Chapter Text
Years ago the human race started to change drastically that will at first toppled their society, but then rise into something amazing. What started in China with a newborn baby glowing like a bright light spread across the globe, people started to gain superhuman abilities that you would only see in comic books.
In this new superhuman society with 80% of the population having some canny ability called a quirk ranging to useful to useless, a new popular profession will start to rise called Hero's. Heroes started to appear out of nowhere to stop those would use their new powers for selfish deeds or any other kind of evil purpose. Then the governments of the world started to make being a hero a job to help maintain the peace.
A young boy will see these hero's help people and wants nothing more than to be a hero as well and help people with a smile on his face. His name is Izuku Midoriya, and he is 4 years old right now, the age when people start having their quirks begin to show. He has black hair with green highlights, freckles on his cheeks that make a diamond pattern, big green eyes, and is a hero fanboy. He is a fan of so many different heroes, but he wants to be like his own personal hero All Might who is a giant of a man with a smile on his face and literally can save a hundred people in less than ten minutes. All Might is the current number one hero and symbol of peace, and it is Izuku's goal and dream to be the next top hero and his story starts now.
Early Mourning
"MOM, Wake up its time!"
A person is shifting in their bed, starting to wake up at this child's loud calls. This is Inko Midoriya and the mother of Izuku Midoriya. She is a beautiful young woman with long light green hair and green eyes. Izuku seems to take a lot after his mother because he is a cute child and has a good chance of growing up into a handsome young man if he has enough of his mother's side of the gene pool. Her quirk gives her the ability to lift up objects with her mind, the drawback however is there is a limit on how heavy the object she can lift. As of right now after training she can actually lift up her son because she loves playing with him and helping him play as a hero who can fly.
" Hold on sweetie I'm getting up, and what do you mean its time?"
"It's time to see what my quirk will be!" Izuku is vibrating in excitement at the foot of his mother's bed.
" Oh, that's right todays the day we go to the doctor. Alright just give me a moment to get ready and make breakfast."
"Okay mom" then Izuku runs to help set the table.
An hour and a half later after getting ready and had their bellies filled with breakfast, the parent and child are at the doctor's office waiting room.
" Are you excited to see what quirk you will get sweetie? "Yep" Izuku says looking up at her. "I hope it will be useful enough to be a hero."
" I think it will be useful no matter what" Inko smiles. " Are the Midoriya's ready" a voice calls out. "Yes we are, let's go Izuku."
Izuku is jumping up and down ready for what happens next.
Later
Izuku was not ready.
" I'm sorry, but it's not going to happen." A fat doctor wearing green goggles and has a big mustache says.
"Oh no is something wrong" Inko asks while Izuku is in shock.
"Well, you see when quirks started to appear the government started doing tests to see who can and cannot get a quirk and to see what links people and their quirks." The doctor pulls out a chart." They found out that the joints in the pinky toe are related to quirks. The human pinkie toe used to have two joints, but after quirks they started to mutate to only have one. If a person has two then they are quickness. Izuku here has two from this x-ray we took earlier." He says with a bored tone.
Inko then got visibly upset.
"Sir with all due respect, that method is outdated and is no longer viable, there have been a lot of cases where this method did not work and there are also people with mutant or transformation type quirks that change the bones in their feet. They should be some blood work done, muscle tests done, and brain wave tests to see if a person has a transformation or emitter type quirk."
Inko was a nurse at a different hospital, they only went to this one because the one she worked at is having their childcare wing going under reconstruction to have a little play place and updated tec in the examination rooms.
The doctor just shrugged and said," Look I've been doing this for years and I haven't had any problems like those come up, and I have been right so far, you are just gonna have to accept that the brat is quirkless."
This got Inko madder and before she broke anything (either something in the room or the doctors' bones) she took Izuku and left the room.
"Mom, am I really quirkless?" Izuku looked up with watery eyes. Inko changed her expression from angry to kind." I don't believe so Izuku, that quack of a doctor was just lazy to do any other tests, we will go to a competent doctor" and then then left the building, however things will not go the way Inko or Izuku wants.
All other doctors' offices saw Izuku's charts and saw it said quirkless, apparently the first doctor updated Izuku's chart when they left and got his digital files updated as well to say he is quirkless. No doctor's offices wanted to do any actual tests because they believe the other tests were done and that Inko was just trying to run away from reality for her child by giving him lost hope. After the hospital Inko works at got done with their update, she was shocked to find that they no longer do quirk examinations anymore to focus on more serious injuries or illnesses. Inko had no more options left, the only bright side was that she was able to shut down the quacks office for malpractice and got the man fired and arrested.
Later in the Midoriya's apartment
Izuku was watching an old All Might Video of him saving people with the lights off, and Inko looking in through the doorway. "Sweetie are you alright?" - Izuku then turned around and surprised Inko. He was not crying like she thought, instead she saw in his slightly watered eyes a fire full of determination. "Mom, do you think I can still be a hero? Because I still do."- Izuku then turned to the video.
