English is not my native language, so I kindly ask for your patience and understanding if I make any mistakes. I am continuously trying to improve my communication skills, and I truly appreciate your willingness to read and respond despite any errors. Thank you for your consideration and support
Izuku's POV
The wind gently caressed my face as, in the distance, I could hear loud explosions.
At any other time, I would have run there to see what was happening. It was most likely just another battle between heroes and villains.
But this time I didn't.
I couldn't.
Not when everything I had fought for for so many years had crumbled with a couple of words… spoken by none other than my own idol, All Might.
Suddenly, a drop of water fell on my face. Then another. And another.
In a matter of seconds it started to rain.
Great… just what we needed. Now I was soaked too.
He knew that day wouldn't be good from the moment the teacher mentioned in class that some students wanted to apply to UA High School. That immediately ignited Kacchan's fury.
On the way out, he and his lackeys ended up ruining one of my analysis notebooks.
After that… I almost died.
A sludge villain tried to steal my body, and although I was eventually rescued by the number one hero, I hoped that he would at least tell me that my dream was possible even without a Quirk.
But it wasn't like that.
His answer was perfectly justified… he knew it.
Even so, it wasn't the answer I wanted to hear.
Due to the rain, I was forced to climb down from the roof and return home.
"At least I got an autograph from All Might..." I muttered to myself.
The afternoon passed with an uneasy calm. I arrived home without further incident and my mother greeted me with a delicious dinner. During the meal, she asked me several questions about my day; I tried to answer normally, although my mood barely allowed it.When we finished, I picked up my plate and told her I was going up to my room to do my homework. She just nodded and left me alone.
The task wasn't particularly difficult. In fact, it was longer than my classmates'... "to keep up with me," as the professor always said.
Even so, I finished it quickly.
That left me with too much free time.
Not knowing what else to do, I picked up my phone and started checking news notifications, something I used to do to keep up to date on the heroes.
I needed to distract myself from that horrible day.
However, I wasn't so lucky.
While reviewing the news templates, one headline immediately caught my attention: "All Might saves high school student from sludge villain."
I don't even know why I decided to open the article. Maybe I had some kind of masochistic streak.
I read the news carefully.
And I soon realized who the rescued student was.
That surprised me.
The boy they were talking about was none other than Kacchan.
At first I couldn't believe it. But when I carefully reviewed the photographs that accompanied the article, there was no longer any doubt.
There was a very clear image of him sitting in the back of an ambulance while a paramedic checked him over. From the expression on his face, he didn't seem very happy about the situation.
And that got me thinking.
Kacchan was strong. Much stronger than me.
Even so, he hadn't been able to get rid of the mud villain either…
Although, according to the article, he had resisted longer than I had.Kacchan, who always boasted of his bravery, appeared in one of the photos with fear and despair written all over his face, powerless in the face of the possibility of not surviving. And yet, the heroes present could do nothing until All Might intervened.
Heroes with great gifts and abilities… and yet, Kacchan was congratulated and praised for his strong quirk.
I, on the other hand… I had no distinguishing features. I was discarded, humiliated, and my dreams were crushed by my own idol.
So what could I do?
I, Deku, a boy without a Quirk, with no options but despair, watching others admired for abilities I would never have.
That day left a mark on me. A feeling of sadness, helplessness, and emptiness spread deeper and deeper inside me, like a shadow I couldn't shake off. Even Mom noticed.
Her attempts to reach out to me became more frequent. One afternoon, when I came home from school, she greeted me with an All Might keychain she had bought for Her intentions were good, but every time I saw it, I couldn't help but relive that moment on the rooftop… the exact instant my idol had crushed me with just a few words.
I could only accept it with the best fake smile I could muster.
Days later, I decided to sell all my All Might merchandise, except for that keychain. I wasn't sure if it was out of respect for Mom, or if I simply needed to keep a small reminder that, for a moment, my dream of being a hero had existed.
Selling my All Might merchandise was easier than I expected. Just by posting it in a couple of fan groups, it all sold out in under an hour. Most of it was bought by the same person: "The_eye_0f_All-Might_No1"That made the transactions much easier. It was clear he was a big fan… and I couldn't help but hope he was truly happy with each of those items.
