Avatar Sena was dying.
The waterbending avatar knew it was bound to happen eventually, but she didn't think she'd die at the young age of 21. Every other Avatar that had come before her had at least made it to 30, Avatar Korra being the only one to make it to nearly 90 years old, but from what she knew about her predecessor-Avatar Korra must have been too stubborn to die. However, it was to be expected that she would face an early demise when she had been born into such a turbulent time as she had been. Around 30 years before her birth there had been an appearance of what the world now called quirks. These quirks weren't the same as bending, the main difference between the two being that the quirks were vastly different from the elements. For a while, the benders and the few quirk users in existence lived in relative harmony-and then the source of her death came.
A man named All For One. In a way, it nearly reminded her of the way that Firelord Sozin had been the death of the Air Nomads and nearly lead them to extinction if she was remembering what Avatar Leodis (the Avatar directly before her that had died at the age of 65 in his sleep) had told her correctly. The appearance of All For One had occurred with the mass genocide of benders. They had already been so few in numbers, fewer people inheriting the bending ability in the generations after Avatar Korra's death. As far as Sena knew, she was the last bender in the world and even she was about to die.
"Sena!" A shout broke her from her thoughts, her blurry eyes locking on the approaching figure. All For One had left the area long ago, leaving her broken body slumped against a rock among the smoldering ruins. She had been weak, and she had failed. She had only become a fully realized Avatar about 7 months ago, and even with the generations of Avatars backing her-she wasn't enough. Raavaa wasn't enough to stop the destruction. Hot tears began sliding down her face as the figure slid to his knees in front of her, grabbing her hands. She could barely feel the calloused palms beneath her fingertips, could barely see the panicked face in front of her.
"Aiko...where are my glasses?" The man before her let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob as he became the only thing still grounding her to this world. She could feel her heart slowing, could feel Raava slowly loosening from her soul. The spirit was surprisingly quiet at the moment that Sena had thought that it would be speaking the most.
"You're going to be fine Sena, and afterward we'll get you a new pair." He carded his hand through her unruly black hair, the mess of silken curls matted to her skull by her blood. As a master waterbender as well as a master healer, she knew when someone was a lost cause; and she was most certainly one. She had lost too much blood despite her efforts to bend it back into her body, she was too exhausted to do anything more and All For One had made sure that she had no access to water-hence the reason why he set the entire place ablaze. Her blue eyes gazed into violet ones-eyes that had attracted her instantly when she looked into them all those years ago.
"There won't be an afterward Aiko, you know that if your brother is anything-it's thorough." She gave the man a bloody smile ignoring his look of horror. She tilted her head to the sky that was a bright blue despite the tragedy that had taken place under its gaze. It would have been more fitting if the sky had been red or cloudy-but she couldn't ask for too much after all. Shigaraki Aiko shook his head and grasped her hand tighter, not saying a word but his trembling hand said everything to her. "Do you think we'll meet again? In a later life?" She left the fact that there would be no later lives for her out. There were no more benders in the world, and no more benders meant no more Avatar. Before he could answer her question, Raava herself spoke.
You will meet him again in his quirk's 9th lifetime. We will slumber Sena, and we will rise. The spirit had been more in tune with the avatars ever since the events of harmonic convergence, and rather than fading into the background as she did during the Era of Wan, she made sure that every avatar knew her in the Era of Korra. Raava's interjection brought peace to her soul and a true smile graced her face. We will be one once more they thought in unison. Tilting her darkening gaze toward Aiko, she forced her body upwards-struggling hard not to let the gasp of pain leave her lips as she forced her arms to cooperate. She wrapped the bloody appendages around her best friend, leaning her head into his chest to hear the familiar heartbeat one last time. If she pretended hard enough, she could imagine that they were just laying down to sleep, his arms wrapped around her as she stuck her cold feet against his leg just to annoy him since he knew she was able to regulate her temperature with her fire bending.
"I know we will, Sena. Wait for me until then okay?" She could barely manage a nod, her eyes slipping shut as the spirit world beckoned for her. Ever so slowly, her arms fell from around his body until they hit the ground with a thud, the violet-eyed man holding her lifeless body close. He made no noise as hot tears streamed down his face. He went to close his eyes when the area around him was suddenly illuminated by a bright light. A white kite-shaped spirit with blue designs floated in front of him. From the descriptions given to him by Sena, he already knew who it was. "Raava." The spirit said nothing, and though it had no eyes, Aiko felt as though Raava was piercing his soul.
"Human. Do not despair for all is not lost. You will be united again at the 9th. We will become one." His brows furrowed in confusion only to turn into shock as the spirit dissipated. "Farewell."
"Raava, wait! What do you mean at the 9th? Raava!" His questions went unanswered as the spirit was already gone. Looking down at the body of the woman he loved, he couldn't help but brush a lock of hair out of her face as he pondered what the spirit said-confusion replacing the grief for the current moment.
It would only be years later as he laid on the barren ground gasping for breath, a gaping wound in his chest from where his elder brother had become furious and lashed out at him. His dearest student kneeled next to him, tears running down the 16-year-old boy's face, blood staining his hands-a mixture of his master's and his own.
"Aiko-Sensei, you can't leave me." The boy's sobs stabbed his heart as his mind went back to that fateful day, and in an instant, he could see himself sitting where Eizo was and Sena laying in the same position that Aiko was. The black-haired man inhaled shakily and grasped the younger boy's trembling hand. He could nearly see Raava as the information appeared in his head, and suddenly he knew.
"Eizo-kun, I'll never leave you. I'll be with you in your lifetime and the next." The sniveling boy stopped and stared down at him with wide hazel eyes.
"Sensei-?" He started only to freeze at the golden light that passed through their linked hands. Aiko looked at him and gave him a bloody smile-the same smile that Sena had given him years before as if knowing something that he didn't know.
"Use it to grow stronger kid, and pass it on to the next. We will not rest until he is gone, even-even if it takes a thousand lifetimes." In his mind's eye, he saw flashes of people. An old man with an impressive beard wearing robes of flame, a bald man with a blue tattoo, a teenager with hair that fell into his eyes, a buff woman with bands of blue and a high ponytail-dozens of people passed through until it stopped and slowed on an image of a 5'4 woman with unruly black curls pulled back, piercing blue eyes, and a lopsided smirk appeared. She reached her hand out and Aiko grabbed it, a wisp of gold leaving his body as his quirk started his version of the Avatar cycle. Eizo closed his eyes and hunched over, whispering one last prayer for his master as he slid the glassy violet orbs shut. He rose to his feet and looked in the direction that he knew All For One's base to be, lips curling back as he glared in that direction.
We will defeat him Sensei. He swore. Whether it be in this life or the next.
Izuku was having a really bad day. He was nearly 5 years old and his quirk still hadn't shown. Even though he still had time-everyone had already convinced themselves that he would never get his quirk. The doctor had said it himself, he had two joints that quirk users had evolved not to have. Izuku didn't believe that that meant that he couldn't have a quirk-but everyone else did. The kids at school, the teachers, Kacchan-even his Kaa-san believed that he didn't have a quirk.
