Chapter 2: Some Things Are Meant To Be
"Hey, Mom!" Izuku called out as he arrived at their apartment. "I'm home!"
"IZUKU!" his mother, Inko Midoriya, cried out as she ran to him and gripped him up into a tight hug.
Inko Midoriya was still almost as youthful and fit as she was 10 years before. She had been worried about Izuku before he developed his Quirk. In fact, she probably would have taken to stress eating if Izuku had remained quirkless. It was moments like these, though, that made her wonder if she should be stress eating anyway.
"Wh-What's wrong, Mom?" Izuku stammered, almost having forgotten about the villain attack because of his encounter with All Might.
"Y-You were l-late and th-the TV was o-on and th-there was a v-villain attack, a-and y-you–!"
"Mom!" Izuku cut her off, grabbing her shoulders to steady her. "Calm down, I'm fine!"
"T-They interviewed you, and I heard about everything!"
"Oh yeah, I forgot that they asked me a question."
"HOW DO YOU FORGET THAT?" Inko shrieked. "Were you hit on the head?! Where is it, sweetie? I can fix it!"
"N-No, I wasn't hit on the head!" Izuku couldn't help but laugh at his mom's hysteria. "Actually, today turned out to be one of the best days of my life."
"Eh? Because you were rescued by All Might?"
"No... But that did have to do with it, I guess."
Izuku proceeded to tell his Mom about the events of the day. Of course he left out Katsuki's regular stupidity, and instead began with his first encounter with the sludge villain. He told her how he defended himself against the villain and how All Might told him that he could be a great hero. He told her how he then saved Katsuki from the same villain, and the speech that All Might provided him just a few minutes ago.
"He's... going to TRAIN YOU?!" Inko screeched in disbelief. "A-All Might is going to... personally train you..."
"Yeah, isn't it great?" Izuku beamed, unable to contain his happiness.
"THAT'S AMAZING!" Inko cried, hugging her son. "I'm so happy for you! Tonight, I'm making the best katsudon ever!"
"Oh, I can't wait!" Izuku said, his mouth watering. "Well, I'm going to do my homework right now."
"Alright, Izuku. I'm going to put on dinner in just a bit." Inko patted his head, before he got up and brought his backpack to his room.
After dinner and before going to bed, Izuku stood in front of a punching bag, which was hung from the ceiling of the 3rd bedroom in his apartment. At least, it was supposed to be a 3rd bedroom. It was never used since Izuku was an only child, and was just filled with boxes as time went on. About a year and a half prior to now, Izuku decided that he wanted to develop his Quirk in some new ways and converted the room to a training room. There was a weight machine and some dumbells in the room that accumulated over time, along with the punching bag that Izuku stood in front of now.
'Alright... I need to control this now,' Izuku thought to himself as he breathed in. 'I don't know if I'll be able to practice this once I start training under All Might.'
Izuku brought back his right arm and focused on it with his mind. Slowly, his arm began to glow with a soft green light. He opened his eyes, which were also glowing, to focus on the bag in front of him.
'Move my arm... RIGHT THERE!'
Izuku used his telekinesis to shoot his arm into the punching bag. The force of the hit generated a loud *thwack* and the bag was thrown off of the chain that held it to the ceiling. Izuku's hand barely felt it, supported by the force of his Quirk, but the amount of focus it took to confine his Quirk to just his arm and then to move it was very tiring.
'Damnit! How can I get more force into this?'
Izuku began rapidly muttering to himself, thinking up and swatting down ideas out loud. He didn't even notice when his mother walked in.
"Izuku?" Inko tapped Izuku's shoulder, breaking his muttering. "You should get to bed if you want to be rested for school tomorrow, alright?"
"O-Okay, Mom. Sorry, I lost track of time."
"It's fine, just get some sleep now."
Izuku went to his bedroom and set his alarm. He fell into a peaceful sleep, feeling glad that he would be able to train with his idol, All Might. But he didn't know what kind of hell the next 10 months would be.
"Welcome to Dagoba Municipal Beach Park, Young Midoriya."
