FIRST STEP FORWARD
Every single day, hurtful words rang and echoed around Midoriya Izuku's head. From the very first wounding words to the last derisive words aimed at him.
He could still remember the words of the doctor who examined him years ago. The words that were carelessly spat to a fragile child whose dreams were crushed.
["YOU SHOULD GIVE UP ALREADY"]
The constant disparaging words from the very person he once considered a friend.
["YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A FUCKING QUIRK! SO WHERE DO YOU GET OFF PUTTING YOURSELF ON THE SAME LEVEL AS ME?!"]
No one believes in him...
["HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"]
["SERIOUSLY?! MIDORIYA?! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU!!"]
["SOMEONE WHO ONLY KNOWS HOW TO STUDY CAN'T JOIN THE HEROES SECTION!"]
["GOOD FOR NOTHING!!!!"]
["WHAT ARE YOU CAPABLE OF, ANYWAY?"]
["WHY DON'T YOU TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH FROM THE ROOF AND PRAY THAT YOU HAVE A QUIRK IN YOUR NEXT LIFE"]
["IT IS NOT A BAD THING TO DREAM. BUT BE CAREFUL NOT TO OBSCURE THE FACTS, KID"]
Not even his own mother...
["I'M SORRY, IZUKU! I'M SO SORRY!"]
.
.
.
.
And then she came...
["YOU CAN BECOME A HERO!"]
.
.
.
Abe Chizuru, an eavesdropping woman, appeared before him and offered to take him on as a student. It was the most amazing thing that happened to him. Not only was someone finally saying the words he'd been longing to hear for years, but she's also offering to guide him to achieve his dreams!
After her inspiring speech, Chizuru took Izuku for a walk and subsequently came upon the sight of a very familiar slimy villain holding another citizen hostage.
"That's--!" The young high school student choked as he recognized the villain that All Might had supposedly arrested earlier. What is he doing here?!
Chizuru, on the other hand, watched in disdain as more people gathered around, watching as this heinous villain suffocate his victim as if it's worth spectating.
"Sensei!" Green eyes stared up at her, pleading her to do something.
"Let me just tell you, kid..." black eyes shifted to orange. "but I'm not a hero"
"Huh?" For a moment, the kid's world halted. For a moment, he wondered if he heard the woman right. She's not a hero? Then how is she going to make me into one? His green eyes stared at her uncomprehending, watching as her orange eyes darted from person to person as if assessing the situation.
"None of the heroes here has an advantageous quirk against that slimeball" She finally said after a moment. "But it's not like you need a quirk to deal with that guy."
"Eh?" Was his unintelligent response. Her orange eyes shifted to him and he held back a shudder when he felt like he was being picked apart with a mere gaze.
"You can't expect that a suitable hero would always be available in every situation," She said and pointed at the idle heroes on the site. Most of them are containing the fire and minimizing any further damages. "In situations like this, you have to think on your feet"
Izuku went back to watching the proceedings and kept an ear to what his apparent non-hero sensei would say next.
"Lesson 1:" She said, "Assess the situation. Which one is your target? The villain or the victim?"
"Eh?" Izuku frowned. Thinking what she meant by it. Wasn't it that heroes should always prioritize the victim? Gods! Somebody save him already!
"If you're going for the villain, look for weak points," She continued, "If your priority is the victim, check for injuries first. You don't want to worsen any internal damage they may have, especially if they have broken ribs that can pierce an organ in the slightest movement."
And there...
While Izuku was studying the situation, the valiant struggles of the victim allowed him to get a glimpse of the boy's upper face. Awfully familiar wild ash-blond hair and desperate red eyes stared at their direction. It was what pushed Izuku to run into the fray.
Chizuru watched unmoving as people became distraught around her in the wake of her student's actions. Orange eyes followed every move the green-haired child made.
"MY LEGS MOVED BY THEMSELVES! I... REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY!" His frantic explanation reverberated in the alley despite its awful din.
"Because..." His voice once again reached her ears after a while "... your face seemed to be calling for help!"
"Hmm?" Chizuru caught a glimpse of All Might rushing for the trio. In an instant, All Might grabbed Izuku and the victim inside the slimeball; and then everything was over in an instant. A single punch blew the villain away and subsequently causing an updraft.
.
.
"YOU DIDN'T REALLY NEED TO EXPOSE YOURSELF TO SUCH DANGER!!" A tall, muscular man berated the young courageous high-school boy.
"Don't blame the child for having the courage you lot didn't possess" Chizuru stepped past the caution line and waltz towards her student. Orange eyes studying his kneeling hunched form on the ground. The sight itself irked her. "Get up. There is nothing for you to be ashamed of"
Izuku looked up at her with wide eyes. It did not miss her notice that she had gathered most of the heroes' attention and some of the still lingering civilians'.