He thinks that that was what hurt the most-which led to his current predicament. He had been playing with Kacchan and Kacchan's friends in the woods and they had gotten into another argument over his apparent lack of a quirk. Kacchan had laughed at him and threatened him with the sparks that would eventually grow to be explosions, and his friends had all joined in. They laughed even harder when the tears that Izuku had desperately tried to keep back began sliding down his face.
What a baby! They had chanted. What a Deku! Baby Deku crying by a tree, Baby Deku as quirkless as can be! Izuku could only take so much before he snapped, turning around and running deep into the forest as he sobbed. He had eventually stopped running which led to him sobbing harder as he now realized that he was lost. The sun had set at this point, the temperature dropping as the heat source disappeared. He was tired and miserable, all he wanted was to go home and be in bed with his Kaa-San.
"Maybe I am just a stupid Deku." The 4-year-old mumbled to himself, wrapping his arms around his shivering body. He pulled his knees to his chest as he sat against a tree on the forest floor, staring at his red mud-covered sneakers. He had wanted to be a hero so bad, but maybe Kaa-san and Kacchan were right.
I'm so sorry Izu!
You're nothing but a worthless Deku!
Maybe he couldn't be a hero.
"Hey, kid. You in there?" He looked up, his eyes widening in a startled expression as he made direct eye contact with a glowing lady that had blue eyes. They stared at each other in comical silence for a moment before Izuku let out a loud scream and scrambled backward, yelping in pain as his head slammed into a tree. "Geez kid, be careful, you might knock yourself out."
The momentary pain disappeared and turned into confusion as he stared at the lady who was in front of him. His Kaa-san had told him to be wary of strangers-but her quirk looked so cool. Izuku had never seen someone who could make themselves look like a spirit-and his quirk nerdiness overtook his need for safety as he moved forward to stare at her. They engaged in another staring contest before he opened his mouth wide and started spewing questions.
"Who are you? What's your quirk? Does it make you glow? Why do you look like a spirit? Why are you in the forest?" He would have kept going had a hand not reached out and pinched his lips together. They both looked at each other in surprise with the ghost woman letting go after a moment.
"Huh, I didn't think that would work." She ignored all of his questions and tilted her head to the side, a mass of curls bouncing as they followed the movement of her head. "What's your name kid?" Izuku debated about telling her, but she seemed nice and she wouldn't be a stranger anymore if they knew each other's names...right?
"Midoriya Izuku." He stuck out his hand like how his Kaa-san showed him, a bright smile crossing his lips as her hand wrapped around his tiny one. A soft smile crossed her face as she introduced herself as well.
"I'm Sena. What're you doing in the forest Midoriya? Lost?" Tears pooled in his eyes as he suddenly thought of the reason why he was in the dark forest instead of at home, and before he knew it he was sobbing again as he nodded fiercely. Sena leaned forward and patted his head before telling him to wipe his eyes. He hiccuped as he did so, smearing mud across his face.
"I'm going to tell you one thing kid-people suck. You can't affect how much other people suck, and so you can only focus on making yourself suck less." The phrase didn't mean anything to Izuku, it honestly confused him but the thought that she was trying to cheer him up warmed his soul. He nodded and slowly stopped sniffling. "Now get up, I'll take you home. I bet your mom is worried."
Later that night after Inko worried over him, scolded him, and cried all in the same breath- Izuku laid in bed, tucked into his All Might comforter, staring at the ceiling thinking about the lady he had met in the forest. She had seemed strangely familiar to him-almost as if he had met her before today which was impossible. But still, he thought as sleep claimed his body-he hoped he would meet her again.
He ended up meeting Sena again 4 years later after he nearly drowned. The rain season had just ended and Izuku had found his way to yet another villain fight to watch both the villain and the hero use their quirk. This particular fight had taken place on a bridge directly over one of the only rivers in his town, one that had the habit of having a strong current, especially after monsoon time. His notebook had been on display (Hero Analysis for the Future #5) as his pencil scraped across it as fast as he could. He had his head down so that he could focus on his notes in one moment, the next the crowd surged backward as a sharp gust of wind from the villain attacked the crowd. They let out screams and scattered, Izuku being pushed each and every way until he was sent falling over the edge of the bridge, his screams intermingling with the crowds, and plunged into the unforgiving river below. He had thrashed and gasped as he surfaced for air, only to get pulled back under. The current pulled him deeper and deeper under the surface, his movements beginning to slow as bubbles left his mouth. His eyes slowly slid shut, his viridian hair floating upwards.
Midoriya.
Midoriya-
Izuku!
Like a light had switched, his normally viridian eyes flew open-his irises and pupils gone, overtaken by a white glow. His body moved on instinct, spinning around in a sharp circle with his arms held out as the water responded to his call. He shot out of the water surrounded by a funnel of it, hair waving from the breeze that his water tornado created. He swept his arms upward, the funnel disappearing and turning into a wave that carried him to shore. The glowing gaze died down and darkness overtook Izuku's vision, a glowing figure leaning into his face as he drifted into blissful unconsciousness.
He awoke what felt like hours later but was actually only minutes, his entire body aching and his clothes were soaking wet. He let out a soft groan and was content to lay there for a moment and he would have had a hand not suddenly come out of nowhere and cracked his skull.
"Ow!" He surged upwards only to let out a shriek when he was met with the face of a furious woman. He tilted his head, wondering why she looked so familiar to him when it clicked and he surged forward, wrapping his arms around her. "Sena! You came back." The forever 21-year-old stared down at the 8-year-old wrapped in her arms and let her scowl slowly fade.
"Tch. Dear Tui and La, do you have a death wish kid? Why is it that I always find you in dangerous situations?" Izuku smiled sheepishly at her, suddenly getting distracted as a random thought popped into his head.
"Did you save me from the river? I kinda remember being lifted out by the water…" He trailed off and frowned as a sudden wistful look overtook Sena's face. The blue-eyed girl shook her head, forcing a smile onto her visage.
"Nah, I can't do that anymore. That was all you!"
"Huh?! What do you mean that was me?" He looked down, twisting his fingers into his shirt as he wrung the bottom of it out. His viridian locks shadowed equally viridian eyes as he mumbled in a low voice, hoping she wouldn't hear him. "It couldn't have been me, Sena, I'm quirkless."
"Well, duh." The woman's tactless response made his heart clenched and then he looked up in confusion. Before he could speak, Sena sat down next to him with her legs crossed, her eyes staring out at the horizon. "Let me tell you a story, Midoriya." She told him about everything, though she kept a few details out of it, mainly about All For One. Sena may be connected to Izuku, but she was unusual in the way that she was able to exist outside of her successor without him actively wishing it or it being a special occasion. Maybe she had a quirk in life that could only be activated in death, she didn't know-but All For One had been dealt with for the moment by Aiko's successor-his 8th successor. She didn't know who the 9th would be, but if Raava was right-she had a feeling.
Either way, she refused to ruin Izuku's childhood innocence by telling him about the man that murdered her. Instead, she spoke about the good times. She told him about traveling around the world with her friends when she was 16 and learning to become the Avatar. Told him about how she was awful with firebending and would have preferred not to use it at all-she kept it lighthearted and tried to keep the wistfulness out of her tone.
And then she told him how they were connected and told him that he was to be the next Avatar.
