Author's Note: Hello, friends ~ This is my first fic, and a retelling of the plot of MHA from an OC's perspective. I do not own characters from MHA, I simply take credit for the creation of the OC protagonist. Please understand that this is canon divergent and not all characters/plotlines may align with how they are portrayed in the manga/anime. I'm not sure where this fic is going yet, I have lots of ideas and changes may happen down the line. I don't have a consistent posting schedule planned out yet, but I am enjoying writing for this story so far. Hope you enjoy!

**May come back and edit some things as we go. Tags may also be added as more chapters are posted.

My alarm was blaring next to my head, but I had been awake for at least an hour. The anticipation of the coming day's events had my mind racing. I was applying for the UA High School Support Course and today was the written exam. Only the best of the best minds got into UA, let alone the support course. I'd been told they would only accept 20 applicants for the quirkless-hybrid class and god only knew how many others had signed up to take it.

I was one of the 20% that was born unlucky - without the benefit of a quirk. My mother was the same as me, but she'd died a long time ago. I never knew my father, but my guess would be that he was probably quirkless, too.

I'd been living with my mother's kid sister, Miyo, since my mother died. Miyo had a pretty amazing ability - cellular regeneration. It would allow her to rewrite a person's cells nearly from scratch. It wasn't an insta-heal perk quite like Recovery Girl, but Miyo's technique was extremely useful for deeper forms of medicine including cancer and infectious disease research. She was also able to regenerate her own cells at will.

Even though her quirk was extremely useful, Miyo was never interested in hero work. She went to night school while taking care of me and became a nurse. I had a great level of respect for my aunt, which was why I wanted to apply for UA and hopefully get scouted by a hero agency as a support role. Then I could pay back Miyo for everything she'd given me.

I took a deep breath before reaching over and turning my alarm off on my phone. I slid out of bed and quickly made it up, knowing Miyo would gripe about the bed being messy if I left the duvet thrown around. My clothes for the day were already picked out. It was still in the middle of winter, so I needed to dress warm. I wrestled my arms into the sweater school uniform I'd laid aside with my skirt and leggings in tow.

I took one look in the mirror at the somewhat dark circles under my eyes and groaned. This is what you get for waking up so early, Emi.

I combed through my sleek light blue locks rather fast and managed to dab on some concealer before making my way to the kitchen. Miyo had just returned from her night shift and looked about ready to crash. I took a seat at the table before scooping myself a small bowl of tea on rice that she'd left out for me.

"Hey, kid, got that UA exam today, huh?" Miyo rested her back against the sink and watched as I took tiny bites of my breakfast.

"Mhm," I mumbled as I chowed down.

"Damn, if your mother saw you now, ah. She'd be so proud of you, kiddo," my aunt took a sip of her tea as she smiled at me.

I subconsciously reached for the fox pendant that sat around my neck and let my fingers fiddle with it. The necklace was one of the last things my mother had given to me before she had died. "Never take this off, Emi-chan. Whenever you wear it, know that your family will always be with you."

Miyo glanced at the watch on her wrist before dumping the rest of her tea down the sink drain. "Ahh, I gotta get some sleep. Are you okay catching the bus?"

I had just finished the last of my food and set my chopsticks down. "Yup, it should be a few hours only. Need me to grab anything on the way home?"

"Grab us some dinner from the convenience store. Something tasty. And we'll watch a movie! I don't have to go into work until 11:30 tonight!" She chattered excitedly.

I rinsed my dishes and turned just as she was heading down the hall. "Sounds good, I'll grab your favorite. Love you!"

"Good luck, knock out all the other brainiacs in the exam!"

"Miyo, that's not how it-"

"Goodnight!"

With that, her sliding door closed and I was left in silence. The bus trip would only take about 20 minutes to get to UA and I still had about an hour or so of time to kill, but I figured it'd be best to get there earlier than later. I grabbed my backpack and snatched up my house key before heading out into the chilly morning light.

As I locked my front door, I heard my neighbor's voice from next door bidding her parents goodbye. I turned to watch the exchange between the brown-haired girl and the middle-aged couple and smiled.

"Ochaco! Hey!" I waved wildly at my friend from where I was.

