With a newfound fire lit inside him, Izuku began his road to heroism.
But he needed a way to get there.
He realized that his body moving on its own was all well and good, but he lacked the skills or the physique to keep doing that and remain in one piece.
So he did what always did; analyze and plan.
First, he had to figure out how to get his body in the best condition he could before the UA Entrance Exam. So he just needed to make a fitness plan. Should be easy enough, he could probably sign up for a local gym online.
At least, he thought he could, but he ran into one minor problem when he tried to fill out the application. Only one box.
Quirk Name and Description.
When he tried to fill out the online form, it wouldn't allow him to leave that empty, and simply writing 'Quirkless', didn't count as a name or description according to the computer.
Maybe I can sign up in person?
But that was met with its own problems. Nobody would let him even see a paper to fill out when they found out he was quirkless. Some of them seemed genuinely sorry, but they didn't want legal trouble if he got hurt. Those reasons were better than when they tried (and failed) to hide their distaste for a quirkless child.
With his options dwindling, Izuku decided he would turn to his original teacher, who he could count on to at least be semi-unbiased; the internet.
He looked online for equipment he could buy to train himself, but he realized his funds were kind of lacking.
Then he looked around him and saw the face of his (former?) idol staring back a dozen times over, and he realized what he needed to do.
So, he registered on eBid and started cataloging his large (enormous) collection. He expected himself to feel sadder when he began boxing up the items, he had spent his whole life gathering, but it came easily. That feeling kind of left Izuku feeling hollow.
He made the executive decision to ignore that feeling and focus on his new source of income. It was surprising how much money all of his All Might memorabilia was worth. It was also surprising how it appeared he only had one buyer for all his stuff; someone called ForeSight161.
Within a week, Izuku's room was completely free of the Symbol of Peace. He went back and ordered his new workout gear, but he found that it barely put a dent in his funds.
I'll just save that for when I need it.
Izuku had his new equipment so he could start building muscle, but he also needed some kind of technique. Everyone else has quirks they can fall back on. He didn't have that luxury, so he needed to find ways to get around that and fight back.
Fighting back…
I need to learn how to fight!
He immediately started looking into fighting styles that he could study.
I don't have the time to dedicate to a single martial art style, and even if I did, without a dojo or sensei it wouldn't be as effective to learn complex moves from the internet. Plus, even if my quirkless status didn't matter, mom would never let me sign-up to learn to fight. So, for now I'll just focus on basic self-defense techniques and street fighting.
With that decided to also study movement techniques, like parkour and free running.
I should be able to practice that just by moving around the city. I just have to be careful at first, so I don't end up face planting in an alley.
The image of a swan dive off a roof popped into his head at that thought. Izuku shook his head and focused on his research.
He designed a diet plan in order to go along with his workouts and runs, with plenty of balanced meals. He'd have to talk to mom about this. He'd also have to tell her about his plans for his training, at least the bodybuilding portions.
Izuku decided to wait until dinner to bring this up with her. He had to be very careful how he asked her, or she would shut him down.
Inko Midoriya had always been very worried about Izuku hurting himself, especially after he was diagnosed as quirkless. Izuku loved his mom, but her words to him when he asked if he could still be a hero still made him a little sad when the memory appeared.
Izuku decided to get to work on how he was going to ask her.
"Hey mom?"
Inko looked up from her meal. She'd decided to make some hot soba.
Meanwhile, Shoto Todoroki looked up from his schoolwork. He just sensed that something was wrong. But he had to get back to work, or Endeavor would become unbearable.
Back in the Midoriya household.
"I was wondering if I could start working out?" Izuku could already see the worry in her eyes.
"Why? Did someone make fun of you? Because you don't have to change yourself for other people." She said with concern, the beginning of tears in the corner of her eyes.
"No, nobody made fun of me." He tried to calm her down quickly. If she started crying, this was going to be impossible. "I just want to be healthier. I'm not exactly the most fit boy in my class."
It was true. Izuku was always near the bottom in physical fitness classes. He was 5' 5' and built like a toothpick.
"I was just wondering if I could start dieting to help. I already looked into some options; I just wanted your help in deciding which is best for me."
Inko seemed to calm a bit at that. He wasn't asking to learn martial arts at least.
"Okay. At least promise me that you won't overexert yourself, please sweetie?"
"I promise mom, I'll be careful."
With that settled, Izuku only needed one more thing to train, his mind.
