Chapter 1: Two Worlds, Two Heroes
It was an easy going morning in Norrisville, and no one was loving it more than Randy Cunningham. He let out a happy sigh as he parked his bike at the entrance of the school. He cracked his neck, psyching himself out for another day in the school he protected while. Though it was mostly because he'd been having a bit of a dry spell lately.
"Okay, Randy, this is your day. Something fun will happen today." Randy crossed his fingers.
"Hey, Cunningham. Still praying for some awesome stuff to happen I see." Howard walked up to Randy with a newspaper under his armpit. "You think it'll work?"
"I gotta hope Howard." Randy and Howard entered the school, making their way to their lockers. "Ever since McFist went off to Japan for the last three weeks, any and all excitement has gone slowly downhill."
"Yeah, everyone is waiting for one of the walls to suddenly burst up and have a monster on the other side." Howard opened up the newspaper. "Hey, you heard about the news? About a new student coming here for the next three weeks or some juice?"
Randy closed his eyes, trying to remember what Howard was talking about. He'd heard about some visiting student coming over from another country. It was completely out of the blue but he couldn't think of any good reason why the principal wouldn't use this as a way to get more funding for the school. Randy shrugged about the whole ordeal. He had no reason to look into it if it didn't affect him that much.
However, his train of thought was knocked off course when someone accidentally bumped into him.
"Ow, hey!" Randy snapped. "Watch it." Randy was met with a student that he'd never seen before.
The young man was around his age with pale skin, a freckled face and green eyes that matched his green hair. If Randy didn't know any better, he would've said that the boy in front of him had come out of an anime. However, there was something that Randy couldn't put his finger on. He was indeed a new face in school. But he was a little too plain to stand out.
"Sorry, sorry, my bad. I'm looking for my locker." He bowed his head in an apology.
"It's cool. You new? What's your name?" Randy asked. "I'm Randy, this here is Howard." Randy pointed to his friend.
"Yo." Howard tossed the newspaper into the recycling bin.
"My name is Izuku Midoriya. I'm visiting Norrisville for a few weeks in the exchange program with my school." Izuku bowed. "Nice to meet you. You know where locker 139 is? That's the one they assigned me."
"Oh that's easy, it's just a few lockers down the hall before the corner." Randy pointed. "Lucky for you it's right next to Morgan's locker."
"Aw, man. I wanted that locker." Howard pouted.
"Who's Morgan?"
"For the last time, Bash, buzz off."
Randy, Izuku and Howard turned to see what was going on. They were not entirely happy to see that there was an altercation.
Bash, the big designated school bully, and his posse of goons stood before Morgan, leaning on top of the lockers. He gave her a classic smug grin full of teeth and his brown hair slicked back like he'd come out of a 50s musical. However, Morgan wasn't so much moved by his looks nor his proposition that was aided by his own posse.
"Oh come on, babe~. You know you want me." Bash wiggled his eyebrows. "I'm the whole package. Lots of muscles. Stunning hair. Moviestar smile and chin. Plus, my stepdad is loaded. Anyone here keep up with that record?" Bash pressed his palm on the locker next to Morgan's head, making her narrow her eyes at him.
"Um, excuse me," Izuku said, almost squeaking like a mouse.
Morgan, Bash and his posse turned to look at a slightly shaking Izuku holding his books. They raised an eyebrow at the sight of the green-haired young man that despite his shaking body and plain face, had actually stuck his head in the lion's den. Most of the time, whoever got in this type of scene would get chewed out by Bash or his goons, or both depending on the mood of what would happen next. The few students that were around watched as they didn't want to miss what would happen between the three colliding forces.
"Oh man, Izuku's going to get shoobed if we don't get him out of there." Randy winced.
"Since when are we the new kid's babysitters?" Howard asked. "I mean, if he's smart, he'll walk away slowly and try to not look Bash's goons in the eyes. I swear those guys are straight out of a cheesing cave."
"Still, we can't let them eat him alive." Randy dragged Howard towards the altercation, hoping to resolve this peacefully and without anyone getting hurt.
