Chapter 1

Choking. Darkness creeping around the corners of his vision.

Izuku was dying.

Surely, it was a joke. It had to be. Some kind of sick farce that the world played on him, some fleeting glimpse into how ruthless and whimsically bloodthirsty the universe could really be.

The thick, pungent slime continued to press farther down his throat, into his nose, his ears. He could hear that thing's voice, wrapping tightly around him, coming from everywhere, a wretched gurgle that made his skin crawl.

"It'll only hurt for a little while, then it'll be over."

His asphyxiation-addled brain scarcely processed the words. Over? Was he going to die here?..

Here, so far from his mother, from everyone he knew, alone, his body a puppet to the whims of some wretched, slithering monstrosity? He clawed at it, thrashing against its' grip, his hands scrabbling weakly against the slime enveloping him, his lungs burning from lack of oxygen.

"No point in trying that." cackled the voice, "I'm fluid, see?"

His thoughts began to muddle together.

I'm dying.

But, the rooftop.. he had decided to live..

His frantic struggling grew steadily weaker as he felt his eyes roll back.

I'm gonna die?..

His vision blurred. Blackened at the edges.

Someone help!

Rising panic.

I'm dying!

In vain, Izuku desperately searched for some last ounce of strength. Tried to at least put up some last, valiant struggle, hoped for some providential final shred of determination, only to find that he could scarcely lift his arm.

There was nobody. Of course there was nobody. As he sank into unconsciousness, drowning in his own mind, the words that echoed in his ears seemed familiar. Words from distant memory, so reassuring and distant that he must have imagined them.

"Fear not, kid! I am here!"

As his world was plunged into blackness, Izuku almost smiled.

.

.

.

"Hello? Young man?"

And yet, somehow, the voice had not been a figment of his imagination. By some miracle, some foolish coincidence, it really had been All Might. He, Izuku Midoriya, had been saved by the world's greatest hero, who stood above him now looking rather concerned as he shook the boy back to full consciousness.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" The giant of a man laughed, perhaps a bit too loudly. Thoughts, questions and ideas all piled up in Izuku's mind until as he tried to form a coherent sentence of thanks, all that came out was an excited shriek.

"And lively to boot!" Chuckled All Might slicking his hair back, only for two large strands to shoot back up. "I must apologise for dragging you into my little villain hunt, young man! I'm not always this careless, I swear! Must've been off my game!" His laugh had a decidedly nervous tinge to it this time.

Izuku sat dazed as the giant of a man apologized for putting him in harm's way, all other thoughts suddenly giving way to a single idea, at which his heart beginning to hammer in his chest. Maybe this was it. This was his chance to ask whether his dreams of Heroism would could ever amount to something, anything more than the fantasy everyone made it out to be.

After all, the person in the world who's opinion mattered most to him stood here, not three yards away. Had given him an autograph! He could hardly wipe the giddy, childish grin from his face.

"Now then," the older man gave a dashing smile as he patted the monster's remains, safely contained in a bottle in his pocket, "Time to bring this fellow to the authorities!"

Shocked from his thoughts, Izuku barely had time to register the Hero's farewell before he had already turned to go.

"Wait, mister All Might!-" he cried, frantically scrambling to his feet.

"Now now, you can catch me again on TV!" This time, the hero's wide smile didn't quite touch his eyes. He crouched, every muscle in his body coiled as if to leap, deciding the exchange was clearly finished.

This one chance.

There was no time to think, not now. Izuku dashed. Wrapped his arms around All Might's leg in a death grip, a split second before a terrific blast rung in his ears.

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling wind rush over his face. They were in the air. Slowly, Izuku cracked an eye open, gazing dumbstruck as he watched buildings and streets speed by in a blur beneath them.

They were flying.

The momentary awe was shattered as he felt his legs flailing behind him, with no footing to balance on. Suddenly, he became acutely aware of the fact that there were hundreds of feet of nothing between him and the ground. And that his arms were slipping.

"HEY NOW!" The All Might boomed from above, "THAT'S TOO MUCH! LET GO!"

Tears stung Izuku's eyes as the wind whipped over his face. Let go? He had to be joking.

