Perseverance

Persevere Part 3

Shortly after they received the wonderful news that they would be attending U.A. high school, Izuku and Ochako exchanged some texts to find out how the other did and if they were accepted as well.

"I made it in, did you?" Ochako texted.

"Yeah! Apparently I'm the freshman representative, what class are you in?" He responded.

"Woah! That's awesome! I'm in class 1-A, what about you?" She answered.

"I'm in class 1-A too! Looks like we'll be seeing more of each other!" He sent. Ochako was very excited to learn about this. The boy who had carved himself a piece of her life was now going to become a common fixture in it. Before she could celebrate any further, she received an additional text from Izuku.

"I'm gonna go to the dojo for the day, I'll text you later!" After he sent this, Izuku sighed to himself. Texting a girl was awesome. He wasn't all that jittery or skiddish anymore, but interacting with the opposite sex always proved to be quite an endeavor for the young man. He exited his house and strode at a leisurely pace towards his master's dojo, today was going to be a good day. He could finally tell the man who had shaped his entire life that he had succeeded in the first step of his mission, that he had begun his journey to become a hero. Izuku cherished how his master had always believed in him, how he always had from the moment that they met. Izuku was unsure if he could ever fully repay his master for what he had done for him. The only way he could think to do it was to fulfill and carry on Silver Fang's legacy as both a martial artist and a hero. His master had the ability to fight on equal terms with All Might himself when they were both in their primes, though of late All Might seemed to be weakening, and Silver Fang's prowess showed absolutely no signs of diminishing whatsoever.

Izuku continued his leisurely pace, only picking it up once he reached the stairs to the dojo. He began ascending them at an excited pace like he always did. Something about going to practice and train always managed to thrill him, to make his heart beat just a little faster.

Throughout the years, Bang had taught Izuku to hone his senses and to trust them. They had worked on his reflexes and his intuition in battle, sharpening them to a state that was far beyond average levels. They had to be if he was going to compete with individuals who were blessed with incredible powers. Over the past few generations, the average power of quirks had increased astronomically. Some individuals had power over the elements, manipulating and generating them at will. Others had power over the forces of nature, as his new friend Ochako did. In a world where he started off with a crippling disadvantage, Izuku was forced to hone himself in other ways. Traditionally, one might practice the strength and application of their quirk, but Izuku didn't have this privilege. He had to weaponize his mind, senses, and body in order to compete on the same level as his powerful peers. Over the years that he had trained, these facets of his combat ability evolved and grew to perfectly support what it was that he was doing. His senses had developed to the point where they would warn him when he was in tremendous danger, even before he had realized it himself.

To some extent, Izuku could read people. He didn't have the ability to know exactly what you were thinking or anything like that, but he could sense intent. Izuku could always see people coming, and this ability proved to be of great assistance when avoiding bodily harm at the hands of his youthful tormentor Katsuki. That guy always seemed to be furious about something, and whenever his ire was targeted at Izuku, he could tell and react appropriately. This usually meant walking away or telling him to bug off, but occasionally physical force was necessary. Izuku had no idea why that jerk was so fixated on him. He knew better than to consider him a friend, so long ago he stopped calling him "Kachan" and attempting to interact altogether. He didn't hate Katsuki, in fact he found a seldom few admirable qualities in the explosive young man, for instance his determination to improve and succeed. To the outside eye however, these beneficial factors were drowned out by his belligerence and overall foul nature.