Chapter 2: The Glen
The house was silent as the sun rose. Wisps of sunlight streamed through the slight crack between the blue and red blackout curtains that framed the windows, illuminating a mess of curls that peaked above the equally blue and red sheets. To the outside observer, the freckled-faced teenager was the epitome of calm as he slept soundly. However, his mind was the complete opposite as he seemingly fought for his life.
Two figures crashed into each other, one going forward with a flurry of kicks and spins while the other one was forced to constantly defend and block. The broccoli haired boy bobbed and weaved as his Sensei seemed intent on pummeling him to dust. The sharp-witted woman fainted with a right roundhouse kick, and Izuku fell for her faint. He shifted his guard to the right, noticing a moment later that he made a mistake as the kick stopped short of his body and his Sensei used her momentum to spin in the opposite direction and launch a nasty back kick into his stomach. He heaved as the force of the motion sent him careening backward, a hand darting forward and clutching his shirt. He glanced at the mahogany-colored hand that was decorated with little scars and then up into the wild sea-blue eyes that sparkled with mischief. He closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate as the hand holding him up let him go and he fell flat on his back.
"Aha! My 1027th win!" He watched with a soft smile as the grown child jumped up and pumped her fists into the air.
"I don't think it's been that many times Sena-sensei." He swung his right arm up and interlocked hands with the one that had been shoved into his face, allowing himself to be dragged to his feet. He dusted himself off even though he didn't have to, noticing Sena do the same.
"Of course it hasn't been Izuku, you silly boy. It's been 1045. I was just trying to spare your feelings." She smacked his back and laughed, moving away from him to perch herself on a nearby purple tree. He walked after her, plopping himself in a crisscross formation directly under her, eyes skimming their immediate surroundings. No matter how many times he had been there, the sight always took his breath away. They sat amid a grassy green clearing in the middle of a forest. The trees around them weren't the color of the trees in the human world, mostly bearing different shades of purple, though most of them neared the shade of violet. Some trees were different shades of blue as well, and though he hadn't been near any of them-he could swear that the branches were made of ice. Little creatures flitted around them, some shaped like butterflies while others appeared to be floating rabbits. A lot more of them bore different shapes, and he figured out long ago not to ask what they were lest they got offended. To their right just past a clump of trees sat a sparkling blue waterfall that ran down into a lake, the top of the waterfall covered with snow. This was Sena's safe space, she had told him. Not quite in the spirit world, but neither in the mortal realm. It was to this place Izuku had come for the last four years to train, Sena having refused to train the boy until he was in the double digits. "You're progressing well on your air bending. You won't be able to fully master it as you did with earthbending, same with water until you fully learn fire. Sorry about that kid." Sena rubbed the back of her head, allowing her bangs to cover her eyes as she struck a blow to her pride. Even though she had eventually mastered firebending, it had taken her years and even in the end she never fully grasped it as easily as she did the other elements. Besides her lack of prowess in the art of fire, it was also the one element that Izuku couldn't practice.
Despite Sena's area not being located in the spirit world, it was close enough to follow the same restrictions of bending not being possible. Any forms that Izuku learned from Sena were learned in his sleep 4 days out of the week and then put into practice early in the morning when he first woke up, and later in the day after he got away from his prison that was called school. He only trained 4 days out of the week because Sena was insistent on him getting his rest, and the one time he overworked himself she refused to show him any new forms for a week, instead making him rep the most tedious exercise ever- the hot squat. After that slip up he learned the consequences of overworking himself and never did it again.
"And I thought I told you to cut it with the Sensei crap!" She gave him a sharp glare over the rims of her clear glasses. The first time she had shown up wearing them, Izuku had laughed at her as it finally all made sense to him why she was one of the clumsiest spirits that he had known, even though he didn't know a lot of them.
"Sorry, Sena." He gave her a small smile, rising to his feet as he felt the sun rising higher in the sky. For some reason, he was more in tune with the sun than Sena thought he should be seeing as though his main element was supposed to be Earth. He mused that maybe it had something to do with his father's quirk since his father could breathe fire. Sena had never mentioned it again after Izuku had gone on a 35-minute mumble spree about it. "And don't worry about the fire thing, I know every element enough for it to truly pass as my quirk so that's all that matters for now right?" Sena gave him a slight nod as he stretched out his back.
Name: Izuku Midoriya
Quirk: Elemental
Ability: Izuku is able to exert control over all 4 elements of nature, earth, fire, air, and water. The extent is unknown, though it seems to be minor to mid-range control.
Extra Note: Midoriya is an extremely late bloomer, developing part of his quirk at 10 years old, one of the first on record to develop a quirk despite having an extra joint. The first case seen years ago see archive R.T95
"For once, you're right, Wannabe Hero-kun." She ignored Izuku's sputtering as she reclined in the tree, closing her eyes. "Get outta here kid, you've gotta get ready for school. I'll see you again the night after tomorrow, I need a recharge. Try not to die alright?" She heard Izuku confirm that he had no plans to die, wished him goodbye, and only opened her eyes after she knew he was gone. A grimace crossed her lips as she allowed her form to waver slightly. It was taking a lot more energy for her to constantly stay in his plane of existence, especially since Raava was bonded with him now. The older he got, the closer he got to mastering the elements, the more the spirit world called for her to come back and replenish her strength. She knew that she was an anomaly, none of the avatars before her had ever been able to do something like what she was doing. It made sense since none of them ever had to guide the avatar as closely as she did. They were more in the habit of letting their successors work things out for themselves, but Sena couldn't entirely do that due to the situation she was in.
If another reason for that was that she was close to her brat and regarded him as a kid brother, well, no one ever had to know that part.
Still she thought with another grimace as her form suddenly wavered. The call from the spirit world was almost too strong to ignore, and the thought of that worried her. She didn't know how much time she had left to teach Izuku personally before the spirits decided he would be fine on his own and have to start his own journey and make his own way through life. As she disappeared back to the spirit world, she only hoped that when she told him he wouldn't take it too hard.
Izuku rose from his slumber feeling surprisingly well-rested even though he had mentally spent the better part of the night sparring with Sena. He went through his normal morning meditation in which he sat on the balcony for a half hour and simply felt Agni refreshing him with the rays of sunshine as well as focused on his inner fire.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Grow.
Diminish.
Repeat. This particular method of mediation was one of Izuku's favorites as it allowed him to feel connected to his waterbending as well, drifting down a stream and letting the tide take him where it wanted. Instead of a stream though, he was a campfire whose purpose was to bring warmth and not destruction, to grow and to diminish. He always came out of this meditation exercise feeling lighter than before, and it always helped when he slid through the forms for each of his elements. When doing so fresh after meditation, he allowed his mind to wander about anything. He wondered if there would be a villain attack today as there hadn't been one in his area for a few weeks now. He was getting antsy in anticipation of a good fight in order to study quirks, but his mom had forbidden him from going too far to search them out after he ended up in an entirely different town. After his exercises, he went inside to shower and get ready for the day.
"Okaa-san, I'm heading to school!" The 14 year old shouted as he made his way to the door. He listened to his mother's shout of goodbye and love you, waving at her even though she couldn't see it from her position at the kitchen table. He took off towards the train station, though he was interrupted by the villain attack where would make her debut. His eyes widened with glee as he pushed his way to the front, knowing it would be his lucky day.
It wouldn't be, but it would be the day that changed everything.
