A/N: Chapter 2 time! First, let me say thanks for all the faves and follows. They mean a lot. I also really appreciate the reviews...and wouldn't mind a few more. (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.) Still, get ready for the most emotional chapter in this story. I will talk more about it at the bottom, but this is just a forewarning.
Chapter 2: Youthful Changes
Two years flew by in the blink of an eye.
Ever since Izuku found the Ultimate Youthful Guide to Maximizing Your Springtime of YOUTH! His life had never been the same. He had never been the same.
Along with every ridiculous string of workouts came new philosophies. Izuku found himself being completely lost in the springtime of his youth. If this was a cult, he had been absorbed into it. There was no other way for him now.
At the end of his first year of middle school, Izuku had only barely made it into the third chapter. Having had to double all the workouts he was doing in a day would've been tough, but that wasn't enough. Not only did chapter two double his routine, it now said he had to do them in one workout, TWICE A DAY. It had almost been enough to discourage him. Just doing the chapter one workout had taken him six different sets during his day.
Still, every time Izuku found himself close to quitting, his initial efforts having left him crying and snotty on more than one occasion, he found himself looking at that picture and those words. Believe in the me that believes in you. So even as his muscles burned and his body threatened to give out, Izuku pushed forward.
Conceptually, Izuku knows how silly this is. He doesn't know Might Guy, could find no records of him online, and is pretty sure that he wasn't using a pen name. It just didn't seem like his style. That said, he knew Might Guy believed in him, so he could never...would never give up.
Life began to change for Izuku then. Sure, at first, he was teased and tormented; the pathetic try hard who wouldn't accept that he would never be anything more than he was. Walking into school exhausted every day. Being caught more than once for sneaking off to do workouts during breaks. The harassment was relentless.
Then, ever so slowly, people seemed to notice him changing, getting stronger, and becoming more confident. One of his teachers said it was like he was an entirely different person, and it felt like that was true.
Pretty soon, Izuku had bulked up to the point that he needed a new uniform. He had accidentally torn one of his gym shirts during PE and several of his jackets just moving around. Considering the fact that he had always got them a size big to hide his whimpy physique, that was saying something.
For the first time in his life Izuku was getting attention, but not all of it was good. He didn't like the look some of the girls were giving him, nor did he like how some of the bullies seemed to take his increase in strength as a challenge. One in particular, though that came as no surprise.
That was part of the problem though, for the bullies anyway. You see, the "Ultimate Youthful Guide to Maximizing Your Springtime of YOUTH!" had a very strict policy on challenges; accept them all! However, the stipulation to that was that if you felt the challenge would be unyouthful, to change it. Create a more youthful challenge and defeat your opponents.
The first bully who he challenged to a race around the school had scoffed. When Izuku had clarified that it was on his hands, not his feet, the boy had gone wide eyed. It got worse when Izuku did a small flip in the air and landed on his hands raring to go. The bully stood stalk still so Izuku announced the start and took off. The bully had walked away, flabbergasted, calling Izuku a freak or something. Izuku merely finished the lap. After all, he issued the challenge, he had to finish it even if the other party forfeits.
His second year of middle school was an entirely different experience than the first. He was no longer, Izuku, the useless deku. He wasn't the kid that everyone bullied. He was Izuku, the crazy kid who was the strongest and fastest student in school.
Many of the students believed he had some weird strength quirk awakening. A popular theory was that he had some kind of accumulation quirk that he'd accidentally figured out how to start using. Izuku assured them that it wasn't true, but some wouldn't be dissuaded. Especially those he was overwhelming who had strength quirks, they were especially reluctant to believe he didn't have one. Izuku knew he wasn't on par with someone with a serious strength quirk, but most people with powerful quirks went to better schools. The only reason Bakugo didn't was because his mom wanted to keep him humble.
It had backfired.
Bakugo was an insufferable prick. Izuku never felt better than the day he acknowledged that fact. It was also the day he began challenging the explosive blond to everything.
However, all the students were used to Izuku's ridiculous challenges by now. What shocked them all wasn't the challenges, oh no. The surprising factor was that by the end of their second year...Izuku was winning them all.