Back with Izuku, he was not sure what he was going to do now that he was standing before the group of larger males. He didn't know what had come over him but he couldn't allow someone to get harassed if he could do something. Remembering All Might's words, he tried to keep as calm and as low key as possible. He put on his bravest face and tried to settle things with diplomacy.
"S-Sorry for interrupting, b-but you're leaning on my locker." Izuku shook like a leaf, pointing to the locker.
"Get lost stringbean. And maybe I won't use your face to clean the toilet." Bash growled as his posse surrounded Izuku.
"T-There's no-no need for that. I-I-I just think you s-should l-leave her a-a-alone is all." Izuku held up his hands in a non-threatening gesture.
Morgan smiled at his comment. She could take care of herself, but she liked the chivalry.
"Don't worry, kid. I got this." Morgan smiled at him.
Bash didn't like that.
"Making moves on my girl, huh?!" Bash grabbed Izuku by the collar of his shirt, lifting him up slightly.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, no need to get in a fuss." Randy arrived, pulling Izuku out of Bash's hold. "My friend here just wanted to get his stuff in his locker. There's no need to lose anything over that, am I right?"
"Besides, we all know how this is going to end." Howard muttered under his breath.
"This happens a lot?" Izuku asked.
"Sadly, yes. Bash gets dropped faster than a game of hot potato with a burning lit potato." Randy whispered. "You can set your alarm to it like this every single day, buddy."
Big mistake.
Bash grabbed hold of Randy by the scruff of his shirt pulling him up to his eyes. He growled like an angered silverback gorilla. He didn't like it when those lower than him in the social ladder mocked him. And if looks could kill, Bash's glare would've put Randy in the grave one time too many.
"What? You think I'm an old TV show to watch and mock, dweeb?" Bash asked, shaking Randy.
"No, no, no, no, Bash. Come on, man." Randy smiled. "TV shows are entertaining, this isn't it."
"Oh, so I bore you, huh?" Bash tossed Randy against the lockers. "Let's make this more interesting, then." Bash cracked his knuckles.
Randy was very thankful for his training. Going limp at the last minute saved him from a bruised back. He saw Bash's fist coming. He prepared to dodge. He saw it as part of his training to keep up the appearance of a bumbling fool. However, he didn't need to do his usual dancing routine to dodge the attacks of the gorilla that was Bash.
Izuku's hand halted Bash's fist on its tracks.
This shocked everyone, not just because Bash was twice the man Izuku was in size and three times his weight, but because it looked like he did so with little effort. The other students watched as Bash pushed back and glared at Izuku. The air grew thick with the two opposing forces between Izuku and Bash's group.
"Who do you think you are, huh?" Bash asked, pointing at Izuku.
"I'm someone that doesn't like bullies. Now, please, leave." Izuku lost his stutter and now stood with a light green glow to his eyes. "This doesn't have to escalate."
"We don't need no stinking escalator, dummy! We'll just beat you, see?!" Bash and his goons lunged at Izuku like a pack of angry apes going for the last piece of fruit.
In most cases, this would be the time the target of their rage would be wheeled to the hospital. But Izuku was anything but one of those. With a light glow in his green eyes, he reeled back his fist as he readied for a fight. He punched Bash in the face, sending him crashing into the lockers behind him. He then finished with a roundhouse kick to Bash's goons' side.
"Smash." Izuku whispered.
The whole hallway became silent as they saw the aftermath of the fight. Bash was completely knocked out, with drool dripping down his mouth while his goons were groaning in pain on the other end of the hallway. The rest of the student body, including Randy and Howard, looked at Izuku as though he'd just stepped out of a kung fu movie in the middle of a fight scene.
Izuku realized what he had done. His actions, though inspired by his own righteous sense of justice, had gotten him in the middle of the spotlight. The glow of his eyes dissipated as the weight of his actions hit him. He started stuttering and trying to find a way to clear himself from the spotlight.
"Oh man, oh man, what did I do?" Izuku muttered. "All Might told me not to stand out."
