A/N: A couple things before we get started: This fanfic mainly follows the story line of the Hunger Games. With that being said, if you don't like the Hunger Games, you probably won't like this fic. Sorry. If you do, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Hunger Games nor My Hero Academia. The Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins, and My Hero Academia belongs to Kōhei Horikoshi. I am not making any money off of this; it is for entertainment purposes only! Please support the official release.

Warnings: Rated T for graphic depictions of violence, character death, and mental instability in the later chapters.

"What if it's me? What if I get chosen?" the brunette cried. "I-I don't know how to fight!"

"Shhhhhh," Izuku whispered, pulling the girl into a tight embrace. "It won't be you," he assured her.

"How do you know?" she sobbed, her face drenched in tears.

"I won't let that happen," Izuku promised, knowing very well that he had no power over these odds. "I won't let that happen."

As punishment for the rebellion, each of the twelve districts were required to select two tributes between the ages of twelve and eighteen for the Hunger Games, a fight to the death in the Capitol that took place annually. The winners of the Games would receive special treatment from the Capitol, particularly in food. The Hunger Games were mostly based around quirks, or superhuman abilities. In fact, quirks meant everything in this society. Throughout the districts, a person's quirk measured their social status and wealth. Marriages were arranged to see who could produce the most powerful offspring, quirk-wise. It was almost ironic, though, that the use of quirks was strictly restricted in the public. Well, in the Districts, at least. So basically, if your quirk allowed you to kill twenty-three people just by looking at them, you were considered a victor, or winner, to the Hunger Games.

The Capitol of UA was run by flashy "heroes" who didn't care much about saving people, but instead, money, fame, and power. The Capitol heavily relied on the districts, which did all of the labor so that the Capitol could prosper. In return, the Capitol offered order and security, meaning that a number of peacekeepers, or white-suited soliders holding guns, occupied the districts to ensure that everything was getting done in a way that the Capitol desired.

Izuku used his thumbs to wipe Uraraka's tears off her face.

This was Uraraka's first time being reaped, and like him, or pretty much anyone for that matter, she was terrified.

The ceremony in which the tributes were selected was called the Reaping. The Capitol dressed it up to be an honor to be chosen, but the people here knew that getting reaped was just a ticking time bomb that ended in death. District Twelve rarely had victors, considering that families low on the social hierarchy lived here, and therefore, had not-so-powerful quirks. That rule didn't apply to everybody, though. Izuku's best friend, Kacchan, had a quirk called "Explosion." And he had witnessed how powerful that quirk was firsthand. He had burn marks to prove it.

Izuku had just turned fifteen. He was probably as average as it got when it came to looks. He had an incredible stepfather who taught him everything that he knew, and a loving mother whom he admired more than anybody. He never got to meet his biological father, who had died in a mining accident. Izuku didn't have any siblings, but it wouldn't be a stretch to call Uraraka his sister. That was basically their relationship, anyway. They had basically grown up together. Izuku was luckier than most. While his family was with no doubt at the lower-end of the scale in terms of wealth and power, they still managed not to starve, thanks to Izuku's mother, who was a healer. Somehow, the three of them coped with their pain and found happiness in each another. While the conditions weren't what you'd call ideal, Izuku had a fairly decent life.

Uraraka tore away from Izuku's hug and looked him in the eyes. "Thank you, Izuku."

Izuku spent most of his time with his stepfather, Yagi Toshinori. His father looked sickly, not much different from a skeleton. Like Izuku, his hair was always a mess, no matter how hard he tried. Despite his sickly state and lack of a quirk, Toshinori and Izuku's mother, Inko Midoriya, fell in love and married when Izuku was nine. While their marriage did nothing to benefit their family in terms of wealth or status, both of them were ever so happy together, and that was all that they needed.

In the meantime, Izuku's stepfather took it upon himself to make Izuku stronger. And that he became. Every single morning they would meet in the forest. Izuku would climb trees, run in loops, move this here and that there, all at his stepfather's command. Yagi Toshinori also trained Izuku in combat, insisting that he would need it one day. (Izuku doubted it. Why would a future healer need combat skills?) But that didn't stop him from being the best that he could be.

