Izuku Midoriya was surrounded by Katsuki Bakugo and the Bakusquad; aka Eijiro Kirishima and Denki Kaminari. Apparantly Kacchan (his nickname for Bakugo) was pissed off about something. What was it? Izuku pretty much ignored whatever Kacchan said these days—it was usually insults.
"You do NOT talk to her!" Bakugo yelled. "How many times I gotta tell you that? Do you listen when I talk? Hey! I asked you a question! Do you LISTEN when I'm talking to you?!"
"Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening." Shrugged Izuku.
"Kia is MY girl, you DON'T talk to her!" Bakugo repeated.
"I think that's up to her, don't you?" Izuku quipped.
This enraged Bakugo; he punched Izuku in the ribs. Izuku groaned in pain.
"Leave her alone stupid Izuku or Next time you're gonna pay!" Bakugo yelled.
Izuku spit out some blood. "Will a credit card be okay?"
The other two laughed, they found Izuku kind of amusing. This upset Bakugo even more, he picked up a garbage can and was about to bring it down on Izuku's head when a voice from behind stopped him.
"What kind of man-"
They turned. A girl stood in the entrance to the alley- Kurisuta Hikawa, seventeen, Japanese American, with caramel skin and bright blue eyes, along with long ebony hair.
"-picks on a helpless little dweeb?" Kuri winked at Izuku. The two of them were best friends—or at least they had been since Bakugo dumped Izuku for his squad freshman year.
Izuku played along. "Look, I know you mean that in a good way..."
Bakugo raised the trash can again.
"Leave him alone, Bakugo." Kuri snapped. "Or I'll tell my sister."
Kuri's sister was Kiana, Bakugo's girlfriend. Her sister Kiana looked nothing like her, with pale skin and long blonde hair, that she wore tied back with a red bow. And she hated fighting—especially when Bakugo bullied Midoriya.
Frustrated, Bakugo upended the trash can, dumping its contents on Izuku's head and tossing it aside. He and the others head for the mouth of the alley, leaving Izuku behind, covered in garbage, humiliated. Kuri lingered, for a moment it was just the two of them in the alley.
"Thanks, Kuri." Izuku smiled.
"No problem, Zu." Kuri looked after Bakugo. "It's a shame really. You two used to be so close, what happened?"
"Simple." Izuku picked the garbage off himself and stretched. "Kacchan grew into his body, and I—" He gestured to his scrawny, awkward self. "Didn't."
Kuri laughed a little. "Don't sweat it. I like the way you look. Muscleheads like Kat have already peaked at this age."
Izuku made a face at her childhood nickname for Bakugo.
They rounded a corner out of the alley, and they were in Manhattan, in front of an impressive old building on the Columbia campus. Class 1A—their classmates—were milling about next to the bus that was headed for Todocorp for their field trip.
Bakugo and the Bakusquad were daring each other to run out in traffic, playing chicken. Reiko was standing at the edge of the street—and, Kuri knew, was the only reason they hadn't gotten hit by a car yet.
It happened so fast. A sharp intake of breath and Kuri realized Bakugo was done for. All she could do before her muscles seized up was shove Izuku towards the street.
"KACCHAN!" Izuku shoved Bakugo out of the way of the car.
Kuri closed her eyes. She knew her best fried was about to die. But then—
"I AM HERE!" The victorious cry of the hero All Might! He held Izuku gingerly in his arms and saluted to the others.
Class 1A crowded the veteran hero, but he waved them off.
"If you will all excuse me, I am going to give this child a talk about traffic safety!" All Might then shot into the sky with Izuku, and not even their teacher, Mr Aizawa, could find anything wrong with it.
Kuri did however. She had a foreboding.
Xxx
Izuku Midoriya was awestruck as his hero set him down on the roof.
"What's your name, kid?" All Might asked.
"I-Izuku, sir. Izuku Midoriya." Izuku stammered. "I-I'm a big fan. Would you sign my—"
"No time for that." All Might coughed. "I've got something to show you."
There was a bit of smoke, and All Might now appeared broken and decrepit. Izuku gasped and tears sprang to his eyes.
