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Izuku was beginning to second guess his decision.
The entrance exam had just ended. And he had broken every bone in his arm.
Every. Bone.
WHAT THE FRICK?!
Eating things from strangers (even All Might) turned out to be a very bad idea.
He'd been ushered out of Recovery Girl’s office over twenty minutes ago, and his arms were still on fire.
Izuku was literally having a panic attack.
Just then a chipmunk jumped out into his path.
The words All Might had spoken came back to him in that moment, "EAT THIS!"
Izuku was panicking.
He didn't want this quirk.
There was a chipmunk.
Hmmm…
***
The chipmunk liked being fed by the human beings, they usually gave it all kinds of tasty foods.
But it had never been fed a hair before.
And it had never jumped to the top of a building in a single leap with lightning swirling around it before either.
Strange.
***
"Um, bro? Why is there a chipmunk sitting behind the explosion bro's desk?"
"I don't know dude, but U.A is just like that, you know?”
"If you're just here to make friends then you can get out now."
The class stilled.
"I'm going to call roll, so please pay attention so you'll hear your name called."
It was a strangely normal class ritual, until the teacher came to a certain name.
"Midoriya Izuku?"
There was silence.
The chipmunk wiggled its tail.
"Present." Aizawa sensei said, marking it down on his paper.
"DEEKUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!"
***
It was a bit of a shock to have a quirk test on the very first day of class.
But for some reason, no one was surprised when "Midoriya Izuku" got first in every category.
***
There was a thick atmosphere of fear throughout the class.
Their training exercise at the USJ had just turned deadly, and the army of villains was nothing compared to the hulking creature that had just stepped out of one of the portals.
Most of 1A was frozen in terror. The rest were shaking and readying for a fight.
But one student-- the chubbiest, fluffiest, tiniest student of them all--
Stepped forward.
***
Shigaraki was furious.
Why was no one doing anything interesting! He'd even brought out the Nomu and they were all just standing there looking at the ground.
And these stupid thugs. They were literally parting down the middle and running away, for what! He should never have hired street thugs.
The divide of mutant types finally reached where Shigaraki was standing, and he could see the reason for their mutiny.
Standing before him, was a chipmunk.
"Shigaraki, I think we should retreat.”
"What do you mean! It's just a weak animal! Barely an NPC!"
"Yes, but Shigaraki, the Nomu."
Said Nomu was backing away from their tiny adversary with growing panic in it's eyes. It's breath was getting quicker and it stumbled back onto its hands before scrambling to its feet, turning around, and sprinting for the other side of the USJ, breaking through the wall and giving off a terrified scream.
…
"Kurogiri. We're retreating."
"Right away, Shigaraki."
***
Hitoshi was determined to get first place in the sports festival.
He'd already made it through the first obstacle on the race, and his people carriage was moving pretty fast. With all the trip ups everyone else was doing, he was confident he would win.
Just then a passing bird swooped down and picked something up from the ground. Hitoshi could see that in the bird's beak was that chipmunk, Midoriya Izuku, from class 1A.
The bird flew straight towards the finish line in the far distance, passing every student with astonishing speed.
‘You know what,’ Hitoshi thought, ‘Second place is good too.’
***
Looking down, Shoto stared at the one classmate he had personally challenged earlier that morning.
The chipmunk stared back.
"... Have you ever heard of quirk marriages?"
***
Katsuki stood on the first place podium, back straight and head held high.
He wasn't sure what had happened in Half-n-half's battle, just that there was a lot of screaming and the two toned boy had come out of it with the first genuine smile Katsuki had seen from him all year.
Katsuki wasn't sure what happened in his battle with the chipmunk either.
All he knew was that this was a first place well earned.
***
Gran Torino lay on the floor in a ketchup puddle of his own making.
After a few seconds of no reaction, the retired hero finally looked up.
But not too far up.
"Ah Toshi. I knew you would choose a special one."
***
Everything hurt. But mostly the shoulder Stain had just stabbed.
Oh, and his head. His head hurt too.
But that was only because Tenya was trying to figure out why the chipmunk that was the top of his class, his dear classmate and friend Midoriya, was standing in the alley with him.
And then Todoroki ran up too, adding to the confusion with, "I got your location Midoriya. Try and be more specific next time."
The Hero Killer laughed.
"If you phony heroes think you can do anyth- ACHOOO!"
Everyone froze. Tenya took the opportunity to try and stand up.
Stain saw the movement, and brought his bloody knife up to his mouth, but just before he could do anything--
"ACHOO! ACHOO! AAGGHCHOOOO!"
The Hero Killer Stain appeared to be allergic to chipmunks.
"ACHOO, ACHOOO!"
"Quick! While he's still distracted!"
They took down the Stain with ease and teamwork only built of hours practicing together. It was almost beautiful.
In that moment Tenya made a promise to himself. A commitment to be a great hero, like his great friend Midoriya. The best chipmunk he knew.
***
The video goes viral.
Stains ideals are accepted and radicalized all over Japan.
All of his words are memorized and discussed in almost every online forum and news outlet across the country.
Well, almost all of his words.
The part where the Hero Killer pointed to the chipmunk beside him, and declared that it was the only hero worthy of its title? That part goes widely unacknowledged.
***
Kouta hated heroes, especially student heroes, and yet here he was pouring out his heart and soul to the freaking hero-prodigy chipmunk that had followed him up here.
"WHAT DO YOU EVEN WANT FROM ME?"
The chipmunk blinked at Kouta's food.
