It was a pretty bad day, Izuku decided. He mentally checked over the parts that made it miserable: let's see, there was the usual ridicule he garnered with his heroic dream - except the whole room joined in this time - his notebook was burned by Kaachan, and thrown into the koi fountain from the second floor of the school, he was nearly suffocated by a villain made of slime, had his dream crushed by his idol on top of a rooftop - seriously, if he hadn't been preoccupied by his despair he might have quietly admonished All Might for his carelessness. He did crush a teenager's dreams on top of a rooftop, after all, who does that and leaves them there?

He had hoped to find something positive in the mess that made up his day, but he was losing that hope, quickly.

For after the tumultuous trials of the day, then came… the Invasion.

He made his way down to the street, and slowly followed the distant sound of explosions. It sounded like a hero would show up! Oh, right. What was the point? Even All Might, the Number One Hero, the Symbol of Peace, his idol, his hero, had told him to give up. Who was he kidding, he was quirkless! He couldn't even stop Kaachan, a fellow junior high student, from hurting him. What made him think he could handle a villain? He got attacked by the slime villain, and all he could do was choke and wait for a hero! He would have died! Maybe he should have…

Yet, nevertheless, he continued shuffling toward the scene, tears in his eyes, head down. A large crowd was gathered up there, on the other side of the street. A group of heroes he'd seen earlier that day were trying to keep them away from the fires that gathered in the large alleyway. Backdraft, in all his firefighter-esque glory, was valiantly trying to put out the flames with his arms, which were also hoses. The wooden-armored Kamui Woods was erecting barriers to direct the crowd out of the alley. Death Arms and Mt. Lady were… standing there. Looking towards the center of the mess.

All Might, he saw, was looking on. In his weak, frail form, he gritted his teeth, a look of frustration on his face. Izuku approached the alley, and looked to where the sound of the explosions originated. His face paled at the sight of the slime villain he encountered earlier was currently suffocating Kaachan, as the explosions that erupted from his hands burned the buildings around him.

This was his fault, wasn't it? He grabbed All Might's leg, he was desperate to get his question out! He had to, of course he had to! His stupid, stuboorn self just haaad to know if he could be a hero! The bottles that contained the slime slipped out because of him! Because of stupid, stubborn, DEKU!

He looked into Kaachan's eyes. And before he knew it, he broke into a sprint, and rushed out of the crowd, into the alley. He ignored the sounds of the heroes' shouts, focused only on the two figures in front of him.

No one noticed as a swirling miasma of red and orange opened in the middle of the street behind the people. No one noticed the clicks of mandibles and claws over the sound of the fight. No one noticed, until a nameless businessman felt an orange arm stab itself into his back, and emerge from his chest, his heart bleeding onto a hand with sharp fingers.

All Hell broke loose. People ran away, in a vain attempt to keep their chests and bodies intact. The portal in the street expanded, and dozens of creatures with orange skin and eyes, exposed muscles, and spikes of bone protruding from various limbs poured out. The force that sent them called them Imps, the second-lowest demon in Hell's hierarchy - deemed so expendable as to be sent in masses as scouting parties.

The world they attacked simply called them Demons. For no villain could think so little, attack so indiscriminately, and kill so ruthlessly as them. The bodies piled up, blood running down the streets, corpses scattered.

Kamui Woods tried to contain them, hoping they were simply disfigured humans. In a way, he was correct, but it would never do him any good. Before he thought to kill them, they dogpiled on top of him, and when they dispersed all that was left was a man made of wood, little chips that were his skin surrounding him, and his severed head bleeding blood and sap.

This was the sight that convinced the other heroes to start killing the fuckers. Mt. Lady grew to enormous size, and started stomping them out like bugs. Death Arms used his strength to punch them to death. And All Might? No smile was on his face when he started smashing heads.

The three in the alleyway noticed none of this, as one was still letting off loud explosions, one was trying to smother the former, and the last was trying to stop the two. A backpack sailed into the eye on top of the slime, and an opening formed. Izuku took Kaachan's arm, and pulled as hard as he could.

"*hack* what are you fucking DOING DEKU?!" the bomber shouted.

The other boy was crying, and gave a weak and watery smile in a pale imitation of All Might's. "I CAN'T JUST WATCH YOU DIE!"

The opening in the slime started to close. Izuku wasn't strong enough to pull his friend out, and Kaachan's other hand was still trapped. There was no All Might to save them, no hero to help them.

"Grrr, you damned brat! What, NOW you want to be my fucking skinsuit?! Too late! I've already got a replacement!" the villain proclaimed. The boy had to find some way to help him, the explosions were getting weaker! In a desperate move, he grasped the villain's eye, and squeezed. The screams of pain assaulted his ears, yet he kept ahold of Kaachan's arm, and pulled him out.

