Chapter Text
The state of the world is defined by an infinitely long series of incidents and choices.
Someone chooses to move left, instead of their expected right, and the whole world’s timeline can be flipped on its head, if only you look out far enough.
And yet, no matter what, some things are bound to remain the same.
In this case, all it takes to shift the world on its head is a little extra time, and a different answer to an old question.
The same question as always… but this time, the answer is a little different.
~---ORIGINS: THE CHANGE---~
START OF THE KNIGHTS OF TWILIGHT
START OF ARC ONE: UNSHEATHED
“SMASH!”
The tension left Toshinori’s body in what felt like an instant. He took a deep breath, quickly turning his vision inward.
He hadn’t planned on doing Hero work today, so he hadn't done any of his body exercises. Thankfully, he felt that he hadn't overdone it enough that he was in any danger of cutting down his time long term.
Judging by the tension in my lung, if I pace my last bit of time carefully, I'll be alright. There's need to rush...
He exhaled, thankfully able to shrink down and preserve his energy for a little while no one was there to see him. As he began to clean up the sludge the unconscious Villain was made of, he took another deep breath, letting it out as a weary sigh. The man had an incredible quirk, which made it a shame that he used it to be a Villain.
(The obvious answer was that it was likely a bit of both worlds. The poor man likely struggled to obtain work with an “ugly” quirk, but at the same time, the man was very enthusiastically trying to murder a child, which made feeling bad for him slightly harder.)
Once he had successfully gathered the sludge into a bottle (he would have to buy fresh groceries, but that was admittedly not a catastrophe for him. He certainly made more money than he would ever need, no matter how much he tried to funnel into charities and wellness funds), he looked to the boy who the Villain was attempting to take control of.
The stick thin boy was unconscious, but Toshinori could just about hear short, laboured breaths. They would hopefully be up soon enough, although they would need to be checked on anyhow.
He seemed to be injured in various places (Oh dear, best be gentle), but, thankfully, Toshinori had seemingly been fast enough that it looked like no sludge had gotten into the boy’s lungs. Any longer, had Toshinori been any slower to arrive, and-
His stream of thoughts was cut off when he noticed the boy’s shoes.
Bright red.
(Memories of a road, of heckling children. If it was like that for him, when the quirkless were still not a rarity…)
Oh.
The poor boy seemed to by injured far more than a single Villain encounter would typically make you. Scratches and bruises peeked through the boy's collar, while faint burn marks lined the child’s uniform, indicating his study at a nearby middle school.
Begrudgingly, he couldn't really investigate the poor boy's struggles himself. His specialty was patrolling and tactics, not investigation. But…
He would be pointing it out to Naomasa. The man himself was a bit too busy to take on a case like this personally, sure, but he could find someone honest who would. But… that was for later.
After placing the boy down in a less uncomfortable position, he took his Phone out, connecting to the Hero network in order to contact the nearby police. He could jump there, but he wasn’t in uniform, and he didn’t quite want to leave the young boy alone.
(In another world, where the chase was even a little longer, he would be unable to think rationally. Too pumped on adrenaline and fearful of being caught in the great lie of the number one Hero, he would do something unwise.)
He sighed, before chuckling to himself quietly. Even on his day off he has to go be the Hero.
As his phone dinged, confirming that a police transport was on the way, he began to gather up the boy’s things.
One object stood out. A notebook. It was well worn, sporting burn marks and crinkly, dried out pages.
“Hero Analysis for the future: Volume 13”
Oh?
Izuku woke up to the strange feeling of a hoarse throat. He slowly rose, feeling himself leaning against a wall.
His entire body felt sticky.
That was strange. Last he remembered he had been walking home from school-
[“Take a swan dive off a roof!” “A medium sized invisibility suit!” ]
As memories of the last hour came back to him, he quickly shot up.
Where am I? What happened-
“Woah, hey, my boy, it’s alright! You’re safe.”
He looked in front of him, vision clearing alongside his memories rearranging themselves.