The explosive hellion Bakugo had been dethroned in the eyes of the students. Oh sure, the faculty still kissed his boots. Izuku would simply have to dodge anytime Bakugo tried to attack him. He'd even gotten detention once for blocking an explosive hook aimed at another student. Somehow his blocking was considered fighting back, not that Bakugo got in any trouble.
However, Izuku didn't let that bother him or slow him down. The youthful teen merely took it as another challenge; protecting others and himself from Bakugo without doing anything that could constitute retaliation.
Izuku's solution?
More challenges!
Izuku found rather quickly that, like him, Bakugo wouldn't turn down any challenge. He needed to be the best, every time, all the time. It wasn't a bad mentality to have, Izuku thought, but needed to be tempered. Losing wasn't the end of the world, but something that provided a chance to do better. It was a new goal, and something to work towards.
Honestly, Izuku pitied the man who never lost, for he had no ambition.
Was making Bakugo extra sweaty always a great thing? No, hell no. After all, when you can turn your sweat into explosions, you can truly embrace your own youth. That said, Bakugo couldn't see it. He never pushed himself forward for the sake of progress, merely to stay ahead.
Perhaps what Bakugo needed was someone who would push him to do better. He needed someone to act like the stone on which he could sharpen his blade. That would make him truly powerful.
However, that person would not be Izuku. The bridge between them had burned, and Izuku judged that it was not up to him to rebuild it. Izuku determined that the youthful thing to do would be to leave the door open, but Bakugo had to choose to walk through it alone. After all, the path of youth is not one others can walk for you.
Honestly, Bakugo's progress seemed to halt when Izuku pulled firmly ahead of him. He would still take Izuku's challenges, but then tried to turn them all into fights. In essence, Bakugo had given up. The fact that Izuku quit challenging him only made it worse. Because, of course, Izuku refusing to challenge him to things meant that Izuku must feel that Bakugo was just beneath him now.
The flawed logic infuriated Bakugo, and honestly, it made Izuku mad as well.
Regardless, Izuku would not let the blond boy be the center of his life. Not anymore. He'd let that explosive jerk dictate too much of his life already. So, in true youthful fashion, Izuku focused on living how the "Ultimate Youthful Guide to Maximizing Your Springtime of YOUTH!" recommended.
By the end of his second year of middle school, Izuku had made his way all the way to chapter eight. With only eight more chapters to go, Izuku was excited to move forward. That is, until he froze.
Honestly, Izuku would've expected something like the Youthful Code of Conduct, to have been at the beginning of the book. However, as the book explained it, the first eight chapters were for everyone. All people could stand to be more youthful.
It seemed that the last chapters were some kind of fighting style. It was called, Strong Fist. It seemed powerful, and youthful! A rogue unyouthful thought bid him to continue. It whispered to him that this would be perfect for being the first quirkless hero...and it wasn't wrong.
However!
It wasn't right either.
Izuku refused to besmirch the principles of youthfulness for selfish gain. He would have to confront his issues head on. Just like the first time he did five-hundred push-ups, he'd succeed or die trying. However, there was one youthful principle that he was struggling with.
Youthful Code of Conduct
Be true and honest
Be earnest
Never give up
Strive to always better yourself
Never sacrifice your values
Protect the innocent
Above all else, live YOUTHFULLY!
And which tenant of the youthful code was Izuku struggling with? Sadly, it was the very first one.
Why, you ask? Simple, for the past two years, Izuku has kept secret that he knew his mother's secret. He had not confronted her, nor told her he knew.
Perhaps it was the wrong choice, waiting for her to confess to him. However, like Bakugo, Izuku thought it best to allow her the opportunity to right her own wrongs. Part of him knew that it was also a way for him to not confront the issue, but he still felt it was the right choice.
The real problem was that this secret was causing a rift between the two. Izuku found the smiles he gave his mother to be fake and halfhearted. She would still smile back, and had quit asking if something was wrong, but she knew. It also made Izuku feel like a liar, always telling her that nothing was wrong.
