I sat in class, taking notes as the teacher spoke. I looked around at the people around me. Some were passing notes. Others were whispering to each other. A lot had changed since starting Junior High. Things were so much easier before then. It used to be, that I was the center of attention.
My name is Y/N L/N. And in this world of quirks, my quirk is called, 'Refill'. Sounds pretty unusual, huh? That's what I'm told by pretty much everyone whenever I tell them the name of my quirk. But as a kid, that didn't last long. Once I showed off my quirk, I was good as gold. To put it simply, my quirk works like this: Any space that has ever been occupied by any solid, liquid, gas, or energy, I can refill at will. There were different theories as to how it worked.
My quirk might sound weird, but think of all the potential uses for it. Refilling: drinks, gas tanks, the money in my wallet, my phone battery, ammo in a gun, the ink in my pens, the food in my refrigerator, the uranium in a nuclear freaking reactor! There's so much potential!
Needless to say, I was very popular before Junior High. I always had people coming up to me asking me to refill something for them. I was kind of the class helper, the class clown, and the popular kid all in one. Then I started Junior High... From then on, I was old news. My quirk was disregarded by nearly everyone. It wasn't 'Hero Material'. People would really only come up to me to jokingly ask me to refill their phone's battery. I became a joke. Really, the only person who was treated worse than me, was Izuku Midoriya. We met our first year of Junior High. We were in the same class almost every year from then on. As the two black sheep of our class, we naturally became good friends.
We're now in our last year of Junior High. We lived in the same apartment complex, so we walked home together. "Look man, you can't let what Bakugo says get to you." I said. Midoriya continued to walk with his head down.
"But he wasn't really wrong, Y/N. I AM quirkless. What can I do? How am I supposed to be a Hero?" Midoriya said, tearing up.
"He also called ME a reject. Let me tell you something, man. There IS something we can do. Both of us. It's not about having some-some overwhelming power. Okay? It's about the skills you develop and the effort that you put forward." I explained. Midoriya looked at me and then at his journal. I knew for a fact it was full of details about different Heroes and their quirks. Actually, not just Heroes, but our classmates too.
"It's all about the effort..." Midoriya mumbled.
"Hey, while you've got that journal out, there's something else I want to tell you about my quirk." I said. Midoriya turned to face me.
"What? Really, Y/N? I thought you pretty much had your quirk all figured out?" Midoriya asked.
"You could say I've been abusing my quirk the past few years. You know how I always skip lunch, and study instead?" I asked.
"Yeah, what about it, Y/N?" Midoriya asked.
"Well, there's an explanation for that. The first year of Junior High, I figured out that I could use my quirk to refill the contents of my stomach. That way, I don't need to take any time out of my day to eat. I can study or train instead." I explained. Midoriya's eyes widened in realization.
"I always wondered how you always skipped lunch and never managed to loose any weight! That's so cool. Wait...Couldn't it work the same way for water?" Midoriya wondered.
"Yeah, I've hardly eaten or drank anything over the past couple of years. I've just been continuously refilling the food and water in my body. Then I use that time to study or train. And get this, the meal I've been refilling in my stomach is one of perfect quality and balance. That's how I've gained all this weight. It's pure muscle!" I yelled, fired up. I was noticeably bulkier than Midoriya. He still held the weak physique that we both had when we met. And speaking of Midoriya, he looked like he was about to be sick.
"Uh...T-That's great, Y/N. That's a really gross...Or...Um...efficient way to train." Midoriya responded, sickly.
"Hey! What's with that face? It's not like I've been chewing up and spitting out the same meal for the past couple years! You said it yourself! You suspect that my quirk works through a form of 'focused time reversal that requires specific conditions to work!' Don't make the throw-up face!" I screamed.
"I'm sorry! I can't help it! When you told me that, that's just where my mind went!" Midoriya replied.
"Ugh! I was trying to cheer you up by telling you something interesting you didn't know I could do with my quirk! I wasn't trying to jumpstart a vomit from you! Just forget it, okay?" I ranted, crossing my arms. Midoriya held a surprised expression for a moment, before breaking out into laughter. It wasn't long before it infected me and we both stood there laughing. Midoriya wiped a tear of joy from his eye as the laughter ceased.
"I guess you cheered me up after all. Thanks, Y/N. And yeah, I'm gonna write down the new info about your quirk." Midoriya said. We came up on a dark tunnel we had to walk through. Halfway through we started to here some strange noises. I couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Midoriya, run!" I ordered.
"Huh?" he questioned. I turned around just in time to be tackled by a large Villain made of mud-like sludge. It began to absorb Midoriya and I into its body. I tried to think of some way I could use my quirk to get away. But as I searched around with my eyes there was nothing. I could feel myself loosing consciousness. I knew it had to be the same for Midoriya. Suddenly, a faint yell could be heard despite our dulled senses.
"Detroit Smash!" someone yelled. With that, a massive gust of wind blew apart the Sludge Villain and sent Midoriya and I flying out the other end of the tunnel. We hit the ground hard and rolled, but I managed to stop myself. I coughed up that sludgy crap that had worked it's way down my throat. As I lay there hacking up a lung, All Might emerged from the tunnel. "Oh, uh...Sorry about that. I didn't expect you two to go flying like that." he apologized.
