He remembered that day as if it were yesterday. After that first day back from school, he and Rumi got home and got to playing their shared favorite fighting game, Heroes v. Villains 4. Despite what it seemed like with his unholy obsession with heroes, he never found himself to be good enough at the game to be able to beat Rumi at this game. But, on that day, he was able to take one victory off of her. Granted, he did have to cheat a little…
"...hey Rumi… how'd you get so good at this game anyways?" Izuku asked as he was trying to button-mash his way out of a deadly 5-hit combo aimed towards him.
Rumi, as calmly as one can be in a one-sided destruction, replied, "Well, there isn't much to do out in the countryside, so I just picked up this game, it was pretty new at the time, and I just really liked playing this one hero."
*K-O!*
Slumping back into the sofa he turned his attention back to Rumi from the game, "Honestly, it just spiraled from there, and now I'm able to kick your butt every time we play!"
She was right of course, out of the hundreds of matches that they had against each other, he only got close to winning a grand total of 4 times. Every time he was close, he thought he might've gotten better, but then she would come back and pound him with some move he's never seen before. This time though, he had a plan.
"Fine then Rumi, how about we play one more. And if I win, I can ask for anything I want from you," he said with a sly grin.
"Anything?"
She contemplated taking this dangerous wager, but with a bout of confidence, she knew that she had this in the bag. "Sure! It's not like you're going to win anyways, and if I win, I can also ask for anything I want from you."
Whether or not she saw his grin didn't matter as she might've been too caught up in gloating her presumably already won favor. No matter, as long as he wins this match, it'll be all fine. Counter Picking Valkyrie against her All Might he'd hoped to end this quickly.
For the first couple seconds, he was pushed back on every advance, every punch, and every kick was blocked and then retaliated by Rumi. He hasn't landed a single hit, while she landed a couple of light punches. She was toying with him. Knowing her, she probably wanted to stretch this out and make it seem like he had a chance. A few moments passed without him landing a single hit. It was until he landed a lucky hit by flying over and getting behind her, scoring a heavy kick on her back. Just as Izuku saw the death incarnate of Rumi approach, he unleashed his secret move…
He grabbed her tail.
… Okay. Looking back at it, it sounded like a dumb move. He knew it was a dumb move, but he knew it was his only chance at helping him win that game.
"Eeep!" Rumi yelped. With a blush she dropped her controller and looked behind her, wiggling her tail, she saw nothing there. She then looked at Izuku who was mashing the buttons with such vigor that she never saw out of him until that moment. And before she could even look back at the screen and pick up the controller, she heard it.
*K-O!*
"I won!" he exclaimed as he jumped off the couch, celebrating his first and probably last win against Rumi.
"That was cheating!" Rumi shouted
"You never said that I couldn't do that," he replied as he was still celebrating his win
"Well.. you never said that you could do that!"
"Whatever Rumi, a win is a win!"
Pouting, her ears drooped, "Fine, this is going to be a one time exception…" putting her fingers together and looking away from Izuku, "But! In exchange for me allowing you to win, you should tell me why you weren't at school for the last couple days… and what's this favor you're going to ask me anyways?"
Finishing his dance, he looked back at Rumi, "Well, I didn't really plan on winning in the first place, so I don't really have a favor to ask of you right now, but I guess I can tell you why I wasn't at school." Gesturing Rumi over he whispered into her ears
'I don't have a quirk Rumi'
Eyes wide and with a gaping mouth to match, she looked over at Izuku. Hand on his neck he was looking away and was slouching. Rushing over, with tears beginning to form in her eyes, she landed on him with a hug. "You're not going to die are you?"
Just as he was about to reply, "Hey kids! Do you guys want to eat some dinner?"
The rest of that day wasn't too exciting, especially after what just happened a few moments prior. Rumi would go on to ask his mom whether or not he would explode within the next couple days, be told that he was fine, eat dinner, and she'd go back to her own apartment to mark the day's end. He never got to tell her or even ask her for that favor over these last couple years. Not that she'd remember it anyways. But most of the past few years were calm, no more life-shattering news. Granted, Rumi assigned herself to be his personal bodyguard, treating him like some kind of glass. He did take some self-defense classes in the meantime to hopefully keep Rumi from being on top of him 24/7.
The change from Masegaki to Aldera Junior High wasn't that bad. He finally got to be taller than Rumi, while she seemed to be staying down at the shorter end heights. The classes weren't all that difficult and left for lots of free time following classes and school. Granted during that time, he had to meet some… unsavory people who had a dislike for him being quirkless. Generally, they'd leave it at verbal insults, and at most, they'd do some light physical contact, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.
