Greetings! For those of you reading, I decided to split the prologue in a few parts so as to get the story started and to settle the characters into their roles. Izuku just gained a younger brother in Zatch, and Zatch gained an older brother in Izuku. However, for now that's only in name and dynamic. To develop this, I wanted to detail the rest of the day with Izuku and Zatch.
I hope you enjoy the rest of this chapter, and lets get down to it!
Disclaimer, I do not own My Hero Academia or Zatch Bell, they belong to their respective authors. Please support the official release.
Izuku Midoriya as a teenager never had many friends, let alone a younger brother. However, he was starting to like the idea of having Zatch Bell as a younger brother. Even if the idea was only likable in potential at the moment. Izuku followed the young golden-eyed boy to his room, where Zatch immediately took a moment to notice…well, the amounts of merchandise of a very famous hero.
Sorry, Scratch that. The hero of the world. The symbol of peace, All Might.
Just thinking about him put a bright smile on Izuku's face, although even that brought with it some harsh, very bitter memories that he decided to put away for now. This wasn't about him at the moment. It was about helping Zatch get his bearings on the world. At least, until dinner is ready.
Still…
"Wow…!" Zatch's wide-eyed excitement couldn't be contained, as he looked around the comparably small room that Izuku called his own. To be fair, immediately Izuku felt a bit of embarrassment and some sheepishness. He had a smirk that was clearly nervous and even somewhat embarrassed, although it would have been worse if it were people his age.
Either way, the room was…to put it bluntly, an All Might fanboy's dream. Posters of All Might from his Golden Age, to his Silver Age, and even the modern age costumes plastered on the walls, entire figurines that seemed perfectly posed to resemble All Might's signature stances down to the most minute detail. Not a single inch off. Not that Zatch would care to know the difference, he's a kid.
And Izuku would be reminded of that fact immediately.
"These are so cool!" Zatch cheered with a hop in his step, climbing onto the bed and staring at the poster of All Might, one that had the words I am Here bolded in colored stylized fonts. "You have a lot of cool stuff Izuku! Those toys look so cool too!"
"R-Really? You…think so?" Izuku had a faintly red tint on his face, partially out of embarrassment, but he also seemed to be surprised in a good way. Zatch did seem genuinely interested, running from one end of the room to the other to check on the various pieces of All Might Merchandise that Izuku managed to buy over the years.
"Yes I do think so!" Zatch turned to Izuku with a bright smile, as he hopped up and , with a curious expression he pointed at one of the posters of All Might. "I just have a question, who is that man?"
"..." Izuku blinked owlishly, with a smile. He had reacted in such a way that it almost felt absurd hearing the question. "I never thought I'd ever hear a kid ask me that question so innocently."
Then again, he remembered that Zatch has potentially amnesia…and doesn't remember much about this world. Kids as young as 4 years old idolize and know All Might!
But Izuku sighed a bit in relief, as he smiled and crouched down to Zatch Bell to be eye-to-eye with him. "Well, first Zatch…that's All Might, the number one hero in the world."
"Number 1 Hero?" Zatch blinked, smiling as he turned to All Might's poster. The bright smile with gleaming teeth being the most iconic look. However, Zatch tilted his head in a curious manner. "He has a weird smile!"
"Eh?" Izuku tilted his head with a baffled look. That's the first thing Zatch mentions about All Might's signature smile? "You think its weird?"
"Well, why is he smiling if he's a Hero? And…what's a Hero actually?" Zatch asked with another curious expression, almost so innocent and yet very clueless.
"Uh, Zatch," Izuku stood up, and took a seat on his desk chair and cycled through a few of the Hero Journal's that he made that rested on his shelf. "Hero's are essentially, well…people who use their Quirks to save people, fight villains and protect innocents. They are paragons of virtue!"
"You use big words, Izuku, I don't understand!" Zatch cheerfully laughed as he stated and followed Izuku to the desk. "But what's a Quirk? I keep hearing about that from you but you haven't told me!"
"O-Oh, right, sorry." Izuku rubbed the back of his head, reminding himself that Zatch doesn't remember. "Quirks are…well, to put it in simple terms…superpowers!"