She glanced over at me from across the way before smiling vibrantly. "Emi!" she squealed. Ochaco's parents waved at me as I came to meet their daughter on the sidewalk in front of our homes.

"Oh my GOSH. Today's the day!" Ochaco grabbed my hand and squeezed as we made our way to the bus stop just down the road.

I winced, but she paid no mind to my sore hand. "I can't believe we're applying for UA today. Seems like we've been waiting for this day for forever."

"I KNOW RIGHT?! Oh my gosh, I hope we both get in. Are you sure you don't want to try for the hero course? You know, you don't have to have a quirk to be a hero. You can still get scouted and work for an agency. OOH, maybe one day I'll have my own agency! OOH - I KNOW! You can come work for me! Well, of course, after I help my parents-"

"OCHACO!" I snapped her out of her trance as we passed by the sign indicating where the pickup was. "Um, did you want to float us all the way to UA? We almost passed the bus stop."

She laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head as we backtracked a few steps. "Heh - sorry, I just have a lot on my mind today. So, the support course still the route you're taking?"

I nodded my head and gripped the straps of my backpack. "Yup. I hope I get in. You know there's only one support course class that accepts quirkless students? My chances of getting in are a lot slimmer than yours. But you've got it in the bag for the hero course. Your quirk is amazing!"

This made Ochaco blush as she looked down at her feet. "I sure hope I can keep it together long enough to make my debut in front of the pros."

It was my turn to grab her hand. "Hey. You're going to do great. Don't sell yourself short. You are going to get into the hero course. Just remember why you want to be a hero. And it's not just about helping your parents. Look at the bigger picture. Let that motivate you to do well through these exams."

"You're so right. I'm so glad I have you to support me through this. And I know for a fact you are one of the smartest people I've ever met; I have no doubts you'll get into the support course, Emi," Ochaco smiled kindly at me.

I returned the smile, but deep down my fear made my stomach twist and turn. I was smart, sure. I'd busted my ass these last ten years of my life - constantly studying, reading, learning as much as I possibly could to be even remotely able to make it at UA. But so had other kids. They'd probably had the same idea as me. If I study hard enough, I'll be the best.

But no amount of brains can ever outclass a good quirk. I'd be a fool if I didn't believe that were true.

The bus ride to the courtyard of UA's exam facility took about 30 minutes as traffic due to the amount of kids signed up for the exam seemed to clog the city streets.

As Ochaco and I exited the bus, her phone began to ring. "Oh, shoot. It's my mom," she said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Emi, go on ahead, I'll meet you by the front doors."

I nodded and pulled on my backpack straps. I slowly made my way towards the front steps of the facility. I examined the students around me carefully, taking in their appearances and wondering what bizarre quirks they held. One kid had scales on either side of his face, almost fishlike. Another girl had faded pink skin and some fascinating antennas protruding from her head. I probably looked quite plain in comparison with my light blue hair and hazel eyes.

I sighed as I trudged up the steps, keeping my eyes on my feet. Being quirkless was more or less unfair for most of us. The quirkless humans were always left out of everything. We had to face a superpowered world without any advantages. We were the ones who were prime for the picking when it came to villains. If you were born quirkless, it was a sign that you'd be subjected to a life full of hard labor and plenty of misfortune.

As I reached the top of the steps, I located the door labeled "1" for first years. I glanced back towards where I'd left Ochaco to see that she was still on the phone with her mother. My eyes drifted to the corner of the steps where a head of split-colored red and white hair stood out. I couldn't make out his face, but I could tell he was a guy. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against one of the large, white pillars in front of the exam hall. He was faced towards the onslaught of students piling down the walkway towards the building. I let my eyes wander the rest of his figure, determining that he must be pretty built under the clothes he was wearing.

"Are you okay?" I heard Ochaco's voice from across the courtyard and glanced back her way. Her hand was on the back of a short, green-haired guy who was floating. She must've used her quirk to stop him from falling or something.

I was too distracted by the scene in front of me to notice the big burly guy with blond hair storming up the stairs. He didn't even make an attempt to move aside before shoulder-checking me as he made his way to the door labeled "1".

