Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or its characters, only my OCs.

Chapter 1: The Beginning of Izuku

It had been ten years since that day, and yet he stood before his dream school. UA High School, the greatest hero school in Japan, loomed before him. He reflected on his arduous journey to reach this point - all the training, the battles, the friends, senseis, rivals, and enemies he encountered along the way. His path towards becoming a hero was finally beginning.

Standing before the school gates was a 15-year-old (soon to be 16 in three months) boy wearing the UA uniform. His mop of fluffy, dark-green hair was tied into a small ponytail, revealing large, round green eyes. Freckles adorned his cheeks, giving him a unique appearance. He stood at around 173 cm tall, with a toned body clearly visible beneath his uniform.

Izuku Midoriya was the boy's name, and he was ready to become the world's first quirkless hero. How did he get here? Well, it all started...

July 25, 10 years ago

It was a beautiful summer day in the city of Musutafu, Japan. The sky was clear, birds were flying high, flowers were blooming, and the people were enjoying the day.

Well, except for one, a six-year-old Izuku wasn't having a good day, as usual. He was just walking, enjoying the nice day, until he saw his "friend" bullying another kid, so he went to try to stop them, and as always, the bullies went after him. The kid that Izuku tried to help didn't return the favor; he just ran away, not caring about his savior's well-being. Why? Because who wants to thank a quirkless.

Living in a world where 80% of the population possess superhuman abilities known as quirks, while being part of the 20% without one, can make life quite challenging.

Because of this, Izuku was both bullied and ignored, since he was four. The main bully was his former childhood friend, Katsuki Bakugo, who has the ability to create explosions from the palms of his hands. Katsuki was a boy with spiky, sandy blond hair and red eyes. When his quirk awakened, he developed a superiority complex where he thought he should be at the top, and since he always made fun of Izuku before he had a quirk, he began to bully him physically, even giving him the nickname "Deku," which means "useless."

And every time when school ends, he and his two cronies always cornered Izuku where are they can use their quirks on him. Since this was summer break,he thought that he was safe for today, but no.

Izuku was running as fast as his six year old legs can run, he doesn't know why they keep doing this, why do they always hurt him, why they just can't leave him alone for once. Is it because he's quirkless? It makes sense, he was always useless to a lot of things and since he was useless, it makes sense for him to be quirkless, and Katsuki always did make fun of him.

But despite that, he still looked up to the boy and followed him around wherever he went. The running boy thought. It didn't make sense. Why did his former best friend get angry at him for trying to be nice to him?

The boy kept on running and running. As he ran, the three boys (mostly Katsuki) were shouting at him. "Hey, get back here, Deku! Who gave you permission to run?" Shouted the blond-haired boy. "Yeah, we promise we won't hurt you as badly as usual," shouted a skinny lackey. Izuku ignored them and just kept running.

Izuku turn and ran down at alleyway, the boys still on his trail. This was a big mistake, especially that there was a dead end. Now trap Izuku had nowhere to go. It was a dumpster on his right, and a door on his left, but doubt that somebody will even come out. "Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide Deku." Said Katsuki with an evil smile and small sparks come out his palms. "Come on you guys, is this really necessary?" whimper Izuku. "Yes, you shouldn't have stayed in my way, you useless Deku!" Shouted Katsuki.

'I was trying to stop you from being a bully. How was I getting in your way?'

The three boys had him right where they wanted him and charged at him. The poor green haired boy couldn't do anything to make them stop with the abuse; he could only try to shield himself.

The three boys were so focused on their victim that they didn't notice the door on the left side open and come out was a woman. She look like she was in her early-20s, she was about 165 cm tall, with D cups, she has long brown hair that was tied in a ponytail, that reaches to her lower back, and had green eyes. She was wearing a pink t-shirt with a black turtleneck, blue jeans, and white flip-flops. Overall, she was really attractive.

The woman was holding a garbage bag, presumably taking out the trash. As she walked towards the dumpster, she caught sight of the three boys at the corner of her eye. At first, she was confused as to what the boys were doing, but then she noticed another boy being beaten on the ground. Her expression shifted from surprise to shock then anger.

