This chapter is just a retelling of Episodes 1 and 2, but this fic WILL HAVE MY HERO ACADEMIA: TWO HEROES SPOILERS! Spoilers start next chapter.
I do not claim to own nor am affiliated with any part of the My Hero Academia media.
(Cross-Posted on AO3)
Chapter 1
Midoriya Izuku: Origins
"If you keep on hurting him, I- I'll stop you myself!"
Four-year-old Izuku stood in front of the cowering child on the ground, protecting him from the wrath of Katsuki and his goons. Katsuki stifled a laugh while the two others behind him just looked baffled.
"Hmph. You wanna pretend to be a hero?" Katsuki slammed his fist into his palm, creating a tiny explosion. His mouth warped into a cruel grin. "You don't stand a chance without a Quirk, Deku."
The three kids rushed at Izuku, causing him to hold his hands up in defense. A huge explosion sparked, superheating the air and spreading smoke everywhere. Izuku winced, all too familiar with the sensation of Katsuki's fist that usually follows such an explosion. However, when it didn't come after a few seconds, Izuku dared to lower his arms, peeking out at the scene.
Katsuki and his two friends were on the ground, soot marring their faces. The goons were coughing, struggling to stand up, while Katsuki himself was frozen on the ground in shock. "Bakugou, wh- what happened?" one of the goons hoarsed, slowly standing back up.
"That wasn't me!" Katsuki stared at his hands, then lifted his gaze to Izuku, who backed away at the fierceness of his stare. For some reason, Izuku looked different. His hair had turned blond, the color eerily similar to Katsuki's hair. "What did you do, you little runt?" he snarled, hopping quickly to his feet. He started to slowly pace towards Izuku, causing the little boy to walk backward.
Izuku waved his hands in front of him frantically, saying, "Kacchan, I- I didn't do anything! Please!"
Anger danced in Katsuki's eyes, and he clenched his fist. He raised the fist up to Izuku's face, opening his hand so that his palm was directly in front of the fearful boy's eyes. "I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson then, useless idiot." He ignited his palm.
"KACCHAN!"
"You should probably give it up."
It wasn't like Izuku didn't expect those words, but he couldn't help but flinch anyway. He tried to contain his trembling, liquid brimming in his eyes. His mom put a hand on his shoulder, looking at the doctor with concern.
"Are you sure? I know it's been so long, but…," she questioned, her words drifting off.
The doctor turned towards the computer monitor on the desk next to him, looking at the picture on the screen. It showed an x-ray of Izuku's foot. "Midoriya's foot shows the absence of the joint in the pinky toe common in Quirk users. Normally, that would mean that he has a Quirk for sure. However, most Quirks manifest at the age of four. Midoriya is ten, and nothing even resembling a Quirk has appeared. It could be that his Quirk is just manifesting very late, but that is extremely unlikely. The more likely and common scenario is that the absence of the joint is just a separate mutation, and has nothing to do with a Quirk. I'm sorry, but at this point, he won't have a Quirk."
"Mom… can I be a hero too?"
Izuku shook his head, casting away his thoughts. He didn't know why those particular memories were surfacing now, but the teacher was lecturing, and he couldn't afford to be left behind. Living without a Quirk, Izuku had to rely on his mind, and the memories only served as a distraction from that.
The teacher at the front knocked on the board, drawing the class's attention to him. Izuku brought his pencil down on his paper, preparing for whatever subject the teacher chose to work on next. However, once the teacher started talking about careers, he stopped listening, knowing already how the discussion would play out.
Izuku wanted more than anything to be a hero, but there was a slight problem- he was Quirkless. It didn't stop him from trying to pursue his dream, but without a Quirk, no one else believed in him. Whenever he had tried to bring up his aspiration to anyone, they had laughed at him, calling him foolish for thinking that he could be a hero. His determination had outcasted him from the rest of the school, but he was fine with that. As long as he had his mom's support and his dream, he could survive.
The school bell rang, but Izuku was too deep in thought to hear it. In his trance, he didn't notice the class leaving the room, or Katsuki and his friends sneaking up on him. "Hey, Deku," Katsuki snarled, the malice in his voice causing Izuku to back up in his chair.
"K- Kacchan, hey!" he replied, voice trembling with fear. He hated the way Katsuki could make him shake with a simple glare, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. Katsuki grinned maniacally, his eyes sweeping over Izuku's desk. Out of the mess of papers on the desk, a notebook stood out to him, and he picked it up, his grin growing wider.
