Chapter Text
"Hey, didn't you hear? They're out in the field fighting again!" A highschooler shouted to his classmates, causing an uproar in the classroom as everyone flooded outside to the crowd seemingly circling two angered individuals.
At the center of the crowd were two teens, both with their blazers tossed aside onto the dirt beneath them. One boy had short unruly green curls, sunglasses, and a black facemask, while the other sported ash blond spikes and a piercing red glare that conveyed nothing but his own rage.
The green haired boy smirked, calling out to his opponent whom he seemed to have a history with, "How many times are you gonna challenge me until you learn that you aren't gonna win, Kacchan?"
"Shut it, Izuku! I've still got 32 wins under my belt, and today I'm gonna make that number 33! Now shut your shitty mouth and clench your teeth!" The blond apparently named "Kacchan" replied, crackling a few small explosions in the palms of his hands before he clenched them into fists. "Don't want to make you a gumless freak."
"You're down in numbers, idiot. I've managed to maintain my lead for years, 46 straight victories. You come at me again and you're gonna lose that." Izuku stated, continuing to antagonize the blond before him with a confident tone as he pulled a small marble out of his pocket, tossing it in the air and catching it idly. "And we've got quite the crowd this time, you sure y'want the embarrassment?"
"Yeah, put Bakugou in his place!" A random voice shouted from the crowd, causing a vein to appear on the blond's head.
Another person shouted from the crowd as everyone around them began to grow increasingly rowdy as they awaited the feud-to-be. "Kick his ass, Midoriya!"
"Shut it, you background characters! Your instigation is so annoying, this is why you'll be forgotten when I make it big as a hero!" Bakugou retaliated, practically hissing at the crowd before turning his attention back to the greenette. "God these fuckers are noisy, huh?"
"Can't blame them, they just want a good show. Too bad this'll be over quickly." Izuku responded, shrugging his shoulders as he caught the marble with his hand and glared at the hotheaded boy in front of him.
Bakugou matched his glare as the vein on his forehead throbbed. His eyebrows fell into a scowl and he charged the greenette. "YOU'RE AS GOOD AS DEAD, IZUKU!"
Izuku watched in anticipation as Bakugou charged towards him; he had fallen for the bait. Now using the marble in his hand, Izuku winded his arm back in preparation before throwing said marble as hard as he could straight towards the blond, activating his quirk, "Projectile Control" in order to accelerate the marble just enough to-
"Urk!" The red eyed teen grunted as the marble made direct contact with his forehead, knocking him flat on his back with a thud as dust kicked up from the ground around his limp body.
-Knock him unconscious. The crowd of teenagers around them shouted in a mixture of either excitement or disappointment as Izuku watched the blond fall to the ground through his sunglasses. You wouldn't know it, but there was even a shit-eating grin behind that facemask of his.
This was how most of their conflicts went down ever since they were children. The two boys had grown up with each other, always at each other's throats and ready to throw down, but perhaps that was due to Izuku's background. Bakugou was more than a little envious of someone related to an actual pro hero, and one that was practically faceless at that.
"And that makes 47. Someone should wake him up before a teacher comes around." Izuku instructed, his smirk falling as he stared at the unconscious blond. He knew why Bakugou challenged him like this, and maybe it was more of an ego thing to let it go on this long, but he had an image to uphold. Or that's what he told himself.
"WHAT DO YOU KIDS THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" A deep voice shouted, causing all the students to collectively flinch before someone made the big call. The one instruction that everyone knew how to follow and would never oppose if their life depended on it.
"SCATTER!"
"I can't believe you! Fighting in the field again, are you kidding me!? Tomorrow, you have detention, don't even try to get out of it. And would it kill you to take that mask off!?" Izuku's teacher scolded, scowling at the greenette as he leaned back in his chair nonchalantly. He wasn't taking this seriously because he knew it wouldn't be a severe offense. "Seriously… You're lucky nobody's pressing charges. You know just because-"
Izuku quickly sat correctly before cutting the man off, "Just because my father's a pro hero doesn't mean I get to do whatever I want. I know that better than anyone, I'm just horsing around, sir. I'm in my final year, and me and Bakugou have been friends for years. Respectfully, sir, save your spiel for someone who really needs to hear it." He urged, adjusting the sunglasses over his face before continuing, "And I'd appreciate you keeping your opinions about my appearance to yourself.
The teacher grit his teeth in anger as Izuku unbuttoned his blazer and grabbed his bright yellow backpack before rising from his seat.
