when he heard the news. "By the time that I heard about it, it was already over. Sora called me and screamed at me for hours. She said some of the most horrible things that I have heard. And I couldn't blame her...how could I when I was the one who left? It should have been me who stained his hands with blood, not her. Never her."
Izuku felt like he was hearing a confession from a man who was waiting to be judged. All Might had been his idol since he was old enough to talk. He was the symbol of peace and justice and to hear All Might say that he would commit murder in order to protect his son, Izuku felt like his whole sense of right and wrong was beginning to crumble.
"Despite being in America, I used all of my influence and every favor that I was owed to cover it up. Sora would not pay for my mistakes, not anymore. Of those who knew the truth, they agreed to swear themselves to secrecy about what had actually happened. No one blamed her for what she had done...and as far as I've heard no one even tried to stop her."
"Is that why she's a part time hero now? Because she felt remorse for killing those villains?" Izuku found himself asking. Six years ago, the Cerulean Siren had announced that she would be working as a part timer because she wanted to be at home with her son more. But Pro Heroes had access to the best child care options available so it didn't really make sense to Izuku.
But All Might shook his head. "No, she became a part timer in order to protect Seto. I still have enemies out there and since they know about my family, Sora thought it was best to be around Seto as much as she could. And during that time, she also agreed to train him. Despite his three weeks as a captive, Seto still wanted to become a hero. In fact, he seemed even more driven to become the world's greatest hero, even greater than I. And that drive pushed him to become as strong as he is today. I'm proud of what he's become but I regret that I wasn't there to help him. I wasn't there when he needed me the most and I wasn't there to train him like I should have. I'm his father and I failed him."
"And he hates you because of that?" Izuku asked.
"Yes, he hates me for crushing his dream, for not being there to save him, and for making his mother cry." All Might placed his hand over his face and sighed. "Sorry for dumping all of this on you, young Midoriya. I guess I've been holding that in for a while, huh?"
"Wow...I honestly don't know what to say." Izuku said. "But I think I understand Seto a little better now. And honestly, I'm a little jealous. He and I were both the same, both of us wanted to be heroes but we were told that we couldn't because we weren't born with a quirk. Only he didn't let that stop him and I admire him for that. A part of me doesn't believe that I'm deserving of your quirk...I mean, how could I when compared to Seto?"
"You are worthy, Midoriya. But it is true that I offered One For All to Seto and he turned me down. He wants to prove to the whole world that he can be a hero even without a quirk. It's what's been driving him for years now and for me to suddenly offer him my quirk, he must've seen it as an insult. Like everything that he had been working for had meant nothing. After all, with my quirk, he would definitely have a chance to achieve his goals." All Might smiled. "But he turned me down and I couldn't be more proud of him that he did. He's determined to forge his own path, his own way, and I know that he will. He'll be the greatest hero the world has ever seen..."
"You really have that much faith in him, All Might?" Izuku asked.
"Of course...he's my son." All Might said. "I'm just sorry that I didn't pull my head out of my own ass sooner."
And as Izuku made his way home after that, he kept thinking about Seto. He had learned a lot about the boy and yet Izuku wanted to get to know him more. They both wanted to be the number one hero and if they couldn't be friends then maybe they could be rivals.
End of chapter.
