Prologue

"Kacchan! Are you ok?" Izuku's voice calls out from behind. Bakugo blinks, sitting in the river as the water flows, leaving his trousers soaking wet. He struggles to stand, still unsure at what happened and how he fell into the river. "Kacchan!" The voice calls out, a head of messy green hair on a young boy which sprints towards him. His facial expression is concerned, and his eyebrows are furrowed as he stands in front of him, red sneakers drenched in the river. "Are you okay?" Izuku calls out, looking down at the blonde boy.

Bakugo doesn't react immediately, trying to forget the pain in his legs from the fall. He has been taught to endure pain and learn to be strong from his mother since a young age. He cannot show emotion, he cannot show weakness; not even when he is only five-years-old. "Ah." Bakugo says, staring up at the hand extended out to him. A hand so kind and selfless, a hand to help those in need, a hand of someone who deserves to be a hero. "Take my hand!" Izuku calls out, a bright smile on his face. Bakugo blinks, red pupils staring into the bright smile on his friend. Bakugo smiles, not hesitating to take the warm hand in front of him.

They were five years old that day. They were always together, always best friends, always aiming for the same things. In a world of superpowers, two five-year-old kids aimed to be a symbol of hope, a symbol of peace – a hero.

Unfortunately, not all men are born equal, not even in this world of superpowers.

God is unfair, the world is cruel. As even in a world of heroes and villains, inequality exists.

"Oi, get out my way, Deku!" Bakugo growls, stomping his sneakers towards the back of Izuku's black uniform. Izuku jumps, crawling on the ground at the fear and uncertainty as he looked at the blonde boy in front of him with crackling palms. They were ten years old now, both closer to realizing their dreams of heroes – unfortunately one of them had forgotten what a hero really meant.

"That's mean, K-kacchan… Can't you see he's crying?" Deku whimpers, eyes almost tearing up as he stares at the boy from the floor. His other two friends are laughing at him – one with weird long hands and the other with bat-like wings. Quirks. A blessing – something he was born without. A physical trait that he was denied not by choice, but by birth. "Get out of my way!" Bakugo yells, palms cracking with an explosion, dust and soot appearing out of thin air. Five years ago, Bakugo and Izuku would often hang out together. Their days were filled with adventure missions in the forest, catching beetles in the summer, running around in fields, collecting All Might cards and discussing who was their favorite hero. Now, Bakugo's eyes are no longer filled with hope and innocence but a hunger for power and dominance.

Izuku stands, panting and his breaths are heavy. He stands his ground, red sneakers dug firm into the ground as Izuku stares at Bakugo; Izuku's eyes are filled with tears, pity and hurt. The boy with the red hair behind Izuku whimpers, staring at Izuku's small back. A back that was too small, too unfit, too thin to have belonged to a hero; but the boy will always remember that back – the back of a hero who fights for those in need. Bakugo scowls, sending an explosion with his right hand. "Why are you always in my way, Deku!" He yells, anger in his voice. Izuku flinches, fear in his system at the sight of Bakugo's powerful quirk. Still, he does not move from his spot.

It's ironic that best friends could have turned out to be like this. Bakugo was Izuku's best friend once, and soon after when Bakugo's quirk manifested – everything changed. Bakugo was filled to the brim from compliments around him for his quirk. Humans are vulnerable creatures. They seek for acceptance when they are insecure. Bakugo was only a five-year-old child when he was told that he was amazing. A genius, a natural born talent – that sort of pride builds one up to the tallest tower to never fall back again. Like how a popular kid doesn't want to hang out with a loser, a genius would not want to hang out with a quirkless person.

Izuku did not blame Bakugo for betraying their fragile five-year-old friendship. Izuku had always wished for the best for his best friend. He was strong and powerful and had a bright future ahead of him after all. Still, Bakugo only attracted the wrong crowd as a child and that left him to a point of no return.

"H-heroes shouldn't bully those without power, Kacchan!" Deku yelled, tears streaming down his face as he held his small and frail fists in the air. Bakugo made wrong friends, he had turned to a circle of friends who only wanted his popularity and power for themselves. They coerced Bakugo to bully others for money, power and fame. Like every other young child, anyone would have felt powerful, anyone would have felt that they were accepted, anyone would have wanted to be in a position of those two combined. Even when, those values were terribly far from their own.