"Oi, what the fuck are you brats doing to him!?" she demanded. The two boys looked a bit nervous and scared, while Katsuki seemed unconcerned. "What it looks like," he replied, "we're teaching this quirkless Deku a lesson." The woman was looking at the boy with disbelief. They had beaten him up simply because he lacked a quirk. This infuriated her even more, because of personal reasons.

"Listen up you shitty brats, you got five seconds to get the fuck out of here or else." The woman said with a threatening tone. "Or else what, you old hag!" Katsuki yelled, he then uses his quirk to intimidate her.

The woman's face went neutral, her eyes were shadowed by her hair and took a deep breath. She then walk towards the garbage dumpster, she then lift her leg up doing a high kick, then slammed it on the dumpster. The force cause the dumpster to get destroyed and causes the ground to form cracks.

"Or that." said the woman with a cold and murderous tone, and to make matters scarier the woman was letting out a dark aura and was revealing one of her glowing brighter green eyes with a murderous glare. This cause the three boys to get scared shitless and making them run away. Once the boys were gone, the woman calm down and check on the beaten Izuku.

"Hey kid, are you all right?" the woman ask with a worried and caring voice. "Y-y-yes, I am." Whimpered Izuku in pain. "Well, I should probably treat those wounds, right." The woman suggested and help Izuku. "N-no, i-it's okay I'm fine, really." Said Izuku, not want to waste the nice woman's time. The woman just ignored and gently pick him up and bringing him inside, Izuku was too hurt and tired to fight back.

In the Building

Once inside, the woman took Izuku to a medic room, she placed him on the bed and went to find some first aid. She found some first aid, and started to treat him, Izuku felt bad because this lady was treating his wounds, he didn't want her to help him for his "mistake". After all didn't she here what Kacchan say, he called him quirkless, so why do she care.

Ever since his diagnose, everybody started treating him differently, the kid started to pick on him, the teachers paid little attention to him, and he has been treated unfairly in other public places. His mother was the only one who still treating him with love, but still, she blames herself for his diagnose.

"Why are you helping me?" Izuku ask with a low tone, but the woman still heard him. She was surprised when he asked and confused. "Why not, you're a kid that was getting hurt, I can't just leave you there." She said. "But I'm quirkless, so why-" before he could continue, she interrupted him. "So..." she said, Izuku stare at her, like she said something wrong, and didn't care.

"So what you're quirkless, you're still human right?" She said. Izuku just stared at her in shock because she looked at him without pity like everyone else, she looked at him like he was normal person. "But should you be care about someone with a quirk, let alone a strong one." Said, Izuku still not understanding why is she helping him. "Look, I don't care if you have or don't have a strong, weak, mutated, or villainess quirk, i'll still help you. Hell, i'll still help you if you're a child of a villain," said the woman with determine confidence.

Izuku stare at her with awe now. She didn't care if he was quirkless, she only cared about helping him. "Anyway we should probably introduce ourselves, my name is Maki Zhong, what's yours?" The woman now named Maki said. "M-my name is Izuku Midoriya." Izuku introduced himself. He didn't know why he told her his name, maybe because she was the first person besides his mom to care. "Hiya Midoriya, it's nice to meet you!" Maki yelled joyful and giving him a big toothy smile, Izuku giggle at her goofiness. Maki continued first aided Izuku for about five more minutes and then she done.

"Ok we're done," she said, put in the way the first aid. "I should probably call your parents, do you know their phone number?" Maki asked. "Yes." Izuku answered and told her is mom phone number. Maki then went to get her phone and tapped the numbers in, she now waits until someone picks up then she heard a... "Hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. Midoriya?" Maki said to the woman. "Yes, who is this?" She said with confusion in her voice. "My name is Maki Zhong, and I found your son next to my dojo." Maki answered. "What, why was he there?" She asked with still confusion, but this time there was worry. "Well, he was there because he was being beaten by some kids." Maki answered. "WHAT?! What happened?! Where is he now?! Is he alright?! Is he still hurt?! How bad is it?!" She rattled off questions, which Maki pull away the phone from her ear.

"Ma'am, ma'am, it's all right he's fine." Maki reassured the rambling woman. "He's still at my dojo. You can come down and get him. I'll send you the address." She offered. "Thank you, thank you so much!" The woman cried out with relief. As Maki was sending the Dojo's address to the mother, Izuku was elsewhere.

