Chapter 2, here we go! First (minor) fight scene ahead!

Meeting a Hero

"Izuku, honey, I think you've had enough."

It had been two weeks since Izuku received the news that, in another life, would have crushed his resolve and left him a mess. Instead, with the help of his mother, his will to be a hero was stronger than ever, and surprisingly, it was beginning to show.

Whereas just last week Izuku had an utterly average physique, not unhealthy but typical of a 5-year-old boy, he was now sporting a considerable amount of lean muscle mass, given his age.

And with that, a voracious appetite.

"Just a little more mom, I'm still hungry," Izuku said, stuffing his mouth with rice and various vegetables.

'At this rate, he'll eat us out of the house!' Inko thought. "Alright, honey, but just a bit! I swear you've been eating like a horse the last week."

"Sorry mom!" Izuku exclaimed, mouth full, "I don't know what's the matter, I've just been so hungry."

Inko didn't know much about nutrition, but she wasn't stupid. The bigger a person, the more they needed to eat, and Izuku was getting noticeably bulkier.

In hindsight, perhaps his rapid progress was a sign of concern. Inko knew that gaining this much muscle mass wasn't normal, that she should probably take him to see a professional but…

"Forget it, kid, it's not happening"

'No. The last time I took him to the Quirk doctors, they destroyed him. Besides, it's not like there's any real harm done, right?' She glanced over at her still eating son, 'Except to my wallet!'

Izuku, finally satisfied, was sent to wash up and get ready for bed. As Inko finished the dishes her thoughts drifted back to her son, 'I'll take him if something goes wrong but… so far, I've never seen him this happy.'

VVV

The next day, over breakfast, Izuku had a request that threw Inko off guard.

"Mom, can you make my exercises… harder? Or maybe more?

"Now honey, you shouldn't be doing harder exercises until you've mastered the current ones, I told you that" she answered, picking at her food.

"But that's the thing mom!" Izuku exclaimed, standing up, "I've mastered the ones you gave me; I don't even sweat when I do them anymore!"

Inko nearly choked; did she hear that right?

'That doesn't make any sense, there's not way he's able to do all that so easily this quickly… he must be trying to push himself again.'

"Izuku, honey, I know you want to get stronger, but you can't rush it…"

"I'm not, I promise!" Izuku blurted, stuffing more breakfast in his mouth.

'Hm, he's not backing down; only one thing to do then'

"Ok honey, if that's true, then you wouldn't mind me coming with you for your exercises?"

Izuku perked up; "Not at all! It'll be fun!"

'Well that's not what I expected,' Inko thought, 'Could he be buffing?'

"Ok dear, go get ready and we'll head out" she said, picking up both their plates to put them away.

'I wonder how far he'll take this… there's no way he's being serious, right?'

VVV

After getting ready the two headed out to the park just down the road; it may have had some unpleasant memories, but it was the perfect place to do his workouts.

'I can't wait to show mom how much progress I've made!' Izuku thought, getting ready for his stretches; his mother put her faith in him, it's time to show her it wasn't misplaced!

Izuku jogged out into an open field and began his pre-workout stretches; basic things, like toe touches and shoulder stretches, but done with precision and ease.

'Ah, that's better; time to show what I can do!"

Izuku immediately broke into his half-mile jog; while his form was amateurish, he was clearly enjoying himself, a wide smile on his face as the wind whipped in the air.

'I love this feeling' Izuku thought, feeling his heartbeat rise and body warm; who knew exercise could be so fun!

Inko watched her son with a sense of awe; he seemed to be having little trouble so far! 'How?' Inko thought; while Izuku hadn't been in bad shape before, he seemed to be on a whole other level already!

Izuku quickly finished his jog and broke into pushups, not even pausing to catch his breath. After completing his set, he immediately began his sit-ups, not missing a beat. His heart was pounding, but he didn't care; 'I have to show her I'm ready for more!'

Normally, sit-ups would be the end of things, but Izuku wanted to go all out; he began another half-mile jog, even breaking into a sprint in the last few yards.

