AN: Aaaaaand here's chapter 2! So glad I made it to my self-made deadline for myself T^T. Anyways, welcome to another Pre-UA "Origin Arc" story!
Sandman001: Thanks for the vote of confidence!
phelipebr: (PS: Had to translate this haha) Thanks, and here's the next chapter! I'll try not to make the chapters late, but some might be since I have to think on the origin arc's progression (Plus, been watching some other anime to get some inspiration XD), but hopefully, I'll have a new chapter out once per week at the most, or (maybe) twice per month at the least.
Dante: One: Same, I'm honestly glad I managed to get back, since writing is one of my best hobbies. Made me happy to write again, ngl. Two: I actually based it on Naruto's power, just, in wolf form XD. There's honestly a reason for that, something we'll see and be explained in the following chapters. As for who's voicing them, not sure yet! I'm honestly still thinking about it, I'll tell it here when I settle on it!
Blaze1992: I'll be honest, in regards to his Quirk, I had two other ideas. One was weather and elemental control (scrapped it since I didn't find it fitting) and the second was a transform type that acted like Beast Boy's power, but only allowing him to turn into dinosaurs instead of every animal. I debated about them a lot and instead settled on Feral Frenzy, since I was hit with inspiration about it while I was watching Naruto. Why Feral Frenzy? Well, you'll find out soon~
With answering reviews done, let's get on with the show!
Disclaimer: I don't own Boku no Hero Academia or any of the references I may make here. All I own are my OCs, my laptop, and this steaming cup of coffee that will always be with me as I make all these.
Chapter 2: Increasing the Pack
Two years have passed and the duo of Ryotaro and Izumi have both become seven years old, entering the second grade in Aldera Elementary School. In the past years, Ryotaro had deeply ingrained himself in Izumi's life and the young girl couldn't hide her own happiness at the prospect. Because of how close the two were getting, their parents met up and agreed to set up playdates with their children whenever they can.
Inko Midoriya was honestly surprised when she picked up her daughter that day, seeing her playing with another young boy with lavender hair. Ever since they found out she was Quirkless when Izumi was four, the mother of the girl blamed herself for what her daughter had to go through, knowing that her Quirkless nature, added with how she couldn't even support her dream of being a hero, had made the girl lose that fire in her eyes, her determination for seeing her dream through no matter what.
But when she looked at her that day, a bit of that old fire came back when she bounded up to her, holding hands with her new friend.
"Mommy! T-This is R-Ryocchan, he's m-my new f-friend…a-and he told me t-that I c-could be a hero!"
"That's right! We'll be the greatest hero in whoooooole world!" Her friend, Ryotaro, or 'Ryocchan', as she calls him, grinned widely. He then raised their joined hands to the sky while showing off a peace sign with his other. "Me and Zuzu will show them our stuff!"
It took all of her willpower not to break down here as tears formed on Inko's eyes even as she kneeled to hug her daughter, Ryotaro looking on in confusion.
"Looks like you've made a new friend, my little wolf." A voice called out as Ryotaro happily ran up to the new comer and giving the older lavenderette a hug. Karen looked at the mother-daughter duo with a smile in greeting. "It's nice to meet you both. I'm Karen Kurokami, this feisty one's mother."
"Moooom!" Ryotaro whined, but giggled when she ruffled his hair.
From that day onwards, the Midoriya and the Kurokami families began a friendship with each other, the two mothers instantly striking a bond as they gushed over how adorable their two children were. Karen had also learned that Hisashi Midoriya, Inko's husband and Izumi's father, was working overseas to supply for them, sending them monthly stipends to help them.
Of course, with every good, there was an equal measures of bad.
With the newfound friendship between the two families, Inko decided to introduce the mother and son to her good friends from high school, Mitsuki and Masaru Bakugou. She instantly hit it off with them, despite Mitsuki's abrasive nature and fondness of cussing. Unfortunately, the true problem lied in their children.
Katsuki Bakugou, the ash-blonde that Ryotaro met in kindergarten, was Mitsuki and Masaru's son. Ever since Ryotaro ignored him in favor of Izumi, he's held a grudge against him and always sought to one-up him in any school activity, only to get madder when his 'self-proclaimed' rival was still ignoring him. It was little wonder that while their parents got along swimmingly, the duo regarded each other with either hostility (Katsuki) or indifference (Ryotaro).
In contrast, Katsuki treated Izumi like she was worthless and demeaning her dream, while Ryotaro treated her as his friend and equal, supporting her to chase after her dream.
Which now leads to one certain weekend.
"Let's head to a dojo and do a Martial Arts training montage!"
