My Hero Academia: From The Ground Up

Chapter 4: Disconnect

This was it. The first day of middle school for Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco Uraraka.

They've been the best of friends for years now, always supporting each other through thick and thin. Now only a few more years to prepare before they could officially begin their careers as professional heroes. One more slope to traverse.

Izuku was more than ready by the time Ochaco knocked on the front door. He rushed over and beat his mother to it. "Sorry, Mom but I already know who it is!" He smiled and looked as he opened it.

"Hey, Deku!" Uraraka said cheerfully with a big smile and her uniform on. "You ready?"

"You know I am!" Midoriya smiled back in his own school uniform.

Over the years, Ochaco grew tired of Midoriya's childhood friend-turned-bully Bakugou picking on him and calling him names. Especially Deku. She decided to turn it around and make it a good thing for Midoriya, and so it became her friendly nickname for him.

"Great! Let's get going, shall we?" She offered him her hand which had a pink glove over it. That wasn't a subject she liked to dwell on.

He gladly took it and they began their walk to the bus stop. "Love you, Mom!" He called back.

As they stood waiting for the bus, various people around them noticed their hands clasped and gave smirks and smiles. "I wonder what they're thinking." She whispered in his ear.

Izuku simply shrugged.

He noticed a figure in the corner of his eye and turned his head to see his old bully whom he still called Kacchan. He was sitting in silence wearing a big black jacket over his uniform and with his usual scowl on his face. "What are you looking at, loser?" He asked him in a low tone, but just as much threat to it as if he was yelling.

"Ignore him." Ochaco reminded Izuku and gave him an equally threatening look back.

Bakugou shook his head. "I bet you're not so tough without your dumb girlfriend."

Other people around them got a little nervous.

Ochaco's grip tightened. Izuku gulped.

"First chance I get, you're dead, Deku."

Ochaco turned to him but Midoriya blocked her. "D-don't say anything, Uraraka..."

She frowned and turned back.

The bus-ride to school wasn't very different from the bus-stop. A lot of glaring and silent threats, from Bakugou to Izuku and from Ochaco to Bakugou. "One of these days we've got to settle this." She whispered angrily to her friend.

Once at school, the two friends waited until Bakugou disappeared. "Well... I still wish we had the same classes together. It stinks they split us up." Uraraka sighed.

"We've known for a few weeks. It'll be okay, Ochaco-san." Izuku gave her a smile. "We make a great team but maybe this will help us grow i-if we're separated. A-at least for now."

"Right..." She sighed again. "Maybe you're right." She playfully punched his arm. "I'll see you after school. We'll meet back here. Deal?"

"Okay. Deal." He said. "Good luck!"

"Good luck, Deku-kun! Now get to class!" She turned and ran the other way waving back.

"Right..." Izuku waved.

He walked to his classroom and sat down. He glanced up to look at his teacher and fellow classmates around him and stopped completely when he met eyes with none other than Bakugou.

Bakugou snapped a pencil with one hand as they met eyes. From the moment Midoriya entered the classroom oblivious to his presence, he didn't take his hateful eyes off.

"Oh, need a pen, man?" A student asked quickly placing one on the blonde bully's desk.

He picked it up still eyeing Midoriya and growled lowly as Midoriya could see the pen melting in his hand.

Izuku gulped hard and tried to focus. Thankfully it was just the first day and not much was taught, because he didn't nor couldn't listen to anything other than his foe sitting adjacent to his own desk.

"It's never too late nor too early to start thinking about your plans for the future." Their teacher said. "I want you all to be thinking about who you want to become in the future as you journey through these years in school. Plan for where you'd like to be for high school and plan to submit applications for any benefits you can get."

Izuku heard that and began to write down a few ideas in his journal. "To be a hero." He sat in thought. He was unsure how, but he was still building confidence that he could still be a hero despite being born quirkless.

He wasn't actually sure about everything. He wanted to be a hero more than anything but his friend Ochaco was the one who supported him through it to this point. Thinking about it now, as much as he appreciates her, he feels more like she's been carrying him rather than supporting. And maybe that was his fault. Maybe it's best if-

"Quit your damn muttering, nerd!" Bakugou hissed at him.

Izuku sat up straight in his chair with a face as red as a tomato. A few students around him were giving him funny looks.

Once their classes had finally concluded for the day, he ran out as quick as he could to his meeting place with Ochaco. He stood and looked around for her. "Guess she's running behind." He said to himself.

As soon as he turned the other way to look, he saw Bakugou approach him. Before he could react, the blonde grabbed his collar. "You listen to me, Deku. What I said was true. I heard you mumbling about that bitch. I dare you to do something without her and see how it goes. Tomorrow night. The garden park. Be there at sundown. And don't bring her." He threatened.

They both noticed Ochaco marching their direction. Bakugou stared at her and let go. "You better come." He hissed again before walking the other way.

"What did he do to you?" She asked.

"H-he... He didn't do a-anything." Midoriya said. "Just the usual threats...."

He suddenly felt disconnected. He wanted to tell her everything. But the more he thought about it, the more Bakugou was right. And it prevented him from telling her.