Thus, arriving home, Izuku decided that today was the day. He was starting his last year of middle school. He wanted to use this year to get further into the Ultimate Youthful Guide to Maximizing Your Springtime of YOUTH! However, he wasn't allowed to progress until he could honestly say he was living up to the youthful code.
It had taken him all summer to work up the courage to do what needed to be done.
Today, come hell or high water, Izuku intended to confront his mother so that he could truly live in a youthful manner. No matter the outcome, Izuku would do this, and reading the next chapter of Ultimate Youthful Guide to Maximizing Your Springtime of YOUTH would be his reward.
Izuku rapped his knuckles against the door as he entered, "I'm home!"
"Oh Izuku," his mother laughed slightly, "You're so silly these days. You made me think someone was here."
"Someone is here," Izuku teased, scrunching up his face like All Might "I AM HERE!"
Both mother and son laughed, and Izuku immediately felt better. Even just deciding to deal with things seemed to have helped him. Truly, living youthfully was the best way.
And yet, it was with a heavy sigh that Izuku began, "Mom, we need to talk."
"Oh goodness, oh no," she began to panic, "What is it baby? Is it drugs, gangs, please don't tell me you got a girl pregnant, I'm too young to be a grandmother!"
Blushing crimson, Izuku covered his mom's mouth with hand to stop her from making things even more awkward, "Jeez mom, no! I would never do anything so unyouthful. This isn't even about me, not really."
Confused, but calmer now, Izuku led her to the kitchen area and let her put on some tea. She was always calmer with tea, and Inko had a feeling that whatever was going on was big. As she set it aside to steep, a thought occurred to the mother.
"Baby, is this about whatever's been bothering you for the past two years?"
With a drawn-out sigh, Izuku nodded.
"Oh, I just knew something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what. Ever since you started working out and saying, "youth this" and "youth that" you've seemed happier than ever. With you getting so fit and healthier I didn't want to press but... you seemed to be acting more and more distant as well. A mother knows when her son isn't happy, even if he tries to hide it. It's an ability all mothers have."
An unyouthful moment of bitterness hit Izuku, "Do all mothers also pay their son's bullies to abuse them? Because, I'll be honest with you, Bakugo would have harassed me for free."
Inko's eyes went wide and her skin paled.
"You know...knew...for how long?"
"Since the day before I started working out," he replied in a tone sterner than either of them were used to him using, "I came home that day, hurting because Bakugo had hit me pretty hard that morning with his quirk. I saw him talking to you and almost ran right over. I was afraid he was going to hurt you just to hurt me. It wasn't logical, but fear got the better of me. I wanted to protect my mom, the woman who did everything in her power to support me and care for me."
Izuku had to take a breath here. Emotions, even negative ones, aren't unyouthful by nature. We all hurt sometimes and it's better to get those emotions out and process them. Bottling up negative emotions will only make them worse, and this talk has been a long time coming.
"Low and behold," Izuku's voice was far hollower now, "My own mother was paying someone who used to be my friend to abuse me."
A tear hit the table in front of Izuku. It wasn't a loud noise, just a tiny drop of water hitting wood... but in that room, it might as well have been a gong. Several more tears fell before Izuku looked up to see his mother, crying as well, looking heartbroken.
"You should know that Katsuki never-"
Izuku stopped her with a wave of his hand, "Believe me when I say this, because I've hardly ever been so sure about anything. As sure as the sun will rise in the morning, Bakugo would have picked on and abused me either way. Also, let's just say that he doesn't hold back nearly as much as you think he does."
Even when exercising at home, Izuku remained well covered. He had a few muscle shirts she'd bought him since he'd started training, but he never wore them. Inko never really understood why and just assumed it wasn't his style, it never seemed like a big deal so she hadn't asked. Now, she knew, because as her son finished talking, he removed his shirt to show the proof of his claims. Burn scars that would never fully go away littered his chest and back; the nitroglycerin having ignited right on his skin.
Izuku clenched his teeth. He could feel the words bubbling out. He knew he didn't have to say what he wanted to say, but was finding it too cathartic to stop. Izuku didn't want to hurt his mother, but part of him needed her to see, to hear, to bear witness to what she supported.