He was being attacked by a Villain, but right before he had fallen unconscious, he had seen someone else in the area, seemingly defeating the Villain, which meant…
The fog in his head finally cleared, allowing him to see clearly again.
He took a solid look at the man in front of him who had gently placed a large hand on his shoulder, light fog seemingly emanating around him. The man was tall, and didn’t seem to be wearing a Hero outfit, but he had long blond hair, dark eyes, and a gentle smile. Which meant…
“A-A-A-ALL MIGHT?!”
The number one Hero laughed cheerily at his reaction. “Why yes, my boy, I am All Might! You’ll be happy to know I gave that crook that was bothering you a good Smash! The police are thankfully on the way to pick up the Villain, but they are still... about ten minutes off. Are you all right, young man? Did that slimy fiend harm you at all?”
Taking a deep breath to regain his composure (Nerd out later when your idol isn’t right in front of you!), Izuku nodded faintly. “Uhm, I’m alright, All Might, Sir! You stopped the... the Villain before he could hurt me! He might have gotten into my lungs if you had been any later!”
All Might seemed to smile at that, breathing out. “I’m happy to hear that, my boy. This is rather embarrassing, but today was meant to be a day off for me, so I was a little slower to get going! But I suppose a Hero’s work is never done, no? And you were plenty Heroic yourself there, young man! Keeping your composure and preventing that Villain from harming you further by opening your mouth and trying to breathe must have taken great willpower!”
Izuku blushed at that... unwilling to admit he had done it on reflex. “Thank you, All Might, Sir! Uhm, Could I please have your signature?”
The Hero smiled, flashing a thumbs up. “Sounds like I’ve beaten you to the punch, young man! I saw that you had quite a lot of my, Achem, merch, so I took the liberty of slipping it into that notebook of yours! It seemed a little damaged, so a made sure to use a loose page at the end!”
He gestured to his burnt-up notebook thirteen, sitting next to his backpack. Kacc- Bakugou, stop that– had left it plenty fragile, but there it was, clean as day: The signature of his idol.
I’ll treasure this for the rest of my days…
All Might was so cool! He really lived up to the hype in person! But…
The man seemed to notice the tension in him... and he moved to sit down. (what the hell what the hell what the hell!)
The large form of All Might seemed awkward as he settled into a squat on the opposite side of the small alleyway. All the while, he kept a single eye on the bottles that contained the gurgling Villain.
As he spoke, his voice became quieter. “Young man, you seem troubled by something other than this incident... Is everything all right?”
He shuddered, gulping. Was he really that obvious? “Oh... Can I ask you something important, All Might, Sir?”
“Of course, young man. We still have a few minutes, anyhow!”
Without the bravado, All Might's tone seemed... inviting. His voice had the tinge of an older man, deep, calm, and... human, in a way different to his standard way of speaking.
All Heroes are trained to be kind... but this doesn't really get onto the news, huh?
“Okay!” He took a deep breath, clapping his hands together in something almost like a prayer. He couldn't miss this chance to finally get an answer.
“Do you think someone without a quirk could be a Hero like you?”
It took every ounce of control Toshinori had not to say the first thing that came to mind. Which was, unfortunately, no.
That if someone like me, Holder of what was perhaps one of the strongest powers the world had to offer, could get as injured as I am, there was too big of a risk for someone with no ability to call their own to be a Hero.
But that wasn't what this young man needed to hear, was it? Not when he was as desperate as he seemed. How often had the boy ever had his dreams encouraged, if ever? Judging by the marks clear to see on his uniform.. not often, at least at school.
(It was also, perhaps, not what a young Toshinori needed to hear, either. Perhaps, without Nana, he could have been a Hero anyways, with or without a grand power, but he would never know now, not with One For All flowing through his veins.)
Immediately, a voice the sounded suspiciously like the sum of his two greatest mentors shot through his head, shouting the obvious thought that someone like the boy, oh so determined, would be a perfect holder of his Quirk. Someone to keep an eye on, as a chance to pass on his legacy. But…
He somehow felt like it would be a waste. Not of the quirk, but rather of the boy himself.