"Are you trying to act like a hero, Deku?! You're just a quirkless child!" Bakugo yells, sprinting towards the green haired boy. Midoriya whimpers, screeching as he hits the hard ground with a loud thump. Bakugo fires his quirk, an explosion erupting as it hits flesh. Even at a young age, Bakugo is talented enough to know how to properly use his quirk to hurt others. In a family which he was the only child, a spoiled, talented and smart brat – he felt powerful. To be feared meant power, it meant dominance – something that stirred in him at his deepest core. Power meant strength, and strength meant to win, and to win would mean… he could win against all his opponents to become a hero.

As far-fetched as that seemed for a ten-year-old child, Bakugo craved for power. He craved to win, to be the symbol of hope he envisioned as a child. He was better than everyone else around him, he is smart, too perfect; yet those closest to perfection are those with deep-rooted insecurities hidden behind a mask. "I will always be better than you, Deku! Don't you dare act like you're a hero when I'm the one who will be better than All Might!" Bakugo yelled, pinning the boy further into the ground. It angered Bakugo, that when it came to being the best; Deku was always there to block his way. Nobody wants people from their past as a loser to be in their present. Nobody wants a constant reminder of their vulnerability or their weakness in the past.

And that reminder to Bakugo Katsuki, will always be Deku.

"Izuku, I was starting to get worried! Why are so late from school today?" Inko asked, a gentle voice in the hallway as she walked to the front door. The green haired woman gasped, immediately stumbling to the front door. "Izuku!" She yelled, tears already in her eyes. There stood Izuku with a smile, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. His knee was scrapped and the rest of his arms were covered in black and blue bruises.

"Hi…Mom." Izuku starts. The wounds are painful but he never forgets to smile when his mother is here. She had always sacrificed and cared for him all his life and Izuku would never want his mom to worry more than she already has. "Izuku, you're hurt! W-what happened?!" Inko asked, hurriedly dragging Izuku into the house. She hurriedly takes the sneakers and clothes off his son and assesses the injuries.

"I-I kind of fell off a really high slope!" Izuku nervously laughed. Inko blinks, still worried at the sight of her bruises. She doesn't respond, she doesn't reprimand her son for his actions – she knows her son all too well. She knows how easy it is for him to be a target when he was quirkless after all. "Hurry up and take a bath. After I apply the medicine to your wounds…. I'll make you Katsudon." Inko smiles, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

Izuku smiles back, a ray of hope in his heart. Even if the world did not believe him, did not allow him to be a hero when he truly deserved it more than anyone else – there was still one person who he truly wanted to protect. Even though his mother could only apologize and weep for his inability to have a quirk; Izuku did not blame her. Izuku did not reprimand his own mother for the cruelness of the world.

"Izuku, I'm going to the Bank. Just play on the playground, I promise I'll be back soon, okay?" Inko calls out, releasing her palm from Izuku's warm hand when they reach the park. Izuku nods happily, dashing towards the swings as he watches his mother walk to the bank across the street. Izuku swings himself, enjoying the wind as it sends his body forward and then backward. It reminds him of the feeling of flying, or maybe what having a quirk would feel like. Still, he tries to relinquish the feeling of what it would be like to have a quirk…. Even when he was so cruelly denied one.

He's pulled out of his thoughts when he hears loud noises, a scream, and multiple shots from a distance. He lifts his head up to find the source of the voice to find multiple masked men inside the bank – the bank which his mom went in ten minutes ago. Izuku stills, frozen in fear as he watches those masked men raise their weapons.

A ten-year-old Izuku stares in disbelief as people scream at the scene of horror. He runs, not sure why his body moved on its own to the side of the building, unnoticed by the terrorists. His small body peers from the glass doors to look inside, at least twenty civilians inside are huddled together and a group of three masked men yells orders.

"Don't move! One move and this guy will slice all of you into pieces!" One masked man yells, pointing to the other masked man with swords for hands, his quirk. "You there, put all the money into this bag or else you'll be our first demonstration for how serious we can get with our quirks!" The other masked man yells, antennas pointing out of his head. In a world of superpowers, there is bound to be those who use their powers for good and those who use them for own selfish purposes. The girl, a worker at the bank quickly moves to unlock the safe deposit boxes and grabs the stack of cash to put inside the empty bag.

"Mom…" Izuku whispers, tears at the corner of his eyes. Even at ten years old, Izuku knows that these are villains and they will not hesitate to harm his mother. "Please don't hurt us! We'll do whatever you want!" Inko whimpers, tears in her eyes as she backs into a corner. The masked men laugh, enjoying the overwhelming feeling of dominance and superiority. The man with the antennas flinches, turning his head. "I can hear sirens. Passer-by most likely alerted the heroes already. We have ten minutes top." He says.