Izuku honestly didn't know much about his stepfather. They had met one another when Izuku was playing in the district's main square with his friends. He had seen this man coughing up blood and offered to treat him. The man reluctantly agreed and took this man home to his mother. It wasn't much, but the man was eternally grateful. Izuku was in pure awe of him.

This man was like the fictional hero, All Might, to Izuku.

Izuku loved fiction. He would never admit it, but he was the nerdiest fanboy around. He collected comic books and got lost in their content. He was particularly obsessed with heroes. (Even though he was fifteen, he still hadn't grown out of that phase.) Izuku thought that quirks were the coolest things in the world. There was an endless variety when it came to quirks. He filled up journal after journal on them, desperate to found out how they originated, how they evolve, and most importantly,

Why some people have them and some people don't.

After leaving Uraraka, Izuku took the long route home to get a breath of air. He was also more than terrified for the Reaping Ceremony, but he couldn't let Uraraka know that. He needed to be brave for her, knowing that he wouldn't last a minute in those Games. Izuku repeatedly told himself that the odds of her being chosen were as low as they could be. This was the first time that her name would even be put into the reaping, and it was only put in once at that. Izuku's name, on the other hand had been put in tons of times, and had never been drawn.

The freckled boy stopped walking for a second, something catching his eye. Izuku kneeled down to the rubble underneath him just to be sure that the gold he saw on the ground wasn't just some everyday debris. Izuku put his hands down into the dirt to dust of the nickel sized mystery. He laughed to himself. What were the odds of finding an All Might pin? And here of all places?

To some, in fact, most people, All Might was a just a fictional character meant to keep peoples' mind off of things. But to Izuku, All Might was his hope, motivation, and most importantly, the impersonation of peace and justice. In the comic books that he read, All Might saved hundreds of lives with a smile on his face. He was everything that Izuku aspired to be, even if that wasn't possible.

Izuku placed the pin into his pocket. If he couldn't give Uraraka good luck, maybe All Might would.

"We could run away," Katsuki Bakugou, Izuku's childhood friend, suggested. It was the morning of the reaping. The two of them were sitting at the edge of the district. They were restricted from the area, but that never stopped his best friend. And Izuku had been clinging to his best friend since they were young children. The two of them had come here together for as long as he could remember, and they still spent time here together. It was the only place they could talk badly about the Capitol and not be executed as a result of it.

"They would catch us," Izuku reminded him. Bakugou grunted at him.

"Then I'll fucking get them, you loser!" the blonde yelled. Izuku was used to this. It was just the way his best friend talked.

"If anybody could get out though, it's you, Kacchan," Izuku said softly. "I wouldn't stand a chance."

Bakugo scoffed. "Then I'll look out for you, piece of shit!"

Their relationship was complicated.

Bakugo grew up in the same neighborhood as Izuku did. He remembers walking to school with him, eating dinner with his family, playing in the park with him. For all of Izuku's life, he had looked up to him. He was great at just about everything that he attempted. He even had the potential for a future outside of the mines because of his strong quirk. He was violent-natured, yes, but his heart was in the right place. He shared the same ideals as Izuku when it came to the Capitol, and he was very vocal about it, which said a lot. There weren't many who had the guts to put their lives on the line to talk shit about people.

After the sun had completely risen, Izuku washed and put on his nicest outfit saved for this one occasion. It consisted of a simple button-down white shirt and black pants. He also wore his only shoes. But if he was being honest with himself, the washing hardly did anything to help his appearance. His curly green hair still shot up in every direction possible. He gave up trying to tame it years ago. Uraraka, on the other hand, was much more beautiful. Her hair was styled into an adorable bob, and she wore a light pink dress that brought out the color in her cheeks.

"You look stunning," Izuku said as he crouched down to hug her. She had clearly been crying earlier. Her entire face was red and her eyes were puffy. At least his comment made her smile.

"I'm scared, Izuku," she cried. "What do I do if they…" She trailed off, not even able to finish the tragedy of her own thoughts.

"Everything will be alright, I promise," he assured her. He planted a kiss to the top of her head.

"I want you to have this," he whispered to her, placing the Symbol of Peace into her shaking palm. "It will bring you good luck." Uraraka eyed the pin in curiosity before closing her hand into a fist.