After all, he had gotten a look at a few undamaged pages of that notebook of his, and…
So, thoughts organised and mind set, he took a deep breath, and answered in the way he knew was right, lowering his voice and speaking calmly.
“I could tell you yes, my boy, but I would not want to lie to you. I do not think a person without a quirk could be a Hero like me.”
“Oh. I… see. Thank you, All Might. I’ll…”
“But… I will say something else, instead. I will ask you… why would you settle to be someone like me, when you could be more?”
“Sorry…What? I… huh?”
He took another breath, planning his words as the boy sputtered before returning to silence. He needed to word what he wanted to say very, very carefully in order to get across what he wanted.
He got the feeling the poor young man had been fed some… unfortunate ideas about his industry.
“I will admit, young man, that while you were unconscious, I did get to take a look at some of the pages in that notebook of yours.”
The boy tensed instantly, mumbling. “I’m Sorry, All Might, Sir! I know my notes are creepy, and weird, and…”
Right on the money. Alright, Toshinori. Tell this kid what he needs to hear, or you may just lose him.
“I would rather call them powerful, my boy. For someone of your age, with next to no training, they are very well put together.”
“What? All Might, what do you…”
“Can I tell you a secret, my boy? I did not learn how to access my quirk until I was about your age.”
The boy was stunned, before he began to mutter. “But that would mean…”
He nodded. “Yes. I was assumed to be quirkless until that day. Even back then, many years ago, the quirkless were not treated kindly. If we were not treated as more fragile, less useful... we were heckled. Mocked. I am only learning recently that they are perhaps treated even worse, now. I understand that perhaps you were mocked about your desire to be a Hero, no?”
At a loss for words, the boy nodded.
“Many young people who desire to be Heroes sharpen their bodies. Instead, my boy, you have sharpened your mind. I am sure you wish to attend U.A, the Hero school I went to, yes?"
Another nod. Perfect.
"Then you should be able to answer this. It's staff is made up of professionals of all walks of life, but it is mostly famous for hiring pro Heroes to teach many of it's courses. Even if not all of said staff are in the field any more, or never were at all when it comes to the courses outside of Heroics, the upper administration is made up almost entirely of people who are or at some point were Heroes."
"Right. But..."
"Tell me, who is U.A’s principal?”
The boy was silent for only a moment before he quickly had the answer. “The High Specs Hero, Mr. Principal... although he often forgoes the Hero name to use his given name of Nedzu.”
"And Nedzu... what is he, beyond a individual who cannot punch or kick?"
"He's... Support. You mean..."
Toshinori smirked. For the average person, the exact specification a Hero fell under was a vague, unknown thing. The boy obviously knew that the concept existed, but years of the media screaming and shouting about All Might and his fellow frontline heroes... it's no surprise the boy had developed a blindspot to frontline Heroics' Mirror Image.
In fact... he hadn't done all too badly while under attack. If Sir Nighteye, who could only use his quirk on sparse occasions, could fight on the field and fulfill his support duties... with the right backup and training... the boy could perhaps accomplish both, achieving that oh so rare double role.
“Yes, my boy. While I think you could use that mind of yours to be as good of a Spotlight Hero as any, even if there was a risk, and you could make an even better Underground Hero, capable of saving many lives, or even the best of both worlds as a Twilight Hero, there is always the other path of Heroics. Sure, they aren’t talked about much, but Support Heroes perhaps save even more lives than we do. Recovery Girl, Sir Nighteye, Mr Principal, Cementoss…”
“Support Heroics… you think I can be like that, All Might?”
The boy was motivated, that was for sure, and a bright mind at that, if not very… focused. Perhaps he reminded Toshinori of his younger self, but he was nonetheless someone he wanted to see succeed.
“I don’t think so boy. I know so. With enough training of both your mind and body, young man. despite possessing no quirk, you CAN be a Hero!”
He had a plan to help this boy, now. Sure, it meant he would have to call up Nedzu-sensei, but he had plenty of ways to pay the principal back, especially since, knowing him, he’d be on board. He just needed to get the kid's name.
