Izuku gripped his backpack straps tighter. He wanted to forget that today had even happened. So much had gone wrong.

Bakugou found the analysis journal that he always carried around with him. It quickly met it's fate between the explosion boy's hands and the bottom of a koi pond. At the very least Midoriya stopped writing "hero" on the cover. Izuku had started writing extensively on both the heroes and the villains, and felt naming it for heroes only was unfair. Didn't really matter, though. A good half of the pages were charred beyond repair.

Izuku couldn't decide whether or not that was worse than Bakugou egging him on to kill himself. Not like he would do it, for Tomura's sake.

Of course, that wasn't the only bad thing that happened today.

He'd met Sensei early in the morning. Kurogiri had opened a portal on the way to school, and asked the teen for a few moments before he went to junior high. Seeing that he would have plenty of time to spare, the boy agreed. He had finally met face to face with the man Shigaraki looked up to. He expressed his gratitude at how well he was bonding with the young adult with the disintegrating quirk. He told the boy that considering how much he had done for Shigaraki up to this point, he was going to offer the boy something that could change everything. Sensei told the boy that he could have a quirk- no, quirks.

And Izuku had turned the offer down.

Midoriya cringed, thinking of the encounter. He couldn't stop beating himself up over rejecting the offer that anyone else in the world would have picked up in a heartbeat.

The truth was, in that moment, he became frightened. He thought back to how Tomura told him that he helped the boy and became friends with him because he was a helpless, quirkless deku. His mind raced at the prospect. How would Tomura react if Izuku had a quirk? Would he leave Izuku because that connection was no longer there?

Sensei didn't ask why he was rejected. He simply told the boy that he would be dropped off near the school by the gates.

The green-haired boy sighed, angry with himself. He was dreading going back to the bar. Surely, Tomura would know by now. He didn't want to explain himself.

Izuku thought back to what he had in his backpack. Other than his school supplies and a notebook, he had a special gift for Tomura in there. He breathed in deeply. If he could just give it to Shigaraki, then just maybe he might have something good happen today. He smiled slightly as he passed under the small bridge on the way to the bar. Hope hadn't disappeared quite yet.

He snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the rush of something behind him. Izuku froze in place, slowly turning around to see a large slime creature rising from the sewer grate on the ground.

The green-haired boy broke into a sprint. The slime monster was quicker, grabbing him by the ankles, sending him crashing to the ground as he felt himself get dragged back towards the monster. He felt the sludge creep over his face, as he held his breath. The villain laughed as it began forcing the boy's mouth open, sending its form down Izuku's mouth and nostrils.

It chuckled. "I'm so lucky to have found a skin sack running around here! Stay still, kid, this'll be painless for us both if you stop resisting."

Izuku felt tears gather in his eyes as his throat and nose burned in pain. He felt the world going dark as he struggled to keep his breath in.

The slime villain pressed on. "Truth be told, I thought I was going to get caught by that smiling bastard, but you did me a solid. You're my hero, kid." He jeered.

The sludge travelled down into the boy's stomach. He fought the urge to vomit, trying desperately to keep his lungs empty of slime. As he felt his last throes of consciousness leave him, he felt... strangely calm. He wandered about what would happen after he died. He felt the urge to laugh build only slightly.

If Izuku died here, this villain wouldn't last long afterwards. Tomura would hunt him down and destroy him.

Izuku closed his eyes as he heard the sewer grate behind him explode in a blast of wind pressure.

When he came to, he saw the smiling face of All Might staring down at him.

"OH, THANK GOODNESS, KID!" He boomed, "I WAS WORRIED THAT I LOST YOU THERE!"

Izuku just stared at him blankly.

All Might. Right here. In front of him.

"O-oh." Izuku forced out. "Thanks."

All Might paused for a moment at the lackluster response, but nonetheless continued speaking. "Sorry for not arriving sooner! The sewer system is quite complicated." He laughed. "But I managed to make it just in time to capture the villain!"

All might presented the two soda bottles that contained the slime villain with a flourish.

Izuku still stared blankly forward.

All Might coughed awkwardly. "Well, kid... Unless you have something to say, I've got to hurry back with the villain." He turned around and crouched, preparing to jump.

"W-wait!" Izuku yelled, throwing his hand out. "I need to... I need to a-ask you something."

All Might stood back up.

Izuku continued. "You said anyone could be a hero, but... There are so many people who want to be heroes that hurt others!" Izuku closed his eyes. "There's one kid who wants nothing to be a hero like you... and he does nothing but beat me up every day. So I want to know... why?" The boy looked back up, water in his eyes. "Why do they get to be the good guys?!"

