What utter bullshit. The universe seriously just couldn't give him a break for once. It wasn't enough that he was denied a Quirk, was ostracized by his peers, and practically no one believed in his dream. No, every step of the way had to be paved with more pot holes to try and trip up his resolve.
'In the Hero Practical Exam, Support Items are allowed under permission of the UA faculty as long as the Support Item directly aides in the proper use of an applicant's Quirk. Any Support Item that does not directly affect a Quirk is barred from the exam.'
Direct from the guidelines for the Hero Practical Exam, Izuku was already being told no, indirectly, that he didn't have what they wanted in their Hero students. Well fuck. There goes any chance of me passing the Hero Practical. There was no way they would allow him to use any of his Support Items since he had no Quirk to influence.
This was a setback for sure, but Izuku still had a plan. In his research about the school and the various processes of entering the different departments, Izuku found an alternate route. It wasn't well known and it didn't happen often, but if a student in a course other than the Hero Course did well enough in the Sports Festival, they could be offered a transfer if they so desired and the school was impressed enough.
It was risky but if Izuku was barred from using what he needed to pass the Hero Practical, he would show them that a Quirk wasn't necessary to be a Hero at the Sports Festival. It was the only option he had. At least they didn't have any policies that forbid Quirkless students from applying at all.
...
It had been about two months when Kacch-Katsuki finally decided to confront Izuku. Despite calling him useless and telling him he wanted nothing to do with the Quirkless boy, the blonde remained persistently nosy about his life. It was confusing to say the least how the other boy seemed to hate him and yet demand answers about his activities as if he had a right to them.
Then again, Kac-Katsuki felt that he had a right to everything. As Izuku became better friends with Mei, he finally understood that what the two childhood friends had was no longer a friendship. Just a bully and his victim. The blonde was no longer the Kacchan that Izuku knew from his youth. Now, he was Katsuki who seemed to have a life's mission to push him down, below the explosive teen where he supposedly belonged.
"What the fuck have you been doing after school, Deku?" Katsuki demanded, using his height to tower over the shorter boy. It was posturing that Izuku was well used to after all these years. It no longer affected him as it used to. He refused to back down.
"How is that any of your business?" Izuku retorted, green eyes staring firmly into those fiery red ones.
Ignoring his question, Katsuki stepped closer. "You better not be fucking training to be a Hero, Deku. You know it's impossible."
"Do I? Or is that just your ego talking?" Izuku shot back. He was sick and tired of the blonde putting him down like this.
"Don't even fucking think of trying for UA, nerd," Katsuki threatened, eyes twitching at the remark. "There's no way a Quirkless Deku like you could ever pass the Hero Practical."
"You're right," Izuku said, looking into Katsuki's eyes again with a look of determination. "There isn't. But I'm not applying to the Hero Course. I'm applying for the Support Course."
Katsuki was stunned into silence for only a moment. He clicked his tongue and stepped away from the other boy. "Hah?! The Support Course? So, you've finally accepted your shitty ass could never become a Hero."
Izuku adjusted his backpack and said, "I didn't say I was giving up on becoming a Hero. I may not be taking the Hero Exam, but that isn't the only way into the Hero Course."
"What are you fucking talking about, shitty nerd?" Katsuki asked, an edge to his voice.
"Not telling," Izuku replied as he started to walk away. He glanced over his shoulder with a coy smile. "After all, it would ruin the surprise. Bye…Katsuki."
He left the fuming explosive boy behind and headed home to continue working on his projects. The blonde didn't notice until he had already left that the greenet hadn't called him by a nickname. Katsuki couldn't place the sour feeling in his chest from the realization.
...
The months flew by as Izuku and Mei prepared for the entrance exam. He continued to clean the trash, sorting out anything that could be useful in the lab. When it got down to the bigger pieces like furniture or refrigerators, Mei eagerly volunteered to help out. He appreciated the help but he knew she only did it because it gave her an excuse to test out some of her babies. It didn't bother him in the least though. Whatever made it easier to get them into the truck.
