Chapter 1: New Neighbor

11K 178 357
                                    

Inko Midoriya had finished her shift at work and began her trek home, starting with picking her son up from his babysitter. She knocked on her friend's front door.

A young woman about her age pulled it open and smiled. "Hey Inko! He's just inside watching that superhero special on TV again."

"Thank you, Koharu! I really appreciate it." The green haired woman smiled and stepped inside.

Right in the front room, a little boy with dark green hair identical to hers had his eyes glued to the television screen.

"Izuku?" She asked walking over to him. She sat down beside him and looked at the screen he was so attached to. "What'cha watching, sweetie?"

"All Might teamed up with Ectoplasm to fight a bunch of scary villains! The phantom squad!" He explained enthusiastically.

"Oh that All Might. Always there to help his friends save the day." She smiled. "You ready to go home, Izu?"

"Not yet, it's not done yet!" He whined.

"But you've already seen this. We have the recording at home." Inko said.

"Aww but Mom!" He turned to her with his big round sad eyes.

"No buts, Izu. You can finish watching it at home." She explained. "Now say goodbye to Koharu."

"Okay." The boy sighed, feeling defeated. He stood up and hugged Inko's friend for taking care of him for the day. "Thank you, Koharu-chan!"

"You're very welcome, Izuku-kun." Koharu smiled down at him, only hugging her as high as her thigh. "Come back anytime and you can watch whatever you want!"

Inko said her goodbyes to Koharu and walked Izuku to their apartment holding his hand. They noticed a moving truck parked nearby with men hauling furniture and boxes into the apartment door right next to theirs.

"Looks like we have new neighbors moving in, Izu!" Inko pointed. "Maybe they'll have a playmate or two for you."

Izuku watched the men moving the items from the truck to the apartment.

"Maybe we can go introduce ourselves!" His mother suggested. He just held on to her leg. "C'mon, sweetie. We'll go make them some cookies to welcome them."

"Okay..." Izuku said.

As they walked to their front door, they saw what looked like a husband and wife talking to one of the hired movers. And a little girl sat pouting behind the woman. Izuku peeked from behind his mom's leg curiously.

"Oh they have a little girl! How cute!" Inko smiled.

The couple seemed to hear her and turned around. "Hi! Yes this is Ochaco. She's not too happy we had to move."

Inko and Izuku looked at her again and noticed her round rosy cheeks had tear stains running down despite her irritated look. "Aww. Yeah we know that feeling all too well." Inko said. "My name is Inko Midoriya and this is Izuku." She ruffled her son's hair.

Ochaco turned to the boy and tilted her head as if it would help her get a better look. A little smile grew on her lips.

Izuku felt his face turn red and he hid behind his mother again.

"You must be busy right now. But maybe once you're settled in we could bring you some cookies or maybe a meal." Inko offered.

"Oh no no you don't have to do that." Ochaco's mother fanned it off.

"No it's the least we could do for you." Izuku's mom said. "I insist. Plus, Ochaco and Izuku look like they could be good friends."

Ochaco's mother smiled, her father also turned around. "Nice to meet you! We really appreciate that."

Ochaco's mom tried to protest to him but they quickly came to the grateful agreement. "Yes, thank you."

"What about tomorrow? If you're not too busy..."

"Sure! And where does Izuku go to daycare?" The husband asked.

"Just at a little school up the road a few blocks. I could show it to you."

As the grownups talked, Ochaco stood up and walked over to Inko's leg, where Izuku was still hiding. She tapped on his visible hand. "S'cuse me?" She asked.

Izuku slowly peeked around to her. "H-hi..." He stuttered.

Ochaco's smile grew big. "Hello! My name's Ochaco." She threw her hand to him in a handshake.

Izuku blushed again. "I'm Izuku..." He clasped her hand and tensed up. Then suddenly he felt his legs lift off the ground with his whole body. "AHH WHAT?!"

"OCHACO STOP!" Both of her parents shouted and rushed their way. Her father pinned the  young Midoriya's feet to the ground with his hands.

"So so sorry about this!" Her mother quickly said. "I-it's just her quirk. She can't control it yet."

Izuku looked from her father holding him down over his shoulder to Ochaco who had a sad, guilty look on her face. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"No no! This is super cool!" He protested.

She looked up at him and wiped her eyes. "R-really? I was scared i-it would scare you away..."

"N-no! I love people who have quirks! Especially the heroes!" He smiled.

Ochaco's already rosy cheeks blushed. "L-like Thirteen?"

"Definitely! She's way cool when she saves people with her black holes sucking up rocks and stuff the bad guys use. Then heroes like All Might stepping in to finish the job!" He cheered.

Ochaco smiled bigger. "All Might is super cool."

"One moment, baby. Tap your fingers together." Her mother instructed.

Ochaco nodded and placed all her ten fingers together. Izuku felt gravity pushing on him again. "You won't float away, right?" The father asked.

"N-no sir. Thank you." He half-bowed.

"Just, you two be careful. Go play indoors."

"Can I see your room, Izuku-kun?" The little round-cheeked girl asked.

Midoriya tensed up with another blush. "I um.... Y-you might not like it..."

"Oh come on!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards his front door.

The Uraraka's almost leapt at them again seeing her grab him so quickly, out of habit. "Phew." They sighed.

"Does your son have any quirk we should know about?" Mrs. Uraraka asked.

"Not that we know of yet. We visit the doctor every so often. Izuku wants nothing more than to be a hero with a cool quirk. I'm hoping that day comes... But for reference, I can levitate small objects, and Izuku's father can breathe fire." Inko explained.

"Where is his father?" Mr. Uraraka asked.

"He's taken up work overseas... He's gone too much. Izuku needs more than just me in his life because he's starting to get bullied..."

"Well, you've got nothing to worry about if our daughter is with him. She's one tough cookie." Mr. Uraraka proudly said.

"Oh that reminds me. How do you like your cookies?"

My Hero Academia: From The Ground UpWhere stories live. Discover now