CHAPTER THIRTY–FIVE – IZUKU'S NOTEBOOK #1 (A SEASON ONE RECAP)
This is a superhuman society, with about 80% of our population possessing special powers, called Quirks. When Quirks first appeared, our cities swirled with chaos and confusion. Heroes began to dominate our collective conscience, and we gained new champions to look up to.
My name is Izuku Midoriya, and I was born without any special powers. I was Quirkless, and because of that, I almost gave up on my dream to become a Hero. But my life changed completely when I met the greatest hero in the world – All Might, the Symbol of Peace.
He was the person I admired my entire life.
He chose me to become his successor, to inherit his mighty power, One for All, a conglomeration of several different Quirks passed on from hero to hero, and now, it was my turn.
After I received All Might's Quirk, I enrolled in a prestigious hero course at UA High School, where I forged strong friendships with some of my classmates.
Melissa Shield, daughter of the brilliant inventors and engineers David Shield and Tights Briefs. Incredibly, she became UA High's first ever Quirkless student, but through her brilliant inventions, sharp wits and steel determination, I know she will surpass any test and reach her dreams.
Of course, we had a newcomer from Orange Star City, Videl Satan, the daughter of the world famous Martial Artist, Hercule Satan. Her abilities empower her through emotions, giving her an edge in competitions, and it didn't take long for a rivalry to form between her and my childhood friend, Kacchan, but her boyfriend, Eijiro Kirishima is a glue that binds them all together. She's rough around the edges and irreverent, but I think that's because of her 'live free' spirit, and that's something a actually really admire.
And then there's Gohan, one of my best friends.
He's a Saiyan from Namek City, although he's confessed to me that he's actually from the little island out across Dagoba Sea called Paozu. His dad died protecting him from a powerful villain after Gohan was kidnapped at the age of seven. The villain was after Gohan's power – Dragon Ki, a dynamic Quirk that lets Gohan draw energy from his own life force.
After All Might rescued Gohan, his sidekick Sir Knighteye caught a glimpse of a horrible future where Gohan's power led to the end of the world, so the decision was made to suppress his memories so that he would forget how to use his powers, or that he even had a Quirk, and could actually go on to have a normal life.
But his family fell into hard times, and eventually had to sell their farm in Mount Paozu and move to the city, where Gohan was caught up in a fight between some villains. He got hurt pretty bad, but the bump on his head caused him to regain some of his memories as well as his control over his Quirk, which he used to fight back against the villains and save the hostages caught in the fight.
That's when Gohan met a Namekian named Nail, who eventually introduced Gohan to Piccolo, an old friend of Gohan's and his father's. Piccolo told Gohan the entire story of the battle to save him from the major villain, as well as the bond forged between them, and offered to train Gohan once again to gain better control of his powers.
But after discovering the truth about his powers, and learning that his memories had been suppressed when he was a child, Gohan lost control of his powers in a momentary fit of rage, and accidentally hurt his mother and little brother, after which, he left home and hasn't been back since, though I get the feeling that when they finally do meet, it will definitely be a tearful reunion.
Gohan went on to train with Piccolo for a year in Mount Paozu and returned as a fledgling hero, choosing to stay in Namek City. There is some speculation, although he denies it, that he began to use his powers for good as the vigilante known as The Dragon of Namek. The Dragon quickly rose to fame as he appeared randomly throughout the nights, saving people, but also beating back the villains who had taken advantage of the fact that there are no Hero Agencies in Namek City.
It was around this time when he met Ochaco Uraraka, the girl who would become his best friend. She's a kind and energetic girl with the ability to nullify gravity. The two hit it off pretty quickly, with Gohan teaching her how to fly and how to fight, and Ochaco becoming his pillar of emotional support.
Together, we've faced one near-impossible test after another ever since getting accepted into UA High, from the Entrance Exam to the Quirk Assessment Tests, the Maze Test with those creepy little android Juniors, the Combat Trials, The USJ Incident and so much more. We've won some, we've lost some, but the truth of the matter is that we all became much closer and stronger, learning valuable lessons and forging close friendships that we'll carry on through our Heroic careers and for the rest of our lives
But the villain that was after Gohan when he was a child has resurfaced and formed the League of Villains, an association of supervillains that are out to kill All Might and bring down Hero Society once and for all. They attacked a Marketplace just outside of UA High as a Declaration of War. But when Gohan discovered that some of our classmates were caught in the attack, we rushed to defend them – Gohan, myself, Melissa, Ochaco, Ojiro and Shoto Todoroki, and thus, the Z-Fighters were born.
