-The Boy by The Lake-

I met a girl by the lake; truthfully, I met her by a river once. A long time ago, I had been knocked in by Kaachan after he blasted me in the chest. She pulled me out and was one of the only people I met who didn't look down on me for my lack of quirk. Her large round eyes bore straight into my soul, and she said that anyone could be a hero if they tried; the part I remember best is the little ribbit she added at the end. I will never forget that in all the years since then, I always remembered them, not when All-Might made me his successor or when I passed the entrance exam to get into U. She was my angel. This beautiful frog princess rose from her castle to save a sad little boy crying in a river.

Imagine my surprise when on the first day I saw her in my class, it was her; I instantly knew it. I wanted to run up and ask if she remembered me, but why would she? Also, I didn't know how to talk to girls. I had only ever talked to my mom and Recovery Girl; I got a sentence out to the girl that saved me from falling at the entrance exam. I didn't even get a chance to talk to her after the encounter with the Zero Pointer; I had broken my arm by going at 100% instead of the 8% that I could handle, my legs thankfully weren't hurt, but I had torn ligaments and muscles throughout them. I even saw her on the acceptance letter offering me some of her points as a thank you for saving her. Ochaco Uraraka was her name. Luckily no one noticed me staring; my attention was drawn as the mean blue-haired guy from the entrance exam came stalking up to me like I was about to get yelled at for something, probably my tie. I couldn't tie it right to save my life, I watched hundreds of videos, and still, it looked terrible.

"It's you," he said rather loudly. "I must apologize; you discerned the true meaning behind the exam; I must bow to you, sir, and offer my sincerest apologies. I am Tenya Ida of Soumei Junior High."

It took a moment to register everything he said to me as his robotic chopping motion had me wonder if he was a part robot. Sheepishly I rubbed the back of my head. "I didn't know that there was another part of the exam, I simply saw someone in danger, and my feet moved before my brain could even register what I was doing. Though maybe you should not judge people so quickly next time, never assume someone's intentions."

"I shall take your words to heart; let us begin again. Tenya Ida." He said, sticking out his hand.

Taking his hand in a proper handshake, I replied, "Izuku Midoriya."

Before he could say anything, the door flew open, and the brunette from the exam was panting and grabbing her breath. "Are you…" As she was bent over her hand on her knees, I started to say before she held up one finger.

"Made it; I thought I was going to be late," she said before she looked up, and her eyes widened. "Oh hey, it's you; I never got to thank you for saving me."

"It was what anyone would have done, Ochaco,"

"How did you know my name?" she asked, bouncing forward; she was very close, almost too close, but I couldn't process the ability to step back.

"I. I. heard it when you went to t-t-talk to President Mic after t-t-the exam." I managed to get out.

She stepped back and lowered her head, peaking to look back at me through her eyelashes, "You saw that?"

Before I could answer, our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a yellow caterpillar. Stupidly I thought that for a moment before it was revealed to be Mr. Aizawa, our homeroom teacher.

"If you are here to make friends, you can leave now. If not, grab a gym uniform and meet me at the athletic field in 15 minutes. Anyone late will be expelled."

"But what about orientation?" Ochaco asked.

"Waste of time, 14 minutes 50 seconds."

I saw Bakugo race out the back door and other students moving to do the same. "We should hurry, Uraraka," I said as I quickly went to my desk and grabbed my uniform; luckily, she did the same.

Eleven minutes and 49 seconds later, we were all standing on the U.A. athletic field. I had been here multiple times with All-Might, but it felt different today.

"No one gets expelled yet, good. Next time you should be able to do this in under ten minutes." Aizawa said. "Time is the one commodity you can never get back; wasting it is foolish and illogical. I will not have my time wasted, nor will I waste yours either. You are here to be heroes, and I have limited time to ensure you become just that. I will give you 100% of my energy, and you will give me 100% of yours. I am going to push to till you break, then I am going to make you farther. You will truly learn what it means to GO BEYOND. If you do not give me 100%, then there is no place for you in this class. I would remove you and promote someone from General Studies that would eat Midnight cooking if I asked them to. I promise you this as long as you give me all you got, I will not abandon you; as long as you dig deep and claw for your dream, I will not leave you behind. Do you understand?"