"What's this, huh? Hero Analysis for the Future?" he asked, reading the cover. He dangled the notebook in front of Izuku's eyes, only to pull it back when Izuku tried unsuccessfully to reach for it. Chuckling, he pocketed the notebook and addressed his goons, "Grab him."
His friend activated his Quirk with the same sadistic glee as Katsuki. The boy's fingers elongated, wrapping around Izuku so tightly that he was struggling to breathe. Izuku writhed for a moment, then gave up, having gone through this experience one too many times.
The first time Katsuki had tried to bully the small boy, they had drawn stares as Izuku had been dragged across the hall. Back then, Izuku had fought a lot more. Now, however, students paid no attention to Katsuki's schemes, avoiding the scene out of either boredom or fear. Struggling would only turn out worse for Izuku, he's learned, so he simply counted the seconds until the whole thing was over, trying his best to not break down.
The group made their way to the roof, fingers holding tight against Izuku all the while. They reached the top, the cold wind sending shivers down Izuku's spine. Katsuki grunted for Izuku to be let go, and the kid with the long fingers loosened his hold, sending Izuku to the floor. He lay there, staring at the ground, not daring to look at any of the group.
"Get up." It was an order, and seeing as being disobedient would only make things worse, Izuku was forced to stand. He strenuously met Katsuki's stare, breath hitching when he saw him take the notebook out of his pocket.
"I heard you were applying to U.A. The prestigious hero school that I'm applying for, huh?" Katsuki's voice took a darker tone. "You trying to drag my name down by failing the exam on purpose?"
"N- no, of course not-"
"Shut up. I'm the only one from this crappy school going to U.A., understand? You think Quirkless little Deku can even hold a kindling to me? You think you can get in by taking measly notes on heroes, heroes that you will never be?" Katsuki stepped closer, fire blazing in his eyes.
"Let's get one thing straight, Deku." A finger jabbed into Izuku's chest, an excessive amount of heat emanating from it. "You will never be a hero."
Katsuki ignited the palm with which he held the notebook, charring the worn pages to a crisp. He threw the book over the edge of the roof, bringing a staggering gasp from Izuku. Izuku stepped towards the book, but seeing Katsuki's writing glare, he thought better of it and returned to meekly standing. "Hopefully that'll teach you something about trying to compete with me."
The blond walked back towards the stairwell, his friends following like lemmings. Izuku scrambled to the edge, frantically searching for his notebook. Katsuki stopped before he got to the stairs, turning his head slightly towards Izuku. "Y'know, maybe there is a way for you to get in."
Izuku stopped his search, a small kindling of hope in his heart that maybe Katsuki had some shred of friendship for him left. That hope was quickly extinguished once Katsuki spoke his next words. "You can follow your precious notes off the edge and hope you'll be born with a Quirk in your next life."
Laughter rang out across the sky as Katsuki's group left the roof, leaving Izuku alone, tears welling up in his eyes. He allowed himself a moment of vulnerability before wiping his eyes on his sleeve; crying would lead to more attention, and more attention would lead to more teasing. Izuku brought himself up to his feet and rushed over to the stairs, practically flying down to the ground floor. He slammed the doors open and rushed over to the area where the book had landed, sweeping his eyes over the terrain.
After a few minutes of searching, he finally found it. It was laying in a fountain off to the side, fish nibbling at the now soaked pages. "My dream's turned into fish food…"
He picked up the book, shaking the water droplets off. Flipping through the pages, he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding as he saw that the ink was still visible. "Maybe I can put this over a heater, or let it sun dry…," he muttered, starting his trek home.
His thoughts wandered over to Katsuki and his actions. The bullying had occurred constantly, but this was the furthest he'd gone. "Idiot, you want to be a hero? You can't just walk around telling people to kill themselves. What if I had really done it? What would you have done then?" His mumbling continued as he walked, drawing looks from bystanders but quiet enough to not warrant too much attention. His speech wandered off into an analysis of the hero battle that had happened earlier in the day, where Mt. Lady had made her professional debut. Some bullying would not stop Izuku from pursuing the dream he had had since he was a child.
Izuku's focus on the battle prevented him from paying much attention to his surroundings, instead relying on muscle memory to carry him through the path home. His trance continued as he walked under an arch, and it distracted him enough so he wouldn't notice the sound of slime swirling around behind him until it was too late.
