Chapter 3
('Thoughts' Flashbacks/dreams)
=o=
It was early in the morning when Izuku and Katsuki met All Might at the beach, for Izuku's training Katsuki is there for moral support and maybe work on his explosions as well. It had been a few weeks into the young teens training or what Katsuki likes to call it a work out nightmare….. Izuku agreed it was a nightmare but he had to work hard.
"Oof!" Was the sound that slipped passed the greenettes chapped lips as he crashed into the dirt.
He struggled to get up before grabbing the tire once more and started jogging to the truck to drop it off there before doing back for more trash. Katsuki was using his explosions to help Izuku with gathering trash. All Might, Yagi Toshinori, stood by giving the two teens advice and encouragement when ever they stumble, mainly Izuku how stumbled a lot.
A month passed, Izuku had started doing workouts at school, sleeping less and struggling to eat with the very little amount of food that his mother buys for the week. So the teen had started helping neighbors with yard work or helping the elderly. Katsuki slowly began to take notice of his friends looks, light shades of purple began forming under his green eyes, he was slightly paler despite being outside at the beach for hours. So Katsuki decided to follow his friend around to see what was going on with him.
Much to Katsuki's horror, he had found his friend working out at any free moment that Izuku had. He watched as Izuku help his neighbor's just to earn a little bit of money before running to the store just to walk out with enough food for two or three meals for the day. This made the teen worry for his friend and decided to pack bigger lunches to share with Izuku for both at school and at the beach.
=o=
It had happened when the trio were jogging, Toshinori was in the front followed by Katsuki and lastly Izuku falling behind looking like a tired zombie. Izuku panted as he tried to focus on his breathing and on not falling flat on his face. As he made another step Izuku's knees buckled causing him to fall crashing onto the ground.
THUD
The two turned around to see an extremely tired teen lying on the ground gasping for air, flushed red cheeks as sweat soaked his hair and shirt and ran down his forehead.
"Izuku!" Katsuki shouted.
"Young Midoriya!" Toshinori called after.
They ran over to the now teary eyed teen. Worry written over the two males faces as Katsuki rolled his friend onto his back to see tears rolling down the sides of his face.
"Izu… Izu are you okay?" The ash blond teen asked.
The hero watched as the young teen just lay there, biting his lip, hands turned white knuckled as he clutched his hands into fists.
"I don't know what is wrong? I made you a perfect schedule that would help you in achieving your dreams?" All Might said, looking slightly confused. "Haven't you been following it? Don't you want to be a hero?" The hero asked.
Izuku was silent, Katsuki was about to snap at the hero before Izuku spoke up.
"Yes… I have been following the schedule but… I have to work harder…. All of the other kids have years to prepare and know how to use their quirks." Izuku said, slowly got up and face the hero and his friend with a determined look in his green eyes. "I sat by and waited for a quirk and did nothing! I ignored the fact that I could have been doing workouts or helping neighbors! I have to work harder than everyone else! I have to catch up to them if I ever want to achieve my dream of being a hero! So I can save people and make them feel safe!" Izuku shouted at the end.
Katsuki swore he saw a different person in front of him instead of his friend. All Might was impressed and smiled.
"Alright then. I'll rework your schedule and you will follow it this time. I don't want you fainting on me again, that is the same with you young Bakugo I don't want you passing out either." The hero said, the two teens nodded before they continued on.
Izuku mentally berated himself for the lack of care and for showing weakness. Maybe that's why his mother hates him?
=o=
Months passed and the beach was finally cleaned and Izuku had gained One For All and he and Katsuki had about an hour before they take their entrance exam for UA. Toshinori had decided to take the boys out for breakfast as a reward.
"I am very proud of you both. You two have come so far in a very short time." Toshinori said.
"Thank you sensei." The two said, bowing slightly to the Pro Hero.
"You know I feel like we are going to ace this test!" Katsuki said, with full confidence.
"Yeah, I wonder what the test is going to be?" Izuku said, looking out the small Cafe's window and spotted his mother and her new boyfriend walking on the opposite side of the street.