"I might not be able to be as powerful as All Might, but I think with training I could still see me being one."- Izuku then switched to a bunch of different videos of other heroes.
"All these other hero's either have a non-combat type quirks or a quirks that needs a support item, some even carry weapons and tools that don't even need their quirks to use them. If I train hard, master something like a sword, and practice like no tomorrow do you think I can still be a hero?"- He turned to look at her once again with hope.
Inko thought about it and was thinking about apologizing to Izuku for not having a quirk or not being able to give him one, but instead looked into Izuku's eyes again.
She saw once again the fire of determination in his eyes as well as something else. Hope, courage, and a light so bright that Inko forgot about apologizing." It might not be easy, but I think you can, and I will do my best to help you." Inko said with watery eyes and proud smile.
Izuku also smiled to his mother, and she then said," I will look up some classes you can take to train you but is there anything that interests you?" Izuku looked back to the screen and saw one hero hold a Japanese katana.
" I want to train with some swords mama. That way I not only would I be able to subdue evil doers, but also defend myself."
Inko was happy that Izuku didn't just want a way to fight, but to help keep him safe as well. "Alright sweetie I will look into it, but to start your new journey with a nice start lets have some of your favorite dish for dinner tonight, katsudon. I will also need your help to make it so go wash your hands."
Izuku then smiled with stars in his eyes and ran off to the sink "Alright mama thank you!"
As Inko was about to walk towards the kitchen she looked back at the computer screen that was playing the video of the hero with the sword and said, " I don't know why but I believe that you will become a great swordsman and hero my little Izuku."
2 days later
Izuku was in the playground with his best friend Katsuki Bakugou.
"Yo nerd I heard that you don't have a quirk. I always knew that you were a worthless Deku."- Bakugou then punched his hands and released a small explosion.
"While it may be true Kacchan that won't stop me from being a hero, all I need to do is train!"
This angered Bakugou and then they started to fight. Since it was announced that Izuku was quirkless to his preschool class he was constantly being picked on. Izuku didn't let that bother him, but what did was that Bakugou also changed and picked on him as well.
Izuku always stood up for himself but was sadden that his friend was no longer how he once was. Despite this Izuku will try to save their friendship with Bakugou and save his childhood friend from turning into a bully. Thankfully after 2 weeks of always standing up to Bakugou and stopping him from bullying other kids caused Bakugou to kinda respect Izuku. He still would pick on pick on him and occasionally tried to use an explosive punch on him, but to Izuku it gave him hope that Bakugou won't turn into something that wasn't like the hero that both Izuku and Bakugou wanted him to be.
1 week later
Inko was shopping with Izuku at their nearby shopping center getting the ingredients for tonight's dinner and dinner for the next few days.
Izuku was happy because he just got a new All Might action Figure and a new kendo wood training sword that his mom got him for his good grades, he just needs to wait till they get home before she will hand them to him. The teachers at Izuku's preschool don't grade him any different ever since he was announced as quirkless, because the know better than to anger his mother Inko less they want to feel her wraith. They have heard how she was able to shut down that one doctor's office because they treated her child differently, so they knew to just grade Izuku like any other kid.
The reason why Izuku was not playing with his new gifts is that Inko knows that if Izuku was given one of these things he would stop paying attention to his surroundings and might get lost, hurt, bump into people, or to be able to see any incoming danger, which will now turn out to be a great choice.
As they were walking Izuku spotted an old man who drop some of his things in the street. He then saw a car with the driver talking on his phone about to hit the old man who was busy picking up his stuff to notice this.
His eyes widened and started to run towards the old man without a second thought.
"IZUKU what are you doing!?" Inko yelled as her child took off like a rocket.
Izuku did not say anything and continued to run to help this old man. Izuku started to strategize on how to help this old man from becoming a horrible mess on the side of the road. Thankfully the man was still close to the curd, so all he needed to do is pull him in instead of pushing because Izuku doubts he is strong enough to fully push him out of harm's way.
So Izuku ran to the man's back and when Izuku got to him he just pulled hard on his robes back toward the sidewalk. The car speed by with the driver still unaware of what happened. Thankfully karma exists and he was pulled over by a police officer nearby who saw what happened.
"Izuku are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you?" asked Inko as she caught up and saw what happened. "I'm alright mom I didn't get hurt or anything, but I didn't want this uncle here to get hurt'" said Izuku as he was then pulled into a bear hug by his mother.
The old man then sits up rubbing his back "Oh that's smarts I'm going to need a nice hot cup of tea later." The man then looks over to the parent and child combo. "Thank you young man I did not see that driver and would have been hit if not for you." The old man stands up to thank his savior.
The old man is somewhere in his mid-forties and early fifties (Closer to about 54) with a bit of a belly and has long gray hair and beard that has three points, but no moustache. He is wearing sandals, a gray and dark red robe, and is carrying a messenger bag to carry his groceries.