"This is because of that horrible villain isn't it?" Izuku said softly. "No one knows his name but—"
"It's All for One." All Might said with a groan. "And yes, this is his doing. For now he is imprisoned in Gotham, but I have seen his strings at work here in New York. I have been thinking to myself that the time has come, Young Midoriya."
"F-For what?" This time it was Izuku who had the foreboding.
"First of all, I must tell you my name, Young Midoriya." All Might coughed. "My name is Toshinori Yagi."
"A-All right." Izuku said. "I'll call you Mr Yagi then, if you want."
All Might nodded. "I saw what you did out there. That boy had been beating you senseless moments before and you still saved his life. You have the makings of a true hero."
Izuku shook his head emphatically. "I can't be a hero! I don't have any special powers or anything, and I'm not str—"
"Batman doesn't. Iron Man doesn't. It isn't superpowers that make the hero, Young Midoriya."
"I want to be a scientist, All M—Mr Yagi." Izuku said. "I want to support my Mother and change the world with my discoveries."
All Might sighed. "You don't have to decide now Young Midoriya. I have a feeling the answer will present itself when the time is right." He took the notebook and signed it. To his surprise, he saw all kinds of notes on heroes. He realized that Izuku had just been repeating the lies he told himself—but all he ever wanted was to be a hero. That cinched it. "Will you shake my hand, Young Midoriya?"
Izuku's eyes brightened. "Yes of course All M—Mr Yagi!"
And so the hero and his young prodigee shook hands, and everything changed.
Xxx
Outside the Todocorp building, a town car was waiting for the bus, as one student had yet to join them. This student was Shoto Todoroki. He sat in the back seat, next to his father Enji Todoroki.
Shoto had already inherited a lot from his father- red hair, golden eyes, a severe expression, and fiery ambition. But there was no love lost between the two: Enji's ambition had all but destroyed their family.
For the method to which Todocorp had gotten ahead in preformance enhancing pharmacuticals was in the successful human trials—on members of the Todoroki family. The side effects (which had been taken out of the drug in post) had given the siblings and their father strange powers—and was the reason why Shoto's hair was half white and his right eye was grey. His older siblings who had more testing had more and more white in their hair and his mother—her hair was all white, and her power was the strongest.
Meanwhile, the father saved the post drug for himself, eliminating all impurities by testing on his family. He was able to gain all the power he wanted without any of the pain—even though it killed his oldest son and left his wife in the hospital.
In face, Enji didn't even know about the fire and ice that plagued his family—he kept them far away from him; as if they were contagious. Now that his favorite (and least damaged) son was old enough, he was planning to at last take the drug himself, and join his son with him in is quest for power.
Shoto hated his father, but still secretly wanted his approval somehow—and definitely couldn't wait to see him damaged by the drug he had used his family to create. Enji stared out the window, shaking his head.
"Anything wrong, Dad?" Shoto said in a measured tone. "You hardly said a word all the way from the house."
"You'll have to get dinner yourself tonight, I need to work." Enji said. This was nothing new.
"They say if you talk about something that worries you, you take away its power." Shoto said. Also whatever was worrying his father would be taken out on his family soon enodugh.
"I was under the impression you asked me to give you a lift, not deliver a speech on the way."
"Sorry." Shoto sighed. So much for that.
Enji looked at him, something very definitely on his mind. He glanced up, noticed the driver's eyes in the rear view mirror as they darted away from him.
"John? Would you mind?"
"Not at all, sir." John the driver said. A few students noticed the Driver as he got out of the Town Car, closed the door, and stood beside it, hands clasped in front of him.
Enji turned to his son.
"I don't appreciate the amateur psychoanalysis. Maybe you are becoming like your mother?" Enji said. It was a vieled threat—he'd had Rei committed to the mental hospital years ago, for an incident (the burning of Shoto's face) that was his own fault. Mostly to silence her.
Shoto abruptly changed the subject. "Is it the company? If there's a problem, you could tell me about it. Is there?"
"Considering Todocorp's market capitalization just exceeded the gross national product of Spain, the answer to your question is no, there's nothing wrong at the company." Enji snapped.
