The slime traveling down his throat stopped in its tracks, and Izuku's clouded mind, even without conscious thought, sparked in hope, his fingers twitching as his side. He had heard that voice almost every day of his life, albeit never in person.

Izuku opened his eyes and saw him, All Might himself, standing in front of the slime villain. His classic smile stretched wide, reassuring Izuku he would be safe and giving him the energy to hold on just a bit longer. All Might threw his arm back, preparing for one of his signature punches. "TEXAS SMASH!"

WHOOOOOSH

The punch never hit the villain, and it never needed to. The raw force from the punch created a wind so strong it disintegrated the slime monster, defeating it while keeping Izuku safe. Izuku flew back from the wind, safe from the suffocation he had been suffering. His rapidly closing eyes caught a glimpse of the hero still in the position he used to punch, slime flying everywhere around him. With his limited amount of air, he managed to croak out, "All… Might?"

Then he hit the ground and all went black.

"Hey! Hey! Wake up! Hey!"

The first thing Izuku noticed when coming to was the constant light taps on his cheek, not strong enough to hurt, but enough to sting a little. He groaned, swiping the hand off of his face, and opened his eyes.

The second thing Izuku noticed was All Might's face no more than two feet in front of him.

"Oh good, you're awake!"

Izuku screamed and scurried back at speeds he didn't know were possible, face paling at the sight of his idol. The toned muscle, the hefty voice, the bright smile, everything Izuku adored about the hero was there, amplified through seeing the real thing. His brain blanked out, unable to contain the sheer excitement he was currently experiencing.

"Glad you're okay! It's good to see that you're moving. Sorry that you got caught up in my fighting. Normally I would be able to save a pedestrian in danger faster, but I just couldn't get enough of this beautiful city! HAHAHAHAHA!"

All Might laughed, his voice booming throughout the street. He continued his speech, oblivious to the whimpering mess that was Izuku.

"Either way, you were a big help. Thanks to you, I've managed to defeat this villain!"

He held up a liter bottle meant for soda, except the liquid was replaced by the slime villain. A second soda bottle was in his other hand, containing the other half of the villain. Izuku would normally be creeped out by the slightly gruesome sight had he not been in simultaneous euphoria and stupefaction.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his notebook, freshly charred, laying on the ground. The notebook snapped Izuku out of his state, and an idea popped up in his mind. "H- Holy crap, I gotta get an autograph! I need a pen, gotta be somewhere around here." He picked up the notebook in front of him and grabbed a pen from the pocket of his backpack. He started to flip through the pages, searching for an empty page to put the signature on. "Please sign my notebook, All Mi-"

He flipped to a page that had not previously been there and stopped his begging to look at the unfamiliar writing on the page. On it was a giant signature from All Might, completed with the cartoonish drawing of his eyes he put on every autograph. Izuku squealed, gazing at the signature in utter awe. "He already signed it!" he shouted to no one in particular.

Izuku stood up and started bowing profusely, saying thank you after thank you, knowing that a single word could not possibly express his gratitude. All Might chuckled lightly, throwing out a thumbs up, though Izuku missed it from his eyes looking at the floor more often than not.

"Well, I gotta get this guy to the police," All Might said. He pocketed the two bottles and turned away from Izuku. "Stay out of trouble. See you around!"

"Wait, you're leaving already?" Izuku tried to keep the pleading out of his voice, but to his chagrin, it came out anyway. 'He can't leave yet! There's so much I want to ask him!'

All Might let out a small laugh. "One of the worst enemies of any hero is time. Well then, I'm counting on your continued support! Farewell!" He took a step, crouched, and shot up into the air, the wind blowing his hair and the bottles back. He made sure to keep a firm grip on the bottles to keep them from falling out. Immediately after jumping, however, he noticed a minuscule but unfamiliar weight around his leg. The weight was followed by an extremely unfamiliar screaming sound coming from his leg as well, and All Might looked down to see an extremely frightened Izuku Midoriya wrapped around his calf.

"What-" he started, not used to anyone going this far to talk to him. Izuku continued to scream, head and eyelids whipping around in the wind as All Might tried to push him off. "Hey, hey, hey, let go! I love my fans but this is a little too much!" he shouted, hoping to be heard over the wind and the screaming.

SHSHSHOOO

"I- If I let go, I'll die!" Izuku blabbered, his voice getting distorted by the wind. All Might immediately stopped trying to remove the small boy, letting out a "Good point."

