A/N: Hey guys. I'm glad you've come to read my first MHA story. Just to confirm a few things in case they weren't clear in the story description; Katsuki will be a female in this story. I wanted to do a ship that I don't see often, but can still make sense. Also, Izuku will end up becoming a bit OP, though he will still have his challenges. Things will follow mostly cannon, but will diverge in different parts to prevent this from just being a cannon rehash. Please review so that I can improve this story for future chapters. Hope you enjoy it! (Cover art by dragonpigeons on DeviantArt)
Chapter 1
Light shines upon the forest, giving a comforting atmosphere to the trees and shrubbery that it encompasses. In the forest, not too far from the park that it neighbored, four children could be seen running along the forest floor, crunching leaves and branches as they explored. One of these boys, whose hair is as green as the leaves on the trees around them, is named Izuku Midorya. Izuku struggled to follow behind his other three friends as they ran through the forest, but he still smiled and enjoyed himself all the same. The group of children came upon a creek, with a large, old log laying across it. They came to a stop as they approached the creek. One of the other kids, who appeared to be the leader, looked back to the others before speaking.
"Alright team Bakugou, we've reached our first obstacle, and that log looks like the perfect bridge. Try to keep up, extras," shouted Katsuki Bakugou, the self-proclaimed leader of their tiny group. She was a smaller girl with spiky blonde hair, and a wild look in her red eyes. Ever since her explosive quirk had come in, she had started to gain quite the ego, seeing all those around her as "extras". You can't exactly blame her, though, it is quite the powerful quirk, one that has earned her the admiration of all her peers.
"Yeah!" replied the other two boys next to Izuku. The green haired boy raised his hand in the air slightly as he replied in a more hushed tone, "You got it, Kacchan…" Katsuki glanced at Izuku, her smile disappearing as she laid eyes on the quiet boy. "Tchh. Whatever Deku. Let's go." The other two boys giggled as they went to follow the blond over the log.
Deku. The nickname Katsuki had recently given Izuku upon learning that his name's Kanji could be read in such a way. Izuku could admit that it hurts to be called useless just because he's quirkless. It's not like he chose to be. It was all because of that stupid pinky toe. Still, though, the boy stayed with his childhood friend. He wanted to believe that he could at least still trust Katsuki. That she would never truly abandon him, despite the hurtful names and comments.
Izuku sighed as he lagged behind slightly. As he was about to approach the log, he heard something slip, then a brief scream. He glanced over the side of the log to see that Katsuki had fallen into the creek. Oh no, Katsuki got hurt! The greenette quickly ran towards his friend, ignoring the water that now soaked his red sneakers. He approached the girl quickly, wanting to help her up and ensure that she was okay. He heard a groan as he got closer, and she finally opened her eyes and began to sit up.
"Kacchan, are you okay?" yelled the boy as he offered a hand to help his friend up. After regaining her senses, Katsuki looked at Izuku, then at the offered appendage. Suddenly, a snarl escaped her lips as she swatted the hand away. "Screw off Deku, I don't need your help! You'd probably just make things worse, since you're so useless!"
Izuku stood frozen in place as he stared at the angry blond. No… She doesn't mean it… Unfortunately for the boy, she wasn't done with her rant.
"Did you really think I would need help from some quirkless nerd like you? The only thing you're useful for is making me look better, and you even messed that up!" Katsuki had stood up by this point, and was growling at the boy while sparks crackled at her hands.
"Kacchan… I just wanted to make sure you were okay. That fall was pretty high," replied the boy as a hurt look began to spread across his face. The words that the blond yelled only continued to shoot into him.
Those words were apparently the final straw for the explosive girl, as she gave a cry of rage before releasing an explosion right at the green haired boy. The explosion, while not very powerful, was still enough to burn his cheek and send him falling to the ground. The creek water soaked into his pants as it rushed past him. The boy sat there, looking at the ground with eyes now brimming with tears. He raised his right hand up to the red mark that now adorned his cheek, wincing slightly as he touched it. He shot his head back up towards her as he heard another growl.
"I don't need your damn pity, Deku! You're nothing more than a quirkless loser! Something like this is nothing for me, you hear?" the angry blond yelled before finally stomping away, the two other boys following after her as they giggled at the now stunned boy.
Izuku sat there for what felt like hours, frozen in not just physical pain, but mental as well. I guess I really am just a useless Deku. I should get back to Mom before I make her worry. Don't want to make even more mistakes. With that final thought, the boy finally picked himself up off the forest ground and began trodding his way back to the park. It was almost sunset by the time that he arrived at the forest edge that bordered the park.
"Izuku!" Yelled a green haired woman with a thin figure as she ran up to the boy. Izuku's mom had a worried expression on her face as she approached her son. She hadn't seen him leave the forest with the other children earlier, and began to worry that something had happened to her boy. As she neared him, she noticed that his pants were soaking wet, but worse than that, his cheek and eyes were both red.