The two of them walked to the ceremony with their families and the Bakugos. It wouldn't be an understatement to call the entirety of District Twelve gray. Buildings were literally crumbling down and sickness spread faster than news ever did.

Izuku could easily recognize the little "stage" that the Capitol had set up for the ceremony. It was decorated in UA's logo and was adorned with a gigantic glass bowl filled with slips of names. There were much easier ways of doing this, but the Capitol was known for its luxury. If it wasn't expensive, then it wasn't worth their time.

Izuku swiftly got in line to sign in. It was the same thing every year. The Capitol simply had to ensure that everybody attended, but most importantly, they needed to record everybody's quirks. Keeping a quirk secret from the Capitol was considered treason and was punishable by death. As the Capitol viewed it, secret quirks could result in another uprising. Additionally, the Capitol needed to keep tallies on people with quirks that were dangerous so that they could take them into custody or at least monitor them.

After the families had signed in, the peacekeepers swiftly shuffled them into their rows, sloppily organized by age. Everybody shifted uncomfortably, thanks to the dangerous weapons that the peacekeepers carried. There were rows and rows of people, but Izuku wouldn't be able to come to that conclusion with his eyes closed. Nobody made a sound, except for the occasional sniffles and coughs.

"I'm Hizashi Yamada, better known as Present Mic, and the day has come for us to select two young children for the honor of representing your district in the annual, seventy-fourth, Hunger Games! Are you ready?"

The man on the stage stood out, to say the least. He was dressed in a ridiculous costume and his hair shot out the back of his head like he was being hit by a windstorm. To complete his look, he wore sunglasses, despite the lack of sunlight that morning.

"Alright, let's do this thang!" he yelled.

Silence.

Despite not receiving the feedback he had intended, Present Mic reached his hand into the gigantic glass bowl. The crowds of people below waited in anticipation. Many of them held their hands up in prayer, hoping that the tributes would be powerful quirk users that they didn't know.

Even though Izuku was freezing from the cool air, he could not be sweating more. He closed his eyes and gulped.

Not Uraraka, not Uraraka.

"Ochaco Uraraka," Present Mic announced.

Izuku flinched.

It couldn't be…

He was sure it was just his imagination, right? Maybe this was just his mind playing tricks on him.

He slowly turned his face to meet his friend's eyes. She wasn't looking at him, though. They were no longer full of the positive energy that kept Izuku going every second of the day. Instead, they were filled with fear. He watched those same eyes fill with tears time and time again, but now they were lifeless. People all around them turned to face her, making a gap for her to pass through.

Izuku couldn't help but listen to the whispers around them confirming his terrors.

"It's her!"

"Step forward, miss!"

"Come on up! There's no need to be shy!" the announcer said, as if he would know.

Uraraka looked like she had forgotten how to breathe. She staggered up, glancing over the entirety of the audience, looking for any kind of sign that this was just another one of her nightmares.

Izuku couldn't bare seeing her like this, after he had promised her that she would be okay.

He had completely lost control of his body as he leaped forward, pushing past the rows of people and peacekeepers. It took a few moments before his brain caught up with what was happening. The peacekeepers stepped forward, holding him back in the crowd. "Stop! Let go of me!" he cried, struggling to break free of their hold.

"I volunteer!" he screamed, hysterically. He pushed pass the guards. "I volunteer as tribute!"

Everybody's eyes were on him now. They looked just as surprised as he felt. The guards loosened their grip on his shoulders as he broke free from them. Uraraka turned around, as if this were even worse than herself getting chosen. As soon as Izuku got the chance, he ran up to Uraraka and pulled her into a hug.

"Did I hear that correctly? A volunteer!" Present Mic said, looking absolutely delighted.

"No!" Uraraka screamed. "Please, Izuku! You can't!" she cried. Izuku gave her a reassuring look and a kiss on her head before Bakugo pulled her out of the crowd after boosting her onto his shoulders. Izuku silently thanked him.

"Wow! District Twelve's very first volunteer!" Present Mic celebrated. "Come on up!" He took Izuku by the shoulders and guided him to the front and center of the stage. Izuku didn't struggle anymore. He had to be strong for Uraraka's sake.

"What's your name?" he asked, holding his microphone to Izuku's face.

Izuku hesitated for just a moment. If it weren't for the microphone, not even Present Mic would be able to hear him.