Izuku, who had shown up to the beach 15 minutes early, was surprised to hear a voice. He looked around until his eyes landed on a blond emaciated man standing on the sand. His clothes were extremely baggy.
"You... I saw you at the incident with the sludge villain the other day!" Izuku exclaimed in recognition.
"O-Oh, you saw me there?" the man stuttered, obviously nervous about something.
"Yeah... Are you a friend of All Might's?" Izuku asked, approaching the man.
"Well, I suppose you could say that!" the man exclaimed, laughing before coughing up a small bit of blood.
"AACK, ARE YOU OKAY?" Izuku shrieked as the man wiped the blood from his mouth.
"Of course I am, Young Midoriya! My name is Toshinori Yagi, and I'll be helping you train for this week." Toshinori held his hand out to Izuku.
"Oh, um... It's nice to meet you, Mr. Yagi," Izuku said politely, shaking hands with the man. "I thought that All Might would be here, though."
"If you can make it through this week," Toshinori said with a grin, "then All Might will come. And he'll share that secret with you then, as well."
"A-Alright, sir! I see! So... What will we be doing this week?"
"Well, do you see all of this garbage?" Toshinori asked, pointing behind himself at the beach, which was covered in what looked like a small dump.
"Yes..."
"Well... For some reason, the tide washes up a lot of garbage in this spot of the beach park. People used that as a cover for their own illegal dumping, and it was just ignored for so long that it's ended up this badly. When heroes first appeared, they did mostly volunteer work. No matter how boring or tedious it may seem compared to fighting bad guys, we cannot forget those roots! By the end of this week, you must clear this entire section of the beach and restore the horizon!"
"Th-This entire... THIS ENTIRE SECTION?!" Izuku yelled, looking at the massive mound in front of him.
"Welcome to Hell, kid. All Might worked out a schedule for you this week. It covers training, rest, sleep, school and homework time. It's a tough schedule. I personally think he went overboard, but... Here you go." He handed Izuku the schedule.
"I... I can do it, but... How should I even go about cleaning all of this?"
"Well, All Might actually gave me a note for that." He took out another piece of paper. "Ahem, 'Young Midoriya! You should begin by moving the largest objects that you can with your Quirk! Keep going until you can't anymore, then use your Quirk on smaller and smaller objects until it's completely tired out. Then, use your own two hands to move the trash until your Quirk has recovered. You may only stop at the set rest times, or if you are completely unable to move your body.' You can set all of the garbage in this truck, and we'll take it all to the dump bit by bit."
"I... I can do this!" Izuku exclaimed, a determined smile forming on his face.
"I won't let you go back on those words," Toshinori said with a wicked smile, which was oozing blood. "I'll work you to the bone!"
Put simply, Izuku was barely able to keep with the schedule all week. His muscles and Quirk were worked endlessly. He had to work harder than ever before to keep up with his homework load in that short allotted time, as well. By the end of every day, he was exhausted mentally and physically, and his Quirk was rendered useless until the next day. Each day however, despite his fatigue, it seemed that he was able to clear more of the trash than the day before. Saturday, exactly one week after the training began, was the last day that he needed.
"There," Izuku sighed, letting his strained Quirk drop the last of the garbage on top of the pile. "I did it!"
Izuku turned to smile at Toshinori, who himself was gazing and smiling at the mountain of trash.
"Congrats, Young Midoriya!" The man exclaimed, raising his hand in a thumbs-up. "You've cleared away the trash from this entire section of the beach!"
"It feels really nice to have that all done," Izuku gasped, panting and leaning his hands on his knees. "So, Mr. Yagi... About All Might..."
"Ah, of course!" Toshinori said, chuckling. "He shall be here momentarily, young man! But, there's one more condition about that secret of his."
"How many more times is the deal going to change?" Izuku asked, looking annoyed at Toshinori.
"Just this once more, and it really should go without saying. You will never write about this secret online, or share it with anyone without All Might's permission."
"Oh, that's what you meant. Of course I won't! It's a secret for a reason, right?"
"Ahaha! Of course, I didn't need to say anything!" Toshinori exclaimed, slapping his hand to his face. He looked around for any people, before saying, "Well, here goes!"