But today. Today was different. It marked his, and Rumi's last year of Junior High. As he turned the corner from the endless stream of balloons, he saw the usual group that would bully him, but this time their attention wasn't on him, but on someone else. Thankfully, this time he could just run home to make some finishing touches to his latest hero notebook, or maybe to even visit Rumi. Speaking of Rumi, generally, he'd be out with her by this point, did she raid the stand with carrot cakes?
Looking around the courtyard, he couldn't really see her over the growing crowd. Did she already run home? Whatever, she'd track him down soon enough, she has this strange ability to track him wherever he is anyways. Calmly walking past the group of bullies, he wished nothing but to avoid their attention.
"Come on Rumi-chan, why do you keep hanging out with that useless Deku anyways, we're so much cooler than him, and we have quirks."
Perking up, he took a look back at the usual bullying group only to see those previously hidden snowy white rabbit ears stand out in the middle of their group. 'Great, now I have to get Rumi out of that group, and here I was trying to avoid them for today.' Walking towards the group he began to overhear more of the conversation between Rumi and the group.
"Who said you guys are on a first-name basis with me?"
"Aww, come on Rumi-chan, we've known each other long enough that we're on a first-name basis right?" said someone in the group.
"Pssh, as-if. The only times you guys would really even interact with me is whenever I would catch you guys bullying 'zuku, and that would be the extent we'd talk at all."
Getting closer, he heard more and more of their conversation, and he began to run some calculations inside his head. Even though there were two of them, they were still outnumbered three to one, so violence couldn't be the answer to get them away.
"Don't touch me!" Rumi yelled as the group of bullies moved closer to her.
Maybe violence was the answer.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" he yelled from behind
Turning around, the group took their attention off of Rumi and placed their gaze upon Izuku, "And what are you going to do Deku? You, with your nonexistent quirk, are going to try and protect your little girlfriend here?" the lead bully said back as he beckoned someone else to grab Rumi. A yelp escaped her throat as she was suddenly dragged.
"Take your hands off of her Bakugou." While not being someone who was violent, or even just someone who promotes violence, he still had that dream and aspiration to be a hero, maybe that's what's compelling him to do what he's doing right now.
"HAHAHAHA, is Deku really threatening me? What will I do!?" Bakugou laughed out, "Maybe this useless FREAK, will actually live up to his name! And then we can finally get rid of this pitiful stain on our planet!"
"No!" A distressed Rumi yelled out. "Let go of me!" she yelled as she kicked the random bully in the back.
With a scowl, Bakugou told a couple more of the others to keep a hold of her as he took a couple steps towards Izuku. "Maybe I need to beat this into you, but there is nothing you can do. You're shorter than me. You're weaker than me. You don't even have a fucking quirk." Punching his hands together, as if to prove his point, created some sparks. "Now Deku, what are you going to do? Fight me, or just lay down and accept your fate?" he said as he stalked ever closer to Izuku.
Even with his seemingly calm outward appearance, Izuku was certainly nervous. He knew firsthand how strong Bakugou's quirk was, and he wasn't too privy to try and get another taste of it. Self-defense can only go so far, especially when you basically bring explosives into the mix.
Returning to reality Bakugou got close enough that he began to throw a punch, clearly expecting Izuku to just stand still and take the hit.
Quickly reacting he dodged to the right, almost tripping in the process. Regaining his bearings, he took a couple steps away from Bakugou. Turning around he found himself face to fist as he saw the initiation of Bakugou's quirk. Falling flat to the floor, he saw a glimpse of a second sun.
Knowing that actually fighting back would lead to some unfortunate injuries, Izuku quickly dashed toward the group holding Rumi.
"GET BACK HERE DEKU!" Bakugou yelled out as he realized that two of his punches didn't hit their intended target. But by then Izuku was more than close to the rest of the group.
Clearly unexpecting Izuku to be able to get away from Bakugou, the group was unprepared for him to be able to reach them this quickly.
Throwing a punch at the closest one, Izuku sent his left leg to the next closest's head.
"Rumi!" he yelled out.
Taking her out of her fear-induced trance, she jumped up and used both of her legs to shoot whoever was holding her across the courtyard. Looking back, she saw Izuku holding his own against someone who finally got up and started to use their own quirk to fight. She then turned her attention to the last one left.
Fearful, the last member of Backugou's lackeys just ran away, scared to receive any of the potential kicks he would've faced if he fought Rumi.
With that, she turned around, only to see Izuku receive a quirk-infused one-two combo from Bakugou. The guy that Izuku was fighting and Bakugou snickered as Izuku was launched across the courtyard at breakneck speeds. Eventually slamming into the wall of their school.
Eyes wide, she jumped straight for Izuku, ignoring the laughs of the group responsible. Landing next to him all she could see was him on the floor, attempting to get up. Filled with worry, Rumi didn't know if he might've broken something from that crash.
"Why don't you just stay down Deku? Do you want to prove how useless you are again? I'd be glad to give you another beating." said Bakugo as he slowly stalked closer to Izuku.