Chapter 3: Change
"Kacchan!" His eyes locked on the figure in front of him, locked on the familiar ash blonde hair. Emerald eyes met ruby ones filled with fear, and though he wasn't Kacchan's friend anymore, Kacchan would always be his. His eyes flared white for a moment and before he knew it, his legs were moving and he was charging past the heroes yelling for him to stop. He didn't hear the crowd screaming, didn't hear the sludge user roaring, all he heard was the screaming of his own heart for him to save Kacchan. He had never actually used the elements in battle, but there was a first time for everything. Sliding to a stop, Izuku remembered his notes from Hero Analysis for the Future #13, a burnt and water-stained book, page 25 Kamui Woods section. He slung his pack over his shoulder and slammed it forward, a notebook flying out and slamming into the monster's eye. It let out a bellowing roar that Izuku didn't hear, his hair rising up as he moved.
"Oh yeah, Midoriya you're going for U.A too right?" The sudden silence in the classroom lasted for all of 10 seconds before the students began roaring in laughter. The tips of Izuku's ears reddened and he had never before been more glad that his hair was long enough to completely cover them. He kept his eyes firmly trained on the desk as his teacher allowed his peers to make fun of him.
"Oi, Midoriya going to U.A? I didn't know that they let delusional idiots in the building."
"Haha he still thinks he has a quirk, doesn't he? He should be evaluated." All these things were things that he's heard before but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. His fists clenched beneath his desk as his hair shadowed his eyes. Had it not been for Sena's training, he wouldn't have reacted in time as an exploding fist came slamming down on his desk, aiming to land right on top of his notebook. His hand darted out and snatched it away as he rocked back in his chair, barely catching himself as he hooked his feet around the legs of his chair.
"Oi you fucking extras, shut the hell up! But Deku, you loser, you aren't getting into U.A with that weak ass quirk of yours" In an alternate universe, Izuku would argue until he was blue in the face that he could be the first quirkless person accepted to U.A, however in this one he simply raised his chin and stared Kacchan directly in the eyes. It was a technique that he had learned from Sena and even though it sent his anxiety up and caused adrenaline to fill his veins, he forced himself to do it; his talk with Sena years ago at the forefront of his mind.
"Izu? What's wrong?" The spiritual form of Sena appeared next to the sobbing 10-year-old hidden in the shadows of a nearby park. She had heard Izuku cry in a lot of ways, but this wasn't like any of his normal cries. It was something that came directly from their shared soul. The boy didn't say anything, merely turning towards her and clutching her shirt, the last shirt she had ever put on in her life. It was a black t-shirt with the words 'Water you looking at?' it had been a gag gift from Aiko, he had never expected it to love it the way she did. Never expected her to die in it either, but she bet a lot of people would change their outfits if they found out that's what they were going to die in. She had the option of appearing to Izuku in her formal water tribe regalia, but she never felt the urge to do so. Focusing her attention back on the crying boy, she swore that she saw a flash of blonde out of the corner of her eye. Before she could focus on it more, all the while cursing herself for not wearing her glasses, Izuku finally spoke.
"I don't think I actually have a quirk, Sena. The kids at school call me the quirkless Deku and say I'm delusional when I tell them I actually have a quirk. Am I delusional Sena?" Big watery green eyes stared at her and she felt her nonexistent heartstrings tug. She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again-
"Yes." She slammed it shut and had she been alive her umber skin would have been flushed a bright red. She closed her eyes and sighed to protect herself from the sight of the hurt in Izuku's eyes and hurriedly started speaking again. "No, I didn't mean it like that Izuku-listen kid. You don't have a quirk, that's true technically speaking. You have something that no one else on this earth has anymore Izu, you have bending. Sure there are people with elemental quirks that can control fire, water, earth, and air yes-but none of them will ever have the connection to the elements that you do. No one will ever be able to hear the air sing, no one will ever be able to listen to the vibrations of the earth. No one will ever be able to hear the song of the sea, and they won't be able to feel the warmth of Agni himself. You're unique Izu. There's nothing wrong with that. And even if you were quirkless, so what? You'd still find a way to become the best hero that this world has ever seen. I know it." She opened her eyes after spewing out her word vomit only to find Izuku silently sobbing this time. She bit her lip hands hovering awkwardly over his head as he suddenly surged forward, slamming into her body so hard that she felt her tentative connection waver. He was speaking too low for her to hear, but she could have sworn she heard him say 'Thank You'. She ruffled his hair and then pulled away from him, a maniacal gleam entering her eyes as she spoke
"You need to start standing up for yourself Izuku. Bullies prey on the weak you know. We'll start your bending training next week, and then when you learn earth bending you can topple rocks down on them and end them." Izuku scooted back as the scary aura warped around Sena, but he suddenly was back in her space again causing the aura to dissipate as he startled her back into existence.
"You're gonna teach me earthbending? Sena-sensei!" The boy wailed before clutching her again.
The memory brought a smile to his face, and while he wasn't going to topple any boulders on anyone anytime soon, he could at least take that first step in standing up for himself. "I'm not a loser Kacchan. My quirk isn't weak and even if I was quirkless I would still try for U.A." An uncustomary hint of steel in his tone backed Izuku's declaration, causing Katsuki's eyes to narrow in irritation. An all-out fight probably would have broken out had the teacher not suddenly called for everyone's attention and began the lesson. After class, just as he did in another life Kacchan burnt and threw his Hero Analysis notebook out of the window, only this time he didn't tell Izuku to jump off the roof. He snarled at him and whipped around, storming out of the room with his cronies. Letting out a sigh, Izuku glanced both ways to make sure no one was looking and jumped out of the window. A gust of air cushioned his fall and he landed on his feet near the koi pond. Instead of reaching in, he slid through a familiar stance that just focused on arm movement, raising the water and causing the book to float to him on a bubble of it. Once he had the book in his possession, he bent the water out of the book and back into the koi pond. Despite his efforts, he let out a large sigh as the book still appeared to be water damaged.
"Stupid Kacchan. Just when I think he's getting better, he goes and does dumb stuff like that." He stared up at the sky for a moment and shook his head, turning to walk home in a different direction than he normally went. As such, he avoided the underpass where he would have been attacked by the sludge villain and unintentionally avoided meeting All Might. The one change had started a butterfly effect in that the sludge villain still had his full power as he had not been caught by All Might. "He's always such a jerk." Izuku kicked a pebble hard, sending it skipping down the roadway. He was just about to kick another one when a giant explosion rocked the air. He found himself following the sounds, eager to see what villains had appeared and what hero would appear to counter them. He had his notebook open, flipped to the page right next to Mt Lady's debut as he forced his way through the crowd, muttering excuse me's and pardon me's left and right. He came to a stop next to a random man who was explaining the situation to someone else.
"The villain has a hostage, the heroes are waiting for someone with a more suitable quirk to come. It was a villain that All Might was chasing."
"All Might?" Izuku tuned out the rest of the conversation, forcing himself not to squeal at the thought of All Might being in town. He hoped that a hero with an appropriate quirk would be here soon to help the hostage. He allowed his eyes to roam over the destruction, finally coming to a stop on the villain, a gasp escaping his lips and his notebook slipping from his hand in shock. "Kid, you ok?" The man who was explaining placed his hand on Izuku's shoulder and Izuku pushed it off taking a few halting steps forward, hoping he was just seeing things.
