Internet Sensation {| Vigilante Midoriya |}

5 || Train Yourself If Others Won't

     He'd ordered the vest and a few other things. Nothing much that'd draw any attention to him, just the vest, a pair of tactical pants, and combat boots. He'd even sent them to the address of a house that'd just become vacant, just in case.

     Now to figure out another thing; training. That was something he should've written in cons. What was he supposed to do? Walk up to a hero and go, 'hey, I like your fighting style and I was wondering if you could train me- oh- me, a hero- ha, no a vigilante!' and then he'd get arrested.

     Okay, well, maybe not arrested, but it wouldn't be anything good.

     Sitting up in his bed, Midoriya noted that he should decorate his room again, this time not with All Might memorabilia. He still mentally flinched whenever he saw the hero online, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

     He stretched and decided to go for a walk, hopefully gaining some inspiration for his training. Shoving on his ruby red shoes, Midoriya called out to his mom and told him where he was going and stepped out into the cool air. He went back to school Monday, which was tomorrow, so he'd have to make the most out of the rest of the day.

     Increasing his walk to a jog, he weaved through the people on the sidewalk as he got closer to the more populated areas. 

     He continued to wander around for an hour, with breaks every now and then. Eventually, he'd made it to a clear beach, or what used to be one.

     Junk piled up higher than three people stood tall, and just beyond that was a beautiful ocean that should be enjoyed. It couldn't, however, thanks to the piles of scrap metal and trash.

     Midoriya wondered for a brief moment why it hadn't been cleaned. 

     Looking around slightly, Midoriya noted a lot of heavy objects, including refrigerators, sofas, tires, and more. A grin broke out across his face- this was perfect for training! He could clean the beach and get a workout while doing it!

     As if it wasn't already perfect, he realized there were probably some weapons in there, probably nothing special, but this was definitely an easier way of getting one. He didn't one someone asking why he was shopping for a weapon at such a young age.

     Taking one last sweeping glance at the makeshift junkyard, Midoriya planted the directions to the area in his mind and turned around, jogging back home hopefully in time for food.

     Months ticked by like nothing for Midoriya, with the occasional long week. The longer weeks were usually made so by Bakugou, who seemed to be even more cruel after the sludge monster incident.

     Every day he'd go to the beach and train. For maybe three hours on a school day and as many as he could get on a weekend. Then summer break came around, and he only pushed himself harder. After the bulletproof vest arrived, he'd wear that during training as a stand-in for a weighted vest.

     It'd been tough- choosing where he was going to school the next year. He'd chosen U.A. like he always wanted, but he stared long and hard at the 'Hero Course' box. Eventually, he decided to play it safe. 

     He'd signed up for General Studies instead.

     One day, during the middle of summer break, he made a run to the nearby library. He decided to finally start training himself in combat instead of just his brute strength. What kind of training didn't include actual combat? That's stupid, especially if you're training to be ready for said combat.

     Izuku had a few non-lethal weapons set aside from the beach. He had a make-shift steel bo staff he broke off of a flimsy pole and an old sturdy baseball bat.

     He was sure he'd have trouble carrying them both, but he'd have to figure it out at a later date. At the moment, he was busy trying to find a book on bo staffs and how to use one (as this library was very diverse, and they got a lot of heroes in training looking for such things) when he bumped into someone.

     Stumbling back, Izuku reflexively stuttered out repeated apologies. Looking up, he saw a very smiley girl with thick pink hair that drew attention from a mile away. Her face was dirty with what looked like car oil, as if she'd just finished fighting an engine.

     She let out an excited laugh. "Don't worry about it- I don't even know why I'm in the combat section- I'm not even a fighter! I was looking for books about engineering to make more babies!"

     Standing still, Midoriya blinked as he tried to process her words. He looked her age- and what did engineering have to do with babies?

     "Babies?" He asked incredulously, "Not to be insensitive, but you look like you're my age, do you have children?"

     The girl let out a giggle, "Oh, no, you're so silly! I meant my creations! I have a knack for inventing! Even though they end up exploding sometimes- but that's the price for a masterpiece!" Her speech was fast, not unlike Midoriya's mumbling, and it was full of a certain confidence in her abilities. 

     Midoriya immediately admired that confidence. It wasn't the kind that had to be proven, but the kind you could instantly see in someone, and it was contagious in a sense.

     "Oh, hah, I was confused for a second there." Izuku rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

     How- people- friend- make??

     Reaching foreword without warning, the hyper girl pinched his cheek and laid a hand on his arm. "Awh- you're so cute combat section boy!"

     To say that Izuku was confused and embarrassed was an understatement. Was she flirting? Midoriya didn't think that was the intention- she just seemed like the kind who didn't know much about personal space.

     The girl's eyes grew even wider, "Woah, combat section boy! You're built! To be honest, looking at you earlier, despite my quirk I thought you were a total twig!" She smiled and finally let go of the poor boy, who hadn't moved an inch.

     Wow, blunt much- also, combat section boy? I have a name!

     "Uh, what do you mean 'despite my quirk'?" He asked, trying to move to another topic other than his own physique.

     The girl bounced in place, clapping her hands together, "Ah! My quirk is zoom! I don't use it much because I have no reason to, but it lets me see very very," She sucked in a breath, "VERY far away!"

     Midoriya was glad he'd broken his quirk obsession habit, or he'd have already pulled out a notebook and started asking her questions about every aspect of her quirk. 

     "Ah!" Midoriya remembered he didn't even know this girl's name, he couldn't just call her 'the girl' forever, "I never got your name, miss!"

     "Mei Hatsume! How about you, combat section boy?"

     "Er- nice to meet you Hatsume! I'm Izuku Midoriya" Mei continued to smile and Midoriya felt himself relax.

     "Oh, just call me Mei! And it's kinda unfair that you know my quirk and I don't know yours, Midoriya!" 

     And just like that, he tensed up again. His smile dropped, but Mei didn't take notice. Sighing, Izuku readied himself for an insult. "I'm actually quirkless..." His voice trailed off and his eyes averted her figure, focusing on the ground.

     There wasn't even a second of silence, "Alright!"

     Midoriya was stunned. She didn't sound upset, actually, she hadn't changed at all. The positive aura that surrounded her was shining brighter than ever and she hadn't even hesitated, "Alright?" He repeated back questioningly.

     "Yeah!"

     "Oh..." Midoriya gave her a shy smile and relaxed again. Why had he been so scared? Mei seemed so nice and he judged her reaction based on nothing.

     An hour later, Midoriya left the library with a new number in his contacts, a bo staff combat book in hand, and a bright smile on his face.

{1350}
{Edited}