Yea, this is exactly what you think it is, in a weird way.
Sorry for any typos.
I don't own Boku no Hero Academy. This is a fanfiction using characters from Boku no Hero Academy world, which is trademarked by Kohei Horikoshi.
"Speaking."
'Thinking.'
Highlighted information.
Written information.
Prologue.
No hope, huh? No future for someone quirkless, right?
Right, that's what all of them tell me... as if I'd allow that to be the end.
This is the story of how I became the number one hero.
Without a quirk.
Did you know the human brain can create surges of super-strength where it allows the human body to temporarily surpass its limits? Did you know monks and martial artists have been training and developing new ways to access this function of our brain to enhance their bodies beyond its limits for centuries?
I didn't, but I do now, and that's how my story begins, so let's get to it.
Today was finally the day Midoriya could start. He just turned twelve and after Inko threw him a surprise party, he asked to go around the park for a while.
"Want me to come with you?"
"I just want to play around a little, I'll be back before eight."
"All right, be careful, ok?"
He smiled and left.
For four years, he had been reading about a way to surpass his blockage, for four years he had been studying about the right way to kick off his training, and now he could finally start it.
Midoriya arrived at the park, seeing a few kids his age playing with their quirks while others were sliding or swinging. He walked by and jumped on a bar, pulling his weight up. It wasn't that hard because he was used to it by now thanks to the pushups that really helped him build some strength. He kept it going for some time until he heard footsteps.
"What are you doing?" He stopped mid-pull, looking down to see a boy, probably six or seven, tilting his head while eyeing him curiously.
"I'm training."
"Training? Why?"
"Because I want to become a hero."
"And you have to train like that to become a hero?"
"I do."
"What's your quirk? I can move sand!" The boy said cheerfully, pulling a bunch of sand from a close sandbox, bringing it to him in the form of a small ball.
"That's cool- I like your quirk." And Midoriya did like it, imagining that could be really powerful in a few years.
"What's yours?" The boy asked again.
Midoriya sighed, jumping down before looking at his hands, giving the boy a tiny smile.
"I don't have one."
"What? Then how are you going to become a hero?"
Midoriya chuckled at that.
"With these." Midoriya closed his hands into fists, and the boy simply frowned.
"Hey, Haru! I told you to stop playing with the sand! Put it back and stop bothering the others." A woman shouted from afar and Midoriya saw the boy moving the flying sand to the box, saying bye and running away.
"Back to it then- Twenty-one-"
1 year later.
The green-haired boy tried to keep doing pull-ups, but his arms gave up, and when he touched the ground, his legs did the same, making him drop.
'I wanna give up.' Midoriya thought while lying down on his back, feeling nothing but pain in his whole body.
'Why am I even doing this? Why do I have to do this every day just so I can be at the same level as them? What's the point?'
Midoriya tried to get up just to feel nausea, rolling aside to puke his lunch. His body couldn't take it, but he was still doing it, he was still training and pushing himself every single day, but it was too much for both his body and his mind.
'Maybe I should just stop and admit they were right. If this is my road, then this is probably not the right one- It can't be.'
And the crushing feeling of despair was there again, making tears fall down silently. For minutes, he stood quiet, not sobbing, not crying out loud, just there with his eyes on the ceiling while the tears fell free, and then, he got up, tapped the dust off his clothes, and jumped on the bar again.
1 year later.
After almost giving up, Midoriya stood by a thread for a few months, trying to re-arrange his training schedule, his diet, and his sleeping hours, but he knew that if he were to slow down, he'd never achieve the level he wanted, so he did the unthinkable and continued training like nothing was happening.
If the pain was unbearable, he'd simply train while crying.
If his body couldn't hold his food, he'd simply make sure to eat again after training.
If his mind was on the verge of a breakdown, he'd allow himself to rant, cursing himself for his weak bloodline, that forced him to suffer this much, but all of that while still training.
It was madness, but it was the madness he chose to himself.
Midoriya knew his path had to be the toughest one because his road was meant to be like that, otherwise, it wouldn't be his road. Why did nobody do what he was doing? Because it was hard, so hard that people considered it to be impossible, but these were the obstacles he had to overcome. He had to be the first person to break that barrier if he wanted to change the world.