"Martial Arts?" Izumi tilted her head, confused as she stared up from her notebook, which read 'Hero Analysis for the Future Vol.2'. It was something she started last year, in which she records the Quirks of any hero she comes across and analyses them. She completely filled up one notebook already, and is now on her way to filling up her second one. Ryotaro found it 'amazingly cool!' in his words. Speaking of the boy…
Ryotaro was now wat least two inches taller than her, and still carried his usual confidence and friendliness to this day. Right now, he was grinning at her with his eyes sparkling while they were inside her room while their mothers talked in the living room of their apartment.
"That's right!" He nodded vigorously. "I mean, if we want to become heroes, then learning how to defend ourselves is a must, right? What better way to be able to defend yourself than learning self-defense? It's fool-proof!"
He then powered up his Quirk, his body enveloped in the light red cloak as he dashed out of them room. Watching it in action was always a joy for Izumi, as she gets to study it closely. So far, she's concluded three things about Ryotaro's Quirk.
One. It is an Emitter Type Quirk which enhances his speed and strength.
Two. The power output can actually be freely changed, seen through whenever the 'cloak', as they like to call it, turns a darker shade of red. Ryotaro doesn't know his limits yet at the moment.
And finally, three. His Quirk is most likely the reason why he has bigger canines than other people, like she guessed. She noticed them since he likes smiling a lot, and she compared it to others she knows. His mom does call him her little wolf, so maybe that, and the two flared up aura on his head, were the reasons?
Her thought process was put to a halt as the boy in question sped back in, holding a tablet that most likely belonged to his mother, showing a video of a hero (Gunhead, she notes) taking down a villain by using their own charge against them through a judo flip. He then switched it to another hero using martial arts to subdue a villain.
"As you can see, the benefits of learning martial arts as young, aspiring heroes like us is incredibly vast." Ryotaro said after the videos ended. "I summarize that we should learn either Muay-Thai, Kickboxing, regular Boxing, Karate, Judo, or Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Any of these fighting styles would work, and should help you find your center of balance. Maybe even achieve equilibrium."
"Huh?" Question marks floated atop the girl's head.
"Right, sorry. I sometimes forget that Mom has me doing higher year materials alongside my actual age group schooling." Ryotaro sweatdropped, recalling many days where his head hurt from his mom cramming knowledge in his brain. "Anyway! Since you told me you wanted to be like All Might, then I think that Boxing or Kickboxing would be more your style. Meanwhile, I'll probably be focusing more on Muay-Thai and Jiu-jitsu."
"S-So we w-won't be learning from the s-same d-dojo, then?" Just the thought made Izumi sad.
"Nope!" He popped out the 'p', grinning widely. "After looking up some dojos to find the perfect place, I found out that this one in particular has all of our needs combined!"
Showing the table screen again, it now shows an image of a traditionally styled dojo with the name 'KENDO'S MARTIAL ARTS DOJO' emblazoned on the front of the building.
"With this, we'll both be able to go to the same dojo, despite us having different instructors to help us learn!" He finished with a proud huff, puffing out his chest as if asking for praise.
"Wow, that's amazing, Ryocchan!" Izumi cheered.
"Thanks! Now here's the next part of the plan." Ryotaro's eyes grew serious, though for a child, it only made him look adorable. "I'll need you to help me convince our mothers that they should let us enroll."
"H-Huh? M-Me?" Izumi gulped, feeling pressured now as she trembled in her seat. "I-I can't! I'm too shy for one, a-and I don't think they'd b-believe me."
"Don't worry! I know for a fact they can't resist us if we double team them, Zuzu!" Ryotaro cheered as he tried to convince her.
"I-If you s-say so, Ryocchan…"
Meanwhile, just outside the room, the two mothers were having tea together as they made idle chatter in the dining table.
"They do realize that we can hear them, right?" Karen's smirk was hidden behind her teacup as she looked at an equally mirthful Inko.
"Let them have their fun~!" Inko giggled as she used her Quirk to levitate the teapot towards her, pouring herself and Karen another cup. "Should we pretend like we're against it?"
"It might be cute to see how they'll try and 'convince' us." Karen shrugged, but then placed her phone on the table. "I'll set it on record. You'll receive a copy immediately."
"Much obliged, Karen."
The next morning, the two children were escorted by their mothers together to the Kendo Dojo, though with a visible pouting Ryotaro and an Izumi that was trying to calm him down.
"I can't believe that guy."
"K-Kacchan is j-just like that."
"He didn't have to be so mean about it!"
"I-It's just how h-he is, R-Ryocchan…"
"I still wonder how you can still consider him a friend."
With his piece said, Ryotaro huffed and crossed his arms, while Izumi smiled nervously as she thought back to the night before, when the Bakugous came by for a visit. Karen and Inko had suggested that Katsuki joined the duo for martial arts training too, and the parents were all for it. Even Ryotaro, with his misgivings about Katsuki, was grudgingly willing to let the boy join in, and Izumi was happy that her childhood friend would be joining them.