"I-Izuku Midoriya," he sniffed.

Be brave, Izuku. That's what Uraraka would want.

Izuku's eyes scanned the audience. He could see his poor mother and his stepfather holding each other. He could tell from here that his mother was violently shaking. Izuku filled with dread.

"Let's have a big hand for our very first volunteer, Izuku Midoriya!"

Present Mic was the only one clapping.

"And now for our second tribute!" Present Mic slipped his hand into the gigantic glass bowl once again. He made a dramatic show out opening the slip of paper. "Shouto Todoroki!"

Izuku watched the hundreds of people turning to face the teen. He didn't even flinch. Everybody knew who he was. His father was the mayor of District Twelve, and therefore a part of the wealthiest family in Izuku's district. The Todorokis were known for their amazing quirks. The mayor had fire powers, but even that didn't compare to his son. It was an understatement to say that that Shouto Todoroki stood out. He had the weirdest kind of hair around—half red and half white. His eyes were also two different colors. His handsome appearance wasn't even flawed by the burn scar that marred the left side of his face.

Izuku knew Todoroki personally from school. They were never the closest of friends, and after a falling out that stopped talking. It was regretful, but perhaps it was for the best. Izuku would've hated competing with a friend.

Izuku examined the boy as he climbed up the stairs on the opposite side of the stage. Unlike Izuku, his face was emotionless. He didn't even struggle.

Maybe because he actually has a shot at winning.

Through all of the time that he had known the teen, Izuku had envied Todoroki's quirk. His left side could produce fire, while his right side produced ice. Nobody really saw amazing quirks like that in the districts because all of the families with fancy quirks resided in the Capitol. Most of the people in the districts had useless quirks like pulling their eyes out of their sockets or changing the color of their hair.

Todoroki was different. If anybody had a chance at winning the games, it was him.

Present Mic positioned Todoroki to the left side of Izuku.

"Our tributes from district twelve: Shouto Todoroki. Quirk: Half-hot, half-cold. And Izuku Midoriya. Um…" Izuku turned away from the audience's curious looks, finding more comfort in staring at the floor. He dreaded the words that would come next. "…quirkless…" Present Mic finished.

Almost immediately did Izuku hear whispers from down below. It was humiliating. Quirks had been in existence for generations. These days it was incredibly rare to meet somebody without an ability. In fact, approximately eighty percent of the population possessed a quirk, but the twenty percent mostly belonged to elders from the days that quirks weren't so prominent. Izuku belonged to the tiny fraction of juniors who didn't possess a quirk.

And that made all the difference.

Ever since Izuku was a child, he wanted a cool quirk more than anything. When he turned five, though, he realized that he was the only one in his entire class who hadn't manifested an ability. He desperately searched for some kind of sign. He told himself that his quirk was invisible. Maybe he needed to be in the right situation for his quirk to appear. Maybe his quirk would appear when he was in pain or in love or something. But nothing.

There was no way in hell anyone could survive the Hunger Games without a quirk. The victors of these Games didn't require any survival skills. They just needed a good quirk.

The ones with bad quirks always died first.

"Why don't you two shake hands?" Present Mic asked enthusiastically, breaking Izuku's thoughts.

The two of them slightly hesitated before even turning towards one another.

"Why are you so set on me using my fire, huh? Is it because you're quirkless? " Todoroki yelled. "Or did my old man bribe you?!"

"It's not your father's quirk! It's yours! " Izuku shot back.

Todoroki was the first to hold out his hand. Izuku's eyes snapped shut as he took it. It was hardly a hand shake, being that Izuku's sweaty hands were already trembling.

How is it that he manages to stay so calm?

Both of the tributes were aloud private time to say goodbye to their families before leaving for the Capitol.

Uraraka came charging toward Izuku before he even had a chance to breathe. "Just try to win for me," she cried. Izuku gave her a reassuring smile, despite knowing that he would be dead within the first minutes. "Here, I want you to have this," she cried, holding out the pin that he had given her earlier that day. Izuku had almost forgotten. "All Might is your hero."

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Don't die, Deku," Bakugo threatened.

After their brief meeting, the two of them left, giving him some privacy with his parents.

