Hey guys, this is my first story ever, so send me some constructive criticisms if you have something you want to say. I'll try to make a piece that everyone can enjoy, so don't hate me too much, I don't even have a beta-reader to go over my work. But I don't want to make a rant, so please enjoy this little first chapter.

Chapter 1: Let Us Begin

Normal Speech: "Howdy folks."

Thoughts: 'Howdy folks.'

The sun overhead bore down intensely on an already miserable young man. Consumed in his thoughts, he trudged forward, emerald eyes overcast by uncontrolled green hair. He rubbed his face, pulling away to look at the tears that stuck to his knuckles. He flicked the droplets off the back of his hand. Izuku was once again walking home bruised and defeated. His torn black coat tossed over his shoulder to cover a fresh burn. After taking so many beatings from someone that used to be his closest friend, Izuku's spirit was worse off than his body.

He had once again been at the mercy (or lack thereof) of his former friend, Katsuki. Ever since that day by the river when they were children, the explosive blonde had shown him nothing but contempt. Even a friendly hello had become reason enough to blow Izuku away. Yet every morning, without fail or pause, Izuku would walk up to him and try to start a friendly conversation. It was always the same result, a threat and a violent explosion to send him away. Izuku was no fool, he say the futility in his own actions. He heard his classmates whisper "How far will he fly today" or "Maybe he does have a quirk, I've ever seen someone take that kinda beating before." But Izuku ignored them, he had to just hold on to hope, cling to it if he must. He wanted to call Kaachan his friend once more.

He sighed to himself, 'Why do I keep trying? Nothing is going to change.'

Izuku sat down on a park bench, or rather fell onto it, his body becoming too heavy to continue. Daring a glance at his shoulder, he tenderly lifted his coat. He winced at the sight, moving to cover the cut with his coat once more. From the raw look and char marks he could tell that it was going to get infected if he didn't clean it as soon as he got home. For now he would just have to bare then pain. He reached into his own back pocket to fish out the only thing that wasn't damaged by his utter thrashing at school. His notebook, by the grace an infallibly merciful god, always remained unscathed despite anything that happened to its owner. Izuku opened up to a dog eared page that revealed many crossed out names beginning with All. All-Super, All-Man, and All-Power to name a few.

Even as he sat there staring at broken dreams, Izuku heard Katsuki rage in the back of his mind, 'How's a quirkless shit like you ever gonna be anything more than a secretary for some shitty C-lister hero? WELL? ANSWER ME DEKU!'

'He's right,' Izuku sighed internally, writing Deku over all the crossed out hero names. 'What was I even going to do against a real villain?'

"Deku huh, that sounds like a good superhero name to me. But it's a bit sad don't you think?"

"AGGH," the ragged young man cried out, falling off the bench and bumping his head into a wooden mile marker post, before landing on his bad shoulder. He groaned into his own hand, nearly curling into a ball, as if he wasn't embarrassed enough.

"Oh, my bad, I haven't introduced myself," an almost croaking, but distinctly feminine voice spoke from the other side of the bench.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you, I'll be going now," Izuku gathered his notebook and pencil without looking up, afraid to come face to face with anyone as he was now. His already bashful nature and overbearing shame wouldn't allow it.

"You're a bit too apologetic you know, I was just apologizing for startling you." Midoriya glanced up from his keeling position, and to be frank, his first impression of her was cute. She had straight black hair the came into a neat bow near the base of her back, very much opposing his wild mop. Her hands were large, more so than his own. So was her mouth, though it was in a permanent, unreadable curve that gave off a curious vibe. She had an overall blank expression, but he could at least tell that she wasn't mad, or even looking down on him. In fact, she looked almost concerned for him. The last thing he noticed was her eyes. They were a deep black, and they held him. They were so beautifully mesmerizing that he didn't noticing the warm blush crossing his features.

"Hey, you're staring really intensely right now, it's sorta weird," she pointed out with a hint of embarrassment.

"M-my, I was, um, I'm sorry." Izuku hung his head, unable to look her in the eye again. 'She's really cute. But I don't remember seeing her before. Looking at her uniform, she goes to another school so I wouldn't see her during the day. I'm not normally here by this time anyway, but today I got... caught up at school. Oh, she's still talking to me!'

