The Devil's Footprints

EPILOGUE

When Izuku was five, his quirk manifested. A full year later than most, his mom and just about every quirk doctor they had visited, had told them his quirk was probably something related to the mind, or something we simply hadn't noticed yet.

He had accepted that answer. After all, it was better than being quirkless, no matter what Bakugou and his cronies said.

Then, it happened. During a 60 meter dash in PE class, Izuku had taken his place at the starting line. He leaned forward into a starting position. Then, as the teacher's whistle blew, his feet erupted into twin jets of flame.

It scorched the cement, leaving a set of ashy footprints vaguely resembling claws. His quirk was soon dubbed 'The Devil's Footprints'.

The same quirk doctor had described it as an emitter quirk, powerful yet volatile. A quirk suited for destruction. The pitiful looks from his classmates turned to fearful ones, as they avoided him all the same.

A few of Bakugou's followers tried to cozy up to him, of course. They had sorely regretted that when only a cold shoulder awaited them. And Bakugou himself… well, their supposed friendship soured even more.

Though now, Izuku had no reason to keep chasing after him. He had power, the strength to be a hero. The power to prove that he could be great. The best hero they had ever seen. He swore it to himself, every time he looked in the mirror.

And thus, Izuku Midoriya was reborn.

CHAPTER ONE - IZUKU MIDORIYA: ORIGIN

"Deku!"

Izuku was on his way home, the sun low on the horizon as he walked down the streets of Musutafu. He frowned, turning to meet the familiar voice.

Bakugou wasn't happy. The boy stomped up to him. "Did you forget what I said?" he grunted. "Behind the gymnasium after school. Or are those ears filled with smoke?"

Izuku scoffed. "Didn't know you were 't be the first time you pose an empty threat."

"What the fuck did you say?" He growled. "You're the one scared to face me. What? Afraid you'll lose again? Ha!"

His laugh echoed off the cement walls of the underpass they had reached. Izuku stopped, turning around fully.

His eyes flashed dangerously. "As fucking if." Izuku replied. "Why would I waste my time on someone like you? I've got better things to do."

"Like what? Applying to U.A?" Bakugou drawled. "As if you'd ever get in. You'd die in the exams."

"Scared I'll beat you?" Izuku grinned. His stance shifted ever so slightly. A plume of smoke escaped his reinforced boots. They had been custom made to contain his quirk should he ever lose control.

And with his rampant emotions, that happened more often than you'd think. Bakugou, of course, noticed his shift immediately. A pair of mini-explosions ignited in his palms.

"Keep fucking dreaming, Deku." He chuckled. "A shitty quirk and a shitty attitude to match, that's all you are. Don't think I haven't heard the teachers talk about your behavioral issues. Snapped at that long-finger extra, huh?"

Izuku's grin waned, settling on a darker look. "The only reason you haven't received the same citations," he growled. "Is because the teachers at that useless school lick your heels like you're All Might himself."

"I'm better, Deku." Bakugou said. "And I'm going to prove it by getting into UA. Being the sole examinee from my middle school will look better on my resume, so…"

He took a step closer, his palms singing. His lips curled into a sneer. "Fuck. Off. If I see you at that exam hall…"

"Then what?" Izuku interjected. "What will you do?"

They stood for a moment, green clashing with red. A beat of silence passed, before Bakugou scoffed loudly. He turned, aggressively bumping shoulders with him. "Just stay out of my way," he grunted.

Izuku watched as the boy walked away, eventually disappearing behind one of the corners. He sighed, feeling his anger level out.

On some level, Bakugou was right. He had outbursts of anger and indignation, aimed mostly at classmates and teachers. Unlike with Bakugou, they actually noted Izuku's and probably put them on his record.

That wouldn't look good to the UA faculty. He combed his hair back with a swipe of his hand. Whatever. His anger fueled his quirk. And his quirk was what mattered.

The exam was ten months away. He had ten months to train. Both his physical shape and the power of his quirk would need to be worked on. He had to be in the best shape of his life.

Bakugou would be there too. He knew that. He felt his anger spike, thinking about the guy. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that the boy would pass the exam.

Izuku kicked an empty beer can out of his path, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Ten months.

The first two months passed in a blink. Izuku was motivated, but motivation alone wouldn't do the job. Every day he went to school, doing his best as usual. He was still ranked behind Bakugou when it came to grades, which pissed him off, but he was focused on something else now.

After school, he'd spend two hours in the gym, before going to Dagobah beach to train his quirk without the prying eyes of the inhabitants of Musutafu. Unsupervised quirk use was illegal after all, but he couldn't afford a regular gym AND a quirk gym subscription at the same time.

The good thing was that in the last few years, civilians had been using the beach as a dumping ground for all their trash, even cars and heavy appliances. The trash stacked so high that it could hide anyone from view– even if they had a certain flashy quirk that required training.

His control of his quirk was skyrocketing, and so was his physical endurance. Though his mother was worried about him, since the rate at which he burned himself during his exercises was increasing rather alarmingly. That, and he was eating for three.