"Izuku…my baby" his mother cried. Izuku put his arms around her as if to assure her that she didn't need to speak. She twister her fingers through her his hair. She didn't need to say anything. Izuku understood.

"I love you," he told her. It took just about everything not to break down right then and there.

"I'm going to give some time to you and your father. He wants to talk to you alone," she muttered, staying strong for Izuku. He could tell that she was struggling to smile. She finally let go of him as she after planting a kiss to his forehead. "I love you," she cried as Izuku watched her leave.

"Hey kid," his stepfather said, holding his arms out. Izuku ran into his arms. "We don't have time, so I'm going to make this quick." Izuku blinked up at him.

"For months we have been training your body for this" he said.

"But-

"Not now, Izuku." His stepfather held up a fist. "My quirk is yours to inherit."

Izuku's eyes widened upon hearing his words.

"Its name is One for All. It's not one particular quirk, per say, but it increases my agility, flexibility, strength, speed, stamina, and senses. Not to mention, it gives me the ability to pass on my powers. Like you, this gift was once passed down to me. It's a very powerful quirk."

"I don't understand," Izuku said. "Why haven't I seen you use it before? I thought you were quirkless."

"It was once very powerful, back in my day, but you know I'm dying. My powers have significantly lessoned."

Izuku nodded at his stepfather with sheer determination.

"This quirk will cause severe damage to your body when you use it. That's why we've been preparing your body for it."

"How will I-"

"You're going to have to eat my hair," his stepfather told him.

Izuku looked dumbfounded.

"Look, you're just going to have to eat my DNA!" he explained. Without further ado, his stepfather pulled out a strand of hair handed it to Izuku.

Izuku held out his hand and took it from his fingers. A tear slipped down his face.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"I believe that you can make it out of there alive," his stepfather told him. "We've been training hard for this. Look, I know that your primary instinct is to help people, but the only way that you'll win these games is for you to be selfish."

"I can't kill," Izuku cried. "Not these people, they're-"

"You're very powerful, Izuku. Even quirkless, you're smart and you're strong. You can do anything you set your mind to."

"But-"

"I'm not telling you to use One for All for bad, Izuku. You know that it's illegal to hide your quirk from the Capitol. But if it comes down to life or death, I need you to promise me that you'll use it."

"You know that I can't if they're just going to come after you and Mom!" Izuku argued.

"One minute!" a peacekeeper called out.

"Promise me," he repeated, pleading with his eyes.

Izuku reluctantly nodded.

"I love you, Izuku. I believe in you." His stepfather embraced Izuku one more time.

But right then, the doors opened as the guards took his stepfather by the shoulders and guided him out. As much as Izuku wanted to fight back, to tell the guards to give his family back, he had no choice but to cooperate.

"Stay alive, son!"

Izuku watched him leave.

Izuku stared out the window of the train. He observed the different types of trees as they passed. Honestly, it was more of a green blur with how fast the train was moving. Either way, it was distracting enough for Izuku to get his mind off of things.

Izuku breathed in the delicate smell of roses. The insides and outsides of the train itself was the most elaborate thing he had ever seen. He had a feeling that it wouldn't be for much longer, though. He was on his way to the Capitol. This was what they were known for. It was almost regretful that he wouldn't be able to enjoy its luxury. The chair on which he sat probably cost more than his entire house, after all.

Izuku observed that he was probably the accent of the room with his green hair and red shoes. The colors of the train stuck to a more depressing spectrum. Izuku noticed the flower pots that decorated the polished wood of the tables. It was silly that they thought that a bunch of flowers would be able to lighten up the atmosphere. Back at home, all of the buildings were crumbling, if not decaying already. The people of the Capitol probably would have compared their district to a thousand-year-old cemetery.

"This train moves super fast and you don't even feel a thing!" Present Mic announced. When he looked upon Izuku's and Todoroki's disinterested faces he said, "Here. I'll go fetch your mentor, Shota Aizawa."

As soon as he left the room, Todoroki spoke up without meeting his gaze. "You haven't changed one bit, Midoriya. You've always been so desperate to play hero," Todoroki said.

Izuku remained silent. Todoroki's words stung, but he tried to not let them get to him.

"Uraraka still would've had a better chance winning the games than you. What were you thinking, volunteering like that? You're quirkless."

