My Hero Academia: Avatar Reborn Chapter 1
The Avatar has been lost for millennia after the death of Korra, with the art of bending forgotten to ancient scrolls. In an age of quirks, watch as Izuku becomes the new Avatar and brings back the art of bending in his hero academia.
It was so unfair. Izuku wanted to be a hero more than anything else. Most people thought this was a simple childhood fantasy, one that most kids shared these days because of All Might. But Inko knew that this wasn't the case. In fact, Inko would probably bet their house that from Izu's class, that only he and Mitsuki's kid would stick to their goals and become a hero. But he hadn't yet developed a quirk. Katsuki had developed his quirk last year and now her little Izu was the last one in the class to not develop a quirk.
An energetic voice drew Inko from her musings. "Mummy, mummy, what quirk do you think I'll have!"
Inko smiled, "Whatever it is I am sure that you will become a great hero, just like All Might!" While Izuku was fascinated with all heroes, whether they were the big-time heroes like Endeavor or even small-time sidekicks, he held one above all others. It was no surprise that All Might was held in higher regards than other heroes considering his portrayal as the Symbol of Peace.
"Hurray!"
Inko decided to indulge her son on the way to the hospital by allowing him to watch his favourite video. "Everything is fine now. Why? Because I am here!" Fire roared in the background, casting a warm glow as a gigantic man stood up proudly. Several unconscious people piled on his back, blood trickling down his face and ash littering the Hero's costume. Yet the man smiled and shone with hope brighter than the fire behind him.
Inko silently observed Izuku's face, the absolute look of wonderment bringing a gentle smile to her face. Even she had to admit, that All Might was special. His debut immediately put into light what kind of hero he was. Unlike Endeavour whose debut was fighting a villain, All Might's was rescuing nearly one hundred buildings from collapsed and burning buildings.
While Inko could reassure Izuku easily, it was more difficult to reassure herself. 80% of people developed one type of quirk or another and Izuku was now the last one in his class to develop one.
Furthermore, every generation, the average age at which quirks developed was younger and the number of children who didn't develop a quirk decreased as well. From the last survey taken, only 5% of children didn't develop a quirk.
Some believed this to be evidence of the Quirk Singularity Doomsday Theory but Inko couldn't care less about that. All it meant was that she had greater reason to worry as it was even less likely that she would develop a quirk now.
Several times Inko would glance at Izuku, smiling at his adorable focus. However, there was a small amount of worry. What if Izuku wouldn't get a quirk. What would she do? "No, you can't think like that. He has a quirk, I just know it."
Once reaching the hospital and giving Izuku's name, they were led to a special room where they took an X-ray. The nurse had to tell Izuku to stop moving three times as he was too enthused. Inko smiled gently at that before telling him to calm down.
However, Inko frowned at the method of detection. Quirks were due to genetic differences which is why children often inherited one of their parents' quirk or even a combination. Could they really find out whether someone has a quirk by looking at some bones in the foot?
After the X-ray, they were led to an office where they waited for the doctor to come to give the results.
Inko could tell that the 10 minutes wait was almost too much for Izu, who was literally bouncing up and down on the chair as they waited for the doctor to come back. A smile reminiscent of All Might was plastered on his face as the doctor came in to tell them the news.
The room was dark save for the light of the computer paused at the appearance of All Might. Silence reigned in the room, only the heavy breaths of the distraught boy breaking the monotony. The dark silence was oddly reminiscent of a certain feathered boy's normal room.
Quirkless. The word floated around Izuku's brain, destroying hopes and dreams of going to U.A. and becoming a hero. "What will I tell Kacchan. I should tell him, right? He won't treat me differently. Right?" Izuku started to hyperventilate.
The spiky-haired blonde respected power and over the past year, he had started to treat him worse. There was no way that telling him would make things better.