"Wait, what are you–" Izuku started to ask, but was cut off by an explosion of white smoke.
"I..." All Might's familiar booming voice came from the smoke, before it began flying away from his body as he struck a dramatic pose. "AM HERE!"
"W-What? ALL MIGHT?!" Izuku shouted, more confused than he had ever been in his life. He looked around for the emaciated man who had been there a moment before. "Where did Mr. Yagi go? A-And where did you come from?"
"Young Midoriya! I am here to tell you my secret!" It seemed like All Might completely ignored Izuku's question. "Are you ready for this great knowledge to be bestowed upon you?"
"Y-Yes, I am! But... Where did Mr. Yagi go?"
"Ah, yes! My secret, in fact, concerns that man, Toshinori! He and I are, in truth," All Might exclaimed as a large cloud of steam once again enveloped him, "the same person!"
"Eh?" Izuku's eyes bulged as, undeniably, it was Toshinori Yagi now emerging from the steam in his overly baggy clothes. "Y-You... YOU'RE NOT REALLY ALL MIGHT! IT WAS NEVER THE REAL ALL MIGHT, WAS IT?! YOU'RE AN IMPOSTER! A-A SHAPESHIFTER! NOOOOOO!"
"Calm down, young man! I AM All Might!" Toshinori yelled before coughing up a small amount of blood. Wiping away the blood from his mouth, he continued, "I'm kinda like those guys that puff out their chests to look good at the pool."
"N-No way!"
Toshinori walked over and sat against the railing above the sand before lifting up his baggy shirt, which revealed a large scar covering his torso. "About five years ago, I had a fight with a villain that ended really badly. My respiratory system was almost completely destroyed, and I lost my whole stomach. I've withered away because of the after-effects of many surgeries. As of right now, I can only be 'All Might' for about five hours per day."
"5 years ago..." Izuku repeated, tapping his fingers on his chin. "Wasn't that when you fought Toxic Chainsaw?"
"Heh! You've done your homework, fanboy!" More blood dropped from Toshinori's mouth as he laughed. "But that weakling could never do this to me! No, the fight that did this to me... It never went public. I made sure that nobody found out. The symbol of peace that saves people with a smile must never be daunted by evil! I smile to show people that I'm confident in my ability to save them. How could I do that if they know that I'm truly vulnerable?"
"T-That's... A lot to lay on me," Izuku sighed, sitting down next to Toshinori.
"Of course it is! I told you last week, didn't I? There's certainly a lot." The emaciated man stood up and turned around to face Izuku. "Young Midoriya, heroes are constantly laying their lives on the line. Taking risks to help others. That day, when you saw me in the crowd? I was out of time for hero work. But seeing you jump out inspired me! You saved me from being all talk, Young Midoriya! From being a fake hero!"
"I-I'M HONORED!" Izuku exclaimed, jumping to his feet.
"Ahaha! I assume that you are going to apply for U.A.?"
"Y-Yes of course!" Izuku confirmed. "It's because it's the school you went to!"
"Well, I'll be training you from now until the entrance exam!" Toshinori grabbed a packet of papers out of his pocket and handed it to Izuku. "I'll be helping you train your Quirk, of course, but I'm also going to push the physical limits of your body!"
"Training my body? Why?"
"Do you think a good Quirk and conviction are all that make for a good hero? Your Quirk may be very strong, but you'll need some physical ability outside of that." Toshinori grinned. 'Not to mention, I will one day offer you my own Quirk...'
Izuku looked down at the packet of papers in his hands, which was a typed schedule for the next 10 months of his life.
Every day after school and on the weekends (except Sunday, which was a physical rest day), Izuku was pushed past his limits. He cleared the rest of the entire Dagoba Beach Park of trash within the month, and then All Might started giving him specified workout routines for his body and also his Quirk.