"Thank God." One of the civilians says, sighing in relief. The leader of the masked men, a large bulky dude with a red mohawk clicks his tongue and points his arm at the man who sighed in relief. His arm clicks, twist and turning from pale flesh into veins and bulked scales, slowly then reaching his entire body. He turns into a monster three times his original size, scaled and slimy all over.

"Don't you dare think heroes will save the day, you normies." The now red mohawk of his sitting on top of a too large head of a monster. "If we don't make it out safely with our money, I'll make sure none of you make it out either." He threatens with a wide smile. The civilians squirm in fear, sobbing in the corner. "Hurry up woman! The lives of the other normies depend on how you act." The man with the sword arms shouts to the worker who was frantically panicking to shove the stacks of cash into the bag.

Izuku squirms in fear, back sticking against the glass frame behind the building. He shakes in fear, not for himself but for his mother, his only family. "The heroes will be here soon…. Please…" Izuku whispers to himself, holding his hands together despite how shaky they were. "Heroes are faster than I expected. The sirens are getting closer. We have to make a move now!" The antenna quirk man says. The other two glare at the woman still filling the cash into the bag.

"We have more than enough. Let's go-" The sword quirk man says but is interrupted when woods protrude through the glass doors, glass shattering everywhere as in a flash – thick branches of wood curl around the three criminals. "What the hell-" The antenna quirk user says. Izuku stares in disbelief as woods encircle the criminals faster than a blink of an eye. "Don't move! You're arrested!" A man in a costumed yelled, his arms now thick branches of wood.

Izuku's eyes widened in disbelief, pro-hero Kamui Woods was standing right in front of him. For a moment, his admiration for the hero showed and he forgot about the crisis at hand. "Pro-hero?! What dumb luck we have!" The sword quirk user yells, scrambling to get out of the tight grip of the thick branches of wood. Still, it is no use. The civilian cheer in relief and Izuku smiles widely, a hero did come to save the day as he hoped.

"Attempting daylight robbery? Criminals these days sure are getting more stupid and easier to capture." Kamui says, his mask of wood covering his entire face. "Damn it! I'm not going to get captured here! Especially by a weak pro-hero!" Izuku's eyes widen when the red-mohawked criminal bursts into double his size again, this time his scales are like armor around his body – the wood branches of Kamui snap almost immediately from the activation of his quirk. "Shit-" Kamui yells, getting blown to one side of the wall without warning.

The large monstrous Villain laughs confidently as if the pro-hero before him was only a pebble in his way. "No…" Izuku whispers, trying desperately to hold the tears flowing down his cheeks back. Almost on cue, the second villain uses the sharp swords of his hands to slice through the wood binding him and sprints to cut down the wood holding down the third villain. "You're not getting away!" Kamui yells, woods immediately surrounding the entrance to make sure the villains do not have an escape route. The villains flinch without an escape route and the leader, the most powerful out of all three; sprints towards Kamui, a ball of scales rolling towards the pro-hero. Kamui blocks with multiple wooden branches focused in front of him and effectively blocks the incoming attack. Kamui releases his branches, letting them encircle the giant villain and his wooden branches overlap another like an enclosed prison. Amidst the confusion, the two weaker villains run from the scene leaving their leader alone to fight Kamui.

"Civilians get away from here immediately!" Kamui orders as he holds down the villain in front of him. Inko and the other five civilians nod nervously, running towards the other direction as Kamui holds the villains down but a sudden roar erupts and the monster breaks from the wooden prison and Kamui doesn't have enough time to react when the Villain attempts to grabs the nearest hostage – the female banker. "Shit!" Kamui yells, wooden branches rushing towards to the hostage, but his eyes only manage to blink when it is not his branches that reach first –

but a green haired boy with a face of determined rage.

They say heroes are given that title because they are strong and powerful. However, there is one common trait among all heroes, a trait each hero must have to deserve that title –

It is that your body moves first before your mind.

Izuku rushes forward, small red sneakers sprinting forward to the blonde haired woman on the ground as the villain approaches with a deadly laugh. Izuku sprints, the small body already in front of the woman when the attack ensures. Kamui doesn't register when his branches do not reach for the woman but he sees a flash of green as the villain captures the boy in his muscled hands.