"Look, you can read the last part of Izuku's name as Deku." Kacchan laughed along with some of their friends, "Deku must be the name of a quirkless loser." These words said just a week ago suddenly hit home. He was just a quirkless loser. He couldn't become a hero like All Might. Fat drops smashed into the ground as Izuku started to cry. There were no gut-wrenching sobs, just a quiet resignation.
A small creak was heard as Inko made her way into her Izu's room. Her eyes teared as she heard the quiet sniffles. She slowly turned the chair around to reveal a motionless Izuku, tears streaming down his face.
"Mom, can I still be a hero?" Inko cried openly at that. When she was young, she also wanted to be a hero but dropped out. She liked to think it was because of her weak quirk, but the truth was she didn't have the drive and motivation necessary.
Izuku had more than enough motivation to become a hero. But hero work was dangerous. After all, she worried about Hisashi and he had a quirk.
"Don't worry Izu. Some people still develop quirks even without that double-jointed toe." She couldn't bring herself to crush his dreams. Unlike her, Izuku could do it. He would stick to his goal of becoming a hero.
"D-Do you r-really think so?" Izuku's voice was so small and meek and it almost broke Inko's heart.
"I know so. The road to becoming a hero is difficult but I will be there every step of the way." Izuku's eyes shone with unshed tears. Not from sadness, but hope. "You will need to work hard and it will be tough."
"Yes! Of course, I am" Inko's eyes were bright with pride. Even if he didn't develop a quirk, she would make sure that her Izu was strong enough to survive in a world of heroes.
"It's time to start thinking seriously about your future and what you want to do with your lives," said a blonde-haired teacher. Normally such a statement from a teacher would be the signal to stop paying attention if one hadn't already. And even though it was the beginning of a new school year, today hadn't been an exception as Izuku could look around the class to see glassy eyes.
"I could pass out some career aptitude tests," groans could be heard from some students, "but I know you are all aiming for the Hero course!" At this proclamation, he threw the stack of papers into the air and almost everyone in the class stood up and started displaying their quirks and shouting.
Several people's arms were raised and changed with one person developing a rock fist while another person's hand literally turned to smoke.
However, two students just sat there. Both himself and Kacchan weren't displaying their quirks but while Kacchan just sat there looking bored, Izuku was excited as he always found it a joy to see someone else's quirk.
"Yes, very good. You all have wonderful quirks!" The teacher exclaimed almost proudly. "Just remember that it is technically against school rules to use your quirks in public."
"Wonderful quirks, huh? Don't lump me in with these losers teach!" Kacchan's voice blared over the previous shouts of joy, silencing them for a few seconds before the classroom exploded with noise once more.
"What did you say Bakugo?!" "Rude!" "Arrogant bastard" Several voices stood out to Izuku, but all of them were angry at Kacchan causing Izuku to sigh at Kacchan's cockiness.
"Shut up you damn extras! I'm going to become the best hero and surpass All Might and my journey's going to start when I get into UA!" Kacchan's voice blared over the previous shouts of anger.
"Hey what are you trying to say!" "Woah, he's trying for U.A.!" "The national school?" "I hear that school has a 0.2% acceptance rate!" Many people started talking and muttering as the anger turned to admiration and the class slowly devolved further into chaos.
"It might be impossible for you rejects but I aced the mock test!" Izuku saw Kacchan jump onto his desk and continue on with his tirade. "My quirk is the best in this school and I'll be-"
"Oh yeah, Midoriya, you're also trying for U.A. aren't you?" Izuku sighed at that. The class literally stilled and became silent as the other students took time processing that statement.
"Yes.. sir." A lot of the class immediately turned around and just stared at Izuku making him feel self-conscious and hesitant. Then some of the kids started to laugh and Izuku ducked his head in embarrassment.
However, some of the other students didn't know what to feel. Izuku had the highest academic scores in the class, maybe even the entire school. While that wouldn't be enough, he had something that most people could never achieve: Bakugo's respect.
There were a few people who claimed to be Bakugo's friend, but everyone really knew they were just lackeys. Izuku had never shown anyone in school his quirk apart from Kacchan. And for good reason, at least according to Izuku. It was dangerous to himself and others. Izuku could remember the first time he had used his quirk.
