Chapter Text
"I wanna be like All Might because he's the coolest!"
The chubby kid nodded in agreement with his long-fingered friend before adding on.
"Yeah! And he saves everyone— I wanna save everyone too!"
The two children then turned toward the smallest of their group, expectant eyes waiting for his contribution.
"In what way do you wanna be like All Might, Deku?"
The kid in question flashed a bright smile— one someone could easily mistake for a quirk— before answering proudly:
"I wanna be The Strongest."
"Deku."
The name spilled from her mouth on a wave of contempt— resulting in a chilling tone that sent shivers down the smaller teen's spine.
"K-Kacchan?"
Izuku instinctively pulled his light blue notebook closer to his chest in an attempt to hide its contents with his meager frame.
An effort that— while admirable— fell short.
With speed and strength Izuku knew he'd never have— Katsumi Bakugo ripped the notebook from his arms, the sudden force ripping a piece of the cover off.
"Hero Analysis For the Future? Are you serious?"
Her tone was eerily close to a growl as her frown threatened to turn to a snarl should she receive a disatisfactory answer.
"I...I k-know my quirk isn't the best b-but I still think I can become a h-hero just like A-All Mig-"
An explosion cut his sentence short.
Piercing ruby eyes seemed to bore into the boy's soul as the taller of the two bent down to meet Izuku's eyes.
"Listen to me, Deku-"
The blonde rested a smoldering palm on her classmate's shoulder.
"You will never be a hero as strong as All Might. Your quirk is for recon and rescue— stick to that."
The room remained silent— their classmates not daring to speak and incur Katsuni's wrath.
Unseen by all were the balled fists at Izuku's side, a testament to his frustration at constantly being looked down on.
Constantly being seen as weak.
"T-That's not true."
Fierce eyes narrowed as the girl's grip tightened.
"Repeat yourself."
With all the force he could muster, the smaller teen pushed his classmate away before taking a few steps back.
"If I work hard then…t-then even I have a chance at being a hero like All Might!"
His voice was the clearest and strongest it'd been in a while, a testament to his belief in the idea that he too could become someone strong.
Unfortunately for him, Katsumi didn't share that belief.
Izuku Midoriya was small, weak, and tired easily.
But the reason she had so little faith in him had nothing to do with those attributes.
And everything with his quirk.
"So what does it do?"
Bright blue eyes met their color contrast— excitement brimming beneath both.
"Basically I can see super duper far, even when my eyes are closed. Oh, and I can also see in the dark! Isn't that cool, Kacchan?"
The excitement that once pooled beneath ruby red eyes was gone, replaced by a mix of disappointment and sadness.
"It's…yeah, it's cool…"
"Mhm! Now we can become heroes just like All Might! Right, Kacchan?"
The child didn't answer— opting instead to turn and walk away with her head hung low.
Like a bolt of lightning, Katsumi closed the distance between herself and her classmate, slamming an open—smoldering— palm over his face.
"For someone with the second-best grades out of our class you sure are stupid."
"K-Kacchan! You're h-hurting me-"
"Quiet. What makes you think hard work is enough to make you a hero like All Might? Hard work won't change the fact that you were born with a quirk fit for recon and rescue."
"I...I c-can learn to f-fight!"
The blonde squeezed harder.
"So? Face reality, Deku. You could have all the technique in the world but what will it do against a villain with shock absorption? Regeneration? If you don't have the power to fight the villains heroes like All Might do- while lives are on the line- then what? What will hard work do when civilians are dying because you wanted to punch above your weight class?"
Izuku didn't respond.
Once the struggle-fueled grip on her arm stopped and his tears started, only then did the blonde finally let him go.
Izuku Midoriya was not having a good day.
After being embarrassed in front of his class by his former best friend, all the boy wanted to do was go home and cry in a corner.
But unfortunately for him, it seemed like whoever the hell was up in heaven felt like making his life just a little worse.
And naturally, the only way to do that was to send him to an early grave via a shit green sludge monster.
"It's filling my lungs!"
Each attempt the teen made at grabbing the sludge was pointless as— like most sludge— the liquid slipped past his fingers and further down his throat.
"I'm…I'm going to die!"
Memories of his brief life flashed before his eyes— some good and a majority bad.
But seemingly permeating all of them was a mop of blonde hair.
And as the corners of his vision darkened, the teen clenched his fists as something overtook him.
Not the calmness of acceptance, nor the wrath born from being murdered-
But instead, a primal, guttural fear.
A whisp of deep cobalt sprang to life— seemingly born from that raw fear.
But just as quickly as it rose, it extinguished.
For All Might was here.
"ARE YOU OK?"
In an instant, his consciousness recovered.
The very next, he was heaving up what sludge made it through to his lungs.
A large, powerful hand gave hard pats to his back in an attempt to aid the upheaval, an effort that helped push up a few extra chunks of villain which were promptly bottled.
Clutching his chest, the teen allowed himself to breathe in deep gulps of clean air- doing his best to ignore the taste of sewage in his mouth.
"I can't believe All Might had to save me. That's a little embarrassing considering I want to surp- ALL MIGHT?!"
