His light steps echo throughout the staircase leading to the roof. His head down, shoulders hunched, motions devoid of energy. His class drains him of any determination or motivation.

Constant mockery, humiliation.

It's not fair.

Why is Katsuki revered while Izuku is left in the dust?

Why does his quirk mean so much?

What's so heroic about blowing things up?

What's so heroic about Katsuki?

He's arrogant and a bully, yet if you asked anyone in their class "Who is most likely to become a popular hero?" their first (reluctant and perhaps unvoiced) answer would be Katsuki. Why?

Tears fell freely from his eyes and onto the steps below as he makes it to the door and pushes it open slowly...

His head rises only to fall back down again when he notices the older boy who is already there.

'M-Mirio-senpai? But why? Isn't he "The Sun Of 3-E"? Why would he be up here by himself?'

The boy sitting on the roof ahead of Izuku has the reputation of being cheerful and friendly combined with his blond hair, tied in a ponytail, it wasn't wrong before people compared him to the Sun. Partially due to his childhood friend, Tamaki Amajiki, who had already taken to calling Mirio by that nickname sometimes.

"It's a good place to be alone, isn't it?" Mirio turns around, a sombre, completely out of character smile donned on his face "I can see why Tamaki comes up here to mope sometimes..."

A beat passes before the blond-haired senpai speaks again.

"Well, there's enough space here for the two of us," he makes a wide gesture at the roof around them "Maybe we can mope together instead."

Izuku locks up for a moment, his body petrified at the social interaction in his current state.

Yet the next moment, his features are set, his face unreadable. Before he takes a breath and puts a friendly smile on his face.

To Mirio's surprise, Izuku sits right across from him.

"Well Senpai, what's troubling you?"

Mirio ponders for a while, whether to talk about something so personal to someone he hasn't personally met before or not, while Izuku chants 'ohgodwhatamidoingwhatamisaying' over and over in his head.

After a second or two Mirio decides to just talk to the curious green-haired junior in front of him.

"I worry a lot. People see me as cheerful because they don't look past the big smile I put on my face if they did they would see all the fear behind it..." he pauses for a second, thinking of how to continue "I don't think I can become a hero," at this, Izuku's silent repetition stops, shock fills his head 'How could Mirio-senpai of all people doubt himself?' Izuku hadn't, up until this moment, realised that even the strong can doubt themselves "my quirk is too dangerous to myself and it takes more control than I think I'm capable of... I'm not good enough to use this quirk well enough to become a hero."

"Permeation, right?" Mirio nods his response "Sounds like a handful but if there's anyone who can do it Senpai, it's you." Izuku puts a hand on Mirio's shoulder in an attempt to be reassuring, his embarrassment stored for later perusal.

"You're charismatic, friendly and kind." Izuku barrels on without any need to think through what he says, his words flow naturally "You've got the personality of a hero. Whenever you fall down you get back up," he smiles sincerely at Mirio as the blonde raises his head, tears welling up in his eyes "If you carry on like this, Senpai, there is no doubt you will become a hero. In fact... When I think of people like you, Senpai, only one comes to mind." Izuku pauses dramatically, to ensure his message will carry the weight it needs to "All Might."

And so starts the story, with a crying Senpai and a much too calm Kouhai (although only on the outside).

~A little while later~

"Thank you, Midoriya." He wipes the remnants of tears from his eyes "Didn't you have something you wanted to talk about too?"

"Oh, it's really nothing, ehe." He rubs the back of his neck nervously.

"Nope, you're not getting away with it, Midoriya. Come on, walk with me. You can tell me all about it while we're making our way out of school."

"B-But..."

"Ah, no 'buts'. Start talking Midoriya."

And so, Izuku told him about his worries as they walked.

"My quirk, it basically changes my life into a video game."

"Ah! So that first year was you?"

"Y-Yup, they all make fun of me wanting to be a hero since how could I do that with a 'Gamer' quirk..."

"Well, what kind of game?"

"An RPG. I get quests, level ups, stats, HP and MP... The whole bundle."

