THE LETTER

[Date: Unknown ; Time: Night]

It was at the dead of the night when a woman entered a dark alley. She's wearing loose civilian black overall clothes, army-grade boots, and a black baseball cap snuggly fit on her head. In her hand is an open can of soda and sips on it slowly. Nothing is out of the ordinary aside from her orange eyes that stood out like glow sticks in the dark.

"How may we help you, miss?" A sickening sweet voice asked in the darkest part of the alley.

"What can you offer?" Her voice is curious but her eyes are bright with knowing.

"Many" He replied with a grin, all crooked teeth but whiter than what she expected. He's dressed in unassuming civilian clothes and the package beside him was inside an equally unassuming gym bag. He unzipped the bag and exposed what lies within.

"I see..." The woman replied as she took in the contents of the bag. Then she looked up and smiled politely at the man. "But I'm not really looking for anything, thank you."

As she attempted to walk past him and deeper into the alley, she was grabbed by the arm and forcefully pulled back.

"I don't think you can leave, miss" He hissed.

In his forceful action, the woman's can of soda flew towards his bag and drenching his valuable items in carbonated liquid.

"Aaargh!" He wailed as he saw the damage. He turned towards the woman in renewed anger. "YOU BITCH!"

The man, now hostile, turned both of his arms to knives. When he swung at her and connected to the wall, it is shown that it's sharp and strong enough to carve through concrete.

"Well, damn" The woman cursed as she dodged another lunge.

.

.

[A Week After the UA Practical Entrance Exams]

"Izuku...?" A worried voice called but was rewarded with silence. "Izuku..."

"..."

"Izuku!" Midoriya Inko, who had dramatically changed in appearance since she had lost weight, reached out a slender yet calloused hand and placed it over her son's. "Honey are you alright?"

"Ah!" The said child was startled out of his thoughts. "Yes, I am. I'm sorry for worrying you, mom."

"..." Though the older greenette looked unconvinced, the younger Midoriya continued smiling in reassurance.

Sighing in defeat, Inko took their plates to the sink and promptly shooed the young teen. "Why don't you take some rest?"

"Hai..."

There was a moment of silence in their home while the family matriarch did the dishes. Soon, the faint sound of a door closing was heard and Inko could only assume that her son went inside his room. Another sigh left her lips. Her son had been out of it for days now.

She was startled out of her thoughts as the doorbell rang.

"Wait a minute!" She shouted as she took her apron off and hung it by the hook in the kitchen.

"Konnichiwa, Midoriya-san" Was the polite greeting that came from the person by the front door.

"Chizuru-sensei!" Was her surprised but elated response. She opened the door wider and invited the other woman in. "What brings you to our home, sensei?"

Easily slipping out of her outdoor shoes and slipping into the provided indoor slippers, Abe Chizuru replied. "I haven't seen Midoriya-kun in a while so I came to check things out"

As she was led to the kitchen, Inko busied herself with making tea and pulling out snacks.

"He's been out of it for days now, sensei" Inko shared her worries. "When he's not doing his daily exercises, he'll stare blankly at the wall"

"How was the exam?" The young trainer asked. "Did he mention anything?"

"He said he did great" Inko replied as she busied herself with pouring the steeped tea. She placed the glasses on a tray along with the biscuits and brought it to the table. "He said he was confident in his scores and overall performance..."

"...But?" Chizuru urged the older woman to continue as she took the offered tea, added a dash of milk and sugar before taking a sip.

"I think he's worried that there isn't a letter from UA yet"

Taking another sip, the young trainer contemplated her next course of action.

"Where is he now?" She finally asked.

"In his room, sensei" Inko gestured at the door with an All-Might themed nameplate, written on it is the owner's name.

"I'll be taking him out on a run around the neighborhood" Chizuru politely informed as she finished her tea. Standing up and approaching the door, she banged on it like an irate landlady.

Back in the kitchen, Inko watched silently.

"Don't make me break this door!" Chizuru banged the door again and soon, there is a scrambling noise inside and the door finally opened to reveal her young student in his white shirt and blue pajamas. "Tsk. YOU!" The poor kid's soul might as well had jumped right out in fright. "WHY DIDN'T YOU COME TO THE GYM FOR A WEEK?! I ONLY TOLD YOU TO TAKE A SINGLE DAY OFF!"

