The weekend came quickly and Izuku continued his usual routine. He didn't have any ideas as of yet on what else he could do to help him pursue his dream. For now, he decided to follow what he normally did to see if anything inspired him.

As a start, Izuku went on his usual morning run. Every morning since he started taking self-defense classes, he would go for a run to help improve his stamina. Running was actually very relaxing to the greenet. No one bothering or bullying him. It was just him with the sound of his breathing and his feet hitting the ground.

For a change of pace, Izuku decided to go a different route, seeing as he was trying to change himself then why not his running route, too. Usually he ran around the neighborhood, but today he decided to run by the nearby beach.

Dagobah Municipal Beach Park used to be a beautiful place. Izuku had clear memories of playing in the water as the pristine landscape sparkled in the sunlight. But over the years, the currents would carry various trash and debris to the sandy shore and people started using it as a place to illegally dump their trash, rather than disposing of it properly. As the piles of garbage grew, less and less people came to the beach allowing the place to fall into further disrepair. Izuku frowned as he jogged by the beach, hating how such a once-beautiful place was reduced to an unofficial dump.

People should be cleaning up this mess, not adding to it. Wait…

The greenet stopped in his tracks as he was struck by an epiphany. If no one else was cleaning the beach, maybe he could? It would be good training to lift so many different things and it would be good for the community. Izuku thought back to what All Might had said about cleaning the environment during an interview once.

'If every person in the world would take the time to pick up a single piece of trash every day, the world would be a more beautiful place. Even one person, with a hand willing to help others, can inspire hundreds to follow. After all, the main objective of a Hero is to serve. Even the simple act of picking up trash is a heroic one.'

Izuku was a single person and he had two hands willing to help others. Sitting in front of him was a literal pile of problems for the community. Izuku wasn't a Hero yet, and he couldn't save people from Villains, but starting with cleaning up this trash pile felt like a great start to a Hero career to the greenet.

There wasn't much the future-Hero could do that day. He cleaned up a small pile of cans and plastic bags, planning to dispose of them at a convenience store on his way home. There was no way he was touching any of the other trash without some sort of protection like gloves. Also, he would need to talk to his mom about getting a truck or something to haul them to the actual dump.

Izuku still wasn't sure what he was going to do to give himself more of an edge in a fight, but this would be a good project to focus on in the meantime. Who knows? Maybe he would find inspiration while cleaning up the trash.

...

After talking with his mom about cleaning the beach, Inko helped him with getting a truck and a permit to park it near the beach. It allowed them to take the truck to the dump at the end of the day and then leave it at the beach for Izuku to start filling it up the next day without having his mother drive the truck from their home and back.

Within one week, Izuku fell into a new routine. After school ended, he would go home and do his homework before changing into grubby clothes and heading to the beach. He brought plenty of water as well as safety gloves, trash bags, healthy snacks, and a small first aid kit just in case. Once there, he would attack one section at a time. On his first day, he had mapped out a makeshift grid in his notebook and focused on one section at a time so he wouldn't get overwhelmed. He knew it was a huge project he was undertaking, but it was one he planned to take on with enthusiasm.

Cleaning the trash was challenging to say the least. Boxes, tires, bikes, glass, microwaves, tvs, etc. Thousands of pieces of garbage with different shapes, sizes, and weights was a real work out for his muscles. It wasn't too bad though since he had built muscle over the years in his self-defense classes. But this would be the first time he did anything like weight training, so his muscles still yelled at him at the end of the day. The satisfying soreness helped him fall asleep at night.

It was tough work, but every day when his mom and him drove the full truck to the dump to empty their load, Izuku knew that was one less pile of trash on the beach. One step closer to cleaning up the beach and making it into a beautiful place again. To a place that will bring a smile to people's faces. Even if no one knew who cleaned the beach, seeing their smiles would be reward enough for the future-Hero.

"So, you're the one cleaning up the beach," came a voice out of nowhere.

Izuku couldn't help but flinch, dropping the bag in his hand. He was so focused on cleaning that he didn't notice someone approaching him. Well so much for anonymity. He looked up to see a girl with shoulder-length pink hair that was styled into dreadlocks and goggles placed on her head. She was wearing a black tank top, black work boots, and dark blue coveralls but with the top open and tied around her waist. Her eyes were yellow and had markings that looked like the crosshairs of a scope. Did that have to do with her Quirk?

"Kudos on helping the Earth and stuff," the girl continued. "But you're taking away things that could help my babies."

"B-babies?!" Izuku squawked. She's a mother already?! She looks too young for that! Also, how would literal trash help a baby?

"Yes! It's what I call my inventions," she said, grinning. "You see, I make Support Items and I am going to become the world's Number One Support Engineer! The name's Hatsume Mei." She offered her hand in greeting.

Izuku stared at the hand blankly for a second before shaking out of his stupor and taking it, giving it a hesitant shake. "I-I'm Midoriya Izuku. It's n-nice to meet you."

"Glad to meet you, too," Hatsume said. "Now, why did you suddenly want to clean the beach? It's been like this for years and I've found so much material I can use to make my babies."

