"It's a promise!"
Ochako hummed to herself as she lifted the final box up, carefully placing it on the shelf in the back room. She ignored the familiar roiling in her stomach, gently sliding it back onto the shelf and pressing her fingertips together, murmuring 'release' under her breath. She wasn't supposedto use her Quirk, but out here, no one really cared enough to report it, especially if she was using it to help.
The store owner nodded at her, an older gentleman she only knew as Mr. Ito. He'd been a store owner longer than she'd been alive and everyone just called him the same thing, Mr. Ito. He smiled at her and quickly reached beneath the counter, pulling out a small cardboard box. "Thanks for your help, Uraraka! Yer sure this is alright with you?" he asked, the same thing he did every day.
She smiled back, wiping the sweat off her forehead and nodding back. "Of course! Thanks a lot Mr. Ito!" She grabbed the box up and tucked it under her arm, heading out to the storefront and quickly tying it to her bike as she'd done many times before. If she was quick, she could get back home to drop it off and be able to head up the mountain for some training.
She biked through the town, a bit annoyed by how sticky her brakes were but not having much choice in the matter, they were not something high on her list to get replaced. She biked past multiple potholes, dodging them expertly with long held experience. It took her only twenty minutes to get home, waving to the various people she saw along the road, keeping a bright, sunshine smile plastered on her face no matter how much she hated doing so, playing nice with all the people who whispered behind her parents back.
Barely skidding to a stop as she stopped at her house, she pulled the box out and carried it inside. She knew no one was home right now, and that made it much easier to get the fruits out of the box she carried and place them in the fridge, along with the two wrapped sandwiches she'd earned. As far as her parents knew, she got three sandwiches and ate one on the way home, but she would normally just take one of the fruits (whichever was available that day), and let that be her food for the evening. Mr. Ito wasn't much more solvent than half the town, so she was happy to do odd jobs for him and get her payment in food…truth be told, he didn't need her help, but he offered it to be nice, and she just pretended like it wasn't pity.
She shook her head, grabbing one of the fruits of the day (a shiny red apple) and taking a bite of it, walking to her bedroom to change out of her school uniform and into what she considered her 'training' clothes, a simple pair of old shorts and a tank top. She had a lot of work to do, to prepare for the UA entrance exam in seven months…she had a promise to keep, one made by a bunch of dumb kids with a dream. But she would not be the one to break that promise…she'd endure everything she had to to not only keep her promise, but make her parents' lives better. She would keep her promise, no matter what.
"It's a promise!" three kids chorused, clanking their plastic cups together.
Himiko Toga knew how to put on the fakest of smiles, how to act demure and proper, how to be everything she was not. She knew how to stay soft-spoken and fade into the background, how to always be a kind and gentle soul, how to always protect her family's name and honor and reputation.
And she knew how to chafe beneath those rules, beneath all those strict high society expectations. But even beyond that, she knew how to hide the omnipresent hunger, to keep the glint in her eyes from being visible, to hide her fangs behind her teeth as she would slip away in the night to hunt rats in a damned alleyway just so she didn't lose every fiber of her sanity. How she'd practice running and jumping and climbing, keeping herself in shape, flexible and fit. She'd practice with the butter knives she snuck out from her house (the sharp ones would be too noticeable), getting used to the motions necessary.
And every time, every single evening she spent hunting rats and mice and having to bite into them, tasting the sickening, rotting flavor of their blood (nothing like Izu or 'Chako's was), hating herself and everything she represented, the only thing keeping her going was the promise, the blurry memory of three eight-year olds vowingthey would all make it into UA and be heroes together.
So she studied every day, making sure she was ready for the exam and her grades were top of the class. She practiced her smile and her attitude, all to make her parents oh so proud, oh so pleased, all to make sure they didn't try to stop her from applying. Of course, as far as they knew, she was applying for the business course, but once she was in they had no say…she was going on a full scholarship, and she'd be eighteen by the time the year rolled around, so she'd be free…she just had to get there. And maybe, just maybe, she'd find Izu and 'Chako again.
She ignored the part of her that whispered they'd be disgusted by what she'd become, a demon draining the blood of innocent animals in an alleyway out of desperation. She ignored that voice in her head that sounded like her mother hissing at her for her 'disgusting teeth', or her father screaming at her for forgetting her contacts to make her eyes look 'normal' rather than slitted as they were. She wouldn't give into them and their attitude no matter what. Only five months to go to the exam…she had so much work to do.
"It's a promise!" three kids chorused, clanking their plastic cups together. They lifted the cups up in unison, draining them in one draught, two of them immediately gagging at the taste of blood as the third giggled at the duo.