The youth turned on a dime— somehow grabbing his notebook and a marker— and faced his idol.
"C-Can you p-please sign m-my note-"
Opening the torn book, the youth turned to a page he knew to be blank and nearly died at what he'd seen.
"Y-YOU ALREADY SIGNED IT?!"
"THAT I HAVE...er?"
"Izuku Midoriya."
"THAT I HAVE, YOUNG MIDORIYA! NOW, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"
The student briefly patted himself down to make sure everything was in order before nodding.
"Y-Yeah. Thanks f-for saving me."
"ANYTIME- Actually wait don't make this a habit. Please don't be one of those fans."
The greenette shook his head furiously as he watched the #1 hero stand.
"THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR. NOW, I MUST BE ON MY WAY WITH THIS FOUL VILLAIN!"
The hulking blonde crouched a few times before preparing to leap off into the air.
Before he could take off, however, Izuku— eager to have his question answered— latched onto the man right before he took off, sending them both hurtling through the skies.
"My left leg feels heavier for some- YOUNG MIDORIYA?!"
"H-Hi, All Might."
"I THOUGHT YOU WEREN'T ONE OF THOSE FANS!"
"Ehehe…"
With a groan, the pro hero put them down atop a corporate building before facing his unexpected passenger.
"Young man. What could possibly be so important that you'd risk your life for it? Did you need something to add to your fan blog because I assure you, this is the LEAST logical way to go about it-"
"Can I become a hero like you someday, All Might?"
It was a question he heard all the time—especially from the youth— and yet this time, something felt off.
"OF COURSE YOU CAN! AS LONG AS YOU WORK HARD AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF THEN ANYONE CAN BECOME A PRO HERO!"
"I don't want to just be some pro. I want to be The Strongest. Can I become a hero as strong as you? Even with my quirk?"
The practiced answer usually did the job so when it didn't, All Might was equal parts anxious and curious.
"Er, well, what's your quirk?"
"My quirk is called Six Eyes and gives me perfect vision, long-distance sight, and infrared vision."
"That's all?"
"Yes."
An uncomfortable silence fell over the two as All Might took a few moments to gather his thoughts, intent on crafting an answer that gave the boy hope without being unrealistic.
Before long, the man found it.
"Look, Midoriya. You have an extremely versatile quirk on your hands. It can be invaluable in search and rescue and your superior perception can give you the edge in a fight with the average villain. That's not to mention how indispensable you'd be for reconnaissance."
Hope. Pure unbridled hope began to well within the boy's eyes.
The same hope All Might had seen in countless of his comrades eyes moments before their demise.
"However, I can't confidently say that you'd be able to fight the caliber of villains that I— and others in the top 5— do, not without serious risk to yourself and innocent lives."
"O-oh…"
"Young Midoriya, everyone has their strengths and you have plenty with your quirk. But we also all have weaknesses— things we simply cannot do. Instead of trying to become a hero as strong as me, become the best hero you can be with what you have. I believe wholeheartedly that you'll go on to save lives, to be a great hero— you don't need to get yourself killed trying to do it. Don't punch above your weight class, Midoriya."
With a final assuring pat on the shoulder, All Might took to the skies.
This time, when Izuku clenched his fists, it wasn't due to fear, no.
Those whisps of cobalt were sparked from rage.
"EVERYONE GET BACK!"
Using his quirk, Kamui Woods created a barrier that pushed the onlookers back, ensuring they were a safe distance from the explosions.
Not far from him was another pro— Mt. Lady— using her quirk to increase her size and rescue civilians trapped high within burning buildings.
All in all, they— alongside other heroes present—were doing their best to contain the situation.
"We need a hero with the right quirk. We won't be able to attack this fiend otherwise— not while he's using her quirk."
Unbeknownst to Kamui, there stood a teen in the midst of the crowd, looking upon the carnage.
Carnage he had a direct hand in.
"I-It's the sludge villain. He managed to escape and take another hostage…all because I had to ask All Might such a dumb question."
Due to curiosity— or maybe a sense of guilt— Izuku pushed his way up to the head of the crowd, desperate to see the unfortunate soul he'd sentenced to death.
And once he caught sight of her— thrashing against the villain as wide ruby eyes pleaded for help—
He threw up.
"K-Kacchan?!"
He felt his legs grow weak as another bout of bile threatened to rise up his throat and slip past his lips.
"I'm so sorry…I'm so, so, sorry-"
She looked at him.
Bright red eyes looked at him.
And screamed at him for help.
He was already moving before he could think.
There was no strategy, no swarm of ideas, nor anything of the sort going through his mind.
Only one thought— one desire— stood tall.
"Win."
His fist struck true, colliding with the sludge villain's eye— and only solid part of its body— which loosened its grip on Katsumi.
With his free left hand, the greenette ripped his classmate from the villain's hold, tossing her back into Kamui Woods.
Then— with all his fear and rage poured into his fist— the teen sent another, brutal punch into the villain's face.
The initial impact staggered the villain, sending it reeling in pain.
But the second one— accompanied by a wave of deep cobalt flame— popped the sensory organ before dispersing the villain along the asphalt.