"IZUKU!" Inko yells, devastation rings in her voice. The female banker stares in disbelief, her eyes wide and shaking when she realizes the young boy who saved her. "What the hell? A weakling like you just jumped in to save her?" The villain growls. Izuku cries, tears streaming down his freckled face when the villain's muscled, scaly hands envelop around his small body ensuring that he would not escape. The female banker immediately runs towards the exit but Inko stays, crumbling to the ground.

All of the other hostages have made it out safely and Kamui looks toward Inko. "You! Get out of here now!" Inko doesn't move from her spot and shakes her head. "Izuku!" Inko cries out. Kamui doesn't have time to drag Inko to safety and instead sprints towards the villain holding Izuku hostage in his arms. "Let the child go!" Kamui roars, multiple branches forms from his hands reaching towards the Villain but he smirks. The red mohawk of his droops in the air, a laugh erupting as he holds Izuku's neck with one arm.

"Are you sure about that, Pro-hero? This child will die if you come any closer!" The villain yells. Kamui flinches, stepping back to assess the situation. "Give my child back!" Inko yells, eyes filled with rage as she knelt on the floor. "Huh? This weakling is your child? Well isn't this a lucky day for you kid, you're going to be in the newspaper all over Japan…" Inko's pupils widen in despair. "For your heroic sacrifice." The villain snaps as he circles his thick fingers around Izuku's eyes.

Izuku squirms and kicks, tears dried from his eyes. "Let the child go, Villain!" Kamui orders, sweat rolling down his forehead. "Out of my way, pro-hero… unless you really want this child to die?" Kamui bites his lower lip and steps aside, allowing the villain to pass him as he clenches his fists tight. He needed a plan, a plan to save the child and capture the Villain together.

If he attacked with his quirk, there's no telling what the villain might do the child. If he doesn't, the same can't be said for the child either. Kamui, still young and barely experienced needed to assess the situation carefully before his actions meant no return. "Heh! You're a great trump card huh, brat? Today sure is my luck-" Inko grabs onto villain's large leg and glares at him with rage, not a bone of fear in her. "Let my child go!" She yells, shaky hands attached to the scale of the muscular leg.

"Huh?" The villain raises an eyebrow. "What are you doing!" Kamui yells. "Let my child go!" Inko yells again. Despite her usual timid and coward nature, Inko is a mother first and she will not let anyone harm her child. "M-mom…" Izuku calls out with teary eyes from his hoarse throat. "Izuku!" Inko yells. Kamui dashes forward, fingers now a twirling form of wood and branches as he dashed in front of Inko, blocking a strong incoming punch from the villain. "That's enough!" Kamui yells, engaging in an all-out attack as he fired fast and precise branches towards the villain's face.

"Argh!" The villain yells when one of the thick wooden branches send him flying towards a wall with abrupt force, loosening his grip on Izuku. Izuku falls amidst the fight, laying on the floor with tears in his eyes as Kamui dashes pass him to send another attack towards the villain. The villain growls in anger when he realizes Izuku is not in his hands anymore and activates his quirk again, this time his scales are tougher and larger. Kamui shoots woods towards him but his scales are bulletproof, defense and offense all in one.

"Kamui!" Another Pro-hero yells, dashing towards the scene. Backup had finally arrived and Kamui scowled at the villain. "You're time is up!" Kamui yells, the villain effectively blocking all of his attacks with his armor of scales. He clicks his tongue and scans the situation for a simple second. "Izuku!" Inko yells trying to dash towards Izuku on the ground, barely conscious. "You! It's all your fault!" The villain growls, aiming for Izuku and dashes towards him. Before the two pro-heroes can reach for Izuku, Inko stands her ground and blocks Izuku – allowing the villain to snatch Inko in his arms and run towards the exit.

"Shit! He has the hostage-" Kamui growls, tree branches shooting towards the villain but the villain is fast, already heading towards the exit. "He's going to get away!" Kamui yells and the pro-hero go after the villain, leaving a barely conscious Izuku on the ground. His eyes are tired and dry from crying but he doesn't close them, his hand reaches out to thin air, trembling.

"Mom…" He croaks out before he passes out.

They say those who were born without power are those who are desperate for power the most. Just like wars, it is leaders who are greedy and selfish and are deprived of power all their lives that stand on the battlefield willing to shed blood for that very power. Maybe that is why they eventually choose him – because he was desperate for power.