This made the teen sad that his mother would date a new guy every week and never being satisfied with anything they did for her. It left a bitter taste in the greenette's mouth knowing that she is just using them like with half of the men that she used when Izuku was younger. He hated her for that because they would come back and he would pay for her mistakes.
"Oh look at the time you boys should hurry along and get ready. I would hate for you two to miss your exam." Said the older male.
Izuku and Katsuki both nodded before bidding the hero a good day before they raced to their separate homes. Izuku was thankful that his mother was gone for the moment and rushed to take a warm shower for once and got into his middle school uniform and grabbed his spare light green jumpsuit that the Bakugo's had gotten him at the beginning of the school year.
Izuku ran out of his room and went to the kitchen and grabbed a little bit of food before leaving the apartment after locking the door. As he exited the building the teen ran into his mother and her new boyfriend. Inko blinked before glaring at her son.
"Inko Is this kid yours? He looks just like you?" The man said.
The man was a head taller than Izuku and towered over him, dark brown eyes, black hair that was military cut. Inko sighed.
"Yes this is my son. He is mainly out all of the time so he won't bother us really." she said.
Izuku knew that was a lie, she knew that he was there but she would ignore him at any given moment.
"Izuku this is my boyfriend Jack. Jack, love, this is Izuku my… son." Inko said.
The word 'Son' made the teens insides turn with rage and bitterness that he held towards his own mother. Izuku was careful to not let his mask slip when he smiled at the man, keeping all negative emotions in a small box tightly wrapped with chains buried deep in his mind. It had taken the teen years of practice to show fake smiles and fake positive emotions when he was around his mother and her endless amounts of boyfriends.
"It's nice to meet you Jack," no it isn't, " I am really sorry on cutting this short but I have an entrance exam to get to…. Have a good day! Bye!" Izuku said before running off.
The last thing that Izuku heard before he was out of ear shot was his mother's voice.
"Don't disappoint Izuku!" She said.
Izuku knew the true meaning of that phrase. 'You are already a disappointment, just don't make a fool of our name.' That hurt the young teen more than it should have.
=o=
Izuku arrived at the front gates of UA, where the test will be held in, and saw Katsuki standing there waiting for him. Izuku ran to where Katsuki was standing but not before he tripped.
'Great, not only am I a disappointment to my own mother, I am going to make a big fool out of myself in front of the other examinees as well!' Izuku thought to himself.
Closing his eyes as he was preparing himself to fit the ground when he felt light as a feather. Izuku yelped as he realized that he was floating in the air, a voice spoke up and had spooked him.
"I am sorry! I shouldn't have used my quirk on you without your permission!" a panicked female voice reached the surprised teens ears.
The next thing Izuku knew he was up right and on the ground once more, the feeling of gravity had returned to him once more. Izuku looked at the girl with a look of surprise as she rambled on about 'It would be a bad omen to fall before the test' and 'Good luck' before leaving a shocked Izuku behind.
"A girl spoke to me…. Of her own free will…." Izuku said in a daze of shock.
"Izu come on you're gonna make us late!" Katsuki stated as he dragged his still shocked friend behind him, feeling slightly worried for the usually chatty teen.
Though the silence didn't last for too long, the sight of the school made Izuku gasp in pure awe and excitement. The school was tall and looked like a big giant 'H' on all four sides, like one of those building blocks that toddlers play with, the grass and trees were trimmed perfectly and the pathway that leads to the front entrance was smooth with brick.
=o=
Finding the right room for the next exam was easy for the duo, they were also sitting next to each other so Izuku was less panicked about sitting far away from his friend. The room was loud for a moment before the teacher walked into the room, everyone was dead silent. Izuku and Katsuki stared at each other with wide eyes and jaws dropped when they saw who it was. Present Mic.
"Hello Listeners! Welcome to the Entrance Exams! I'm Pro Hero Present Mic! Can I get a 'YEAH'!" Present Mic said with endless amount of excitement.
Everyone was silent, Izuku and Katsuki looked at each other and grinned before opening their mouths.