Unfortunately…
"I don't need it!" Katsuki stubbornly yelled as he glared at Ryotaro. "If it's the place that the Mutt chose, then it ain't worth it! I'll find my own gym, and it'll be better than anything you picked, Mutt!"
"Calm down, you brat!" Mitsuki yelled while Masaru tried to placate her.
"Here we thought to bring you along, since you also want to be heroes like we do, but if you're just gonna whine about it then don't bother, Bakagou." Ryotaro shot back, annoyed at being called mutt.
"Ryo, don't be so rude." Karen chastised.
"I won't be like you! I'll be even greater than you, Mutt!" Katsuki continued as he pointed at Ryotaro, who growled and was considering using his Quirk. "I'll shoot up the ranks my own way, you got that!? I don't need your help!"
"Then that's the last time I offer it then!" Ryotaro growled.
"P-Please c-calm down, R-Ryocchan, K-Kacchan!" Izumi tried to calm them down, but was incredibly scared of how Katsuki looked right while Ryotaro instinctively stepped in front of her.
"… We honestly should have expected this." Inko sweatdropped, having seen how Katsuki and Ryotaro behaved when in the same room together.
… That happened.
It took a lot of effort on their parents' part to get the two boys to stop arguing, but luckily they were able to stop it before it evolved into a full blown fight. The Bakugous apologized profusely for their son, while Karen apologized on behalf of her son. In the end, Ryotaro was now sulking even as they made their way to Kendo Martial Arts Dojo.
Entering the building, they hear sounds of fighting and punching bags being hit as they were regaled with the sight of a modernized interior despite the traditional exterior of the building. On the mat, a slightly older male was sparring with a young girl around the duo's age with ginger hair tied in a short, side ponytail.
"That's the way Itsuka! Goad your opponent into attacking then use their own strength against them!" An older man with dull orange hair yelled. "Kouji! Anticipate what she'll be doing and try to perform a proper counter for it!"
The group of four walked towards the sparring session just as the man noticed them. Putting on a smile, he nodded in greeting. "Hello there, and welcome to Kendo Martial Arts Dojo. I'm Keisuke Kendo, the owner and sensei for our Jiu-jitsu course. What can I do for you?"
"Hi, I'm Karen Kurokami and this is my friend, Inko Midoriya." Karen smiled while Inko waved in greeting. She then gestured towards the two children who were in awe of the spar. "And these two are Ryotaro Kurokami and Izumi Midoriya. Why don't you two say hi?"
"Hello!"
"N-Nice to m-meet y-you…"
Ryotaro enthusiastically waved while Izumi was timid in her response.
Keisuke chuckled a little as he knelt down to reach their height. "It's nice to meet the both of you. You two are actually around the same age as my own daughter, Itsuka." He gestured towards the ginger haired girl just as she landed on her back then used her foot to carry the older boy just to toss him with it. "She's right over there." He then stood up, leaving the two to awe at the other girl's strength while he focused on their mothers. "Now, I'm assuming you want to enroll them here?"
"Yes we do." This time it was Inko who replied. "To be honest, we weren't sure at first about how much training they should be doing at a young age, especially since they prefer different fields of martial arts. We don't like separating them though, since my daughter feels more at ease when Karen's son is nearby. Luckily we found your dojo."
"Yes, we do indeed offer a multitude of martial arts that our students can choose to learn from. As I said, I personally teach Jiu-jitsu here, though I also know a bit of Karate and Muay-Thai. We have separate teachers for Boxing, Kickboxing and even Capoeira. Which one do your kids want to enroll in?"
"U-Um… K-Kickboxing for m-me, please." Izumi shyly requested.
"I wanna learn Jiu-jitsu and Muay-That!" Ryotaro grinned.
"Well aren't you an ambitious one." Keisuke laughed. "But, if that's the case, then for both Kickboxing and Jiu-jitsu, the schedule would be every Saturday from 9am to 12pm. The Muay-Thai instructor, unfortunately, is only available every Sunday from 1pm to 4pm. We can start them up the coming weekend. Is that alright with you?"
Karen and Inko looked at each other, debating about the time and dates, before nodding, agreeing that it was acceptable. Karen also mentally added the Sunday schedule, and decided that it should work out, and that there will be enough time for her son to rest.
"We'll take it." "That's a workable schedule." Both mothers said.
"Alright then!" Keisuke clapped. "If you two can follow me then, we'll settle out the finer details in my office. In the meantime, why don't you kids familiarize yourselves with the dojo? I'll have someone show you the ropes." He then looked back to the crowd of students still sparring. "All of you, take a thirty minute break! And Itsuka, come over here, please."
The ginger haired girl blinked before bounding up to them, using a towel to wipe off her sweat while fixing the blue training gi she was wearing. Now that they got a good look at her, they noticed her eyes were teal, as opposed to the brown ones her father has.
"You need something, Daddy?"
