Cheat Code: Support Strategist by Clouds (myheadinthecoudsnotcomingdown)
Chapter 2: A New DreamSummary:
Izuku researches the support course at UA.
Chapter Text
Let's do something at school…
"Alright students, remember that your finalized high school application plans need to be turned into the guidance counselor by the end of the week." The teacher said boredly. "So if you want to make any changes, they need to be done by then."
The bell rang and Izuku hurried to put the rest of his books and get out of the room before Kacchan could corner him. Things had been kinda weird since the sludge villain incident a few days ago and it seemed like Kacchan was constantly two seconds away from exploding, even more so than he usually was, at least. It probably had something to do with the fact that he had to be saved, and he was probably thinking that their classmates were looking down on him for being weak, so Izuku just thought it would be smarter to avoid him until things calmed down a little bit.
Unfortunately, Kacchan had other plans.
Izuku had barely managed to get out the front gates of the school when he found himself being slammed into the wall. He coughed as he struggled to catch his breath again, clutching his backpack to his chest so Kacchan couldn't steal it. He had just finished transferring all his hero analysis notes into a fresh notebook, he couldn't let it get destroyed again!
"You heard what Teach said." Kacchan scowled as he held Izuku against the wall. "It's your last chance to change your fucking mind about going to UA, you damn nerd. You'd better take it, because there's no chance a worthless nobody like you is ever gonna be a hero!"
"I know…" Izuku muttered.
Kacchan froze, "What did you just say?"
Izuku took a deep breath, "I said I know, Kacchan. I can't even defend myself from villains, how could I ever hope to defend other people. You were right, I'm never going to be a hero."
Izuku took advantage of the short moment Kacchan stood there gaping like a fish to pull out of his grip and run down the street, blinking away his tears. It was one thing admitting the truth to himself, but it was another thing entirely to say it to Kacchan like that. It made it more real, somehow, and even though the pain was a lot less than it had been when All Might first gave him a reality check, it still hurt.
And now everyone would know. It wouldn't take long for Kacchan to rant about it to his lackeys, and from there it would spread like wildfire and soon enough, the entire school would know that Izuku Midoriya had finally given up on his dream of being a hero. It would be too late to change his mind. But then again, wasn't it too late already? It had been too late ever since he turned four.
He was running out of time to find his new dream. Their high school plans were due in just a few days, but Izuku didn't know what he was supposed to write. He'd always wanted to go to UA because it was the best heroics school in Japan, but now he knew that he couldn't be a hero, it put everything into question. Maybe he should go to a different high school, since he didn't need to go to a school with a hero course anymore, but he still thought it would be cool to go to UA. It was where All Might had gone! He could just go into general studies...or maybe one of the other courses would be better?
Izuku ran a hand through his curls, wincing as his fingers caught in the tangles, and sighed. He needed to do a little more research before he made a decision. He sat down at his computer as soon as he got home and pulled up UA's website, navigating to the application page. He'd never actually read through the information about all the different courses, since he'd been too fixated on the hero course, but better late than never, right?
Thankfully, there was a page on UA's explaining each of the different courses and how to apply. Izuku started off by reading about general studies, obviously, since that was most likely where he'd end up. It seemed pretty standard, honestly. They would teach him the basic subjects, but Izuku didn't know how to feel about the fact that it didn't have any particular focus. General studies would look good on his resume, but that seemed to be all it would do for him. He didn't want to get bored.
Izuku bit his lip and clicked on the business course. There seemed to be a lot of money management involved in that one, which didn't really appeal to him. The heroic analytics classes sounded slightly better, but they mostly approached things from a marketing standpoint, rather than focusing on quirks like Izuku did. He decided to put a pin in that one. If he didn't find anything better, business might be a decent option, but it wasn't going to be his first choice.
He almost just closed his browser instead of reading the page on the support course. He wasn't an engineer. He didn't have any experience in mechanics or fixing things and while he found the way support items interacted with quirks interesting, he wasn't really interested in making them. But he'd looked through all the other courses, so he may as well glance at support, if only to complete the set.
At first, the support course looked exactly like what Izuku expected. There were pictures of students standing with their inventions and groups of kids with grease covered cheeks smiling at the camera, a wide variety of power tools and other things he couldn't name in the background. Try as he might, Izuku just couldn't see himself there, but then he noticed the different tracks.
The business course obviously had different areas of emphasis, like marketing or economics, but Izuku had just assumed that support was like heroics or general studies, where all the students were grouped together and had similar goals. But about halfway down the support course information page, there was an explanation of different tracks within the support course.
The first was Invention, which the website said was obviously the most popular option. It focused on being able to create and maintain support items, specifically for heroes. Izuku had just kinda assumed that was what the entire support course did. What else could there be? Support items for civilians? But, UA was a hero school…
He scrolled past the Invention track down to the next option. Design. It focused entirely on the aesthetics of hero costumes, something that Izuku hadn't even thought about as being part of support. It was a decently popular emphasis, and the students worked frequently with the business school to make sure they were designing looks that could sell and with the Invention track to make sure any support items visually matched the rest of the hero's costume. Izuku didn't think he was really artistic enough to enjoy that, though.
That brought him to the final track, which almost seemed like it had been added to the list as an afterthought. Intelligence and Analytics. Unlike the other two tracks, there weren't any pictures advertising that emphasis, and it didn't seem like it was chosen very often, but as he read the short paragraph, Izuku gradually became so excited he could hardly breathe.
Students in the Intelligence and Analytics Track of UA's Support Course focus on quirk analysis and helping heroes improve their quirk control and skill. Students are trained in how to obtain useful information to help heroes and detectives track down and defeat villains, as well as how to use quirk analysis to pinpoint villain's weaknesses. Interested students also have the option of taking courses in strategy if desired.
Izuku couldn't help but think of the heroes that stood on the sidelines and waited for All Might while Kacchan was being attacked by the sludge villain. If he joined the support course, he could share his strategies with them! He could help the heroes strategize better and use their quirks more intelligently to take down villains and protect people. It was too dangerous for a quirkless kid like him to be on the front lines, but that didn't mean he couldn't work behind the scenes to make sure the heroes had all the tools and information they needed so that they knew what to do! He could help the heroes work smarter!
It was perfect! Izuku glanced over at his collection of Hero Analysis for the Future . All these years, he'd assumed that the future he was preparing for was his career as a hero, but maybe this whole time, he'd really been preparing for a career in hero support! His cheeks were starting to hurt from how widely he was smiling and he was vaguely aware of the fact that he was mumbling as his brain spun with plans and possibilities. He would have to work hard for the next ten months if he had any chance of passing the entrance exam, but rather than being intimidated by the challenge, Izuku just felt invigorated. He grabbed a brand new notebook from his desk and wrote Support Course Preparation on the cover. Izuku Midoriya had found a new dream.
And this time, it was attainable.