My Hero Academia: From The Ground Up

Chapter 2: Friendship Pact

Ochaco stood in silence with her mouth partially open staring at Izuku's room from the doorway. She noticed the endless amounts of All Might merchandise as well as a few other professional-hero souvenirs.

Izuku lowered his head in embarrassment.

"I like it!" She finally said with a big smile.

"Y-you do?" Midoriya looked up at her by his side.

"I do. I've got some hero stuff too." She blushed. "They're just so cool. They do so much to protect people, save them, and fight the bad guys."

"I want to be one someday..." Midoriya said walking up to one of his posters.

"Hey, me too!" Little Uraraka cheered. She walked up to him and playfully punched his arm. "Maybe we can do it together."

Izuku's face turned a deep red. "I-uh we, what?"

She giggled and grabbed his hand again. "Wanna play 'heroes'?"

"You....you want to play 'heroes' with me?" He asked.

"Yeah! You be All Might, the Symbol of Peace!" She said lowering her voice in attempt to impersonate the hero. "And I'll be Thirteen!"

"W-who are the villains?" The boy asked.

"We make them up, silly!" She smiled. "C'mon!" She once again grabbed his hand and dragged him outside.

"W-wait I need something All Might would wear!" He protested.

Ochaco let go and let him put on a jacket that resembled the muscular hero's torso. She smiled big. "I should get my Thirteen helmet!"

"You have a Thirteen helmet?!" He asked excitedly.

"Yeah!" She cheered and ran out. He followed after.

Once they had gotten all their desired hero costume pieces, they stood together in the outside apartment courtyard. A decent sized patch of grass with a small playground. Midoriya shyly put his head down feeling the weight of standing out in public with his All Might hoodie.

Ochaco grasped his hand again with her head turned to his face. "Izuku-kun?" She asked.

Izuku looked up hesitantly to meet her gaze. She gave him a warm smile with her teeth, showing a few missing from her roudy past, then slipped on her Thirteen hero helmet with her free hand still looking at him.

"Are you ready for the battle, All Might?" She asked in as best of a Thirteen voice as she could pull off. Either that, or the Thirteen helmet had a voice changer inside.

Izuku slowly began to smile. Their hands let go and he put his hoodie up, which resembled All Might's signature blonde hair. "Ready, Hero Thirteen!" He said proudly.

Ochaco giggled through the helmet but then quickly got into character. "Oh no! A big strong villain has just broken into the bank! And he's got a bunch of henchmen!" She ran off.

Izuku giggled and jumped into character running after her. "Fear not, my friend! You make sure that villain doesn't escape! I'll hold off those goons!"

"AHH!" Ochaco yelled with Izuku.

The two friends ran and threw punches together at their imaginary foes side by side, laughing and cheering and encouraging each other for an hour. Although to Midoriya, it both felt like a long good time, and still not enough. He never had a friend to play with like this. His only other friend had become distant to him ever since his quirk started to show.

Speaking of which.

As Uraraka and Midoriya sat down satisfied with their victory together with their backs resting against the swingset, a blonde haired boy and two other boys following approached the park, walking right up to the two.

"What are you doing, Deku?" The blonde boy asked. Although the question felt more like an assault than curiosity about their activies.

"Oh hey, Kacchan!" Izuku said nervously. He tried to direct attention off. "Th-this is Ochaco-san. Sh-she's new to my apartments and-"

"Why is she dressed up like the weakest hero?" The boy asked raising his eyebrow at her. His two followers snickered.

"Thirteen actually isn't technically the weakest!" Midoriya blurted.

Ochaco pulled her helmet off, revealing her less than pleased look. "Izuku-kun, who are these bullies?"

"Kacchan's n-not a bully. W-we're friends."

"Are you kidding me, Deku? Each of us have quirks now. We all plan to be heroes and kick ass."

"Don't say that word." Ochaco glared.

The boy glared right back. "But you don't. Everyone on earth has powers now, but not you! Being friends with you is like being friends with trash. You'll just slow me down."

Ochaco quickly stood up."You listen here, you jerk!"

"Shut up!" The boy shoved her back down.

Izuku suddenly had an impulse he'd never had before, especially on his distanced friend. He got up and shoved him back, then immediately realized what he just did. He then stopped himself from apologizing and rather turned it to the guilty one. "A-apologize, Kacchan!"

The blonde boy growled in pure anger. "I don't like this new you, Deku. Weaklings like yourself don't deserve power. There's a reason you don't have any!" He charged Izuku with his hands outstretched and open.

Ochaco got back up and got between them, she slapped the blonde across the face before he could touch either of them.

"Ow! What the-?!"

Suddenly, he felt his body lose all feeling of the grass beneath him. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

"D-don't use that language!" Ochaco shouted, in shock that she activated her quirk again. Every time it's happened, she forgets in a panic how to stop it.

The boy began to float off the ground. "Hey! Put me back!"

His two lackies looked at Ochaco in horror and turned the other way in a frantic run.

"Get me down from here you stupid-"

"OCHACO!"

Little Uraraka lowered her head hearing the all too familiar sound of her father rushing to her. He grabbed the bully's ankle and pulled him down to the ground. "Put your fingers together, Ochaco." He ordered.

Ochaco gave a low sigh with her head still lowered and pressed her fingers together.

"Control your daughter! She tried to kill me!" The boy yelled. "But I'll be ready next time! No more tricks, you losers!"

"Excuse me, son?" Mr. Uraraka stood up tall and defensively.

"You heard me, old man!" The blonde shouted then stormed off.

After a moment of silence, Mr. Uraraka turned toward the two shaken friends. "Inside, young lady. Now."

Ochaco raised her head and grasped Izuku's shaking hand one more time. "I'm really sorry... Can we still be friends?"

Izuku looked at her and after a brief moment, he gave a small supporting smile. "Yeah. Friends."

She smiled back then dropped it as she let go and walked up with her father.

Young Midoriya couldn't help but feel guilty about the day. His first real friend in a long time and yet their first day was rocky. But there was something with her that gave him a feeling he's never had before: Confidence.