Summary:
The number one hero begging for an underground hero to train a child?
Yeah, not your everyday occurence.
• • • • •
Months passed and All Might had been meeting with Izuku more and more, at first it was for the notes, then it turned into an enjoyable activity not between hero and civilian, but between two people.
All Might had figured out that Izuku liked analyzing fights, if his notebooks had said anything. He was highly intelligent and kind, but he also liked to rush into a battle without any self-awareness whatsoever (familiar, Yagi?) just for the sole purpose of analysis. It worried the blonde sometimes.
Izuku was also very timid, not to mention quirkless, so he was a prime target for bullying and easy picking for villains, luckily, school hasn't started yet so maybe the number one hero can help him defend himself.
Currently, they were in their usual cafe, and like all great cafes, it was underrated, which came in handy when you were meeting with the number one hero. The customers and owner had somewhat gotten used to this unusual duo so it was peaceful for them there.
"Midoriya-shounen" All Might started. He planned to address this issue before he couldn't meet with him anymore. He had, after all, started to genuinely care along the lines.
"Hm?" Izuku was previously muttering under his breath as he normally did, only staring at his coffee.
The green haired teen looked up at the number one hero, pushing up his glasses as it had gotten skewed.
"Uh, yeah?" He had gotten the stuttering to stop, although the awkwardness will always be his good companion.
"I wanted to ask if you wanted to learn how to fight?" He had learned to keep his volume normal when it was just the two of them... It seemed he was quite sensitive to loud noises (flinching, having this look in his eyes that screamed terror).
Izuku blinked.
Eh? "Fighting?"
The blonde hero nodded "Fight. But not to beat people up or anything! Just to defend yourself, since your... You know... Quirkless- not that that's bad! But in a world of superpowers, it's just dangerous, so - at least - you can handle yourself when in danger" he explained.
A hero through and through, huh?
That is, if that really is the reason why he would want him to know how to fight. But then again, what other benefits could he have from helping him?
He wouldn't get fame, he doubts anyone would even know if a quirkless kid was helped by All Might, and if they did, it was the usual, and he knows that All Might knows that he wouldn't start talking about him and his 'amazingness' to people (mainly because he has no one to talk to), he wouldn't get any money either, it would only hinder him if his information source (yes, of course he knew) knew how to fight back, so why...?
"Why...?"
"Eh?" All Might looked at the teen " Well, as I've said, so that you can defend yourself-"
"No! Um- why... Why would you try and help me of all people...?" The green haired male looked down in actual shyness, not like his act of timidity that he normally puts up as 'Izuku'.
"Well, of course, because- YOU NEED IT!" All Might suddenly stood up and put his fists on his hips, that grin ever present on his face.
Ah. Slipping into his inner 'hero' so easily.
This time, Izuku didn't flinch at the outburst, because suddenly, to Izuku, his smile seemed so much brighter. His presence seemed much more comforting, and for that one moment, Izuku questioned to himself,
is this a hero?
My hero.
"But I'm not saying you're defenceless or useless! It's just, you need the skills! So-" All Might continued to ramble, unaware of the growing admiration in the glowing verdant eyes of the child sitting in front of him.
"-only if you want to of course-!"
Hero.
"-I can really help if-"
("Don't worry, heroes are here")
"-just tell me if you need anything-"
("M-mom"
"...She's dead"
"D-dad"
"Killed"
"Who?"
Their eyes, so accusing. So fearful. Their eyes, they looked at him all the same, like a
Monster.
"NO NO IT WASN'T ME!!!")
"-Im a hero after all!"
Ah.
His grin was so bright.
His eyes so honest.
(It was like sinking in the blue, like floating in azure)
So this is a hero.
All Might is a hero.
He was excited,
Because it was Izuku's first time,
Seeing a hero.
• • • • •
Shouta sighed as All Might stood in front of him, beside him was a stuttering green haired, freckled mess of a teen.
Eraserhead!
Izuku was internally panicking because this hero, who he has encountered as Irony multiple times this past month, is standing in front of him as a teacher! Unguarded! Well - not unguarded, per say, but less guarded (trust him, he can tell).
"So you want me to train this..." Shouta looked over Izuku "... Child to fight? He's not even in high school" The man gave the blonde his normal face, aka 'Im-so-done-with-your-bullshit' face.
The number one hero managed a sheepish facade.
As a hero with a quirk as strong as OFA, All Might had no clue about strategy in battle, all he did was punch (which surely wouldn't help Izuku), but his recent employment in UA introduced him to some new faces and it just so happens a certain cat-loving, hobo-looking underground hero was the perfect candidate. He was already a teacher so he wouldn't have a hard time dealing with children, and his battle style didn't purely rely on quirk so it was perfect for Izuku!
"Well, I just thought you would be the best option!"
The underground hero raised a brow.
"U-um-! S-sorry to interrupt b-but you don't need to r-really! I-I mean, training me would only hinder you so-!" The teen fondled with his fingers nervously, stiff as a log.
Shouta sighed, about to outright deny the blonde hero of his offer when he saw All Might's pleading eyes. Now he was intrigued.
The number one hero begging for an underground hero to train a child?
Yeah, not your everyday occurence.
So, his solution was to postpone his answer. He was not about to agree to something he didn't know anything about.
"I'll think about it" Shouta grunted out.
When the kid had left and it was only him and All Might, he asked.
"So" Shouta have him the look "Why are you begging me to train that kid? He's only what, ten?"
"Thirteen"
Well, his height and overall physical appearance said otherwise, but Shouta wasn't about to judge a book by its cover so he let it be.
"Alright, why are you begging me to train that thirteen year old?"
"Ah, well, you see, he's quirkless- and nothing's wrong with that! But you know how they're treated..."
He did. Everyone did.
But not many took a second glance at the powerless unless it was to exploit them.
"Yeah, so you wanted him to learn to defend himself" Shouta finished for him. He could have taken him to a proper dojo to learn proper martial arts though, but then again even there he wouldn't have been treated properly.
All Might nodded to his statement.
"And what makes you think I would train him?" Shouta questioned.
"Ah! Well, I heard that you look for potential in your students! So it'd be better if you just saw for yourself-" he handed Shouta a notebook named 'Hero Analysis', it was a different notebook from the one Yagi gave Tsukauchi, actually, it just so happened to have Eraserhead's analysis.
The underground hero skimmed the pages and, like every other trained professional that read the notebook (whether it be hero or detective), he was, to say the least, impressed.
"... And this wasn't copied...?"
"No, it was purely Midoriya-shounen's analysis!"
"How does he even know me?"
"Uh... He knows a lot of underground heroes!"
Well, that wasn't very informative, but either way, Shouta was certainly interested. After all, there were rarely any videos of him fighting, if any, and to know so much about his fighting style already... It was amazing... And worrying.
Because in the wrong hands... Let's not think about the possibilities.
"Does he have one of you too?"
"Yes! And it was very accurate!"
Yup. Definitely worrying.
But when in the right hands... That's a completely different matter.
Now this,
This was potential.
(You can't help but question which ones were 'the right hands'.
Because as far as experience has told us, both sides,
Black, white,
Hero, villain,
Dark, light,
Are both wrong,
This world is not a matter of good and bad,
No,
Its a matter of wants and ideals.)
A/N:
Me: Okay! you are going to make a story that's angst free and purely for laughs.
My brain: ha ha I'm sorry what were you saying?