'Amazing,' Inko thought, walking to her son, 'It's just as he said, he didn't break a sweat…'

"See mom? See? Its too easy now! If I'm gonna be a hero, I gotta keep pushing myself! Please please please give me a harder workout!" Izuku begged, folding his hands together.

Inko sighed; 'Well, I don't see a reason not to, he's clearly got no trouble with the current plan'

"Alright honey, I'll do some research and make adjustments; just promise me you won't try anything new without my permission? We don't want you hurting yourself" Inko said,

"I promise I won't! Thank you, mom!" Izuku exclaimed, giving her a quick hug.

"Of course, Izuku, anything for my little hero!" she praised, earning a giggle for her son.

'I just hope I know what I'm doing.'

VVV

And so, a common pattern emerged over the next two years; Inko would give Izuku a new workout regime, which he would rapidly outgrow, requesting a new one. Inko would never give him a harder set unless he could prove he had mastered the previous one; she didn't want to risk hurting him in any way.

His peers had taken notice to Izuku's rapid and dramatic changes; their attitudes generally ranged from mild curiosity to accusations of having a quirk; after all, how else could a seven year old run three miles like it was nothing?

'But that's impossible' Izuku thought, 'I don't have a quirk.'

The only exception would be Katsuki Bakugo; the boy could hardly afford his former best friend so much a glance, never mind a word. Though, if one looked hard enough, they could see him seething on days where Izuku got a particularly large amount of attention.

Regardless, Izuku certainly didn't have trouble standing out; he was easily in the best shape in his grade, maybe even in his school, able to outrun and overpower just about everyone physically.

Of course, everyone had something that he could never match: A Quirk. And soon, Izuku would learn just how big a difference that could make.

VVV

The day had started rather well; Izuku had just finished his afternoon run around the park and was about to head home; his mother had recently trusted him to be able to make it there and back without supervision.

'Man, today's workout was a breeze! I'll have to talk to mom again ab-' His thoughts were cut off by a faint noise to his right; 'What was that?' Izuku questioned, hurrying towards the source of the noise.

As he moved closer, the sound became clearer, eventually leading Izuku to a deep alleyway around the corner.

It was dark, very dark; the sun had begun to set over the city's skyline, leaving little light to make out the situation. What Izuku could not see, however, was made up for with what he heard.

"Please… stop… I'll give you whatever you want, just please leave me alone…" a woman, short with platinum blonde hair begged.

Her attacker, a bald, pudgy man of short stature leered over her; "oh baby, the only think I want here is you… so be a good girl and stop making it difficult!"

Izuku looked on at the end of the alley in horror; 'A villain! I have to help!' He stopped himself. 'No, no I need to GET help, there's no telling what this guy could do," Izuku looked back at the duo, cringing slightly; 'I'll be back as soon as I can! I promise!"

As he turned to find an adult, he heard it: "PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP ME!" the woman cried.

Time stopped. Izuku was sure the man had said something, though he didn't hear it. He didn't know exactly what came over him, only that his mind was screaming, telling him one thing: 'You wanna be a hero? Then act like it!'

His legs were moving before he could think.

Quickly Izuku put together an impromptu plan: 'He's bigger than me, but so out of shape… I'm probably faster than him, plus I'm a small target. If I can just stay moving, I can beat him… I can be a hero!"

As Izuku came closer, his presence became clear to the two at the end of the alley; "What the?" the man said, turning around.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Izuku screamed, winding back his fist and preparing the biggest strike he could; he lurched his fist forward and-

"GAHH!" Izuku screamed, immediately recoiling his fist from the worst pain he had ever felt; 'W-what happened?' he thought, collapsing and looking down at his fist.

A very large hole that hadn't been there before now decorated his right hand, oozing blood. 'H-how did he…' Izuku looked up, and for the first time, got a proper look at the perpetrator.