"THERE IS SUCH A THING AS TOO ENTHUSIASTIC YOUNG MAN!"

"B-BUT I HAVE TO ASK YO-"

"QUIET NOW, CLOSE YOUR EYES!"

As suddenly as they had taken off, they landed. Izuku's bones were rattled as All Might touched down on an empty apartment block rooftop with a loud crash. Coughing in a cloud of dust, Izuku tried to gather himself as the older man regarded him sternly, crossing his arms with an exasperated sigh.

"The people downstairs will help us get down." He frowned. "I've no time for this, truly!"

All Might seemed upset now, and Izuku felt his ears burn with shame. He began to regret acting so brashly. But, having come this far, he decided he owed it to himself to at least ask. Shakily gaining his footing, the boy found his voice as he turned to the hero.

"W-wait, I-"

"NO! I WILL NOT WAIT!" All Might thundered, turning his back squarely towards Izuku. But mere moments after the words left his mouth, he seemed to sway slightly and clutched at his head with a muffled groan. Although his back was turned, something in his voice made Izuku cringe in fear.

But.. he had to ask.

"C-CAN SOMEONE WITHOUT A QUIRK.. BE A HERO LIKE YOU!?" The green-haired boy pushed the words out, hoping to quell the shakiness in his voice or better, that it was only his imagination.

All Might stilled then, but didn't answer, and so Izuku continued. His dreams, his desires, his ambition to one day follow in the footsteps of the Symbol of Peace. Everything he had dreamed of since childhood he confessed in long-winded, stammering phrases.

He wondered if it sounded foolish to the older, more experienced man. He knew it must, but hoped that it didn't. Yet, even as it left his mouth, maybe some part of him knew already.

"..a-and so," he finished quietly, finally looking up, " I want to save people with a fearless smile, just like yo-!"

But when he lifted his eyes, All Might was no longer there, instead a slight silhouette staggering from a jet of steam. Confused, Izuku tried instead to reconcile the bony, malnourished figure before him with the strapping symbol of peace that he had seen stood there moments before. The gold-haired figure made his way to the edge of the rooftop and slumped weakly against the railing, his chest heaving with shallow, labored breaths.

"A-All Might?.." Izuku stammered after a moment of speechlessness. "Are you really him? Are you an imposter!?" Confusion gave way to caution as the boy warily took a step back.

Raising a trembling hand, the slender man waved off his questions. "It's still me. I.. am All Might."

"But, you.. you're-"

Not bothering to let him finish, the struggling hero lifted his shirt. Ugly, jagged scars ran the width and breadth of a mangled torso. Izuku cringed at the sight.

"There.. was an accident."

All Might spoke slowly between long, halting breaths, and told him of an old injury the repurcussions of which had cost him not only his health, but had begun to eat away at his very powers.

"..and I asked that it not be made public." He finished, his expression grim. "The Symbol of Peace must never appear daunted by evil."

A heavy silence reigned on the rooftop, broken only when the hero dissolved into a fit of coughing, splattering drops of blood across his white shirt. Izuku felt his stomach twist and a heavy feeling settle on his chest.

He began to wonder if maybe, coming all this way had been a mistake.

Because of his impulsiveness, he had found things that, he admitted to himself, he regretted. The red that speckled All Might's shirt churned his gut with a foreboding sort of dread. A kind of inevitability.

And yet, he felt admiration surge inside of him, stronger than ever. That his hero had been fighting for so long, in spite of such a grievous condition.. even the thought of it only served to strengthen Izuku's resolve to one day be like that man; selfless, devoted, fearless. Strong.

Like Katsuki.

A hero that would always smile.

"All Might?" To Izuku's relief, his voice was steady.

He bared his dream before his hero.

"Can I become a hero like you?!"

The childish naïveté of it all.

The words hung in the air long after they were spoken.

And for a long time, All Might was silent.

When at last he looked up, his sunken eyes were.. sad.

"Without power.. if you can become a hero?"

Izuku knew well the look on his face. Pity.

"Young man.."

Falling.

"I should say not."

Splintering glass.

A dream.. is such a fragile thing.