The slime wrapped around his arm, causing Izuku to whip his head around and widen his eyes in panic. He dropped his notebook as the slime pulled him back, crawling all around his body until finally entering his mouth. He gargled, choking at the sudden absence of air, lifting his eyes until he saw some sort of face in the slime. A villain? he thought before his mind was filled with the primal instinct to breathe.
"Thanks, kid," the mouth attached to the slime said, the voice sounding like a nasally old man. The face crept up closer, mouth turning up into an evil grin. "You'll make a perfect skinsuit to escape in. Maybe with you, I can get out of this city before he shows up!"
Izuku couldn't concentrate on the villain's words, too busy with the constricting feeling of his chest. His lungs were stretching, trying to find any small pocket of air to no avail. He could feel the slime in his throat and running down his esophagus, slowly choking up from the inside. The world started to turn black, his eyes rolling up into his head. His arms which had been desperately clawing at his neck fell limp, no oxygen to support them anymore. Is this it? he thought. Is this how I die? No, I'm not ready! Please, someone, save me! Someone, HELP?
"It's alright now, young man. For I am here!"
The slime traveling down his throat stopped in its tracks, and Izuku's clouded mind, even without conscious thought, sparked in hope, his fingers twitching as his side. He had heard that voice almost every day of his life, albeit never in person.
Izuku opened his eyes and saw him, All Might himself, standing in front of the slime villain. His classic smile stretched wide, reassuring Izuku he would be safe and giving him the energy to hold on just a bit longer. All Might threw his arm back, preparing for one of his signature punches. "TEXAS SMASH!"
The punch never hit the villain, and it never needed to. The raw force from the punch created a wind so strong it disintegrated the slime monster, defeating it while keeping Izuku safe. Izuku flew back from the wind, safe from the suffocation he had been suffering. His rapidly closing eyes caught a glimpse of the hero still in the position he used to punch, slime flying everywhere around him. With his limited amount of air, he managed to croak out, "All… Might?"
Then he hit the ground and all went black.
"Hey! Hey! Wake up! Hey!"
The first thing Izuku noticed when coming to was the constant light taps on his cheek, not strong enough to hurt, but enough to sting a little. He groaned, swiping the hand off of his face, and opened his eyes.
The second thing Izuku noticed was All Might's face no more than two feet in front of him.
"Oh good, you're awake!"
Izuku screamed and scurried back at speeds he didn't know were possible, face paling at the sight of his idol. The toned muscle, the hefty voice, the bright smile, everything Izuku adored about the hero was there, amplified through seeing the real thing. His brain blanked out, unable to contain the sheer excitement he was currently experiencing.
"Glad you're okay! It's good to see that you're moving. Sorry that you got caught up in my fighting. Normally I would be able to save a pedestrian in danger faster, but I just couldn't get enough of this beautiful city! HAHAHAHAHA!"
All Might laughed, his voice booming throughout the street. He continued his speech, oblivious to the whimpering mess that was Izuku.
"Either way, you were a big help. Thanks to you, I've managed to defeat this villain!"
He held up a liter bottle meant for soda, except the liquid was replaced by the slime villain. A second soda bottle was in his other hand, containing the other half of the villain. Izuku would normally be creeped out by the slightly gruesome sight had he not been in simultaneous euphoria and stupefaction.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his notebook, freshly charred, laying on the ground. The notebook snapped Izuku out of his state, and an idea popped up in his mind. "H- Holy crap, I gotta get an autograph! I need a pen, gotta be somewhere around here." He picked up the notebook in front of him and grabbed a pen from the pocket of his backpack. He started to flip through the pages, searching for an empty page to put the signature on. "Please sign my notebook, All Mi-"
He flipped to a page that had not previously been there and stopped his begging to look at the unfamiliar writing on the page. On it was a giant signature from All Might, completed with the cartoonish drawing of his eyes he put on every autograph. Izuku squealed, gazing at the signature in utter awe. "He already signed it!" he shouted to no one in particular.
Izuku stood up and started bowing profusely, saying thank you after thank you, knowing that a single word could not possibly express his gratitude. All Might chuckled lightly, throwing out a thumbs up, though Izuku missed it from his eyes looking at the floor more often than not.