"Wait, superpowers!?" Zatch, as expected of a kid, reacted with bright stars in his eyes and excitement.
"Y-Yeah." Izuku nodded, smiling a bit of his own excitement as he got to gushing about his own favorite topic. "Amazing superpowers! Almost everybody in the world has at least one Quirk, and they usually are what makes us unique and interesting from one another."
"Wait…so, like how your dad knows how to breathe fire!?" Zatch blinked with excitement, exclaiming with curiosity.
"O-Oh? Y-Yeah, just like that. That's my dad's Quirk, Spitfire." Izuku nodded slowly, glad he at least remembered his father's quirk overall. Although he wasn't sure if Spitfire was the proper name for it, even Izuku knew it was one edge he didn't have over the others. He wasn't lucky enough to get power like that.
"That's awesome Izuku!" Zatch nodded excitedly at that, almost as if he was happy to be learning more about this. "But wait, if Hero's use Quirks…then does that make them super-powered superheroes!?"
"Well, in a sense…yeah. But that's a lot of steps to call them Heroes. Even so, they save people from natural disasters, and even villain attacks."
"Villains? Wait, as in…" Zatch looked from left to right, and then whispered with one hand cupping it to hide. "Bad guys?"
"Y-Yeah. In a world where most people have a superpower, it's sadly true that there are people who'd rather use their Quirks for selfish, even evil reasons. We call them Villains, the opposite of heroes." Izuku explained once again, a small look of anxiety flashing his face. "They are usually people who use their Quirks to hurt people or steal for themselves. And they are as common as the Heroes."
"Whoa…but then, if there are superheroes and bad guys everywhere…why is he special?" Zatch asked again, as ever a curious boy in a curious world. "Ya know, Mr. Shiny Teeth!"
"Eh…I-It's All Might, Zatch–"
"Nope, I'm calling him Mr. Shiny Teeth, because of his shiny smile and teeth!" Zatch grinned with an innocent but goofy shine to it, almost leaving Izuku a bit dumbfounded and baffled once again.
It's not as if Izuku was offended for All Might or anything, not that the number 1 Hero would be offended in the slightest! After all, All Might saves people on the daily without fail, and more importantly has proven himself to be the symbol of peace. He's an example for Heroes and civilians everywhere, he's the golden example for everybody who wishes to become a Hero.
But to Izuku, All Might is his greatest inspiration, even after knowing the whole truth at the age of four.
But Zatch, Izuku is quickly realizing, doesn't have that same attitude towards All Might, or at least doesn't have the years of admiration and history to admire All Might as much as the world does. Instead, Izuku described it as a childish, but also innocent excitement of All Might as if he was any other superhero.
Which wasn't entirely accurate, Izuku thought. Call him biased, but All Might is not like other heroes. However, he couldn't help but sigh. At least Zatch understood what Quirks are and what Heroes and Villains were. He should be able to get the picture now.
"Oh, wait, I almost forgot!" Zatch gasped a bit, before going over to the bed where he had left the Red Book. Carrying it with both hands, Zatch dashed back to Izuku and held it out to him. "Your dad told me to give you this, remember? It was in the letter!"
"O-Oh, right." Izuku blinked, stumbling over his words for a moment with how quick Zatch got the book and shoved it in front of him. However, Izuku took the book and examined its hardcover. Immediately, upon closer viewing…Izuku felt a sense of unease and yet confused curiosity over the patterns of the hardcover book. It had no title, and even less any legible words but simply five circles with lines interconnecting them. The spine of the book has a large black dash at the top, while underneath is a box with dots at the top and bottom and a star in the center.
What these symbols meant barely meant anything to Izuku, and as he frowned in thought , he stood up from his desk chair and began to open the first few pages. His eyes were widened in surprise and confusion, as for almost every single page in this book, there were hieroglyphic-like runes and letters that are barely unreadable. Not because they were scratched or blacked over, but simply because they had no familiar roots to the actual human language. The alphabet it used must have been foreign or something, but Izuku would have to check through his books to make sure.
