What's this? Yes, I have posted another chapter; no, I don't write this fast. I made the first six or so chapters were made before I even Made my fanfiction account, so I'm just formatting and uploading them every day until I hit the block. So no, I can't write two thousand plus words a day. There are exceptions, but those are random and depending on my mood. Onto the time where the canon was fired!
"Alright, class, it's at this time that I'm supposed to have you write down your career choice. I know that the vast majority of you want to be heroes though" The teacher's words had the whole class in celebration.
"Hey teach! Don't put me in with these others!" Katsuki's words rang throughout the room as the students turned to him.
"The hell!"
"What do ya mean by that!?"
"Shut up you secondary characters!" The teacher tried to change the subject after Katsuki's response to their jeers.
"That's right, aren't you going to be aiming for UA?" the classes reaction changed as people were discussing How hard it was to get in there.
"Oh yeah, Midoriya was planning on enrolling there too!" That one line shifted the class attention once again. Izuku gave a shy smile as he scratched the back of his head at their inquiries. In another life, he may have been ashamed of himself, but not now he was just uncomfortable. He had Anima-sensei and Jesse-san to believe and push him now. He moved his hero notebook #13 off his desk just before Bakugo blew it up.
"What the hell, Deku?! Tell me when you're doing something like this!" His shout echoed over his classmates. Seeing him look sheepish, Bakugo gave his rival a verbal nudge.
"Let's see whether your martial arts can measure up to my quirk. Whoever get's a better score on the entrance exam wins!" It was known since primary school that Izuku had taken up martial arts, and Bakugo found it to be one of his few points of pride he could push to get him involved in a contest.
"The whole point martial arts were cultivated in the first place was for weak people to take on those that have more power than themselves. You're on." His voice was quiet, but the class heard his conviction. Though he didn't realize it, some of his peers respected him for his confidence in his career choice. A few even took a martial art class of their own to see and a couple enjoyed it. After a discussion with Bakugo, The bell rang. Izuku went the long route to his house to let his mind wander about the villain attack he saw that morning. As he walked through the tunnel, a sludge villain came from the sewer pipe.
"Lucky me, an invisibility cloak. Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a little while," the villain told Izuku as he tried to force himself into Izuku's body. The boy was trying to keep calm while using chi to not suffocate. It wasn't easy, but he was slowing him down.
"Don't worry my boy, because I am here!" came a booming voice.
"Texas, SMASH!" The wind pressure threw the sludge man off of Izuku, allowing him to breathe. While it took a few minutes, the world finally stopped spinning around the teen. Looking up, the towering figure of All Might was kneeling beside the lithe boy.
As the two settled down on the roof from the previous escapade, Steam was emitting from the large hero.
"All Might! Are you-" Izuku stopped. Where the symbol of peace once stood was a skeleton of a man. Izuku noticed the similarities in the eyes and hair and figured it out.
"I am All Might…" he spoke through the blood coming from his mouth. Izuku panicked as he reached into his bag where he pulled a small first aid kit. It was a habit he picked up from the Cacciatores. Handing the haggard man a swath of gauze, he helped him sit down.
"Are you alright? What happened?" Over his panicked actions, All Might smiled. This kid tried to help before asking questions unlike so many others. Many heroes could learn a thing from him.
"Due to some injuries five years back, I can only keep that form for a few hours a day." He pulled his shirt up to show a large scar that spider webbed from a large indent on his lower left abdomen.
"Five years… Toxic Chainsaw? Or maybe one not shown over the news…" as Izuku was tending to any wounds he could help, his patient heard his mumblings.
"Good memory, my boy. Is it quirk related?" one person he helped had a memory quirk, so another one-
"No, I don't have a quirk. There wasn't any new damage I could see, so there wasn't much I could do." He looked relieved of the fact. As they were going down the fire escape, All Might's curiosity got the better of him.
"Are you planning on a medical career?" The green haired boy looked at him with a small smile to melt the heart.
"No, I'm going to be a hero who saves many people, just like you." the lanky man looked at him in worry. Deciding that he was helping the boy, in the long run, he spoke his concerns.
"My boy, as much as it may hurt, you should find another career to pursue. Without a quirk, you would be at a disadvantage and be risking your life almost every encounter. If you really want to help people, try for a job as a police officer. It may not be as glamorous, but it's better than losing your life." Izuku's head dropped. It was a harsh reality, but it made sense. When most people thought hero, they thought of a person with a strong quirk. All Might was upset he had essentially crushed a kid's dreams, but it had to be done or his death would be on the hero's conscience.