Slowly, Izuku became incredibly adept at using his telekinesis. All Might put the Quirk through many workouts, each one specified for improving different traits. Some helped him use it without focussing as intensely on it, as he had to work his body while also holding up and moving other objects with his Quirk. He lifted many light objects or single large ones to affect the endurance and also the strength of the telekinesis. He rhythmically and repetitively moved objects in an attempt to increase the speed at which he could move them.
For his body, he was given a different muscle group to focus on for each day, tearing apart his body as he did so. He even worked out during class, with some forearm clutches under his desk and occasionally air sits during note-taking and lectures.
*3 Months into the training*
Izuku once again stood before the punching bag in the spare room. This was his third attempt in the last month alone.
'Focus...' He repeated in his mind for the tenth time, before his arm glowed and he brought it back. 'Move it... THERE!'
Izuku's arm hit the bag, and sent it off of the chain connecting it with the ceiling for the third time this month, although with admittedly more force.
'I'm not ready yet... Damn...'
*8 Months into the training*
'Move my arm... right... THERE!'
"AAAGGH!" Izuku screamed in pain as his arm was popped out of its socket.
After taking a moment to recover from the shock and pain in his arm, he looked up to see that he hadn't knocked the punching bag off of its chain. Instead, his arm had gone completely through the bag, and a pile of shredded rubber and plastic laid on the floor.
"I did it!" Izuku exclaimed in happiness, before being reminded that he just dislodged his arm by a sharp pain. "I guess it's a good thing that Mom is shopping right now, or else she would've heard that scream... I should probably fine-tune this move. I wonder if..."
Izuku started muttering, but stopped and almost threw up when he used telekinesis to pop his arm back into place. Then, after recovering, he grabbed a trash bag and cleaned up the punching bag's innards.
*The day before the entrance exam*
Izuku collapsed on the sand, panting heavily. That day, he'd been put through one final full-body workout by All Might and a general Quirkout (All Might's designation for a Quirk workout), before ending the day with a 2-mile jog. That jog ended up finishing right at the Dagoba Municipal Beach Park, the place where it all started.
"What a view!" All Might boomed, pulling up Izuku's head so he would see the sunset. "I wonder, who was it that restored this wonderful beach?"
"Haah... I did..." Izuku said through his panting.
"Hm? I couldn't hear ya, kid!"
"I... I said, I did!" Izuku yelled, looking out at the ocean.
"Quite the transformation from what it used to be, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah."
"You've gone through an impressive transformation yourself, Young Midoriya!" All Might held up his phone, and on the screen was a picture of Izuku crying on the beach.
"W-When did you take that picture?"
"This is you from ten months ago!"
Izuku stared at himself in the past. He was incredibly more thin and pale, and it was obvious that he wasn't very physically capable. He looked down at his current body, which was tanner and built up entirely of toned muscle. He wasn't huge, or even big for that matter, but he was definitely muscular.
"That's... embarrassing," Izuku sighed bluntly, cocking his head to one side.
"AHAHAHAHAA! I like you, Young Midoriya!" All Might boomed, with his hands on his waist. "You are ready to ace the U.A. entrance exam!"
"Thank you so much, All Might!" Izuku exclaimed, smiling wide enough to rival his hero's own smile.
"This is the last time I'll be personally training you. I assume you can keep up this pace, and I'll be keeping an eye on you as a hero! Now, go home and get some rest. You'll need it for tomorrow's entrance exam!"
"Yeah! You have no idea what all of this means to me, All Might."
"All Miiiiight!" The voices of 6 people running up the beach caused Izuku and All Might to turn their heads and they both paled at the approaching group.
"Run, Young Midoriya! RUN!"
All Might and Izuku each ran off of the beach, all the way to the Midoriya residence, before All Might deflated to his true form.
"I'll be seeing you another time, Young Midoriya," All Might said, smiling down at the boy. "You better get into U.A., you hear me?" All Might put up his fist.
"I will, All Might! Thanks again for everything!" Izuku met All Might's fist with his own.
'This kid... he has a true drive to be a hero! One day, I know he will be the one that I give One For All. I should probably wait until he's mastered his own Quirk a little bit more, though.'
With a final wave, All Might walked off and Izuku entered his apartment.
"Hey Mom, I'm home!" Izuku shouted.