"S-So thank you m-mom," Izuku choked up, hating how he was stuttering for the first time in a year, "Th-Thank you for f-financing my mi-misery. Th-th-thank you for p-paying someone to h-hurt me."
Seeing the pain on his mother's face Izuku immediately regretted his words, but knew that something once said could not be taken back, "I'm sorry if I did something wrong, if I hurt you or pushed you into such a choice. I just wanted to help people, to save them with a fearless smile. Was that really so wrong?" A dead silence fell over the two for a moment before Izuku finally decided enough was enough, "I'm not feeling very youthful at the moment. I'm going to go to bed early tonight."
"Izuku," his mother called out, but he didn't stop, "Izuku wait!"
Quickly closing his door behind him, Izuku fell back against it and sunk to the ground. The tears were pouring out now. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen, it was why he had avoided this conversation for so long. He knew he'd succumb to being petty and hurtful.
Yes, his mother was in the wrong. Of that there was no doubt. That didn't mean he needed to try and hurt her, to shove the evidence in her face and purposefully cause her pain. He just needed her to know he knew, to understand that it was why he was distant, because he didn't know if he could trust her anymore.
Instead, he went off the rails. He may as well have called her a terrible mother. What surprised him is that she didn't chase after him. He didn't hear the front door, so he knew she hadn't left. Izuku also thought he heard her talking at some point, but wasn't sure to who or why.
Even when Izuku went to grab the "Ultimate Youthful Guide to Maximizing Your Springtime of YOUTH!" he found he couldn't open it. He didn't wonder why, he knew. They'd had the conversation, and he'd opened up, but while Izuku had been honest, he hadn't been true. And he certainly didn't think he was being youthful.
It took a couple hours before Izuku finally worked up the courage to go and speak to his mother once more when he heard the front door open. Questions filled Izuku's mind. He wondered if his mother was leaving, if he would see her again. If he'd get to say he's sorry. However, he soon learned that not only was his mother still here, but who she had been talking to before.
"YOU PAID MY SHIT HEAD TO DO WHAT!?"
Oh, Aunt Mitsuki was here.
When Izuku thought about it, it made sense. Who else would his mother call when she was distressed other than her best friend? From there, he heard his mother cry out an explanation. He couldn't make it out word for word, but basically told her she was scared that her baby would get himself killed trying to be a hero.
"So, let me get this straight," oh, he could hear his Aunt MItsuki just fine, "You were scared that Izuku was going to get hurt, so you paid someone to hurt him? And to top things off, you paid my brat to do it? Did you know that they haven't been friends for years!? My damn brat said he'd been trying to get Izuku off his back for years and your request was basically just the excuse he needed to stay out of legal trouble! Hell, you knew who was starting the fights but still made your own son apologize for it! That asshole Principal looked so fucking smug because he thought you believed him when everyone knew it was my shit head that started it! And I just went along with it because I trusted you!"
Izuku couldn't see his mother's face, but he could imagine the horror stricken look on it now. He could see it quite clearly, in fact, as he'd seen one similar only a couple hours ago. Part of Izuku wanted to go out there, but the other part honestly didn't know what the youthful thing to do was.
"I'm so sorry Mitsuki, I-" Inko didn't get a chance to continue her apology.
A loud smack sounded in the house and Izuku was on his feet and out the door before he knew what was happening. There, knocked flat on her ass, was his mother. She was holding her red cheek with a look of shock and confusion on her teary face. Surprisingly, Mitsuki Bakugo stood above her, her hand still raised from having hit her. That wasn't the surprising part though, what was so strange was that she was teary-eyed as well.
"And my son... you dragged my son into this! I am now the mother of a thug who just takes money to hurt someone. I'm the mother of a boy who lies and abuses people. I'm not saying he wouldn't have gotten into fights, and he might have done this without your offering, but you gave him the only excuse he needed. How could you do this to me Inko?! I thought we were friends," the woman was practically shouting now as she stopped for a moment to take a shaky breath.
"If I didn't know" Mitsuki hissed, "And I mean know deep down in my heart that you love Izuku more than life itself, I'd take him from you right now and never let you see him again."
