*Warning: Violence, panic attack
If you had told Izuku he would be running away from his classmates in fear by the end of the day...well.... he probably would believe you.
Because when had anything in his life not been a mess?
But it was about to get even messier.
This is not the story of how Izuku Midoriya became the number one hero. It's not even really about Izuku Midoriya. Just about a kid who can't remember why he is supposed to give a shit.
Confused? You should be.
---
"Listen up. I'm only telling you all this one time so you better be paying attention. Learning patrol protocol could make or break you in the hero world," Aizawa called out. He led his class down a slightly less populated street.
The city was bustling with life, more people out than usual since the sun had made its first appearance in days. A few civilians would stop and stare as the group shuffled past them, their eyes widening at some of Izuku's louder classmates. A few were even brave enough to wave and point.
Izuku would have thought that impossible with Kacchan in the group. But hey, there was a first time for everything.
While this would normally turn Izuku into a blushing mess, there was also an edge of pride creeping into place. It felt right to be here after everything he and his friends had gone through; they earned their place at this school. And by the end of the year, they'll have earned their place in the world of heroes.
"Keep your communication devices on at all times. Do not stop anywhere unless it's for official hero business. You are here on the commission's time. Not yours," Aizawa started going down the list of rules they'd already heard a million times.
But that didn't stop the fascination from once again rising up. Izuku's hands itched for the notebook he'd been forced to leave in the dorms. Something about him looking like he was plotting everyone's murder and scaring citizens. But he could still try and take everything in now to record for later.
He looked over at Iida, one of his most loyal friends since the start of his first year. As usual, Iida had his focus zeroed in on their homeroom teacher, attentively nodding along at the proper times. Izuku smiled to himself, even after the past two years Iida still acted like the lessons were a do-or-die situation.
The sidewalk was too narrow for the class to all walk together and for some reason, their teacher had thought it was a good idea to put Izuku and Iida at the back.
Not that there were many good candidates to be left so far out of Aizawa's line of vision. Mina had taken to overusing her quirk lately in ways that made Izuku fear for anyone that got in a six-foot radius of her. Kirishima would probably try and make friends with any sketchy person that walked past. And Denki...well that was self-explanatory.
It was both equally exciting as it was concerning this group of teenagers was about to become Japan's next batch of heroes.
"Alright. You may talk amongst yourselves for the rest of patrol, but keep your eyes and ears open at all times. If I see any phones out they are gone for a week," Aizawa directed, sounding less than enthusiastic about letting them talk at all. He had dubbed them the most 'chaotic class' he'd ever taught as of late and seemed to hold it against them at every turn.
"This is so exciting! Can you believe we're actually here?" Izuku all but squealed, looking up at his friend.
Iida returned the smile. "I know. Who could have believed none of us would be expelled by this point?"
"Well there was that one close call with Hagakure a few months back," Izuku pointed out. A shudder ran down at the reminder. It had been a disturbing weekend.
"I've still got the scar to prove it," Iida added on, lifting his sleeve to show him.
Izuku jumped a little as an arm was suddenly slung over his shoulder. "Hey Deku! How you are guys doing over here?" Uraraka asked, her voice just as bubbly as ever. She had almost been as excited as Izuku had to go on the trip. Ever since she'd officially signed with an agency all she could talk about was graduation.
"Aren't you supposed to be up at the front with Todoroki?" Iida asked.
"I'm not in the front," a much lower voice said from behind them.
Izuku nearly jumped out of his skin, whipping around to see Todoroki standing directly behind him. Once again forgetting the concept of personal space."Can we have one day where you both don't try and scare me half to death?"
It had become an unfortunate habit with the two of them. Todoroki suddenly asking if he could have a piece of whatever Izuku was eating when he thought he was alone in the kitchen. Uraraka trying to practice her stealth skills on Izuku since he supposedly had the fastest reflexes of the class. Just about anything they could think of that would give Izuku a heartache.
"But that wouldn't be nearly as much fun," Uraraka whined, jutting her lip out.
Izuku rolled his eyes, gently pushing her off of him and into Iida.
Todoroki was quick to take her place. While Izuku was overjoyed to see how far Todoroki had come at showing actual human emotion and being comfortable with physical contact, it was also like befriending a really clingy cat. He'd basically declared Izuku to be his best friend without Izuku having much say in the matter their first year. Not much had changed since.
Not that Izuku was complaining. They were, as Mina had put it, 'best friend goals'.
"In our defense, you can be incredibly unobservant sometimes," Todoroki chimed in innocently. Stating it like a fact rather than an insult.
Izuku crossed his arms. "Hey! You can't be mean to me. I'm 5'5!"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Uraraka asked, her lips tightening into a poorly concealed smile. She was the biggest perpetrator of making fun of Izuku's height, even if she was still slightly shorter than him.
"I've got short people rights! Don't we go through enough already?"
Even Todoroki cracked a smile at that one.
Izuku adored moments like this. Out in the real world with his best friends when they weren't fighting murderous villains. It was the little things in life.
But Irony is a bitch.
