Izuku Midoriya fell to his knees panting, a stinging pain running through his arms. Looking down at them he could see faint burns, his hand clenching and unclenching a fist to see if he could even move them. Hearing some laughs he looks up to see his ex best friend and his "lackies." They stood over him looking strong and smug, the chubby one with wings talking happily to the one with longer fingers before laughing. He couldn't hear what they were saying because of a ringing in his ears from the explosions but he knew that whatever it was it was mocking him. Kacchan on the other hand was still frowning down at him, his arms were crossed but if he tried to do anything that would mean another explosion in his face.
How many times have they done this now? Izuku had seriously lost track. He knew that if he just sat back and did nothing the beatings would stop...but he couldn't do that. Looking behind he caught a glimpse of a cowering smaller boy. Izuku had always been small but this boy was really small. He had cute little round ears like a mouse and a long thin tail. Izuku didn't really know him but he knew he didn't deserve this.
"K-Kacchan please, he didn't mean it. Lets stop this."
Shaking his head Kacchan scoffed, a scowl spreading across his face. "That's what I hate about you nerds, you talk about being heroes one day yet you can't even fucking defend yourself. What? You gonna go crying to mommy every time a villain tries to fight you?"
Standing back onto his shaky feet Izuku frowned back at him. "Being hero isn't just about fighting! T-there are healing heroes and and rescue heroes! He could still be a hero! He, he could..."
He saw the blow coming but couldn't react in time, air escaping his lungs as he fell backwards clutching his stomach.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! POWER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT BEING A HERO! ONLY LOSERS CAN'T FIGHT BACK. I WOULDN'T EXPECT ANYTHING FROM YOU, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU'RE A QUIRKLESS DEKU! WHAT'S THIS KID GOING TO DO? SQUEAK AT ME?"
That was going to bruise...atleast it was on his stomach so he could easily hide it. Tears prickled a his eyes as he let out a cough. Everything hurt, he was burned and beaten. What if, he just laid here for a while? It couldn't hurt to just give up...Hearing a scared little squeak from behind him he shook his head, standing back to his feet again. No, he couldn't just do nothing.
"The doctors said I have a quirk, it just hasn't shown up yet..." Kacchan grabbed at his collar pulling him in close, a growl escaping his lips as he glared at him. "WE BOTH KNOW THEY LIED JUST TO SAVE YOUR FEELINGS, BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER. YOU ARE WEAK DOWN TO THE BONE DEKU, YOU THINK A QUIRK IS GOING TO FIX THAT!?"
He couldn't meet Kacchan's eyes, only stare at the ground as red hot tears ran down his face. He was right, he can't even do anything...it, it wasn't fair. He wanted so badly to be strong like Kacchan, to be like All Might. His mom always told him that real strength meant standing up for what's right even if no one else agrees. It was about getting up no matter how many times you were knocked down...but, he was so tired. He didn't want to let his mom know what was going on but everything hurt all of the time.
Closing his eyes he tried to stop the tears but they would not stop coming. As he stood there crying the laughs around him seemed to get louder and louder. Mocking him until they got almost painful, the noise raising until it became static. A low high pitched noise taking away all of his other senses until...nothing
When he came to he was panting, his larger form hunched. What happened? He blinked, his gaze looking over large hairy arms. He...he got his quirk! He finally got his quirk! Excitement filled his racing heart as he gazed back at the little mouse boy behind him. He stared back at him wide eyed, his body was stiff but there was...something else in his face, Izuku couldn't exactly place it. Looking infront of him he saw Kacchan and his two friends, they were also staring at him wide eyed with the same look on their faces. Kacchan was on the ground a hand over his chest and there was...blood? Taking a step forward all three of them stepped away from him, even Kacchan crawled backwards away from him.
Looking around his gaze finally stopped at a broken mirror, it had a big crack going down it but he could still see what he looked like. He was big, even in a hunched form, with long green hair covering his entire body. Jagged teeth came from a long snout and he had fingers of long sharp claws. Blood pooled at his claws, dripping down onto the concrete floor. Staring at his bright yellow piercing eyes he realized what that look was...
Fear.
Snapping awake Izuku panted, his green matted hair covering his face as he franticly looked around the room. Looking over the pretty empty room his heart finally started to come down. Oh, it was that nightmare again. Collapsing against the bed he stared at the ceiling fan as it slowly spun in a circle. No matter how many times he had that nightmare...relived that memory it still bothered him. It had been a long time since then but it clearly still bothered him, coming back to haunt him every once in a while like a ghost in an old horror story. It wasn't until he heard a knocking at the door and the call of his mother telling him to get up did he finally get out of bed.
