Chapter Text
Izuku Midoriya was as unremarkable as they came. If his life were a book, a movie or even a TV series he would not be the main character. Not even a supporting role, he’d be villager #3 that would keel over and die as the antagonist monologues their traumatic childhood.
In a world with Alphas and Omegas, special people with extraordinary strength - at least that’s what his mom said - Izuku was only Beta. Like his own parents.
His origin story would be bland if not a bit depressing. A lowlife nerd who kept his nose buried in All Might comics and movies and away from reality. An escapist of the highest caliber.
Inko Midoriya had originally encouraged the fascination, relatively content with her son’s interest. Izuku’s father had left them soon after his birth and her little boy needed some kind of male role model in his life. She wasn’t going to question her son’s happiness.
In his early years of life it had not been too harmful. All the kids his age were fond of the comics too, and his contagious enthusiasm earned him quick friends. Most notably from these friends was one Katsuki Bakugou.
The child was a bit rough around the edges but well-meaning as far as Inko could tell. He had an explosive personality, though he was a little too crass for Inko’s liking.
She really shouldn’t complain, Katsuki was Izuku’s best friend. For that she was endlessly grateful, so she wouldn’t question that either.
The two boys were close, as close as kids that age could be. Izuku followed Katsuki everywhere, at the park, in the playground and at school. They were united through All Might, and their love of superheroes was without limit.
Katsuki would drag Izuku everywhere by the hand, exploring and playing together.
They’d sit side-by-side laughing together for hours on end.
So, even if Inko had initially thought the boy would be a bad influence he wasn’t.
He made Izuku more confident, more sure of himself. Katsuki made his son stronger in ways he’d never fully know and for that she was grateful.
Izuku loved Katsuki, that much was clear to Inko from the very beginning. He admired the explosive blond so much so that there were days he’d chatter about ‘Kacchan’ more than his beloved All Might.
It almost made Inko worried, the boys were attached at the hip but often it seemed like Izuku worshipped the ground Katsuki walked on. He could easily become codependent for his first close friend.
After all, without a father figure in his life perhaps there were things her little boy was projecting.
Funnily enough, comfort comes to her in the form of one Mitsuki Bakugou. She tells Inko she’s never seen her son so gentle to anyone. Never seen him so considerate and compassionate with anyone but Izuku.
Inko lets their mutual adoration for each other comfort her. It’s just a phase, and clearly their sons were happy.
Izuku was happy.
But when Katsuki finally presents as Alpha things start to change. And not for the better.
Izuku has always been a bit of a crybaby. First year of junior high and he still hasn’t outgrown it. He knows it’s embarrassing and he tries his best not to do it too much.
Trying your best only helps so much.
Katsuki presents as Alpha and suddenly he can’t stand to be near Izuku anymore. He tries his best to make it work, tries to figure it all out but Kacchan has always been stubborn. Why is he surprised?
He tries to keep pace with him as they leave from school, but Kacchan has longer legs and his strides are difficult to catch up too. Izuku runs to keep pace but then Kacchan turns around and yells at him.
“Go away Deku! Stop following me like a creep, I’ve had it with you!”
Izuku pauses, lower lip trembling. They’d been friends for as long as he could remember. Why was this happening? What made Kacchan decide to leave? Izuku couldn’t figure it out.
“W-what did I do? Kacchan, what’s wrong? Does it have something to do with being Alp-”
“I SAID GET LOST!” Katsuki snaps, jaw clenching too tight. Now that Izuku can see his face, he notices a few things. His friend’s pupils were dilated to the point that the red of his irises were consumed completely. His face was paler than usual, and he was panting vigorously like he’d run a marathon.
“K-Kachan, if you could just tell me what’s wrong I’ll get out of your hair I promise.”
Katsuki seems to only grow more agitated once he’s said that. Izuku’s never seen him this angry, especially not at him. There’s a first time for everything and if Izuku was smarter he’d have seen this coming sooner.
He approaches Izuku, deathly slow. His fury so thick Izuku swore he could almost smell it. Then, with a start, Izuku realized he probably was. Kacchan had presented as Alpha, and this heedy smoke like smell must have been the pheremones that indicated his anger. If Izuku weren’t a Beta he’d be fighting fight or flight instincts right about now.