Looking around, she saw the gazes of those around the courtyard were all on them, but surprisingly none were coming to help. As the two in front of her got closer and closer, she took a protective stance in front of Izuku.
"Leave him alone Bakugou! What has he even done for you to be this angry with him!?"
With a brief pause, Bakugo took a look at the trembling Rumi as she was closely guarding the now battered Izuku, "You don't know? You seriously don't know? This little quirkless twerp here thinks he can get into U.A.! Can you believe it?! Out of this school full of extras, I'm the only one strong enough to make it!"
"How can he expect someone as weak as him get into U.A.? Beg? Cry? He doesn't even have a fucking quirk, and there he is trying to play hero!"
With a look of confusion, Rumi turned around to see the still struggling Izuku.
Hero?
U.A.?
She deeply trusted her possibly only friend, but she definitely saw some of the points that Bakugo was laying out for her. How could a quirkless kid make it into the most prestigious hero university in Japan? And how long has he been keeping this from her?
Seeing the opportunity, Bakugo stalked up behind her and pushed her away.
"Now Deku, let's see you pursue this worthless dream without an arm shall we?" Bakugo growled out as he raised his leg.
"Bakugo! There's a teacher coming! We need to get out of here!" Bakugo's lackey yelped out.
Clearly disappointed, Bakugo growled and spat on Izuku, "You got really lucky this time Deku. Next time, there won't be a teacher to help you, or your little girlfriend here."
And with that, he was gone, and so was the rest of his group. Either that last guy dragged the rest away, or they all recovered. With a groan, Izuku brought back Rumi's attention to him as her ears started to droop lower and lower as she took a look at his condition.
"'zuku! Are you okay?! Do you feel anything broken?! How many fingers am I holding up?" Rumi asked as she bombarded him with questions on his well-being. "Tell me you're going to be okay…"
From the distance, she could've heard their homeroom teacher asking if they were fine, but her attention was solely on making sure that Izuku was okay. And before she knew it, there were the sounds of a siren behind her. At first, the emt's tried to pry her off of Izuku, but they relented as it would've taken too long to separate the two. Next thing she knew, she was in the ambulance heading to a hospital.
She thought she'd hardened herself to all the hardships that Izuku might face for being quirkless years ago. She saw the cuts, the bruises, and the downcast looks. Comforting him would be the best she could do while trying to adhere to his own wishes. Kami, hopefully he's okay.
Running into Ebara Hospital, she spotted the elder Usagimiya sitting across the lobby. Rushing past the others, and past the check-in counter she made her way towards her.
"Kimiko!" she called out.
"Ah, Inko! You're finally here! I was wondering how long it would take you once I called you." she replied back, "I was worried when Rumi called me from the hospital, only to find out that it wasn't her hurt, but Izuku!"
"How's his condition?" she worriedly asked.
"I'm not too sure either, I've been left in the dark, and the most I got was from Rumi who just was a blubbering mess and saying that Izuku was 'really hurt'." Looking around, she looked for any signs of a doctor heading towards them, "I don't think I was let in because I'm not necessarily his guardian per se, and that Rumi was in the room with him the entire time."
Nodding, Inko headed towards the reception area to hopefully see Izuku. "Hi, excuse me?" The receptionist turned her head from the computer to see a green-haired woman and another with rabbit ears, "How can I help you guys today?"
"I'm here to look for someone with the name of Izuku Midoriya, I'm Inko Midoriya, his mother, and this here is Kimiko Usagimiya, mother to the girl that's probably still with him."
With a look of surprise the receptionist lit up and began to type on her computer, "We were wondering when you guys would finally arrive, it's been a pain trying to get the girl off of the boy. Even when we did get her off and try to get your information from her, all we really got was a blubbering mess. Your children are in D28, three stories up from here and directly to the left if you take the elevator over there."
One run and an elevator ride later they found themselves in front of D28. Opening the doors, they found themselves presented with a cute scene, if not for the occasion, they'd be taking a couple pictures. Izuku was in bed sleeping, while Rumi was next to him cuddled up, her cheeks a little red, presumably from all the crying that was implied to have happened.
Slowly walking up to the bed, Inko took a look at Izuku's condition, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, she couldn't really see any bruises or anything bleeding to be sending Izuku to the hospital, nor did she see the remainder of some of the other injuries he sustained throughout the last year. They did a great job with him, she guessed.
"Ah! Midoriya-san, Usagimiya-san, we were waiting for you two to arrive. We were going to call, but we didn't really get a number until pretty recently." the doctor said from behind the two. "Before anything. Midoriya-san, your son is doing fine right now, when we first got him he had a couple of broken bones, but they weren't too severe."
Letting out a sigh of relief she felt as though a megaton weight was taken off of her.