The boy was silent for a moment, seemingly thinking. Toshinori mentally patted himself on the back. He totally nailed that speech-
he then promptly burst into tears.
Oh dear.
Four Days Later:
Aizawa Shouta knew that something was happening, and that something was presumably good, if the Rat’s cheerful demeanour meant anything.
Four days ago, said Rat had received an unexpected call from an “Old Alumni” that had left him positively beaming, and whatever that was had seemingly come to a head.
So, when he got called into a meeting with his boss, he kept his hopes up, despite not knowing what would be happening.
Nedzu had two offices. A drab, formal one, and his personal office that he filled with his precious items. Very few knew how to access the secret one of the two, and him being one of them was somewhat a point of pride.
He popped open the ceiling tile, crawling into the small and homely underground chamber, slumping into the chair opposite the Rat, who was quickly typing into a PC, like usual.
“Ah, Shouta-kun! It is good to see you made it on time. We have much to discuss.”
He sighed, only half genuinely. “What is it? I was napping.”
Nedzu chuckled. “Of course, of course. To be blunt, the contract for Muimina-san’s hiring has gone through. They aren’t a Hero, which means they won’t be teaching a Hero course. Instead, they are scheduled to take over Nemuri-chan’s general education homeroom! Now, of course, she needs a new one, so I have decided to have her take over as class 1-A’s homeroom teacher!”
He was only silent for a moment before responding. “Considering I’m still here, I imagine you’re not firing me?”
Nedzu chittered quietly. “That’s correct! You see, four days ago, I got the most fascinating call. A good friend of mine called, discussing his desire for a child he met to seek a path in Heroics, but said that most schools would not provide the necessary environment for that child to grow.”
[
“Nedzu-sensei I have known this child for about half an hour, and I will probably do anything for them. Please, I will grovel and beg- “
]
“So, a bigshot kid wants special treatment, what’s the big- “
“The child possesses no quirk.”
Shouta’s eyes widened slightly as he shook himself a little more awake. This was pretty important then. “And the kid wants to be a Hero? Impressive, if not a little risky.”
“That would be the case, if not for the fact that the child, upon being prompted to it's greater existence, expressed an interest in Support Heroics. I have seen I few pictures of some of his notes, at that. They are very well put together for someone his age! Despite his desire to pursue Support, which one can start studying after high school... The boy has a heroic aptitude, fighting off the attack of a Villain on instinct. He'd be perfect for a double track path, earning a license for Support and Frontline Heroics.”
To want to train a Support Hero to work on the field and off… that could only mean… “You want to try the project again? I thought you said the board wouldn’t approve it.”
Nedzu smiled darkly in a way he didn’t let out often.
“And that’s the second piece of news I’ve gotten. You see, this… friend of mine…-let’s call him Yagi-san, for now- is in a position of… shall we call it influence? Yes, I think so. On top of that, they were fairly desperate for the opportunity to offer a boy whose circumstances were not pleasant the chance to succeed..."
His mentor's grin grew ever sharper.
"To the point that he offered to do all but anything for me! Thus… I simply asked him to gather as much dirt on the school board as he could, and I would play my role!”
Ah. Shouta matched his mentor’s smile with one of his own. “How many did you manage to boot?”
“With a little blackmail, some bribery, and the force of a rather famous man... Of the twenty-two members of the board, six have recently been arrested for various crimes, including embezzlement, discrimination, and fraud.”
Good riddance. Those old assholes were around when he was a student. He doubted Nedzu would miss them either.
“Oh, and since its on such short notice, right before planning for next year begins, we’ve simply decided to vote with only sixteen members!”
“Ten of which are on your side on most things… bastard.”
Nedzu laughed again. “I’ll take that as a compliment, Shouta-kun!” He pulled out a small file.
Shouta grabbed it almost enthusiastically. He had been the one petitioning for it's contents for years now, pretty much since he had started teaching. Sure, it meant he would have to cut down on Hero hours in order to get the sleep necessary to functionally run it, but it would be oh so worth it.