"Deku! Why have you been hiding from me!"
There was that nickname. Deku. Was he really a useless loser? Sure, his mom said he could be a hero if he started learning to fight at the dojo near their house. But would he ever be able to beat Kacchan? The trees started to rustle as the wind started to blow. Izuku could feel a cooling sensation on his face as his tears started to dry.
It had been a week since Izuku had seen the doctor and he had barely managed to avoid Kacchan for that long. Kacchan knew that he had the appointment and after Izuku hadn't come to him to tell him all about his quirk, Izuku knew that Kacchan would be suspicious. However, he just didn't think this confrontation would have happened so soon.
"Don't ignore me!" The shouting attracted the attention of the only other person in the park. Izuku barely noticed the big grey sports shoes and the brown sleeveless suit on the grey man as the shouting caused him to hyperventilate. He just wanted it to go away but his feet wouldn't move. He felt energy move inside of him. It felt hot and unstable. It hurt to hold it inside. He felt his arms move of their own accord as they moved down. The energy burst out-
Izuku was broken from his musings by a loud, familiar voice. "Oi. What are you extra laughing for? Deku here has a better chance of getting into U.A. than all of you combined."
Bakugo jumped off the desk and slammed on the ground before continuing to speak. "Of course, I will obviously be the best but if you losers think he is going to fail then you're more stupid than I thought!" Lots of grumbling swept around the class but no-one dared go against Kacchan.
While Kacchan had always been intimidating, his reputation started when he beat up those bullies who were two years older than him. After that, no-one wanted to mess with him.
"It's alright Kacchan."
"The fuck it is! And don't fucking call me that! We're not friends!" Izuku sweatdropped at that. While he might have earned some respect from Kacchan after getting his quirk, he was nowhere near being friends with the guy. Izuku was just happy to not be in his crosshairs. He shuddered slightly at the thought of getting bullied by Kacchan for years if he hadn't developed his quirk.
"Bakugo please sit down," Kacchan grunted before jumping down from the table and plopping into his chair. The rest of the class passed without much issue.
Izuku barely noticed when class finished as he was too engrossed in completing his notes on Mt Lady from the morning.
Mt Lady
Name:?
Quirk: Gigantification.
She obviously gains weight alongside size as she can hit harder when larger than when smaller and probably has increased bone density to support it. Her hero costume is obviously made of some stretchy fabric which allows it to stay on. Hmmm, I wonder whether she only has one size, or whether she can choose how much she grows. If she only has 1 size, which is quite large, then it will be difficult for her to fight in cities, especially in narrow lanes, without causing damage.
Izuku was broken from his musings when his book was snatched by a quick hand. Izuku just sighed as he looked up and stared at the spiky-haired blonde. "Kacchan, please can you give it back?"
Kacchan just waved him off. While he had taken the book to get Deku's attention, he was mildly interested in the analysis. He quickly took a glance at the page and grunted. The analysis was thorough as usual, just as he'd expect from Deku. "What do you want Kac-?"
"Shut up Deku! There's just over 10 months left till the UA exams and you better make it in." Kacchan got really close to Izuku now and Izuku gulped at that. Kacchan could really be intimidating sometimes. "With your mind, you'll make a great sidekick for me."
Here Kacchan's smirk became full-blown and Izuku felt a flash of irritation. Even though he had a quirk, Kacchan still looked down on him.
Kacchan turned to leave. "Wait Kacchan! I know you don't think much of me, but I will not be just your sidekick. I will be a hero known over the world as someone who will keep balance and save people."
Kacchan frowned in annoyance. He knew Deku was smart, but there was no way in hell Deku would be better than him. "Hah as if a damn nerd could be better than me."
Kacchan punctuated the 'nerd' by firing a small explosion on the book between his two fists. Izuku just stared on. "By the way, how is your quirk training coming along?" The malicious tone disguised Kacchan's real reason for asking the question.