It was another explosion followed by the reveal of an ash blonde boy wearing the same uniform as Izuku that made him scream, nearly all of the eyes in the crowd rotating towards him, including the sunken eyes of a skeletal like blonde man with unkempt hair and two limp bangs.
"Kacchan!" His eyes locked on the figure in front of him, locked on the familiar ash blonde hair. Emerald eyes met ruby ones filled with fear, and though he wasn't Kacchan's friend anymore, Kacchan would always be his. His eyes flared white for a moment and before he knew it, his legs were moving and he was charging past the heroes yelling for him to stop. He didn't hear the crowd screaming, didn't hear the sludge user roaring, all he heard was the screaming of his own heart for him to save Kacchan. He had never actually used the elements in battle, but there was a first time for everything. Sliding to a stop, Izuku remembered his notes from Hero Analysis for the Future #13, a burnt and water-stained book, page 25 Kamui Woods section. He slung his pack over his shoulder and slammed it forward, a notebook flying out and slamming into the monster's eye. It let out a bellowing roar that Izuku didn't hear, his hair rising up as he moved. He threw himself to the side as a rope of slime blasted out at him, dodging two of them but missing a third that slammed into him and sent him flying back. He flipped backward and slammed his feet into the earth, punching forward with his arms causing two pillars of the earth to spiral forward and slam into the disgusting smelling villain. Though it didn't injure him, it was enough of a shock to allow Bakugou to gasp for breath and inhale the oxygen greedily.
"What're you doing Deku!" The explosion user yelled at the fledgling Avatar. A sharp gasp escaped Izuku's lips as he twisted, barely able to dodge another whip of sludge.
"You looked like you needed help, Kacchan!" A haze of white threatened to overtake Izuku's vision but he forced it back. He had to know that he was able to do things on his own without the Avatar State, and he didn't dare unleash it with all of the bystanders that were around. Pushing away that trail of thought, Izuku moved entirely on autopilot. He crouched down and spun the air around him in a move that would appear as specifically a waterbending move to anyone who knew about bending. He launched himself forward, pushing the air forward as hard as he could towards Kacchan. The moment that he felt it latch around the boy, he twisted in mid-air and yanked his arms backward. This had two effects, it yanked Katsuki out of the sludge villain making Izuku's efforts a success.
It also sent Katuski flying into Izuku and causing them both to slam into the ground.
"How dare you interfere with me, meat sack! I'll just have to make both of you a rotten corpse!" Izuku tried to move to his feet, unable to as the unconscious Katsuki pinned him to the ground. Sound finally returned to him as the crowds yelling turned from shouts of victory to screams of horror.
In the background, the skeletal man began to steam.
Viridian eyes began to close as the slime villain rushed towards them, only catch a glimpse of red and blue as the villain was halted by the scream of
"DETRIOT SMASH!" All….Might. Izuku thought as his emerald eyes slid shut. A hush descended over the crowd as the clouds churned and it began to rain.
Izuku strolled forward with his hands in his pockets, head held high as he did so. After both he and Katsuki had regained consciousness, Izuku was immediately chewed out for being so stupid and praised in the same breath for his wonderful quirk. He couldn't help but spare a glance at Kacchan, immediately averting his eyes as he saw the threat of death that lingered in the ruby red ones.
"DEKUUUUUU" He jumped and resisted the urge to flip his oldest friend as Katsuki's fists bunched themselves in his shirt, shaking Izuku like he was a rag doll. "I don't give a fuck if you're finally making that weak ass quirk of yours stronger! Next time mind your damn business, I had it! You looking down on me nerd? What you thought I was weak or something?" The scent of burning fabric wafted into Izuku's nose as he squawked and waved his hands frantically.
"No Kacchan that's not it, I swear, I just, you just- My body just moved I didn't do it on purpose!"
"Shut up Deku." He was tossed roughly onto the ground, red eyes glaring down at him. For a moment, he could have sworn he saw respect in the blonde's eyes, but then it was gone and replaced with indifference. "With a quirk like that, you better get into U.A you piece of shit. And I didn't need your help, so next time fuck off." With those parting words, the explosion user took off, leaving Izuku staring at him with wide eyes. Did Kacchan just compliment me-
"I AM HERE!" Izuku squawked for the second time that day, jumping up startled as he stared at the Number 1 Hero. "WHAT IS YOUR NAME YOUNG MAN?"
Oh my Tui and La, DID ALL MIGHT JUST ASK FOR MY NAME! He inwardly streaked but his time with Sena had taught him to remain calm in the face of most things. Thankfully, this had been one of them.
"I-I'm Midoriya Izuku, All Might. B-but why are you here? You were surrounded by the press and-"
"I ESCAPED THEM HA-ha" All Might had shrunk down to his normal form, blood spewing from his lips as he did so. Izuku stared at him for a moment with a quivering lip, trying hard to stick to Sena's training but as a loud shriek filled the alleyway, it was clear that he failed to do so.
"Wh-what-" A finger suddenly pressed against his lips as All Might's skeleton eyes bore into his.
"That, my dear Midoriya is a story for later! I came for you because you showed the mark of a true hero." The force of the compliment sent Izuku to his knees. Sure, Sena had always told him that he could be a hero but no one else ever did, not even his Okaa-san, which is why he went and re registered his quirk in secret. The fact that an actual person was doing it-and the fact that the person just happened to be the number 1 hero had an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. "I think you have the potential to become a great hero, Midoriya-shounen. And I choose you to inherit my quirk!" The tears that had begun to spill down Izuku's freckled-cheeks suddenly stopped in their tracks as if he had waterbended them (and his tears were actually a surprisingly good source of water for him since he produced so much).
"EH?"
Chapter 4: Preparations
"Kid-Izuku, the spirit world has been calling me back for a couple days now. It's pull is getting stronger." They sat in Sena's grove, well-Izuku sat with his legs folded against the grass that had once been a bright green, but now was dull as if it was getting dehydrated. The various flowers that had once been in full bloom were barren, and even the violet trees were starting to lose their color. The only one that remained strong was the one that now sported a tinge of green, and it was the very same one that Sena was currently hanging upside down on. His hand carded through the grass, each blade turning to ash as his palms slipped over them. He paused in his movement not saying anything despite feeling the effect of Sena's cold eyes on him. He never knew what had made her stare so different, had attributed it to her family being from a place that she said was once frozen solid that no longer existed, but he now knew it was just an effect of Sena being Sena. For her, there was no such thing as a burning stare unless it was the pain of being frostbitten.
"You'll just go back to recharge won't you? And then come back?" Even before she spoke, Izuku knew his answer. He knew it the moment he appeared in here for training last night, knew it the moment that he didn't see the familiar creatures buzzing around the area. The grove was quiet, not even the roaring sound of the waterfall reaching them. The 14-year-old knew that if he was to make his way out of the clearing, the waterfall probably wouldn't even be there. Still-he asked whether it was out of disbelief or just plain hope that her answer would be different. A cold hand cupped his cheek and he forced back a sob as he realized he couldn't even fully feel her hand anymore. It was as if a wisp of air was dancing over his freckled face and he resisted the urge to grab her in a hug, afraid of what he would do if his arms were unable to wrap around her as they had so many times before.