"Doesn't that mean you can get infinitely strong? Is there a limit?"

Izuku pauses to think for a second "The tutorial or statistics screen doesn't mention any limit."

Mirio sighs "You realise that if there isn't a limit you can be the most powerful person on Earth?"

"W-Wha?"

"You can probably put infinite status points into your intelligence or maybe your strength, you might even be able to increase your health regeneration to the point that you wouldn't die even from several armed enemies. Not to mention that if there's MP there might be spells you can learn."

"S-Senpai, how do you know so much about my quirk?"

"I played my fair share of video games." Mirio grins proudly "Never expected it to come in handy like this though, I'm surprised you haven't. Wouldn't it make sense to play through some RPGs to figure out what your quirk might be capable of?"

Izuku blushes, having opted to disable [Gamer's Mind] momentarily. It can make social interactions difficult, it's a little unnerving to have someone react so little to your words.

"Hey, I finally got a reaction from you," Mirio says "I guess that's a skill you've gained?"

"...Actually, it's one of two that I started with. [Gamer's Mind] and [Gamer's Body], the first lets me stay calm in most situations, it hasn't failed me yet. The second converts any damage from physical to an HP deduction and pain for only a few seconds. I can't break a bone, and even when close to death I'll look no worse for wear."

Mirio stares at his new friend dumbfounded... "Midoriya... How did you not realise how strong those abilities are on their own? Who could convince you that you can't be a hero with a quirk like that?"

"Too long of a list... Most of my class, at least one-half of the kids in my current grade. All of the kids in my elementary school... that's all I can recall off the top of my head."

Mirio's shock partially turns into seething anger, why would they do something like that? What's the point? Why put others down when mutually supporting one another is a better way?

"Midoriya." Mirio's tone shifted, Izuku looks back to see a sharp, bordering on angry, look on his Senpai's face "We're teaching you so many skills the other kids won't be able to look at you and say that anymore. Tamaki and I are making you the strongest kid in your grade."

"B-B-But-" Izuku tries and fails to get his words out.

"No buts, you're gonna be a hero, Midoriya. I guarantee it." The determined look on Mirio's face was infectious and reassuring, Izuku's own drive burned viciously at his words.

"Yeah! I'm gonna be a hero, who cares what they say!"

"Exactly, Midoriya! I'm gonna make you Pro hero material! U.A's gonna have to fight to get their hands on you!" Mirio raises his fist in the air, fired up to get into U.A and help his new friend get in too.

"Y-Yeah!" Izuku copies the gesture, albeit it a lot shakier than Mirio's.

~~The next day~~

"He's really nice, honest. He's just shy and tends to glare on accident, he doesn't even realise what he's doing. Just try not to react badly to him." Mirio explains to Izuku as they head up the stairs toward the school roof.

"I already shared all my skills with you, Senpai. You know for a fact I'm not gonna react, I rarely do unless [Detect Bloodlust] or [Sense Danger] activate. With [Gamer's Mind] and [Pretend] I can play whatever part I need to."

"And you call me hero material, Midoriya." Mirio deadpans.

"W-wha?"

"Nevermind that," Mirio pushes Izuku through the, now open, door "Good luck."

And so Izuku, with a push and a hasty thumbs up from Mirio, finds himself suddenly face to face with Tamaki Amajiki, Mirio's childhood friend.

"What's this about, Mirio?" Tamaki said, avoiding Izuku's inquisitive gaze.

"U.A, all three of us are getting in." Mirio smiles, a genuine smile unlike his usual pretend smile, one he long since promised not to use on Tamaki.

To which, to Izuku's horror, Tamaki responded by turning away from them.

"You weren't that confident about getting in before."

"I know, that's because I didn't realise something. While my quirk could be difficult to get a handle on, I just gotta do it, don't I? And I'm stubborn, I won't give up until I become a hero."

Tamaki, who is now also sporting a genuine smile, turns around. This time causing Mirio to be shocked.

Izuku was panicking inwardly, as usual, 'Oh god, he's crying, what did we dooooooooooooo?!'

