My Hero Academia: From The Ground Up

Chapter 18: The Truth Hurts

All Might held his hands out at the two teenagers still freaking out over the sudden discovery. Their childhood hero and idol now stood before them literally a shell of the man they knew. In his place stood a very skinny man with messy hair and sunken eyes.

"Kids!" He coughed. "Keep it down! Please!"

Even his voice was different too. Not very confident and loud. More average and almost monotone.

He rolled his eyes and covered their mouths with his hands. "Listen! It's me, All Might! Okay?! Just relax and let me explain."

Izuku and Mariko looked at each other without moving their heads out of place. As they looked back to him, he lifted his hands and exhaled disappointedly.

"This is not how I wanted this day to go..." He groaned. "Years ago, something happened to me. I was fighting a villain only few know about."

"I-I could know them." Izuku blurted out.

All Might darted his blue eyes toward the boy, causing him to go silent and back off. "The public doesn't know about it. Only my closest friends and acquaintances. Anyway, I was successful in defeating the villain but he managed to wound me back badly."

Then, he lifted his now oversized button shirt up revealing a sickening reddish crater in the side of his torso like a meteor crashing into a mountain of pure stone.

Appropriately, Izuku and Mariko gasped at the sight.

"Yeah, pretty gross, huh? Nearly killed me. And nearly destroyed all my internal organs, especially my respiratory system. Of course I survived but I never fully healed. And now my quirk can only keep me going a few hours a day." He explained.

The two watched as he then walked over to the edge of the building to look down at the scene below.

The gigantic crystal villain was carried off by the authorities, normal size as the crowds slowly began to carry on with the festivities as best as they could.

All Might frowned with his teeth.

"S-so... So this is who you are now...?" Izuku asked sheepishly.

"Only out of the spotlight..." He sighed. "My biggest fear now is I would be deemed a liar and a hoax."

Mariko stepped up. "All Might-sensei, you are not a hoax! You just got in a fight you couldn't walk away from. My mom taught me that we all have moments like that, but they can make us stronger."

All Might snorted. "That's nice, kid. But not everyone is like you two."

"No..." Izuku sighed. "But we'll keep your secret for you."

"On one condition..." Mariko added.

The green-haired boy turned toward her. "Condition?" He whispered.

She nodded and gave him a wink. "We are your two biggest fans. All we want is to someday become heroes just like you! But we're quirkless."

"I already talked with Izuku once before about this." All Might said.

"Well that wasn't good enough!" Mariko raised her voice. "He still lives in his friends' shadows."

"Mariko." Izuku butt in to correct her.

"No! Izuku. This is our chance here. Let go of the people holding you back." She ordered.

"Look, just tell me what you want so we can get out of here." All Might said.

"Train us." Mariko said. "Train us to become heroes under your wing. Please?"

All Might sighed heavily. "Because you're both quirkless, it will not be easy at all."

Izuku looked at Mariko and realized the opportunity she had created. "We're ready for anything." He said.

The hero took a moment to think. "Meet me down by the old beach tomorrow morning as soon as the sun rises. We'll see how ready you really are."

"Wait. The beach with all that litter and junk on it?" Mariko asked.

He didn't answer, only stepped back from them.

They both watched as he quickly grew back to his more familiar form in an instant with a puff of smoke. At that same instant, he slid into a jumping stance and took off without a word.

Izuku walked forward to the edge of the building.

"Look! There's All Might!" People in the crowds below cheered and more cheered louder incoherently.

Mariko walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "We got this." She smiled.

Izuku nodded silently. "You took that well..." He said.

"Well he got scarred by a villain. In a way, I relate to him a lot more now." She smiled.

"I never wanted to relate to my hero... That's why I idolized him. He has friends, fans, amazing powers, and he's always ready to save the day no matter what. But I never could have any of that... Except my friends." He smiled lightly.

"Forget them, Izuku. I meant what I said. I saw you with them. Us.... Us quirkless gotta stick together, y'know? None of them could understand that." She bumped him.

"I... I guess you're right there." Izuku sighed.

"C'mon. Let's go see what else we can do at the festival." She grabbed his hand and guided him back down.

They spend the rest of the day together. Many times, Mariko would break some rules and have Izuku with her, talking him through the entire thing, such as sneaking into one of the restaurants with the quirk discounts and stealing food.

Despite the uncomfortable moments and the trauma experienced earlier, Izuku seemed to open up better with Mariko as the day went on. Her outgoing and loud personality filled in with his reserved nature and intelligence. Like a nerd and a geek.

At the end of the day, she hugged him and they parted ways. She left him at the train station and waved goodbye as he waved back from the window.

Once he was gone, she sighed and began walking home. But she didn't take the train.

She walked to the nearest manhole cover and pried it off. Then she climbed inside and replaced it on top of her. After some time later climbing down and walking through the sewer system maze, the putrid smells of the systems began to disappear with each step. Then she walked through a thick curtain that hung over a large opening.

As she passed through to the other side, she was immediately greeted.

"Mariko! Welcome home." A voiced called. Although it was loud for her to hear, the frail man who said her name had a soft and raspy voice. He sat in a chair wearing clothes as thin as he was.

"Evening, Schizo." She forced a smile.

"Eyyy there she is!" A young man said looking up from a small handheld videogame. He carelessly dropped the device as he stood up and gave her a hug. "You like my little show at the festival today? You saw it right?"

"It's nothing to be proud of, Densist." The raspy man said as he slightly turned his head his direction. "Obsidius was taken from us today because of your recklessness."

"Right right... Just tryna light the mood." The man known as Densist shrugged.

"He caused a lot of damage..." Mariko said.

"Damage can be repaired." Schizo hissed. "Densist, the next time you enlarge another one of us, make sure to back them up. We want to send a message, not random attacks that any hero can stop."

Densist shrugged again."Fine. Fine by me."

"And you, Mariko." Schizo turned to her. "Tell me what you did today."