By the end of the second year, Midoriya woke up to a feeling he forgot for a long time- A feeling of progress. There was no severe pain, no soreness, no nausea- He was simply awake without a problem, and when he got up and looked in the mirror, he saw his own body, finally taking a good look at himself. He understood then, that he was through the first obstacle, but there were more to come.
That afternoon, Midoriya was training in his favorite place, a gym a few blocks from his home, when he heard shouts coming from around the building, running out to see a small girl, probably twelve or thirteen, being kidnaped, a man trying to drag her towards a white van while she screamed from the top of her lungs, and before Midoriya could access any danger, he simply ran, and upon reaching the scene, he was deaf to the outer world, his focus solely on the moment, seeing the man punching the girl on the head, throwing her inside the car.
The noise of his run made the man turn just in time to receive a flying knee, which he managed to block at the last moment, but it didn't matter. Midoriya started punching in a frenzy and heard voices, but he couldn't think straight, he could only continue to try to hit the guy, looking aside for a moment to see that the girl was unconscious, and another two guys were coming out of the van. He kept his focus on the first one, but the man created some kind of thick smokescreen with his hands, making him unable to see, and he was hit from somewhere, dropping and feeling the taste of blood in his mouth, but he got up and tried to hear, noticing footsteps from behind and running towards it, delivering an array of punches and kicks, trying to remember his training, but even after feeling the connection to many of his attacks, he was hit again, dropping, feeling kicks from everywhere, but then, he heard police whistles from close by, and the men started speaking about leaving, but Midoriya turned on the ground and jumped on one of them, bringing him down, while another one cursed, kicking Midoriya's ribs, making him groan, but he used his legs and entangled the man's legs with his own, taking him down as well, and then the third one started kicking him on the head. He felt the pain and the dizziness, his face wet from the blood, and the whistles closer and closer, but he never let go, even when the entire world went white after another kick, he was still holding onto them tightly with all of his strength because that was what he was supposed to do.
That was Midoriya's quirk.
Midoriya's quirk was his inability to give up, and in time, he would understand that that was the strongest quirk in the world.
3 years later.
The rain didn't bother Midoriya while he kept kicking the trunk, he still had to finish his set.
"Nine hundred ninety-eight- Nine hundred ninety-nine- Ugh!" He was finally done, thinking he had been kicking trees for so long that he had already taken twenty of them down, and now the last one of this area was about to give. Midoriya undid the straps holding the thin pad that was over his right leg, sitting down to drink water and catch his breath.
He knew that what he had right now was far from enough, he knew he wasn't a prodigy, and that he didn't have an amazing quirk like Bakugou's, but he had something none of them had.
He had despair.
He had the feeling of having nothing, and that gave him the possibility of building his own path from rock bottom. That common saying that you only know yourself when you hit the bottom is actually true. You don't know what you're capable of until you're left out of options, until the entire world turns its backs on you... until the only remaining answer is madness.
Midoriya didn't have an amazing quirk, but he had his two legs, two arms, two hands, his mind, his senses, and his spirit, and no one was going to take those away from him.
So he couldn't do anything?
He would see about that.
"Now to the left one. One- Two- Three-"
Chapter One - The Green Demon.
It was good that no one seem to notice Midoriya's handgrip while he worked out in class, or that no one noticed he changed in size twice since they started the semester. He had some room in my clothes now since the other two got uncomfortably tight, so he had to change their size twice, but he wouldn't complain, the free room in his clothes could come in handy if he were to grow even more. It was good to be invisible for now, it would make his life easier before he went to Yuei.
Speaking of it, today was the day the students had to deliver their letters, stating where they would like to go for their high school years, and Midoriya eyed Bakugou's back. Yeah, this was going to be a problem.
"Midoriya- You chose Yuei?!" The teacher asked while reading the sheets he just received.
"I did."
"But you chose the Heroes' Course- Even though you don't have a quirk?"
The teacher read again, and the class erupted in laughter, turning to look at Midoriya, but the boy kept a straight face, looking at them one after the other, and with his cold glare, their laughs stopped, turning into yellow smiles. Midoriya didn't know how he overcame his complexes and his shyness, but something awoke inside of him when he started changing when he had put himself into that spiral of madness and suffering. After he rose, he wasn't the same, he couldn't feel the shyness anymore, and his complexes only made him angry now.