"Yes, sweetie. I want you to show these two," He gestured towards a grinning Ryotaro and a shy Izumi, "around the dojo. Show them the gym we have at the back and the other facilities so they can familiarize with it while their mothers and I deal with paperwork."
"Okay!" The girl smiled as she looked at the other two children while their parents entered her dad's office. "Hi! I'm Itsuka Kendo, nice to meet you both."
"M-My name i-is Izumi M-Midoriya…n-nice to m-meet you too…" Izumi greeted shyly.
"And I'm Ryotaro Kurokami. Let's be friends!" He smiled with his eyes closed. His nose was also taking in another scent, different from Izumi's own cinnamon scent, this one smelled like strawberries. 'Oh, wow, another person with a really good scent!'
"Sure thing." Itsuka smiled. Glancing back, she beckoned them to follow her. "Come on, I'll show you guys around so you don't get lost. By the way, why did you two decide to enroll for martial arts?"
Izumi and Ryotaro looked at each other then smiled. [We want to become heroes!]
"It's been my dream to become a hero, ever since I saw All Might's debut video!" For the first time since Itsuka met the girl, Izumi wasn't stuttering as her eyes sparkled even as she led them. "Seeing him rescue so many people in just a few minutes was so amazing, and not to mention that he's so strong. I want to become just like him, to be a hero that saves people no matter what and—"
"… Is she always like this?" Itsuka blinked.
"More often than not? Yeah, pretty much." Ryotaro shrugged, having been subjected to one of Izumi's muttering talks longer than most people have. "It was awkward the first few times, but it eventually just grows on you."
"—even though I know that being Quirkless, it should be impossible…"
"Okay, enough of that!" Ryotaro's eye twitched when he heard the last part, lighting bopping her head to get her to stop. "How many times do I have to remind you that being Quirkless isn't going to stop you from being a hero? You'll be a great one even without it!"
"S-Sorry!"
As fun as it was to see how Ryotaro scolded the girl and Izumi repeatedly apologizing, she couldn't help but take note of what was said.
"Your Quirkless, Izumi?"
The two flinched, as if hearing her voice for the first time and having forgotten that she was there. Ryotaro nervously chuckled while Izumi began to sweat and tremble, as if waiting for another verbal abuse.
'She's going to be like the others, isn't she…?' She thought, scared.
"Y-Yeah, she is…" Ryotaro tried to laugh it off, knowing how Izumi gets when it gets mentioned. His eyes gained an almost dangerous glint to them that shouldn't be present in a seven year old. "Is that a problem?"
Much to their relief, she shook her head. "No, not really. I think it's really cool that she's still determined to be a hero despite her handicap. I think she'll become a great hero with that mindset!"
"That's what I've been trying to tell her." Ryotaro faked being exasperated while sending his best friend a playful smirk, all hints of danger from him gone, not that anyone noticed. "See Zuzu? That's another person who believes in you."
She had the decency to blush as the two laughed.
"W-While we're on the subject of Quirks, I-Itsuka-san, what kind do y-you h-have?" Izumi tried to change the subject, though still had an avid interest.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing special." Itsuka looked sheepish as she held out her hands, watching their expressions as her hands began growing. "It's called Big Fist, because, well, you know…"
Ryotaro looked impressed, while Izumi began gushing over it, her timid demeanor once again gone.
"That's so cool! With that kind of Quirk, you'll make catching and saving people so much easier, especially since you can hold onto more people with them!" Izumi began to note, completely analyzing Itsuka's hands.
"O-Oh, well, thanks." Itsuka blushed, not used to her Quirk being praised.
"Trust me, when she says something's amazing, you better believe her. Zuzu has a great gift when it comes to analyzing things." Ryotaro said, remembering how Izumi basically redefined his Quirk for him. Speaking of…
A light red aura enveloped him, complete with two flared up aura atop his head, gaining the girls' attention.
"My Quirk is known as Feral Frenzy. It enhances my strength and speed, so basically super speed and super strength rolled into one." He explained. "The cloak, the red energy surrounding me, also has different stages depending on the darkness of the aura. The darker it gets, the greater the enhancement. I can also see really well in the dark and memorize a scent. You smell like strawberries while Zuzu smells like cinnamon. Both smell really good."
Both girls felt heat crawl up their faces at the admission, even as Itsuka praised how amazing his Quirk was and Izumi was spouting facts about it and other possible side effects he may find the more he explores his Quirk. Some of the ideas she gave made him really eager about it.
'I mean, wouldn't it be cool if I can actually see someone even if they're supposed to be invisible?' He mused even as they continued to chat while Itsuka toured them around the dojo.
And so another friendship was born, and the duo now became a trio.
AN: Finished! So how was it? Good? Bad? Needs work? Don't be afraid to tell me XD
Anyways, here's hoping I finish chapter 3 in time for next week! Bye bye!