Either way, Izuku seemed to be intently focusing on the letters, flipping through the pages until he found one particular page out of the rest. As Izuku paced around his room in a circle, Zatch just watched out the window at the moment, looking at the streets below with a curious wonder.
This…this page. Izuku looked at the colored hieroglyphics text, this time colored a vibrant scarlet red. However, it wasn't necessarily the colored text that surprise Izuku at the moment. It was that, despite having been sure he never knew anything about this text or language…he could actually read it. But he could only read the colored text, as everything else was relatively unreadable.
And Izuku, at least to himself, began to read it outloud in his own mumbling.
"The First Spell, Zaker…?" Izuku mumbled those words out, and yet the letters began to glow, and he heard a crackling hum. At least a second before Izuku turned to Zatch, who's eyes had glazed over white, glowing as suddenly electricity built up around his mouth like a breath blast.
It shot towards Izuku's window.
Inko Midoriya had just about finished cooking the three bowls of Katsu Udon. With extra helpings for Izuku Midoriya, and her now adopted son Zatch; Inko served the bowls onto the table, and immediately thought about the good that could come from this.
The news came as a relative shock for her, when Hisashi actually responded back to one of her letters at the time. Of course, when exactly she wrote the letter was after a particularly…sudden, and emotional revelation of her own. It's not a day she's proud of, and even less considering she somehow hid it from her son. After all, that night she had written to Hisashi about her concerns for Izuku and his future; Inko had taken some time to ease her sorrows with a gift from some of her old friends.
It was only for one night, and it never got bad as she had done so while Izuku had been asleep and away at school; and she hadn't even drank half of the bottle at all. However, a few sips clearly urged her to write the letter to Hisashi.
Oddly enough, even if Hisashi had been busy with the overseas teacher job in England, Inko didn't have any resentment towards him for that. Trepidation and anxiety sure, but no anger despite Izuku's lukewarm response to his letter.
That letter had been packed with so many emotions that it forced Inko to quiet down her sobs that night. She didn't expect to hear much from Hisashi. Her beloved was always busy with being a professor, so Inko would admit to herself that she half-expected nothing in return.
But still, she was luckily proven wrong. With a child that Hisashi just…found in the forest, and apparently also an important young boy. Because of the amnesia, Inko felt sympathy and immense sadness for Zatch, but also some level of excitement for how readily and accepting Zatch was to being essentially a part of their family.
Especially an essential younger brother to the one person that Inko wished she'd helped more. Izuku.
The thought of trying to find some way to ease her son's plight had always crossed her mind, but her own hesitance and lack of information always made the act of helping and encouraging her son difficult. After all, Izuku made his dreams so clear as early as he was a toddler. Even after being told by their resident doctor that it was a hopeless dream, and that he should just 'give it up', Inko knew that Izuku gripped onto the tiniest bit of hope.
And that same night, it hurt Inko even more. Because 10 years ago, a crying, hope-seeking Izuku, barely clinging onto the straws of his own frail dream…asked Inko if he could really be a hero like All Might. Those words were desperate, and Inko should have said something inspiring…or even something hopeful to her son.
She should have been able to do something.
But no.
Instead, she couldn't do anything else but say…'I'm sorry'.
Ever since those days, Izuku had to grow up without a Quirk, which clearly made him a target for many kids his age, and Inko didn't know what else to say to him. Despite their close bond, there was a sense of regret that Inko held in her heart for not being able to say the words that Izuku always wanted to hear.
Even now, she didn't want to think of that. The reality was, Izuku would never have a Quirk, and his prospect of wanting to be a student of U.A. is…unlikely, as harsh as the word sounded to even Inko Midoriya.
However, she hoped that Zatch Bell could be at least a source of comfort and encouragement for Izuku to be proud of himself, even if he couldn't become a hero. However, she hoped that her sons were already getting along together.
My sons. Already she was readily accepting of the idea, but she also felt a tint of surprising embarrassment.
All thoughts that were interrupted by a loud sound of an explosion that caused her to yelp and jump. However, she noticed it came from Izuku's room, and there was some smoke coming out of the corners of the door…which caused Inko a flash of horror and fear for the most motherly of reasons.
