Chpt 4: Gravity (Assembling the Players pt 1)

Izuku Midoriya (age Fifteen)

It had been six months since he left home. After he'd taken One for All, they'd left the city he called home and never looked back. All Might and Gran Torino had taken over training him though Gran Torino had been furious at first. Apparently he'd been the one in charge of everything, being All Might's teacher once upon a time. Aside from being a hero, he was their connection to the generation who'd fought before All Might and a mentor to everyone in the heroes' leadership. All Might was the brute force and the face of their leadership. Fat Gum was their shield and the 'counselor', though that was just Izuku's personal name for the overly joyful hero. Hound Dog was their surveillance around whatever temporary base they set up, and they brought in several other mercenary types wherever they went. More and more, Izuku was discovering the groups of heroes who gathered in each local area of Japan to fight crime. The world seemed to be held together by scotch tape, but on the surface, it WAS holding.

Despite his status as All Might's heir (which was currently under wraps, most heroes thought he was just another apprentice hero) he was expressly forbidden from fighting. When they stopped travelling for a few days, All Might and Gran Torino would spar with him and instruct him on One for All and the mechanics.

One for All stockpiled power. It wasn't a flashy quirk unless it was used that way. All Might had warned him that he wouldn't actually show that he was using the power. It would simply be there. Izuku had always held it to be something… more. How long had he spent blowing up his body when he tried to power up or use One for All? Gran Torino had laughed when Izuku had begun muttering about that, and assured him that the power had begun with mere men. Nothing about quirks was godly. Izuku had trained for three days before he'd finally been forced to break it off. Sitting in the kitchen, he'd discovered the secret. Everyone had been shocked at his sudden, happy outburst. Both of his mentors were shocked as he began to glow, emitting bolts of green lightning.

"He's glowing…?" Gran Torino muttered under his breath. "What the hell…"

"Perhaps…" All Might said quietly, once his shock had passed. "The power has exceeded our expectations."

"It's green, you big fool. This kid…" Gran Torino grinned. "Maybe you made a good choice after all."

Time stopped, but the man before him continued to move. Izuku grit his teeth and slid to one side, just enough to avoid the first blow. Another already swung in its place, following him, but it scraped by his side without contact. Even the feeling of his shirt tearing seemed too long. One arm shot up just in time to deflect a blow to his shoulder, but the feeling of it grazing his wrist made him wince.

Suddenly he was on the ground gasping for air and clutching his left side. Izuku had barely seen it, but he couldn't have caught it in time if he'd tried. All Might gave him a thumbs up as he pushed himself up to his knees.

"That was better! You're starting to get used to moving at that speed. But you're distracted."

"Ah, sorry. It's so strange feeling everything stop like that. And you're still faster than I am. It's like I have to block out everything other than what's right in front of my eyes and move on instinct. But even if I did that I wouldn't be faster than you so conditioning is…" Tears leaked from his eyes as All Might chopped him on the head.

"You really are the best at spouting pure nonsense." All Might sighed. "You think too much, Midoriya."

"Sorry… sensei…"

"It's about time for a break anyway. Why don't you head out and get some food for us? Sensei should be back soon, so get enough for five." Izuku nodded. Their current hideout was an old gym, operated by an old vigilante who had more than enough room for their motley crew. Izuku showered and dressed, taking the list and money from All Might before heading down the street at a jog.

Even out in the real world Izuku was thinking of One for All. The feeling of time slowing down, of being able to move that quickly, was an incredible side effect of the superhuman capabilities.

"Even if it feels that way time doesn't really stop. The mind simply moves quicker. Which means that my reaction times aren't much better than normal, I'm just physically faster… if that's the case then it's not just a matter of seeing everything and predicting the moves of the opponent but thinking two steps in advance. Against a speed type quirk this isn't a disadvantage, but it's a different application…"

Standing at the crosswalks, Izuku failed to notice the bubble that slowly appeared around him as people tried to avoid his odd muttering. As soon as people were able to walk, he was jostled back to reality by several people whom his muttering had irked. Izuku blushed and joined the crowd crossing the street. About four blocks from the gym he found a shop, paid for his groceries and began heading back toward the gym. Reaching the crosswalk, Izuku froze with one foot in the street. Without thinking, he activated One for All..

Gut instinct. That was the only way to describe the sudden sick feeling in his gut, and the urge to look to his right. A car was barrelling through the intersection, despite the red light.