“When do we start?”
The Rat flipped his monitor, revealing a long list of named files. “As soon as we start digging through these student admission forms! We finally get to use that last checkbox!”
Instantly, plenty of the present excitement left his form. Of course, all things started and ended with paperwork.
Nedzu moved to the door, smiling. “While you do that, I need to go and personally address our potential Support Hero, and our project's core. See you later, Shouta-kun!”
Shouta sighed as his boss slipped through the exit, before looking to the thousand or so possible students that made it past the filters.
“Well then. Nothing else to do but start… ”
He slipped out of his own chair, pulling out his phone, where Nedzu had already sent him the list, formatted for reading convenience.
Sliding open the door to the room and feeling it click locked behind him, he beelined for the teacher's lounge.
If he was going to deal with this, he was going to do it in comfort, dammit.
[
Hitoshi quietly sat in his room, filling out the U.A admission forms. Loudly, his foster siblings ran through the hall, playing. He wasn’t per say complaining, though.
This most recent home had been nice. The couple that was looking after him both had mental quirks, so they didn’t treat him badly. He didn’t know how long it would last though, so he wasn’t getting his hopes up.
He wasn’t per say confident in his odds of getting into the Hero course, but U.A general education was great for how not overly expensive it was, and it presented the chance to sneak into Heroics through the sports festival. There was no harm in trying.
Hitoshi had a big plan and everything. Twelve steps and all.
He slowly checked off boxes, with all sorts of options, from body type to former education to location, until he came across one last box.
“Please check this box if you have any interest in alternate Heroic paths from U.A's standard curriculum of Spotlight Heroics, including Underground Heroics, Twilight Heroics, Support Heroics, or Other.”
Huh. He always did fancy the idea of being an Underground Hero, like Eraserhead. The checkbox was likely for statistics or something, but he had no reason to lie.
He ticked the box, finishing up the form, and packing it up to hand in.
(Unknowingly, he has perhaps made the best choice he could have made)
]
Izuku slowly made his way his way home from the library, gently rubbing his aching shoulder.
He was able to avoid a week of school in order to “recover from a Villain attack”, but he would have to return eventually. He would have loved to never return to his middle school ever again, but if he wanted to get to U.A, he’d need to complete his education.
And he wanted to get to U.A even MORE now! Ever since Yagi-san’s (He knew All Might’s name! Woah!) suggestion of Support Heroics, he had felt more motivated than ever. Sure, it wouldn’t be what child Izuku wanted, but it was the next best thing. Heck, maybe it was better.
Perhaps not being in front of the cameras could be a good thing, even...
As he approached the apartment, he thought back to four days ago.
[
Izuku had finally calmed himself down as he watched the police bring the Villain away, thankfully camera free. He looked to All Might, who was standing somewhat awkwardly next to him.
“Thank you for your words, All Might! I won’t let you down!”
All Might seemed to smile at him, which was a good sign.
“Of course, my boy. Now then… I never got your name!”
“M... Midoriya Izuku, sir!”
“Very well, Midoriya-shounen. I want you to have this. It’s my personal phone number.”
Midoriya looked in shock at the provided piece of paper. “All Might, sir, I couldn’t! This is- “
All Might quickly raised his hands. “It’s alright, my boy! This is my personal number, no relation to All Might! Heck, when you use it, call me Yagi Toshinori, ok?”
All Might’s name. He had All Might’s name… and his phone number. This was perhaps the best- (“take a swan dive off the roof!”)- one of the best days of his life!
“Now, my boy, I’d tell you to send me any updates on your preparations that you can, but I imagine trying to send a message to what is functionally a celebrity is probably rather hard, so, if need be, I can check up on you instead, alright?”
Izuku was practically beaming. “...You’ve got it, All Might-Uhm… Yagi-san!”
All Might left then, citing things to do, but Izuku still felt on top of the world, even when he had to answer some questions regarding the Villain attack.
If having All Might’s phone number meant having to console his mother for hours when she arrived at the station, that was neither here nor there.
