After that day, Izuku's routine changed to include training with Hatsume. He still worked on cleaning the beach every day but three days a week, he would stop by Hatsume's lab before going to the beach. He had also introduced the girl to his mother and explained what he had in mind. Inko seemed a little hesitant but as always supported her son. She at first was unsure about the eccentric girl but quickly warmed to the inventor's antics, finding them endearing.

The first time in her lab was overwhelming to say the least. There was just so much stuff in there and Izuku didn't understand a single one. The pinkette was patient but enthusiastically eager to share her knowledge with him. She explained every step and demonstrated every tool until he could do it competently on his own.

When Izuku made his first successful gadget, he was so proud of himself. He had taken an old kitchen timer and a joke hand buzzer he had rescued from the beach, wanting to combine the timer aspect with the buzz factor. When he was finished, he had a small disk that was half the size of a hockey puck in diameter and thickness. There was a dial on the top and when the timer would run out, the entire disk would vibrate for a few seconds.

It wasn't anything special, just a simple little thing. But he made it with his own two hands without Hatsume's help. A small party was held at the Midoriya house to celebrate that day.

It was also the day that the girl declared they were friends and that friends don't call each other by their family names. From then on Hatsume became Mei-chan and she called him either Izuku or Hero-kun. It was a very nice change compared to the other nickname he was ever given by a friend.

One obstacle Izuku faced in the lab was inspiration. Mei seemed to constantly come up with new ideas with ease. Him on the other hand…not so much. Then again, he was only just starting in Support. He turned to his notebook to see if his notes would help.

"Mei-chan," Izuku said. The pinkette turned off her blow torch and turned her attention to him. "Do you think it's possible to replicate a Quirk with a Support Item?"

He looked up from his notes to see her expression of carnal excitement. "Hero-kun, you are a genius!"

...

After only a few weeks of working with Mei, Izuku's hope of becoming a Hero was rekindled. He truly felt that he could do this. With all the free time that came with not having friends, Izuku had turned to studying to pass the time as he grew up. Because of that, he was a quick study and it didn't take him long to get the hang of figuring out how Support Items worked. Mei eagerly taught him everything she knew about building and programming and he soaked it all up like a sponge.

He could do this. Already his mind was filled with ideas of what kinds of Support Items he could make for himself. And some that certain Heroes could definitely use as an upgrade. As he was lost in his thoughts about the future on his way home one day, Izuku found his feet had brought him to a park. It was later in the evening so the park was mostly empty.

Izuku knew this park well, having so many memories of playing here as a kid when Kacchan was still his friend. Then on top of that so many more memories when the blonde would bully and belittle him as they grew older and further apart. It hurt to see left over scorch marks on various trees and playground equipment, painful memories of how they got there still fresh in his mind even after all these years. They reminded him that his friend was no longer his friend and how he didn't even see Izuku on the same level as him.

Shaking himself out of that downward spiral of thought, Izuku noticed he wasn't alone. Across the way was a boy sitting on the swings. He seemed to be around Izuku's age, but had a different middle school uniform. Musutafu Middle School, maybe? His hair was black, about shoulder length, and he had some bangs that hung over his face. Izuku walked forward to get a better look because he had never seen the boy around here before. Also, because the boy looked sad.

"Hello," Izuku said, calmly so he didn't startle the boy too bad. The black-haired boy still jumped slightly and looked up at the greenette with red eyes. He had a scar over his right eye and Izuku wondered how he got it. Quirk accident? Or maybe…no! Not now.

"Can I sit here?" He indicated to the swing next to the boy, who gave a small nod as he looked at Izuku in confusion.

Izuku sat down on the swing and turned his head to look at the other boy. "My name is Midoriya Izuku. I haven't seen you around here before. What's your name?"

The boy looked at his for a second, seemingly in a stupor, before shaking himself out of it. "Sorry, uh, this is my first time at this park. I was just wandering and kind of got myself lost. I'm Kirishima Eijirou."

"Nice to meet you, Kirishima-kun," Izuku said with a friendly smile. "If you're lost, I can help you out. I live around here so I know the area pretty well."

"Hey, thanks, man. That's super manly of you," Kirishima said, a slight smile on his face. He noticed the boy's teeth were pointy and reminded him of a shark. Did that have something to do with his Quirk? Was he a shark or did it…no! Stop analyzing him! Now was not the time for that. He mentally shook himself out of the analysis spiral as the boy continued.

"So, you live around here?" Kirishima asked.

"Yeah, I've lived here since I was born," Izuku replied, starting to swing slightly. "I would play in this park all the time as a kid."

"Really? I bet you made a lot of friends over the years," Kirishima said, smiling. But it dropped when Izuku looked away in a grimace and stopped swinging. The black-haired boy looked concerned at the reaction. "What's wrong?"