Four people were in the crosswalk: a woman in business attire, an older gentleman walking a dog, and a pair of girls his age.

He leapt forward, moving as fast as his upper limits would allow. The woman and the old man, along with his dog, were closest and first. The groceries hit the ground as he rushed back across, gripping the two girls by the waist and rushing across the street. Half a second after his feet skidded to a stop, the car tore through the crosswalk. A gust of wind and green lightning broke the calm following the vehicle. Izuku sighed and stood up, watching as a pair of police cars came following the car in question. Only then did he become aware of the staring.

Blushing Izuku glanced at the two girls beside him, then reached for his bags. His groceries were safe, so he took them and pushed through the crowd without another word. A block away, he took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves.

"I… I moved without thinking…"

"Heeeeeeeey!" Izuku jumped nearly a foot in the air when a voice called out from behind him. A glance over his shoulder caught sight of the two girls heading in his direction. Panic overwhelmed him, but his feet remained frozen to the ground. He could only watch and stammer nonsense as they reached him. "Were you the one who moved us out of the way back there?"

Izuku shook his head furiously on pure instinct. All Might would kill him… No, Gran Torino would DEFINITELY kill him if they found out he had done something like that.

"Huh? Then what were you doing there acting so strange?" The talkative girl put her hands on her hips, staring at him with wide brown eyes. Her companion simply watched quietly, making small… were those croaking sounds?

"I-I-I-I…"

"Maybe he was saved by the same person as we were." The quiet one suddenly piped up. Izuku nodded furiously. The talkative girl didn't seem to accept that.

"Well… maybe. Sorry for bothering you." The talkative girl bowed her head, and the two turned to leave. Izuku took a breath once they were far enough away, and smiled shyly to himself.

I talked to a girl! (Didn't actually say anything…)

He glanced after them, committing them to memory: the talkative one had wide brown eyes and a round face, with long brown bangs and her hair cut to her shoulders. The quieter one walked stopped, and had a strangely shaped face; most likely, he realized, due to a metamorphic quirk. Something about her wide mouth caused him to put her down as a frog, though he couldn't really say it with confidence.

The first people I've ever saved… other than Kacchan… Izuku grinned to himself, then took a shaky step in the direction of the gym. I can do this…!

Luckily All Might bought his story about dropping the groceries by mistake, which meant Izuku was in the clear. Once they were done, Izuku immediately requested another training session. All Might seemed curious, and with a little persuading he accepted. Standing in the middle of boxing ring, Izuku felt himself begin quaking. He'd been training most of that day, and then had spontaneously moved back at the crosswalk. Truly, he was exhausted. But he had glimpsed a solution when he'd saved those people. He faced All Might with a shaky smile.

"Sensei… please come at me…!" All Might frowned.

"You won't be able to dodge that way, young Midoriya."

"Please, sensei… I think I have an idea of how I can speed up." All Might hesitated, then took his stance. His face creased in that familiar smile, and his eyes gleamed.

"If that's the case, young Midoriya… Here I come!"

As All Might rushed forward to throw the punch, Izuku activated as much of One for All as he could handle. The punch slowed down to a more… manageable speed. Izuku slid to the side and rushed forward. All Might leapt back, then lunged forward. Izuku slid under the punch and threw a kick at All Might's side, only to watch All Might leap to the opposite side and rush back.

Despite his attempts, he was floored in three more moves. All Might caught swept his legs out from under him the moment he slowed down, and Izuku suddenly felt the full-body ache that came with pushing his body's limits on All for One. He glanced up at All Might.

"I… I realized what you meant… when you said I was thinking too much…" All Might set a gentle hand on Izuku's shoulder.

"You did more than that, Midoriya. That was amazing progress. I'd say you've sped up… or were you pushing your limits again?" All Might's glare made Izuku chuckle guiltily, but they shared the laugh in the end. "You're slowly mastering One for All. Soon you'll be able to go out on patrol with us."

All Might tapped his head with a finger when he saw Izuku's expression.

"Not yet! You aren't ready for that yet, but perhaps soon." Izuku nodded, then collapsed and winced at the soreness covering his body. All Might eyed him for a moment or two, then exited the ring. "Show and rest up, young Midoriya. I'm sure Gran Torino will expect you for his evening training."

Gran Torino did expect him in top shape for evening training. Fighting Gran Torino and his jets was too different from boxing with All Might to compare it to fighting. Most of the time it was Izuku dodging as many blows as he could before he or Gran Torino grew too tired to continue. That evening Izuku actually managed to land a few blows, which seemed to infuriate the old man to the point of dueling for real. By the time it was over, Izuku was sure he'd be covered in bruises.