She dashed forward, and pushed the door open in a hurry "Izuku, Zatch!? Is everything okay–"
Suddenly, her horror turned into wide-eyed bafflement and…confusion. After all, the window of Izuku's room looked shattered and absolutely destroyed. However, the room itself had soot and some sparks flying out as well. In her sights, she caught Izuku with a Red Book in his hands, back turned to the wall and corner behind Zatch.
And speaking of Zatch, the young man had a brief blank-eyed look before his golden eyes returned. Much to her surprise, Zatch wasn't shouting or worried at all, but instead blinking and looking around in confusion himself. How…why, and what exactly happened!?
"I-I-Izuku…?" Inko sputtered out in a baffled whisper, looking to her older son who seemed very surprised and in disbelief and without words.
"W-Wha– Z-Zatch…h-he, l-lightning out of his–" Izuku mumbled and muttered under his breath with quick breaths as he flailed an arm and pointed to Zatch who looked around with a look of confusion and innocent joy.
"Huh? What? Izuku, what happened to your room? Why is it covered in black smoke?" Zatch blinked, turning around before widely smiling at Inko, despite ignoring her surprise. "Oh, hi Mom!"
"..." Inko Midoriya had seen a lot of Quirks when she was younger, and even more Quirks over the course of her life. But still, if Zatch was 6 years old, that must mean he probably should have manifested his Quirk.
And yet…now Zatch blows up the room with what she can only assume to be lightning coming out of Zatch's mouth. And Izuku is stammering too.
Inko stammered over her own words at the moment, and immediately just mumbled to herself. "U-Uhm…d-dinners…r-ready?"
"Dinner? Oh, goodie! I'm really hungry! Do you have any more Yellowtail?" Zatch asked with a bright look in his golden eyes as he ran on his little feet to the kitchen, leaving both Inko and MIdoriya still stunned by what just happened to the room.
For a moment, Inko looked at the broken window, or at least what is a hole in the wall, and sighed to herself that she'd have to use the funds to at least mend it and make a new window out of it. However, she looked at Izuku who was still stunned as she admittedly…asked with a shaky smile. "Uhm…dinner's ready, your favorite…"
"Uh…r-right…!" Izuku nodded, shakily, before standing up with an owlish look, and walked out slowly with the red book in his hand. For a brief moment, Inko didn't know what to think of the book, but that was a story for another day.
Inko already had a feeling this was going to be a regular occurrence for them. And yet she couldn't help but find having a small sheepish smile. Surely, Zatch was kidding about eating another Yellowtail right?
"Mom! I don't see anymore yellowtail!" Zatch's childish voice chirped out in surprise and a bit of disappointment.
He isn't? Inko widened her eyes, and just stammered out, "D-Don't worry, Zatch! I can go look for you tomorrow!"
Followed by the sounds of Zatch's excitement, Izuku's disbelief and yet relaxed disposition, and Inko Midoriya's own sheepish, motherly laughter; the Midoriya Family enjoyed their first dinner with Zatch 'Bell' Midoriya.
"T-That's mean…K-Kacchan…" A young broccoli-haired young boy shook in place, gripping his shirt with both hands. He couldn't be more than 4 or 5 years old at the time, and yet already he felt fear. He stood before three other kids about his own age, and protectively stood in front of a kid who had been previously hurt on the ground, sniffling. "C-Can't you see he's crying…?"
This young verdant-haired child felt fear, and yet despite himself put up his hands into fists, shaking despite his miniscule frustration. "I-If you keep going, I-I-I'll never forgive you!"
The three kids in front of him looked confused, especially the two behind an ashen=blonde young child with red eyes. HIs hair spiked in every direction as opposed to the verdant-haired boy's curly messy locks. And even more than that, he gave off a slow but composed smile at first.
"Even though you're Quirkless…" The boy spoke, before palming his fist into his other hand, and a small explosion formed in his fist. The two boys behind him formed their Quirks, one with red-wings and the other with stretchy fingers. "...you're pretending to be a hero, Deku?"