"I GET THAT YOU'RE A 'HERO' AND YOU HAVE TO BE 'CONCERNED' FOR PEOPLE, BUT BACK OFF! IF YOU'RE GONNA BE WORRIED, BE WORRIED ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR STUPID FRIENDS. HEROES DIE YOU KNOW! THEY'RE SELFISH AND THEY DIE! WHY WERE MY PARENTS SELFISH? WHY DID THEY HAVE TO DIE? And I know... I know they saved people, but… but why did they have to die for it?"
Kouta wiped away the tears that had been running down his face.
The chipmunk blinked, and continued eating his food.
Kouta picked up the furball, feeling surprisingly better after venting to the furry hero student.
Unfortunately, the moment was cut short by the sound of rumbling footsteps approaching.
***
Muscular almost giggled. The League of Villains had hired him, and all he had to fight was some six year old talking to his pet squirrel.
This was too easy.
The villain stepped forward, crushing the bowl of food between him and the boy.
The small animal stopped stuffing its cheeks with the kids shirt, and turned to look at him.
It seemed to look from the food--
To him.
Muscular had about three seconds before the chipmunk pounced.
Then everything went black.
***
"Sensei!"
Aizawa turned and saw the rest of his students running out of the woods. "Is everyone all right?"
"Yes, sensei. But… they took Midoriya!"
"Dang it, Problem Chipmunk."
***
Dabi was… confused.
Very confused.
And it sounded like literally everyone else in the League was also confused.
"Umm, Shigaraki? Why did we capture a chipmunk?"
"You don't understand! I looked back on where I failed, and in every place I checked, the only common thread was this chipmunk’s disrespect!"
"Shigaraki. Why didn't you tell me you were a Hamilton fan?"
"Shut up Spinner! The point is All Might doesn't matter anymore, this is the new final boss!"
"A chipmunk though?"
"Are we really forgetting All Might?"
"Have you been bested by a tasty mammal, Shigi?"
Dabi sighed. He knew from experience that this could go on for literal hours. And he was not interested in joining in. (Definitely not because he had been about to burst out singing a few seconds ago.)
The scarred villain decided to bide his time by watching the prisoner. An activity that was becoming continually unsettling.
Mainly because the prisoner was maintaining eye contact the entire time.
It was like the furball was staring into his soul and saying, "I know what you did. But do you know what I did?"
What did the chipmunk do?
There was a knock on the door. "Pizza delivery!"
Did the chipmunk order pizza?!
Then the wall blew in.
***
With how fast they'd captured the entire League and rescued the student, All Might had begun to think that this would be an easy night.
Then All for One showed up.
Their battle was taking a toll on the old hero. Every part of his body was straining, the fire of One for All was barely a flicker inside his veins.
And then he found out about Shigaraki's origins, and All Might very nearly gave up then and there.
But there was the briefest moment.
Just a second.
When the drained hero looked back.
And met eyes with the most promising student-- the shortest, most fluffy, quietest student in his class.
And that chipmunk gave him hope.
The dwindling fire burst back into a roaring flame, and All Might fought back harder than he'd ever fought before.
***
He won.
***
In an apartment not too far away, a green haired boy-- already in his second year of online high school-- was watching the same scene as every other Japanese civilian.
He saw All Might’s resurgence.
He saw the tiny animal standing in the background.
He saw it all.
And he had absolutely zero regrets.
***
It had been a few months since All Might's retirement.
The hero Nighteye had been prepared to give All Might’s chosen successor a hard time. Throw him in the deep end. Make him clean the toilets. He'd even created a power-point.
But all that went straight in the trash as soon as he set eyes on the 1st year perched on Togata's shoulder.
There would be some calls of apology later that day.
***
Eri wasn't sure what the furry little creature she'd stepped on was.
But it made her…
Happy.
Yeah, that was the word.
Happy.
***
"Did Overhaul just pull out all his troops and leave his secret weapon behind because she was holding a potentially diseased chipmunk?"
"I'm pretty sure Overhaul just pulled out all his troops and left his secret weapon behind because she was holding a potentially diseased chipmunk."
"Huh."
***
Six years later…
The news broke two days after the incident, devastating citizens and inspiring meme-lords everywhere.
The beloved number one hero had died.
After rising through the ranks at an astonishing speed, the chipmunk hero Deku was tragically killed. While trying to rescue a cat from a tree--
He was eaten by the cat.
***
The funeral was small. Just the fallen hero's former classmates and teachers were present.
It was an open casket funeral. But you still couldn't see the body because 'open casket' just meant they'd strapped the cat to the coffin and called it a day.
There had been many testimonies from the former hero students. Testimonies of the good times they'd had with Midoriya, and the hardships they'd been through together.
Bakugou even wrote a poem about how 'Deku' had helped him become a better person, a better man.
The ceremony ended, and as everyone went up to the coffin one by one to give their personal goodbyes, All Might finally turned to the young man who had been standing by him the whole time.
He hadn't seen that green hair for a long time.
"You know," All Might spoke up, "I think the original wielder would have wanted it to end this way."
"I agree," the greenette replied. "Well at least we know he died as he lived. Being singled out by a creature with absolutely no sleep schedule."
All Might nodded at the poetic words. But he had one question.
"Do you ever think about what would have happened if things had turned out differently?"
"Can't say I have."
"Hey, All Might sensei! Who are you talking to?"
The whole group was looking at them now, curiosity written across all their faces.
"Oh. Well. I'm Midoriya Izuku."
Everyone's gaze went from the coffin to the green haired guy that they'd never seen before.
"Tch. Deku."