Midoriya noticed Bakugou's glare full of rage, but that didn't really bother him for some time now. Bakugou had stopped picking up on him when the boy stopped bringing attention to himself, so when Bakugou was allowed his spotlight, he never gave a second thought about the green-haired boy, but now that everyone was paying attention to Midoriya, the diva was angry.
"Deku- Are you kidding me?!"
Midoriya ignored the nickname, looking at the teacher who was shaking his head.
"Settle down, kids, no need to make a fuss! Midoriya, I won't dwell on this for now, but are you sure this is what you want to try?"
Midoriya couldn't refrain from glaring when he noticed the phrasing.
"Yes, sir... that's what I'm going to do."
"Then I think we should talk after class. Come see me in the counselor's room."
The rest of the class passed in a blur, and when the teacher left, Midoriya got up to meet him, but Bakugou blocked his way.
"We're going to have a chat, Deku." The class was almost empty, and the few students who noticed Bakugou and his three friends surrounding Midoriya rushed to get away from the trouble.
'Cowards.' Midoriya thought fiercely and turned to answer Bakugou:
"I have to meet up with sensei, we can talk later, Bakugou."
Bakugou felt stunned when he heard Midoriya saying his surname without any honorifics, who insisted on calling him Kacchan ever since they were kids, but something was different on his face, and Bakugou noticed that his eyes were different. He quickly recovered, encouraged by his friends, and took a step forward:
"I said we're going to have a chat right now, Deku, don't you dare talk back to me!"
Midoriya sighed. It had been so long since they had an altercation that Bakugou probably thought he could still pull this kind of crap on him. Midoriya knew he should let this slide and play along, but he was a young man now, and this kind of abuse made his blood boil. He tried to control himself and still went to the peaceful route.
"You heard the teacher calling me- Are you for real?"
Bakugou smirked, and his hands sparkled.
"Wanna find out?"
"Not really, but I have to go, so could you please get out of the way?"
Midoriya knew he shouldn't bait Bakugou like that, this was not the reason he went through all his training, but could someone blame him for wanting some payback? This was not the hero's way... but Midoriya wasn't a hero yet.
"The fu- You have a death wish?"
"All those analyses made him go crazy! Hahahaha." His friend who Midoriya didn't bother to remember the name laughed and Midoriya turned to smile at him. Those notebooks were long gone, thrown away years ago altogether with his fascination for quirks. Yes, they had interesting applications, but quirks were shackles as much as they were tools.
"If you want to go, you have to beg us to get out of the way, Deku-" Bakugou smirked, and that was it.
He barely finished speaking when Midoriya moved in, and all it took was one step, to put himself in range to raise his right leg up and forward, his foot almost touching Bakugou's nose before he stopped it, and then, he moved it to the side, still holding his leg up, so he could see Bakugou's eyes.
"Could you please get out of the way?" Midoriya said coldly, feeling his pants ripping, but it didn't matter, he had a spare at home.
They were all frozen, and then Bakugou's face contorted into an expression of fury before he swung his right hand, already sparkling and Midoriya jumped back, feeling movement behind him, looking over his shoulder to see one of his friends moving to grab him from behind, but he was slow, or Midoriya was too fast, he couldn't really tell, and one rounded elbow was enough, giving Midoriya the sensation he was elbowing a piece of wood, feeling it give in a little, and he saw the boy falling, stiff as a board, his mouth bleeding, his hands stiffened in an odd angle, knocked out cold.
The other two came at him, one making his fingers enlarge, but another jump backward gave Midoriya enough space to jump forward and give a flying knee to his diaphragm, and with the same movement, when his left foot hit the ground, a right-foot rounded kick, feeling his heel hitting the top of the third boy's head, but it was enough to drop both of them, the first puking, gasping for air.
"That sounds painful." Midoriya whispered, turning to Bakugou, noticing he had knocked a few desks down with his moves, but he didn't care if this would attract attention, it was time for payback.
Bakugou was frozen, and Midoriya took quick breaths, readying himself for the real fight, seeing how Bakugou was on guard now, and right when he was about to move forward to handle the blonde boy some overdue karma, the door slid open.