“You know what my problem is, nerd? It’s you! You reek! No wonder nobdies been hanging around us lately. You’re fucking gross! Don’t know why I didn’t notice sooner.”
The more Katsuki spoke the less Izuku recognized him as the kid he’d play hide and seek with and more like the bully he heard people whisper about. The whispers Izuku had tried so hard to deny. In all his life so far, Katsuki had only gotten annoyed with him. Sometimes he was even mildly frustrated. He was never like this before. Never this cruel.
“You’re a waste of time, I’ve had enough. If you know what’s good for you, do NOT come near me ever again. Don’t talk to me, don’t walk beside me again and for the love of God don’t even look at me! Got it, nerd?”
At this point, Katsuki had gripped his collar harshly, pulling Izuku close to his face so he could properly glower at him.
Izuku felt a pathetic whimper begin, his eyes growing wet but he refused to cry in front of Katsuki like this. This wasn’t his best friend, not anymore.
“Y-Yes Kacchan. I get it.”
Katsuki stares at him a moment longer, as if trying to read something from his face. There’s something there in his eyes. A spark of something Izuku hopes is guilt.
“Tch. Good.”
Whatever it was Katsuki seems to dismiss it quickly, turning away from Izuku and going on his way.
Only after Katsuki disappears out of view does Izuku allow himself to cry.
By the time his final year at Aldera Junior High rolls around, Izuku and Katsuki don’t talk at all. Just as Katsuki had requested.
His childhood friend still had other acquaintances around him, more lackeys than friends and Izuku did his best to stay out of the way.
In comparison Izuku was unbearably lonely these days. He wasn’t bright like Katsuki, a beacon of power and strength that made people gravitate towards him.
By then all the people from his junior high had created cliques of their own. Him and Katsuki had been a package deal for so long there was no space for shy, loser Deku.
This is how Izuku ended up spending his lunches alone eating under a staircase, busying himself by listening to music, working on homework. Anything he can to keep him distracted from his loneliness.
The only hope he has left is getting into U.A High. His dream school since he had learned Yagi Toshinori (the actor who played All Might!) had graduated from there. The legend was a UA alumni.
Izuku’s current dream was to get into U.A. If he could he would surely gain multiple scholarship opportunities. He’d be guaranteed success for life, no matter what he decided.
Many successful people came from U.A, the magnet school was renowned across the country.
Some of the greatest athletes, lawyers, doctors, scientists and CEOs came from that school. Izuku was determined to get in.
The problem was how. The application process was rather extensive, though it allowed liberty for the applicants to sell themselves however they wished. For people like Kacchan there was no problem.
Kacchan was a well-rounded athlete, who was incredibly smart and talented in almost any area he attempted. The guy was a genius who could cook, play the drums and parkour all in the span of a few hours.
Izuku on the other hand was nowhere near as naturally gifted as his ex-best friend. He was a bit of a nerd, so his grades were pretty good. His report card submission was most definitely not an issue, but there were multiple components for this application.
The report card wasn’t even the worst part. There was the Letter of Reference, the personal reflection and then a written essay component. All of this in addition to the Entrance Exam, honestly caused Izuku a lot of anxiety.
The personal reflection and essay component were easy enough. The prompt was about facing adversity, and though it wasn’t something Izuku could B.S he had enough confidence in his writing to know he would be okay. As for the personal reflection, he would be forced to bring up every single minor thing he had ever participated in his life. The bake sale in his 6th grade, the taekwondo summer camp he did once. The art class Izuku quit when he realized his mother could barely afford it.
Writing had become his forte. His notebooks and journals had become his only confidant, the only place his thoughts or words would go anywhere. Would mean anything. It had been such a long time since Izuku had ever verbally spoken to anyone besides his mother. He didn’t need to anymore.
In any case, there were only two things left to worry about.
The Letter of Reference and the Entrance Exam.
The Entrance Exam - Izuku had learned - could actually vary from person to person. The written portion was the same regardless, but the additional segment depended on the program you were applying for. There were four major branches in which you could apply.
Athletics, Arts, STEM and Business Management.
Yagi Toshinori, despite being an actor, had initially been an MMA fighter. He hailed as a former Athletics student. Izuku had intended to follow in his footsteps alongside Katsuki.
Then they stopped talking and Izuku hadn’t known what to do. They were supposed to do everything together, they had even taken MMA classes together. To be the best.