Instead of the expected crying, The young boy gave a deep breath. It was clear the hero's words affected him, but it looked like resignation instead of despair. It was like he had learned that those words would be spoken many times in his life, but chose to continue anyway. The boy looked at the man with eyes of determination and spoke the words that prevented him from wavering.
"My sensei told me that there are two types of powers; those you are born with, and powers you earn through hard work. I know I'm at a disadvantage, but I won't give up. I will be a hero!" like when those same words were spoken so many years ago, without the volume being raised, the belief in those words carried power. Even All Might was moved by their weight.
"Thank you for helping me, All Might-san. Have a pleasant day." Izuku gave a respectful bow to the adult as they started going separate ways. The symbol of peace had a lot of food for thought that the young Izuku had given him.
As Izuku was continuing his walk home, lost in his own thoughts once again, An explosion had erupted a few blocks away. Running to the scene, he heard the locals talking about the villain All Might was chasing having a hostage, Izuku's blood ran cold as he remembered the villain was in the pocket of the leg he grabbed, realizing he was the reason he had escaped. The heroes on sight didn't have the equipment or quirks to deal with him and were bickering amongst themselves. When he saw the hostage in question was Katsuki, that cold feeling vanished. Before he knew it, he had run past the police line to save his bully.
"You brat! I should've dealt with you back under the bridge!" As the villain swung at him, Izuku slid under the tendrils of sludge. 'Rule 3, trust your training and instincts, they are the only things that will never try to betray you' the green haired boy reheard the words his sensei had told him on multiple occasions. Listening to his body, he threw his backpack at the villain. One of the contents had managed to hit him in the eye. Running closer he had Bakugo in his hands as the blond was shouting as he was pulling him from the sludge.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE DEKU!?"
"YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU NEEDED HELP!" was the only response that Izuku could give him. There was a large hand that grabbed the two as the deep, booming voice of the number one hero reverberated from behind them.
"To have a child remind me how to be a hero when I just told him he couldn't. I must be setting the wrong example! Detroit, SMASH!" the gust of wind was felt for only a moment, and the villain was scattered all around the block. As the crowd started cheering, rain had started to sprinkle down.
After Izuku had to give a statement to the authorities, he had decided he had enough excitement for that day. A few blocks from his home, the muscled form of All Might came from around the corner. After some worry and mild embarrassment for coughing blood while reverting to his more sickly form mid sentence, All might went to the point.
"I came here to apologize, and to make you an offer. When even the heroes sat back, you were the only one who ran to help. You, someone without a quirk, did something like that when I had told you not ten minutes earlier that you couldn't do it. I am rectifying my words, you can be a hero!" Izuku gave a bright smile as tears of joy fell from his face. Even his idol believed in him now. All Might saw the burden he placed on the boy lift and then some.
"Now for my proposal; you are one that's worthy of inheriting my strength, if you accept it." the last words got Izuku to look up to the hero in puzzlement. The man gave a chuckle before explaining himself.
"My quirk isn't one isn't unlike the sacred torch passed down in legends. I am the eighth successor in fact. One man cultivates strength and passes it to the next, only for the next user in the cycle to do the same for their successor. I want you to be the ninth bearer to this quirk; One For All!" as Izuku had heard these words, he started mumbling about the way it could be possible until the frail man stopped him. His next words surprised even himself.
"I would love to, but we need to talk to sensei about something this important." It made sense. After the day he was told of chi, there were no secrets between Anima and Izuku, not even his mother had the level of trust his teacher did. All might was surprised, but if this 'sensei' gave the green haired boy the nearly unshakable resolve, then they must have known each other for a long time. Even with the admiration for the hero clear as day on his face, he didn't jump at the opportunity.
"Alright, when do you think he could see me?"
"I'm going to his house to train tomorrow, so you can explain things then" the boy politely told his idol while writing the address on a scrap of paper.
After reassuring his mother that he was fine and he wasn't at risk of keeling over, the green haired boy was lying on his bed while calling his teacher on the phone.
"Izuku-san, I'm glad you called. Jesse and I have been worried about you." Anima's voice was comforting to the boy, and it was touching that they were worried.