'Spikes…' He was riddled with them; there was hardly a spot on his body that wasn't covered in razor sharp spikes. 'A quirk… I should've known, I should've…'

"Aw, look what the hell you did," the man said, looking over to the woman, "all your yellin' got a kid involved! Now I gotta deal with him!"

Izuku was frozen, both from the pain and the fear; 'He looks a lot bigger up close...'

"Sorry 'bout this kid, can't have you runnin' off to your mommy 'bout this…"

Izuku's eyes widened, and he quickly attempted to scurry away from the man, only to have his back hit the wall. He looked up at the man, "Please, please don't do this…" he begged.

"Look kid it's not like I wanna hurt ya but she-" He turned to motion to the girl, only to find her gone. "What the- where the fuck did she go?!" He demanded, frantically looking around.

'She must have snuck away while he was distracted with me… hopefully to get help" Izuku hoped.

"God damnit kid, this is your fault!" the men yelled, giving Izuku a swift kick in the ribs.

Izuku could only double over in pain; the wind had been knocked out of him. "I take back what I said before, brat," the man sneered, reeling his fist back, "I'm gonna get a real kick outta killin' you!"

VVV

"Another night…"

Shota Aizawa, hero name Eraser Head, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, preparing to start his night shift. He had been taking more and more of those recently; crime had spiked in the area, most of it taking place after dark. He didn't mind all that much; it allowed him to avoid civilians, and especially press, but it was really starting to mess with his sleep schedule…

He continued on, his all black clothes soaking in what little heat the sun had left to give for the day. He liked his outfit; simple, and useful for getting the drop on villains. The only splash of color that could be found were in his gold-colored goggles and white capturing weapon.

He parted his long black hair out of his eyes; it had been quiet the last couple days; he expected tonight to be no dif-

"Please, please sir you have to help me!" He jerked his head up, quickly finding the source of the disturbance.

"What's the problem miss?" Shota asked; whatever it was, it was clearly urgent, she looked distraught.

"There's a- He's a- in the alley! There's a boy in trouble in the alley!" she blurted, pointing to the nearby alleyway.

Shota's gaze hardened; so much for a quite night. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Quickly, he secured his goggles over his eyes, dialing the special hero line to the police; whatever was lurking in the dark, they'd regret causing trouble in this city.

VVV

Izuku closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable; 'I'm sorry mom… at least I was able to save one person…"

The punch didn't come. "What the…" he heard the man say; Izuku peeked open his eyes to see what the man was doing, only to see his fist… wrapped? In some sort of cloth?

"What the fuck is this?" the man said, trying to free his hand to no avail. His efforts were rewarded with an expert kick to the nose, one of the few places not protected by spikes.

"Ah! What the hell, who the fuck are you?!" The man demanded, recoiling from the kick.

'Someone came… A hero?" Izuku hoped.

"Hey, I know you… you're that eraser guy! Eraser Head!" the man said, giving a hearty chuckle, "just my luck, your quirk is useless against me!"

'Oh no…' Izuku lamented, 'The hero's gonna get hurt, there's no way he'll be able to get close now that he knows he's here…"

Eraser Head didn't say anything, only shifting his position to that of a fighting stance.

"Still wanna go? Fine," the man charged, fist raised, "then take THIS!" he bellowed swinging a haymaker at the hero.

Instead of the hit landing, as he expected, Shota expertly dodged low, careful to avoid contact with the villain. This caused him to stumble forward, which Shota took full advantage of, delivering a devastating uppercut to his nose again.

"GAH! GOD DAMNIT" the villain cried, reeling from the punch; Shota wasted no time, quickly throwing his capture weapon around the villain, throwing him against the wall. And then again, for good measure.

With the villain subdued, Shota quickly attended to the boy; "Are you hurt?" he asked, inspecting the boy.

"M-my hand…" Izuku stuttered, showing the hero the injury he had received.

'Damn' Shota thought, 'That looks bad'

"Doesn't look too bad kid, but we better get that looked at" he said, ripping a portion of his shirt and wrapping it around the wound.

"AH!" Izuku shrieked, not ready for the pain.