"Hey honey!" Inko ran out of the kitchen to embrace her son. "I'm so proud of all the work you've been putting in, so I'm making some Katsudon tonight as a reward!"
"Thanks, Mom. I'll be ready to eat right after I shower."
"Okay, it should be ready by then."
"Great!"
Izuku grabbed a towel and a set of fresh lounge wear from his room. Before walking into the bathroom, however, he stopped by the spare room once more.
'I might as well try one more time,' he thought, stretching his arm out.
Ever since the first time he dislocated his arm two months prior, he had been trying to feel out exactly where the balance lied between power and control. He hadn't yet successfully broken through the bag without dislodging his arm. If he was going to do it before the exam, he wouldn't have a chance after this.
'Maybe... I'm just overthinking this?'
So, he reeled back his arm, quickly bringing a green glow around it. This time, though, the glow extended a little past Izuku's shoulder. He used his telekinesis to launch his arm forward, turning his whole body with his arm. He felt his hand enter the front and exit the back of bag, and the lower half of it quickly fell to the floor. Stretching his arm, Izuku could feel that he probably over stretched it, but it was still all connected. He couldn't help but smirk as he left the room to take his shower.
*The morning of the exam*
Outside the massive structure of U.A., Izuku Midoriya paused and looked up, marveling at the grand scale of the High School.
"Oi, Deku!" A familiar, angry voice shouted behind Izuku. "Get outta my way!"
"K-Kacchan..?" Izuku turned to look at his old friend walking behind him.
"Don't stand in front of me, or I'll fucking kill you," Katsuki said in a low voice as he passed Izuku.
"Morning, let's both do our best," Izuku muttered, but was only met with silence as Katsuki walked on.
"Hey, isn't that Katsuki Bakugo? The one with the sludge villain?" Izuku heard one guy say.
"Oh, yeah! He's the real thing!"
"Oh, look behind him! It's that Midoriya guy that rescued him!"
'Kacchan hasn't tried to bully me since that day, has he? Who knows, maybe he's turning his life around.' Izuku shook his head and looked up at U.A. again. 'I've been preparing for this moment for the past ten months! Now, It's time to take my first step to being a hero!'
Izuku took 2 steps before he tripped and began falling down toward the ground.
'Yep. This is how my life ends. It's over for me.'
Suddenly, he stopped falling, and was floating in midair.
'What happened? Did my Quirk activate on it's own? How? Wait, no. This is different. It feels like I'm completely weightless!'
He slowly looked up to see an extremely cute brunette girl smiling down at him.
"Are you alright?" she asked, using her hands to right him in the air.
"Y-Yeah," Izuku said, looking at the girl, confused. "Is that your Quirk?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry for using it without asking," the girl said, touching the tips of her fingers together as gravity found its way back to Izuku. "But it'd be bad luck if you fell, right?"
"Yeah... Thanks for that. What is your Quirk, if you don't mind me asking?"
"It's 'Zero Gravity.' I can negate gravity's effect on anything I touch," the girl explained as they both started walking towards the building.
"That... is so COOL!" Izuku exclaimed excitedly as his mind instinctively wandered over the many possible applications of her Quirk.
"Y-You're muttering really fast..." she said, looking at him wide-eyed.
"Huh? O-Oh, sorry!" Izuku said apologetically. "I didn't mean to... How heavy is your limit?"
"Oh, I'm not sure, really. I think it's around three tons. What's your Quirk?"
"Huh? O-Oh! Mine is telekinesis."
"Eh?!" The girl stopped and tilted her head. "Do you need to touch something to activate it? And what's your limit?"
"Ah, no. I can pick up anything within about fifteen meters. I mean, I can hold things outside of that range, but it needs to be that close for me to activate it. And my limit is probably a little bit more than a car weighs." The pair resumed their walk.
"Your Quirk is way cooler than mine!" The girl exclaimed. "Our limits are pretty close to the same, but you don't have to touch the things to activate it and you can move them around!"
"Well, at my upper ranges I can barely move things, but I'm guessing Zero Gravity affects everything the same, right?"