"Uh, ow! Watch where you're going, dumbass!" I growled at the tough guy. He didn't spare me a second glance before disappearing through the doors.

My eyes moved on their own back to where the red and white haired guy had been, only to find his mismatched eyes already staring at me. I didn't expect to see the large burn scar covering his left eye and I let out an audible gasp before slapping a hand over my mouth and looking away in embarrassment.

Good going, Emi. Now, he probably thinks you're terrified of him.

I suddenly turned back around to apologize, but found he was gone from the place he'd been.

Well. My UA journey is off to a great start.

Ochaco finally caught up to me and she clapped her hands together. "Alright. Let's do this!"

After we'd taken our seats inside and the stage lights had turned on, a figure appeared at the podium.

"What's up, UA candidates? Thanks for tuning in to me, your school DJ! COME ON, LEMME HEAR YA!" The audio of the pro hero, Present Mic came through way too loud. Silence filled the room and you could almost feel the jitters that most of the students had.

The pro hero continued on with the orientation and blared loudly about what tests each course would be taking. At one point, a goodie-two-shoes student stood up and made an accusation about the instructions being printed incorrectly, but I was too busy focusing on lessening my anxiety to care. I had taken to counting the backs of the heads of the students in front of me. When my eyes landed on one particular head donning that familiar red and white hair, I found myself studying the back of his head. His hair was a bit long, but it seemed to frame his face quite nicely. I'd hoped I would get a chance to apologize for my rudeness at some point, but the odds weren't looking great.

Ochaco snapped me out of my thoughts when she stood from her seat suddenly. I realized most of the students had gotten up from their seats while I'd been distracted. The hero courses must be moving along to their practical exams. I'd almost forgotten that my friend was applying for the hero course, not the support course. I sat back a little further in my chair to allow her room to pass.

"Ochaco," I called as she gathered her things. Her adorable brown eyes glistened and I could feel her excitement pulsing as she looked at me expectantly. "Good luck. Try not to break any legs, but if you have to, make sure it's that rude, angry blond-haired guy."

She laughed just then, and I think she appreciated the welcome distraction. "You too, Emi. You've got this." She leaned down to give me a half-hug before taking a deep breath and exiting up the stairs.

My smile faltered as she left my viewpoint and my brow furrowed. I knew I was at a huge disadvantage being a quirkless human, but I had to have faith. My intelligence could win my position at UA over. I just had to believe in myself and prove it to the administration.

I watched as the hero course students tunneled out of the facility, but not before I caught sight of the red and white haired boy making his way out as well. I let my eyes linger on the scar that covered his left eye. Why did I find myself wanting to know the story behind that scar? Why did I even care? Damn my ADHD for doing this to me.

Just my fantastic luck, his eyes lifted to meet mine again and I found myself unable to look away. That moment in time seemed like one of those scenes in a movie; it was forever in a second. I opened my mouth to say something. Apologize. Say hi. Ask his name. ANYTHING, EMI.

"I-uh, g-good luck," I stuttered as he passed me. His lips pressed into a thin line as if disappointed in what I'd chosen to say and he looked away.

OKAY I MEANT LITERALLY ANYTHING BESIDES THAT. Seriously, Emi? Good luck? You are such an idiot. A quirkless, brainless idiot.

I let my head fall into my hands and I shook my head, hoping my negative thoughts would erase themselves. I needed to focus on this exam. Boys were not the priority here. I smoothed my hair backwards and clasped my hands together as I awaited the support course written exam to be distributed.

If I could put out all the distractions and focus on the goal, there was no doubt I'd ace the exam. All I had to do was focus.

The written portion of the exam had lasted about four hours, five with the breaks we were allowed. By the time I was headed out of the building, it was nearly 3pm. Miyo would still be asleep at home, but I could take the bus into the city and get our dinners at the convenience store. I made sure to text Ochaco to check in before I caught the bus.

The convenience store was only a 10-minute walk from home, and it was still early evening so it would be fine. I'd spent so much time focusing my energy on the exam that I'd forgotten just how hungry I was. Thankfully, Miyo and I weren't particularly picky with our food, so a couple good bento boxes and some fried yakisoba noodles would be enough for us.