The two aspiring Support students worked diligently on their projects. Izuku was learning fast under Mei's tutelage. She sometimes gave too much information than what he needed, giving what he called the encyclopedia answer, but she taught him well regardless. When he had made his first successful prototype for what he planned to submit for the Support Practical, Mei treated him to ice cream in celebration.
They worked tirelessly to perfect their submission designs in preparation for the Support Practical demonstration. Mei stressed that presentation was also key. The Support Item itself had to work of course, but making a good impression was important too. The pinkette planned to be as flashy as possible, including all the bells and whistles in a boisterous presentation. While the greenet planned to impress in a more subtle way.
Between prototypes, the two would also work on projects they hoped to continue once they got into UA. They looked forward to using the resources UA offered rather than having to rely on literal garbage for spare parts. Izuku came up with several ideas for replicating a Quirk with Support Items. He was already developing some prototypes that he planned to perfect in UA. With so many projects, time seemed to pass by quickly.
About a week before the exam, the beach was finally clean. Izuku threw the last piece of garbage into the back of the truck. Inko and Mei had come with him to congratulate him on his accomplishment. His mom insisted on a commemorative picture and took a photo of Izuku sporting a tired yet satisfied smile and a peace sign with the clean beach behind him.
They drove the truck to the dump for the last time. Or at least until someone tried to start dumping their trash there again. Izuku planned to periodically check on the beach and clean up any litter he found. That night, they celebrated with a delicious meal of katsudon and Izuku went to bed with a smile.
...
"Izuku!" Inko yelled as she entered the apartment. Izuku ran out of the living room to meet her, thinking something was wrong, only to have a newspaper shoved into his face. "Look! They wrote about that beach you cleaned up!"
Sure enough, on the front page was a picture of the once again pristine beach and there were already people playing and enjoying the water. There was a small 'before' image in the corner and a story about a mysterious benefactor who cleaned the beach and there were questions as to who did the selfless deed. Izuku smiled at that. He did it! He helped! People were happy and that was more than enough for him.
"Should I call the news station and tell them it was you?" Inko asked.
"No," Izuku replied, a soft smile on his face. "I didn't do it for the credit. I did it to help people and make them smile when it was finally done. This is enough for me."
He handed the paper back to his mom and returned to the couch, watching the news while he studied over his notes. Inko watched him go before looking down at the newspaper. With a determined nod to herself, her mind was made up. Tomorrow she was going to go shopping for something to frame the article along with the picture she took that day.
The public may never know that Izuku cleaned the beach. But she would.
...
A few nights later, Izuku was fast asleep in bed when he woke to an incessant tinking sound. It took him a while but once he was partially awake, he noticed the sound was coming from his window. Rubbingthe sleep from his eyes, Izuku got out of bed to find out what the noise was. On the window sill he found a note.
Meet me on the roof. -Stain
"Stain? What could he want?" Izuku questioned out loud, brow scrunched in confusion.
A little uncertain if it was a good idea or not, he eventually decided to see what the man wanted with him. Izuku put on a dark green hoodie over his pajamas made up of a tank top and sweatpants. He grabbed his keys and his phone then left his room. He quietly made his way to the kitchen for a glass of water before leaving. As he drank from the tap, he eyed the frying pan in the drying rack next to the sink.
Well, if it worked for a recluse long-haired princess, it'll work for me.
It wouldn't be much of a defense against the Hero Killer, but it would bring him comfort having some kind of weapon with him. The greenet didn't think the man would hurt him after his words of encouragement. But it would be completely idiotic to meet the man empty handed. Not that actually deciding to meet him on the roof was all that smart to begin with.
Grabbing the frying pan and putting on his signature red shoes, Izuku left his apartment and quietly locked the door to not disturb his mother. He made his way up the stairs towards the door that led to the roof. Cautiously, he opened it and the hinges creaked from lack of use, making him cringle. He hesitantly walked onto the roof and looked around for any sign of the man.
