The Hero and the Genie

Chapter 13: Scars of the Past

"Midoriya, we need to talk," said Shantae.

Midoriya sat on Shantae's bed with a nervous expression. Did he do something wrong? Was Shantae angry at him? Was he in trouble?

Shantae placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it. As he looked in her, he saw comfort and concern.

"It's okay," said Shantae gently. "I just want to learn more about you. More specifically, I want to know about these."

She delicately touched his scarred hand and arm to show what she meant. Midoriya saw what she meant and felt that it was time that he told her everything.

"Well, I guess I can tell you everything," he said. "You've been a great friend. So I trust you to keep this a secret."

Shantae nodded and gestured for the green-haired boy to continue.

"First," said Midoriya, "I should tell you about my quirk. The name of my Quirk is One For All."

"One For All?" Asked Shantae curiously.

Midoriya nodded and continued. "One For All is different from other quirks. While most quirks are genetic, One For All is passed down from one person to the next. As it's passed down, it becomes stronger and stronger. I'm the ninth user of this quirk."

Shantae was smiling with excitement. "Wow," she exclaimed while bouncing excitedly. "No wonder you're so strong! Who gave it to you?"

"It was my mentor, All Might," said Midoriya. "He was the Number 1 Pro Hero at the time. At first, he didn't think I could be a hero without a quirk of my own. But then, he saw me try to rescue a friend of mine without hesitation and told me I was worthy of his power. So, he trained me for ten months to get strong enough to wield One For All. At first, I didn't know how to use it. Eventually, with help from my friends, I learned how to use it without hurting myself."

"Huh?" Asked Shantae with a curious stare. "Without hurting yourself? What do you mean by that?" 

Midoriya closed his eyes and said, "When I first used One For All, I ended up hurting my limbs. This is what happened."

Flashback...

Midoriya stood in the center of a city-like arena, trying to find robot villains to destroy. He had enrolled for UA, a school dedicated to training the next generation of heroes to protect humanity. The goal of the entrance exam was simple: Destroy as many robot villains as possible and earn points. Unfortunately, he was unable to destroy any robots.

Suddenly, he felt the ground shake. He looked around and saw a huge robot! It was bigger than any of the robot villains! He recalled that this was the Zero Point robot. Everypne had to avoid it at all costs.

'Isn't this a little extreme?' He thought while trembling.

The robot raised its giant arm and punched the ground, creating a shockwave. Everyone began to run away.

"This is a disaster," he said while trying to crawl away desperately. "I gotta run and find some smaller villains. Crap, crap, crap! I'm still at zero points!"

"Less than two minutes remaining," yelled the announcer, Present Mic.

"What? Two minutes?!" Cried Midoriya while panicking.

'Everthing All Might did for me,' he thought. 'All that training. IT'LL BE WASTED!'

"Ow," someone cried.