Izuku winced. While his first quirk usage may have been powerful, he had yet to replicate the feat. He hadn't even come close. Izuku could only move rocks roughly half the size of him and in order to use his quirk, he needed to hit the earth and after a while, his hands and feet became swollen and bruised.
Izuku averted his eyes and didn't answer but that was answer enough for Kacchan. He scowled at the way the conversation had turned and threw the book back to the silent Izuku before walking towards the door of the classroom.
"You laid it into him good, didn't ya!" Lackey number 1 cackled.
"Shut up extra!" The glare aimed from Bakugo caused the winged and long-fingered lackeys to step back a bit in fear. Bakugo just continued walking out of the classroom and after a brief pause, the two lackeys followed him out leaving Izuku alone in the classroom to wallow.
Izuku left the school and headed to the dojo. The sun was still bright, though it would set in just a few hours, and the air was cool. After the talk with Kacchan, Izuku didn't really feel like going to the dojo. Unfortunately, it was the first day of the school year and Shiroh-sensei insisted that Izuku always come to the dojo on the first day so she could plan what to do for the year.
This year was more important than previous years as there were just a bit more than 10 months left to the U.A. exam and while the written portion would be easy enough, he needed to ace the practical exam in order to get in.
The others in the class weren't wrong in saying the getting into U.A. was tough due to the extremely selective process. He now had less than a year to get his quirk to work properly. If he didn't, he would fail to get into UA. Therefore, he would need to train some more.
Dojos were great places for anyone to train to become stronger. Recently, with the appearance of All Might and the increase in the public's opinion on Heroes, many dojos wanted to train the next great hero. A new license was created for dojos that allowed the public use of quirks in dojos to allow children to train and they even received money from the government depending on how many children with quirks they trained.
However, this made many dojos extremely prejudiced against children with no quirks and even against children with weak quirks.
Izuku literally dragged Inko along, walking ahead of the mother. Over the past year, she had been under no illusion that Izuku was getting along with the children in his class. Especially Mitsuki's kid.
It had only occurred a few times in the past few months. Izuku had returned home with bruises and mild burns. Inko knew that it was Mitsuki's child, but whenever she asked Izuku, he always said that they had just been playing.
She had already told Mitsuki her suspicions. Luckily, physical abuse was something that Mitsuki had no tolerance for and had punished Katsuki harshly for. Inko knew her friend's violent tendencies and shivered slightly at whatever torture Katsuki had to suffer, regardless of how much he deserved it.
They soon entered a large building. This dojo was closest to their homes, but they had never been here before.
"Hi, could I please register my children into the dojo?" asked Inko.
"What is his name?" While Inko talked to the receptionist, Izuku looked around the dojo. There were pictures dotted around the room of Heroes who had once used this dojo and were now famous. To many people, this was just the dojo advertising themselves but to Izuku, it didn't matter. It was just so cool seeing pictures of all these heroes.
"I'm sorry to say that we don't have any more spaces left." Inko looked at the bored face of the receptionist in disappointment.
"Are you sure? B-But my son really wanted to join…"
"Yes, we only had one space left and we booked another child in yesterday." The receptionist's voice was cool and almost disinterested. Inko frowned before turning away. After all, there was nothing she could do.
"Come on Izuku."
"What happened mommy?
"Don't worry Izuku. This dojo doesn't have any places left so we'll find another place"
"Whaa-. Okay?" Inko just sighed sadly and went along. Inko was also quite disappointed but there were always more dojos. They were passing the receptionist just in time to hear the receptionist talking to another family.
"Thank you for joining. Reiki will learn a lot from our dojo." Inko's temper flared up. Just 5 minutes ago, this man had told her there were no more spaces, but now when this new family came, he gave them a space! She would give that brat a piece of her mind.
Izuku chuckled a bit evilly at the expression of anger. He may have been mostly a peaceful child, but he enjoyed it when his mom laid it into someone other than him. Izuku blamed Kacchan for enjoying such violent tendencies. However, even Kacchan would agree that when Inko got angry, she could potentially rival Auntie Mitsuki.
