DekuMeli

"Become a wonderful hero who can save people in trouble, okay?"

- Melissa to Izuku in My Hero Academia: Two Heroes

DekuMeli is the het ship between Izuku Midoriya and Melissa Shield from the My Hero Academia fandom.

Canon
Izuku and Melissa are very similar to each other, as they both idolize Professional Heroes and are smart minds with good grades in school. They also share similarity in their childhoods, as they were both born without quirks and found ways to deal with it: gaining One for All for Izuku, and creating support items for Melissa. The two are connected through All Might, Izuku's mentor, and a close friend of Melissa's father, David Shield. Throughout the interactions between the two, they begin to form a relationship similar to that of All Might and David - All Might and Izuku as the Pro Heroes, and David and Melissa as the ones helping them with the tech they create.

Melissa and Izuku first meet in the first movie My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, which is Melissa's first appearance. All Might receives a message from Melissa, inviting him to I-Island for the special exhibition event to meet his father again, ​and thanks to All Might decided to take Izuku with him, Melisa and Izuku can meet for the first time. When Melissa greets All Might, Izuku nearly mistakes her for the friend All Might mentioned until All Might introduces Izuku to Melissa. Izuku quickly blushes when he meets her and feels awkward when she checks him to see his suit.

All Might interrupts reminding Melissa about her schedule and she takes them to see her father, David. Izuku is fascinated upon meeting Melissa's father and she laughs happily at Izuku's admiration for her father. David then asks Melissa to show Izuku the exhibit and she agrees. Walking together, Izuku and Melissa continue to get to know each other. Izuku tells Melissa to call him Deku even though she finds the nickname strange. Izuku and Melissa wander around the I-Expo where they notice a lot of Pro Heroes and then Melissa takes Izuku to the pavilion where she shows him several different inventions on display. As they tour Izuku asks about Melissa's father, and she admits she's aspiring to be a great scientist just like he is. Izuku hears Melissa state she is a third year student at I-Island Academy, studying to be a scientist in the same way Izuku is for becoming a hero. They share the same goal of becoming like the people they admire.

They are soon surprised by Ochako Uraraka, Momo Yaoyorozu and Kyoka Jiro who suddenly interrupt and suspect that Izuku is on a romantic date with Melissa, embarrassing Izuku who explains that Melissa was only showing him the exhibition. Melissa introduces herself to her classmates and when she almost mentions All Might, Izuku stops her and asks her not to say anything while the girls become more suspicious. Izuku's worries are eased when Melissa takes the five of them out for tea together at the cafe, showing that Melissa easily became friends with her companions.

Melissa then runs into Izuku's other friends like Tenya Iida, Eijiro Kirishima, and Katsuki Bakugou. Melissa is surprised by Katsuki's aggressiveness towards Izuku and she watches Izuku do the Villain Attack challenge, realizing that Izuku's power is very similar to All Might's, although is limiting his power. After finishing inviting Denki Kaminari and Minoru Mineta to the formal party, Melissa shows Izuku her lab and he notices all of her awards and congratulates her. Melissa claims her grades were dropping, but she still studies hard to become a Hero. Izuku asks if she wants to become a Pro, with her revealing she can't because she's Quirkless. This surprises and saddens Izuku since it is said that both were born without Quirks and remembers their past. Melissa agrees to be Quirkless because she can still be a Hero supporting others like her father, cheering for Izuku.

Melissa walks up to him and puts a glove on Izuku that she created on his right hand to help him control his Quirk. She tells him that she realized that he has trouble controlling his power thanks to his scars and that the device will greatly increase the amount of power he can wield, asking him to become a great Hero who can protect people. They then meet again in the central tower outside the party hall dressed in formal wear along with most of Izuku's companions. Suddenly the security system locks them in and after burying themselves that the Professional Heroes have been captured, U.A. students make a plan to restore the security system and free everyone, to which Melissa replies that she wants to join.

Izuku tries to tell Melissa to stay behind, but she refuses because she's the only one who can disable the security system, and wants to help save everyone just as much as Izuku. Once Melissa, Izuku, and Ochako reach the wind power generation system, Ochako uses his Quirk to lead Izuku and Melissa to the emergency exit at the top of the tower, causing Melissa to hug Izuku as they float. They both worry about Ochako when she is going to be attacked by robots and are relieved when Katsuki and Shoto save her, who help them fly higher. After ceasing to float, Melissa is attacked by one of Wolfram's henchmen, causing Izuku to lose his docile nature and instead become incredibly angry, ending him with a single blow. Izuku approaches Melissa and asks if it's okay, to which she smiles at him and they continue on their way to the security room.

After learning of David's true intentions and Wolfram's deception, Melissa worries about Izuku when he is attacked by the Villain's Metal Control Quirk and they are both horrified when David is seriously shot and kidnapped by Wolfram. Izuku tells Melissa that he will save David and she takes the opportunity to disable the security system. Izuku is desperate to save David and when he thinks Villain is going to escape, All Might appears and rescues the professor. Melissa watches Izuku and All Might fight the greatly enhanced Wolfram and is moved to tears by their teamwork. After winning the fight, Melissa checks Izuku and is happy that he is safe. Melissa appreciates everything Izuku has done for her and Izuku reminds her that her actions also helped save everyone on that day and the movie ends with the two of them watching the sunrise with joyful and hopeful smiles.

Semi-Canon
Boku No Hero Academia (BNHA) TEAM UP MISSION

Melissa doesn’t appear again until chapter 3 of the light novel spin-off, Team Up Missions, in which she visits U.A. Izuku is very excited to see her again, and gets frustrated when other boys come to see her as well, causing her to accidentally ignore him. He’s also glad to see her bond with another friend of his, Mei Hatsume. The two girls get into an argument over who can make the best addition(s) to Izuku’s hero costume. Days later, the competition is held in the USJ. During Melissa's turn to present, Izuku believed that her additions would be perfect. Before continuing, parts of his clothes ripped off, making him rather embarrassed with Melissa near.

Suddenly, things go awry; all the disasters of the USJ began to go off due to over-usage, making the place heavily dangerous to remain in. Izuku jumps into the mess to save Melissa, grabbing her bridal style. Soon after, things are done and settled between Mei and Melissa, who agree on continuing with the competition, surprising Izuku, who has no choice but to go with it!

Fanon
DekuMeli is considered a relatively rare pairing, due to many members of the fandom being anime-onlies, and being more or less unaware of Melissa's existence. However, DekuMeli is the most popular ship for Melissa, and often the second most popular het ship for Izuku, rivalled mainly by IzuOcha or slash pairings such as TodoDeku. Their relationship is often portrayed similar to canon, with their teaming up leading to a quickly budding romance.

Due to All Might and David's previous dynamic between Hero and Sidekick, some have liked to theorize that Melissa will become the mechanic for Deku's future Hero suits and artifacts, rather than Mei Hatsume, due to her father also created the Hero costumes of Izuku's father figure (All Might). While this idea has faded over time due to Melissa's notable absence from the plot, there are fans who have long awaited a canonical reunion between Izuku and Melissa.

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