"Hey, kid," Morgan said, getting Izuku's attention. "You got some good moves there. Thanks for the save, though I could've handled myself. The name's Morgan. Guess we'll be neighbors." Morgan held out her hand shaking Izuku's hand.
Izuku shook her hand, feeling a warmth from her thanks.
"Y-you're welcome M-Morgan." Izuku smiled a shy smile, causing Morgan to smirk.
"Hope you can survive Norrisville." Morgan walked away, leaving Izuku confused.
Before Izuku could ask her what she meant, the hallway bell started ringing. He was then caught by the waves of students running to their classes. He didn't know how but everyone seemed to have forgotten him using his quirk in the middle of the day. A part of him was happy about that, but he now needed to find a way to survive the rest of his stay.
However, two people took note of what had happened.
"What the juice was that, Cunningham?" Howard asked, helping his friend up. "That was some Ninja cheese moves."
"We saw the same thing, Howard. Did you notice the green glow in his eyes?" Randy asked.
"Green glow? Must've been a blink and you'll miss it thing." Howard shrugged.
"Yeah, that wasn't normal." Randy narrowed his eyes at what Izuku had done. "Time to have a closer eye on him."
The rest of the school day went on as usual, minus the monster or robot attacks that were common for the high school. And throughout the day, Randy and Howard kept an eye on Izuku from a safe distance. They looked at him over their shoulders during the library, and with the camera of their phones during class. But so far, they have not been able to notice some of his quirks. They saw that he was the kind of guy that took lots of notes, muttered to himself and was as shy as a church mouse most of the time.
Now it was time for lunch and Randy and Howard were looking for anything suspicious.
"Face it, Cunningham, apart from unleashing his hidden dragon, Izuku is a perfectly dull guy." Howard sat down with his lunch. "I mean, there's no way he's a robot like the last exchange student. Unless, McFist decided to make another attempt."
"I saw his eyes glow green, Howard. And you saw him knockout Bash and send his goons away with a roundhouse kick." Randy counted off. " Unless he took Chuck Norris' lessons on how to be a badass, this isn't normal. Plus, what's with that notebook that he has all the time?"
Randy spotted Izuku carrying his food tray with his notebook under his armpit. That's when an idea came to him.
"Yo, Izuku, have a seat." Randy waved at the green haired young man.
"Dude, what gives?" Howard whispered. "I thought you wanted to keep our distance from him?"
"Time for a more forward approach." Randy whispered back.
"You guys sure, you don't mind me sitting here?" Izuku set down his tray on the table.
"No problem, dude. It's the least we can do after you took down Bash and his goons like they were made out of paper." Randy shrugged as Izuku put his notebook on the side. "Say, those were some fancy moves, did you take some martial arts or something? Not to sound stereotypical or anything."
"Oh, no, no, well, I did take a few self defense classes back in Japan." Izuku scratched his cheek. "Can I ask you a few questions about this city? I was told that there were rumors of a ninja themed here going around. Is that true?"
Randy and Howard looked at each other, trying to figure out what was Izuku's game.
"Yeah, the Ninja. He's been at the whole hero thing for over 800 years." Randy replied.
"800 YEARS! Does he have an immortality quirk?!" Izuku gasped in shock at Randy's response.
"Um, yeah. I mean we've heard of those guys over in Japan and all, but we like our hero just fine here." Howard noticed Izuku's lunch. "Oh man, you weren't actually going to eat that, are you?"
Izuku looked at his cafeteria lunch, wincing slightly. He had gotten so used to Lunch Rush's amazing meals that this food looked like it had been run over by a truck. But he kept his words to himself as it would've been impolite to the school and the cook. Though that didn't make him feel better about swallowing it.
"Um, I mean, it doesn't look that bad. Why?" Izuku asked.
"It's just that last time I checked, they were still made with chipmunks." Howard revealed.
Izuku's face turned green as he dropped his food tray.
"I think I'll be sick." Izuku groaned, fighting the urge to throw up.
"It's okay, dude. It's okay." Randy patted Izuku on the back while spotting his notebook.