At school, nothing really changed, except for the fact that he was less prone to aggression, since he needed to save his energy for his training. However, not by much.

"Ha ha!" Bakugou roared, holding up his test papers. "A fucking 96! Let's see you do better, De-"

"98." Izuku said, a devilish grin curling on his face as he twisted his own paper around for the class to see. Bakugou's grin dropped like an anchor.

"Whatever. It's not like it matters." He grumbled, shoving his paper into his bag.

"Now it doesn't matter? It mattered a second ago." Izuku commented dryly.

"Because if you got the top score, clearly it wasn't a very hard test!" He snapped in the green haired boy's face.

Izuku grinned right back, nearly bumping heads with the other boy. "Clearly, you're just butthurt and a sore loser, Kacchan."

Katsuki's teeth grinded together. "What the hell did you call me?"

"You know, it's surprising you two can't stand each other with how similar you are," commented one of their classmates, Takaba.

Izuku's grin dropped.

"We're nothing alike!" They snapped in unison. Izuku blinked, before rolling his eyes.

"Whatever, just remember what it's like to lose to me. You'll be having lots more of that soon."

The other boy sneered, momentarily stumped. Before Bakugou could retaliate, Izuku left the classroom. The crowd parted for him as he went. He grinned to himself, cherishing the small victory he'd claimed over Katsuki.

Though his grin dropped when he was reminded of his training today.

His mom had mentioned rumors– flashes of light had been spotted near Dagobah beach last week, causing some unrest with the local community. The light was him, of course. Whenever his training ran late, and the sky got darker, his quirk obviously caused more light than during the day.

It was a stupid oversight, and he was paying for it now. It meant that Izuku had to lay low for a while, long enough for the community to stop suspecting something was wrong. But then, where would he train?

That was until his mother casually mentioned public quirk training grounds. He'd raised an eyebrow at that. He'd never heard of those.

Apparently they were pretty rare nowadays due to the potential danger they posed, as opposed to quirk gyms which required a subscription and a record of your quirk to enter.

But right then, he didn't exactly have any more options.

Izuku walked onto the large field that marked the area, with several large circles of cement embedded in the grass, with a large track running around the entire field. A handful of people were using some of the circles, practicing their quirks or lightly sparring with each other.

A sly grin crept onto his face. Oh, he was going to show these people what a real hero looked like.

He changed into his gym clothes– a pair of shorts and an Endeavor T-shirt (limited edition from a few years ago, not that he dared to tell anyone that) – and stepped back onto the field.

Though he only took a few steps before falling into a crouch, bent at the knees. His quirk roared to life. Izuku uncoiled like a spring, soaring across the field like an arrow. Two flaming footsteps were left in his wake.

People gasped and yelped as he flew overhead. He landed smoothly on a stone platform, on the other side of the field. He chuckled to himself seeing their shocked looks.

Though he'd have to watch out, or at least a little. If he burned any of these people by accident, that'd be bad. Though maybe he could get a sparring partner…

He huffed, turning around and beginning his stretches. He'd see about that.

He spent about an hour practicing his kicks and a few moves to quickly reposition while in the air– two things he'd desperately need in the entrance exam, most likely. Then, another hour he spent on the track around the area. He used powerful bursts of flame, flying from one end of the track to another.

This worked to improve his stamina, and also managing his output. His quirk used the oxygen in his body as a resource, so if he used too much power too fast… Well, he'd rather not think about that.

Wait, he could request support gear if he got into UA, couldn't he? He could design some form of oxygen mask, to decrease the chance of him passing out mid-fight. Yeah, that could-

"Excuse me!" A light voice called out. Izuku blinked away his daydream, seeing that someone was standing somewhere to his right– a girl with a serene expression and… vines for hair?

His quirk sputtered out and he landed on his bare feet. He glanced at the girl, before kneeling down to grab his water bottle.

"What?" he said.

The girl took some steps towards him. "Those unholy flames of yours… They're damaging the area."

He glanced at where she was pointing– the scorch marks on the track from where he'd been landing and taking off again. He shrugged. "It's meant to be used. City will clean it." He said dismissively.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "You are applying to a hero school, yes? A hero's duty lies with the community too. Dirtying public property is not-"

"Please, save me the lecture." Izuku rolled his eyes. "I've been careful to not torch the grass. The cement won't die from some ash."

"I suppose not," the girl answered, her expression unchanged. "But you'll render the track unusable for other people."

Izuku huffed. "Please. If they cry about some ash on the track, they're unfit to be heroes anyways. Heroes don't whine."

"Heroes don't burn public property."

He froze, turning around once more. "The fuck did you just…" He grinded his teeth together. "I don't… Who are you, anyways? You work here or something?"

The green haired girl shook her head, the vines shaking rhythmically. Izuku finally got a better look at her. She was wearing a modest tracksuit jacket and sweats.

"No, I do not. I'm here to train as well. Though your copious amounts of fire are making that quite difficult." She clasped her hands together, looking him in the eyes. "I am Ibara Shiozaki. I'm training to attend UA."