"Well, I gotta get this guy to the police," All Might said. He pocketed the two bottles and turned away from Izuku. "Stay out of trouble. See you around!"
"Wait, you're leaving already?" Izuku tried to keep the pleading out of his voice, but to his chagrin, it came out anyway. He can't leave yet! There's so much I want to ask him!
All Might let out a small laugh. "One of the worst enemies of any hero is time. Well then, I'm counting on your continued support! Farewell!" He took a step, crouched, and shot up into the air, the wind blowing his hair and the bottles back. He made sure to keep a firm grip on the bottles to keep them from falling out. Immediately after jumping, however, he noticed a minuscule but unfamiliar weight around his leg. The weight was followed by an extremely unfamiliar screaming sound coming from his leg as well, and All Might looked down to see an extremely frightened Izuku Midoriya wrapped around his calf.
"What-" he started, not used to anyone going this far to talk to him. Izuku continued to scream, head and eyelids whipping around in the wind as All Might tried to push him off. "Hey, hey, hey, let go! I love my fans but this is a little too much!" he shouted, hoping to be heard over the wind and the screaming.
"I- If I let go, I'll die!" Izuku blabbered, his voice getting distorted by the wind. All Might immediately stopped trying to remove the small boy, letting out a "Good point."
"I- I just have so m- much to ask you!" Izuku continued, hands gripping tighter around All Might's leg.
"Okay, okay, sheesh! Just cover your eyes and mouth." Izuku buried his face into All Might's pants, blocking the wind from blowing his eyes out. All Might put a hand on Izuku's back to secure him, looking ahead for where to land. He let out a small cough, a drop of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Cursing silently, he landed on the top of a stone building with a slam, letting the trembling Izuku down onto the floor.
"My w- whole life j- just flashed before my eyes…" Izuku wheezed, kneeling on the floor. He raised his gaze to All Might, who was walking away, his expression unreadable.
"That wasn't a very smart idea. Knock on the door, I'm sure the people downstairs will let you in. Now, I really have to go." All Might's tone was flatter than usual, and he prepped for another jump.
Izuku came out of his stupor at those words, standing up and facing All Might. "No, wait!" he said panickedly, reaching out to the tall hero.
"I will not wait!" All Might's words came out harsh, but Izuku was too determined to ask him his question to be deterred by words alone.
"Please, I have to know!" Memories flashed back into his mind, memories of the doctor telling him his fate, memories of him and his mother crying together, memories of Katsuki bullying him overlapping each other as every iteration of him yelling about how Quirkless Deku would never be a hero resurfacing. He had been chasing this dream for years and years, and now he had the number one hero, his idol, his goal in front of him. He wouldn't let anything stop him.
"Sometimes I feel like a failure. Everyone around me certainly reminds me of it. But I've had a dream since I was young, since I first saw you." Izuku took a deep breath, steeling himself for his next words.
"I'm a normal kid without any powers. I'm Quirkless." All Might stopped in his tracks at these words. "But all of my life, my goal was to become a hero."
"Can I do it? Can someone without a Quirk be a hero?"
"Could I ever hope to be someone like you?"
All Might turned his head halfway to Izuku. His smile did not match his expression, which seemed to be contemplating. "Quirkless…" he muttered, attempting to continue his sentence, but was stopped by a swath of pain. He flinched, his smile turning to a frown as he keeled over. Steam emanated from his body as he started to groan in pain. "Dammit, not now… not here," he gasped, low enough to be out of Izuku's hearing.
Izuku himself didn't notice any of this, as his eyes were looking towards the floor in vulnerability. He continued his pleading, seeming to think that All Might wasn't convinced yet. "No one thinks I can. They think that not having any powers makes me weak. But them saying that only makes me want to prove them wrong.
He continued, oblivious to the excessive smoke now hiding All Might from view. "Ever since I was a kid, I've thought that being a hero is the coolest, best thing you can do. I want to be the type of hero that inspires hope, that people can see my smile and feel safe. I want to be someone that everyone in the world looks up to. Just like you!"
At these words, he finally looked up at All Might with hope in his eyes, only for it to be replaced with shock at the sight of a very different man in his place. The new man was frail, looking extremely breakable, and was shorter than All Might. However, there were very obvious similarities to All Might present in the man as well. They both had the same frayed hair and the same dark eyes, although the eyes of the newcomer were actually visible.
Izuku noticed all of this in a couple of seconds, his face slowly blanching as he realized what was happening. This man… was All Might!