"A-ano... S-sensei..." Izuku scrambled for something to say but all that came to mind are mere excuses.

"Change your clothes" Chizuru ordered. "We're going out"

"Eh?" The kid seemed to take a moment before quickly closing the door again. There were a few shuffling sounds inside and a loud THUD before the door reopened again. Izuku reappeared in his tracksuit and waiting for further instructions.

"I'll send him back before dinner" Chizuru directed to the older Midoriya which she received consent for.

"Come on, kid" She called as she headed to the front door.

.

.

They didn't jog around the block as she said they would. Instead, Chizuru took Izuku to the gym and straight to the training room with the thickest matted flooring. Gin-san stood by the open door with calculating eyes and curious expression. Its making Izuku fidget on his feet. And when he saw his sensei took off her shoes and long-sleeved shirt, he immediately knew this wouldn't be a normal session of doing kata.

"Come at me with everything you've got" She instructed before standing casually in the center of the room.

Izuku immediately took a defensive stance and observed his opponent. Chizuru-sensei has bandages wrapped around her left shoulder blade, a long cut on her right side, and a large bruise on her midriff. Both her arms too were littered with bruises and scratches. By taking off her shirt, sensei deliberately exposed her handicap. Now, it's just a matter of how Izuku would use this to his advantage.

Taking a steadying breath, Izuku lunged and threw a punch. As expected, Chizuru-sensei moved to evade it but didn't retaliate. He swiftly maneuvered to follow and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick. It missed. Izuku relentlessly attacked with kicks, knee, punches, and elbows but all of them were evaded and deflected by Chizuru-sensei. This went on for hours and slowly, Izuku's attacks decreased in power and speed.

"That's enough" Chizuru ordered when Izuku's knees buckled from the strain.

Without further prompting, Izuku dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Every muscle in his body ached.

"Do your stretches in 5 minutes" She instructed as plopped down on the floor beside him.

"I heard you've been doing your normal exercises" She started. "Am I correct to assume that you've been missing practicing your forms?"

Izuku tensed. Chizuru-sensei didn't even use her quirk the whole time but she still guessed it right.

"Why haven't you been coming here?" She asked. When Izuku still didn't reply, she continued her line of questions. "Is it because of your performance in your entrance exam? Didn't you do everything that you can?"

Izuku sat up, head bowed and messy hair hiding his eyes.

"Didn't I tell you before?" She continued, "I'll make you into a Hero"

"Whether you get accepted in UA or not, I'll fulfill my promise to you" Her black eyes shined in determination and as Izuku stared back at them, he could see the faint glow of familiar orange within. "UA is not the only Hero school in Japan, kid. Don't lose hope."

.

.

When Izuku came back home, his mother immediately rushed at him with an envelope in hand.

"IZUKU!!!" She shouted in elation. She showed him the seal that is when Izuku finally understood... It was a letter from UA.

Carefully taking the envelope from her, his mind blanked. A letter from UA could only be two things; an Acceptance Letter or a Rejection Letter. But then again, UA didn't have to send a letter if his application was declined. When he came to, he was already in his room, the door closed, and the sealed envelope on his desk.

He nervously reached out, his mind replaying the last 10 months that led to this day. The months that he slaved over to come this far. And as his fingers touched the envelope, he heard it... His mother was pacing nervously back and forth outside his door. That's right... His mom stood by him all these months and never once left his side... So, retracting his hand, he went to open his door.

His mother was momentarily startled before asking, "How is it?"

He scratched his head sheepishly. "I haven't opened it yet"

"Eh?" His mother blinked in confusion.

"Would you like to take a look at it with me?"

She was speechless for a while before smiling softly at him. "I would be honored"

It brought a huge smile on his face. Inviting his mom inside, they both sat on the bed with the envelope in his trembling hands. Taking a deep breath, he carefully peeled the wax seal. Inside the envelope were a folded paper and a circular device.

He looked at his mother in anxiousness and she gave him a reassuring smile in return. He tentatively took out the contents of the envelope and placed it in between them. Taking a deep breath, he chose to open the letter first...

His breath hitched...

It was an Acceptance Letter.