"What in god's name are you boys doing in here- What was that noise?!" One of the teachers was there, and then, her gaze fell on the two unconscious boys on the floor, one of them bleeding profusely, face down, one gasping for air, choking on his own puke, and the last one trying to get up, barely able to stand on all fours, groaning while grabbing his head. She also saw Bakugou's hands, sparking, making her shout:
"I NEED SOME HELP OVER HERE!"
Midoriya relaxed his posture and walked by Bakugou to grab his bag, and he glared at Midoriya's calmness at the same time the teacher hissed:
"You two, stay right where you are! Don't you dare to keep this going!"
She was confused and scared, and Midoriya heard shouts coming from afar, so he picked up his bag and turned, stopping in front of Bakugou.
"Tell me something, were you always this short?" And then, Midoriya stood straight, and Bakugou's eyes widened when he saw the green-haired boy, who was always following him with a dumb smile, looking down on him with cold eyes, taller than him by a few inches, but the height was not the issue, his eyes were.
Midoriya walked back and took a fallen chair, skipping the string of blood on the ground to sit between the defeated boys, while Bakugou could only stare, thinking who the hell was that in front of him and where the real Midoriya Izuku had gone.
"He would never start something like that- My son doesn't even have a quirk, and the teacher said Bakugou-kun was actually using his quirk- How dare you tell me he's the one at fault?!"
Midoriya Inko was angry while arguing with the principal while Midoriya was simply staring at the far wall, trying not to smile, or laugh as he wanted.
"I mean, have you seen the other kids? One of them has a cracked skull- The other one may even need surgery to repair a broken jaw-"
"They shouldn't have tried to attack my son, then."
"I understand that, but we can't just ignore the brutality of the comeback- I mean, boys will be boys, and there was no need for such violence-"
"So it's all right to disguise bullying with that line?" Midoriya asked, unable to control himself, and they both turned.
"Disguise bullying? I never said that-"
"They attacked me, I already gave you my version of the facts, and I used the necessary force to defend myself."
"You call that necessary?!"
"Of course, they have quirks, and I don't."
The Principal pressed his lips together, not wanting to give in, but unable to retort that logic.
"For now, I guess this calls for a suspension at least- The other parents are really angry-"
"Suspension?" Inko asked angrily and Midoriya tried not to laugh at her enraged face. She was calm and serene most of the time, but she could be really fierce if she wanted.
"Of course- Fighting inside school grounds is prohibited." The Principal tried to explain.
"It wasn't a fight! He was defending himself from bullies! He was defending himself from harm- You know what? Fine, suspend him, let's see what the educational ward has to say about all this."
At the mention of that, the man raised his hands.
"Whoa- That's going too far- Why would you bring the educational ward into this- I mean, there's no need to blow this out of proportion."
"I'm done talking with you. Let's go, Izuku." She got up and Midoriya followed, giving the man one last disgusted look before closing the door.
In the end, no suspension was issued, but everything changed. People didn't look at Midoriya in class, and Bakugou never looked his way again. Sometimes, Midoriya looked over his shoulder and saw the blonde boy glaring at him, but he didn't try to approach, probably ordered by his parents, either way, Midoriya finally had peace. The three who were hurt came back a week later, with a broken jaw, cranial fracture, and ribcage fracture. Midoriya wondered if he had hit too hard or if human bodies were actually that fragile- Why would he even need a quirk if that was all it took to take someone down?
The days passed and Midoriya trained harder, dreaming about Yuei's exams. They would probably try to stop Midoriya once they found out he was quirkless, but he'd make sure to let it be known that he wasn't there as a joke. He would make them understand.
A few months prior to the heroes' course, Inko finally noticed or decided now was the time to confront her son about his unusual growth.
"Izuku- Can you come here for a second? I'd like to talk with you."
Midoriya already knew what this was about, but he kept a straight face.
"Yes?" He said while taking a seat across the table, noticing her concerned gaze.
"I postponed this for some time now, but I have to ask- Izuku, what is going on with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean? Look at you- I've been trying to look the other way but- Just a few years ago you were a tiny boy, but look at you now."
Oh, he was looking.
"I don't know what to say, mom. I've been training and eating healthy... just that. Why are you saying as if it is a bad thing?"
"I don't know why are you doing this, so I'm worried- You changed so much. You're having fights, and not only that, but you're actually winning them- I don't know what to think of it."