As if by hearing the doctor speak, Rumi's ears popped up from her head, and soon enough she turned around to see the adults talking behind her. Getting off the bed calmly, she jumped into her mother's arms, with no tears left she just rubbed her head against her stomach. "Shh, it's okay Rumi, he's alright, you're alright, all is right in the world."
Taking a moment away from seeing the reunion of the female Usagimiyas, she turned her attention to Izuku, leaning in close she whispered, "I know you're awake Izuku, there isn't any need for you to pretend to be asleep any more than you have to."
Opening his eyes, he turned to see the eyes of his mother boring into him. "How'd you know?"
"You always have your mouth ever so slightly open whenever you sleep. It was adorable when looking at you as a child."
Pouting, he turned his attention to his peripheral vision, "Well I didn't really want to wake her up. She's had a really tiring day."
With a quirk of her eyebrows, she stared back at him. Even while it was him being sent to the hospital, he still had enough energy to spend worrying about others. Is this the heroic spirit that everyone always talks about?
Grabbing his ear she brought herself closer to him, "Listen here mister, you got into the hospital, you should at least be worrying about yourself."
"Ow ow ow. Okay, I get it kaa-san, but I'm really okay! I wasn't too hurt!"
And before he knew it, a body of chocolate had launched herself at him.
"'Zukuuu! You're okay!" she yelled out as she hugged him, "Why'd you have to fight Bakugou! I would've just left them a couple minutes later."
Scratching his face, that was certainly a detail he should've seen before going all in. "Well, it didn't really seem that way Rumi…"
"Wait. Bakugou?" Inko asked from behind the two, "I told Mitsuki to calm down her kid, and this is what happens?"
In all his life, Izuku has never seen his mom get this furious. And just before Inko could take her phone out to give this Mitsuki a piece of her mind, the doctor came in at the right time and told them that Izuku was free to leave, so Inko and Kimiko left the room to sign some release papers to get them out of the hospital. And so, it was only Izuku and Rumi left in the room alone.
As if holding him tighter, he saw a look of worry still painted across Rumi's face.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Chuckling a little inside, Izuku took his hand and petted Rumi in a sort of way to comfort her, "Of course, nothing that I can't take."
With a sniff, Rumi rested her head in the nook of his neck, "I thought that you wouldn't wake up again. You don't have that natural resistance that we have…"
Frowning, Izuku agreed on the inside. Doing some research, he found that the first generation of quirk users were more resistant to any kind of physical damage, be it cuts or blunt force. And maybe, that was a way for natural selection to allow itself in and let quirk users become predominant. That just brought up more questions on how he was able to take this hit like it was nothing. Either there was a quirk user in the hospital that had a quirk similar to Recovery Girl, or Kami forbid, Recovery Girl herself healed him up to where he is.
"-ku, 'zuku, you're spacing out on me, are you sure you don't need the doctor to take another look at you? I can call him over for you." Rumi asked with a hint of worry in her voice.
"No, no, Rumi, I was just thinking. I already told you I'm fine."
"Then answer my question! When were you planning on telling me that you were going to apply to U.A.?"
Ouch.
A topic he didn't really have an answer for. He knew he wanted to be a hero. But with the absence of a quirk, he was denied almost any job opportunity. He couldn't work in police work without some quirk or way to subdue someone who can use a quirk, nor could he work in firefighting, as he was without a water-based quirk. And heroism… well, he could at least dream.
"Sorry Rumi, I was planning to tell you at some point, but I didn't really want to worry you about the how," he said a little guiltily. "I was hoping that I could at least get into the general course and get somewhat close to the heroes you know?"
For a few moments, they were both sitting in silence, Izuku waiting for a response and Rumi still almost crushing his ribs.
"Then how about we apply together?"
She took her head off his neck and loosened her grip on him a little bit as she looked into his eyes. "That way, I can stay close to you so no one else can hurt you!"
"And when I become a hero, I can hire you and we can go jump up the hero rankings! With your brains, and my uh… legs! We can get there together!"
Chuckling a little inside, Izuku agreed. "It's a deal."
No matter how he saw it. He would be trying his best to try and get into U.A. so he can try to be someone who can act like a hero. And maybe. After some time he may become one, even if it meant that he'd be stuck with a chocolate, rabbit-eared girl.
It wasn't long after that his mom and auntie-Kimiko appeared and proceeded to get them out of the hospital after what seemed like forever. They'd get home, Rumi would come over. Beat him at Heroes vs. Villains 4 again. And his life returned to how it used to be. And maybe, everything was going to turn out alright.
A/N
So this chapter was going to be 8k words, but I felt like I'd rather have chapters that are split into smaller chunks than 8k monsters. So here's 4k. Not my best, but I like it I guess.
I need some recs on where I can get a cover picture to use for this too.
Anyways, thanks for reading, until next time.