Izuku let out a huff as he dropped a microwave into the dumpster, leaning against the metal to try and cool off. The hot sun overhead was draining, stealing all of his energy, but this was the very last thing he had to clear to finally, finally finish his training for One For All. He found this mind falling back to that day, the day that he first met his hero. That day had been both the best and worst day of his life…the reminder that he was nothing being reinforced by the number one hero, only to somehow impress him and change his mind, giving Izuku the last shot of hope he needed to finally step up once more.
A decade of Kacchan, a decade of his teachers, of the very society he lived in telling him he was at best a weakling who needed protection and at worst a drain on the world, and he could finally have a chance to make something of himself. His promise had kept him going, but barely…day in and day out, stuck in a mire of doubt and despair and pain that sucked away at his will and soul and nearly sent him over the ledge time and time again, but finally he had his shot…maybe.
The only one in his corner had been his mom, and now it was All Might, his favorite hero ever!...even if a part of him still wondered if All Might had made the right choice, if he regretted it, if he'd change his mind before actually giving it to him. There had to be other choices, better choices, not some Quirkless loser covered in scars, marks of weakness and shame.
"Well I'll be, you're already finished!" the loud voice of All Might himself made Izuku jump from his position leaning against the dumpster, nearly falling over in shock.
"U-uh, yeah. Yeah, I did! Plus Ultra, right?" he said, trying to smile but finding it difficult with how exhausted he felt. Even after a couple minutes of rest, he was still breathing heavily, still panting as he tried to get his body back under control.
All Might pursed his lips at him, narrowing his eyes as he sighed. Izuku already knew what was coming…another lecture about overworking himself. He'd been on the receiving end of four already, and every time he swore he'd try to take it easier but…when he saw the beach was almost done, he had to finish it! It made sense! Besides, he could handle some pain. It wasn't much different from his average day after all…not that he'd ever admit that to All Might. He didn't need his mentor to see how much weaker he was than he already had seen.
"You already know what I am going to say, young Midoriya," All Might warned, his tone a familiar one to Izuku. Izuku nodded sheepishly. The pro hero sighed, rubbing at his forehead. "Midoriya…my boy, you have to understand, the plan I made for you was tailored to what you needed. Overworking is a direct hindrance to building up your body the way you need to. I'm not telling you this because I think less of you, or am taking it easy on you. If anything, I'm being very hard on you. But I don't want you to get hurt! That is the last thing I want from this training."
All Might turned away to glance about the beach, sighing once again. "The point is moot, I suppose, but we only have two months till the exam for you to get a handle on using One For All…and if you cannot pace yourself, you might injure yourself severely and then where will we be?"
Izuku let his head drop to his chest, the shame roaring in his veins. All Might needed a better successor than him. He couldn't even follow simple instructions. So stupid! He was jolted out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder, shaking him slightly and making him blink, glancing back up at All Might, belatedly realizing he'd been muttering aloud again.
"My boy, do not speak such falsehoods about yourself," All Might said sternly, a hint of fondness and concern filling his tone. "You are everything I want in a successor, do not doubt that! And if you're stupid then I must be the dumbest man on this planet, because you are far more intelligent and clever than I. I'm not upset with you because I'm angry at you for failing to meet my standards…you have met and surpassed them every step! I'm upset because I don't want to see you hurt! So please…pace yourself, alright?"
Izuku wanted to believe his hero, the first person to believe in him besides Himi and 'Chako and his mom, but something in his chest wouldn't let go of that knot of anxiety and self-loathing that perpetually filtered through his mind periodically. But for All Might, he'd try. He'd do anything. Izuku swallowed, nodding quickly. "Y-yeah. I'll um…I'll be more careful."
"Good! Well, with that out of the way," All Might reached up and plucked a hair from his head, puffing up into his muscle form as he grinned widely. "You have done as I asked, and it is time for your reward! Now…eat this!"
Izuku stared at All Might. "...bwuh?!"
Izuku was in a black space, full of dark smoke and spurts of light flitting about too fast for him to follow. He spun about, trying to place where he was, to figure out what had happened. He'd met with All Might, eaten the hair (yuck), went to school, barely avoided being knocked down the stairs (in shape he might be, but he still couldn't take on four people at once with no training), went home, ate dinner with his mother, did his homework, (stared at his razor blades for too long as the voices in his head got too loud), and went to bed. Now he was here, in this blurry, black space, covered in black and green smoke, unable to make noise.
And then he felt…something, something that made him turn about and look. He saw…a blob? No, two. A bright pink blob, glowing softly, and a blood-red one that seemed to shift and shimmer in place. Something…felt familiar, felt right, something told him that they were safe. He reached out his hand in their direction, not thinking, not considering, just feeling like he had to…
And woke up as his alarm blared.