Izuku screamed.
Katsuki was walking down an alleyway with his followers, eyebrows scrunched in mild anger. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, indicating his desire to be in silence, but his friends kept talking anyway. It was pissing him off, but he couldn't afford to be rid of these inferiors yet. Someone has to do the work he wouldn't waste his time on.
"Weren't you and Midoriya good friends when you were kids?" one of them asked. Katsuki's fist curled into a fist at the mention of the green-haired boy. Oblivious, the other friend continued the conversation. "Yeah, you might've gone a bit too far back there, telling him to jump."
Katsuki sneered. "His own fault for trying to get in my way." He kicked a soda bottle on the ground to relieve his anger. "That nerd and I haven't been friends in years."
His mind flashed back to a memory of when they were four, when Izuku had protected some kid that they were picking on. Katsuki tensed, wondering why he was remembering this particular memory now. He distinctly remembered an explosion, a huge one, except he wasn't the one who had made it. A hand had been in front of him, Izuku's hand, outstretched in exactly the way that Katsuki used his hand with his Quirk.
His goons were too stupid to realize it, but Katsuki wasn't an idiot. Izuku had made the explosion. Somehow, Izuku had fired his Quirk back at him. The only reason Katsuki had kept Izuku around for all of elementary school was because he had considered the fact that the tiny boy may not be useless after all.
Years passed, though, and Katsuki's hopes dimmed. Izuku somehow became more worthless than when they were toddlers, with his constant note-taking and baseless dreams. Katsuki resigned himself to the fact that Izuku truly was Quirkless, and started to treat him the way he treated all people he considered lesser: he tormented them.
The emotions the memories brought up caused Katsuki's chest to swell in anger, and he kicked a soda bottle on the ground in frustration. Izuku wasn't supposed to make him angry. He was useless, a being that lived up to the name Deku. He was a speck of dust in the storm that was to be Katsuki's future.
So why then did the thought of Izuku rile him up so much?
Shaking his head, he tuned back into the conversation his friends were having. They were saying something about a bar, or an arcade. He didn't know, but he tried to indulge himself in their words. It was much better than thinking of that insignificant brat, after all.
"Ahh! Imposter!"
"I assure you that I am All Migh-"
Blood promptly fell out of All Might's mouth.
"AHHH!"
Izuku was still in shock, his jaw dropped to the ground. His idol had just transformed into a smaller person and spit blood right in front of him. Legs trembling, he heaved his lungs as All Might stared at him in indifference, waiting for the boy to calm down.
"I'm dreaming! I have to be!" The boy started mumbling, causing All Might to raise an eyebrow. "This clearly can't be real. All Might is a giant of a man who saves everyone. He never loses, he defeats all obstacles. He saves the day with a fearless smile!"
"There's plenty of fear behind that smile," All Might muttered, dragging Izuku's attention. The hero sat down, placing his hands on his knees, preparing for a long conversation.
"I hope you understand you can't tell anyone. Don't go online with this, or tell your friends." Before Izuku could respond, he pulled up his shirt enough to see his ribs. Izuku gasped, this time with a hint of worry as he saw the wound all over All Might's chest. It looked like a puncture wound, concentrated on one spot near his stomach, with lines of purple striking out like the rays to a dying sun.
"I got this in a fight five years ago. My respiratory system was practically destroyed. I lost my stomach, and the surgeries have worn my body out. It can't be fixed."
He paused for a moment, then continued. "I can only be in my hero form for about three hours a day now. Rest of the time, this is what I look like."
Izuku racked his brain to try to remember what devastating fight All Might had five years ago. "Was it your fight with Toxic Chainsaw?" he asked, uncertainty making his voice waver.
All Might let out a slight chuckle, lightening the dark mood a little. "You sure know your stuff, huh? But no. That guy might've landed some hits, but he couldn't bring me down." He raised his fist while speaking in a display of pride, however minuscule it was. After a moment, however, he lowered it, the grim expression taking over again.
"Most of the world has never heard of this fight. I did everything I could to keep it a secret. I'm supposed to be the guy who's always smiling. I'm the worldwide Symbol of Peace. Everyone has to, needs to think that I'm not afraid. But honestly, I smile to hide the fear inside me. It's only a brave face I put on when the pressure gets high. This job isn't easy."
