A/N: I've decided to make this the final chapter of the story. There were a couple more ideas I had with this story, (and I do like a lot of your guys' ideas as well), but after much thought, I've decided that it's best to finish off things with this chapter, mark this story as complete, and add more to it only if I feel inspired to write it out. So- what that means is, even though this story is technically now complete, there is still a chance I'll come back to it one of these days and add more to it. I might even detail a bit of their escapades during U.A. For now, though; consider it a completed work.


As Izuku begins to walk home from school the next day, a hand is suddenly placed on her right shoulder.

"Just where do you think you're going, nerd?"

She gulps. She doesn't have to turn around to know who it is.

Or rather. She's just too scared to turn around.

"H—hey, Kacchan—"

Katsuki leans over to her ear. "We had a deal, in case you forgot."

Izuku shivers. Katsuki's way too close to her, it's unsettling.

"I—I know. Just… give me a second. I'll give you the figure." Just don't hurt me, please.

Tentatively, she rummages through her pocket, pulls out her treasured limited edition All Might figure and hands it to him with her right hand over her left shoulder.

"H—here you go, Kacchan."

Katsuki takes it with what she presumes to be his left hand, and releases his hold on her shoulder.

"Turn around, Deku. Look at me."

Izuku complies, she's not feeling particularly confident right now as to argue with him.

Then.

Clutching the figure with both of his hands, he uses his quirk to incinerate her toy right before her eyes.

Izuku's jaw falls open. Her mind is sent reeling in shock.

"W—why?" Is all she can bring herself to ask.

"I thought about it more, and realized that toy is worthless to me." Katsuki replies, a smirk grazing his features. He then grabs Izuku by the collar of her shirt.

"No. The real reward is the look of agony in your eyes as I destroy something dear to you."

A cauldron of rage boils up in Izuku's chest. Blood red edges her vision.

He then releases his hold on her, chuckles, and walks past her.

"It's not like you needed that toy, anyway." He says with a wave of his hand as he goes about his way.

Once Katsuki is out of sight, she grits her teeth and stares down at the ashes of her former toy which lay before her on the ground.

Tears start to seep from her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

The voice comes from behind her and it's distinctly male.

Izuku turns around. A boy stands before her.

To be precise, a teenager. He looks like he's in high school, but that's not what's noteworthy about him.

It's the fact that he's… really weird-looking.

His skin is deathly pale, tinged yellow and wrinkled greatly around his eyes. His red eyes are nearly identical to Katsuki's, a notion that has Izuku nearly tumbling backwards in fear. He has messy grayish-blue hair of varying lengths, the longest clumps reaching to about his shoulders and are left hanging over his face in uneven waves.

His choice of dress is equally unnerving. A black hoodie coupled with black pants and black shoes.

Funnily enough, for whatever reason, her mother's constant utterance of the words "Don't talk to strangers!" fails to echo in her mind.

"I'm fine," she replies, and brushes her nose with the top of her right hand. "I just… well…"

"Had someone destroy a piece of your soul?"

What an odd thing for someone to say. "That's… one way of putting it," she says steadily. Why am I talking to this weirdo? She looks down at the ashes of her former toy. "Or in this case, someone destroyed something really important to me. For no reason other than to hurt me."

"I see." The boy says gently. "I'm...sorry to hear that."

Izuku doesn't know what's more bizarre—the fact that a complete stranger is offering her words of comfort despite barely knowing her, or the fact that his words are actually soothing her.

It's even more bizarre that even though they're in front of a school which hundreds of students attend, no one else is in sight. Only the two of them stand before the school right now.

"I should probably go now," she says rapidly, and starts to walk away.

"All Might." The boy says out of nowhere, prompting her to stop in her tracks.

"Huh?"

"Your shirt. It has All Might on it. I'm assuming you're a fan?"

"I am." She answers quickly, then blinks. "I mean. Who isn't?"

The boy chuckles darkly. "I'm not."

"Really?" She asks, shocked. "But… he's the Symbol of Peace! He's saved countless lives, and a lot of people in this city would be dead if not for him! And he always pulls through to save the day! He's the coolest Hero out there!"

"It's not just All Might. I hate Heroes as a whole." The boy answers as he puts his hands in his pockets. He shrugs. "Each to their own."

Izuku doesn't stop there, though. She just can't fathom how someone doesn't like Heroes.

"I… know a lot of Heroes seem superficial. But… without Heroes, society just wouldn't function." She tries lamely.

"Perhaps," he says, then smiles cynically. "But why is that a bad thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever tried looking at things from the perspective of a Villain? Have you ever asked yourself, why do people commit atrocities to begin with?"

The thought of attempting to relate to those monsters makes Izuku bristle.

"No. And I don't want to." She says in a huff, and crosses her arms.

"Predictable," the boy drawls. "You don't seem like the type of person who'd do that. "

Izuku breathes.

"I… don't know exactly what happened for you to hate Heroes, but… well. I hope one day when I become a Hero, I can change your mind about them."

"You want to be a Hero?"

She nods, albeit hesitantly. Ever since she discovered she was quirkless and Katsuki became relentless with his bullying, she normally keeps this information private.

Which is ironic, considering Katsuki is who inspired her to fight for her dream in the first place.

"I… I mean. I'm told that something like that is impossible for me, seeing as I don't have a quirk. But… well… I'm positive that if I work hard at it… I can turn my dream into a reality, in spite of that. Heroes like Eraserhead barely use their quirk while fighting in real time, and if I learn enough martial combat moves properly, I… should be able to become one."

She then places her right hand on her chest. "I… hope that when I do, I can show you what being a Hero is truly all about."

The boy grins. "I'll be looking forward to seeing that happen."


As the little girl he spoke to walks away, Tomura can only think of one thing.

He's going to enjoy tearing that girl to shreds one day.


A/N: This ending may not be completely satisfactory to some, but to me, it is. It's an ending that leaves room for a possible continuation, and ends showing the readers that despite Katsuki's bullying, Izuku hasn't lost sight of her dream.

On one hand, I am a bit sad not to showcase Katsuki's redemption, but that was never my original intention with this fic. The ultimate point of this fic was to showcase Katsuki's and Izuku's introduction, and their brief friendship pre-canon, before Katsuki ultimately turns into her bully. That's where the heart of the fic truly lies. That being said, a redemption arc may come if I ever decide to come back to this fic, so there's that.

Thank you all for reading. I hope you all enjoyed. :)

Chapter updated March 26. 2020*