"It's fine, but you should really stop apologizing so much. So, Deku is a good hero name, but what should I call you until then?"

Izuku let his hair overshadow his eyes, "Deku isn't a hero's name, it's an insult. That all it is, all I am."

"You don't have a lot of confidence huh?" she croaked, pickup up his pencil and notebook. "And that didn't tell me your name. I'm Tsuyu Asui by the way, but my friends call me Tsuyu."

"I'm Izuku Midoriya, Asui-san," he responded in kind, lifting his things from her open palms.

"Please call me Tsuyu, Izuku-chan." Again, her unreadable expression made it difficult, but Midoriya could have sworn she was smiling, in her own difficult to identify way.

"Right, Tsuyu-san. Well, I was telling the truth, I can't be a hero, I don't have a quirk. I don't really have any skills either, even rescue work would be out of my reach. I don't know what I would do if I was ever in a real situation."

"You're right, that does sound a little hopeless," Tsuyu spouted, index finger pressed to her bottom lip and eyes turned up in a thoughtful expression. Izuku thought that it was her thinking pose, or perhaps a habit.

"You're way too blunt Tsuyu-san," Izuku's head dropped, a visible rain cloud hovering over him.

"But that doesn't mean you can't be a hero." Izuku's eyes widened at that. "There's never even been a rule saying that quirkless people can't be heroes. I guess it would be a really incredible."

"But how could I, without any skills or even a minor quirk to help, I'd just be a bother."

"I guess it's about determination. I've heard of a hero that has the ability to nullify quirks by looking at people. It doesn't work on people that leave his field of vision so he has trouble with large groups. He worked around it by specializing in hand-to-hand combat. Maybe you could find ways to work around being quirkless."

"Do you really think I could do it?" Izuku flinched as the words left his mouth. He wanted to hear her opinion even if he expected her to answer the same way everyone else had before. Maybe he was being naive like when he always tried to greet Katsuki. Or was he was still clinging on to hope, which he felt dull each day. Perhaps the very chance that someone might believe in him was worth the risk of hearing another no. "Tsuyu-san, do you think I could really become a hero?"

"Is it what you want, Izuku-chan." Her eyes were looking straight into his, and he knew his answer. There was only ever one way for him to answer.

"Being and hero is all I've ever wanted." Izuku spoke with conviction. "It's all I've ever thought about, it's what I need."

"Then yes, I believe in you. I also believe think Deku is a pretty cool hero name." She gave him a genuine smile, and it set Izuku's stomach to flutter.

"Thank you," he said it quietly, his voice close to a whisper. It was all he could do to keep himself from tears. "No one has ever said that to me, not once."

Tsuyu looked over towards him from her seat on the bench, seeing his tears build in the corners of his eyes, and she held out her hand, "I want to be a hero too, next year I plan to apply at U.A."

Izuku looked at her hand before standing up, her gripped her hand in his own and spoke with a new fire in his lungs, "Then I'll meet you there. So please remember me then." Izuku had

"I will, and Izuku?"

"Yes, Tsuyu-chan?" Izuku had his eyes focused onto her, hanging on what she might say next.

"You shouldn't yell so loud in public, we're still at a public park you know."

"Yeah, I got really carried away," he looked around nervously to see if he had caused a disturbance, but in doing so he missed the blush that crossed over the black haired beauty's face.

'He can be cute when he's not being all depressing or nervous.' Not that Tsuyu could say such a thing out loud, even her blunt nature had a limit.

While Izuku stood there, lost in his excitement, a young girl arrived on the scene. She was wearing a uniform identical to Tsuyu's, a white dress shirt under a blue coat that cover a beige skirt. She scarlet hair that refused to be tamed, even more so than Izuku's. Her face stood out that most as it had the exact likeness of a snake, yellow eyes and green scales to be exact. She stopped in front of the pair, looking back and forth between the two before staring at Izuku intensely. At that instant Izuku froze, his every muscle paralyzed in place. It was unfortunate for him that he was in motion. Completely aware of his conditions, Izuku's statue like form leaned forward before landing face first into the same wooden post he had only minutes before. Tsuyu just looked on knowingly before speaking.