"YES, SENSEI!" My class and I shouted back; I was feeling instead pumped up from his speech and could tell from the other's faces that they were too.

"For some illogical reason, schools still have you perform your physical fitness tests without using your quirk. This is done under the guise that everyone is created equally, which is just plain wrong. Some of you are born with physical quirks, while others are born with quirks that will aid your life in other ways. Some tall, some short; while it is true that you can learn to overcome your shortcomings, it is illogical to tell everyone that they are the same when truly they are not. Today we are going to perform those same tests, but you are going to use your quirks. Please dig deep and find a way to use them to push yourselves. I already told you that I expect 100% effort; now, show me what you kids can do; today, you GO BEYOND!"

"PLUS, ULTRA!" We scream.

"Bakugo, you took first place in villain points; how far could you throw a softball in middle school."

"67 meters," Bakugo replied.

"Grab a ball from the bucket, step into the circle, and use your quirk to do it. Anything goes as long as you stay in the circle."

I watch Bakugo give me a dirty look and hear him click his tongue as he walks but steps into the circle. He rears back, and with a heroic cry of "DIE," the ball rockets off into the distance.

"705 meters," Aizawa says, holding up a device. "Now that everyone understands, let's get started; line up in twos for the 50-yard dash."

I watch as everyone forms up into two lines, I look over at whom I am going to be racing, and it's a kid with Yellow hair with back marks that kind of look like a lightning bolt. I offer him a smile and extend my hand, "Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you." I am somewhat holding my breath, unsure of the response; I am thrilled when he smiles back and shakes my hand. "Denki Kaminari, nice to meet you too."

We shake hands before Bakugo comes up and glares at Denki, "Get lost, lightning hair." Sadly, I watch the boy throw up his hands and step aside. Bakugo leans in and, in a growl, says, "It won't matter how much effort you put in; they are going to see just how much of a fucking Deku you are. I don't know how you cheated your way in, but after today I bet not only will they kick you out of the heroic course but all of U.A., you bastard."

"This isn't Aldera, Bakugo. None of the teachers will cover for you, so you had better watch what you do. Besides, after today you are going to be chasing me."

"THE FUCK YOU SAY?"

"You heard me; we are up," I tell him as we approach the line. I am annoyed, I had hoped that I wouldn't be in the same class as Bakugo, but I will not let him ruin my life anymore. Today I show him that things are different. As we line up, I see him put his hands behind him, palms out; I know he will use his quirk to launch himself. I smile and take my runner's stance, Full Cowling 8%; I feel One for All answer my call, the green lightning wrapping around my body. I see Bakugo's eyes go wide, then the signal gun fires and pushes off, creating a dust cloud. His confusion costs him, his time 4.78 seconds. Mine 2.15.

As he crossed the finish line, I saw him lunge towards me to grab hold of my uniform, "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT, DEKU? HAVE YOU BEEN LYING TO ME THIS WHOLE TIME?" I smack his hand away from grabbing me; I can tell that this pisses him off even more. I see his hand begin to spark, and it looks like he is about to swing, when suddenly the sparks stop, and he is wrapped in a grey scarf.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? WHY CAN'T I MOVE OR USE MY QUIRK?" my would-be attacker bellows, futility thrashing around.

"It is a titanium fiber capture weapon, and I erased your quirk. Mr. Bakugo, unless you would like to bypass being demoted to general studies and straight to expulsion, I suggest you keep your hand and quirk to yourself. I will not waste my time on some child who cannot handle that he lost a race. Now either behave or leave; you are giving me dry eye."

It all clicks for me; I look at my teacher with dawning recognition, "Your Eraser Head!"

"Surprised you heard of me, kid; runners to your line," he yells, returning to the class.

I walk away from Bakugo, who goes to stand out from the rest of the class, and he looks like he is sulking like a child. I ignore him. Thankfully I get to see the girl from the river race against Uraraka; I notice Uraraka use her quirk to make her clothes lighter while the other racer clears the race in two jumps for a time of 5.13. When I hear Ochaco's time, 7.25, I wince, but she comes over to me smiling at how it was better than her middle school time.

"Deku, that was an awesome race," she says as she comes over, I wince at the name.

"W-W-Why did you call me Deku?" I ask, my heart almost thudding out of my chest as my memories of Aldera flood over me.