All Might paused. He felt blood pool behind his teeth. "Kid, I can't give you a straight answer on that. This world needs heroes to stop villains. Sometimes, we don't get a choice in who saves us." He walked over to Midoriya, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But I still mean it that anyone could be a hero. Perhaps you should try out, and prove to him how a true hero acts!"

Izuku paused. "Even if I'm quirkless? Can I be a hero without a quirk?"

All Might froze. "Well, honestly if you don't have a quirk then you can't be a hero... But there's still a place in the world for people without a quirk who want to save others! You wouldn't be a hero, per se... but you can work in the police department! They apprehend criminals and villains all the time and work with heroes!"

Izuku was silent. All Might fought the urge to hack up blood. "I'm sorry, kid. I've got to go. Keep your chin up, yeah?"

Izuku just stared silently at him. All Might turned around, crouching down again to jump. In that instant, Izuku ran forward without thinking. The pro hero jumped, soaring away as he left a small shockwave of wind pressure behind him.

Izuku was still on the ground. He looked down at his hands, confused. Of all the things he could have done, why did he choose to snatch the slime bottles from All Might?

He slid the bottles into the side pockets of his backpack, and began walking back towards Kurogiri's bar. It wasn't long before he felt his bag rustle as the slime villain woke up.

"What? Where the hell am I?" The disembodied eyes swirled around the bottle, looking at its surroundings. They settled on the green-haired boy who was carrying him. "Hey, you! Open this damn bottle up!"

Izuku turned around, putting his finger to his lips. He looked like he was barely able to keep a frightened look off of his face.

"Screw you, open this bottle up!"

The boy stopped, grabbing the bottle out of the bag. He put it right next to his face, staring at the slime villain intently. Finally, he spoke. "I-If you d-don't stay quiet, I'm g-g-going to throw you in a tub of b-bleach."

The slime monster quieted down. The kid looked scared, but the villain honestly couldn't tell if the kid was capable of doing that. The bottle was slid back into the backpack.

Eventually, Izuku made it back to the bar, where Kurogiri was waiting patiently.

"Ah, you're back, Midoriya. Tomura will be out for a moment."

Izuku didn't respond. Kurogiri filled the silence as he readjusted his bowtie. "Are you still worried about earlier today? Sensei isn't mad."

Izuku shuffled his feet. "I think... I think I want to change my mind."

The black misted man leaned on the bar. "Really, now? What changed?"

"I met All Might." He pulled out the bottles, placing them on the counter. "This guy tried to attack me, and All Might saved my life."

Kurogiri looked into the bottles, seeing the slime and floating eyes and mouth. "I think I heard about this guy. You brought him here?"

"Stole it from All Might as he was leaving." Izuku muttered.

Kurogiri stood back up. "So what made you change your mind?"

The boy pulled himself into one of the stools, leaning his head down onto the cool surface. "He always seemed more... genuine, I guess. Even after losing faith in the other heroes, I thought that he could have been the one to show that there were some good people left." Izuku sighed. "He's a piece of work. Tells me that they can't afford to get rid of abusive heroes, and that quirkless people have no place in heroics. All that 'everyone can be a hero' message was just some drivel to make himself look better than he is."

The bartender rubbed Izuku's shoulder. The slime villain just watched, silently.

"...I want to get rid of this messed up society." Izuku mumbled. "I can't stand just watching it anymore. I want to take up Sensei's offer."

Kurogiri patted the boy on his head. "Tomura would be proud to hear you say that."

Midoriya didn't reply.

Kurogiri turned his attention back to the slime villain, stuck in the bottles. "I take it by now that you recognize me."

The slime villain remained silent.

"I will take your silence as an affirmation. I don't know why Midoriya decided to save you, but you should consider yourself lucky that you didn't kill him. Even if you did manage to escape I doubt that you would have been alive by sunrise."

The slime creature turned its eyes to Izuku, who was still resting on the bar. "Hey, k-kid. I'm sorry for... uh, trying to kill you. I'll make it up to you, okay? I didn't know you were part of the League of Villains... so... uh..."

Izuku looked back up, staring blankly at the slime monster. Kurogiri looked at the boy. "Midoriya, you captured him, so I assume you get to decide how to deal with him."

After some moments, Izuku spoke up. "You said the League was in need for new members, right?"

A/N: As promised, here is the second chapter for the day! I don't have much to add for now, but I hope you like it.

And again, thank you all for your feedback! I know it doesn't seem like it, but it really does help me.