Izuku tried to ignore his cold words, but the other tribute had a point. "I couldn't let her die," Izuku whispered. "She's my friend. I…I understand that I don't have a shot, okay?"

Todoroki scoffed at his words. The two of them hadn't spoken in years, and Izuku already hated him. Well, more like strongly disliked. He couldn't hate people.

If Todoroki was ice at first, now he was fire. "Well, Midoriya, I'm stronger than you, and I'm going to beat you," he challenged.

Izuku hesitated. "I-I know you are. You're the strongest in our district and surely much more talented than I am. But I'm still going to try my hardest," he muttered.

Todoroki shot narrowed heterochromatic eyes at him.

Izuku gulped nervously.

Then, the door to their room shot open. A man with long black hair and a white scarf sat down on the chair in front of them. The man looked as though he hadn't slept in years. There were bags around his eyes, for starters.

"Congratulations," he said. His voice was filled with exhaustion. He obviously would rather be anywhere else.

"I know you! You're the fiftieth victor! You won the games when you were sixteen. You've mentored decades of tributes!" Izuku said, thinking back to his piles and piles of journals at home. Todoroki turned to face him like he was out of his mind.

Aizawa gave him a bored look. "And you're the quirkless boy he volunteered for that poor girl. Charming. But you shouldn't be here," he growled. "You won't last a second without possessing a quirk. You'll be hunted down within the first few seconds when the other tributes find out, and they will."

Izuku sunk under his angry glare.

"Now who are you again?" Aizawa asked the boy sitting beside him.

"Shouto Todoroki," he answered evenly.

"You're the mayor's successor, aren't you?" Aizawa asked. He looked much more impressed than when he was talking to Izuku. "Son of Enji?"

Todoroki nodded.

"Know how to hunt?"

Todoroki answered, "Yes."

"And I'm sure you know how to fight?"

Todoroki nodded again.

Izuku shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Could I as-"

"Give me a break, kid," Aizawa told Izuku.

As much as Izuku wanted to get up and leave the room, he knew that it would be a mistake. He wasn't going to give up. And he most certainly wasn't going to look like a coward.

Izuku intended to win the games. Without this new quirk.

He was still in shock over the entire thing with his stepfather. Izuku dreamed about having a quirk for his entire life. He would do just about anything for any quirk, no matter how useless it was. He wanted to help people. He wanted to be a hero.

And even if it seemed ridiculous or meant intense bullying and dishonor to his family's name, he would keep his quirk a secret for the sake of his loved ones. Izuku couldn't bear to think that his mother and stepfather would be executed if anybody found out about it. He would rather die at that point.

Little to Izuku's surprise, the train also had an enormous dining hall—for a train, that is. And quite frankly, there was possibly more food on that table than he had eaten all month. Izuku sat at the table with both Todoroki and Aizawa, who looked at him and sighed. "Look kid. Only killers win these games. You're wasting your time."

"Todoroki already knows what he's doing. I don't," Izuku justified shyly

Present Mic came up behind Izuku. "Shota. Come on. Give the lad a chance," he said.

Izuku was instantly struck with surprise. He wasn't expecting them to be on a first-name basis, but that wasn't important right now.

Izuku was thankful for Present Mic's gesture, but a silent part of him hoped that it would be Todoroki who defended him. Instead, Todoroki just sat stone-faced at the table, looking at nothing in particular.

Aizawa seemed to back off just a little bit, so Izuku took that as an opportunity to ask questions. "Tell me about the sponsors!"

Aizawa glared at him, accepting defeat. "Sponsors might turn out to be the difference between life and death in the games."

Todoroki also seemed to be following the conversation. "How do you get them?" he asked.

"It's easy…" Aizawa started. "Make people like you."

Izuku froze. It wasn't that he was bad with people. In fact, many people would describe him as "nice" and "friendly." The only problem was that he was easily nervous around them, being that he was a target for bullying throughout his entire life. He preferred to sit alone if it meant that people wouldn't walk all over him. It was easier that way.

Todoroki, on the other hand, was a rude spoiled brat with a great quirk. For some reason, that would mean that he would get more sponsors than Izuku.

"I'm going to go take a nap. You brats are wearing me out," Aizawa said. He got up and left the room. Izuku froze at the realization that he and Todoroki were the only ones left in the room.