"I know, kid, but we can't let it bleed like that"

"It really hurts…" Izuku whined, cradling his right hand.

Shota looked around; the villain was out cold, and there was no telling when the police would arrive…

'Best to get him to the hospital myself, that wound isn't getting any better."

"I know, we're gonna get you some help kid, don't worry"

Carefully, Shota went to lift the boy off the ground, only to find him surprised at the boy's heft; 'Damn! What are they feeding this kid?' he wondered, surprised at the heft of the child.

Aizawa quickly ran out the alleyway, instructing the woman to wait nearby for the police to show up, before sprinting off to the nearest clinic. Halfway there, Shota noticed Izuku beginning to nod off.

'Best not to let him fall asleep until brain damage is ruled out' Shota thought, quickly thinking of topics to keep Izuku awake.

"Hey, kid, you gotta stay awake for me, alright?" he pressed, shaking him slightly.

"Mm sorry Mr. Hero, I'm just… so tired…"

'Crap' "Hey, what's your name kid?"

"I-Izuku Midoriya…"

"Do you like heroes, kid?" Shota asked.

"L-love them…" he answered, eyes perking up slightly.

"Well, if you stay awake for me, I'll be sure to give you a personal signature, how's that sound?"

"I'd like that Mr. Hero"

"Aizawa, kid" It was a risk to tell him that, but Shota doubted Izuku would even remember this conversation, never mind see the hero again

"Thanks, Mr. Aizawa…"

It was hard, but Izuku managed to stay conscious, all the way up until he reached the hospital.

VVV

When Izuku awoke, the first feeling that hit him was confusion.

'Where… am I? How'd I get here?"

Izuku looked around, seeing an IV bag, his mother, a couple of chairs…

Wait, his mother?

"Mom?.." Izuku called, hoping to rouse her from her sleep.

Inko's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her son's voice; "Izuku?.. IZUKU!" Inko rushed to her son's bedside, "How are you feeling, are you hurt, should I get a nurse baby?" Inko rambled, clearly relieved at her son's awakening.

"No no, I feel fine mom… where are we?" Izuku asked.

"The hospital sweetheart, you passed out last night after being brought in by a hero… Izuku what happened? Were you attacked? I knew I shouldn't have let you walk out by yourself…"

"No mom… no," Izuku interrupted, "Its… it's my fault."

"W-what do you mean your fault? Its not like you were asking to be attacked, baby"

"No I… I attacked that villain… He had a Quirk… I didn't stand a chance…" Izuku admitted.

To say Inko was shocked would be an understatement. 'I know Izuku is desperate to be a hero, but to actively engage a villain…'

It terrified her.

"Izuku Midoriya," she said, her tone vastly sterner, "What on earth were you thinking, doing something so dangerous?!"

"I-I wasn't… I heard someone cry for help and… my legs just moved on their own…" he explained, unsure of how else to describe it.

Inko wasn't sure how to react to that; without even thinking?

'That could be dangerous trait to have, especially when he's so young…'

Before she could respond, they heard a soft chuckle at the door; Inko whipped her head around to see a man in the doorway.

"Heh, you're just like him…" he said.

"Excuse me," Inko asked, mildly perturbed, "who are you?"

"Forgive me," he said, taking a step into the room, "I'm detective Naomasa Tsukauchi; I believe we've met before, Midoriya-san"

Just as Inko was racking her brain trying to remember, Izuku blurted "I remember you! You helped me when I was lost in the forest!"

'Of course, how could I forget!'

"That's right; and I thought I told you to stay out of trouble, young man?" Naomasa said, only half serious.

Izuku shrunk into himself; "I-I'm sorry sir…"

'Hey, it's my job to chastise my son!'

Inko cut in; "With all due respect Detective Tsukauchi, why are you here?"

"Ah," Naomasa replied, taking off his hat, "I dropped by to pick up a statement from Midoriya-kun, but I heard enough to file a report." He looked towards Izuku, "your mother is right, what you did was very dangerous; you could have been seriously hurt or killed."

