"Leave him alone Kacchan, just because he's quirkless it doesn't mean you can pick on him!" I yelled.
"Watch it Izuku, I don't want to hurt you." Kacchan's threat didn't phase me, instead, it only made my determination to protect Makoto even higher. To solidify my rebellion, I stamped my foot on the ground and then yelled back at him.
"HURT ME ALL YOU WANT, I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO BULLY HIM!" Kacchan clearly annoyed at my behaviour, gritted his teeth while letting off a small explosion in his hand.
"Fine then Izuku, if you wanna get beat up so bad let's go you rubbery freak." At the time I was known as the 'Rubbery Freak', not the symbol of freedom I am today. Oh, I should introduce myself. My name is Izuku Midoriya, and this story is about how I became the symbol of freedom.
Anyway, let's get back to the day that changed everything. "COME ON THEN!" I yelled as I was struck by an explosion. That explosion knocked the wind out of me as Kacchan fired another one on my head. It was known that basic attacks like punching and kicking had practically zero effect on me unless you were super strong, which forced Kacchan to use his quirk every time we fought. It was also known that I was more durable than most people. That allowed Kacchan to use his explosions at full power when we were kids.
"Where's all that big talk now eh?" Kacchan snickered as he fired another explosion in my face. "Throw a punch you Rubbery Freak!" He taunted.
"FINE!" I tried to stretch my arm back, but before I could, Kacchan landed an explosion on my hand injuring it. "Ah!"
"C'mon, you have to have something better than that you freak." All I could do is defend. Back then I had no clue how to use my quirk offensively. I could only use it defensively, due to situations like this.
To be honest, the rest of the 'fight' was just me getting battered by Kacchan. As I've stated before, my offensive was practically useless. Once he was finished, he snickered and then walked away, leaving me and Makoto alone. "Are you alright Makoto-san?" I asked with a weak smile.
"Are you okay Izuku-kun?" He asked as he rushed over to me.
"Yes, I am. Now tell me are you okay?" Makoto nodded in response as I struggled to stand up.
"Do you need help?" He asked in a worried voice.
"No I'm fine, you get used to this after a while."
"That's not good, Izuku-kun you should learn how to fight back."
"I'll learn one day don't worry." I weakly laughed.
"Alright well I have to go home now, I'll see you tomorrow." I didn't see him the next day, apparently, he moved to another city due to family issues.
"See ya." Once Makoto was out of sight, I fell to the floor in pain as I spat out a bit of blood. "Damn it, he beat me pretty badly today," I whispered. "C'mon let's get home Izuku," I said trying to psych myself up. Once I was back on my feet, I began to limp out of the park and then make my way home.
My home wasn't too far from the park, which was a relief. Once I made it outside of the park and onto the main pavement, I knew that I didn't have the stamina to make it all the way home. Thinking fast, I made my way over to the nearest bench and then sat on it. My original plan was to sit on that bench for a little while to regain my stamina, but fortunately, something caught my eye that would change my life forever.
"What's that?" After a few seconds of sitting down on the bench, I noticed there was a manga near me. At that age I was really into manga, so on instinct, I picked it up. "Two-piece... what's this I've never seen this before." The front cover had a guy with a straw hat on his head and two other guys behind him. "This looks goofy." Even though I moaned about the book being weird, I still grabbed it and eventually started to read it.
An hour went by and I had finished the 3-1 volume manga. By the end of it I felt reinvigorated, I felt like my quirk was more of a blessing than a weird useless ability I had before.
"Ruffy is so COOL!" I yelled. Luckily, this street was desolate at this time of day so I could yell as much as I wanted. "I should ask mom to buy me the rest of the manga when I get home." Spoiler, she did. Due to how energetic I sounded, she ended up buying me every volume, even the ones that came after. Sadly, the mangaka had to stop the manga 200 or so chapters deep because of many personal issues. This did make the younger me distraught, but in the end, I used this as motivation. I wanted to carry Ruffy's legacy on in the real world and become the symbol of freedom, The number one hero.
Prior to me reading Two-piece, I was a massive All Might fan but after, I viewed Ruffy as my main inspiration. As the years went by, I began to train my quirk and my physical strength, which lead me to gain respect from Kacchan and become his rival. I also kept up with my hobby, which was to research and break down every hero and villain's strengths and weaknesses. In the end, this hobby would serve me well later on. The analytical skills I gained from
this was tremendous.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anyway, now that my early childhood was covered, let's get into where my real story starts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Alright kids, I'll be handing out your desired life courses... WELL, WHAT'S THE POINT ANYWAY YOU WANT TO BECOME HEROS ANYWAY RIGHT?!" Our teacher exclaimed. "Yes yes, your quirks are wonderful but I can't allow you guys to use them in school, it's against the rules." He warned us.
"Hey teach, don't lump me in with these losers." Kacchan declared.