"It's fine Habuko, he is a nice guy really." Tsuyu's words seemed to put the newcomer at ease.

"Sorry," the now named Habuko droned out, releasing the green dork from her icy gaze, "He just looked kinda weird in that crazy pose."

"You're way to blunt as well." Izuku tenderly rubbed his cheek with he was sure just bruised against the mile marker.

"Don't blame me for being honest," she shrugged. "Anyway, Tsuyu I came because I saw the bus down the street, let's get going so we don't miss it."

"Well I guess I'll see you around Izuku. Remember what we talked about, and meet me at U.A. in one year."

"You can count on it. From now on, Deku is a hero's name." Izuku did his best to smile confidently, and Tsuyu gave him her own smile before jogging to catch up with Habuko.

Now deep in thought, Izuku started his own trek home.

'What should I do now. I said all that but it takes more than pretty words to become a hero. I need to train, I need get stronger, become a real fighter. It wouldn't hurt to have some equipment either, something to assist me so I'm not out their without protection or a means to help. Now that I think about it I could use some armor too. Something not to restricting but I don't want to give up too much defense for mobility, I need to find a balance. I used to have notebooks full of designs and tactics, but I lost track of them so long ago. I should write this down in my new journal.'

Reaching back into his pocket, he brought the journal out and flipped to what should have been a clean new page, but on the right side in neat bold handwriting, a name had been written. 'Tsuyu-chan: A.K.A. Froppy: The Rainy Season Hero.' Izuku stopped in his tracks, and he couldn't help but smile. Tsuyu-chan, I will meet you there, as an equal. So he wrote down on the other page, 'Deku: The Never Give Up Hero.'

He stood for a minute, taking in the sun as it hung in the skyline, hovering just above the horizon. "It's still going to be a little while before it gets dark. If I'm going to get serious then I should start right away, and I know just the place."

With that thought he took off down the street, hoping to get to his destination before it could close. He thought back to when he and Kaachan were still children, still friends. The one place they always seemed to go to was the gym. It wasn't large or gradiouse in its appearance, but everyone on the inside was on top of their game. The boys would spend afternoons peeking through the windows, watching as various people went about training. The owner, a grey-haired woman well into her years, took a personal stake in each and everyone of her trainees. One might not expect it from her lithe frame, but Izuku had seen first-hand what she was capable of. She hit like a bullet and moved like a dancer, a pinnacle of fighting prowess. Kaachan even imitated her movements at one point but became frustrated at not being able to do more complicated movements.

After a short sprint, Izuku came to a stop across the street from an older building. He rarely exercised, and even then it was only when he was forced to. His lack of activity showed in his exhaustion from the run. Izuku looked worn, nearly ragged. Not even his injuries could excuse his pitiful state. His status was that of someone that just ran a marathon, not a mile.

"I'll have.. to work on my cardiovascular endurance. A lot." Once he had regained his breath he walked into a traditionally styled building, red tiles covered the roof, which ended in four upward curving corners, and square windows that were held open by poles connected to the window sills. Pulling the doors open he saw a room full of people in full blast. Everyone was in functional attire, from tank tops and training shorts to head gear and weight vests. All of them were working on their own routines and circuits.

Immediately Izuku was drawn to the sight of a 20 something young man being unceremoniously tossed out of a canvas of a ring by a gray-haired women with a sour expression. The man had barely hit the ground, head first he might add, when the women started a tirade.

"GO WORK ON YOUR FORM RUNT," she roared at the still recovering brunette, "The next time you even think of fighting in a form that sloppy I'll string you up and use you as a punching bag!" Izuku quickly moved out of the way for the man, who ran off to another corner of the gym. Izuku himself was a little more than intimidated.

Izuku was having second thoughts by now, his memories had cast a rosy tint on the reality of the situation. The woman looked merciless, and had barely broken a sweat. Izuku wasn't entirely sure it was hers either. Rather than continue to berate the man her eyes roamed the gym looking for something else to do already, and Izuku silently prayed that she wouldn't see him if he stood still and held his breath. PErhaps it wasn't too late to leave unseen.

"Hey you, kid that clearly doesn't own a comb, what are you doing in my gym?" She had turned a cold glare towards our viridian protagonist. To his credit Izuku wasn't crying. Yet.