Izuku's breath hitched, realizing what All Might was trying to say. Before he could do anything else, the hero met his gaze with a stern one and continued. "Heroes every day have to risk their lives. Some villains just can't be beaten without powers. I'm sorry to say this, but to be a hero without a Quirk is just impossible."
Izuku's heart dropped to his feet, the realization he had been avoiding for all of his life finally crashing down on him. He wanted to say something, but his mouth refused to utter a word.
All Might stood up, walking towards the door to the stairs and opening it. "If you want to help people, there are many other ways to do it. You could be a police officer. They get crap because heroes capture most of the villains, but it's an honorable profession nonetheless."
He paused before walking further, contemplating his next words. "Having a dream is never a bad thing, young man. But eventually, you have to make sure your dreams are attainable." He stepped through the frame, closing the door with a click.
Izuku stood there for a solid minute, too distraught to move. His dream was far-fetched, he knew, and everyone had told him as much. But to hear it from the person who inspired his dream- it was too much, and he needed a second to recollect himself.
Before he could do anything, a large explosion sounded in the distance. He snapped out of his moping, his instinctual battle analysis overtaking any emotion he had. "A villain! I wonder which hero will show?" he mumbled, racing towards the door. After only a few steps, however, he remembered what All Might had said. "To be a hero without a Quirk is just impossible." He stopped, hands curled into trembling fists at his side. Fighting the tears welling up for the millionth time today, he trudged towards the door, trying his best to forget about the day entirely. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could keep his delusions of being a hero someday.
Izuku wandered the streets, going nowhere in particular, flipping aimlessly through his hero notebook. He wasn't paying attention at all to the words on the page, instead opting to wallow in his own despair. The day's events kept playing again and again in his mind, however much he tried to cast them away.
"You should probably give it up."
"Make sure your dreams are attainable."
"You will never be a hero."
He sniffled, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Don't cry, he told himself. You've known this was coming.
Another explosion snapped him from his daze, and he turned towards the sound. He found himself across the street from a huge crowd, fire blazing in the alley they were looking at. Huh. Guess I wandered here subconsciously.
He walked over to the crowd, more out of habit than curiosity. What's the point, anyway? Everything I've ever done is useless. His eyes wandered up to the fight, and his mind immediately snapped into panic mode, wide eyes forming at the sight in front of him.
It was the slime villain who captured him, now larger than the buildings around him, laughing at the utter destruction he was causing. He was smashing everything around him, flames licking at the slime rushing around. Numerous heroes stood at the scene, desperately trying to control the flames or save people in buildings. Some of the heroes tried to land a hit on the villain, only to be thrown out fifty feet away. No… no, no, no! That's the villain who attacked me! How- that's impossible!
His mind flashed back to the events of the day, All Might showing him the villain in the bottle, Izuku hanging on to All Might's leg, All Might on the rooftop, bottle out of sight. But… the bottle… if he dropped it, that means…
It's all my fault.
The crowd started whispering, anxious at the sight of the heroes' struggle.
"He has a kid trapped in there…"
"Isn't that the villain who All Might fought earlier?"
"All Might lost to him!? No, that's impossible…"
"He's destroying everything…"
Izuku clamped his hands to his mouth, trying his hardest not to spill his insides from disgust. He could barely hold himself straight, knees trembling, water brimming in his eyes. He wasted his energy on me… I'm the one to blame… Now he can't power up, and no one else can stop him.
He dropped to his knees, staring at the monster through the gaps in the crowd.
It's my fault, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. Someone will come, someone has to, please. Someone has to fix the mess I've made!
The monster writhed, exposing the kid that was inside. Izuku hadn't even thought of the kid in his own misery. Some person I am. The kid was struggling, much more than he himself had done when he was trapped. His face moved for a second, his eyes meeting Izuku's. It was a glance of desperation, of pleading. Izuku squinted, a hint of familiarity sparking in his mind. It can't be…
Before he could process another thought, he found himself running, not away from the fight like any rational person, but towards it. Adrenaline shot through his veins, and he pushed himself to go as fast as he could. "Kacchan!" he shouted, drawing Katsuki's attention to him. "Deku?..." the blond groaned, only motivating Izuku to go faster.
The fire flickered around him, stinging his skin but in no way deterring him. He heard faint voices shouting at him, probably the heroes, but he couldn't discern them. All he could focus on was Katsuki, stuck in the monster, just as he had been.
