[SCENE START]
EXT. ALDERA JUNIOR HIGH - DAY
The episode opens not with Izuku, but with ARATA TATSUONO (14). He is of average height with dark hair, featuring a single, faint bronze streak. He's staring intently at his right hand, where patches of rough, stone-like skin appear and fade erratically. A low, frustrated growl rumbles in his chest.
KATSUKI BAKUGO shoves past him, a sneer on his face.
BAKUGO
Still can't even get your scales out right, Codex? What a useless Quirk.
Arata flinches, clenching his fist. The stone skin solidifies for a second before vanishing. He doesn't have memories of a past life—only the deep-seated frustration of a Quirk that feels fundamentally buggy and incomplete.
INT. CLASSROOM - DAY
The teacher announces career plans. Everyone aims to be a Hero. Bakugo boasts he'll be the only one from their school to get into U.A. High.
The focus shifts to IZUKU MIDORIYA, a plain-looking boy with green hair and freckles. He mutters hero analysis under his breath. Bakugo mocks him for dreaming of U.A. despite being Quirkless.
The teacher then calls on Arata. The class snickers. His Quirk is registered as "Draconis Fundamento," but everyone knows it's unstable. He mumbles that he's still applying for U.A.'s Hero Course. The laughter is louder. Bakugo calls both him and Midoriya "a pair of useless dreamers."
EXT. CITY STREETS - LATER
Izuku, ever the fanboy, is jotting notes in his hero journal. Arata walks nearby, distractedly rubbing his forearm where the scales intermittently itch.
Suddenly, a MANHOLE COVER BURSTS OPEN. A massive, sentient SLUDGE VILLAIN erupts, roaring about using a human body as a disguise.
Izuku is frozen. The sludge surges toward him. Arata's body moves on instinct. His right arm transforms up to the elbow into a clumsy, oversized claw of grey, stony scales. He shoves Izuku out of the way, but the villain's tendril wraps around his dragon-arm instead.
ARATA
Run, Midoriya!
Before the sludge can engulf him, a booming voice echoes.
ALL MIGHT (O.S.)
HAVE NO FEAR!
ALL MIGHT, the Symbol of Peace, arrives in a blur of wind and power. With a single "TEXAS SMASH!" he disperses the villain with a whirlwind. As the sludge is bottled, All Might lands, flashing his iconic smile.
ALL MIGHT
Young man, are you all right? That was a brave, if reckless, move!
Arata's arm has reverted to normal, trembling from the strain. He can only nod, star-struck. Izuku is weeping with joy. As All Might prepares to leap away, both boys shout questions at once.
IZUKU
Can someone without a Quirk become a hero like you?
ARATA
My Quirk... it's broken. Can it ever be fixed?
All Might, already mid-crouch, gives a quick, generic thumbs-up.
ALL MIGHT
Passion is the first ingredient! Now, I must go!
He leaps, but Izuku, in a moment of insane bravery, latches onto his leg. Arata watches them disappear into the sky, clutching his still-tingling arm. The question hangs in the air, unanswered.
EXT. ROOFTOP - LATER
Izuku lands on the rooftop with All Might. He gets his devastating, honest answer: "No, I don't think you can become a hero without a Quirk". Dejected, he descends the stairs.
EXT. UNDERPASS - LATER
Arata is walking home, experimentally trying to summon a single scale on his knuckle. He hears a familiar, terrifying gurgle. Rounding a corner, he sees the SLUDGE VILLAIN, free and now holding a struggling Katsuki Bakugo hostage. Pro Heroes are on scene, but their Quirks are useless.
In the crowd, Arata spots Izuku, his face pale with horror. Their eyes meet. They see the same terror, the same desperation in Bakugo's fading struggles.
Izuku's body moves on its own. He dashes forward, slinging his backpack at the villain's eye.
Arata's body also moves. A surge of adrenaline, a desperate need to debug this crisis, overrides his fear. This time, the transformation is faster. Both his arms swell into fully-formed, rocky draconic limbs. He doesn't have claws or fire—just raw, dense strength.
ARATA
LET HIM GO!
He charges beside Izuku, not to fight the villain head-on, but to start prying at the sludge holding Bakugo. It's like digging through wet concrete.
SLUDGE VILLAIN
PESKY BRATS!
A massive sludge fist forms to crush them both.
ALL MIGHT (V.O.)
NEVER FEAR...
A skeletal, emaciated figure stands at the end of the alley.
ALL MIGHT (V.O.)
...FOR I AM HERE!
Muscle form re-inflates in an instant. "DETROIT... SMASH!" The punch doesn't just defeat the villain; it changes the weather.
In the aftermath, as Bakugo is checked over by paramedics, he stares at Izuku and Arata—the two he mocked, now being scolded yet praised by the heroes for their instinct to act.
All Might, back in his weak form, pulls Izuku aside. He gives him the answer he craved: "You can become a hero". He reveals his secret and offers him One For All.
Later, as Izuku walks home in a daze, Arata catches up to him. His arms are back to normal but covered in light bruises.
ARATA
You... you moved without thinking, too.
IZUKU
(Nods, tears welling up again)
Yeah. My legs... just moved on their own.
They walk in silence for a moment, a new, unspoken understanding between them.
ARATA
My Quirk... it's stuck. It's like it's only at 10% capacity. I don't know how to unlock the rest.
IZUKU
(Stops, a familiar analytical spark in his eyes)
"Draconis Fundamento"... that means "Dragon Foundation," right? Maybe... maybe you're not broken. Maybe you're just at Stage One.
Arata looks at him, a flicker of hope replacing his usual frustration. For the first time, someone didn't call it useless. They called it a foundation.
IZUKU
U.A.'s entrance exam is in ten months. All Might... he's going to train me. To make me a vessel for his power.
He looks at Arata, determined.
IZUKU
We both have a long way to go. Let's do our best.
Arata looks at his hand. This time, when he focuses, a single, perfect scale of earthen armor forms on his knuckle and stays there. He smiles.
ARATA
Yeah. Let's debug this.
[FINAL SCENE]
ALL MIGHT, watching from a distance, sees the two boys part ways. He came to this city to find a successor and found one in the Quirkless boy with the hero's heart. But he also saw another: a boy with a dormant power, struggling to boot up. The future, he muses, is not a single thread, but a complex network just beginning to connect.
ALL MIGHT (to himself)
INTERESTING. SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN BECOME.
[SCENE END]
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Character Card: Arata "Codex" Tatsuono
Here are the key details for your character in this revised origin:
· Name: Arata Tatsuono
· Hero Alias: Codex (a name given by peers for his Quirk's "glitchy" nature; he initially hates it but will grow into it).
· Age: 14 (same as Izuku Midoriya).
· Quirk: Draconis Fundamento (Dragon Foundation).
· Current Stage: Stage 1, Unstable. He can only partially and unreliably transform his limbs into heavy, stone-like draconic arms. The power is raw and defensively oriented, with no elemental abilities yet. It causes physical strain and mental fatigue.
· Key Motivation: To "debug" and unlock the full potential of his Quirk, which he instinctively feels is a multi-stage power. His drive is a deep-rooted need for self-repair and optimization.
· Role in the Story: A parallel rival/friend to Izuku. While Izuku is learning to handle an overwhelming power, Arata is struggling to access his. They represent two sides of mastering one's potential.