He heard that this was a dojo so he looked around and true to Maki's word this was indeed a dojo. It had a combinations of both Japanese and Chinese style. He saw a picture bored, and one of the pictures was showing it's grand opening, it seem to take place somewhere two years ago. Izuku was in amazement seeing that Maki already has three trophies from fighting tournaments, he then remember what she did to that dumpster, 'I wonder how strong she really is, and what's her quirk?' he thought in his head.

"You seem amazed." Maki said walking up to him. Izuku was nodding his head. "Yeah, it's really cool." he said with a joyful tone, he then ask a question. "Hey Ms. Zhong-", she interrupted him "Just call me Maki." She said. "Ok, Ms. Maki how strong are you? I remember what you did to that dumpster back at the alley." he asked. Maki went pale as she too remember what she did, she just brush it off and thought about Izuku's question. She was thinking for a moment, then she was making a cheeky grin.

"I don't want to brag, but if I were a pro hero, I would probably be in the top 10," she said, with a bit of pride and cockiness. Izuku now had sparkles in his eyes as he looked up to her. "Whoa, that's so cool! You must be really strong!" He said with so much amazement. "Yeah, I'm awesome. There's no one like me out there." she said, still with cockiness in her voice; she was brushing her fingers under her nose with a smug grin.

Different locations

In three different regions of Japan, there were three men. One was in a traditional Japanese dojo, another was in the mountain range, and the third was in a business office. All three men shared the same thought... 'She's being cocky again.' Each man had a deadpan expression on his face.

Back with Maki and Izuku

Maki sneezed for some reason, and Izuku still had sparkles in his eyes until he remembered what she said. "Wait, so you're not a hero?" he asked. Maki stopped her cocky act when she heard him and gave him a confuse look. "No, why you think I was?" She asked. "Because you're so strong, and I thought that...," he said, then got interrupted by Maki. "Just because you're strong doesn't mean you're a hero." She corrected him. "Then how did you do that, with your quirk?" he questioned. "Nope, that was pure physical strength from hard work and training." She said with pride.

"Hard work and training?" Izuku repeated those words over and over again. Could he get strong like that by training and working hard? "Could I get strong like that by training?" he asked nervously. Maki gave him a kind smile. "Yes," she replied, "but you can't just get strong physically. You need to be strong mentally. If you just sit around, doing nothing, then you won't achieve anything." She explained to the boy whose face showed clear understanding.

"Okay, I think I understand now," he said, confusing Maki. "What do you understand?" she asked. "I understand because I want to be a hero, but I can't because I'm quirkless. And to top it all off, I was doing basically nothing. I asked people 'Can I be a hero even without a quirk?' They either laughed or told me no, they said that it's impossible without a quirk." Izuku finished what he was saying, he didn't want to put his mom into this. He knew that she didn't mean it, but he still wanted to hear the answer he wanted.

Maki stay silent as she listen on to Izuku's story, she fully understand him now, all he wanted to become a hero, but nobody never believed in him. "Why do you want to become a hero?" She asked with a face saying, "I want to hear the truth". Izuku then brighten up once he hear those words. "I want to be like All might, he's so cool and how he saves a day with a smile on his face, that's why I want to be a hero!" he said, with so much excitement.

Maki listened to the reasons why he wanted to be a hero. She could understand that he wanted to be like his hero, but the way he was putting it, he wanted to be exactly the same as All Might. He should know that he could be his own hero. However, she decided to talk to him later and tell him something about his quirklessness and being a hero without one.

"Izuku, what is a hero?" asked Maki. Confused by the question, Izuku replied, "What?" Maki repeated her question, asking, "What is a hero to you?" Izuku thought for a moment before answering, "A hero is someone who always saving the day and willing to risk their lives, with a smile on their face", he finished with a cheerful smile.

Maki nodded her head, accepting his answer (even though he was basically describing All might). She then decide to tell him her own answer. "You're exactly right with some of them but there's another way you can be hero," she said, then continue, "What I think hero is, they are a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities and they do it out of a pure heart, not for money or for fame, like most heroes today."