]
As Izuku arrived at his door, however, he heard faint talking. He would have guessed it was Auntie Mitsuki coming to visit, but the other voice talking to mom sounded fairly masculine, if not rather high pitched. (And, more notably, quiet. That was about as far away from the Bakugou matriarch as you could get)
He opened the door, curious as to who it was. “Mom, I’m home!”
“Izuku? come into the living room, dear!”
He walked into the living room, not sure what to expect. Perhaps it was a police officer?
Instead, he was greeted with a sight out of his wildest dreams.
His mom, smiling nervously, drinking tea with the U.A principal.
As he definitely did not gawk at the Nedzu (Who he had been doing a lot of research into in the last three days, and who had easily shot up his personal favourite Hero rankings), the Hero turned to him, smiling. “Am I a Mouse, a Rat, a Dog, or perhaps even a Bear? More importantly, I’m Nedzu, the U.A Principal! It is a pleasure to meet you, Midoriya-kun! Yagi-kun has been telling me much about you!”
“An Albino stoat? With grafts from a dog for the paws, bear ears, and a mouse tail, no? That's...That’s what you are, right?”
All three people in the room were silent. Izuku had figured that would be the best response to Nedzu’s arrival, but he wasn’t sure. Had he ruined his chances with a horrible first impression?
He was drawn from his panicked thoughts by Nedzu’s chittering laughter. “It seems like Yagi-kun was right on the money about you, Midoriya-kun! Come, sit. We have much to discuss!”
Oh, thank hell.
Izuku scrambled to sit next to his mother, who was smiling, face tinged with nervous apprehension. “What have you been chatting with Nedzu-san about, Mom?”
Midoriya Inko smiled faintly at her son, clearly suppressing anxiety over having a Hero in her house.
(She had almost fainted when Izuku had told her about meeting All Might and getting his number. He hadn’t told her about the Hero thing, though.)
“Oh, he was mostly talking about tea, dear. I think he was waiting for you…”
Nedzu nodded. “That is correct. By the way, Midoriya-san, your tea is positively delightful. What is your recipe?”
“Uhm...It’s a family secret, Nedzu-san.”
“I see. I guess I’ll have to get to know you further to find out!”
(It was a smart move to make. Keeping the attention of U.A’s principal would perhaps keep his eyes on her son for longer. While it wasn’t needed, Midoriya Inko would do anything to help her son, even if she wasn’t confident in the idea of Heroics. Even down to discussing tea with the scariest Pro in the country.)
“But that’s beside the point, Midoriya-san. Midoriya-kun, you are interested in quirk analysis, yes? May I see some of your notes?”
“Oh! I... sure! Yagi-san said they’re good, but I’m not sure, everyone always says they’re creepy…”
As Nedzu grabbed the notebook (Number fourteen. It was about half full of rewrites from thirteen. Rewriting his notes was a relaxing task to do while he had been dead tired), he smiled. “People call me creepy too, Midoriya-kun. I can also say I’m plenty… powerful, as I'd guess Yagi-kun put it. Both of those ideas can co-exist.”
Izuku hadn’t thought about it that way, before. If the notes helped… what was wrong with how detailed they were?
Silence filled the room for a while, until Nedzu closed the notebook. “These are very good for your age, Midoriya-kun! I’ll admit I also took the liberty of looking at your performance at school as well. Bypassing the subpar marking habits of your teachers, which is a project for later, you are very wise for your age. I’d say with training, you could be smarter than most Heroes I know, even!”
[
"Hey, Toshinori?"
"Naomasa! How have you been? You have perfect timing. I wanted to call you, anyhow!"
"Things have been going well, yeah. Hey, listen… you get along well enough with Nedzu, yeah?"
"Definitely! Heck, I've even chatting with him about a few things recently. Why'd you ask?"
"Awesome. Do you think you can tell me why the man's provisioned ten police officers, two pros, and four child psychologists from the east Musutafu Police?"
"Oh… it's that bad, huh? Well, I'd say you don't have to worry about it, Naomasa! It'll turn out well in a few weeks."