"That was impressive." Gran Torino grumbled as they recovered. His eyes narrowed. "Toshi said you were having trouble moving like that."

"Ah… I'm still not used to moving while I'm using One for All. I can use it on instinct, but I still slip up. My limit is still too short for me to be useful in a real fight long term." Gran Torino chuckled.

"Who are you again?" Izuku stared at him blankly. Gran Torino had a bad habit of springing odd questions like that once in a while, but usually they were a part of his good natured side. "Remember, you're young, and you're sparring against the strongest heroes in Japan. Most of the rabble we deal with could barely handle you like this."

"Then…"

"Toshi has high hopes for you, boy." Gran Torino sighed. "I don't like to indulge him, but this was his choice. You have potential… which is good, because he expects you to usher in an age of peace as his successor. He's looking far into the future. I don't blame him. But if something goes wrong, then we're all going to suffer for it. Eventually you'll come along and learn what a real fight is like. For now, be satisfied with what you've got."

Izuku sighed, staring up at the ceiling of the gym. Gran Torino stood up and wandered toward the door.

"As far as pushing your limit, you'll have to work on your quirk yourself. If you don't learn it yourself you'll never be able to fully master it."

Izuku remained long after Gran Torino was gone. He was sore all over, and in several places where he took blows from his mentors. Gran Torino didn't ever offer real advice or teaching: at best he said that Izuku wasn't using it to its full potential (though he'd stopped that once Izuku had achieved his Full Cowl) or telling him he had to figure it out himself. Every step of the way Izuku had been pushing himself while All Might and Gran Torino simply did their best to push him along with each of his different versions of the quirk. All Might used it as naturally as breathing… but he was also naturally stronger than average. And had years on Izuku.

Through his shower, and on the way to bed, he thought of what his mentors had said. Remembering the car incident, he seemed like he was on the verge of something else. He'd moved without thinking and he'd pushed himself far beyond what he thought he was capable of. It had been almost prophetic, that he'd seen the car and been able to save those girls. But his quirk had come to him naturally, and his body had simply moved. There was a rush that had come with it, something more than adrenaline…

Sleep didn't come quickly that night, tired as he was. His mind was racing too fast.

The next few days were all too similar. At his request they stepped up the sparring, and Izuku began to feel the backlash too quickly for his own taste. A week of hard training had passed before All Might decided he needed a day off and sent him out into the city to try and relax.

Wandering around the city wasn't relaxing at first, but it gave him time to settle down. He bought an ice cream and enjoyed the first cheat he'd had in a long time, then found a park to sit and just enjoy the autumn scenery.

"Oh, you're the boy from the crosswalk!" Izuku jumped as a familiar voice called out to him from the sidewalk. The brown-haired talkative girl from the crosswalk incident bounced over to his bench and smiled at him. "I never got your name. I'm Uraraka Ochako."

"Uuuummm… Mm-m-midoriya Izuku…" he managed.

"I was worried it wasn't you at first. You're kinda hard to recognize. But I figured not many people had green hair as curly as that and gave it a shot…" Uraraka laughed. "I was kind of worried about you. You seemed really shaken up the last time I saw you."

"Oh I… was just really shocked… Everything happened so fast, after all." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck idly. "Um… did you want to sit down…? I feel bad, letting you stand…"

The girl thanked him and took a seat, still smiling brightly.

"So you're all better now?" Izuku nodded quickly. "I'm glad! That was really crazy. I couldn't even see everything that happened, so when we all ended up on the sidewalk I was really confused… But whoever did that was really incredible!"

"Incredible?"

"Yeah don't you think? I mean, they moved faster than a car! And saved everyone in the crosswalk! If everyone used their quirk for things like that, then we wouldn't have so many problems with people going crazy." Izuku noticed the pain in her voice as she trailed off, immediately feeling responsible.

"Well, I mean, that's a bit far right? How often does that kind of thing really happen anyway…?" Uraraka's smile suddenly grew a little shy, even a little sad. The way she looked at him said it all: How could someone normal understand?

"I think it happens pretty often. But I guess you're right; It's not like everyone can have incredible quirks. And a lot of people would just end up getting hurt in the fighting."