"How come that family gets to sign their child up when you just told me you were full! How dare you!"
"Please calm down miss."
"Why should I?!"
"What's going on here?" Inko turned to the new voice. The man was not fat but what some might call hefty and he was wearing an expensive business suit," I am the manager of this dojo."
"Your receptionist refused to give me a place at your dojo, saying that you were fully booked even though she gave a place to another family just 5 minutes later!"
"Why-" The receptionist interrupted him and whispered something into his ear. The manager's eyes widened slightly before he schooled himself and turned to the mother and son.
"I am sorry, but I respect our receptionist, Romai's decision."
"How dare you." It finally clicked to Inko what the problem was. While Izuku might have recently developed a quirk, their application to Department of Quirks had yet to be fully processed. Dojos were given special access to the information in their database – for a fee – and probably saw that Izuku wasn't registered as a quirk. "It's because he's quirkless, isn't it!"
The receptionist looked uncomfortable, but the manager just looked indifferent. "Yes." Inko was furious, both at the admission and the indifference of the manager.
"If you had let my son join you would know my son did have a quirk and that it just hadn't shown in the database!" The manager looked surprised at that.
"Maybe we do have a pl-"
"You can forget about my son training here!" The manager had the audacity to look appalled at the choice. "Did you really think I would let my son train in a lousy dojo like this!"
"How dare-"
"Let's go." And the duo just left the dojo, leaving the two men just standing there gawking.
Izuku chuckled a bit at that. They had tried many well-known dojos, but after the first one, Inko always mentioned that her son was quirkless in order to gauge the reactions and see whether the dojo was truly worth it. They had visited 9 dojos before finding the dojo he had enlisted in.
"Oi brat, are you going to come in or not. Do you want to start training? You have less than a year before you give the U.A. exams." Izuku started at the voice. He had unconsciously walked all the way to the dojo and standing in front of the door was his sensei.
Shiroh-sensei was an old woman standing just a few inches taller than Izuku. She had black hair with lots of grey streaks that fell just past her shoulders. However, her eyes were the most memorable part. Izuku imagined they would have been a bright green but instead, there was a film over them indicating her blindness.
Izuku bowed, "yes Shiroh-sensei, I'm ready."
"Then hurry up!" Oh, and she was also very blunt.
Izuku hurried on in after the retreating figure of the blind woman. The two entered the main room of the dojo and Izuku quickly assumed his stance and shifted through some advanced forms of the Southern Praying Mantis – his preferred martial arts form.
"You have greatly improved your forms. You could be considered a master of the Southern Praying Mantis." Izuku just stared at her. Shiroh-sensei hardly ever gave compliments.
When he had first joined Shiroh-sensei's dojo, he was inexperienced. Kacchan had a much greater handle on his quirk and had great instincts and Izuku felt that he was so far behind.
While his instincts weren't bad, his quirk didn't come naturally to him. Best described, it was uncooperative. It was difficult to control. However, when he used his quirk alongside the martial arts form, it came more naturally and was more powerful though there was still something missing.
Thinking about Kacchan reminded him of the interaction they shared less than an hour ago. Izuku was by no means a confident student, but even he had thought that he had progressed past the shy and weak child he had been before he had got her quirk. But Kacchan always made him feel so small.
"Oi brat, are you listening to me!"
Izuku just stared blankly before there was a spark of recognition in his eyes. "What?" Shiroh just sighed knowing that nothing would be accomplished today, not with the obvious mood he was in.
"Go home and get your wits about. We'll start this year's training this weekend."
Izuku looked up in shock at that statement. "B-but, we can st-"
"No! There is no point starting today. It would be a waste of time." And with that, the conversation was over and Shiroh-sensei left the room.