"Toshinori what does that MEAN-"
]
Both of the Midoriyas’ eyes widened, but Inko regained her composure first. “Thank you for complimenting my son in the way he’s deserved for years, but… that still doesn’t explain your presence here. Did my son do something to get your attention?”
Nedzu smiled at that. “Why, it’s simple, Midoriya-san. Your son survived.”
“Eh?”
“I suppose a more detailed explanation is necessary. Your son, as someone without a quirk, must have faced great difficulty. Bullying, discrimination, lack of access to developmental help other than you… and yet, he is still as bright as he is, and he still hasn’t given up his dreams of being a Hero.”
Nedzu looked to the silent pair of green haired individuals, smiling gently.
“This is something I wish to nurture, Midoriya-san. I believe that your son has the power to change the world. In fact… I would like to teach him myself. It has been many years since I have taken a personal student, but I could not think of a better choice.”
Izuku sputtered. “You want to… teach me?”
Nedzu smiled sharply. “Of course! I do not often lie, unless it is to my enemies.”
Inko looked to the small Hero in front of her, face stern, fists clenched. She was silent, both parties looking to her. One in curiosity, one in silent pleading.
“I don’t think I’ve been the best mother, as of late.”
Izuku’s eyes bulged. “Mom, no! I- “
She smiled at him, eyes watery. “No matter how dedicated you were, I never bothered to Support your dreams. But to see how brave you were after that attack, and then to hear from someone like Nedzu that my baby boy has that potential…I’d be a fool not to let you pursue it. I’m sorry I never said yes to you, Izuku. You should do this!”
“Mom!”
Both Midoriyas promptly burst into their standard tears, hugging softly.
(It was the final step for Izuku, really, to hear what he had been hoping to hear for years.)
After a few minutes, both of them regained their composure, Izuku smiled at his mother.
“Thanks, mom. I won’t let you down!”
“Of course, dear. You could do anything, and I would still be proud of you…”
Suddenly, both realised that they were not alone in the room.
“Nedzu-san, I’m sorry for…” “Nedzu, sir, I, we…”
They were once again interrupted by faint laughter. “Do not worry at all. There was bound to be some emotions when I raised my request, and I see both of you wear your hearts on your sleeves! Believe it or not, it is a trait I admire. It shows genuineness, and it will serve you well.”
Both Izuku and his mother had gone beet red at that point, but they both laughed faintly.
Izuku looked to Nedzu, nervousness returning. “What exactly would you teaching me entail?”
Nedzu clapped his hands, grabbing a small briefcase sitting next to the chair he was in. (that only dwarfed him slightly) “Right. For Starters, we would be pulling you out of the terrible school you’re in at the moment, of course. I’m certain you can finish your remaining middle school work in half the time, and after that it will give you time for you to help me prepare for the project that will make up most of your next three years!”
Both Inko and Izuku raised an eyebrow at that. “And what is that project, sir?”
The Mammalian Hero extracted a small file from his briefcase. “You see, your arrival has offered me the opportunity to begin a plan I have wanted to try for many years. Recently, our school board at U.A has undergone some… changes, which presents me this chance.”
The file was a pale brown. On it, a simple logo had been placed in plain text. If it were not in the hands of Nedzu, it would be entirely unremarkable.
-The TWILIGHT Project-
And yet, it exuded an energy Izuku could not hope to describe.
Izuku looked at the file. “Twilight… like Twilight Heroes? Heroes who bridge the gap between Underground and Spotlight by staying off the rankings and being to some degree secretive? Like Midnight and Sir Nighteye?”
Nedzu smiled. “The very same. This project aims to bring about a new class at U.A, one for those that conventional Heroics would deny, in the form of Underground, Twilight, and Support Heroes! And you, young Midoriya-kun, would be taught both the branches of Frontline and Support Heroics, in order to act as a leader, guiding your fellow students towards a bright future!”
The room was silent for only a moment, before…
“EEEEEHHHH?”
END OF CHAPTER ONE