There was a sudden rumble, followed by a series of shouts that could be heard all the way from where they were still standing. The ground shook violently before, all in one graceful motion, the building began to sink down. A slow-motion crumble as clouds of smoke and dust shot up through the air.
"Was that a bomb?" Uraraka asked, her voice raising an octave. She glanced around, locking eyes with Izuku.
The class burst into chatter. Everyone speaking at once about what they should do.
One voice rose above them all. "Everyone stay where you are and call for backup," Aizawa yelled. A rare occurrence for the almost always sleep-deprived teacher. He walked forward with a purpose, the class parting for him as he marched up to Izuku.
"Midoriya, that means you too. Stay put."
He sent a pointed look to Uraraka, like that was his silent way of telling her to make sure Izuku did in fact 'stay put'. It made sense. Iida pretended to be level-headed but they all knew he would go with just about any of Izuku's schemes. And Todoroki went where Izuku went. Uraraka was their only hope of being somewhat rational.
Izuku could feel the warmth rising to his cheeks. "Yes sir."
Looking somewhat more certain, Aizawa turned and began to sprint forward towards the building. He flung his capture gear out, hooking it onto light posts as he swung himself forward.
They truly had the coolest homeroom teacher ever.
"I hope everyone's okay." Izuku heard Momo say from somewhere in the crowd of students.
His stomach tightened uncomfortably. He felt terrible just standing here while his teacher ran headfirst into who knows what. He looked over to Iida to ask if they should move closer, but the other was already on the phone with the police.
It made sense Mr.Aizawa didn't want a bunch of heroes in training running into a collapsing building with him, especially those who had been signed and could be in danger of losing their contract for reckless behavior. But that didn't make Izuku feel any better about them staying.
From what he could see through the rising smoke, it had only been a warehouse-type building. Probably free of civilians except for one or two people that their teacher could easily get to safety.
He stepped out a little farther, squinting as the smoke began to make his eyes burn.
There in the distance....was that?
He stepped even closer, his vision clearing enough to see two women with their backs to him. From what he could tell there were masks pulled over their face, but neither with any hero costumes he recognized. And that was rare. At the point, he'd pretty much documented every hero in Japan.
"Guys? Are you seeing this?" He called over his shoulder.
"Seeing what?" Todoroki asked, appearing so quickly beside him he had to do a double-take.
Izuku covered his nose and mouth with his costume as he pointed out to where Aizawa was trying to get into the building. The woman had been coming closer and closer, and it didn't look like they had any intention of helping him.
He had to stifle a cough as he whispered, "I think I just found who set off the bomb."
Suddenly one of the women began to move more quickly, breaking out into a run as she neared his unsuspecting teacher.
Todoroki, probably already sensing what Izuku was about to do, reached forward to pull him back. "Midoriya don't-"
But he was already gone in a blur of green. He raced forward, hopping over fallen debris as he attempted to get closer and closer to the building.
"Stop!" He shouted, angeling his body at the first woman as he lunged forward.
Quickly, too quickly, the other villain was in front of him. Her hands outstretched as Izuku flew towards her. He attempted to twist his body and dodge her but his momentum was too strong.
The wind whipped past him and yet, time seemed to slow as his stare zeroed in on what awaited him. A gloved hand raised. His eyes fell shut of their own accord as the hand grazed by his head.
Everything was spinning in such a sickening way he could barely stay upright as he landed. It felt like he was stuck in some hazy fever dream, about to see a monster pop up with three heads. Or maybe Uraraka when she got really hyped up about something. Both were equally terrifying.
Izuku blinked and the world seemed to blink with him.
Vision going in and out.
...
There was Aizawa
...
Villains
....
Someone flying?
....
He collapsed.
-----
"-riya? Are you okay?"
"Midoriya!"
"Deku!"
He groaned, curling in on himself as if that would make the noise stop. But ground wasn't having it. It shifted, pulling him so he was now in a sitting position.
Against all logic, he decided it would be a good idea to let the voices know he was awake.
The world turned hazy underneath his gaze. His eyelashes fluttered as the scene in front of him grew clear. He was surrounded by people.
What appeared to be an older man.
A younger brown-eyed girl sat the closest to him.
Several other people appeared to be the same age as the girl, all in oddly assembled outfits that did not look practical in the slightest.
"Midoriya? Can you hear me?"
His gaze fell back to the man. As his head began to clear he could make out a weirdly shaped scarf wrapped around his neck that looked two sizes too big.
It was all too much for him. All he wanted was to close his eyes and go back to when things made sense.
But still, as if it was a trained response, he nodded.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" One of the boys asked, kneeling in front of him as he held out his fingers. He startled back, eyes going wide at the stranger in front of him. His teeth...they all had sharp little edges. He was too close. All of them were too close.
He felt like he was going to pass out, or cry, or maybe both.
The boy's face changed, tightening as if Izuku has said the wrong answer. "I think he hit his head on the way down."