Izuku looked like he understand. Her opinion sounded better than his. Maki continued, "Not only do you need to be strong, you also need to have a good heart. Hell, you don't even need a strong quirk or one at all." Now Izuku looked confused; he didn't understand what she meant by not having a quirk.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Don't get me wrong; I understand that for quirkless people, facing a villain or trying to save someone from an accident, they would be at a disadvantage. But quirks aren't everything, kiddo." Izuku looked intrigued.

"Quirks are just like extra limbs or tools, they have limitations, they don't define someone as a hero or a villain, their actions and capabilities do, and for quirkless individuals, they can become heroes through extensive training in martial arts or using weapons. With this, it becomes quite possible for them to be on equal footing with other heroes or even villains," Maki finished.

Izuku has his eyes in awe, just listening to this woman speech about how even quirkless can be on par with strong villains. "What are you trying to say?" Izuku said i'm trying to understand what she saying. "What I'm saying is that it doesn't matter if you have a strong, weak, useful, useless, or even quirkless, a hero is someone who has the heart of one and knows what's right and wrong. And you young man have a heart of one." Izuku eyes water when he now understanding what she's saying.

"Izuku Midoriya, you a person who doesn't have any superpowers, but have a pure heart," she then stand up, put one hand on a hip and the other one to point that him, "You too can become a hero." She said, giving him a bright smile that spells the truth. Izuku begin to cry, because he was given the words he always wanted. Not one person, not his teachers, not his friends, not even his mom, told him that he can't be a hero, but a stranger did.

Seeing this, Maki began to panic and wave her hands around. "Sorry sorry sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!" Izuku looked into her eyes and smiled at her. "It's fine, it's just that you're the first person who has ever said those words to me." Maki had a surprised look on her face. "I'm the first, what about your mother? Speaking of which, when will she get here?" She got her answer when someone came running in the entrance, breathing heavily.

There stood a slim (with a little weight) woman who appeared to be in her early 30s, she was 167 cm tall, had large, circular green eyes, straight and shoulder-length green hair that was tied into a small, spiky ponytail at the back. She wore a yellow shirt with short sleeves and dark blue jeans. This was Inko Midoriya, Izuku's mother.

She was looking around, until her eyes lay on them, mostly Izuku. When she saw him, she had worried and horrified look on her face. "Izuku My Baby!!!" She screamed and ran towards him with incredible speed surprising Maki. "What happened, what happened to you, are you alright, are you still hurt, this is how bad your wounds are?!" She rambled basically the same question does she asked Maki.

"I'm fine mom, it's just some little bruises." he said, trying to calm down his mother. "You forgot burns." Maki whispered to herself. "Still though what happened to you?" She asked still want to know the answer to her son's injuries. Izuku was hesitant for a moment he didn't want Bakugo to get in trouble, (Even though he deserve it) the reason why is because that Izuku believe that one day he and Bakugo will be friends again. If anybody heard that, they would think it was a false hope.

"Oh, well I-I... I fell," he lied right in front of her and Maki. Inko's face changed from a worried to a deadpan look. She had heard the excuse for like 100 times now, and was starting not to believe him like right now. She then turned and looked at Maki who also had a deadpan look, she noticed the look on Inko's face and knew what she wanted to hear. "I found him getting beat up by three other kids in the alley behind my dojo."

Inko then turned back to her son, who looked down in shame. "Well Izuku, do you know who were the kids?" She asked again, seeing if he might lie again. Izuku stayed silent because he didn't want to say their names or anything. "Izuku." She gently but sternly. "It was three kids from school that beat me up, I don't know them or their names." he told a half truth. Inko nodded her head in understand, she then turn back to Maki, walk towards her, then bowed. "Thank you for taking care of my son." She said with so much thankfulness.

Maki smiled at her warmly, "No sweat, I couldn't just leave him there." She said the bright grin. "Still though I should probably repay you with something." Inko subjected. "No, it's fine you don't need to...", She pause and think for a moment.

"Well, there is one thing you can do for me." She said. Inko had a curious look, "What would that be?" she asked. "I would like for you to let me train your son." Maki said, with a little seriousness in her voice. This made the mother and son duo surprise.

"You want to train my son?" Inko asked in surprise. "Why though?" she asked this time with curiosity. "Two reasons," Maki explained. "One is because I don't want this to happen to him again; we can both agree on that."