When I got to the store, I went through the aisles to pick up all the items we'd need and made my way quickly to the cashier. I was starving. As I turned to leave after paying, I physically bumped into a familiar face. The boy with the wild green hair that Ochaco had helped earlier in the day. I briefly wondered what his quirk must be before our arms touched.

A static shock was sent through my finger tips and a strange picture flashed in my mind. There were dark silhouettes with eight pairs of creepy, yellowish, glowing eyes staring back at me. Their presence seemed almost familiar in a strange, yet comforting way. And then the mental image was gone. The green-haired kid frowned as he stared me down.

My hunger was overpowering my senses at that point so I couldn't be bothered with another mystery. "Er… s-sorry about that," I awkwardly side-stepped and made my way out of the convenience store, ignoring the kid's "Hey, wait!" as I booked it back home.

The kid didn't follow me back home, which was a relief. I just wanted to relax and eat junk food for the rest of the night. The walk home was quicker than it seemed and I dug my key out of my pocket as I approached the front door of my aunt's house. The way I barged in seemed like I was trying to break in rather than open the door like a normal human.

I set the bags from the convenience store on the kitchen counter and threw down my backpack near the front door. As I began unpacking the food to cook, Miyo emerged from her room, clearly having woken up from my commotion.

"Sorry, I was hungry so I rushed home," I said as I dug out the mochi from the bottom of the bag that I'd bought for a snack.

Miyo trudged her way into the kitchen and stood behind me, hugging me from behind. "You're my favorite niece," she muttered. She took two audible sniffs before standing upright. "IS THAT-?"

"YA-KI-SOBA!" We shouted in unison and high-fived. To anyone on the street, my aunt and I probably looked like sisters. My mom was 10 years older than she was, which had made her about 17 when she took me in after my mother passed away. It certainly hadn't been easy for either of us since then, but luckily, we'd both gotten along well over the years.

I began preparing the food as Miyo watched from the table. "Hey, hey! How'd the exam thingy go? Did you kick anyone's ass?"

I rolled my eyes as I heated up the noodles in a pot, even though she wouldn't see it. "No, I did not kick anyone's ass. I did make a fool of myself, though, in case you were wondering."

She snickered. "We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance."

"What's that from?"

"I dunno, some old guy probably said it once."

I shook my head, but couldn't hide the grin from my face. "Nah, I saw this good-looking guy there with this really painful-looking facial scar and I audibly gasped at him. Like out loud. And THEN, when I went to apologize, I said good luck instead!"

"Oof," Miyo responded.

"Big oof," I agreed. "So making friends is going well, as you can tell. OH! Ochaco tested today, too, although I haven't heard back from her since her exam. I should probably check to see if she messaged me."

"I love those Uraraka's. I'm so grateful we have such quiet and kind (mostly quiet) neighbors!" My aunt sighed happily, probably remembering the days when we lived closer downtown where it was noisy as ever.

I checked my phone to see two new messages from Ochaco. One was an exhausted face emoji, then the second read: "I'm soooo tired. I think it went well. But I guess we'll find out soon enough. I'm going straight to bed, I feel dead inside. ttyl!"

I smiled crookedly and closed my phone, returning to the food that was almost cooked. "What are we watching tonight? Horror, action, romance?"

"Oh, I think you already know."

**2 hours later**

Miyo sobbed into her now cold yakisoba noodles. "H-how could Kaito just not tell her about his illness? Poor Ayame. IT'S NOT FAIR."

"Their love was so beautiful. Why do bad things happen to the best people?" I wrapped my arm around my aunt's as I sniffled lightly.

After we both had regained our composure, Miyo had finally given up on her cold, soggy noodles. The credits from the movie were still rolling as we huddled together under a blanket. "You know, your mom and I used to do this when we were younger. She was way older than me, but she took care of me. She's the only mother I ever really knew."

I looked up at her as she spoke. Her face was still glistening from the dramatic sobbing, but I could tell the pain in her eyes was real. "Your mother died young, too?" I asked.

"I was always told she'd died in a freak accident. A younger, troubled man went wild with his quirk, like he couldn't control his own power. Apparently, the guy disappeared after that. No trace of him left behind. I don't think anyone knows to this day if he's even still alive.