A part of Izuku wanted to strike up a conversation, but he learned from earlier. He wasn't going to let the other tribute treat him that way. Todoroki was his enemy now. Izuku opted for awkward silence. Todoroki, on the other hand, didn't.

"What's that you're holding?" Todoroki asked, crossing his arms.

Izuku took a minute to process his sentence. He hadn't even realized that he was clutching the Symbol of Peace pin.

Todoroki was more observant than he originally though.

Izuku instantly returned it to his pocket. "It's nothing. Just a pin. It's stupid," Izuku murmured. Todoroki didn't look convinced. Izuku sweat under the pressure. "I guess I just want to get my mind off of things."

Why can't he just leave me alone?

"If it counts for anything," Todoroki said, "you're much more capable than I originally thought. You may be small and quirkless, but at least you knew about the sponsors."

Izuku would roll his eyes if he weren't so afraid of Todoroki.

"I still think that what you did at the Reaping Ceremony was stupid, though," he finished.

Obviously there had to be a catch.

"It was," he agreed.

Much to Izuku's luck, the two of them returned to their dance in silence.

Izuku didn't know too much about Todoroki. As far as he was concerned, Todoroki was a closed book. But that didn't stop him from taking mental notes about him. For one, he lifted his fingers up to the scar on the left side of his face and traced the outline of it. As well as Todoroki did to hide it, Izuku could tell that the dual-colored teen was still bothered by it.

The two of them had become friends when Izuku was around Uraraka's age. They had been in the same class at one point. They didn't interact right away, being that Todoroki was the type of person to keep to himself. Izuku learned that Todoroki did have a heart, after all, when Izuku had accidentally bumped into the mayor while begging for food. In his dehydrated and starving state, he froze, unable to apologize without stuttering a million times. Recognizing Izuku, Todoroki gave him a fresh loaf of bread that had just been purchased. Even though the Todorokis ate much better than everybody else in District Twelve, food was still expensive. Izuku bowed at Todoroki, more grateful than he could ever say, but as he was walking away, Izuku watched Todoroki get slapped by his father. He felt awful about it, but vowed to make it up to him.

After that, Izuku and Todoroki formed an "alliance," for lack of better words, but they both managed to find peace in it, somehow. It didn't really last long, though.

"Why don't you ever use your fire powers Todoroki?"

Todoroki faltered for a second. "I refuse to use my old man's quirk." There was deep-rooted anger burning in his eyes, bitterness, even. He's a scumbag. He's the reason that my mother's sick," Todoroki growled.

Izuku chose not to push him any farther. He had never seen Todoroki act like this.

"My father is the reason that I have this," Todoroki told Izuku, gesturing to his scar. "He abused her until she couldn't take it anymore. She called my left side unbearable before pouring boiling water on my face," he said. "But I'm nothing like that monster."

As somebody without a quirk, Todoroki's "rebellion" made Izuku angry. He thought it was petty and childish. Most of all, it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Todoroki had this amazing quirk that he refused to use. "It you want to reject your father's quirk, that's fine. But this isn't what your mother would have wanted!"

"What would you understand, Midoriya? You're quirkless!" he countered. "Your family loves you!"

Izuku stood up from where they were sitting and yelled, "It's your quirk, not his!" and stormed out of the room. He couldn't help himself.

After that, the two of them stopped talking. Even though it was a ridiculous fight, both of them had managed to open sensitive wounds that probably shouldn't have ever been opened.

Izuku was brought back to reality with this noise from outside. They must have arrived at the Capitol. "Todoroki! Look, we're here."

Todoroki looked like he couldn't care less, but Izuku jumped up and ran to the window faced toward the city. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. There were so many buildings that Izuku couldn't even count them all. Every single one of them seemed to climb into the clouds. He also couldn't help but notice that the water there was crystal clear, foreign to the murky water in his district. Izuku was gaping.

He hadn't even noticed that Aizawa was back.

"Damn kid, you're drooling," he said.

"Like your first taste of the Capitol?" Present Mic said.

Izuku didn't answer his question, as he was distracted by the millions of people waving from outside the train.

Wait…Are they waving…to me?

Izuku waved back at them with Aizawa's words in mind. He had to make them like him. Why not start here?