What do I do? What would a hero do? His thoughts flickered like lightning, scanning his memories for every hero battle he had ever analyzed. One page in his notebook stood out in particular. Of course! Page 25, book 13, Kamui Woods makes his enemies flinch! Maybe I can do something similar.
He racked his brain to think of something he could use. In desperation, he flung his backpack at the monster, aiming for the eyes. The projectile reached its target, making the monster stumble and blink. It staggered, creating a small opening in its body- tiny in comparison, but enough to reveal Katsuki's face. Izuku ran up and started clawing at the slime.
"D- Deku, why…," Katsuki muttered, still under strain from the binding of the monster.
"Kacchan…" Izuku's tears were out in full force now, nothing stopping them from hitting the ground. "I- I couldn't just stand around and watch you die!"
All Might grasped the street light's pole, unable to believe what he was witnessing. The kid he had lectured from earlier, the kid without a Quirk, without a power, he was the one fighting the monster.
He felt his limbs start to swell, the familiar strength returning to his muscles. I have to fight, no matter the cost. I have to be the hero! His body grew, his anger fueling his drive. No matter what, I am All Might, the Symbol of Peace!
The villain recollected himself, giving Izuku a harsh stare. "I'm done playing with you, kid," he snarled, bringing his slimy tendrils up. Izuku froze, glancing at the huge mass of slime about to smother him. He was out of options, but he couldn't die here. He couldn't let Katsuki die here.
Suddenly, he felt something. A tug at his mind. Something that he had never felt before, but was somehow familiar to the core. He looked behind him, the feeling approaching him quickly. To his surprise, he found that the heroes were rushing towards him. They were too far to help him, but the tugging feeling was coming from them. He didn't know why he could feel it, but it was definitely emanating from one of the heroes.
He focused on the feeling, honing it to a specific location. Looking from hero to hero, his eyes finally rested on the person giving off the feeling. Death Arms.
The tugging intensified, now a relentless urge attacking his mind. Everything in his mind was telling him to accept the feeling, to grasp it. His mind had never failed him before, so he listened. He mentally grabbed the tugging and pulled.
All Might, in his hero form, shot off from his spot. He had seen the monster raise his tendrils in a clear attempt to kill Izuku. He would not allow that. He was All Might, for God's sake. If he couldn't protect one kid, how could he call himself the Symbol of Peace?
He ran as fast as he could, but as he got closer, he got more desperate. The monster let out a roar, then brought his hand down with the force of a building. All Might was a second too late. The slime hit its mark, spreading dust everywhere and hiding the battle from view. He ran into the dust, clearing some of it with his punches, desperately searching for the kids. All Might shouted and screamed, but no response.
Finally, enough dust cleared for him to see more than two feet in front of him. His eyes widened when he saw Izuku and the slime monster in view, and he froze once he saw the results of what had occurred. The dust was too large for the heroes or the crowd to see, but All Might witnessed everything. What… No, it can't be…
Everything hurt. He couldn't move his limbs, couldn't feel the air, the only sense being the excessive strain coming from his body. His eyes were closed, the pain too intense to move. His muscles were screaming for a break, but he stood fast, not sure what he was doing, but knowing it was the only thing keeping him from death.
The villain groaned. "What… what is this? What are you doing?"
Izuku wasn't too sure himself. The last thing he remembered was looking at Death Arms, then bracing his arms above himself to shield from the slime onslaught about to crash into him. The arm hit him and the world went black for a moment. When he came to, his body was numb.
He tried to open his eyes, but quickly shut them from the sting of the dust. Feeling was slowly starting to return in his arms, and he felt a pressure heaving onto them. Slowly, he raised his head, opened his eyes once more- and gasped.
His arms were above him, pushing back against the slime. But they weren't his arms. It was like Death Arms' arms had somehow attached themselves onto Izuku, replacing his normal, frail arms with strong and burly ones.
He suddenly realized where the pain was coming from. His arms were single-handedly preventing the slime monster from crushing him, creating a protective barrier that no force could break through. The villain let out a frustrated growl, pushing more and more of his mass to the tendril to try to break Izuku's defense, to no avail.
Izuku's eyes flickered over to Katsuki, who was still stuck in the slime. He wore a baffled expression, which was understandable given the circumstances. Looking past the monster, he saw All Might standing behind, eyes and jaw wide open at the sight. Soot covered the rest of the place, blocking the crowd from view.