"You actually came," a voice called out behind him. Izuku spun around to find the Hero Killer standing on the roof of the opposite building who then jumped down towards him. "I had thought you might not have come. Yet here you are. Whether it is from bravery or foolishness, I'm glad you agreed to meet with me."
Stain walked towards Izuku who took a step back and brandished his frying pan. The man raised a brow at the action but didn't comment. He would have been disappointed in the boy if he had come completely unprepared. Although his choice in weapon was…odd to say the least.
To put the boy at ease, Stain stopped walking towards him and instead headed to sit on the edge of the roof. He planted himself with his feet dangling down the side of the building and stared out over the city. Cautiously, the boy joined him but kept a few feet of distance between them, eyeing the man the entire time.
"W-what did you want t-to meet about?" Izuku asked, nerves coming through as he kept the frying pan between them.
Stain slowly reached into his pants pocket and pulls out a folded piece of newspaper. He placed it between the two of them and retreated his hand. The greenet hesitantly reached out and picked it up. Unfolding the paper, he saw it was a clipping of the article about the beach.
"An unknown benefactor took it upon themselves to help the community by cleaning the beach," the man stated, side-eyeing the boy next to him. "When that article was released, I waited to see if someone would claim the recognition for the deed. Yet, no one did."
"Oh, really? That was very n-nice of them," Izuku said, folding the paper back up and placing it down between them. "M-maybe they did it just to help out."
"Little Hero, I know that it was you," Stain deadpanned, taking the clipping back.
"Wha?! Y-you do?" the teen exclaimed, his cheeks turning red.
"I've been keeping an eye on you since we met," the Hero Killer revealed. "I watched you clean the beach every now and then. I wanted to see if you would actually follow through on such an endeavor. Most would have given up quickly, yet you powered through until the end."
Now that's not creepy. Being followed by a man who happens to be a Villain who kills Heroes? Not creepy at all!
"W-well, I…I wanted to help!" Izuku declared, his voice squeaking a little. The man chuckled. "I knew it would be a lot of work, b-but I thought that if no one else was d-doing anything about it, why not me?"
"A noble thought to have, Little Hero," Stain commented. "Tell me, once the article came out about the finished beach, why didn't you call in to say it was you?"
Izuku let out a nervous chuckle, a light blush on his face. "When it came out, my mom a-asked if I wanted to say it was me. But I told her I d-didn't want to. I didn't do it for the credit. I did it to help. Like I told you before…"
He looked up at the Hero Killer with a small shaky smile but confidently looked him in the eye.
"…I don't c-care about rankings or p-popularity. I've only ever w-wanted to help."
Izuku did his best not to look away as a smile spread across Stain's face. It was creepy as it grew wider and wider, his brown eyes seemed to glow red in the moon light. The teen found it difficult to keep eye contact, but he didn't avert his eyes from the man who believed in him.
"There it is. The selflessness of a true Hero," Stain proclaimed. "I knew you had the heart of one."
The man stood up and turned to the greenet. Izuku scrambled to his feet and held up the frying pan like a shield. But the Hero Killer made no move towards him.
"You're doing well, Little Hero," Stain said, as he looked down at the Hero-to-be. "Even now when you are still a little fledgling, you have already shown me you are worthy. I look forward to seeing what kind of Hero you will become."
The man turned to leave, before he paused and glanced back at the teen.
"May I ask for your name, Little Hero?" Stain asked, strangely polite for a Villain.
"M-Midoriya Izuku," he replied on instinct, before clapping a hand over his mouth with a squeak. Crap, I did NOT mean to tell him that.
The Hero Killer hummed before saying, "Akaguro Chizome."
"Huh?" Izuku said, lowering his hand.
With that, Stain left and Izuku was once again alone on a roof, in a daze trying to process what happened.
...
Blog name: ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic
Notes extension: post/626547963898036224/chapter-6-as-time-passes