"You wanted me to just take it in?"
"NO! I'm glad you can protect yourself, and I back you a hundred percent, I'm just concerned about your well-being... you changed."
"I guess this is puberty?" He tried to smile, but Inko was still eyeing him with concern, so he sighed and continued:
"I'm still me, and you know why I am doing this. I'm training to join Yuei."
Her silence was like a slap.
"I know what you think, mom- I know, but I'm still going to try." Midoriya said emotionless.
"Even though you don't have a quirk? Oh, you're going for the general studies?" Her tiny smile made him look away from her eyes.
"No, I'm trying for the heroes' course."
She looked down again.
"You don't have to worry, mom, if I fail, I'll just become what you want me to become."
"No- I wasn't thinking that-"
Midoriya sighed, and she looked even more embarrassed now.
"You don't have to worry about my training, I'm doing everything in the healthiest way possible, so-"
He got up, and she was about to say something but gave up, so he turned and left, going to bed, and in there, he started thinking if it was really ok to lie to her like that.
He wasn't doing this in the healthiest way, he was cheating.
He took the small blue pill and eyed it for some time before downing it with water. Could he call this cheating? He felt the sharp pain and dizziness in his head a few minutes later, making his vision blur, so he closed his eyes and tried to maintain a steady breath before falling asleep.
He had the usual nightmares, about flashes of screaming people being fused into giant bodies, weird birdy faces screaming in agony, and people pointing at him saying he couldn't do anything, and when he woke up the next morning, he had sore limbs, but he knew it was working so he opened a small container and saw one single blue pill left, smiling to the fact that today was the last day of his old life.
And the first one of his new journey.
The class ended, and Midoriya was gathering his things to leave when he heard a voice:
"You think you're the big shit, huh?"
He looked up to see Bakugou whispering to him, his eyes hard.
Midoriya simply narrowed his eyes, looking around, but they were almost alone, his three friends there as well.
"I thought you shouldn't talk to me."
"Shut up! You're talking big now, huh?"
"This again?"
"You think you're the real deal because you can fight now? Or because you're taller? You're a disgrace, Deku- Why don't you do us a favor and jump off the roof? We don't need you to embarrass our school with your existence for another second, freaking trash!"
Midoriya felt something from that. An urge that he could barely hold in, and his fists closed, but he was in control for now.
"Is this your way of being a hero?"
"Huh?!"
"Are you deaf? I asked if this is your hero way... telling someone to kill themselves."
"What does this have to do with being a hero, dipshit?"
Midoriya glared at him, feeling his blood boil.
"I guess that you can't really see it- Ah, Bakugou... you have no idea how lucky you are."
"Lucky?"
"Yea, because you see, if we weren't so close to Yuei's exams, I'd break both of your legs and let you drag yourself home." Midoriya's eyes were dangerous, and Bakugou smirked, his hands sparkling.
"You think you can take me on? Heh, don't let that shitty win get to your head... you didn't face me, so come one... try your luck." Bakugou took one step back and raised one hand, inviting Midoriya, but the green-haired boy chuckled.
"As I said, I won't do it because I won't put my future in jeopardy because of you."
"Big words for someone who used to follow me like a little dog." He smiled wide and Midoriya smiled back.
"That's true, but times change, just like people, and I changed. Oh, we're going to have so much fun together."
"Fun?"
"Yea, because I know how you tell the four winds that you'll become the number one hero in the world, but as long as I'm alive, I will never allow you to defile such a sacred spot."
"The fuck are you talking about, shithead?"
"I'm telling you, that as long as I'm alive, you won't ever become the number one hero, because I'll be there to stop you."
"You-" Bakugou took a step forward and grabbed Midoriya's shirt, but he didn't even flinch, feeling his jacket getting slightly burned, but his eyes were still locked on Bakugou when he hissed:
"You don't deserve to be a hero, Bakugou, and I'll prove it. I'll show everyone how rotten you are." Midoriya's green eyes shone with intensity and became even more dangerous, but before Bakugou could retort or Midoriya could attack him, they heard voices coming from the corridor, and Bakugou let him go, seeing Midoriya giving him one last disgusted look before turning and walking away.