All Might… Before he could continue his thought, the monster reared back, letting out a roar. "Stupid kid! I'm gonna smack you into next week!"
He brought down a tendril again, this time slamming it down with much more force. Time started to move in slow motion. Izuku could feel himself dropping to the ground, his arms shrinking back to normal size. He put that fact in the back of his mind, choosing to focus on the more important problem at hand. He saw the slime slowly coming down to smash him into kingdom come. Whatever he had done to protect himself, he knew he wouldn't be able to do it again. His body was dripping with exhaustion, and his arms were shaking from the previous strain. His eyes started to close, the world fading out of view. The last thing he heard was something like thunder and a loud "DETROIT SMASH!" before his head hit the ground, and all went black once more.
"Kid! Hey! Wake up! Hey!"
Izuku felt a slight sense of deja vu as he swiped at the hand slapping his face, sitting up slowly. He opened his eyes and found All Might standing above him, just like earlier, except this time Izuku didn't freak out and rush backward. Instead, he wearily asked, "All Might? W- Where are we? What happened?"
The tall hero stepped back, a worried expression casting his face along with his usual smile. "Oh, we're simply in an alley I happened to find," he replied, offering a hand.
Izuku took it, heaving himself up. He looked around, finding them in an alley that was on his usual path to school. The sun was burning a bright orange, almost touching the ground, and All Might stood with his back facing the light, casting a shadow over the young teen.
Before he could say anything, All Might continued in a loud and hearty voice. "I'm glad you're okay, young man! You really scared me there for a second, but everything turned out just fine!" He let out a loud laugh, setting his hands on his hips. "That villain stood no chance! Why? Because I am All Migh-"
All Might promptly exploded into steam and reverted back to his true form, causing Izuku to scream in surprise. After letting out a few coughs, he turned to Izuku, a more serious expression in his eyes.
"I wanted to thank you, young man. If you hadn't told me about your life, if you hadn't tried to save that kid, I would've been a worthless bystander, watching from the crowd."
Izuku's eyes widened at the praise, and he quickly stepped back, waving his hands in front of him. "O- Oh, no! I'm the reason he was there in the first place! I wasted your energy, wasted your time."
He looked away from the hero, feeling the guilt crash over him when All Might interrupted. "I'm not done, kid."
"You told me you were Quirkless. That you didn't have a power. So when I saw this powerless boy rush into danger to save someone, it inspired me to act too."
"There are stories about every hero, stories about how they became great. All of them have one thing in common." Izuku turned back to All Might, letting out a small gasp at the hero's words. All Might continued his speech, giving him a look that to Izuku felt like he was staring into his very soul.
"They all moved without thinking, their bodies acting for them. They didn't hesitate to save anyone, despite the danger that they faced." The boy started to sniffle, overcome with an emotion that he hadn't felt for a while, but had now suddenly come back full force. His body sank with the emotion, knees crumbling as he started to practically weep.
"That's what happened to you today, isn't it?" The question slammed into Izuku's core, and he nodded, though he wasn't sure if it was noticeable enough for All Might to see. He was outright sobbing at this point. He grasped his chest, the tears making it hard to breathe. He looked up at All Might, who was staring down at him not with pity, but with admiration.
The emotion grew and grew until he couldn't contain it anymore. And finally, Izuku recognized the feeling. It was hope. But it wasn't regular hope, the type you get when someone comes to save you. No, it was hope for the future, hope for his future. Finally, someone was telling him the words he had been wanting to hear, waiting to hear his whole life. He had a chance to live his life, to accomplish the dream that was stuck in his mind, the only life he could ever think of leading.
And as All Might uttered his next words, Izuku's mind enforced them, solidifying what he had believed for years and years into complete fact.
"You can become a hero."
Izuku cried out, whether in joy or desperation he couldn't tell, as the number one hero spoke those words. The sun blazed behind All Might, shining its glow on them as the boy tried to piece through what had happened, though subconsciously, he knew exactly what had happened. It was the beginning of an era. He wouldn't have any idea, couldn't have any idea how much those five words would affect him throughout his life, propelling him through any hardship, any challenge.
Every hero has an origin story, a story about how they became strong, how they became a hero. This day was Izuku Midoriya's origin story. This was the start of his journey.
This is the story of how Izuku Midoriya, wielder of One for All and All for One, became the greatest hero of all time.