"Isn't that your name? I heard that loudmouth blonde call you that…did I just majorly mess up?" she looks down at the ground, and I relax, seeing how she made a mistake.

"My name is I-Izuku Midoriya; he calls me D-D-Deku as an insult. It means useless."

Her hands fly to her mouth, "I am so sorry; please forgive me. I thought it was short for Dekiru, meaning you can do it. I am sorry; I wasn't trying to insult you, I swear."

"It's ok, I believe you, but p-please call me I-I-Izuku, or M-M-Midoriya, just not that."

"I promise I won't ever say that again," she responded, "Can we still be friends?"

"Y-You want to be my friend?"

"Of course, you did save me from the Zero Pointer, who wouldn't want to be friends with such an awesome guy."

I never thought I could be so happy; having an actual friend after being alone is fantastic. "I would very m-much l-like to be friends with you, Ochaco."

"Sweet."

-A Boy by the River-

I once met a boy by the river; some bully had knocked him in. When I pulled him out, how he looked at me made me feel like I could be a hero. Despite my appearance of looking like a frog, I could bring a smile to people's faces. He seemed so sad; when I pressed, he told me he was quirkless, which was why the other kids wouldn't play with him. I told him the truth that it didn't matter that he was quirkless and that he could do anything anyone else could do. That being judged for something he had no control over was dumb. Trust me; I know what dumb judgment is like.

Sometimes, I would think of him when I felt down, or like maybe the other kids were right and that I couldn't be a hero. The way he looked at me and his smile would help push those thoughts away and help drive me forward. I wondered if I would ever see him again.

I was overjoyed when I walked into U.A. for the first time; I had entered the hero course. Watching the others begin to file into class was interesting, seeing the different quirks. I was happy to see Kyoka and Toru from the entrance exam; we exchanged numbers and talked while waiting for our results. It was then the door opened, and in he walked.

I recognized him immediately; something resonated deep inside me, singing, and crying out as soon as I saw him. I wondered if he remembered me, but probably not. I sulked. For some reason, that hurt; I couldn't explain it. Something about the fact that he may not remember a meeting over a decade ago was causing me discomfort, a feeling I wasn't familiar with. I mean, how many frog girls were out in the world? When he looked my way, I thought I could see a look of recognition, and I felt an excited ribbit escape my lips.

Before anything else could happen, the Tenya Ida, who had been arguing with someone named Bakugo about his feet on the desk, ran up and started talking to him; she heard his name through Izuku Midoriya. It made me giddy for some reason; why was that? But I knew his name now, some busty brunette burst in. They seemed to know each other somehow.

She was too close to him; she shouldn't be that close. I felt an almost primal urge to pull her away from him. This wasn't right; this wasn't me. I needed to talk to my mom as soon as I got home. I could handle this for now. I just needed to be calm.

I am thankful for the quirk test; it at least provides a distraction. Like when he bent over during the seated toe touch or how his shirt rode up to reveal some surprisingly lovely abs. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Tsu, you, ok?" Kyoka asked. "You have been all over the place today?"

"I am not sure," I replied honestly. "Maybe it's just the sensation of being at U.A. and the hero course."

"I know what you mean," Toru exclaimed. "I am unsure if I want to laugh, cry, scream, or throw up."

"Today has been a bit much, I thought they might ease us into it, but Mr. Aizawa is having none of that shit," Kyoka said as she slipped off her gym uniform. "Do you guys want to stop by the café on the way home?"

"I do!" said Toru.

"I can't, sorry, I need to get home," Tsu said, fastening her skirt. "Mom is working late tonight, and Dad is out of town till tomorrow."

"That sucks. Then tomorrow?" Kyoka asked.

"I promise, Kero," Tsu replied.

I raced home, I hated lying to them, but I needed to talk to my mom asap. I burst in, making her jump in surprise, and ran to her. I word-vomited all of it. Everything that Izuku Midoriya was making me feel. I felt almost desperate as I finished for her to tell me what was wrong. The look in her eyes was not one I was ready for, nor was her answer.

"You have found your mate."

*Authors Note*

I have no excuses; I blame my ADHD. I will probably shift to the third person for the next chapter whenever that happens; it was challenging trying to write this from a first-person perspective. Or I will try to make a way that shifts perspective without making it too confusing, but who the hell knows?