"You're sorry?! Guy throws a punch that breaks the fucking sound barrier and doesn't expect the middle schoolers in his way to go flying! Yeah, that makes sense! Ow!" I fumed, sarcastically. I was so pissed, my mind had somewhat disregarded that the number one hero had just saved us. I stood myself up and held my arm in pain. "Midoriya, you alright?" I asked, walking to him. All Might stood back with a sweat drop.
"It appears he went unconscious before my attack. I guess you're just stronger than him. Are you alright?" All Might said. I almost told him that it was because Midoriya was quirkless, but somehow I felt he already knew.
"My arm could probably use a check up. I'll live." I said. I was acting calm and sarcastic, but I was actually freaking out. My body wouldn't stop shaking. While we were talking, the Sludge Villain had reformed itself.
"Not if I can help it!" the Sludge decreed. All Might and I turned around to face him.
"Do not worry, young men! Everything is fine! Because I AM HERE!" All Might roared. He threw another mighty punch.
Midoriya woke up moments after the Sludge Villain's defeat. After his brief moment of panic and a following fanboying session, we set out for home again. We left the Villain to All Might. Although, he was no longer a threat now that he was trapped in a soda bottle. I held my arm in pain once again. Looking around, I noticed there was a walk in clinic across the street. "I'm gonna stop off in that clinic. You should head on home. By the way, it might be better if we keep that little incident from our parents. You know how they can be." I said.
"Yeah. As exciting as it was to meet All Might, my mom would freak out knowing we were attacked by a Villain." Midoriya agreed. I did one final wave goodbye and walked across to the clinic.
It turned out I had sprained my arm. The doctor told me it'd be fine as long as I didn't lift weights with it for a about a week. When I got home, someone told me something I never would have expected. My parents told me that Bakugo had been taken hostage by a Sludge Villain. That Midoriya had risked his life to save him, only to put himself in danger. And finally, that All Might had appeared to save him once again. And Bakugo as well. I chose not to go talk to Midoriya about it. I was smart enough to realize how traumatic being attacked by the same Villain twice in one day can be.
The next day, Midoriya was acting different. He didn't seem like he was down or negatively affected in any way. Instead, it was like he was deathly excited about something. He was very dodgy when I asked him about it, so I decided to leave him be. I figured as long as he was happy, he was probably fine. Besides, I had other things to worry about. I was in the process of designing a piece of support gear that would make me a force to be reckoned with at the UA entrance exam.
I don't know about the rest of the school, but everyone in my class wanted to go to UA. It's the best Hero school there is. And the entrance exam was only ten months away. I had ten months to get my body as strong as possible. Ten months to not only complete my design, but to also build this incredibly powerful idea of mine and get it working. If it works, it'll go perfectly with my quirk. I'll finally be combat capable Hero material!
As time went on, Midoriya and I both stayed busy. When weren't at school, we each had our own things going on. I mostly stayed inside, tinkering with my support gear. As for Midoriya, he was training. I guess my words about effort and heart really touched him. Although, I couldn't help but worry he was overdoing it. He always looked like he was in too much pain to move. Or like he was too tired. I could relate more than I bothered to admit.
When I first started working out, I overdid it. I used to use my quirk to refill my body's stamina after it was depleted. Then I'd go right back to it. It was hard on my body. Sure I can refill my stamina, but I can't prevent the inevitable strain of my muscles from overuse. I also can't do anything about mental exhaustion. That's the main downside to my quirk. Overuse of it leads to serious mental exhaustion and I desperately need to sleep. When I saw my only friend struggling as I did, I had to help.
"Midoriya! Hey!" I called out. It was the end of the school day. I ran up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Can we talk for a sec?" I asked.
"Hmm? Oh yeah, sure Y/N." Midoriya replied. His eyes had dark circles underneath. The whole way that he stood was off. We grabbed our shoes at our lockers.
"You're overdoing it with that training of yours." I simply stated. He looked as though I'd caught him in a lie.
"Huh?! What do you mean, Y/N?!" Midoriya asked.
"Everyone else might be too invested in themselves to not notice the hard work you're putting in, but not me. We're friends, remember?" I said. He simply nodded. "And as your friend, let me tell you; overtraining your muscles will have the opposite effect. I know you just want to do your best at the UA entrance exam, but you gotta keep that in mind!" I added. Midoriya looked as though he felt guilty. "Don't make that face. Just ease up a bit on your training. And don't worry...in a few short months, I'll be at the exam, too." I told him. As I spoke, I held up my fist, enthusiastically.
"You're going to try out for UA?" Midoriya asked.
"You aren't the only one who's been working on something big." I said, confidently.
"Eh? What's this? A reject and a quirkless loser planning to try out for UA? What kind of lame-ass joke is that?! You think you're at the same level as me?!" Bakugo yelled. He grabbed Midoriya's shirt. Without hesitation, I quickly struck Bakugo in his solar plexus. He dropped Midoriya and stumbled back, struggling to breathe. His glare felt like it was burning through me, but I could at least stand up to him.
"So Bakugo, have you made the jump to Professional Asshole yet? Or are you still just another amateur? Cause I can't tell." I stated, sarcastically. The human firecracker was now FUMING. Luckily, the teacher walked up and grabbed his hands before he could explode me or Midoriya. The teacher gave me a look you would give someone who walks within ten feet of a bear, just to take a picture. I took that as a good time to leave. And so, Midoriya agreed that he would avoid overtraining, and we declared that we would see each other at the UA entrance exam.