Tamaki raises his fist, in a gesture that he'd usually complain to be too embarrassing for him.

Mirio follows along, their fists bump lightly against each other as Tamaki sniffles.

"Let's do this, Mirio."

"Absolutely."

Izuku stood there, temporarily forgotten as his two Senpais had their moment although he found himself grinning too, courtesy of Mirio's infectious smile.

"So, I hate to break up such a touching moment," Tamaki and Mirio turn toward the green-haired boy "we need a game plan."

Contemplative looks cross both senpais faces.

"We obviously have to train physically, we shouldn't overdo it that would have adverse effects," Mirio pauses for a second, seemingly realising something "Except for you, Midoriya."

"What do you mean, Senpai?"

"Worst case scenario you lose HP, right? Which means you can train endlessly."

"That is a good point, we'll have to test that."

"Right, but first thing's first, we gotta get you to create skills and abilities." Mirio replies before noticing his best friend's clueless look "Oh, right. Midoriya's quirk is 'The Gamer', his life is pretty much an RPG."

"That sounds awesome... Does he have a status screen or anything like that?"

"Show him it, Midoriya."

Name: Izuku Midoriya

Level: 15

Title: The Gamer

HP: 650/650

MP:450/450

STR: 12

VIT: 30

DEX: 10

INT: 22

WIS: 16

LUK: 7

Quirk(s): The Gamer

Abilities/Skills:

[Gamer's Body], [Gamer's Mind], [Sprint], [Observe], [Analysis], [Sense Danger], [Detect Bloodlust], [Note-taking], [Calculation], [Reading], [Dish-washing], [Cooking], [Pretend], [Focus], [Physical Endurance], [ID Create], [ID Escape], [Battle Plan]

"Your stats seem really low or do you just not get many points per level?"

Izuku stays quiet, not replying, his eyes sparkling "You finally spoke to me." he whispers excitedly.

Tamaki immediately turns around from the embarrassment so as to not show his face.

Izuku gives Mirio a worried look, the older boy waves his concerns away.

"To answer your question, I haven't used any points yet. Some stats rise with different activities, intelligence increases with strategic or insightful thinking and sometimes studying, strength increases with muscle activity, wisdom rises similarly to intelligence, I think..." A strange expression, uncaught by [Gamer's Mind] crosses Izuku's face, both Tamaki (who had turned around part way through Izuku's explanation) and Mirio notice it, a subtle knowing look is shared between the two older boys.

'He was going to say something about his vitality but paused short. Abuse? Assault? Bullies getting physical? Or maybe... self-harm?' The dark-haired boy thinks to himself.

'Damnit Midoriya...' Mirio, with his prior knowledge of Izuku's bullying problems and his first look at Izuku's status screen came to a sound conclusion... The bullying must've been worse than Izuku let on. The boys knew not to press their peer, it would only cause him to clam up. They'd need to build trust with their new friend and ease into the topic when the time comes.

"Those unspent points are going to be real useful Midoriya. Maybe we should have you spend around 10 or 15 of them and then keep the rest as long as possible, up until the U.A entrance exam even. You don't have any attacking skills or abilities so we'll need to work on that with you. Hmmm. Maybe practising stealth will get you a new ability or skill and what about a crafting skill. So many possibilities..."

They chattered away for another 20 minutes, discussing what sorts of training they will need to do, after which Izuku added them both to his party with the promise of contacting them through the chat system whenever he came up with a well-adapted training regime. Mostly due to the fact he's the most qualified to think one up while keeping his quirk's full capabilities in mind.

After a short and uneventful walk, with earphones nestled in his ears playing music at a volume that was probably not optimal (what else could he do? Crowds made him nervous easily...), he made it home.

"I'm back!" He shouts (not very loudly, the flat is only so big) as he immediately begins taking his shoes off.

"Oh! Welcome home, Izuku." His mom pops her head out of the door to the living room "Oooh? Someone looks happy, what happened at school today, sweetheart?"