"I'm alright Anima-sensei, just exhausted. That's not what I called about though. Due to the villain attack and a bit before, I had All Might wanting to help me become a hero, and he's coming to talk to you tomorrow." there was a pregnant pause as he knew that Anima was pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Nothing's ever going to be normal after this, you know that right?" his teacher asked him.
"I've been learning martial arts from a multi-century old werewolf since I was six. When was my life normal?" he asked rhetorically.
"Age five and prior." Izuku laughed at the non-sequitur and deadpan answer. After righting himself, Izuku gave his honest opinion.
"It'll help, having All Might teaching me, that is. You haven't been a hero in a long while, so you never even got your hero license. All Might said he'd talk to you when you two meet." after a little more conversation to ease his mind of the day's "excitement", Izuku fell asleep to prepare for the adventure tomorrow would bring.
After everyone needed found themselves in the living room, All Might went through everything that he cleared with Izuku to his mentor. After a moment, he took a breath and looked at his pupil. Handing him a guide for the Chinese character Hua (舙), Izuku excused himself to the study to let them talk privately.
"Calligraphy? That's not what I expected for getting him to give us privacy." the haggard man wondered aloud.
"It's a meditation and control exercise. It also, to his and his mother's delight, made his handwriting the best in class." The martial artist gave a smirk before he steeled his face to get to the point.
"Yagi-san, If you want to train him, know that the 'will of heroes' lies deeply in my student." seeing toshinori tilt his head, he continued.
"He wanted to be a hero before we met, and that desire to protect hasn't and probably won't ever waver. He wants to inspire like you do, and with that passion, he will; it's why I decided to train him all those years ago." the look in his host's eyes as he spoke those words made the frail hero pause. Those eyes looked ancient, too old for someone of his apparent age. As he continued, those eyes never changed.
"I use to be a hero at one point as well, and I made so many mistakes in my life that it's not even funny. You have as well if I'm not wrong. I don't want him to make any of my worst failures. Would you work with me to make Izuku the hero he wishes to become?" Anima gave All Might A small bow from his seat. The pro hero smiled at the intent. He was expecting him to show ego at who looked to be his only prized pupil, only to have him ask if he was willing to work together for the young Izuku. No ego, no overconfidence, only the will to make his student's dream a reality. It was a refreshing feeling, being treated like an equal. The haggard hero gave the martial artist a bow of his own.
"I would be honored if you would allow me to aid in making young Izuku's dream reality, Anima." the words fell easily from the man.
"Thank you, Toshinori." both knew that honorifics were unnecessary between them anymore. They were both the teachers of Izuku, and while Toshinori couldn't have the trust and bond that Anima shared with the green haired boy, he was now responsible for Izuku just the same. Small talk played between the two men after they shared many things that concerned Izuku (Toshinori was shocked about chi, but reasoned that if a quirk could be passed down, other forms of powers weren't impossible).
Izuku came back after a while to show his work on the word he was given. Upon approval and pointers, training began as the teachers discussed how to integrate Toshinori's training to Izuku's training schedule. After agreeing The frail man would take over physical strength training and later (when he got it) quirk training while Anima would continue on technique alongside mental, and chi training. They would discuss when they needed compromise, but their student's health always came first. The current goal: get Izuku into UA.
Whoever can guess the Chinese character that Izuku practiced get's a cookie. Katsuki is still arrogant, but after a previous event that I will reveal later, he treats Izuku as a rival to see who's stronger. Speaking of our bush haired hero, I know that he's not the jumpy, nervous wreck in canon and that's on purpose. The first point, he has people who believe in him, so he has more confidence. That also explains his reaction to All Might telling him he couldn't be a hero; It still hurt, just as much as if your favorite role model said you should give up your dreams, but again, he has a small group of family that supports and helps him along his chosen goal. Second point; He has been trained in martial arts, which means that he has more self-control. When I was learning martial arts, I was told to control my emotions (the one in my case was restlessness) instead of letting them control me. Izuku has been taught the same, but he isn't unflappable. Our hero is the type of person who wears their heart on their sleeve, so everyone can see his emotions clear as day, but he doesn't let those emotions cloud his judgment. Was he ecstatic He met All Might?
Hell yeah, and it was visible, but it didn't prevent him from asking Anima if it was okay to learn from someone else. As for the large skips, they're parts that mainly follow the cannon, so I don't want to write them. Any part that doesn't seem clear, that would be my fault, as this is one of my first stories I've written. For now, though, that's all folks!