Izuku looked down at his knees; 'Here it comes' he thought. 'He's gonna tell me I can never be a hero'

"But I understand what you mean."

Izuku looked up, surprised; "Y-you do?.."

Naomasa took a seat at the edge of the bed. "I sure do. A good friend of mine, a hero, described what you felt in the exact same way."

"Wow, really?" Izuku exclaimed, amazed he could share anything in common with an actual hero.

"Yep, and he's one of the best heroes around, so he knows what he's talking about." Naomasa flashed Izuku a grin; "For what it's worth, Midoriya-kun, I think you'll be an excellent hero one day."

The smile on Izuku's face couldn't be any wider; "You really think so Detective Tsukauchi?" Izuku asked, brimming with joy.

"I really do. But let's try to save the heroics until you're older, alright young man?"

"Yes sir, I'll do my best, I swear!" Izuku promised.

"Good." Naomasa began to leave, only to stop suddenly; "oh, before I forget," he reached into his coat, handing Izuku a card, "I was told to give that to you by Eraser Head; said he owed you."

It was a simple "Get Well Soon" card, the only noteworthy feature being Eraser Head's signature at the bottom; Izuku couldn't be happier.

"Wow! Mom look, my first real hero signature! Isn't it so cool!" he pestered, shoving the card in her face.

"Yes Izuku, very cool!" she said, her previous anger now melted; she caught Naomasa's eyes for a brief moment, mouthing a "thank you" to him.

He gave her a wink, before leaving the mother and son alone in the sun-bathed hospital room.

VVV

Izuku was released from the hospital the next day, his only injuries being to his hand and ribs. In due time, they would heal good as new.

Izuku wished to immediately return to his exercises, which was quickly shut down by Inko with a "you can work out when you're healed, or never work out again."

This left a lot of time for Izuku to think; 'Even if what the detective said is true… how am I gonna fight villains without a quirk?'

'Fight… without a quirk?..'

"Just my luck, your quirk is useless against me!"

"That's right!" Izuku though aloud, 'Eraser Head fought that hero without using a quirk and wiped the floor with him! Too bad I didn't see his moves…'

That's when Izuku had his best idea yet; rushing over to his drawer, he pulled out his signed card and ran to his computer.

'Alright, Eraser Head. Let's see what I can find on you…'

And that's a wrap!

This chapter is both shorter than I expected and did not cover as much as I expected; if I were to cover everything I wanted to, this chapter would've been ludicrously long, so better to cut it a bit short.

So, Aizawa! Who thought it'd be him we're seeing so early? Having Izuku learn how to actually fight may seem redundant; if he's gonna be powerful with One for All, what's the point, right? Well, I don't want Izuku to just be powerful, I want him to be competent, and there are few characters more competent that Shota!

I hoped I was able to address what I saw as one of the biggest plotholes in this story: why in the hell would Inko NOT take Izuku back to a Quirk doctor, considering he's putting on more muscle than a roided out footballer? My thinking is she's distrustful of the lot, based on her past experiences; I know this may be a bit of a stretch, but I think its reasonable enough to be acceptable.

I'm very concerned about action scenes in this fic, and whether I'll be able to do them any good. The one here was small, but hopefully well done? You'll have to let me know

Now, as is customary, the reviews!

speckledblight: I update as soon as the chapter is ready! For reference, I wrote chapter one in roughly a day, and this chapter in roughly a night, so as long as the muse speaks, it should be fairly regular!

OnlineOverlord15: Izuku will gain confidence throughout the story, rest assured he won't quite be the stuttering mess we know him as when he gets to UA, but will still have a lot of Izuku's original character

Axlexington: Of a sort ;)

fencer29: Thank you for the feedback! Yes, I have the main story beats planned out, of course everything's subject to change until it's on paper! As to your Quirk hypothesis, that's a very interesting concept, but not quite what I'm going for here :)

Well, that's all folks! Next chapter: The hunt for Eraser Head! Please review if you have the time, and I'll see you soon!