He'd always been smart. When they learned he wouldn't be getting a quirk, Izuku decided to study even harder, hoping his intellect would make his dream possible. His quirk analysis was only one part of that.
Sadly, his grades didn't quite reflect his true abilities. He had started holding himself back in his first year in middle school. Other kids got pretty mad when the quirkless kid out ranked them in grades. So, he decided to keep to himself, and he let Kacchan stay in the lead. At least he didn't get beat up for that anymore.
But not anymore. If he was going to excel, he needed to not only stop holding back, but he also needed to become better than he is now. He'd put all his mental capacity towards his hero journal, but if he started treating all his studies like that, he could probably improve dramatically in the ten months he has.
5 MONTHS LATER
Izuku had come a long way since he began his journey. His body building was coming along nicely. He'd made sure not to wear himself out. He didn't want to end up puking because he didn't know his limits.
He was also getting better at traversing his environment. He had struggled at first, but the more he ran and climbed, the more it started to feel like second nature. He'd even started using the train to get parts of the city he didn't visit often in order to test himself.
That's what he was doing now, as he followed the backroads, trying to avoid the big crowds so he could navigate with ease.
He was taking a break on a street corner when he heard someone getting beat up. It had happened enough to him over the years that he recognized the sounds.
He immediately ran towards the noise, turning towards an alley off the main road. He saw what looked like two boys his age standing over another kid. The guy on the ground wasn't looking good. His face was covered in bruises and cut, one eye swollen shut. Dirt and grime caked the boys' limbs and purple hair.
"That's what you get, you damn villain!" One of the boys said as he kicked him in the gut, sending the boy to his side, hugging his abdomen.
The other thug picked the boy up by his collar, standing him back up on his feet. The purple haired boy tried to back away, but he backed into the wall.
One of the boys raised his fist, winding it back to strike. He unleashed his fist, and it rocketed towards the victim's face. But at the last second a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, halting its progress.
Surprised, both bullies turned towards the newcomer. They were met with two emerald eyes filled to the brim with determination.
"Stop, I've called the police. They'll be here any minute." Izuku said to them loud and clear.
Izuku was surprised that he didn't stutter, but he couldn't congratulate himself now, not when there was a potential fight.
Shockingly, the boys seemed to register Izuku's words of the police arriving soon. The grabbed boy shoved Izuku's hand off his wrist and turned away, motioning the other one to move too.
But before he left, he turned towards the purple haired boy, "You're lucky this time, villain trash."
They left without fanfare, leaving Izuku and the other boy in the alley. After a few seconds, the boy began to wobble, and he started to fall.
Izuku caught him and helped him gently lower himself, propping him against the wall.
Now that he was closer, Izuku could see that the boy was obviously concussed, probably being struck on the head during the encounter.
Unfortunately, Izuku had no Idea what to do with this and just tried to keep the boy awake.
Maybe I should pick up some first-aid courses online.
"Hey, can you understand me?"
The other boy seemed to register his words somewhat but didn't say anything, just nodding slowly.
"Okay, that's good. Just try to stay awake. I asked them to bring an ambulance when I called the police, so just try to stay awake. Can you do that?"
The boy nodded, then he looked like he was trying his hardest to think.
"W-why did you s-stop them?" The boy asked with shaky breath.
"Because I saw I could help you." Izuku answered with a determined smile, "And I couldn't just leave someone in need."
The other boy's non-swollen eye widened a bit, and it looked like something clicked in his mind.
Izuku heard the sirens approaching, and a few moments later, an officer and a medic approached the two. The medic made his way to the boy, and the officer called Izuku over.
After being questioned, the officer let Izuku go since he didn't have to fight the boys, just stop a flying fist.
Izuku turned to see the boy being loaded into the back of an ambulance as he exited the alley.
He decided to head home for the night, making his way to the train station.
7 MONTHS LATER
Izuku stood outside the gates of UA, prepared to give his all in the entrance exam.
As he looked towards the main building, his heart swelled. As he walked through the gates, he truly felt like this was his road to being a hero.
(A/N) Hi, I don't know what to say in these notes, but I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who have already Favorited and Followed this story. It's my first, so seeing that people like it is a huge confidence boost. I also wanted to let you know that I like getting feedback on my writing, so please review, I want to improve and provide you all with a good story. It doesn't even have to be strictly about the story, I'm willing to interact with you, but please, don't attack other people or groups, I may be new, but I refuse to put up with discrimination or hate statements. I hope anybody can enjoy a story they enjoy, and that experience shouldn't be spoiled by unneeded negativity towards others.