"Well, I guess you're right. It's probably pretty hard for you to move a car, but I could just push it really hard and it won't stop."
"W-Wait a minute," Izuku said as he realized something. "If you make something like a car weightless, then I might be able to pick it up like nothing!"
"Oh, really? That would be really cool!" The girl exclaimed, her eyes shining. "We could probably come up with a lot of combination moves, now that I think about it!"
"Our Quirks might be perfect compliments, huh?" he pondered.
"Hey, I'm Ochako Uraraka," the girl said, smiling as she put her hand out to shake Izuku's.
"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya," he said, blushing a little bit at her kind gesture. He noticed two things; her fingers had little soft pads on their tips, and her pinky finger wasn't touching him. "Are those pads for activating your Quirk?"
"Oh, yeah. It activates when I touch all five of my finger pads on one hand to something."
"I see," Izuku said as they reached the room labeled 'U.A. High School Hero Course Exam Orientation.' "I guess we should head to our own schools' sections."
"Yeah. I'll see ya later, Midoriya!"
Ochako smiled brightly and ran toward where her section was. Left alone, Izuku suddenly realized that he and Katsuki were the only ones from Aldera who applied for U.A., so he'd be sitting right next to him. So, he went looking and eventually found his seat. As Izuku sat next to Katsuki, the blond just scoffed. At least he wasn't threatening Izuku with death.
A large U.A. symbol appeared on a screen at the front of the auditorium, and lights shined on the stage, where the pro hero, Present Mic, stood.
"For all you examinee listeners, welcome to my show today! Everyone here, say 'HEY!'" Present Mic shouted enthusiastically, only to be met with silence by the crowd.
Izuku would have spoken up if he hadn't been so excited to see Present Mic in the first place.
Present Mic shrugged, "What a refined response. Then, I'll quickly present to you the rundown of the practical exam! ARE YOU READY?!"
*More silence*
"Present Mic! The voice hero!" Izuku excitedly whispered as quietly as he could. "I listen to him on the radio every week! I'm so moved! I guess all the U.A. teachers are heroes, huh?"
"Shut the fuck up," Katsuki hissed, but Izuku paid him no mind.
"As it says in the application requirements," Present Mic continued, "you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles! You can bring whatever you want with you! After the presentation, head to the battle center that was assigned to you, okay?"
"In other words," Katsuki whispered harshly, "they won't let people work with friends from their own schools, huh?"
"You're right," Izuku said, looking at their exam tickets. "Even though our examinee numbers are consecutive, we're going to different battle centers."
"Don't look at my ticket, I'll kill you," Katsuki hissed. "Damnit, now I can't crush you."
Izuku held back a chuckle. 'Yup, he's still the same.'
"There are three types of faux villains in each battle center that you can destroy for 'villain points'!" Present Mic called out. "There are 1-pointers, 2-pointers, and 3-pointers! Your goal is to accumulate points by immobilizing these faux villains!"
"Excuse me! May I ask a question?!" A tall boy with short black hair and glasses yelled, raising his hand.
"Okay!" Present Mic said as a spotlight shined on the boy.
"The printout says there are 4 types of villains. If that is a misprint, as it seems to be, then U.A., which is the most prominent hero school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake! We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes. In addition," the boy said, turning toward Izuku, "You, with the curly hair! You've been muttering this entire time. It's distracting. If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"
Izuku hadn't even realized he was muttering. He quickly said "I'm sorry," and a few giggles came from the crowd.
"Okay, okay, Examinee Number 7111!" Present Mic shouted, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "Thanks for the message! The fourth villain is worth no villain points! He's an obstacle, so to speak! There's one in every center that'll go crazy in small areas! It isn't invincible, but there's no reason to fight it, either! I recommend avoiding it!"
"Thank you very much!" Examinee Number 7111 shouted with a bow. "Please excuse my interruption!"
"All right, that's all from me today!" Present Mic said. "Finally, I'll leave you listeners with a gift! It's our school motto! The hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: 'A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes.' Go beyond... PLUS ULTRA! Now, good luck suffering, everyone!"