"Well," Izuku started. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, turning back to the other boy with a sad smile. "Actually, I don't really h-have any friends. Not at school anyway. But I do have one friend outside of school!" Or rather Mei-chan just kind of declared it as fact and left it at that.

"Sorry to hear that. But at least you got one friend," Kirishima said. He stopped for a moment, a nervous look on his face before he asked his next question. "If you don't mind me asking, why don't you have any friends at school? I would figure that someone who's lived here as long as you would have at least one."

"I don't mind," Izuku replied. He took another deep breath to steady himself. "The kids at school, they don't really like me. They make fun of my dream of wanting to become a Hero, because they think I'm too weak to do it since I don't have a flashy, strong Quirk. They tell me it's impossible and don't like that I won't give up on it."

"Dude, that is so unmanly," Kirishima said, a frown on his face. "You can't bash someone's dreams like that. Like my idol says, 'As long as a man's got a chivalrous heart, his Quirk's got nothing to do with it'. No matter what your Quirk is, as long as you got the heart, you can be a Hero."

Izuku knew he had heard that quote before, but where? Chivalrous heart? Who did I hear that from? Wait… "Did you just quote the Chivalrous Hero, Crimson Riot?"

"Yeah!" Kirishima exclaimed, pounding his fists together. Izuku noticed that the other boy's skin change and looked rock-like.

Is that his Quirk? Some kind of hardening effect? That could be very useful in defense during a battle. Like a human shield. It could also be used to break up rubble during rescue efforts if his skin could get hard enough. Not to mention it would add something extra to any attack he could do. After all, being hit by a rock hurts enough, but getting punched by a rock? Ouch. But where do the teeth come in with the hardening? Perhaps it's a feature he inherited from one of his parents that doesn't actually connect to his Quirk…

Izuku had tried to resist going into an analysis spiral since he started talking to the boy. But like always, his brain just couldn't help itself and took all the available information to find out the answers it craved. He didn't notice that he was mumbling all of his observations out loud while the boy next to him started to blush. The greenet only broke out of his mumbled rant when a quiet choked sob escaped the black-haired boy.

"A-are you okay?" Izuku asked concerned.

"You…," Kirishima started. His eyes were tearing up as he clutched his shirt over his heart in a hardened fist. He took a shake breath. "You really think my Quirk is useful like that?"

The greenet blushed as his eyes widened. Crap, I said that out loud. "W-well, I mean, yeah! Your Quirk would be very useful as a Hero. There's so many ways you can use it."

"But it's just hardening my skin," Kirishima said, hardening said skin. "It's not flashy or anything. Not like Quirks like All Might or Endeavor have. How useful could I be with just this?" He gestured to his hardened skin again as if it made his point.

"It's like you just said," Izuku said, a kind smile on his face. "'As long as a man's got a chivalrous heart, his Quirk's got nothing to do with it'."

Kirishima let his Quirk go as he looked at Izuku in awe. He then let out a chuckle and nervously scratched the back of his head. "Heh, I guess I should listen to my own advice, huh?"

"Sometimes, you only need one person to finally tell you 'Yes, you can' to start your journey," Izuku shrugged. "I had started to lose hope, too. Until recently, everyone in my life told me I couldn't be a Hero. Including some Heroes themselves. But finally, one person told me they believed that I could and I know the value of that person's opinion on Heroes. So, I'm going to do my best to prove to them that their belief in me isn't a waste."

"So manly," Kirishima muttered, a gleam in his eye. He wiped away a manly tear. "Do you know what high school you want to go to? I'm going for UA myself."

"Me, too!" Izuku exclaimed. "What better place to become a Hero, right?" The two teens shared a fist bump and smiled.

"Anyway, it's getting late and I don't want my mom to worry," Izuku said, getting up from the swing. He offered his hand to help Kirishima up. "Ready for that help, lost boy?"

Kirishima laughed as he took the greenet's hand. "You're right. Thanks for the pep talk, dude. You really helped me out."

Izuku walked him to the nearest train station. They passed the time talking about Heroes and other random topics. Izuku really enjoyed talking to someone else in a friendly way other than Mei. It was like having another friend. Wow, isn't that a sad thought. They walked right up to the ticket gate.

"It was nice meeting you," Izuku said. He held out his hand for a fist bump which Kirishima enthusiastically returned. "Let's both do our best to follow our dreams. I'll see you in UA!"

With one last wave, the other boy headed off to his train and Izuku started for home. Maybe he had made a new friend today. But there was still room for doubt. Kirishima didn't know he was Quirkless after all.

...

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

Notes extension: post/626547960833081344/chapter-5-can-rocks-be-sad