"Then what?" Shoto asked.
"How many private academies have you been kicked out of?" Enji said accusingly. Shoto looked away. "Has it sunk in for you that you're now attending a public school? Are you aware of the ramifications of that?"
"I like it better." Shoto muttered.
"One day you will inherit Todocorp."
"But what about Natsuo? Fuyumi?" Shoto said, flabbergasted.
Enji continued like he had not spoken. "One day you will run my company. My grandfather's company. Since you asked, Shoto, that's what worries me. In fact, it terrifies me."
Shoto mumbled something inaudible, humiliated.
"You may have been given the name Todoroki, but you haven't earned it." Enji said firmly.
Xxx
On the street, A rear door slammed and the Town Car pulled away fast, leaving Shoto on the curb. The first thing he saw was Izuku Midoriya, who had just arrived from his weird talk with All Might and was looking at the Town Car enviously- wow, a chauffeured ride.
"What are you looking at?" Snapped Shoto.
He turned and stalked up the steps of the building. Izuku sighed.
Rough morning.
Xxx
"Izuku! Hey Izuku!" Kuri ran to her friend's side. "You excited for the field trip? Reiko's been talking about it for days!"
Her sister Reiko had pale skin and freckles, bright curly red hair in a ponytail, and bright green eyes. And like Kia, she was a pacifist—Kuri was the vicious one in the family. Well, Kuri and Mana. And Grams.
"Reiko always gets excited about science stuff. She's always been the brains of the family." Izuku teased.
"What does that make me?" Kuri snapped.
"You my friend, are the looks." Izuku grinned as she took a swipe at him.
They were standing outside the science museum, and Izuku had his camera around his neck.
"Hey guys did you hear? I got the job at Todocorp!" Reiko announced.
"No way really?" Izuku said. "You're going to work for Shoto's dad's company."
"Well it's all thanks to Shoto." Reiko said.
Shoto, approaching, blushed. "Not really. You wowed my dad with all your corporate knowledge. I think he wants me to marry you."
It was Reiko's turn to blush. "Please please. I'm much too young for all that."
The teacher called and the four of them headed into the museum. First exhibit: Spiders.
Kuri hung on the presenters every word, and didn't notice when Izuku grabbed her arm. He had to pinch her.
"Ow! Come on now, they're so cool!" Kuri said. "If I was a spider I'd be that one." She pointed at an image on the screen. "Wait where is the little guy? I wanted to say hi!"
The presenter looked up from her iPad. "Um...that one must be in for examination today. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, miss."
Kuri looked a little dejected, but Izuku pinched her again.
"Izuku!" Kuri yelled. "Ow!"
"Hey you know I need good pictures for the paper. And those guys keep messing me up. Think you can help me out?" Izuku said.
"Sure!" Kuri grinned, walking over to the bullies. Without a word, they all suddenly had vacant expressions, like they were thinking really hard about a math problem.
Izuku didn't know how she did it, but Kuri could put the emotional lock down on anyone. When he asked her about it she said it was a "priestess thing." Kuri and her sisters were priestess in Chinatown at a place called Hikawa Shrine.
Izuku sighed and took his pictures, then grabbed Kuri. "Cmon I'm getting you too."
"No frickin way, Izuku. You know I'm camera shy." Kuri said.
"Then you two together." Shoto said. "Me and Kia will take the picture."
"Yeah!" Kia said.
Izuku reluctantly handed his camera over, and the two got in the picture together. Izuku smiled for the picture.
"Everything alright Izuku?" Kuri said, concerned.
"Yes..." Izuku said, unsure.
Later that night, Izuku developed the picture personally and kept a copy. It was the first picture of the two of them together in ages. He put it up on his mirror where he could see it every day and then went to his window.
The light in Kuri's window was flashing in binary. "G-o-o-d-n-i-g-h-t I-z-u-k-u"
Izuku flashed his light in binary back. "G-o-o-d-n-i-g-h-t K-u-r-i"
Izuku sighed, looking at his hand where All Might had shook it, then gasped! and fainted.