Before the villain could make any more moves, the boys ran as fast as they could to the entrance of the alley. What met their gazes was inspiring and discouraging, at the same time. They saw All Might, covered in blood, killing orange monsters with his bare hands, as other heroes lay bleeding or evacuating the citizens. Oh, yeah. There were dead bodies. Corpses. Those bleeding, pulsating pieces of meat weren't supposed to be there, were they? Stomachs, grey matter, hearts, all manner of flesh lay in the street, the stench of blood hanging in the air.

They stared as the demons surrounded All Might, trying their best to bring down the warrior that dared to kill them denizens of the all-powerful Hell. Bile gathered in the boys' throats. A nearby hero, wearing a red suit with a large smiley face on the front ushered them away from the violence. Their legs numbly stumbled away, before they broke into a run, carrying them as far as they could from the gore. Fear invaded their minds, and they ran.

They didn't know how far they ran, nor did they care, as long as they weren't near… that. They broke down, sweaty, tired, and utterly exhausted. They took a minute to catch their breath.

"K-Kaachan, *huff* we have to hide! *pant*" Izuku exclaimed.

"Fuck *huff* FUCK no! I *huff* am not going ta *pant* run from those fucking things! What I Am going to do *huff* is make sure my damn parents are fine! You, you have to make sure *pant* that Auntie Inko is fine!" he shouted.

"B-but-"

"NO FUCKING BUTS, you shitty, cowardly goddamn DEKU!" he shouted. He huffed and he puffed, a pause ran between the two. Kaachan looked down at the ground, and gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine. If you're gonna fucking cower, then hide in the damn garbage behind you.

Izuku looked behind him; there was indeed a large, metal garbage bin. He hesitated. Was he really going to hide in a garbage bin while his mother could be in trouble? Before long, the choice was taken out of his hands. Kaachan grabbed his wrists, stuck them behind his back, and dragged him to the bin, where he was unceremoniously dumped onto the stinking heap. His protests were drowned in a nearly unberable stench. Before Izuku could get his bearings, the lid made a loud bang as he was thrown into darkness. He tried to get up, but the uneven footing on top of the trash kept him down. In seconds, he heard thumps on top of the lid, trapping him inside.

He could barely hear Kaachan stepping out of the alleyway, before he uselessly threw his body onto the top. The first few of his escape attempts were frantic, hurried. He could feel his back and his arms bruising as they slammed against the door to his smelly, smelly prison. As the number of bruises climbed up, he grew weaker and weaker, until he collapsed in pain and despair.

What was wrong with him? He wanted to be a hero. He wanted to save people with a smile, just like All Might. All Might wouldn't have trouble getting out of a garbage bin, he would have never been trapped in the first place. He was right. Izuku would be useless. He wasn't hero material, he wasn't strong like them, smart like them. The sounds of the screams and demonic screeches in the streets nearby only reminded him. He was just the useless, quirkless, Deku.

How did Mom stand it? She worked her butt off, and what does he do in return? He stresses her out, he worries her, needlessly! He talks so much about heroes and how he wants to be one, but he doesn't even have a quirk to do it! That's not even mentioning how he literally let a villain loose because of his reckless, stupid need to talk to All Might a little more. He'd likely be crippled, or even killed just attending a regular hero academy, let alone U.A.

If he… if he… if he died, what would change?

The teachers at the school might throw a few words his way, but they'd forget about him in a week or so. The other kids? It might shake them up a bit, the death of a fellow student. But none of them were particularly close to him, they'd forget pretty quickly as well. How about Kaachan? Heh, he'd probably use it as motivation to get even stronger, or something like that.

And Mom? He didn't know what to think about her. She'd be much less stressed with only one mouth to feed. She could afford to exercise, find a date, be happy! She practically abandoned her social life to care for him, maybe it would be a good thing! But, she would be sad. She cared for him, and he cared for her. The two spent just about all of their spare time together, neither of them really had anyone to hang out with. But, regardless of that, they still loved each other. Either would be broken apart if the other were to just die one day.

She loved him! She fed him, clothed him, comforted him, and was this how he going to pay her back? He was sitting in a trash bin, and she could be in trouble! One of those, those things could be tearing her apart! Ripping her arms off, stabbing her through the chest, burning her alive! He had to make sure she was safe, HE HAD TO! He has to-

A particularly loud scream rang through the air. It was female. That could be her! He continued his frantic attempts to escape, damn the bruises! Pushing and pushing, he kept going until he felt a weight suddenly drop off, and a loud thud hit the ground outside, with the telltale sound of a crinkling plastic garbage bag. He felt the lid give way, and he breathed in fresh air once more. The scent of smoke and blood hit him, and he clambered out.

Even though his body was black and blue, he stumbled out of the alley. He grabbed his phone, checked the map, and broke into a sprint. He would find her, he would keep her safe! Even if it cost him his life!