"And where do you think you're going!?" The teacher questioned, slamming his fist onto his desk as he demanded an answer from the disrespectful green haired teen.
"Home. I've got homework to do, and tests to study for. Being a top student isn't effortless, but maybe you wouldn't know that." Izuku antagonized, walking right out of the teacher's office before he could give a proper rage-filled response. Many of the other teachers and students present watched the greenette leave so abruptly in awe. He wasn't someone who thought he was above anyone else, he just had his priorities and that earned respect.
"You won't get anywhere in life with that ego, you little..!" The teacher attempted to scold the greenette, but it was too late. He already left and made his way down the hallway, sighing in relief that his scolding was over.
It was like clockwork, every time he got caught like this on school grounds they'd try to scold him, tell him that his father would be disappointed, but what did they know? No one knew his life better than he did.
Izuku peered outside of the windows of the corridor, watching as the few students that remained on school grounds played their sports out on the field, or just interacted of their own accord. The big deciding factor of everyone's future was coming soon, the UA Entrance Exam.
It was simple really, if you got in you'd pursue your dreams of becoming a pro hero with all sorts of acclaim and praise, and if you failed you'd figure something else out and do something less death-defying with your life.
As mentioned prior, Izuku Midoriya was the first born son of one of these acclaimed heroes. His name? Snipe, one of the few gunslinging heroes out there in the world, hence his practically broken quirk (Though he never referred to it as such, many of his classmates thought it was an unfair advantage to have such a good offensive long range quirk).
His father was lucky enough to keep his anonymity when performing as a professional hero, and as such had a family when he graduated from UA with Izuku's mother after saving her life while working as a sidekick. Ever since that day they've been together, and soon found themselves having a child who shared his father's favorability towards anonymity.
Izuku spent the majority of his childhood sheltered from the public, hiding his appearance and nature as best he could, but once word got out that he was the son of the Pro Hero Snipe, his entire existence was one that flooded news articles for years. Eventually the hype died down, but Izuku has always been asked the same question: Would he follow in his father's footsteps?
'...Would it be bad if I didn't become a hero? I'm really running out of time to decide.' Izuku thought, releasing a sigh as he walked down the streets of the Shizuoka Prefecture. He was all on his lonesome, reflecting on his life, his actions and decisions, but most importantly… His dreams.
Would his father be upset if he didn't want to follow in his footsteps? Did he even want to follow in his footsteps? What would be so good about being a hero, it's like his father said, if you're a hero you can't hesitate about hurting a villain. Hell, you couldn't hesitate at all, it was in those moments of combat or rescue that you needed to make split second decisions and Izuku feared that he wasn't capable of such a feat.
Suddenly the ground beneath the greenette shook beneath him. He glanced around his surrounding area and noticed an odd green sludge begin to pour out of one of the nearby sewage drains. That was odd, was there some kind of plumbing issue nearby? He hadn't gotten any sort of reports from the emergency services workers on his phone...
No, it was something more. The sludge began to pool and grow in size, almost as if the liquid was sentient and had a mind of its own. It was then that Izuku watched as two human eyes came popping out of the same drain and he realized that this wasn't just a sewage incident. It was a person.
"Huh? Oh, perfect! A disguise, you've definitely saved me some time, kid!" The man spoke, his deep threatening tone sending shivers down the greenette's spine. He was frozen with fear, what did he mean by disguise? How was he saving him? What was he going to do?
Suddenly the large man lunged towards Izuku in an attempt to gain a hold of the boy, but Izuku swiftly rolled out of the way out of reflex, losing his sunglasses in the process revealing his bright emerald green eyes. Izuku locked onto his sunglasses briefly before turning back to the slime-man, more angry than anything else due to him losing a portion of his cover. "What the hell is your problem, man!?"
"Don't try to run brat! What I've got going on is so much more important than your pathetic life, so just get over here!" The slime-man shouted, lunging for the greenette again, but as Izuku attempted to dodge out of the way the man's sludgy body was able to gain a hold of the boy's ankle, successfully tripping him.
"Shit..!" Izuku cursed as he fell to the ground, scraping his forehead before turning to stare in fear at the slime man smirking fiendishly at his successful capture. "Let me go, you freak!"
"Shut up and accept your fate, shitty brat!" The man exclaimed, beginning to drag the boy closer and closer as he tried to claw his fingers into the pavement as a means to stop the creature from bringing him any closer.