Midoriya was walking back, lost in thoughts about Bakugou's words, imagining in what world that was normal- No, that boy was not a hero- He was not even a bully, he was something more. He was one step away from villainy, and the fact that nobody noticed that was insane, but he was going to make sure to show everyone the truth.
"A medium body... to hide in."
A venomous voice said from behind him, and Midoriya turned to see some kind of green mass moving, quickly understanding that that was some kind of monster, narrowing his eyes while letting his bag slide to the floor, turning and assuming a stance in a heartbeat.
Suddenly, the green monster dashed forward, very fast for its figure, and Midoriya rolled aside with great agility.
"What- Hold still, brat... this won't hurt at all."
Midoriya took off his jacket, and the villain narrowed its weird eyes, seeing the boy throwing his jacket aside, rolling up his sleeves.
"You caught me on a bad day, so I'm sorry if I'm a little rough on you." Midoriya whispered, and before the villain could even process, he was struck in his central mass, and Midoriya's hands went through his slimy body.
"Hahaha... tough luck." The villain smiled and shadowed Midoriya's form, but then he saw Midoriya's cold gaze, as he whispering something to himself, and from his arm that was stuck inside the green jelly mass, a burst of wind force made half of the villain's body explode, splashing the walls of the tunnel they were in, leaving chunks of its green body lying around lifeless.
After the shock, the creature was pushed aside, turning to try and understand what just happened.
"What the hell was that- What the hell... are you?" The question came when the villain saw the shining green eyes in the low light under the tunnel, some kind of bad omen hitting him.
"You're asking me? I'm just a normal kid." Midoriya said with the weirdest smile the villain ever saw, it sent chills over his body. He started thinking about what kind of quirk managed to send that much energy throughout his body, enough to burst pieces of him around, but he hadn't time to even think, receiving a punch, but when he looked down, he saw Midoriya's hand open, doing an open palm attack, not touching his body, sending windblasts that instantly tore off pieces of the green slob, bursting them away, splashing the walls before dropping with a thud to the floor.
"I guess I was right, you don't actually have organs... but I bet your conscience is somewhere inside, because every time you take damage, your body shrinks because of the lost mass."
The green monster felt a shiver, seeing Midoriya's hypnotic green eyes, full of a weird sparkle, and turned to dash towards the sewers, but Midoriya was already there, whispering something to himself again before jumping, delivering a rounded kick that sent another wind blast that destroyed the villain's head and most part of its upper torso, making its body remove more slob from its center to fill the missing parts, becoming smaller and smaller.
"No running allowed."
'This was a mistake.' The green villain thought while the boy ran, doing pirouettes and kicking pieces of his body away. He tried to go on the offensive, but the boy was too fast, some kind of weird mist around his legs, making him move like a beast, like a monster... like a demon.
It took only a couple of minutes for the villain to be on the ground, his body reduced to a handful amount of slob with two eyes in it. Midoriya walked to a trashcan and grabbed a used bottle, placing it in front of the villain.
"You have two options, get inside and go to jail, or try anything funny and get squashed." It didn't take a second for the villain to squeeze his way inside the bottle, and Midoriya closed it, turning to grab a small pointy rock, making one tiny hole in the lid before whispering to it:
"Try to squeeze your way through this and you'll know what will happen, right?"
The green slob just blinked desperately, and Midoriya smiled, turning to take his things, but when he did, he saw something that made his heart stop.
The number one hero, All Might, looking at him with a smile on his face, his jacket on his hands.
"Now that's what I call a capture."
"Wait, you're telling me you're not a sidekick? I thought you were already working as a hero."
"No, I told you, All Might-san, I'm sixteen."
"So what you said wasn't a joke? You are actually quirkless."
"It wasn't a joke... I am quirkless."
"Then what was that? How did you manage to beat this guy?" All Might kept walking, showing the bottle that Midoriya gave to him, and the villain inside was actually trying to pay attention to the explanation as well, trying to understand how in the world did he lose to the kid he was supposed to take control of.
"It's not a quirk, it's a power all humans have, but very few have access to."
"Isn't that your quirk?"
"No- I forced this power open, it wasn't mine."
"So what exactly were you trying to ask?"
"I was trying to ask- What I was saying is that I always dreamed about meeting you, All Might-san, but for some time I wanted to meet you for a different motive... I wanted to ask you this: Can someone become a hero without a quirk?"