"Ah, Bakugo, you're aiming for UA aren't you? I saw your test results and I must say I'm impressed. I'm surprised that you aced the mocks." Kacchan scoffed.
"Of course, I would, I'M THE BE-"
"But so did Midoriya too, that's really impressive you two." Instantly, Kacchan's hype train had been brought to a halt.
"He WHAT?! DAMN IT IZUKU, DO I HAVE TO BEAT YOU AT SOMETHING AGAIN?!" I wanted to keep me trying out for the UA entrance exams a secret, but Kacchan would've found out anyway.
"Kacchan, we're drawing right now aren't we?" I questioned. Kacchan and I always used to compete against each other in everything, which meant there were many wins and losses between us.
"Yeah we are, that means I'm gonna get a higher score than you on the entrance exam!" Immediately, I turned around and stuck out my arm.
"Challenge accepted." Without hesitation, Kacchan grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
"Don't cry when I beat you." I laughed.
"I won't, just don't cheat." He snickered.
"Sure stretchy man." He retorted.
"Alright you two, sit down. We still need to finish class."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Don't tell me you're still writing in that damn notebook," Kacchan asked.
"Yeah, it's a weird hobby I can't get rid of."
"Once a nerd, always a nerd." Kacchan snickered as he left the class with his friends.
"I should get going, I wonder what mom is cooking for dinner tonight." Like Ruffy, my favourite thing was eating. It was something we weirdly shared in common.
Once I left class, I decided to take a shortcut home. I wanted to get home early so I could train but, unfortunately, my plans were stopped by a certain sludge. "Ah yes, you'll be a perfect meat shield." He decrepitly stated.
"I don't have time for this, Gomu Gomu no PISTOL!" I yelled as my fist made a hole in his sludge 'body'.
"That's some power you got there kid, sadly it won't be enough." Once I reeled my fist back in, he attached himself to it and then began to crawl his way up to my mouth and nose. "Now stay still and this will be quick and painless kid." As he entered my mouth and nose, I thought of something I could do.
"Oh, you wanna play that game? Alright, I'll give you what you want." I stated with a creepy smirk on my face. "Gumo Gumo no INHALE!" My strategy was to inhale every last piece of the sludge and then. "Gumo Gumo no SPIT BALL!" When I gathered him all up in my mouth, I spat him out firing him far away. "Whew! That was close." I chuckled. As I began to leave I heard a loud stamp behind me, someone had just come out of the sewage.
"HAVE NO FEAR CITIZEN, FOR WHY? FOR I AM... WHERE IS THE SLUDGE?" A buff blonde-haired man asked me.
"A-A-ALL MIGHT?!" Although I wasn't the biggest fanboy of All might, I was still a fanboy nevertheless.
"AH YES, IT IS ME, ALL MIGHT. ANYWAY, COULD YOU QUICKLY TELL ME WHERE TH-"
"COULD I GET AN AUTOGRAPH!" I couldn't contain my excitement, so I ended up shouting at him for an autograph.
"UH YEAH SURE, WHILE I DO THAT COULD YOU TELL ME WHERE THE SLUDGE IS?" Immediately, I nodded.
"Here." I opened my bag and flipped to an empty page as he took out a pen to sign it. "This is the best!"
"I'M ALWAYS HAPPY TO MAKE A FAN'S DAY, NOW I'M GONNA NEED YOU TO TELL ME ABOUT THAT SLUDGE MONSTER."
"Oh right, the sludge guy. I got rid of him, shishishi." Instantly, All Might grabbed onto my shoulder.
"HOW? TELL ME HOW YOU DID IT?"
"I sucked him in and then blew him away off into the distance." All Might sighed while placing his palm on his face.
"KID, YOU WERE MEANT TO CAPTURE HIM NOT BLOW HIM AWAY. DON'T WORRY THOUGH, I'LL DEAL WITH THIS." All Might began to look around and then back at me. "WHERE DID YOU SEND HIM?" I pointed toward the city district.
"Over there." All Might grimaced.
"SHIT. ALRIGHT, ILL BE LEAVING NOW! STAY SAFE AND ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOURSELF."
"Thank you!" I smiled as All Might took off. "Hopefully he captures the villain," I stated, walking away. When I was about 10 minutes away from my home, I heard an explosion go off in the city district. "Could that be... I need to go check it out." Forgetting about the delicious Katsudon that was waiting at home for me, I rushed off to the crime scene. When I arrived, I spotted a massive crowd. "Excuse me, can I get through." Without saying a word, people began to make space as I made my way toward the front.
When I finally made it to the front, I was met with an unsettling site. "LET GO OF ME, YOU BASTARD!" Kacchan yelled. Due to my inability to contain the villain, it had moved on to someone else and that person was someone who I valued highly.
