A/N: New to fandom. Not sure if this has been done before.


The change was so subtle that he wasn't sure if it even existed. A runner who had spent a few days training his body wouldn't find it odd if he could suddenly run a little bit longer. As for him, a boy who had been hit so much in the past, it hardly shocked him when he discovered that…

...Kacchan's explosions just didn't hurt anymore...

As another hand whipped across his face, he felt nothing. Not even the light sting of a firecracker. Nor the heat of fiery embers. Even the feeling of flesh slamming into flesh barely registered in his mind.

With perfect stillness, he stood there as Kacchan continued to lay onto him with waves of hits. Flashes of fiery embers lit up the center of the park as each successful strike was accompanied by a subsequent explosion. Like an immovable object, he withstood through it all, his eyes unblinking, only reflecting the surprise of his own toughness.

Once the thrill of abusing him wore off, Kacchan made a face and left with his lackeys. Leaving only a offhand remark of "how creepy" at the face of his undaunting defiance. For the first time, he wasn't left in a burned heap, smoking from all over his body.

That was the first time that he saw doubt on Kacchan's face.

"Th-thank you."

He turned around, towards the frightened boy he had thrown his life on the line to protect.

For the first time, the one that he saved was smiling at him with genuine gratitude. Not gratitude mixed with pity and worry for his well being. Just genuine gratitude.

This was the first time that he managed to help others without worrying someone else.

The rest of his childhood played out just like how he thought it would. Whatever self-esteem he managed to build up was quickly laughed away by his bullies so he spent a good chunk of his days as a mumbling mess who couldn't talk to girls.


Kacchan had stopped hitting him. Not out of mercy but more out of fear of looking weak in front of his friends. Who wouldn't look stupid if the person they punched barely reacted to their fists?

Kacchan still occasionally blew up the table he was sitting on as a mean of intimidation. And every time, he would cringe away, reflexively.

This sign of weakness was all that Katsuki needed to be reassured of their power dynamic and he would leave him alone after that. As long as he continued to cower away, Kacchan could still believe himself to be stronger.

Like usual, his life had fallen into a routine. As others around him flexed their quirks, he would write enviously in his notebook, all the while daydreaming about performing grandiose heroics.

Then there was, of course, the crime scenes.

He would rush to the scene of the crime everytime and watch the heroes he wished to become save the people that he wished to save. And each time without fail, he would write stuff down in his notebook, like an inspired author who jotted down anything that caught his fancy.

To others, it might appear desperate or pathetic.

And perhaps it was.

He just needed something to keep him busy from the cold stares of reality.

He was a boy born without a quirk.

In this society, he was destined to live a mundane life. Like a pauper who dreamed of a life in the castle, his dream of being a hero was merely a foolish pipe dream.

The scary part of being told to kill yourself was not the extreme malice and cruelty that someone could possess to even utter such words. It was the moment of pondering that scared him. Because for a moment, he actually considered it.

Izuku fished his notebook out of the school pond, dried it off, kept his back straight and continued to walk away from reality.

However, the sudden slime that attacked him felt very real. As was the suffocation that followed as his attacker forced slime down his throat.

He struggled immediately. Frantic hands clawing furiously against the green slime that trapped him.

It felt weird. He was able to touch the guy even when he was liquid. This seemed to have surprised the slime guy as well as his assailant's previous schadenfreude was quickly tainted by mild confusion.

"H-how did-"

A resonant sound of "I am here." cut off the conversation before it could begin.

Then, as if bent by all the air in the world, the villain's body was violently ripped off of him. And that was that.

This was his first meeting with the world's greatest hero.