Izuku's mouth hung open, but he had no words. His mother looked horrified. What was he even supposed to be feeling in this moment? His mind and heart were a swirling maelstrom of emotion.
Of course, he was a little upset and wanted to defend his mother, but he was also slightly flattered that his Aunt Mitsuki cared so much. That said, this was her best friend and the absolute best person to give his mother a reality check. Her words, hard as they may have been, were probably what Inko needed to hear.
It took Izuku a moment, but he could see the difference in MItsuki's approach and his own. While both had been harsh and hurtful, Mitsuki's words weren't just meant to be hurtful. She was trying to give her the hard truth, to tell her how bad things could be if word of this had gotten out. Izuku never even considered how it might look had the wrong people heard. She really could have potentially lost custody of him.
Izuku's words, on the other hand, were full of hurt. HIs heart was in the talk and wanted to heal, but his mind demanded satisfaction. It hurt him to admit this, but a very unyouthful part of him wanted revenge, wanted to hurt her like she had asked for him to be hurt.
Before Izuku could process things any further he felt a hand grab his arm, "Aunt Mitsuki...I..what?"
The usually explosive woman looked stricken with grief, "Go pack a few things. We're going to stay at my place in the city for the weekend and let your mother collect herself. She has a lot to think about."
Inko looked as though she was trying to speak, trying to do anything more than just sob, but no words came out. She began to reach out so many times, only to draw her hand back. Uncertain and surprised, Izuku obeyed. He wasn't sure what else to do. The only thing he knew was that his mother wasn't even arguing, though it was obvious part of her wanted to.
Youth wasn't about holding grudges. Youth was about moving forward and being the best you that you could be, helping out everyone you can along the way. At least, that was youth to Izuku.
Still, something in the pit of his stomach said he had to go. He didn't want to. He wanted to hug his mother and tell her it was okay, that he would never leave her like his dad did. But...maybe, that was the problem.
Was his mother living in fear? Were all her actions and choices ruled by that fear? It would explain the change in her eating habits after he left. It would also explain why a woman who, he knows, loves him more than anything would pay someone to hurt him.
It was all fear. His mother had turned from Youth and made all of her choices based on fear. And... if he stayed... if he didn't force her to face it and wake up, then she would always live this way.
So, bag packed, Izuku headed towards his Aunt Mitsuki and the pair headed for the door. All this time, Inko hadn't moved from her spot on the floor. Her tears wouldn't stop, but they weren't the overly dramatic tears she usually cried.
Just as he was about to leave, he felt something burning in his chest. It was the desire to move forward, and to do whatever he could to live up to the path he had set himself on. And maybe, just maybe, he could help his mom get started on her own path.
"I forgive you," Izuku spoke with a blinding smile, ignoring the fact that he was still crying, "I forgive you for all of it, and I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you and hiding it from you for so long. We've both made mistakes, but I think I'm on the right path to fixing them. I will continue to live Youthfully and do right, I promise. And the moment you are ready to walk that path with me...I'll be waiting for you. Because... even if I'm not here mom, I'll always be there for you."
An ironic statement to make as he walked out the door, but he hoped she understood. It was time for her to start living youthfully as well.
A/N: And so the second chapter of Might Izuku comes to an end. Now, before anyone gets the wrongidea, this will not be an overly dramatic story. That said, every story needs a beginning, and all change needs a catalyst. No young boy would have the drive to push himself alone without some serious motivation. And, in my opinion, Izuku never pushed himself in cannon until he had someone else helping him. But that's just my opinion.
The next couple chapters will really be getting into Izuku's changes. It will be more show and less tell, if you catch my drift. I just didn't want to drag out the first two years of middle school. It would've been a huge training montage. I'm hopeful that you will all enjoy how I merge his personality with a more Rock Lee/Might Guy type. Some of the things I have him do and say are inspired directly by things they do in Naruto, so enjoy. Again, no real knowledge of Naruto is necessary to enjoy this fic, it would just add some flavor.
I will likely be cross-posting this story on AO3 soon. I've never posted on there, so I'm interested in what you all think.