His smile turned clearly annoyed and angered, but Deku didn't really have much time to react to that as the three kids rushed at him and beat him up. They punched his face, tussled with him but always had the advantage despite Deku's unwillingness to give up.
That young boy at the time had no chance against them, and even then he was too afraid to do anything against him.
That had been a really painful afternoon.
All men are not created equally. This was the reality I learned about society at the young age of four.
That was my first…and last setback.
"Hey, Hey, Izuku, where are you going?"
"O-Oh, me? I'm just heading out to school."
"Really!? Can I go with you, Izuku!?"
"Uhm…what?" Izuku turned to Zatch as he already had his black gakuran uniform ready, and sat down at the edge of the floor to put on his shoes. Zatch himself wore what looked like a green-duffle bag that had zippers on the side and on the bottom. It looked like Zatch was wearing the duffle bag on his own over his own puppet-like clothes, perfect enough for him to walk in and yet small enough for him to potentially hide in. However, Izuku almost seemed…confused by that. "Zatch…why are you wearing that?"
"You like my disguise?" Zatch smiled excitedly, his little hands waving out the side of the duffle bag despite his excited tapping. "This is a very easy way for you to carry me all the way to school! That way we can enact the plan!"
Izuku almost seemed confused by what he meant by a plan, but he didn't ask at the moment. After all, there still wasn't any context as to what Izuku is doing right now.
To put this quite simply, Izuku already had been prepared to leave the house for his next day of school. Even after last night's dinner with Zatch, Izuku didn't have any other beds for him , so he had to set up a Futon for the golden-haired boy.
Thankfully, that night they both had slept very well, and Izuku only needed to put on his usual uniform and get his 13th Hero Journal inside his big yellow backpack. Of course, he also decided to bring with him the Red Book from last night, mostly to study more about it and partially because he planned on using the school library to help compare texts with it.
The morning routine with a small meal helped Izuku, as well as getting a lunch bento for himself when lunch arrived at school.
However, Izuku would admit he isn't exactly excited for school. Or at least, not excited about the social aspect of school. He only ever got up this earlier than usual because he wanted to get a good glimpse at any Hero vs. Villain incidents along the route to his school. It's always a spectacle, and the hero's always win in Musutafu.
It's not like Izuku is in a rush, but he also knew he couldn't just bring Zatch with him everywhere he went. Plus, it's a school day. Aldera Junior High isn't exactly a place for someone old enough to be a first grader. Either way, Izuku now had to face Zatch's question.
"So can I please go with you to school?" Zatch asked once again, snapping Izuku out of his thoughts. "I would really like to help with our super-duper plan!"
What plan? Izuku raised a brow, but was a bit too eager to get to the station to see if there were any hero vs. villain incidents. Still, he chuckled sheepishly and stood up as he looked down at Zatch. "S-Sorry, Zatch. But you can't come with me to school."
"Eh…?" Zatch blinked, his smile dropping to a confused frown. "B-But…as your younger brother, I have to be there to–"
I don't think they would allow a 6-year-old in junior high. Because it'd be a little bit embarrassing to go to school with my new brother nobody ever knew about. I don't want you to be embarrassed of me when you find out I'm Quirkless.
A lot of thoughts raced over Izuku at that moment, and despite his slight sympathy when he saw Zatch being innocently confused…he couldn't help but have a shaky smile. "I doubt they allow 6-year olds at my school…so, you have to stay home with my mom until I get back, okay?"
"EH!?" Zatch suddenly exclaimed with a look of shock that, ironically shocking Izuku as well, accompanied by teary-eyes of the young boy. Teary-eyed sure, but he blubbered his own words, as suddenly the golden-haired Zatch clung onto Izuku's leg so tightly that Izuku was caught by surprise. "You can't leave me here, Izuku! Please, let me go to school with you! I want to see your school!"
"W-Wha–Zatch!?" Izuku already stood up, but tried to shake Zatch off of his leg. However, not wanting to accidentally hurt Zatch, this endeavor was futile as Izuku didn't really shake his leg too hard. "H-Hey, Zatch, calm down!"