"YEAH!" They shouted together with pride.
"YEEEAAAHHH!" The Hero cheered grinning widely. "You two are my favorite listener's, way better than the other group from last week." He said.
Izuku and Katsuki grin's widened further at the comment. Izuku looked around and noticed that some of the examiness looked at the two with glares. At this Izuku frowned and looked at the sheet in front of him. Present Mic went over everything for the exam, Izuku took notice of the number of 'villains' that were on the sheet.
'That's weird? The sheet says that there are four but Present Mic said that there are three point robots… Maybe the fourth one is a four pointer or a-' Izuku was stop in mid thought by a student.
The student looked like he was moving like a robot with a straight back, legs planted shoulder length apart, one arm raised high into the air while the other was glued to his side. He had short navy blue hair, gelled slightly, rectangular framed pair of glasses and a stern look in his blue eyes.
"Excuse my interruption sir!" He started. "But it you mentioned that there are three robots but it says on the sheet that there are four. UA is the top best school in all of Japan and this error in the test is an error in the school's reputation!" The teen stated. "And you with the curly green hair!" He turned to face Izuku and Katsuki with a harsh glare.
"M-me?" Izuku squeaked out, paling slightly at the sudden call out.
"Stop your muttering this once! If you aren't serious about this test then leave because the rest of us are taking this test seriously!" He stated in a cold tone.
Izuku blushed before looking down slightly at the comment. On the outside it looked like he was embarrassed but on the inside the comment hurt the teen and added to the list of things that made him 'Useless' and 'Worthless' while adding power to his mother's, along with others, words.
"Now, now examine 17111. I am glad that you had spotted that!" the teacher said as the teen sat down once more. 'The Last 'Villain' is a Zero pointer." Present Mic said. "It is worth nothing, but when you see it I suggest you run away from it, for it is meant to destroy the area around it." He finished.
After that Izuku listened to the hero give the schools famous quote before dismissing us to go change and head to our assigned exam zones. Izuku and Katsuki were in different areas, which Izuku was kinda happy about knowing that his friend would rank up points and leave none for him. Izuku took breaths as he mentally gave himself a pep talk. A thought popped into his head of a quote that a hero once said, a hero that was not known to anyone around but Izuku was lucky to come across this hero when he was younger.
"There is no 'Ready, Set, Go in a fight. The Villains aren't going to give you that pleasure. In a real fight you must act on instinct and go or else you end up dead in an alleyway or on the side of the road."
It was a good quote that the teen remembered. Izuku looked around and spotted the nice girl from earlier, wondering if he should wish her luck or something but a hand snapped him out of his thoughts. Green eyes met cold blue eyes.
'Great~ it's the teen from earlier…. Yeah~... Ugh.' Izuku mentally groaned at this.
"Can you see that she's trying to focus? Are you taking this for the fun of it? You should leave if you are." He scolded.
More words filled Izuku's head, before Izuku could dwell on them Present Mic shouted at everyone.
"GO!"
In a blink of an eye Izuku ran into the fake city, leaving everyone confused and some complained. Izuku at the moment didn't care, he was running off of adrenaline from his excitement for completing All Mights training, the burning rage against his mother, the burning rage against his mother's exes (one of them found Izuku two weeks ago), the need to prove himself to his ex-classmates, to his friend Katsuki, to that annoying strict teen for downgrading him in front of everyone…. And to All Might that he has chosen the right person for One for All.
When the first robot appeared in front of Izuku, the teen grabbed it's arms and Judo flipped it over his shoulders. He silently thanked Misuki for teaching him a few moves on self defense when he was younger, plus the training with All Might and Katsuki also helped with his strength in fighting.
"That is one point." Izuku said as he ran.
The teens blinked at this while Present Mic was laughing at this.
"If I were you, I would follow that kid's example and go, 'cause in reality there is no count down! Now, go go GO!" The hero chirped happily watching the other run in.
=o=
Izuku was working up a sweat as he continued to destroy different point bots he was at a total of seven, but he needed more and sadly time was running out and there are less and less point bots to be seen. Even the nice girl and rude boy had more than him.