"O-oh, well, I, um," Izuku managed to stutter out. It had been a long time since he had really talked to someone his age. Especially a female someone. The girls at school avoided him like the plague so the only females he interacted with was his mom and auntie Mitsuki. "I just thought it w-would be good to clean up the beach! I-if you want, maybe tell me what you need, a-and I can separate them for you!"

"Hmmm, that's very thoughtful of you. Here are the kinds of things I need…" She then started to list off very confusing instructions on what she wanted him to keep. He tried to keep up but all of it sounded like nonsense to him. She rambled on until she noticed his face of confusion. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Not a clue," he answered with a chuckle, sheepishly scratch the back of his head. "I-I've never looked into how mechanical things work, s-so I don't know what components you're talking about. S-sorry."

"No need to apologize!" Hatsume declared. With a grin on her face, she pulled out her phone and shoved it in the boy's face. "Here. Input your number. I'll text you a list of the appliances I need. Not everyone can be a Support Genius like me."

Wow…humble much?

Izuku took the phone and typed in his number. He was a bit hesitant to be giving his number to a person he just met, but it would be convenient to have a list. Plus, he could message her to ask about an item not on the list. He was happy to help the inventor to get materials for her 'babies' as she calls them.

Handing her phone back, he asked, "So, you're into Support? What got you into that?"

Hatsume had already turned away from him to inspect the trash, looking for any goodies. "Hmm? Oh, my mother is also a Support Engineer and taught me everything I know. Figuring out how something works and taking it apart to then put it back together into something entirely different is super fascinating. I want to make Support Items for Heroes like my mother. I'm going to go to UA and show my babies to the world!"

Izuku was impressed. The girl had such enthusiasm for inventing Support Items. In the Hero world, those in Support were essential in helping the Heroes use their Quirks to the best of their ability. Certain Quirks could have some nasty side effects. To counter act that, Support Items were used. Adding to the tools a Hero could use on the job.

Wait…Support Items are tools. Like Quirks are tools. Used to help Heroes in their fight to help people.

Izuku didn't have a Quirk, but that doesn't mean he couldn't use Support Items. Could this be it? His edge? Excited at this revelation, Izuku turned to the inventor with a look of pure determination.

"Hatsume-san…please teach me to build Support Items."

The girl stopped looking through the trash to face the boy. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why?"

"I w-want to be a Hero," Izuku stated. He was nervous to open up to a practical stranger, but he needed to do this. "It has always b-been my dream to help people, but the majority of people believe that I c-can't be a hero because…" Ok. Deep breath, Izuku. You can do this. "B-because I'm Quirkless."

He paused for a moment to gage her reaction. When she said nothing and her expression stayed neutral, he continued a bit more confidently. "Since I don't have a Quirk, people think that I am too weak. That it's an impossible d-dream. But there is one person who believes I can. And I want to prove them right. I have training in several kinds of self-defense a-and I've practiced with different weapons like staffs and escrima sticks. But again, I'm Quirkless. I need something else to give me that extra edge that all those with Quirks get. The answer is Support Items. W-with those, plus my analysis skills, I feel I will be able to become a Hero."

The greenet waited for the girl's response. She still hadn't said anything, seeming to be scanning him with her eyes. Crap, did I mess up? Is she going to turn me away like everyone else? Her eyes are so intense. Wait, are her eye focusing like a camera? Maybe her Quirk has something to do with zooming in and/or out. That would definitely be helpful with doing any fine tune work on an invention or scoping out a competitor.

"Blank canvas," Hatsume finally said.

"Eh?" That's not what he expected.

"You," the girl said, gesturing to all of him. "You're a blank canvas. You have no Quirk and therefore have none of the drawbacks that come with them. Support Items have to be heavily regulated and adjusted to each individual person taking their own physical and mental needs which Quirks make even more complicated on top of that. With you though, anything is possible."

Izuku couldn't help it. He really couldn't. The Midoriyas have always been emotional and he was no exception. At her words, tears started to well up in his eyes and a wobbly smile planted on his face. She didn't turn him away. Didn't tell him it was impossible. She believed.

"D-does that mean you'll teach me?" he asked, wiping away his tears.

"You betcha, Hero-kun!" she declared smiling before turning back to the trash. Izuku blushed at the nickname. "Oh, by the way, you're right. My Quirk is Zoom."

The greenet blushed even harder. Damn it, I was mumbling again.

...

The teens continued to talk and work through the garbage, ignorant of having an audience. Kneeling on a fire escape high on the building across from the beach was a man hiding in the shadows of the alleyway. Ever since talking to the boy who aspired to become a true Hero, Stain had been checking up on him to see what the teen would do with his words.

It's seems you've assigned yourself quite a project, Little Hero. I wonder what you will do once others notice your work. Will you remain humble or let the attention go to your head like all the other fakes? Your words that day were ones of someone with a true Hero's heart, but there is still a chance of corruption. I will reserve my judgement for the time being.

The Hero Killer watched the Hero-to-be and the other teen work until the sun began to set. As the last rays of sunlight disappeared from the sky, the man stood up and cast one last look at the beach before turning toward the city. With the coming of night, it was time for Stain to continue his mission.

...

Blog name: ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic

Notes extension: post/626547957980954624/chapter-4-finding-his-edge