Not wanting to find out if her volatile nature would be turned on a stranger, Izuku responded, "I came here because I was told that the people here were strong. And th-that, um, I could find training."

"Well you're right, but I didn't want to know what other people told you, I ASKED WHY YOU'RE HERE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!? YOU BETTER ANSWER ME RIGHT, BEDHEAD!"

"I'm here because I want to a hero!" Izuku regretted his choice of words but it was too late to back out now. "I need to be able to defend myself before I can try to protect someone else so I'm here to learn. I want to be strong like everyone here."

"Not a half-bad answer brat, but it's a little late today. Come here right after school tomorrow and I'll decide if you're worth it. Ya don't look like the delinquent type, so I expect you to be punctual. But here's a little word of warning, this ain't a dojo. The people you see around you aren't gearing up for tournaments. Some of them of underground heros, others are cops, but all of 'em work themselves to the bone. So you if you show up tomorrow it's work from your first leg in to the last one out. If you show up tomorrow it's for real."

'She's like a calmer Katsuki. At least she isn't explosive like him. I hope.' Forcing the fear out of his voice, ironically in fear of getting his ass-kicked, Izuku puffed out his laughably bony chest, "Yes ma'am," he shouted back before turning to leave.

"One last thing curly, it's Kylie, Killer Kylie. Don't come around with any of that ma'am or miss crap, and don't keep me waiting tomorrow. It's been a while since we had a newbie but that doesn't mean you get special treatment."

Izuku stepped outside and grabbed his chest, letting out the breathe he didn't know he was holding. 'This is to become a hero, this is to become a hero, this is to become a hero.' He ultimately fell to his knees, 'But why does becoming a hero have to mean dealing with crazy people.'

Izuku was brought out of his lamenting by someone opening the door behind him. The sudden loss of a platform to lean on caused Izuku to stumble backwards, but thankfully the person behind the door caught him by the shoulders. "Hey, you're the kid that just came inside right?"

Izuku stood up and turned to look at the new voice surprised to see a familiar face, "Oh, your the guy Kylie-san beat up."

"Please just call me Yujiro, Yujiro Haruno. Anyway, Kylie sent me out to ask for your name."

"Oh right," Izuku bashfully rubbed his neck, "I'm Izuku Midoriya."

"Well Midoriya-san, If you're going to start training at this gym, here's some advice for your first day from a veteran of the gym." Yujiro's face suddenly turned to a look of gaunt remembrance. His cheeks were hollow and pale in appearance. He started shivering despite the autumn evening being a bit on the warm side. "Don't ever talk back and eat a light lunch."

"One more thing Izuku," someone spoke form behind the two of them. Both boys turned around to a glaring Kylie, "Don't slack off on your training."

"But you sent me to ask him is name," Yujiro made logical sense, but Kylie had a differing opinion.

"Yujiro," Kylie took on a sweet tone that didn't match her threatening demeanor, "That sounded an awful lot like back talk."

"Kylie-san-."

"Start practicing that form runt, before you start to upset me."

Yujiro ran back into the building, followed by Kylie who took a more relaxed pace. Before she entered the building she cast Izuku one last glance, promising punishment.

"I mean what I said, don't be late shaggy." Without another word she slammed the door behind her, and Izuku was able to take a last glance at Yujiro, who was running through drills already. Izuku also noticed the fear in his eyes, gulping to himself before shaking off the worry.

He looked at the sky, a bit darker than when he entered the building, and decided to run home. He afforded himself no breaks, as to start his training of properly. It could also be said that he felt as if his new 'sensei's eyes were following him, but that's just theory. Finally he reached his street, dropping to his knees, and taking in gulps of air. 'Definitely need more cardio.'

Izuku crept towards the finals steps of his home before he realized something, perhaps the most ground breaking event of the whole evening, which had discreetly slipped past him.

"I TALKED TO A GIRL, I TALKED TO TWO GIRLS. ONE OF THEM WROTE IN MY NOTEBOOK!" Izuku threw his arm up ignoring his burned shoulder. "But then the other one froze me," he deflated.

"Izuku?" a caring voice sounded from behind the door. "Is that you? What are you yelling about?"

"Nothing mom!"