The teachers in the spectator room watched the monitors of the progress of the whole test. All Might watched the two teens that he had trained work hard in the exam, Katsuki was destroying the point bots left right and center ranking up points while Izuku started to struggle on finding them and only had seven points.
"Man that kid is really going all out." One of the teachers said, pointing to Katsuki.
"Yeah but look at the one kid with the green hair, he may have had a few seconds head start but he is really struggling…" Another said.
In the middle of the room the Principal looked at the two mentioned teens with interest but the green haired teen interested him even more. Principal Nedzu, is he a dog, bear, or a mouse?, had looked at Izuku's record and was pleasantly pleased at his high marks in his classes and that he was a very smart boy. He was someone that interested the Principal greatly.
"I think that it is time to mix things up a bit for the students." He said sipping his tea before breaking into a mad laughter as he watched a teacher hit a big red button.
Izuku frozen when the ground began to tremble and kids began running away, some were screaming. When the teen looked up when a shadow passed over head. There stood a giant robot, towering over them all.
"THAT'S THE ZERO POINTER!" Izuku shouted.
He turned to run when he heard it.
"Ow!"
He turned and saw the nice girl from before, her leg was being crushed under fallen rubble.
"Please! Someone help me!" She begged.
Izuku ran, he ran towards her. Ignoring shouts of the other teens for him to run away.
'A hero never runs away nor do they leave someone behind!' Izuku mentally yelled in his head.
He crouched feeling a surge of power in his legs before launching into the air.
"To use One for All you must clench your buttocks"
All Might's words filled his head, power surged into his right arm ripping his sleeve clean off his arm.
"And yell from the bottom of your heart,"
"SMAAASH!" Izuku yelled as he threw a punch at the zero pointer's face.
The power of the punch crushed the bots face in while the rest of its body crumbled and fell backwards. There was a shock wave that followed after, it had freed the girl and caused the others to cover their faces to avoid dust and dirt getting caught in their eyes.
'I… I… I did it…. Kacchan, All Might…. I did it!' He mentally cheered before realizing that he began to fall.
"CRAP!" Izuku shouted.
Both his legs and along with his right arm, were broken from the backlash of the quirk. Izuku was trying to think of a way to soften his landing but the only thing that he could think of was to use his quirk again and risk breaking his other arm. Just before he could do anything, his face was slapped which followed by his whole body gently floating to the ground. Izuku looked to his left to see the girl that he saved laying across a chuck of broken metal with the tips of her fingers pressed together.
When the two were a meter from the ground she shouted 'Release' and Gravity returned to them and Izuku hit the ground with a 'Oof' before hearing the girl puking up a sparkly rainbow galaxy.
"A-are you… okay?" The greenette asked.
"Ye-yeah…" She replied.
Izuku tried to get up but he couldn't move his legs nor his arm. Pain shot through his limbs causing him to groan in pain.
"D-Dang it… I… need to…. Get more… points…" Izuku panted out.
"AND THAT IS TIME!" Present Mic called out.
'No…. N-no…. I-I f-failed… I failed the exam…. I… I'm a failure…' The teen thought to himself, head falling to the ground as tears welled in his eyes.
"Here you go, have a gummy." A kind voice said in the distance. "Oh dear me!" The lady gasped.
Izuku looked up to see a Pro Hero, the youthful Recovery Girl stood in front of the injured teen before she kissed Izuku's forehead. Immediately his Arm and legs were healed in a blink of an eye. The older lady offered a gentle smile to the teen but it slowly turned into a frown upon looking into his saddened eyes, eyes that once held hope was now turned into empty voids.
The teachers looked at the teen and saw the look and frowned at it, they are used to seeing some kids not making it but they are usually in good spirits after the test. But there was a deeper meaning to this teens eyes, All Might was shocked by this to think that this was the same teen that he got to know for the past ten months. The same teen who showed determination on being a hero and working hard, but to see him look so… broken made the hero think that there was something going on in the boys life that made the hero suspicious.
=o=