"Not just today, mom." Izuku said, a wide smile on his face "You remember when I talked about Mirio-senpai?"

"Which time, you've talked about him a lot." Inko replied, a smug smile on her face.

Izuku lightly pouted in response to his mother before returning to his usual straight face "That time when I mentioned how he'll likely end up in U.A? And that he reminds me of All Might?"

"Course I remember, I'm just confused. What does Mirio-san have to do with this?"

"W-Well... I kind of befriended him? A-And we're going to train together to get into U.A." Izuku said slowly, anticipating.

Aaaaand there it was... His mother's shriek, the one she performed whenever Izuku mentioned something especially good happening to him, one of these days it's gonna make his [Physical Endurance] level up...

Following the shriek, of course, is the cobra-like grasp of his mother's hugs.

"My Izuku is going to become such a great hero! I'm so proud of you, sweetheart!" she withdrew her head from Izuku's body, where it was buried, to give him a kiss on the cheek "I'm glad someone made you realise how amazing you and your quirk are." She looked him dead in the eyes, a blindingly wide smile plastered on her face.

"M-Mom, y-you're crushing me." Izuku said, more so to halt her compliments than due to actual discomfort or pain.

"Ah! Sorry, Izuku." She let go of him, patted him down (which was really unnecessary, you can probably tell where Izuku got his nervous habits from...) and rushed back toward the kitchen, turning back halfway through the door "Dinner's almost ready, it's katsudon." She disappeared into the living room with a wink.

Needless to say, Izuku rushed into his room after taking off his shoes to change out of his uniform so that he could eat as soon as it was ready. It is Izuku's favourite meal after all.

"Izuku?" Inko says, softly (bordering on sadly, if only because she's trying to keep the emotion out of her voice) as her and Izuku sit down to eat.

"Yes, Mom?"

"I...I need to apologise... For giving up hope, for not reassuring you when you needed it most."

For a second, as they look at each other emotion evident and tears slowly building, he's 4-years old again.

"Mom? C-Can I become a hero?"

Izuku, who had just learned of his quirk, spoke. He'd already made the link. His quirk was powerful, sure. But it was a slow-building power, he theoretically could reach All Might's strength... But it could take longer than Izuku has on the Earth.

He might not be strong enough to become a hero.

Inko realises this too.

Her response is a tight hug and a cascade of tears.

Izuku thinks he can hear murmurs of "I'm sorry Izuku." and "I wish it was different." but he's not sure... His sobs are too loud for him to be sure.

"It's fine Mom, I know you were just scared for my health and didn't want me to get my hopes up." He says, a genuine, small smile on his face. "Besides, who would logically think that such a quirk could be strong enough to defeat villains? No one and they'd be right." Inko looks at her son, distraught, he was just talking about how he was going to enter U.A with his senpai, why is he doubting hims- "Not yet it isn't, but the answer is obvious isn't it?" Izuku's smile turns into a confident, determined grin "I'll just have to make it strong!"

And Inko cries again.

Harder than she did when her son shut himself in his room rewatching All Might's debut over and over.

Harder than she did when the words of reassurance she prepared for that exact moment escaped her.

They aren't sad tears though.

Not born of guilt or sorrow.

They're tears of happiness.

Because Izuku regained that tiny sliver of life that disappeared when his dream was just out of his reach, it was such a tiny difference but so obvious to Inko. How could it not be? Izuku was her son.

Her dear little Izuku was going to achieve his dream.

This isn't going to follow THE GAMER too much, mainly because I'm not that well acquainted with it but also because some of the skills won't work at all or won't work right now.

Izuku is currently in his first year of Junior High while Tamaki and Mirio are in their third, they're gonna face the entrance exam soon and make quite a big splash.

I'll signify when any of Izuku's skills become as powerful as a quirk (by that I mean good enough for him to have used them alone to get into U.A and become a hero course student).

Next chapter features Izuku learning some extra skills and abilities, completing quests, forming a party with the other 2 and also taking them into dungeons. Rewards galore!

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the story.