We won our first battle and defended the city from the League of Villains, but that just made us overconfident. The League of Villains would go on to attack us again in what became known as the USJ Incident, and that's where we discovered what we're really up against.
We stared at the villains, and pure evil stared back. Among the villains was Nomu, the bio-engineered Anti-Symbol of Peace. He had the exact same powers as Gohan had, only much stronger. He bared an uncanny resemblance to him too, though I couldn't figure out why. The villain went on to hurt Gohan, along with Eighteen, Mister Aizawa and Thirteen.
This triggered a terrifying transformation in Gohan, and he turned into a giant ape, who destroyed the league and brutalized Nomu, but just before he got completely out of control, Ochaco and some of our friends were able to get him to calm down and revert to his normal state.
Some of us were seriously injured in that fight, but the Pro Heroes and the Police Force, not to mention All Might, arrived in time to save us and route the League, although many of them got away, including Nomu. There's some speculation on the internet that the villain that lead the attack on the USJ, Tomura Shigaraki, is somehow related to the one of the major villains that All Might brought down at the start of his career – A supervillain known as Raditz. But there hasn't been any evidence to back up that claim.
Two months later, the League of Villains has been all but destroyed, its leadership scattered, thanks in major part to Shoto's father, the Flame Hero – Endeavor, also known as Vegeta, the Lord of Saiyans, who had been hunting down the villains.
As the days passed, things slowly started going back to normal. We looked ahead to the future with hope in our eyes and courage in our hearts.
Gohan and Ochaco's relationship seemed to be entering a new phase, and I was really happy for them.
Melissa seemed to be getting closer to her estranged mother, who worked at UA High as the Support Class Homeroom Teacher.
And as for myself? Well, I was still running full speed towards my goals, training constantly with All Might as the next great test lay just around the corner – The UA High School Sports Festival. Looking back now, it's one of the shining, happy moments of my High School career.
It's a beautiful memory, one of the many that kept us strong during the darkest moments of our lives that were yet to come, especially when we came face to face with the Final Day…
But no matter how dark it got, hope shined in our hearts like a beacon, telling us that everything would be okay. And now, we are here.
Fiery explosions devoured the entire city, setting the smoke-covered skies aglow.
But amid the smoke, floating like a guardian angel, was a young man with spiky white, green highlighted hair. Currents of green, gold and purple electricity ran up and down his body, enveloping the young warrior in a multicolored Divine aura, swirling violently against his green armor and the red cape flapping behind him, torn and ragged, but still swaying.
The young warrior's breaths came out in exhausted rasps, and blood trickled from his broken lip down to his jawline, but his red irises shined with the hope and anger of the ravaged world and her people below, whose voices cried out towards him in faith that the young hero would prevail. One by one, the tired and broken people raised their hands high above their heads towards him.
The faces of his loved ones flashed through his mind's eye, faces of those he'd lost and failed to protect; all of the heroes and close friends who had given their lives to save this world… Their sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. Their faith would be rewarded. He wouldn't fall – not now!
Just ahead, the monster that had ruined the earth lunged towards him, its rows of razor-sharp teeth snapping like a voracious beast. Its pink irises glowed within its pitch black hollow eyes with a predatory glint and its slender, pink body was a blur of motion as the creature dashed through the flames with a hollow fit of laughter, and leaped high into the air to meet him.
This was it, now. There was no more time for fear or doubt; there was no turning back from this fight. His world needed him – he was broken, but he would not be beaten. His limits be damned, it was time to reach inside and go beyond!
Gathering all the strength he could, the young man raised his white gloved hands high above his head, preparing to unleash an ultimate attack. One For All swirled all around his skin, manifesting in the form of a glowing red and black radiant marks. And then, a glowing blue-green orb of pure energy formed over the palms of his hands.
Oh yeah, that's right. Sorry, I forgot to mention it…
This is the story of how Gohan and I became the World's Greatest Hero.