"After that it was always just me and your mom. My father was never in the picture either. Kinda crazy how similar our situations were," she gave me a side-eyed look before cracking a small smile.

"Did your mother ever have a quirk?" I thought aloud, staring at the TV screen as the credits turned back into the main menu of the movie.

Miyo nodded before reaching for the remote. "I can't really remember much about it, but it had something to do with… energy I think. I guess I sort of inherited part of it."

I chewed the inside of my cheek, trying to envision what my grandmother was like. It was sad that my mother and I both were unfortunate in the way that we weren't blessed with quirks. And yet, my mother still seemed so happy-go-lucky in every memory I could recall of her.

"Sometimes when I try to think back to my memories with your grandmother, for some reason, I remember your mother also having a quirk. An energy quirk, similar to what I'd imagined your grandmother's to be. But, I think it's just my memory getting things mixed up. After all, Kira basically was my mother," my aunt reminisced thoughtfully.

"I miss them. I wish we had more time with them," I sighed woefully and Miyo wrapped her arm around my shoulders, squeezing tightly.

"Me too, kid. Me too."

[3rd Person POV]

Izuku stood at the edge of the Takoba Park Beach, watching the sunset over the horizon. The waves crashed playfully against the shore. It wasn't long before he'd heard footsteps from behind. He remained where he stood, hands shoved in his pockets.

All Might was in his weaker form, as Toshinori. He stepped up beside his young protégé. "Well, how do you feel-?"

"All Might! Jeez, you scared me," the green-haired boy looked startled as he clutched his chest and jumped back a couple feet.

The kid must've been daydreaming, the pro hero thought.

"It seems your self-awareness could use some improvement, young Midoriya."

"You're not wrong there," Izuku agreed. "Hey, All Might. Can I ask you something?"

The pro hero looked the boy over curiously before nodding curtly.

Midoriya's face scrunched up in thought. "I ran into someone at the convenience store. A girl."

Toshinori chuckled before poofing into his more famous form. "A girl, you say? My, my, young Midoriya. Making quick moves with the ladies now that you've acquired a quirk."

The kid's eyes bugged out before he starting waving his hands nervously. "N-n-no, n-not like th-that! That's not it at all!"

The pro hero laughed even louder as he watched the boy crumble in embarrassment.

"This girl and I sort of collided. Neither of us was paying attention, I think. Anyways, when we made contact, there was a flash in my mind. I saw… Figures. Silhouettes of like, seven or eight people. And they had these weird, glowy eyes. A-and one of them looked like you, All Might!" Midoriya chattered excitedly.

His mentor crossed his arms and brought a finger to his chin before chiming in. "Hm. It sounds like this collision triggered a vision of the prior users of One For All."

Izuku glanced at his idol in pure amazement, as if every word that came from his mouth was like a trove of treasure. Then his face contorted into confusion. "If that's the case, then… why did me running into some random girl trigger it?"

"HA. HA. HA. Perhaps you found this particular girl… attractive! And your heightened senses triggered this vision."

"Wha- NO! That's not what- AGH! I did not get any feelings from this completely random, normal event!"

The pro hero scratched his chin again. "Did the girl have any reaction to you? Maybe she has a mind game quirk of some sort."

Midoriya shook his head slowly. "She looked as confused as I was. She apologized for bumping into me and left. I tried to call after her, but it seemed like she was in a hurry."

"Perhaps the manifestation of One For All within you is developing. You may get random flashes like these as your power grows," All Might suggested as he stood in his infamous hero stance.

"Did you also get these visions when One For All was transferred to you?" The protégé questioned his predecessor.

"Not at all! Looks like you'll be on your own for this one, kid," he replied with a face of feigned innocence.

Midoriya's face sunk as his hopes of this being easy to figure out fell through.

A/N: Needless to say, there will be a lot of canon divergence, but nothing super extreme that will change the outcome of certain events.

Also wanted to add that Emi refers to Ochaco by her first name because they have been friends for a long, long time. She will generally call people she has only just met or just befriended by their surname. But for people who are essentially like family, she will call them mainly by their first name.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed. Let me know what you think! More to come, see you all soon x