"We both know the answer to that kid." They sat in silence for a while, the kneeling Sena moving her ghostly hand through his hair now as if she was ruffling it. "I won't be able to join you in your world anymore kid, you'll just have to come to me."
"But why?" He finally lifted his gaze, eyes shining with so many different emotions that it pained Sena to even look at him but she endured, staring back passively.
"I don't know. I honestly wasn't supposed to be able to interact with you kid-the both of us are a special case. The spirit world has been calling me for a while now-I think the generations that I spent in it before getting summoned to you is the only thing that allowed me to take form for so long." The explanation made no sense to her but it had to be the only likely option. An agitated hand ran through her curly locks as she let out a soft sigh, breaking eye contact with Izuku and looking upward to the slowly greying sky. "One of the duties of the Avatar has always been to master a spiritual connection with their predecessors in order to learn more from them, and it will be your turn to find me. We already have a connection so it should be a little easier-but keep in mind it may also be harder. The spirits have retreated from this world long ago and you have no one to guide you. The solstices are an important time, you might have an easier time contacting me at night-I just don't know kid. I'm sorry." Her fists clenched as she glared down at the ground, her lip quivering once. She didn't know what her next move would have been but a hand hovered over hers carefully causing her to look up at her young successor once more. Izuku had grown up so much in the time that she had come to know him, and it made her oddly proud.
"I'll find a way to connect with you again, Sena-Sensei." A small smile crossed his face and warmth filled the spirit. She opened her mouth to say something only to gasp in pain as her form wavered violently. "Sensei?!" She held a hand up as she slowly got herself under control. She had mere seconds left, she could feel it-
"I'll be there with you no matter what kid, I'm proud of you Izu-" And then she was gone, the glen was collapsing-
Izuku shot up from his bed, clutching his chest.
Yagi Toshinori was a frail looking man. His body only had a little more meat on it compared to a skeleton, and his hair made him look like a mad scientist but overall he looked like a harmless old man. Once upon a time, it had bothered him to even look into the mirror but he had come to terms with the fact that this was now his body. For the most part anyway.
"Yagi-san!" He shook himself out of his musings as a blur of green slid itself into the booth directly across from him in the small ramen shop that sat near the end of a back alley. Toshinori had come here a lot when he was a younger man, and if he looked to the left he could nearly see a black haired woman giving a young blonde teenager a noogie as she berated him for ordering before she even got there.
"Hello Midoriya-shounen. How are you today?" He gave the teenager a warm smile, expecting one back only to raise an eyebrow as the teen's previous smile slipped away and he glanced to the side with a look of grief in his eyes.
"I'm...I'm okay, Yagi-San. Did you order already? Have you been waiting long?" Toshinori almost wanted to say something but a small voice in his head told him not to push it. He merely shook his head and slid a menu over to the boy, already knowing that he himself was just going to get a small bowl of rice as he could no longer tolerate most of the food in this place anymore. That thought depressed him, the food was really damn good. A young waitress came over and took their orders, Izuku ordering a bowl of Tonkotsu ramen and Toshinori ordering a plain bowl of rice. They sat in awkward silence for a moment before it was broken by the older man.
"Midoriya-shounen, I am prepared to tell you all about my offer but first, could you tell me about your quirk?" Had Toshinori been looking up, he would have seen the look of sheer alarm and grief that overtook the young teenager's face before he looked down, fidgeting with his fingers.
"Ah, Yagi-san it's an um, elemental quirk." He felt extremely bad for lying to the man, but honestly the truth sounded crazier than any lie he could have told. "I um, I have some control over the four main elements." The blonde man nodded, rubbing his pointy chin.
"Ah yes I remember it well, you used it against the sludge villain. That is a highly unique quirk young man." Izuku nodded, keeping his eyes trained on his glass of water. The number one opened his mouth to speak once more, pausing once their food was placed on the table. After the waitress walked away, Toshinori lowered his voice as he picked up his chopsticks. "My quirk isn't something I can describe right now, but it is essentially a stock piling quirk that can be passed from generation to generation. I inherited it from my master, and now, if you'll agree-I'd like for you to inherit it. It comes with its share of problems though Midoriya. You will go through a lot of hardships simply by inheriting it, and the responsibility that comes from this power has the potential of crushing you. Knowing that, would you still choose to accept?" Izuku's chopsticks paused just above his noodles as he froze in place.
"Knowing everything that I just told you, you're still excited to be the Avatar?" Sena gave Izuku a look as the 8 year old nodded, bouncing on his legs. He stilled after a moment, twisting his fingers as he thought about it for a moment before he spoke. His stuttering words took a moment to come out, but when they did Sena couldn't help but feel the pride for him grow.
"Sena-chan, I k-k-know that it'll be a lot o-of trouble. B-b-but isn't that the mark of a h-hero? M-meeting challenges that seem hard to face? I-I want to be a h-hero Sena-chan, more than anything. If being the Avatar means I can be one, then I'll do it!" His face was set in a determined line, his eyes sparkling with fire.
Those same eyes came to life before Toshinori's very eyes as Izuku tightened his grip on his chopsticks. His mouth disappeared into a thin line as he nodded once at the pro hero.
"I would, Yagi-san. I want to be a hero more than anything, and meeting challenges that seem hard to face is just one mark of it." His eyes dipped back down, his cheeks flushing as the sudden thought that he had just spoken to the number one hero like that. He desperately slurped up his noodles in order to avoid looking at Yagi, taking a large bite of his runny egg and gasping for air as he semi choked on it. Toshinori absently pushed the boy's glass of water to him, a wide grin crossing his face as he finally took a bite of his rice. He had thought that he had made the right choice before, the boy's words confirming it. You would have liked him Sensei. A small smile crossed his face as he saw himself in the same spot as Midoriya, scarfing down his own ramen as Nana Shimura laughed at him.
"Well then, Midoriya-shounen. I assume you'll be applying to U.A?" The boy nodded once as the flush to his face slowly died down. "There are 10 months until the entrance exam and we'll need you ready before then. Meet me at Dagobah beach tomorrow morning before the sunrise and we'll get to work. As it was right now, you aren't fit to inherit my quirk." He gave the boy a quick once over. While he wasn't squishy by any sense of the word and actually seemed to have a few muscles on him, Midoriya was still leaner than Toshinori would have liked. He would need to build the boy up so that he wouldn't explode into a steaming pile of blood and guts. He paid no attention to the look of shock that the boy gave him, continuing to speak. "You seem fit, yes, but it is a lot of power that you'll be taking on. We'll need to build up all of your muscles in order to minimize the risk of damage to your body."
"What kind of damage Yagi-San?" Izuku sat his chopsticks over the top of his finished bowl, taking another sip of his water. He had been a little hurt and confused when Yagi had said he wasn't fit to inherit the quirk, but now it made a lot of sense.
"Oh you know, a missing limb would be the best case scenario. Worst case scenario you'd explode." The blonde said it flippantly as if it wasn't an important thing. Izuku felt his jaw drop to the floor and he knew if Sena was here, she'd be on the floor cackling.
"B-best case s-scenario?"
