4 months later
The streets of Musutafu were glowing under the late afternoon sun. It was that weird time of day where everything looks like a movie filter orange, golden, and slightly dusty. I was currently standing in front of a vending machine that was, quite frankly, asking for a premature explosion.
RIKO POV
I stared at the glowing buttons. I just wanted a canned drink or a soda. Anything to get the taste of red bull, just to get that itch off, I was talking like an addict wasn't I? "sigh"
I popped the coins in. Clink. Clink. Clink. I pressed the button for a grape-melon soda.
Nothing.
The machine hummed, groaned, and then... silence. My soda sat there behind the glass, mocking me.
"Are you kidding me?" I muttered, leaning my forehead against the cool plastic. My fingers started to tingle. I could charge this entire machine right now. I could turn this 'Refreshment Station' into a 'Shrapnel Station.'
Don't do it, Riko. Dad can't afford the property damage lawsuit.
"R-Riko-chan?"
I jumped, nearly charging the glass by accident. I turned around to see a mop of messy green hair. It was Midoriya. But he didn't have that typical "I love All Might" sparkle in his eyes. He looked like someone had just told him Santa Claus was not only fake, but had personally robbed his house. His eyes were red and puffy.
MIDORIYA POV
Today, my world shattered, I was tested quirkless, my dream to become a hero gone, I still hoped that someone would say it was ok, that..that…I can still BE A HERO.
But no….my mother just apologised, told me how sorry she was, my teacher and the adults, they gave me the same pitiful look. Katchan…. I hoped he would say something different, but he…he pushed me said I was useless and to give up being a hero and instead stay out of his way.
I…I didn't know what to do… I was on my way home when I saw her….Riko
I didn't mean to bother her. But Riko, she was... different....different from everyone else, I knew.
Ever since she showed up in class, she never seemed nervous; it was like she had everything under control. And Katchan... Katchan was different with her, too. He yelled at her, sure, but he looked at her like a rival. An equal. He saw her as someone worth beating. He never looked at me like that. To him, I was just "Deku." A pebble.
Even before she awakened her quirk, she went toe to toe with bullies of our school, she beat them all and even won.
Bringing up the courage, I went to her. I wanted to know, wanted to hear what she would say, I knew she, too like the rest of them would tell me to give up being a hero, but even then, a tiny part of me held hope,
Maybe... maybe she would tell me something, the truth no one else so even if it hurt.
"R-Riko-chan," I croaked out, my voice trembling. "The doctor... he said I'm Quirkless."
RIKO POV
The melon soda was forgotten. I looked at the small, shaking kid in front of me and felt a massive pit form in my stomach.
Oh god. It's the scene. The "Can I be a hero" scene.
"I don't have a power," Midoriya whispered, tears starting to leak out again. "Mom apologized to me... Katchan says I'm useless... Riko-chan, you're strong. You have an amazing Quirk. So... be honest with me."
He looked up, his face a mask of pure, raw desperation.
"Can someone like me... someone without a Quirk... ever become a hero?"
PANIC.
My brain went into overdrive. Wuvt do I say?! I'm not All Might! I'm a four-year-old girl who kills roaches for fun! I tried to remember the anime. What did All Might say? Wait, All Might originally said no, and it almost broke the kid! I can't say no! But if I say yes, am I lying? Batman doesn't have powers! Iron Man doesn't have—wait, wrong universe.
I looked at Midoriya. He was waiting for me to crush him.
"Look, Izu-kun," I started, scratching the back of my head. "The world is... it's full of people who think they know everything because they can grow extra fingers or spit fire. But honestly? Most of them are idiots."
I stepped away from the vending machine and grabbed his shoulders.
"Is it gonna be harder for you? Hell yeah. It's gonna be a nightmare. You'll have to work ten times harder than Bakugo just to stand in his shadow." I paused, trying to find the right 'protagonist-tier' words. "But being a hero isn't just about the 'the power', It's about... uh... not being a bystander? It's about having the guts to move when everyone else is frozen."
Midoriya's eyes widened.
"So... can you be a hero?" I blew a stray hair out of my face. "I dunno. Can you? If you sit there crying, then no. But if you decide to be the guy who never quits... then who's gonna stop you? Certainly not a pinky toe joint."
Midoriya stared at me like I'd just handed him a golden ticket. The crying stopped. The trembling slowed down. He looked... surprised. Like he'd forgotten that 'Yes' was even an option.
"You... you really think so? Even without a Quirk, you believe in me?"
I sighed, feeling the weight of the entire plot on my shoulders. I couldn't give him One For All, but I could give him a foundation.
"Tell you what, Izuku. TRY. At least try. It's not about winning or losing against the world right now; it's about you trying, right here and now, to be better than you were five minutes ago."
I gave him a smirk, though internally I was losing it, hoping my butchered Mumen Rider philosophy would do the trick.
"Starting tomorrow, meet me at the park. If you want to be a hero, you're gonna need muscles. I'll help you train. We'll show that blonde pomeranian that you, too, can become someone great. We'll build a hero from the ground up."
Midoriya didn't say anything for a long moment. Then, he let out a shaky, watery laugh and nodded, a new, tiny spark of fire lighting up in his eyes.
"Okay! Thank you, Riko-chan! I'll do it! I'll try my best!"
As he ran off toward his house, looking five pounds lighter, I turned back to the vending machine. I felt a surge of adrenaline. I tapped the glass.
THUMP.
The melon soda finally rolled down into the bin.
"Heh," I grinned, popping the tab. "Looks like everything's coming up together, Riko."
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Author palace
feeling generous today........so feel free to comment.