"Second," she said, "I want to help him become a hero." She finished with a toothy grin. The mother could understanding about the the first reason, but the second reason left them even more stunned.

"To become a hero?" she said, with even more surprise. She could never have expected a random stranger to help her son fulfill his dream, one she herself couldn't do. Izuku had literal stars in his eyes. He was also hopping on his feet with excitement.

"Yes, he demonstrated that he has a pure heart, something that most heroes lack." She explained. Inko wanted to say something like that her son doesn't have a quirk. It seems like that Maki know what she was thinking.

"You're probably thinking, "How can you train my son? He's quirkless!" Quirklessness doesn't mean anything; humanity has achieved countless triumphs over the years without any superpowers." She explained.

Inko still had an uncertain look on her face. Although it was true that humans had achieved great accomplishments in the past, that was then and this is now, with quirks that would make things difficult.

"Mom," she turned to her son and saw him looking at her with excitement in his eyes. "I want to do it!"

"Izuku, I don't know about this, what if this isn't enough or it's too hard for you to handle? No offense!" she said, not wanting to offend Maki, who just shrugged. Izuku wasn't taking no for an answer. "You never know if you don't try," he exclaimed.

Inko still looked unsure. Sure, having her son learn the self-defense would be a smart idea, but using it to become a hero with a different story. Noticing his mother face, Izuku just said the thing that was in his mind.

"You don't believe in me, just say so." He said, in a depressed tone, with a little frustration. This took Inko aback by surprise; she hadn't expected him to be in such a state of mind. "What, no that's not it..."

"Yes it is!" he exclaimed, interrupting her. "I know you don't believe in me ever since we came back home from the doctor's office; I asked you if I could still be a hero even without a quirk, and all you did was apologize, it's clearly obvious you didn't believe in me back then, and you aren't right now. And if I'm being honest, I hate it." He finished reversing his true feelings, shocking Inko.

Maki felt sympathy for the mother and son duo, and a little awkwardness at being around this family dispute; she was even slowly backing away.

Inko was heartbroken when her son said these things, and to make it worse, they were true. She only apologized because she didn't want to say the words, especially since they were the ones that Izuku didn't want to hear. Her son is in pain and she didn't do anything to help only to make it worse.

And ever since that day, Izuku's life had gotten worse. Every day after coming home from school, he would return with bruises and burn marks that he tried to hide; sometimes she could even see blood.

He usually gave her the same excuse "I felled, or I ran into a pole, or I was standing next to a heater, too closely", But she knew he was lying. She didn't intervene because she knew that Izuku would much likely to deny it, even though the evidence was there.

And now, seeing that this is his first, and probably only, chance to fulfill his dream, she just doesn't know. She remembers seeing on one of his hero videos that there were some heroes who didn't have flashy quirks, and had to rely on hand-to-hand combat and support items.

Izuku could probably do that, but it was still really risky. He's so fragile and pure for that kind of work; if he doesn't have what it takes, he'll become a liability.

She felt like the worst mother in the world at that moment. She was going to say something, but then a memory surfaced.

"Forget about her, that woman abandoned us because she cares more about her job than us," said a voice from a teenager. As it showed a nine-year old Inko with a teary-eyed and red cheek face. The teen continued, "I don't care if you have a similar version of that woman's quirk. I will never let you to be a hero, I forbid it! They're nothing but demons who hurt their families for the sake of saving strangers."

Inko's eyes were shadowed by her hair; she remembered that day. Once upon a time, she had actually wanted to be a hero, because she discovered that she was related to one, but her older sibling was really against it. They said that heroes put strangers before their families, so on that day, Inko gave up her dream of becoming a hero.

Seeing this reminded her of that day. Her love one told her not to pursue her dreams. The only difference was that she didn't use physical force; but she was essentially saying she didn't believe in him by not supporting him.

Inko took a deep breath and began to speak. "Izuku, I know I haven't been the best role model for you, after coming home from the doctors, you asked me if you can still be a hero, all I did was apologize, blaming myself for your diagnose and not giving you the full support that you need." Izuku just stay silent.

"So, I'm gonna let you do it," she finished. This shocked and surprised Izuku a lot; his mother was letting him learn martial arts? "Really?" He asked with wide eyes.