"I'm so happy that you are alright my name his Midoriya Inko, and this is my son Izuku." Inko sets her son down so she can introduce him while showing a big smile. She is proud because of how Izuku did a brave and heroic act to help this old man from getting hurt.
"How nice it is to meet you, my name is Iroh." The man now with his name known bows to them.
As he rises from his bow, he notices the mother carrying a kendo training sword. "Oh, what's that you are carrying now?" he asks as he points at the sword in question.
"Ah this is my sons new training sword, I just bought him this so he can learn swordsmanship" Inko says as she looks over her shoulder at the item in question.
"Then is he already signed up for a dojo to train him in swordplay already?" Iroh asks hoping she says no.
"No not yet, I am still looking into dojos to sign him up for at the moment." Inko wonders why he is asking this.
"Thats great now I know how to repay my young savior then. I actually own my own dojo nearby, and right at the moment I don't have many students so I can easily take him on and teach him to learn all kinds of sword play. My teaching method doesn't stick to just one style either, but on a few. Please give me this chance to repay you both for what he did."
Inko was shocked at this and happy that she might have found a place to teach Izuku. However, there is one lingering thought stopping her from saying yes right now and having Izuku take his first step towards his dream.
"I would be happy with this, but there is one thing you need to know before we sign my son up. My son he is...he's... my son is quirkless." Inko looks down toward her son.
Inko knows how the quirkless are treated and how soon people turn their backs on them. She is worried on how this man might react at hearing this. Being quirkless is also what stopped Inko from signing him up earlier because most if not all dojo's do not take on quirkless students.
Izuku is also looking down at his red shoes worrying on the same thing as his mother is. Izuku decides to be brave and slowly lift his head up to see how the man reacts, only to be surprised to see him give a kind warm smile.
"I see this will not be any sort of problem then and you don't need to worry about how the other students might treat him. They know better than that and if they somehow don't know then I will personally drill this lesson on how to treat people into their heads." Iroh then shows off a big grin and a thumbs up.
"R-really there is no problem at all?" Inko asks also shocked at this old man's kindness.
Iroh bends down to try to be on the same level as Izuku.
"Of course! Now let this be your first lesson little one. No matter how one looks or what they might lack in either ability or strength, they should not be judge on this. Instead, they should be judge on their actions, the words they choose to use themselves without outside influence, and most importantly..."Iroh then slowly starts to point at Izuku's chest, more specifically the left side of his chest."... their heart and soul. The heart and soul of a person will, at least a little bit, shine through to let others know how bad they are or a how good natured they are."
Izuku eyes start to shine at these words this wise old man speaks of.
"Right now, I have seen both your actions and how your hearts acts in a dire situation. It would please me greatly to show my appreciation for you saving me to help train and tutor you." Iroh then stands back up to look at Inko again.
Inko once again is proud of how her son acted and is happy that someone wise and kind like Iroh will help train Izuku to be the hero he wants to become. Hopefully Iroh might be the person to not only teach her son how to fight, but to also teach Izuku how to defend and protect himself so he always come out alright.
"Please let me teach him Midoria-san." Iroh once again bows towards Inko. Inko also bows towards this kind old man. "No please it will mean the world to Izuku if you teach him."
"Oh-ho why is that." Iroh then strokes his beard.
"Because I want to be a hero no matter what. I will train so much that not only will I become the world's next greatest hero, but the world's greatest swordsman as well!" Izuku says as he raises his fist in the air.
"Ha Haa what a fine goal and I can already tell, you will become a great hero with how you saved me already. It would be my honor to help you with your dream." Iroh then starts to pat Izuku on his head.
"Thank you, Iroh Sensei." Izuku bows towards his new master
"No need with that sensei stuff just call me Iroh."
Izuku tilts his head and starts to think how weird it would be to call his master by his name only. Then he gets an idea of what to call him. "How about I call you Uncle Iroh?"
Iroh is surprised by this, but immediately starts to grin. "That is fine you can call me that if you want. Now when do you want to start training with me?"
"Tomorrow please if that's possible!?" Izuku exclaims.
"Tomorrow it is then just let me give your mother the address to my dojo and we can sign you up when you both come by tomorrow."
As the sun starts to set for the day Inko and Izuku both bow and thank Iroh, then start walking back home. Iroh as well walks back to his home eager to get the paperwork ready for Inko to sign so he can start training Izuku as soon as possible. He can already tell that Izuku will become his greatest disciple already with how fast he was able to act. Not only that, but he also noticed that Izuku has a keen mind as well with how of instead shoving him out of the way he pulled him in instead. Pushing him might have caused him to hit another car in the other lane and would have hurt just as much as the careless driver would have.
Iroh is already thinking of ways to train Izuku both physically and mentally as well. He has seen the kindness in Izuku and doesn't want the way the world treats the quirkless to destroy that kindness. Iroh looks up at the sky already impatient in wanting to teach his new student. Tomorrow will be a great day indeed to start a hard-fought long journey.
This is the start of the story of how Izuku Midoriya become the world's greatest swordsman and hero.