"Ka-Kacchan." As I looked around, I could see that all the hero's weren't doing anything. "Why aren't they helping?" I whispered to myself. The more Kacchan struggled the more my anger rose, until. "GOMU GOMU NO."
"HEY KID GET BACK."
"SOMEONE TRY AND GRAB HIM."
"Aim for its eye," I noted to myself. "PISTOL!" My fist launched itself toward the sludge's eye, and when it made contact it screeched.
"AHHH!" Due to me realising that attacks on its body wouldn't work, I figured out that places like its eyes were its weak spot.
"GIVE ME BACK KACCHAN!" I yelled as I grabbed onto a slightly freed Kacchan, yanking him free and toward me.
"DAMN IT YOU BRAT!" The sludge screamed.
"Lay here, I'll deal with this Kacchan." I placed Kacchan on the floor and then ran over to the sludge, grabbing a random bottle I saw on the way. "GUMO GUMO NO, INHALE!" Once again, I sucked in the sludge trapping it in my mouth. "GUMO GUMO NO, BLOW!" I wrapped my lips around the opened cola bottle and then blew the sludge into the bottle. Once every last piece of it was in there, I grabbed the lid, sealing the bottle. "That was easy, shishishi."
"Hey kid, are you alright?" Death arms questioned.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I snickered.
"You could've gotten seriously hurt, but luckily enough you have a great quirk."
"Thanks." Getting complimented on something I was self-conscious on since as a child I rarely got it outside of my mom. "Anyway, I have to go home now. Here's the sludge guy." I handed the sludge villain to Death Arms, after which I grabbed Kacchan. I wanted to leave the scene as soon as possible.
Once we were closer to our homes than to the city district, Kacchan woke up. "Why are you holding me?" He angrily questioned.
"Oh, you're awake." I placed Kacchan on his feet and in return he exploded my hand.
"I'm not some damsel in distress nerd."
"Yeah yeah, whatever." I snickered.
"Thanks... for the save though, those hero's were useless." I had noticed that too.
"That's what rivals are for, though right, I can't let anyone get to you aside from me right?" Kacchan scoffed.
"Yeah yeah, whatever. I'm going home." Without allowing me to say another word, he turned around and left.
"He's weir-"
"I AM HERE!"
"AH!"
"NO NEED TO BE SCARED YOUNG..." Due to All Might startling me, I yelled.
"Izuku Midoriya."
"AH YES, YOUNG MIDO-Eugh!." Suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared, and when it dissipated I was revealed with a shocking site.
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
"I'm All Might." The frail old man stated.
"No you're not, you're lying!" I stated.
"I'm not let me explain things." The frail man demanded.
"Alright, I'm all ears." All Might pointed toward the empty bench that was near us and then gestured we go over to it.
"Let's sit down and talk." I listened and then followed him over to the bench. "Alright so." And then All Might explained why he looked like that, how his power worked and why he approached. In return, I explained my ambitions. "So Young Midoriya, I'm gonna get to why I really came here."
"Once again I'm all ears," I stated with a serious look.
"Will you become my successor and take on the power of OF-"
"No." All Might spewed blood in response to my immediate rejection.
"Why?!"
"Because I wanna become the greatest with my own power. I'll happily train under you though." All Might sighed.
"I see, well it would be wonderful to have you as my protege." All Might thought out loud.
"Mhm, I have a proposal." All Might turn to me with a glee in his eyes. "If you can't find a successor before your quirk disappears, I'll become your successor." Instantly, All Might grabbed my hand.
"Yes! I love that idea."
"But that doesn't mean you shut everyone out until then, still look for people who you see potential in."
"Of course, Young Midoriya."
"Alright then, deal." I stuck my hand out and then he shook it.
"Right then, I should let you go home. Your mother is probably worried sick about you." I nodded after which, I stood up. "Oh before you leave, I should tell you where I'm going to be training you. Meet me at The Takoba Municipal Beach, make sure to get there at 5 AM." I turned around smiling.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then All Might!" I yelled as I began to run home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once I arrived home, I was greeted by my mom. When I had fully taken off my school clothes and showered I sat down and ate dinner with her. She said she was worried about me due to my involvement in the sludge incident, but I was easily able to calm her down.
After talking with my mom for a while, I decided to call it a day and head up to my room. "I better get some sleep, I'm really tired," I uttered as I landed on my bed.
Minutes later, I fell asleep due to exhaustion.
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Whew! That was a lot to write. I haven't written this much since High school. It's therapeutic, to say the least though. I guess Eijiro was right, writing out the past does take the weight off of my shoulders. It also makes me forget that I'm-
(Whew! The chapter is done, how did you guys like it? I really enjoyed writing this. It's probably because I love My hero and One piece so this felt really easy to write.
Anyway, I'm leaving now! BYE!)
UK= 16/11/2022
US= 11/16/2022