Randy took this chance to look at the notebook. It was all in Japanese but he was able to make due with what he could understand from the drawings. They were records of heroes from Japan, he recognized them from the news. But the last page stopped him. It was all about the Ninja.
There were marks filled with question marks and what he assumed were observations on the ways he fought. It looked more like the detailed notes of a hero nerd but at the same time they were too detailed. It was nothing what McFist would've written or prepared to kill the Ninja, but it was no less a red flag.
Randy engraved the information in his mind, closing the notebook before Izuku noticed him. He didn't like the idea of peeping into someone else's personal stuff but he needed to find out who Izuku was and what the green glow was. It was a dirty business but he had no other way of finding out what he needed.
"You feeling better, Izuku?" Randy asked.
"Y-Yes. T-thanks, Cunningham. I was just not expecting something like that to be served up as food." Izuku held a hand over his mouth, trying to keep himself from vomiting. "I thought that it was a joke, but I don't think this is right."
"Welcome to Norrisville High school, the only school where craziness is normal, the staff most likely spend time in a mental asylum and the food would not be served in prison." Howard explained.
Izuku wondered what were the standards of the school if it allowed such things to happen. At that moment, he put his hands together and swore to never once complain about his teachers back at UA. With tears in his eyes, he decided to make his lunch from now on while he stayed in that school.
The day finished up and Izuku, Randy and Howard went their separate ways with their respective assignments. Though to some that would've been a common thing to do and go through, this also gave Randy a chance to fill Howard in on what he had learned.
"So Izuku's notebook is filled with notes on other heroes?" Howard asked. "Okay, not the kind of notes I'd do but I guess to each their own."
"The thing is, that they were detailed, very." Randy clarified. "I couldn't understand all of it, but I know of someone who can." Randy pulled out the Ninjanomicon.
"Using an ancient book of mythical powers as Google Translate?" Howard asked. "I approve."
Randy rolled his eyes before opening the book. His mind slooped into the Ninjanomicon, hoping to get information about the new arrival from Japan. He jumped over the ancient drawn trees and landed face to face with a large Japanese styled palace before him. He walked in through the front gate, being met with the First Ninja sitting in the middle of what looked like a tea ceremony.
"Okay, this is different. Hey Master Nobu, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Randy bowed his head.
"Not at all, Randy. Just taking tea. Would you like some?" Nobu asked.
"I think I'll have to decline, master. There are some things that I need to get translated." Randy sat on his legs. "There's this new student at school and I think there's something odd about him."
Nobu narrowed his eyes on his young pupil's request. He'd heard and seen through Randy's memories about the drastic changes his home country had gone through. These heroes held great powers but many lacked a sense of honor or duty. But if they had sent one of their own to Norrisville, then it could spell trouble. Using the Art of Reading Minds, Nobu pulled out all the information Randy had engraved in his memory and into a thought bubble. He saw Izuku and his notebook's notes.
"Hm, he seems like an ordinary young man. His notes on the other hand are quite interesting." Nobu stroked his chin in intrigue. "The title says 'Hero Analysis for the future', and the rest are notes of the different heroes of Japan. The page on the Ninja of Norrisville is mostly filled with speculations. And there is a note that says, 'McFist's bounty on the Ninja as a vigilante'."
"You think Izuku is a bounty hunter? He hardly looks the part," Randy said. "The bounty part is new. I should go have a talk with him for more information."
The Ninjanomicon handed Randy a cup of tea. He looked inside as the leaves formed into a message for him to read. His every adventure fortune cookie words of wisdom never seize to amaze him.
"'When forces beyond threaten your way of life, unexpected heroes will team up and rise to the challenge.' Well I know that part, but who else could rise to help me?" Randy asked before drinking the tea.
Randy appeared back in the real world, coughing.
"Man, that tea stuff cleared up my lungs." Randy coughed.
"So, what did the book say?" Howard asked.
"Something about forces beyond threatening me and a team up." Randy replied. "I think it's high time the Ninja goes on a little patrol. But where would Izuku be staying? There's only a few hotels in Norrisville, but they wouldn't have put an underaged student in a hotel for such a long time on his own. A rental? Maybe, but there would still be a fixed address to give the school or a guardian since he isn't an adult." As Randy rambled on, Howard pulled out his phone, typing the information that they needed.