"Kacchan!" Izuku calls out, green hair a mess and eye bags beneath his eyes. He had just come back from the hospital and despite the orders and reassurance from the fellow pro-heroes; there was no way Izuku could sit back and wait when his mother was kidnapped by villains. The blonde boy turns his head, red eyes narrowed down at the weak boy his age who was once his best friend.

"What do you want Deku? Looking for a fight again?" Bakugo growls, fists clenching as dust and soot erupted and he smirked. Deku flinched and squirmed but he stood his ground. "Please, I need your power. Please, K-kacchan-" Deku stumbled back when Bakugo fired an explosion from his hands towards Izuku. "The hell, Deku! I thought I gave you a pretty good lesson a few days ago and looks like you haven't learned anything." Bakugo yells, fists raised in confidence.

"K-Kacchan please. I need your help. You're strong! I trust you and your power!" Deku starts but Bakugo doesn't listen, sending another powerful explosion towards the boy. He is only ten-years-old after all, too young to listen, too young to truly comprehend the weight of his actions nor his words. "Shut up, Deku! You always act like you're a hero when you're just a quirkless being!" Bakugo yells.

Izuku stands frozen on the ground on all fours, his eyes widen in fear when he hears the words.

Quirkless.

That's right, he was just a quirkless, powerless human. What can he do? What right did he have to ask Kacchan to lend him the strength to save his mother? What right did he have to ask for power when he was the one without it?

"Always acting like you're a hero. It makes me sick." Bakugo starts. "Listen up, Deku. Only those with power like mine deserve to be heroes. There is no such thing as a weak hero like you!" Bakugo growls, another explosion erupts. He pins Izuku to the ground, a smirk on his face as Izuku's tears fell from his eyes – not from pain but for the sadness of the realization that he could not save his mother. "Why don't you just wish to be born with a quirk in your next life, Deku? Better yet, you could just jump off that bridge and make things quicker." Deku froze at his spot, lifeless eyes stared at the sky so dark and cold. Bakugo got up and turned his head, hands stuffed into his pockets and never looked back.

Powerless.

Izuku was powerless. He truly wanted to be a hero but he was cruelly denied that chance by God without a reason. He clenched his fists and furrowed his eyebrows. What had he done wrong to deserve this?

Izuku, I'm so sorry.

His mother once cried and cried while hugging him when he asked: "Could I become a hero like All Might too?". That was her response because even his mother could not sugarcoat the harsh truth of the world. Midoriya Izuku was in every right a good human being, selfless, kind, gentle and yet when he wanted to protect those in need, protect his mother… he could not because he was quirkless.

"It sucks being Quirkless, huh?"

The words shock Izuku when it manifests into a real voice. He looks up, confused and scared at the voice. He turns his head to see a boy his age, slightly older – dry and crippled lips and small, tightly lidded eyes on a face too pale beneath snow white hair. "I understand what you feel like right now." The boy says. Midoriya blinks and raises an eyebrow.

"It must feel hopeless right? To hope and wait for heroes to save the day but they never come." The boy starts. "I mean… heroes always win, right? They always save the day. Good always win." Izuku gulps. "But that's not the world we live in. We live in a world that Heroes abandon us when it's convenient. They don't save the day or protect those in need. They live for fame, money and power." He yells with ferocity in his tone as if he was speaking from experience.

"W-who are you…" Izuku asks, scared. "You want to protect those you care about right?" He asks. Izuku nods without hesitation. "If you want to protect them, you must have power. Without power, you cannot win." Izuku replies. "B-but…I don't have a quirk." Izuku replies almost devastatingly. The boy smiles, a hand outstretched to Izuku. "Do you wish to have a quirk?" He asks. Izuku does not hesitate to answer either.

"I want to protect my mom. I want to have enough power to protect her." Izuku says, determined to risk his life even as a ten-year-old. The boy smiles, "Then I know someone who can give it to you. I can give you a quirk." Izuku's eyes widen in disbelief. The words sounded like honey, too sweet to be real. But a child so desperate for power would not think twice when opportunities arise.

"A quirk?" He asks. The boy smiles. "In a world so cruel as ours, you must learn to fight for yourself. Fortunately, there is a God who can grant you the power you wish." Izuku doesn't hesitate to take the strange boy's hand. "I… I will do anything for power." Izuku says.

It is those who have been powerless all their lives who are desperate for power the most.

Tomura smiles, taking the boy's hand in his own.

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