With the sales came the money. A considerable amount that, for the first time, I didn't know exactly what to spend it on. For years I'd invested every penny in superhero merchandise, mostly All Might. Now, not wanting to see anything related to him, I decided to use it as a savings fund. I even thought about buying Mom a present… she really deserved it.Another important decision arose that day: to reevaluate which school to choose. My dream had always been to enter the hero course at UA, but without a Quirk and without the hope of passing the physical test through sheer effort, I felt that plan no longer made sense. Perhaps I could try the general course… but it wasn't the same.
With some hope, I went to the teachers' office to ask for help with my decision.
"It's interesting to see you here without having gotten into trouble, Midoriya," commented my tutor, Professor Manabu Ito. "To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"
His condescending and sarcastic tone didn't escape my notice, especially when he adjusted his curly yellow hair as if he were tired. I decided to ignore him, as always.
"It's... it's just that... I wanted to see my college options... beyond UA," I said quickly, in a low tone, though loud enough to get the attention of other teachers.
—And what is the reason for this change, Midoriya?
— For no particular reason… I just wanted to evaluate and broaden my options.
A silence filled the room, broken only by the faint rustling of papers, which somehow echoed throughout the space. For me, that moment felt like an eternity, even though, when I glanced at the clock, only a few seconds had passed.
"I'll be honest with you, Midoriya," the teacher said. "I don't know if you're capable of getting into a prestigious school like UA or one of a similar caliber. For your skill level, I'd recommend schools with lower standards, ones that are more flexible with their admissions process, if you know what I mean."
He handed me a stack of papers. When I looked at them, I noticed that most of them belonged to schools whose names I didn't recognize.
— If that's all, you can leave.
— Th-thank you — I murmured, discouraged, bowing out of respect.
As I left the room, I heard the murmurs of the other teachers:
— Poor thing…
— At least he realized it.
— Wouldn't it damage our school's reputation if I enrolled in one of those high
schools?— At least he gave her options…
— What do you think made him change his mind?
I didn't say anything. I couldn't blame them for thinking that way… but the fact that they saw me as someone incapable of contributing anything hurt. It hurt a lot.
When I got home, I looked through the brochures Professor Ito had given me. I turned on my computer and started researching those schools. To my surprise, they were, to put it mildly… mediocre. Their reviews weren't so bad as to cause the institutions to close, but they weren't anything special either. However, they served as what some called "Rescue Schools": they took in students who had fallen behind for various reasons: financial problems, low grades, rejection from other schools, dangerous Quirks… or simply the lack of a Quirk, like me.
Was I really considering going to a lower-level school just because of my slim chances of getting into a higher-level one? I needed to think about it.
Maybe I could take All Might's advice and become a police officer, firefighter, or even a paramedic.
But… would they accept me into one of their academies?
Would they be more flexible than hero schools?
Or would they reject me just like everyone
else? Is it even worth trying?
Everyone's told me to be realistic, to lower my standards. Would trying to get into an academy like that be acceptable?
Or should I lower them even more?
That spiral of thoughts wouldn't leave me alone, until Mom came into my room with a couple of onigiri, leaving them in front of me so I'd have something to eat, since I hadn't come down for dinner. That's when she saw what I was doing.
"Weren't you focused on going to UA?" he asked, while looking at brochures and the search bar on my computer for police academies.
"I am, Mom," I said, with the best fake smile I could muster. "I just wanted to broaden my horizons."
She didn't seem convinced, so I decided to add:
— Some more realistic ones… I've been meditating these past few weeks. Since what happened with Kacchan and that villain… I don't have a Quirk, and that limits my possibilities. I wanted to see what else I could do. Maybe as a police officer I can achieve something,Or as a firefighter. Maybe I'll find something that allows me to serve the community… I'm just seeing what else I can do.
She remained silent while I spoke. I couldn't know what she was thinking at that moment, but right after I finished explaining, she hugged me and began to cry.
"Oh, Izuku... I'm so happy you've decided to explore more options. You have my full support in whatever you choose," she sobbed through tears.
I started crying too… but for a different reason than her.
"I'm so happy for you," I whispered through tears.
Those words… they weren't the ones I wanted to hear. Again, he didn't say what I needed to hear. They weren't the words I was hoping for, like that time when I was four years old.
And that... broke me even more......
Could you give me some power stones? :)