"Got it." Howard held up his phone screen. "Izuku Midoriya of Musutafu, Japan, is staying at 7714 Danger Street. It's a small rental hostel for students and his guardian liaison with the school is the French teacher Ms. Artroi. Jeez, his luck with women just keeps getting better."
Randy rolled his eyes, trying to not fall into temptation and admit that he was also jealous of the Japanese student.
Randy pulled out his mask and put it on, causing his legendary Ninja suit to wrap around his body. His red scarf rustled in the wind as he prepared for the night patrol ahead. He jumped out of his bedroom window in search of Izuku Midoriya's true intentions. Despite feeling like the young man was not a threat, he needed to check up on the note about McFist issuing a bounty on him. He could only believe that his archenemy had used his holiday to get in touch with some mercenaries, or heroes as they were called in Japan, to come over and hunt him.
He jumped from rooftop to rooftop before swinging on his red scarf. As the night air took over the city, Randy arrived at the address where he would find his quarry. He didn't want to fight him for no reason, but if there was. He would face him man-to-man.
7714 Danger Street was a modest apartment building, often called the Villa Alta, that resembled ten houses stacked one on top of the other. It was mostly used by college students or international students for when they needed to stay somewhere affordable to live. It was painted light yellow with some patches of brick sticking out and small balconies with enough space to put a small grill or a chair to watch the sunset.
Randy stuck to the shadows, hoping to find some clue as to where Izuku was holding up. However, he saw something that caught his attention. He saw green sparks jumping out of one of the balconies and running into the city.
"Curiouser and curiouser." Randy muttered, taking interest in the sparks.
The green sparks jumped from rooftop to rooftop at incredible speeds. It looked like a living bit of green electricity moved in search of something. A figure could be seen surrounded by the green sparks. It wore a green costume with black leg guards that went up to its thighs, black armored red shoes, white gloves that went all the way half to his shoulders. The figure's face was hidden behind a metal mouthguard, a green mask with two long bunny ear-like pieces. This was Izuku "Deku" Midoriya.
"According to Principal Nezu, the Ninja should be around the high school area. But if this is a vigilante, then they should have a patrol schedule." Izuku rationalized. "However, if he is as old as Randy and Howard said, then he probably has amassed quite a fortune and has managed to use the advanced technology to his advantage. If that's the case, I should try to contact him through more direct methods. Maybe he has a Ninja signal?"
Just as Izuku finished his muttering rant, his ears perked up at the sound of a store alarm going off. He looked down across the street to see three goons raiding a store, jumping out of the broken glass with bags of loot. Izuku's body moved on its own. With One For All coursing through his body, he jumped after the thieves with green sparks around his body. He fired his Black Whip at the thieves, wrapping around two of the three thieves.
"SMASH!" Izuku called out, landing two spinning kicks at the thieves.
Izuku charged at the last thief, only for a red scarf to wrap around his legs, pulling him up quickly. The rabbit themed her turned to see who was the one responsible. But before he could react, a sharp blade broke the other two thieves from the Black Whip. He saw the thieves being pulled into a dark alley, tied up by some rope.
"Who goes there?" Izuku got into a fighting stance.
"Smokebomb!"
An orange cloud of smoke appeared before Izuku, making him jump back.
Randy stepped out of the smoke, keeping his distance from the green hero.
"Hey there, Rabbit is it?" Randy asked. "First things first, thanks for taking down those guys. Really appreciate it. But second, what brings a Japanese hero to my neck of the world? You wouldn't be here because of a certain iron armed mustached man, would you?"
"You know about the bounty?" Izuku asked. "According to McFist, you're a dangerous vigilante that moonlights as a hero."
"Don't believe everything he says." Randy circled around Izuku, trying to get a read on him. "Besides, I've been at this for a little longer than these 'Hero Licenses' were even a thing. Why should I need a license to do the right thing?"