"Yes." Toshinori nodded affirmatively and reached over, clapping a big hand onto Midoriya's shoulder. "But that's why we'll be training you up so that it doesn't happen! Come Midoriya-shounen, take a step forward to your hero academia!" The green headed boy nodded, a look of determination across his face. As they left the ramen shop, both heading their separate ways he closed his hands into fists, his brow furrowing. He would be ready for anything he swore to himself. He would build his muscles and gain control of All Might's quirk, and he would learn how to connect and speak with Sena. He would pass U.A's entrance exam, and he would become one of the best hero students that they ever saw. There was no other option.
He had to do his best and be ready for anything.
Izuku was most certainly not ready for this. When he had arrived at Dagobah beach that morning, he had not expected All Might to make him move all the garbage. A hero's first act should be community service, something that has been long forgotten. Izuku agreed with him, community service was important. But then he was told that he couldn't use his quirk and he felt a mild sense of disappointment because it would have been the perfect time to see if he could metal bend-and then he was attempting to push a refrigerator around with All Might sitting on top of it. Izuku was convinced that this was his punishment, it was his atonement for making the Avatar spirit wait so long (in his mind though he had not connected to her yet, Raava let out a quiet laugh).
And thus his 10 months of hell began.
Chapter 5: Entrance Exams
Though Izuku had tried to connect with Sena for months, the first time he had been able to was the morning of the U.A exam 10 months later. The vision quite literally came out of nowhere. One minute he was standing at the top of the last pile of garbage on the beach, letting out a victorious yell. The next moment he was falling, his vision overtaken by a white glow.
A woman that was clearly a younger version of Sena stood in front of him, panting harshly. Blood marred her traditional blue garments, staining the light blue fabric into a deep purple. Her feet were shifted apart, her hands up with her eyes flashing unsteadily between white and their normal blue. In front of her stood a tall man with hair as black as coal, his eyes hidden beneath his bangs but Izuku knew he probably bore a maniacal gleam in his eyes as he leaned back, hands casually in his pockets.
"So this is the fabled Avatar. How..disappointing. You could escape on your own you know, leave my brother to me and run away. I have no urge to kill you yet, when it comes to our final battle it shall be..fun." Sena didn't say a word, merely dropping down further into her stance. Izuku looked behind her, noticing for the first time a crumpled figure of a man with equally black hair-and then he noticed the blood pooling around the man. From the basic healing that Sena had taught him, Izuku knew that the man was getting dangerously close to death. The white glow of Sena's eyes flickered out before returning with a vengeance, her voice intermingled with the voices of those before her as the ruins of a building began to rise around them. Though he was only a spectator, a sharp wind ruffled his hair as he was dragged from the vision, Sena's words echoing through his mind.
"I will never turn my back on the people who need me!"
He came back to himself what felt like hours later but was only seconds, finding himself in All Might's arms. What was that- He shook the thought off as All Might began speaking. He'd have time to think about the vision later.
"Midoriya, you have surpassed my expectations! What took me years has only taken you 10 months, and I couldn't be more proud!" Izuku's eyes swam a little at the praise as he was set on his feet, a bright smile crossing his face. He had done it, and just in time too. It had been hard, and it had been lonely but Izuku really saw the results. He was more muscular than he had been 10 months ago, his toned but undefined abs taking on the shape of a 6 pack. His form had filled out a little bit with muscle as well, but he was still lean. Looking up at the setting moon and the rising sun, Izuku let his smile widen a little bit more. Thank you Tui and La, thank you Agni. He looked back at All Might, noticing the man staring at him. He rubbed his head sheepishly, offering the man an awkward smile as the number one hero let out a sigh and rolled his eyes in fondness.
"Did you hear anything I said, Midoriya-shounen?"Izuku eeped and scuttled backward as a dangerous aura erupted from All Might.
"N-no Sensei, sorry All Might-Sensei." The aura disappeared as All Might let out a bark of laughter, that dangerous look still in his eye as he plucked out a strand of hair and forced it at Izuku.
"It's alright, EAT THIS!" A shocked look flittered over the green haired boy's face as his jaw dropped and his emerald eyes bulged out of his head. For a moment he thought he heard Sena's cackling as he took a hesitant step back, All Might taking one forward to match him.
"What?! I'm not eating that!"
In the end, Izuku did end up eating the hair, and now he was on his way to U.A after rushing home and getting ready. He didn't feel any different, but All Might had said it would take a couple of hours to kick in since he had to digest it.
The thought of that made his stomach bubble and churn.
As he got off at his stop and began making his way to U.A, he couldn't help but start to double guess himself. He had forgotten to put in a request to carry his water bottle on him during the test which would be his only source of water (he needed to figure out a better way to keep water on him) as he doubted there would be a source of it in the exam. He worried about how OFA would intermingle with the Avatar state, though since one was a soul thing and the other was a quirk thing it was entirely possible that they wouldn't have an effect on each other. He was so deep in thought that as he crossed the barrier into U.A, he tripped on a rock.
Welp. There goes my life. He thought as he fell. He made a move to catch himself with a burst of air when a hand suddenly fisted itself in his jacket and yanked him to his feet before pushing him forward roughly. Before he could turn around the person responsible for it strolled past him, ash-blonde hair making its way into his line of sight as red eyes glared at him.
"Tch. At least try not to die before you even make it in, shitty Deku."
"Kacchan! Do you want to sit together?" Izuku moved forward to fall in line with Katsuki. It was something he wouldn't have dared to do before, but ever since the sludge incident, Katsuki had become more tolerable towards him. They still weren't friends like they used to be, and probably would never become that type of friend ever again. They could be friendly with each other though, and it was a start.
"Hell no nerd." The blonde barked at him and strolled forward, moving faster so that Izuku eventually couldn't keep up without running. Izuku shook his head and smiled, following behind the angry teenager as they both checked in for the written exam and wandered off to their specific test rooms. Despite the blonde's protest, when it came time for the practical portion they ended up sitting together anyway.
"Looks like they're separating people by schools so that friends can't work together." Katsuki's eyes were on his card that read Area B. Taking a quick look at Kacchan's card so that the explosion user wouldn't see, he noted that his classmate's own card read Area D. He nodded sagely, rubbing his chin as he began muttering.
"It makes a lot of sense-" He was jolted out of his muttering by a punch to his arm followed by a "Shut the fuck up nerd." He smiled sheepishly at Kacchan, turning away to pay attention to the presentation by Present Mic. He leaned forward with interest as Present Mic explained the objective, only to be shocked out of his reverie by a boy with black hair and blue eyes calling him out and telling him to leave. An uncustomary wave of fury swept over the OFA user and he actually found himself opening his mouth to reply, only to be stopped by another punch from Katsuki. When his eyes met Bakugou's, the boy discretely shook his head.
"Kick his ass in the practical Deku. Wouldn't want to make a bad impression on captain auto-tune." The wave of frustration disappeared as fast as it came as Izuku acknowledged that for once, Kacchan was actually discouraging a fight. Hmm, he's changed a bit, hasn't he? He found himself turning to look at the boy again only to find that he wasn't there. He must have left the instant it ended. Letting out a soft sigh, Izuku rose to his red sneaker-clad feet as he exited the auditorium and made his way to the bus that would take him to Area B.
"The first rule of battle is to expect the unexpected. Plan for the unplannable, be ready for anything."
"How can I prepare for the unexpected? Isn't that the main reason why it's unexpected?"