Izuku gazed absentmindedly at his watch. It had been less than an hour since he had left school and the sun was still quite high. Normally, the training sessions with Shiroh-sensei lasted at least an hour but he had only been at the dojo for 30 minutes before he was sent home.
Izuku was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the light getting darker as he passed beneath the bridge.
However, he did sort of notice the sound of something wet moving behind him. And he definitely noticed the low, menacing voice behind him. "You look like a nice vessel to disguise myself!"
The slime villain surged forward, tentacles of slime surrounding him, poised to attack. Izuku didn't think, instincts just took over. He had to protect himself. He flipped backwards causing a rock spire to knock the villain back a few feet.
As the slime villain regained its senses, Izuku took a few moments to analyse the villain. The sludge villain's body was comprised of a dark green slime or sludge. The only things indicating the face were the sharp teeth and the cruel yellow eyes.
Unfortunately, the rock spire hardly slowed it down and it only took a few seconds before it was rushing right back.
However, as the slime villain rushed towards the boy, he noticed the expression was not of fear like it should be. The villain snarled as it rushed closer.
Izuku just stood still, hands raised and palms facing towards his chest. As the slime villain neared, Izuku quickly raised his hand causing a ramp of earth to rise and the slime villain slid straight over Izuku.
"An elemental quirk! How rare! You have a strong quirk boy! And in such an assuming body. Yes, you're a fine vessel!"
Izuku recoiled at that. "I'm no vessel for you!"
The slime villain just smiled ominously, "you will be soon!"
However, every time the villain tried to approach Izuku to try and overcome him, Izuku would create barriers of earth and would move away. What the slime villain didn't know was that Izuku was tiring and his hands were starting to hurt from quirk overuse.
Finally, as the slime villain approached, Izuku screamed and thrust his hand against the ground causing several spikes to thrust up through the slime villain's body and eye. While the villain's body was liquid, the position of the spikes made it difficult to move properly. Plus moving with the spikes through his eyes hurt a lot.
"Ahhhhhhhhh! What are you doing?!" The slime villain screamed.
"I am keeping you… captive till the hero that… was chasing you appears," said Izuku between ragged breaths. "Earlier you said that you needed me to disguise yourself. You were so desperate to get into me, so I assume you were running away from a hero. I just need to keep you till h-"
Izuku was cut off when a loud voice boomed from behind him. "DO NOT WORRY! BECAUSE I AM HERE!"
"A-A-A-A-ALL MIGHT!" Izuku shrieked in surprise while the villain thrashed harder causing him to tear off some off the slime tentacles and break free.
"Oh no you don't villain!" All Might yelled. He cocked his fist back building up energy. Izuku tried to step to the side to avoid what was coming. "TEXAS SMASH!" All Might's punch created so much wind pressure that the slime villain burst and splattered over the ground. All Might rushed around using two 2-litre soda bottles to trap the villain.
However, the wind pressure also caused Izuku to hit the side of the tunnel and Izuku fell to the ground about to fall unconscious. One of the last sights he saw was All Might standing at the entrance of the tunnel with his fist thrust out, the light outside casting a silhouette. Izuku could just make out a large white figure with some faint blue markings standing behind All Might before he passed out.
First posted: 24-1-21
I've read many stories on this site and I want to give a shout-out to two stories in particular. Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin by The Sinister Man for the amazing world expansion and making the Harry Potter world darker and more realistic. And I also want to give a shout-out to Torchbearer by btn29 who made me want to write a story on MHA.
I love ATLA and LOK (though ATLA is better) and I noticed a lack of stories mixing ATLA with MHA so I wanted to give it a shot. I have the first few chapters figured out but I will take time to write it. I hope to get a chapter out every two weeks.
And thanks to all who give my story the time of their day.
Updated: 24-1-21
After a fantastic review by Tribun, I needed to update this chapter. I had to change the line break system. I wasn't aware the website had its own version of line break so I changed that. Plus he noted that it wasn't clear when Izuku got earthbending so I updated the story to clarify this. Other parts of the review will be talked about in the next chapter's notes.