"Abe Chizuru" The muscular man was obviously surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"
"Retrieving my student" Was her on-point response. "We have things to discuss"
"Your student?" He seemed to choke as he pointed at the kid in question.
"Yes" She replied curtly. "Any problems with that?"
For his benefit, the muscular man only shook his head frantically, eyes blown wide in disbelief.
Meekly, the said student retrieved his scattered belongings, stuffed them haphazardly inside his bag, and followed her away from there.
When the duo rounded the corner and out of sight, some of the heroes breathed a sigh of relief and the muscular man shook his head.
"That was unexpected" a relatively short man in a dark blue bodysuit commented offhandedly as he stepped beside the taller man. "She has a student? Did I hear that right, Death Arms?"
"Who was she?" The previous gigantic woman, now shrunk to a normal height, asked the two conversing heroes.
"Someone you don't wanna mess with" the muscular man replied which the short man beside him and a few other eavesdropping heroes agreed to.
.
.
"Where do you think you went wrong?"
Green eyes stared up at her in mixed confusion. The previous blazing orange eyes, now deep coal-black eyes stared right back at him. It didn't contain the disappointment that Izuku was expecting to see. Her tone wasn't even reproachful.
"Come on" She prompted. "Don't worry, I'm not mad or anything"
Is she serious? Izuku studied her for a few seconds before recounting his actions previously. When I threw my bag at the villain, I wasn't really thinking of anything to follow through.
Slowly, as Izuku realized where he went wrong, he also thought of what he could've done better. His whirlwind of thoughts became a jumble of mumblings and Chizuru didn't know whether she should be impressed or irritated.
"HEY!! DEKU!!!" The victim earlier stood behind them, glaring at the green-haired kid beside her. He has this dark expression that Chizuru doesn't like. Black eyes once again shifted to blazing orange and the new arrival flinched at the heated gaze. For a moment, he seemed to reconsider his would-be-words before steeling himself.
"I..." He paused, seeming to find a grasp on his thoughts before finally exploding. "I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU TO COME HELP ME! I DID NOT NEED TO BE SAVED!! GOT IT?!" He was seething by this point and Chizuru could see the humiliation oozing out of him. "I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!" He clenched his fists tighter by his sides before spitting his next words with so much disdain that Chizuru could feel them dripping with venom. "THE ONLY THING MISSING IS THAT I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE TO A QUIRKLESS GOOD-FOR-NOTHING LIKE YOU!"
Chizuru blinked, then looked at her student in confusion. Though seeing the look on his face, it seemed that even he was at a loss for words.
"OWE YOU?! MAYBE, BUT DON'T THINK I WILL APOLOGIZE!!" The ash-blond kid shouted one last time before turning to leave. "FUCKING NERD!!"
"What a whirlwind" Chizuru blinked, her orange eyes shifting back to black.
"ha ha ha" Izuku chuckled cynically, his voice as dry as a desert. "He's like that"
With a shrug, Chizuru guided the green-eyed, green-haired kid back on the road.
"Congratulations though," She said after a moment, eliciting a confused look from her student. "You took your very first step in becoming a hero"
Midoriya Izuku halted on his tracks, watching his sensei's back as he tried to absorb what she's saying.
"Your execution of rescue definitely needs major improvement but the way you analyzed the situation and furthermore acknowledging your own shortcomings..." She stopped to look back on him, "That is the foundation of every hero"
With the warm glow of the setting sun behind her, her form seemed to be enveloped by a halo of light.
"I told you earlier that you don't need a quirk to become a hero" She then gestured at him, "All you need is 'Courage', and you have it"
"But..." Izuku looked down as he remembered the pro-heroes berating him for his reckless actions. "... earlier... "
"It's true that you've been reckless" She nodded in acknowledgment. "You also lost your analytical and logical thinking the moment you stepped on the villain's radius," Izuku bowed his head as the words kept coming. "You abandoned any strategical thinking when you needed it most and most especially, you disregarded your own safety"
"But..." She smiled at him, her eyes warm and exuding patience. "That's what I am here for, kid."
"Becoming a hero is a long grueling journey." She said with such utmost understanding that Izuku couldn't believe her claim of not being a pro-hero herself. "You can't become a hero in just a few hours or even overnight."
Izuku watched in bated breath as she gazed in the setting sun, seeming to get lost in her memories. And then, as fast as she dipped into memory lane, she resurfaced with a determined glint in her dark eyes.
"You already took your first step forward and laid the very foundation of your dreams..." She grinned, "All we need to do now is to enhance them."