""Fuck..! Someone, HELP!" The boy cried out helplessly as he was dragged closer to the man inch by inch. There was no way to defend himself, he didn't have anything he could throw nor could anyone hear him. He was doomed to die before his life even really started.
"No one's going to save you now, kid!" The sludge-man declared, grinning devilishly as Izuku now laid on the ground right at the man's feet(?). "You're going to do real nicely as my disguise."
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" A deep voice bellowed from behind the slime villain, notifying both Izuku and his captor to the presence of another soul. One that both of them knew quite well. "DETROIT SMAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!"
In a moments notice a large gust of wind blasted through the street and Izuku found himself freed from the slime-man's hold, but now he was battling to not fly away due to the wind force, he even made out his sunglasses flying away in the distance. The remnants of Izuku's captor sprayed around the walls of the underpass and coated the street that he stood before only moments prior.
As Izuku glanced through what used to be the villain and found a face that could comfort even the most terrified individuals. A man whose power was a mystery amongst society, and the man who stood at the top of it all: All Might, the number one hero of Japan.
"Y-You… Y-Y-You're All Might!" Izuku exclaimed shockingly, staring at the massive man before him as he returned his outstretched fist to his side and smiled at the teen he had just rescued. Izuku's eyes were wide in awe, never before had he seen the behemoth of a man this close up. He was even taller in person!
"That's right! Are you alright, young man? He didn't break anything did he?" All Might questioned, walking over to the greenette and extending a helping hand to lift the boy up on his feet.
"Oh! Not at all, sir, the most he did was scratch up my chin on the pavement…" Izuku informed. All Might examined the boy and came to the sudden realization of the greenette's identity thanks to his exposed eyes.
"Hey, wait a second… You're Snipe's boy, aren't you?" He questioned as Izuku took the man's hand and was hoisted to his feet. Izuku was surprised to find that the man knew who he was just at a glance, but then he realized that it was due to his lost shades (Then again it wouldn't have been the first time a pro hero had recognized him).
"Uh, yeah, you know my pops?" Izuku questioned, tilting his head curiously as All Might kept a hold of his hand and shook it respectfully. Izuku then released the man's hand and glanced around at the concrete around him in order to find his shades, spotting them a few feet away right next to a telephone pole. "I'm surprised, I never thought you of all people would know who I am!"
"Well, it was only recently that we had gotten to speak face to face, but your father is a great hero! I'm sure you're excited to follow in his footsteps!" The man exclaimed excitedly, letting out a laugh from the depths of his chest as he followed to where Izuku's eyes were pointed towards. Izuku watched in concern as the man's chiseled chest practically burst out of his plain white tee.
However, at the mention of following in his father's footsteps Izuku's face contorted into an expression that was unreadable for the number one. "Yeah, about that… I-I'm not too sure I have what it takes to be pro hero material. If I'm being honest, it seems like a lot of pressure. Even trying to hide your identity half the time..."
All Might hummed in understanding at the boy's admittance. He of all people knew all too well of the pressure that came with risking your life to save others. "Yes, it does come with a lot of weight… But what makes you think you are unable to step up to the plate, if you don't mind me asking, young man?"
"It's just…" Izuku started, hesitating to finish his sentence as he wasn't exactly sure he could express himself properly with his words. "I'm afraid of hesitating, of not being able to make those split-second decisions that could cost me or others their lives. I mean, you should know, you're the number one. How do you do it?"
All Might paused for a moment, pondering the question as if he too struggled with the answer, until suddenly his smile fell and the man's sky blue eyes pierced Izuku's own. "I just act before my brain has any time to overthink it. I move to do what feels right, have you ever felt such a feeling before? Acting to save another before you had a chance to think?"
The greenette searched his mind for the answer. He tried to pull up any memory that he could where such a feeling was assured in his body, but he came up short. He couldn't remember a time where he was the one saving somebody else, he was always more concerned with staying out of the limelight.
All Might's eyes peered past the greenette, noticing that the remnants of the sludge villain had escaped once more. Another mishap caused by his own carelessness, and to make matters worse he was running out of time!
"Shit..! Listen kid, I can't stay and chat anymore. The villain got away and I've got to go catch him. Search your heart for the answer, and I'm sure you'll find it!" All Might instructed quickly before he dashed out of the underpass and blasted off before Izuku even had the chance to reply.