"I- I just have so m- much to ask you!" Izuku continued, hands gripping tighter around All Might's leg.

"Okay, okay, sheesh! Just cover your eyes and mouth." Izuku buried his face into All Might's pants, blocking the wind from blowing his eyes out. All Might put a hand on Izuku's back to secure him, looking ahead for where to land. He let out a small cough, a drop of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Cursing silently, he landed on the top of a stone building with a slam, letting the trembling Izuku down onto the floor.

"My w- whole life j- just flashed before my eyes…" Izuku wheezed, kneeling on the floor. He raised his gaze to All Might, who was walking away, his expression unreadable.

"That wasn't a very smart idea. Knock on the door, I'm sure the people downstairs will let you in. Now, I really have to go." All Might's tone was flatter than usual, and he prepped for another jump.

Izuku came out of his stupor at those words, standing up and facing All Might. "No, wait!" he said panickedly, reaching out to the tall hero.

"I will not wait!" All Might's words came out harsh, but Izuku was too determined to ask him his question to be deterred by words alone.

"Please, I have to know!" Memories flashed back into his mind, memories of the doctor telling him his fate, memories of him and his mother crying together, Memories of him fighting back against anyone who couldn't defend themselves so he has to protect them and fight back. He had been chasing this dream for years and years, and now he had the number one hero, his idol, his goal in front of him. He wouldn't let anything stop him.

"Sometimes I feel like it's not enough. Everyone around me certainly reminds me of it. But I've had a dream since I was young, since I first saw you." Izuku took a deep breath, steeling himself for his next words.

"I'm a normal kid "without any powers. I'm Quirkless"." All Might stopped in his tracks at these words. "But all of my life, my goal was to become a hero."

"Can I do it? Can someone without a Quirk be a hero?"

"Could I ever hope to be someone like you?"

All Might turned his head halfway to Izuku. His smile did not match his expression, which seemed to be contemplating. "Quirkless…" he muttered, attempting to continue his sentence, but was stopped by a swath of pain. He flinched, his smile turning to a frown as he keeled over. Steam emanated from his body as he started to groan in pain. "Dammit, not now… not here," he gasped, low enough to be out of Izuku's hearing.

Izuku himself didn't notice any of this, as his eyes were looking towards the floor in vulnerability. He continued his pleading, seeming to think that All Might wasn't convinced yet. "No one thinks I can. They think that not having any powers makes me weak. But them saying that only makes me want to prove them wrong.

He continued, oblivious to the excessive smoke now hiding All Might from view. "Ever since I was a kid, I've thought that being a hero is the coolest, best thing you can do. I want to be the type of hero that inspires hope, that people can see my smile and feel safe. I want to protect people so I can see them having a smile on their faces, I want to fight back to anyone who disrupts this peace. I want to be someone that everyone in the world looks up to. Just like you!"

At these words, he finally looked up at All Might with hope in his eyes, only for it to be replaced with shock at the sight of a very different man in his place. The new man was frail, looking extremely breakable, and was shorter than All Might. However, there were very obvious similarities to All Might present in the man as well. They both had the same frayed hair and the same dark eyes, although the eyes of the newcomer were actually visible. From Somewhere, Izuku heard the Sonic 1 tallying Score sound effect.

Izuku noticed all of this in a couple of seconds, his face slowly blanching as he realized what was happening. This man… was All Might!

Izuku screamed

AH! EEEEEEEEEEEH!

Katsuki was walking down an alleyway alone, eyebrows scrunched in mild anger. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, indicating his desire to be in silence, thinking back, the fact that even his followers is scared of Deku. Katsuki knows full well that Deku is Strong yet calling him Useless always left a bitter taste in his mouth. He always knew that Deku is holding back, not fighting back, in fear of those stupid Teachers punishing him because they believe he's "Quirkless".

"Tch, Stupid Extras! Stupid Useless Deku...!" His mind flashed back to a memory of when they were four, when Izuku had protected some kid that they were picking on. Katsuki tensed, wondering why he was remembering this particular memory now. He distinctly remembered Deku actually fighting back against him and his goons, how he managed to pummel them to the point one of them Turned into coins.

Katsuki didn't understand what happened back then that he thought that Deku murdered that Winged Fatty and then the next day, Fatty came to school miraculously and apologized to Deku. He assumed that, it was his Quirk yet, he wonders why Deku never showed it off. 'What is Deku's quirk exactly?' The only reason Katsuki had kept Deku around for all of elementary school was because he had considered the fact that the tiny boy may not be useless after all.

