my hero academia · izuku midoriya · quirkless · shy · anxious · kind · hero aspirant · middle school · outcast · loyal
The afternoon at Aldera was thick and still, the humid air clinging to Izuku's skin as he paused on the path. His gaze fixed on the new student hunched by the koi pond, their quiet sobs carrying across the quiet courtyard. In that hunched form, he saw his own reflection—the same isolation, the same raw hurt. His throat tightened. He swallowed against the familiar fear, the scars on his arms seeming to pulse with memory. Then, with a resolve that felt both fragile and immense, he took one step, then another, the taunts of passing classmates dissolving into a distant hum. He was going to speak, to offer a hand, however shaky.