"But you have no license and therefore no authority to work as one." Izuku argued. "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to take you in."
"I know I'm setting myself for something, but you and what army?" Randy asked, only for ten robo apes to appear. "Me and my shoobing mouth." He muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Ninja, prepare to be eliminated!" The lead roboape growled.
Randy drew his sword as the roboapes transformed their arms into weapons. He turned to face the ones behind him, walking back. He knew all right and well how this would end, but he was slightly surprised as the green bunny man's back walked into his own.
"What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be with them?"Randy asked.
"I don't know what these things are or why they want to destroy you, but if they're villains, then I have to stop them." Izuku's body lit up with green lightning.
Randy raised his eyebrow at his unexpected ally's words. He had expected that he would join the roboapes in giving him the beating of a lifetime. At that moment he was happy that it wasn't the case. He turned back to face the apes.
"One For All. Full Cowling!" Izuku called out as he and Randy charged at the roboapes.
As the roboapes fired at the two heroes, Randy blocked the lasers with his sword. He slid down between one of the apes' legs, cutting them with his sword. Jumping back to his feet, he sliced the arms of two of the other roboapes. He spun in place, chopping off their heads before his eyes landed on Izuku as he fought.
"Ninja sword slice!" Randy called out.
Izuku used his Full Cowling to dodge the lasers sent his way. Reeling back his right leg, he kicked one of the roboapes, shattering it. Using his speed, he slid and punched another roboape in the face, taking it off. He jumped back, dodging another barrage of shots. He called upon Black Whip, wrapping his black tendrils on two of the roboapes before flinging them at Randy.
"Black Whip Smash!" Izuku called out, crushing the roboapes.
Randy narrowed his eyes. He sliced the two robots in a single circular slice with his sword leaving a fiery trail behind it. He swung his scarf, pulling the another roboape against him. The Ninja spun the roboape and swung him at Izuku.
Izuku punched through it and another roboape with a mighty punch.
"Detroit Smash!" Izuku's punch shattered the roboapes.
"'Detroit Smash'? What the juice is that?" Randy asked.
"It's one of my special moves. You do that too." Izuku pointed out. "You put 'Ninja' in front of every move. I mean, your skills are amazing and quicker than what I had expected, but then again I should've seen it coming with your skills of 800 years. In a way, I respect your skills but I still have to bring you in for your vigilante activities." Izuku muttered, causing Randy to raise his eyebrow.
"Can I just point out one tiny thing?" Randy asked.
"Um, sure." Izuku scratched his head.
"You missed one during your monologue." Randy pointed to the last roboape aiming its blasters. "And he's about to shoot us."
"Ah." Izuku realized before Randy pulled him behind a car, narrowly avoiding the shots.
"So, any bright ideas, Rabbit?" Randy asked "Or should I do everything?"
"I can do it." Izuku expanded his gauntlet, preparing his attack.
"Not that I don't trust you, but I got something better than a fingerflick." Randy and Izuku jumped out from behind the car.
"Delaware SMASH!" Izuku fired a blast of concentrated air.
"Ninja AIR FIST!" Randy fired a blast of magic air blast.
The two attacks landed on the final roboape, crushing it with ease.
"We got him." Izuku said.
"Not bad, Rabbit." Randy smirked.
"I go by Deku, actually." Izuku defended himself.
"Nope, it's Rabbit. You seem cool though." Randy shrugged. "See you around. Smokebomb." Randy dropped a smokebomb, disappearing in a puff of orange smoke.
Izuku coughed, looking for signs of the Ninja. He sighed as there was no sign of his target. Though he couldn't see why he'd be called 'Rabbit' of all reasons.
"Are my ears really that much rabbit-like?" Izuku looked at his costume in the mirror before heading back to his apartment.
His mission just got a lot harder than he'd thought back when he took it. But now he knew that the Ninja would be a challenge.
Far from the street, McFist watched the feedback from his roboapes in a steaming rage.
"So, now you know what kind of menace we're dealing with." McFist turned to his two mercenaries.
The two figures grunted.
"Good. Showtime baby." McFist chuckled.