Pulling off his shirt he stared down at the handful of burn scars across his body, all of them old and healed over the years. Throwing on his new UA uniform he sighed, softly muttering "please be better then the last school" under his breath as he went out to the living room, backpack in hand.
"There he is! The man of the hour!" Hearing her soft voice before he saw her he turned to smile at his mom, his fingers absently rubbing at the backpack straps. His mom was a short rounder woman that was also his rock through all of the hard times. She worked herself to the bone as a lawyer when his father left in order to give him a good life. Leaning in she gave his head a kiss only chuckling a little at how he squirmed at the affection.
"Mom please, I'm not a little kid anymore"
"I know sweetheart but I cant help but worry! You're growing up so fast on me" Smiling up at him she slide a little care package of food into his hands before giving his backside a playful smack.
"Ohhhh enough of that, stop acting like we're never going to see each other again. You can't be late for your first day of UA" Giving a nod he started to head for the door, only stopping when she called after him. Turning to face her he was almost knocked over when she ran into him, giving him a give hug. Her voice soft and full of love as she whispered to him. "I'm proud of you...my big strong man." He only cried a little when he hugged her back.
The train ride down to UA was fairly normal, groups of people hugged the train car as they talked amongst themselves. Izuku had always hated crowds, the noise and close proximity only made his anxiety spike. Looking over he saw some interesting people. A girl with pink skin and black eyes? A guy with a Raven for a head? There were so many quirks! Muttering a little to himself as he tried to imagine what kind of quirks they had he hardly noticed the train lurch to a stop, people heading out the doors and disappearing from sight. Following the crowd he tried to fight down a blush when he noticed some people looking at him. Some seemed creeped out and others seemed amused but either way their gazes bothered him, making him scurry off faster.
Staring up at the two big buildings he couldn't help but stare, it...it was so big!? I mean sure he was just here a while back to take the test but now he was actually going here! Heading up the steps and farther into the school yard he noticed a young woman, most likely his age. She had strawberry blonde hair that went all the way down to her waist and two long pointed horns poking out of her head. Were those hoofs on her feet? She seemed stressed out about something, staring up at the map of the school and then trying to talk to people walking past her before staring up at the map again. As he got closer he noticed that she was speaking a broken mix of english and japanese, repeating words and stumbling over herself. He wanted to help but he also didn't want to spook the girl...watching her for a second as she muttered to herself he leaned over to tap her shoulder, making her jump over and turn around to face him. Oh no, she was cute!?
"Um hi, do you need help?" She seemed relieved for a second before frowning again, her mouth opening and closing a few times before speaking.
"O-oh! yeas, I need help with uh...map! I need to find building, no uh, door." She seemed to have fumbled after that, cursing a little to herself. Before she could say anything else he tilted his head and responded in the best english he knew. "W-would it be better if we spoke in english?"
She practically jumped on top of him, her eyes wide and smiling big at him. "You can speak english!?"
She was so close...trying to fight down his blush he gave a nod. "Yeah I can speak some english, what can I help you with?
"Thank goodness! I was standing here forever trying to find out where 1B is!"
"O-oh! I know where that is, follow me and I can walk you there."
Heading off into the campus halls they absently chatted while they walked. Well...she talked, Izuku mostly tried to not freak out that he was having a conversation with a pretty girl!
"I'm Tsunotori Pony, it's nice to meet you! Wait no, sorry, last name first? Pony Tsunotori?"
"T-that's ok, I'm Izuku Midoriya, first name first." She giggled at that.
"I take it you're from America Pony?"
"Yeah! I was born in Texas and I always wanted to go to UA since I was little. How do you know english so well Midoriya?"
"Well...growing up I always wanted to be a hero like All might, so I watched all of his stuff. Even his english work."
"That's so cool! I also loved All might growing up. I'm glad someone nice like you made it into the hero course! Since you're in 1A we should have lunch together sometime..."
Her words stung, cringing a little he stopped in his step. There was no way she would know, don't be too hurt by it. It took her a second to realize that he was no longer leading her as she absently walked ahead, her arms swinging from side to side. Pausing she turned to see a hurt expression cross Midoriya's face just for a second. He was looking at the floor, absently rubbing his arm before looking up to face her.
"S-sorry um, I didn't mean to mislead you. I'm not in the hero course...I was born quirkless." She seemed shocked at that, blinking a few times at him before shaking her head.
"N-no I didn't mean..." stopping her from continuing he continued to walk, slapping on the best face smile he could before gesturing to the big 1B door next to them.
"It's ok! I ended up in the support department so I could still make gear for the heroes I love...it was nice talking to you!"
Bolting down the hall before she could say more he ran off leaving her feeling sad and a little ashamed. Her hand was raised up like she was reaching for him before his back disappeared down the hall.
Good start to the school year...