Inko looked at her son with a soft smile. "Yeah, after all, I should do the one thing I can for my kid, but you have to promised me not to work yourself too hard; you're still young, and it will have negative effects on your body."

Izuku nodded his head furiously and said that he promised. Inko then smiled, "All right, go for it, my little hero." She said, with the sweetest, motherly voice.

Izuku ran forward, giving his mom a big hug. She was surprised by his speed. Nevertheless, she returned the hug. Maki, who was on the other side of the room, smiled as she saw this mother-and-son love. Izuku's mom then turned toward her. "Zhong, correct?" She asked.

"That's me," Maki replied. "Well, I'm just gonna say that you have my blessing to train my son, so please take great care of him." She said bowing towards Maki. Maki gave Inko a big smile and a thumbs up. "Don't worry Mrs. Midoriya, your kid is in good hands." She said proudly. They then did the paperwork to sign up Izuku, letting him know that he had now joined the "Jiehe Dojo".

The mother-and-son duo were about to leave when Izuku stopped to ask Maki something. "Hm," he said, looking at her. "Ms. Maki, can I ask you something?" Maki looked curious. "Sure, what's up?" she asked. "What is your exact quirk? I know it's a bit rude, but I'm just curious, especially after what happened in the alley."

Inko just sighed at Izuku, for some reason he started analyzing and writing down people's quirks after his diagnosis. It's a bit strange and a little creepy, especially when he writes them down.

Maki was surprised at this question. Nevertheless, she answered him. "Well to answer your question, my quirk is called Air Stamina, which allows me to have enhanced stamina by utilizing air to maintain my activity levels." She finished. Izuku nodded his head in a rapid pace with sparkles in his eyes.

"Izuku, can you go wait outside? I haven't talked to your mom about the plans for today yet." Izuku nodded and ran outside. Maki turned to Inko and started explaining. "Okay, for starters, classes start tomorrow, and since it's summer break for the kids, it's all weekdays and no classes on weekends. However, on school nights, it's the opposite."

Inko nodded and understood, but Maki continued. "Secondly, I saw the kids' faces, and I know you want to know the identities of your son's tormentors." Inko was silent for a moment, then looked at Maki. "Tell me."

Later 11:50 PM

The scene shows Maki coming out of the shower wearing a bathrobe; then her phone rings. Curious as to who would call her at this hour, she picks it up and looks at the caller ID. Recognizing the name she answered the phone. "Hey Master Hanshima, long time no... talk, how's it hanging old man?" She greeted.

"It's been three years, and you're still the same." A elderly man on the other end of the call said. Maki just snickered at this remark. "You know me, the Hanshima's school number one tomboy delinquent." She claimed in pride. She could feel the man roll his eyes on the other side.

Anyway, why did you call?" she asked. "I just thought that it would be nice to hear my students' voices, so I contacted the others," he replied. "Wow, you never heard of ladies first; I'm so hurt," she joked.

"Whatever, so anyway, how was your day?" he asked with curiosity. Maki then explained the events that had occurred in the afternoon, how she met Izuku, how he was quirkless and that his mother allow her to train him. She left out the family drama since it was a bit personal.

"Interesting," he said. "and what was the kids name?"

She answered, "Izuku Midoriya."

Her master's eyes widened in surprise and recognition on the other side. Midoriya, did she say Midoriya? No doubt about it. But this might be another person named Midoriya. If not, then, why wasn't he training him? He pushed the thoughts at the back of his head and made it another time to think about them.

"Well that sounds very fascinating." he said with interest, Maki noticed his tone of voice, and knew what he was thinking.

"Hold on, you're not thinking about taking my new disciple, I just got him like literally today." She said, with a playful pout. "No, you can keep him... For now. But someday I'd like to meet him if you don't mind?" he stated.

"Sure, I'll make sure you two meet. Anyway, enough about me. How have you been doing?" She asked. The two then talk for a few minutes, catching up with each other until they call it a night and both hanged up.

On the other end of the phone, Master Hanshima was looking out the window with his hands behind his back. "Midoriya, it's been about two decades since I last spoke to him. Who would have thought that one of my disciples would be training his grandson? Things are really looking exciting."

To be continued

OC voice actors

Maki Zhong

Dub: Michelle Rojas

Sub: Satsuki Yukino