"What do you expect me to do by myself, here! I want to go with you!" Zatch kept clinging onto his leg, crying streams of tears as he looked well, absolutely mortified and upset. "YOu can't just leave me here at home! That's so cold!"
"U-U-Uhhhhh…!" Izuku stammered over his own words, as he admittedly was panicking on his own at the moment. How is he supposed to calm down Zatch, especially considering he's never been in this situation before!? Izuku didn't really know what to say, so he just sort of stood there.
Panicking. Trying to come up with an idea to help Zatch feel less lonely and calm down.
"Izuku, are you ready young man?" By the grace of god, Inko Midoriya walked around the corner just in time to see Izuku and Zatch's current predicament. She blinked for a moment, and motherly instincts kicked in as she saw Zatch crying. "Z-Zatch?! What's wrong?"
"M-Mom! Izuku won't take me to school with hiiiiim!" Zatch let go of Izuku's leg and proceeded to dash towards Inko Midoriya's own leg. "Please tell him to take me with him! I can't be alone at home!"
"E-Eh? U-Uhm, Zatch…" Inko Midoriya mumbled, but she patted Zatch who wasn't too tall even compared to her short stature. "You're not going to be alone you know? I'll be here!"
"O-Oh, yeah, exactly!" Izuku got the golden opportunity, and adjusted his shoes again, hoisting his back-pack over his shoulders. "Mom's going to be here to take care of you! You won't be bored or lonely, I promise!"
Zatch sniffed with teary eyes, looking up at Inko and then back at Izuku. "But I wanted to see your school!"
"I know Zatch, but…" Izuku trailed off, before humming to himself. He took a moment to think, and immediately figured out something that would be…a promise. "But hey, I promise you, after school is done…I can get you some Yellowtail on the way? There's a fish market close by!"
"REALLY!?" Zatch's eyes shone brightly with excitement, and hunger as the temper tantrum gave way to the young golden-haired boy's hunger for a whole yellowtail. "You really, really, really mean it, Izuku!?"
"...s-sure!" Izuku nodded shakily, although he tried to muster up a sincere smile. If it made Zatch happy, at the very least he could try to calm him down for now with the promise of Yellowtail. How he was going to pay for an entire Yellowtail is another story. "Alright, I'm heading out mom! See you soon."
"Have a good day, Izuku." Inko smiled sincerely, her warm kindness radiating off of it as Izuku felt the motherly love from it.
"I'll see you soon, Izuku! Be sure to promise me Yellowtail afterschool!" Zatch reminded the verdant-haired young man with a bright smile, gleaming eyes and an excited hop.
Izuku simply gave them both a small smile, opening up the apartment door and dashing out of the door and down the stairs. Soon, getting a notification from his smartphone…he got a new piece from his news app that there was a villain attack going on around Tatooin Station.
Izuku, despite himself, couldn't help but have an excited smile as he knew that there'd be heroes on the scene in less than a minute. Musutafu as a city always had heroes at the ready, and especially since he heard news of two new heroes arriving on the scene today! If he arrived in time, he could see the incident, see how things turned out, and get to school on time!
It's just one day, but how could anything go wrong? Or at least, how different could it be compared to the rest?
Oh, Izuku Midoriya. You have no idea how different this could get.
I present to you this short but relatively important chapter to establish a few things and follow along with Izuku and Zatch. After all, I didn't feel like writing too fast or too slow; Zatch Bell and BNHA both have snappy pacing and yet time to slow burn a little bit of the interactions as well as establishing big themes and powerful action pieces.
Which is to say, why am I not going to the battle scenes as of right now? Well that's simple. It's because I don't want to rush the fights or the set-up to the fights. Zatch Bell's fights aren't rushed, and at times they take their time to set up the stakes or even the main theme before we get to the Mamodo Battles, or the Hero Vs. Villain Battles.
I hope everybody reading really understands the concept, and I sincerely hope you enjoyed the chapter!
I will come back to you guys with a new chapter in the future! I look forward to seeing you on the horizon!