Years passed, though, Katsuki challenged Deku to fight him time and time again but he always refused in fear of getting detention or even expulsion. They fought once, Katsuki getting beat up and Deku having a few burns but the fight was broken by the Teacher. Even though Deku gained quite the reputation for being "the best fighter in school" due to him beating up Katsuki's goons and other Bullies in self-defense who wanted to pick on him for being "Quirkless" as they say, also making him an Outcast.

The emotions the memories brought up caused Katsuki's chest to swell in anger, and he kicked a soda bottle on the ground in frustration. Deku wasn't supposed to make him angry. But because he held back, He was useless, a being that lived up to the name Deku. He was a huge obstacle in the storm that was to be Katsuki's future.

So why then did the thought of Deku rile him up so much?

"Ahh! Imposter!"

"I assure you that I am All Migh-"

Blood promptly fell out of All Might's mouth.

"AHHH!"

Izuku was still in shock, his jaw dropped to the ground. His idol had just transformed into a smaller person and spit blood right in front of him. Legs trembling, he heaved his lungs as All Might stared at him in indifference, waiting for the boy to calm down.

"I'm dreaming! I have to be!" The boy started mumbling, causing All Might to raise an eyebrow. "This clearly can't be real. All Might is a giant of a man who saves everyone. He never loses, he defeats all obstacles. He saves the day with a fearless smile!"

"There's plenty of fear behind that smile," All Might muttered, dragging Izuku's attention. The hero sat down, placing his hands on his knees, preparing for a long conversation.

"I hope you understand you can't tell anyone. Don't go online with this, or tell your friends." Before Izuku could respond, he pulled up his shirt enough to see his ribs. Izuku gasped, this time with a hint of worry as he saw the wound all over All Might's chest. It looked like a puncture wound, concentrated on one spot near his stomach, with lines of purple striking out like the rays to a dying sun.

"I got this in a fight five years ago. My respiratory system was practically destroyed. I lost my stomach, and the surgeries have worn my body out. It can't be fixed."

He paused for a moment, then continued. "I can only be in my hero form for about three hours a day now. Rest of the time, this is what I look like."

Izuku racked his brain to try to remember what devastating fight All Might had five years ago. "Was it your fight with Toxic Chainsaw?" he asked, uncertainty making his voice waver.

All Might let out a slight chuckle, lightening the dark mood a little. "You sure know your stuff, huh? But no. That guy might've landed some hits, but he couldn't bring me down." He raised his fist while speaking in a display of pride, however minuscule it was. After a moment, however, he lowered it, the grim expression taking over again.

"Most of the world has never heard of this fight. I did everything I could to keep it a secret. I'm supposed to be the guy who's always smiling. I'm the worldwide Symbol of Peace. Everyone has to, needs to think that I'm not afraid. But honestly, I smile to hide the fear inside me. It's only a brave face I put on when the pressure gets high. This job isn't easy."

Izuku's breath hitched, realizing what All Might was trying to say. Before he could do anything else, the hero met his gaze with a stern one and continued. "Heroes every day have to risk their lives. Some villains just can't be beaten without powers. I'm sorry to say this, but to be a hero without a Quirk is just impossible."

Izuku's heart dropped to his feet, the realization he had been avoiding for all of his life finally crashing down on him. He wanted to say something, but his mouth refused to utter a word.

All Might stood up, walking towards the door to the stairs and opening it. "If you want to help people, there are many other ways to do it. You could be a police officer. They get crap because heroes capture most of the villains, but it's an honorable profession nonetheless."

He paused before walking further, contemplating his next words. "Having a dream is never a bad thing, young man. But eventually, you have to make sure your dreams are attainable." He stepped through the frame, closing the door with a click.

Izuku stood there for a solid minute, too distraught to move. His dream was far-fetched, he knew, and everyone had told him as much. Even though he can fight for himself and for others, to hear it from the person who inspired his dream- it was too much, and he needed a second to recollect himself.

BOOM KKRAKKK BOOOM

Before he could do anything, a large explosion sounded in the distance. He snapped out of his moping, his instinctual battle analysis overtaking any emotion he had. "A villain! I wonder which hero will show?" he mumbled, racing towards the door. After only a few steps, however, he remembered what All Might had said. "To be a hero without a Quirk is just impossible." He stopped, hands curled into trembling fists at his side. Fighting the tears welling up for the millionth time today, he trudged towards the door, trying his best to forget about the day entirely. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could keep his delusions of being a hero someday.