"Izuku, are you okay? Have you been crying? Where have you been? What happened to your cheek?" The questions raddled off the woman as she began inspecting her son for any serious injuries. After she finished, she crouched down in front of him to look at his face more properly. The mark on his cheek appeared to be from a burn of some kind, but she wondered how he could have been burned while in the forest. She thought back to her best friend's daughter and her quirk. No, she would never do something like that, would she?
The boy stood still as his mother fretted over him, letting her look him over. I ended up worrying her anyway. Why can't I do anything right?, thought the boy as he finally looked her in the eyes as she crouched down in front of him to examine his face.
"I just fell in a creek, Mom. I'm fine," replied the boy, finally answering some of her questions. He purposely didn't answer her about the cheek, not wanting to cause her any more worry than he already had. Inko stopped her inspection as she looked her son in the eyes. It was obvious that he had been crying for a while. She also noticed how he avoided answering her about the burn mark on his cheek.
"Izuku, please tell me what really happened. Falling in the creek doesn't explain why your cheek is burned," she worriedly replied to her son as she cradled his face with her hand on the cheek that wasn't burned. He was hiding something from her. Something that clearly hurt him. She briefly thought back to when he had been diagnosed as quirkless, and her horrible response to him asking if he could still be a hero. She quickly shook that thought away, remembering how she vowed to never make that mistake again. Something was hurting Izuku inside, and she would do whatever she could to fix it.
Izuku looked at his mother, slightly widening his eyes, before glancing off to the side at the ground. Inko gently guided his face to look back at her, and looked at him with pleading eyes.
"Izuku, please tell me what's wrong," said the mother in a soft tone. With that look and those final words, Izuku began to gush out tears as he pulled her in for a hug, gripping her with all his might. The woman held her son as he wept and began to explain everything that had happened at the creek and with the other children. As he told her more and more of what happened, Inko found her anger continuing to grow. She couldn't believe that her child was being treated so cruelly for something he had no control over, and by her own friend's daughter, even. She picked him up and began the trip back home. On the way back, she began to think about how she would deal with this new information.
Inko unlocked the door to her tiny apartment, walking in with the now sleeping child in her arms. She quietly brought him over to his room. She opened the door to reveal a room filled with All Might merchandise. Her son has always been a huge fan of the number one hero. She brought him over to his bed, gently laying him down and tucking him into the covers. After finishing, she kissed him on the forehead before silently leaving the room.
With her son now safely tucked away in his room, she quickly pulled out her phone and called her best friend, Mitsuki Bakugou, as she walked towards her living room. The line rang for a few moments before being answered.
"Inko! It's great to hear from you! What's got ya callin' me out of the blue like this?" questioned the loud voice of Mitsuki. Inko held the phone away from her ear for a moment before answering. She had gotten used to the fact that her friend was loud after a few years, but her ears still couldn't quite adjust.
"Hi Mitsuki, I actually have something very important that I need to discuss with you," replied the greenette after returning the phone to her ear. Mitsuki's voice instantly grew serious as she replied: "What's the matter, dear?"
And so, Inko began to explain to her friend everything that had transpired in the forest according to her son. Mitsuki remained quiet as the concerned mother explained everything to her, though Inko would be willing to bet that she was fuming on the other end of the line by now. She was always known for her temper. Her assumptions were confirmed after she finished detailing all that had happened.
"That little shit! I should have known that her quirk would give her an ego the size of her head! Don't worry, Inko, I'll make sure that she knows that this behavior is unacceptable," yelled the blond in response to hearing what her daughter had done.
"Actually, Mitsuki, I was hoping you could hold off on that." Mitsuki didn't respond, but her curiosity was obvious despite the silence. "I was hoping to bring Izuku over tomorrow, if that's alright with you. I know that Izuku struggles at school because of his quirklessness, so I was hoping that we could nip Katuki's issues at the bud, while also trying to bring back their friendship. I know it will be tough on Izuku, because of what she did, but I truly believe that my boy can be forgiving. If he can have at least one friend by his side, then I think that will do a world of good for him."
As Mitsuki absorbed all of what her friend had told her, she began to see the benefits of her plan. She pitied the poor green boy, as she had seen how bad quirkless kids can have it while she grew up. It had only gotten worse as more time passed and quirkless people became less common.
"Alright, Inko. I'll hold off on scolding her for now, even if I think the little shit deserves it. Would 4 o'clock work for you tomorrow? I'll even cook dinner," questioned the blond.
"That would be perfect, Mitsuki. Thank you so much for this. I'll bring sides as well tomorrow, as thanks," replied Inko as she began to check her cabinets for ingredients. Mitsuki just smiled at her friend's antics as she began to ponder on what to cook tomorrow. "Don't worry about it, Inko. You know you're always welcome over here. I'll see you tomorrow."
As Mitsuki ended the call, Inko stopped looking through her cabinets for a moment to glance in the direction of her son's room. A determined look dawned upon her face.
"Don't worry, Izuku. I won't fail you again."