All Might stopped walking and looked at the boy, who stopped too, looking back at him with serious eyes.
"That's a tricky question, young man. Do I think someone who doesn't have a quirk can become a hero? Yes, and no."
"Huh?"
"If you don't have a quirk, you can't go to the front lines- You won't be able to defeat the villains and save the people, you'd be a liability."
Midoriya was breathing faster, trying to not believe in what he was hearing.
"And if you want to help, there are other ways to aid the city, becoming a police officer, or an investigator- There are other ways to help if you really want to... there is no shame in knowing your limits and working with them, that's called responsibility."
'That's called weakness.' Midoriya thought but didn't say it, nodding slowly, feeling the despair crawling up his soul again.
"But we're talking about those who are quirkless, and that does not apply to you, of course."
"What? I just told you-"
"And I saw your fight."
"You saw it?"
"Yes, since the beginning. I was looking for this guy, and I thought I was too late when I saw him getting out of the sewers and going for you, but I saw how you moved- I saw your attacks and your analytical skills- You are not quirkless, young Midoriya."
"But this is not something I was born with- This is something I trained for years to get- This is something I suffered for years to achieve-"
"And that is also part of your quirk, this is all you."
"But that's not a quirk."
"It may not be a quirk like the others, but it's your quirk, and by seeing it, I'm sure of one thing."
And Midoriya felt the breeze messing with his hair at the same moment All Might smiled wide:
"You too can become a hero, young Midoriya."
6 months later.
It was finally here, the time had arrived.
The giant building made Midoriya's heart race, and he knew this was it, this was what he was waiting for. He walked decided and entered, being pointed by staff towards some kind of auditorium. When he entered, he felt his heart skipping a beat, there were too many people- Well, everyone wanted to join Yuei, so it was not a surprise that most of the young population of the city was there.
Bakugou arrived a few minutes later, and Midoriya tried not to smile at the awkwardness when Bakugou sat by his side. They didn't even turn to each other, and when the weird presentation ended, they parted ways without a glance. Midoriya went to change and gear up, taking his green costume out of his bag.
When he was taking off his clothes, one of the boys in there turned and practically shouted:
"Oy, are those training weights?!" He pointed to Midoriya's legs and Midoriya looked down to where he was pointing, smiling.
"They are."
"Seriously?! That's some neat stuff, man! I always dreamed about having one of those! Do they work?"
Midoriya was slightly amused by his eagerness, so he answered:
"They do, although they're a little different."
"Really?! How so?!"
"They were made by a company that has weight quirks, so they can make pieces of training gear that are lighter or heavier than the regular ones, no matter its size."
"And what about yours? How much they weigh?"
"Just a little." Midoriya smiled, and they heard a speaker telling them they had one minute to present themselves at the gate.
"Ah- Sorry, man... I'm Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu."
Midoriya frowned at that, and he smirked, pointing at himself.
"I know it's a little weird, but-" And his arm changed into steel, making Midoriya take a step back.
"Wow."
"Neat, isn't it?"
"Midoriya was about to say it was when the speakers started a countdown and they both walked to their blocks' entrances.
"You didn't tell me your name, man."
"Midoriya- Midoriya Izuku."
"Well, let's do this shit, Midoriya! I'll see you inside!"
And with that, Midoriya walked to his gate, his red hand wraps on his hands, and when he stopped in front of it, they started receiving instructions, so he started his ritual, slowly wrapping it around his hands until his elbows, but then, a girl that was right next to him asked in a low voice:
"Why are you wearing those?" She had a tiny smile, and Midoriya turned with a frown, looking at his hands and smiling.
"Ah- Because I use my fists to fight."
"Your quirk is an enhancer?" She met his eyes and his smile widened before he shook his head, making her frown, but before she could ask more they were called further inside until they were gathered in front of the giant metal gate. Midoriya saw people praying, people warming up quirks, and people looking uninterested, bored even, and he scanned around and saw the girl again, and she waved at him with a nervous smile, so he gave her a thumbs-up back.
"Begin! What you're waiting for?! There's no countdown in real life, go go go! The dices have been tossed." Mic's voice echoed from the speakers and everyone started running.
And just like that, it had begun.
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