"Uraraka… um… this may sound… forward, or pretentious… but are you alright? Did something happen?" Izuku spoke as soon as it came to mind, then blushed and looked everywhere but her face in an attempt to make sense of his own rudeness. "I mean, you seemed really down and I just thought that maybe I could help! You seem really nice so it would be terrible if you had to go through anything really scary or something like that!"

Uraraka looked at him for a moment, blank faced, then smiled and laughed. The way she tilted her head and grinned at him made his heart flutter.

"You're really nice, Midoriya. Thanks! But I'm okay right now." Izuku nodded and swallowed, looking squarely at the ground between his feet. The buzzing of his phone caught him off guard, and he jumped into the air in shock again before he realized what it was and fished it out.

"H-h-hello…?"

"Where are you?" All Might's voice came across the line.

"All… I'm just in a park nearby… I didn't go too far. I forget the name…"

"That's not important. Do you remember the boy who you saved from the slime villain?"

"Kacchan? Of course…"

"He's here. With a few members of that local gang you told us about. We think there might be a turf war about to happen."

"What do you need me to do?"

"You need to return to the gym. Things might get bad. The local group has a lot of firepower. If things spill out…"

"Let me come! I can help! I'll stay back and provide support… I know Kacchan and those guys better than any of you!"

"...You aren't ready for something like this. It could turn into a large scale war if these two groups manage to reach one another…"

"All Might." The voice paused. "Please… I'm ready. I can't get any better just sparring with you."

Izuku was whispering now, obviously piquing the interest of his new friend Uraraka with his sudden shadiness. After a long silence a sigh came across.

"Fine. You can support, but under no circumstances are you to engage. If you get hurt…"

"Yes! Thank you sensei!" Izuku stood up once All Might asked him to return, feeling tremors running through him. "Um, sorry, Uraraka, but I need to get going…"

"Did you say All Might?" Uraraka's eyes went wide as she stood up to face him.

"Uh…"

"You know All Might…" Uraraka's eyes widened. "It was you at the crosswalk the other day, wasn't it...?"

"I…"

"Take me with you!" Izuku's jaw dropped.

"What?"

"Take me with you? Please introduce me to All Might! I need to meet him!"

"You know All Might?" Izuku asked. Uraraka nodded.

"The family I'm staying with, they show the little kids All Might clips when they have nightmares. They look up to him." Izuku was impressed. While All Might and the heroes had gained more publicity in the past year and a half they were still rumors and unconfirmed video clips. "Please! I need to speak with him!"

"I… I'm not sure…"

"I'm begging you, Midoriya!" Uraraka grabbed his hand, and Izuku felt his willpower crumble as her eyes began to glisten with what he prayed weren't tears.

She's… so close…

"I… I guess… but he might be angry, so please don't take anything the wrong way…"

"Of course! I won't get in the way!" Uraraka's expression darkened, changing from innocently shining to something more… desperate. Her brow furrowed, casting a shadow over her face that seemed incredibly intimidating (at least to Izuku).

Interlude

Katsuki Bakugo (age Fifteen)

The train was a pain in the ass. Finding a place to hole up was a bigger pain in the ass, and the ignorant fucks looking for blood under his command were even worse than all of it. Every one of them was pissed and looking to hit something. Katsuki's job was simple: find the guys who'd picked a fight and put them in the hospital as a warning. Bringing the crew? That was something Rusty had told him to do. The ten flunkies he'd been gifted were all looking to tear him down and head back to the boss with some story. Everyone in the gang was looking to move up. Katsuki wasn't new. He'd spent a year under Rusty, and six months managing the gang's enforcers without having to worry about Rusty at all. Not a single one of the members he'd brought would be able to fight him.

Having one of them go rogue and make this into a war? That would be a problem.

It wasn't so much that Katsuki was tired of sitting a room full of bloodlust and stupidity. The gang required him to do that all the time. He wasn't sure how Rusty stood working with the morons beneath him. It was more that he was constantly being poked and prodded with insults. Putting one of his own men in the hospital would only be an option once they were done. He had to finish his job first. After a full day of sitting around doing nothing, one of the men stood up and tossed Katsuki a cell phone.

"This where their place is?" The men sneered and began to move. Katsuki smiled to himself. "Slow down. We move in an hour. How long will it take us to get there?"

"About an hour or so walking."

"Fine. We'll get there just after dark. That's perfect… I finally get to blow off a little steam." The way he glared at a few of the men made it all too clear that he had more than one target. Suddenly the bloodlust drained from the thugs, and nervousness filled the room as they realized just what they'd gotten themselves into.