He knew then he had to get into U.A on his own. Without Katsuki’s presence ruining his life.
After their fallout, Izuku just could not do it anymore. The fighting, the aggression, the constant fury and frustration that seemed to permanently settle under Katsuki’s skin. It was too painful to look at him.
He didn’t want to waste his mother’s money on something that made him miserable. That’s why he quit the classes. Or at least, that had been the excuse he had given his mom.
At first this change left Izuku without a path. He hadn’t known what to do nor where to go. He also hated quitting halfway, he wasn’t supposed to be that type of person. Nevertheless, it seemed there a lot of things he took for granted. A lot of things that were changing around him regardless if he wanted it or not.
When Izuku resigned his uniform to the kind old man who ran the classes he felt a shame like nothing else. He was giving up on this because of what? Because of Katsuki?How lame was that?
Then out of nowhere Izuku realized something. All this time he had been following Yagi Toshinori and Katsuki Bakugou blindly.
He was engrossed in their brilliance; he went along with it hoping he’d find the same for himself.
Katsuki used to promise that they’d do everything together, that they’d be the number one hero just like All Might.
Then he was just kicked to the curb.
Izuku needed something for himself. Needed to become someone for himself.
This would be a problem. He didn’t know his own strengths or weaknesses, blinded by Katsuki and Katsuki’s success alone for so long. If he were to try something new now he wouldn’t know where to start.
Then one night as he read over a journal entry of his he found something interesting. He was reminded of something his mentor had told him once.
“I get that you boys like Toshinori. I really do, but you can’t fight exactly like him. You don’t have his body nor his physical strength. Use what you do have to your advantage. What does that mean for you, Izuku?”
“Um, I shouldn’t punch as much?”
“That’s an excellent start! Do you want to know what I think?’
“What?”
“You have a more narrow build than Katsuki but you have strong legs. This makes you faster on your feet! Use this to your advantage!”
Speed. This was how Izuku had taken his first steps without Katsuki by his side. He joined the track team.
It was strange to be doing things without Katsuki by his side. Yet, as time passed he found it more natural than he expected. He tried various track events, and found that he seemed to excel with more endurance focused events then throwing. He was pretty good at running. He kept with it. He could do well in most running events but extended sprints is where he excelled the most.
The 800m was his event.
He liked to keep it varied though. He wasn’t too bad at hurdles either.
He wanted something more challenging though, and wanted to broaden his horizons. Keep himself versatile. He needed something that would truly set him apart.
And then he saw it. The annual U.A Sports Festival held triathlons. They were meant to showcase endurance.
Izuku was in awe. It was perfect. Triathlon training it was.
After speaking to a few gym teachers and his mother he found a way to train.
Though his middle didn’t exactly offer it in full, in order to train Izuku had joined the swim team in addition to track and then he would bike to and from school on most days.
It was rather hectic but Izuku preferred it that way. If he was busy before, after and during school he had less time to indulge his self-doubt and sadness.
Unfortunately, this month has begun Izuku’s season of purposelessness. Swim had finished within the first few months of the school year and track had just ended. Which left Izuku with biking as his only remaining method of training.
This posed as a problem for the Entrance Exam, as he wouldn’t be running or swimming enough during the time required. He needed to train properly just until the exam. Izuku needed to figure something out, and fast.
As the bell rings, signifying the end of lunch Izuku contemplates on the last thing before heading for his next class.
That Letter of Reference had next to no hope. He had no adult figures that had any distinct impression of him that could possibly write him one. Besides his mother but that was pathetic and sad even for him. Izuku couldn’t go back to his old MMA mentor. He was sure Katsuki probably got his from there and Izuku was avoiding that.
Besides, Izuku quit so he probably didn’t have anything all that great to say about Izuku anyway.
That left the Swim Team supervisor who did not know Izuku’s name or the track teacher who had recently gotten fired
If there was any reason Izuku couldn’t get in, it would have to be that Letter.
Izuku was tired of quitting, and even more so of running away. He didn’t want to be Izuku who gave up when things got hard. He wanted to be Izuku who fought hard no matter what.
That’s the spirit he admired in both Katsuki and All Might. Izuku was not going to spend any more time admiring from afar.
Not when he could be that person himself.