The older man was in front of him again, eyes flashing with concern as he looked over him. "Yaoyorozu. Go pull my car around. I'm taking him to the hospital." The man's attention fell back to him. He lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear. "Why aren't you talking?"
He cleared his throat awkwardly, unsure of everything he did. The people around him seemed to be watching his every movement. It made his skin crawl.
"Who are you?" His heart sped up as he realized he was the one to speak. The voice sounded foreign, different from the one inside his head.
In a flash of heat, he watched in mute horror as flames flew past the both of them. Followed by a ground-shaking explosion.
Without his permission, his eyes traveled up to what lay past the man. There in the distance stood two boys.
The taller of the two had fire erupting around him...no...not around. The fire was coming from him! He was shooting flames out of his hands without the least look of pain across his face.
The other held his hands out in warning to some invisible enemy hidden behind the smoke.
Holy shit. What had he just gotten himself into?
He scrambled back, clumsily pushing up to his feet as his eyes stayed locked on the two humans in front of him. If they were even human.
There wasn't any air left. It all left his lungs as he watched the two. Were the others like them?
He had to get out there. Quickly.
His feet shuffled backward slowly, having trouble moving with the way his legs had begun to shake.
"Midoriya? What are you doing?" The man asked. He had the audacity to look concerned. As if he was the one acting crazy when there was literally a boy holding flames in his hands in the distance.
A wave of panic flashed over him as his back hit a wall. The wall placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned too quickly, nearly losing his balance as he whirled around to see the pointy teeth guy standing in front of him. He had that same look of concern.
No. No. No.
His head whipped around, searching for an exit.
One of the girls tries to grab his hand. He jumped back as if she just shocked him.
"G-Get away from me!"
"Midoriya please calm down. You're perfectly safe."
His head spun.
"I'm not Midoriya. Just leave me alone!"
A shadow materialized, floating in front of him in a dark haze. Its features were barely visible underneath the mass of darkness, but he can vaguely make out what appears to be a bird-like appearance. So basically he was face to face with a demon bird and nobody else was freaking out about this new development?
Screw this.
He lunged past all of them, sprinting full speed towards where the smoke began to thin. If he could just get out...get help of some kind. But he didn't remember who to go to for help. He couldn't even remember what he was doing here or who he was.
All he knew was this was the last place he should be right now.
A voice shouted from somewhere behind him, "Somebody stop him!"
A cool breeze sets the hairs of his arm on end. With a gust so strong he was nearly blown off his feet, a wall of ice rose in front of him.
His breath caught, but he doesn't have time to freak out over that particular development yet. He skidded to a stop just in time to avoid colliding with the ice, turning on his heel to run in the opposite direction.
There was desperation coming from somewhere deep inside him. Or perhaps realization would be the better term. He knew he couldn't outrun them.
As if answering his thoughts, the blond-haired boy he had seen earlier fighting was now in front of him. Looking less concerned and more full of rage.
"What the Hell kinda game are you playing Deku?! Stop running!" He was yelling as if he wasn't standing right in front of him. His face was a bright red. An angry scowl plastered across his face. The boy started forward, arms reaching for him.
Oh Hell no. He ducked just as the other boy tried to snag an arm around him. He skidded, stumbling sideways as he looked for another way out.
There. In between two buildings. He could see a road up ahead.
With every ounce of adrenaline left in him, he sprinted forward. Ignoring the burning in his legs. Ignoring all the people screaming for him to stop. Ignoring everything but the pounding of his heart and the sight of safety off in the distance.
The air burned in his throat as he panted, making it harder and harder to not slow down.
He knew it was over before it was over. The frigid air was back. Sweeping around him in warning before it began to materialize. With a terrible slowness, the cold circled his ankle in a deceptively gentle hold. Ice shifted in the air and suddenly he was trapped.
It didn't matter how much he yanked, his feet were encased in the ice.
"Midoriya! Just calm down." A low voice commanded. He couldn't even turn to see its owner from the way his feet were caught.
"P-please! I won't tell anyone. You have to let me go!" He begged. The adrenaline has already started to wane, leaving him an exhausted and terrified mess.
There was more chatter from behind him. Footsteps racing.
"Everyone back up! Give him space."
The man was back, this time with his palms held up as if he was some wild animal.
"Kid. Listen. I know you're really scared right now. I need you to take some deep breaths. Everything is going to be fine, you just have to trust me."
Yeah. That was not gonna happen.
He couldn't take deep breaths even if he wanted to. Everything was too taxing for his brain to focus on one thing at a time. Like a spinner flying out of control.
The ice began to thaw but the man was still there. When had he gotten so close?
"Let's get you to a doctor."
---
Dadzawa is back!! Ahhhh! But this one is gonna be even more dramatic. If you're confused on why they didn't just let him freak the fuck out and run away then good. Confusion is good for the soul.
When I first started getting into MHA I always wondered how someone would react to being put in a world full of quirks with no idea of what's going on. Probably panic right? All I'm saying is if I saw a boom boom boy exploding things in the distance I would try and run too.
My second thought was that someone should turn that into a book.
...
If 1+ 1 = 2 .....