"Well, yeah. You can't prepare for the event itself, but you can prepare your reactions. You have to be able to move at a moment's notice, you need to be able to adapt and overcome. It's the only way you can survive even the most dire situations. You shouldn't ever need a cue when you see the chance- you take it."
The future U.A candidates ambled outside of a giant gate, each and every one of them nervous as to what lay beyond. Izuku had no clue what it was, but he had to be prepared for anything. He mentally cursed himself once more for not having his water, his unconscious habit of muttering coming out once more. He was stopped by a hand clapping over his shoulder and someone forcibly turning him around.
"Do you think this is a joke? You aren't taking this seriously!" Izuku shrugged the hand off of his shoulder, his eyes darkening as he looked up at the boy who had called him out in the auditorium. His eyes glanced over the engines exiting from the boy's legs (he'd have to figure out what his quirk was later) and then looked back up to the piercing blue eyes. He opened his mouth to respond when he felt a sudden shift in the air as it rushed out of the gate. He turned and propelled himself forward when the voice spoke in his head without invitation.
Move. The rest of the contestants stared at him in confusion when Present Mic spoke up.
"That Little Listener has the right idea! There are no 'starts' in a battle! GO GO GO!" By the time the rest of the contestants entered, there was a row of robots destroyed with unsettled earth being left behind. Izuku darted down the alleyways, choosing to branch away from the main area. He knew that that was where most of the contestants would stay, and he didn't want to have to worry about accidentally injuring them with any of his attacks. He forced himself to stick with only using earth and air, not trusting himself enough with fire to avoid hurting himself and setting the arena ablaze. He whipped around a corner, stomping his left leg into the ground and jumping up, hitting the boulder that rose from the ground with a roundhouse kick that sent it flying into the 2 pointer that had been right in front of him.
That makes 25 points. He nodded sharply to himself and dipped down another alleyway, in search of more robots. While choosing the backways protected the other contestants from him, it cost him points since there were fewer robots in those areas. It was alright though because whatever robot he did find meant he was that closer to achieving his dreams.
Yagi Toshinori smiled to himself as he watched the green-headed boy that he had come to be fond of carve a path of destruction through the alleyways, leaving nothing but robot parts behind him. "We have an interesting bunch this year don't we?" He spoke, glancing over at another screen that featured a boy who was using explosions to decimate everything in his path, a savage grin covering his face.
"That we do, Yagi-san. Though the mark of a hero isn't just defined by how well one can fight." Toshinori found his eyes landing on the white bear-mouse creature who happened to be the principal of the best hero school in the world. Nezu let out a grin that sent shivers down Toshinori's spine as he flicked open the box that housed a red button and pushed it. "Let's see how they deal with this."
Izuku was panting as he exited the last alleyway and found himself back in the man area. He had gathered 37 points, and while it wasn't a lot it would possibly still be enough to get him into the prestigious school. He had lost out on points from where he had tried using OFA instead of his bending, and students that had figured out to check the alleyways too had stolen the points from him. One boy that had done so was a sparkling looking boy who shot a laser out of his stomach and then smirked at Izuku.
"Ah, merci mon ami. Bonne chance!" Izuku had only stared after the french speaker, not knowing what he had said. Bringing himself to the present, Izuku froze when a vibration so strong he felt it through his sneakers rocked his body. He whipped around, swallowing roughly as a robot appeared, one so tall that it blocked the sun from the sky. A wave of screams rose up as all of the students turned around and sprinted toward the exit. The zero pointer. He didn't think it was going to be so large, and Izuku turned to run away himself when he thought he heard a quiet help. He hurriedly kicked off his shoe and yanked his sock off, slamming his foot to the ground and closing his eyes as vibrations from around him assaulted his body and-there. There was someone in the rubble! Now that he knew where to look, his eyes landed on a pink girl with equally pink hair. She was sending a stream of something from her hands to the rock, but it was clearly not having an effect. Izuku moved before he realized it, sprinting toward the girl and passing everyone else that sprinted past him. He wouldn't make it in time to earth bend her out, the robot would be on her before then. Was this what Sena was trying to tell me with the vision? Izuku's eyes widened as he ran, his mind racing. To help anyone who needs it? Was she trying to warn me?
"I will never turn my back on those who need me!"
"HELP!" The desperation in the girl's scream caused him to run faster. He didn't know what to do, he couldn't metalbend, he couldn't earthbend the robot without risking hurting the girl-he was desperate he needed to do something. He was just about to panic when a sudden calm washed over his body.
Use us. A sudden vision overtook him, and he saw 8 shadows flickering in the distance, surrounding a figure with glowing eyes. Trust us.
Glowing veins of red came to life over Izuku's body, covering his arms, his face, and his legs. Spurts of green electricity danced around him, a white glow overtaking his eyes as the robot took another step forward. He shot off the ground with the force of a bullet, pulling his arm back as he sped through the sky. Chunks of earth rose from the ground, flying after him. He hit the apex of his flight, coming face to face with the Zero pointer, his mouth opening without hesitation. When he spoke, the voices of hundreds intermingled with his voice as All Might's advice echoed through his skull.
When the time comes, clench your ass cheeks and yell this phrase at the top of your lungs-
"SMAAAAAASH" A gust of air left his fist and the chunks of rocks flew forward and slammed into the robot. The force of the combined hits sent it flying backward, and as it did so the white glow died from Izuku's eyes. His right arm and both of his legs dangled uselessly as he fell, hurtling back down like a comet. He heard the screams of the students below him as he frantically tried to angle himself into a diving position in midair. Tears streamed from his eyes as he shot his left arm forward and opened his mouth, inhaling deeply before releasing bursts of air from both areas. It was enough to cushion his fall but still sent him tumbling. He forced back a scream of agony as he jostled his already broken limbs, laying in a collapsed heap on the ground. Searing agony rocked his entire body, his eyes flickering in and out of the glow.
"Hey! You saved me." He tilted his head towards the pink girl who had finally managed to get herself out of the rubble. She stumbled her way over to him, her left ankle twisted in a way it shouldn't have been. She dropped down next to him, ripping off a piece of her shirt and pushing it against his cheek-he didn't even know he was bleeding. "Thank you." She whispered quietly to him before looking up, her golden irises searching for help. "Hey, we need a medic over here!"
"B-back a-away" Izuku muttered to the girl, tears streaming down his face as the agony spiked. She looked down at him and he noticed that where the white part of the eye normally would be, hers was black.
"Huh?" He didn't have the energy to say it again as he felt something bubble and shift around him. He closed his eyes when a voice floated over him.
"Oh deary, it looks like you have a broken ankle. Kiss!" He opened his eyes again, the glow overtaking them and then fading again. "On you go, I'll look after this one. Shoo." The pink girl looked like she was going to say something but the old lady who had suddenly appeared gave her a stern look. She flashed the injured boy an apologetic look before running off towards the entrance.
"I-is everyone g-gone." He rasped to the old lady who looked so familiar. She nodded as she backed away from him, not knowing why but following what he had told the girl earlier.
"Yes deary. We're the only ones left." He let out a sigh of relief in one breath and let out a long drawn out moan of pain in the next.
"G-good." He mumbled before another wave of agony washed over him as one for all sparked to life, the glow overtook his body again. The last thing he saw was the image of All Might landing next to him- and then he knew no more as he was sent spiraling down into the dark abyss of unconsciousness.