"Wait! What about-" Izuku tried to call out to the man, he raised his arm but it was already too late. He sighed and let his arm fall to his side before readjusting his backpack and begrudgingly continuing his walk home. "Forget it… I already have my answer. I can't do it."
What could he do? He really wasn't ready to become a hero according to what All Might said. He's never made a selfless sacrifice, he's never felt the urge to go out of his way because he hesitated too often to act. He overthought, he couldn't function as a real hero.
But perhaps that statement would be challenged.
As Izuku continued on towards his home, now equipped with his sunglasses once more, his mind plagued with questions and doubts, he felt the ground shaking around him once more, though this time it felt more violent and nearly knocked him to his knees. Could he catch a break? The kid was going through a lot of self doubt.
'What the..?' Izuku questioned internally as he glanced around at his surroundings, finding a massive smoke cloud erupting between some nearby buildings as the sound of sirens began to grow closer and closer. 'Is there a villain attacking nearby- Wait!'
Izuku recalled when All Might had declared the villain's escape earlier before blasting off. Were the two events related? Surely there couldn't have been a chance of the villain causing havoc immediately after almost being caught twice, right?
Izuku glanced between the street that would take him towards his home, and then to the opposite end that would lead straight into the conflict where the explosion had erupted from. He knew he couldn't take that chance, his conscience would weigh too heavily on his soul. Even if it wasn't his fault, he needed to do something to make up for distracting All Might.
The greenette began to make a run towards the explosion site, following the police cars that zoomed past him and screams ahead of him of distressed civilians. This was it, a deciding moment for the greenette to chase after danger instead of trying to steer clear of it. He questioned if he was really ready, but discarded the thought as overthinking it was only going to make him hesitate.
As Izuku arrived at the site of the explosion he saw flames from burning buildings and police trying to herd the spectators away from the danger. Ahead of the police were few pro heros, those that feared that they were incapable of defeating such a slippery escapist who now had a hostage.
'Wait, a hostage?' Izuku pondered, peering even further beyond the pro heroes and locking eyes with that same slime coated man from before. He knew that ooze, but what shocked him even more was who he now was holding captive as a replacement for himself. It was Katsuki Bakugou, Izuku's friend and rival.
What was he doing here? How did he get caught up with this villain? They had seen each other practically an hour prior, and now here was his friend with a fear in his eyes that he had never seen before. It was the fear of death, and trying to escape as he did, he was doomed. He was doomed unless someone did something; where was All Might?
'No… No, All Might isn't always going to be there to save people. Bakugou needs help now! There's no time to wait for someone, I have to… I-I have to do something!' Izuku thought, the panic beginning to set in before an eerie calm washed over the boy and before another thought passed through his mind Izuku was pushing through the crow, snagging a piece of debris on the way before hopping over the police's protective borders.
Spectators and professionals alike watched in awe as Izuku hopped the border, his face showing nothing but sincere determination as he passed the police line and made a pass towards the pro heroes as he landed back on the pavement. There were two notable figures, Death Arms, and Backdraft. Mountain Lady was too preoccupied trying to get through the tight alleys.
"DEATH ARMS, GET READY!" Izuku shouted as he spun himself around to give his arm enough torque and power to launch the heavy slab of concrete as hard as he could. The very hero he called out to quickly disregarded the concern he had for the greenette as his authoritative tone gave hints to him having a proper plan. This wasn't proper procedure, but it was better than nothing!
Izuku finally released his grasp on the concrete slab, letting it fly towards the villain weakly, but that was what Izuku counted on. The greenette activated his quirk as he released the slab, straining as he accelerated the speed at which the slab was spinning. Eventually the slab had reached a speed that the greenette could no longer control and let it fly forward at a speed that not even the slime villain could avoid.
In an instant the slab blasted through the body mass of the sludge-man, splattering it all over the walls and pavement of the destroyed city block, and successfully freeing the entrapped Bakugou from his hold with no harm coming to him. Death Arms, who was luckily on standby, quickly moved in to rescue the hostage as Izuku fell to his knees exhausted. The mental strain of such a powerful attack was taxing.
Heroes that were called prior to this event finally arrived to help evacuate trapped individuals, and tend to the wounded. Police rushed past Izuku to collect what remained of the defeated sludge villain, and civilian onlookers pulled out their devices to share with the world what had gone down today. And as Izuku finally came to, the realization of his actions beginning to set in, a familiar gloved hand was placed onto his shoulder.
"Nice shot, son."