"Oh wow! That's amazing, Kaachan!" Izuku exclaimed.

Kaachan was sitting within the Midoriya family's living room. Tiny red hot explosions were leaping from the young boy's open palms.

"Yeah," Kaachan said. "It is amazing. I'm amazing."

Izuku nodded his head in eager agreement. Kaachan was cool. He fought off the bigger kids and smiled. He was so much like All Might. Now he had a pretty flashy quirk. Kaachan would make a great hero one day.

Kaachan paused with his demonstration and looked thoughtful at Izuku. "Well, what's your quirk, Deku?"

Izuku's smile faltered for only a second. "My quirk hasn't come in yet. But I'll bet it'll be here any day now that you have yours, Kaachan!"

Kaachan kept staring at Izuku. Thinking about something only the boy with the explosion quirk could know before nodding. "Yeah, and then you can be my Sidekick, Deku."

"Come on Mom, come on!" Izuku shouted up at his mom, pulling her further into the hospital.

This was the day. He'd finally learn what amazing quirk he'd been so blessed to have. Maybe he'd have super telekinetic powers like his mother! Or maybe he'd inherited some fire based quirk from his father! Then Kaachan would really accept him as a Sidekick. Maybe even as an equal…

"Come on Mom, hurry!"

Inko Midoriya was being dragged like a sled behind eight reindeer. "Slow down, Izuku. You might hurt yourself!"

Maybe his quirk would be something altogether new. Quirks worked in weird ways or so Izuku had read. It was common to receive a quirk related to your parent's quirks. But there were some cases where a man with an enhanced vision quirk and a woman with an arm braiding quirk had a child that could fly. Something new and completely unrelated to either of his parent's quirks.

Izuku shook his head energetically. "There's no time mom. I need to know now!"

"Izuku, Hunny. We have an appointment set up. The Doctor's not just going to run off on us," Inko said.

"But I need to know, mom. Kaachan already got his quirk. I need to know now so I can be ready to be the best hero second only to All Might and Kaachan!"

All Might. It all started with All Might. One of Izuku's two favorite heroes in the entire world. Before Izuku had seen that video of All Might saving all of those people, smiling. Izuku hadn't been too interested in quirks. Sure they were cool but what could you really do with them?

All Might showed Izuku how to save people.

All Might showed Kaachan how to beat up Villains.

It was two basic principles of being a hero. It was a sign. They were meant to become heroes together. Izuku and Kaachan. So Izuku had to know just how well his quirk would compliment Kaachan's own.

"Well it does appear that your son has a Quirk Factor." The Doctor stared at his results from testing Izuku.

Izuku began to shout up and down in amazement. This was awesome!

Inko bit her lip and looked down at Izuku wearily. "So then. About my boy, what kind of a Quirk does he have? Is it suitable for Hero work? Is it dangerous? Will Izuku be okay?"

The Doctor regarded the excited young boy before looking Inko in Inko eyes. The glare from the ceiling light's shifted away and Inko could see... confusion?

"Well, you see. Miss Midoriya. Little Izuku here has a rather unique Quirk."

"I do? I do!" Izuku was beaming up at the two adults.

"Yes, that's correct young man." The Doctor nodded. "You have a rare variant in the world of quirks. You have what we call an Invisible Quirk."

"Wow!"

"Yes. Wow indeed. Or at least. I'm mostly positive it's an Invisible Quirk rather than a Dormant Quirk." The Doctor frowned.

Izuku faltered, only a bit at the Doctor's tone. "But I have a Quirk right? I can turn invisible?"

Inko looked at the Doctor a little lost. The Doctor shook his head. "No, young man. An Invisible Quirk is similar to a Dormant Quirk. Only, it's always active. You just can't tell what the effects are. It's like you don't even have a Quirk at all!"

Izuku hit the floor with his butt. His mother rushed over and wrapped her arms around Izuku.

The Doctor was turning away, lost in thought. "However. Even I should? The Master would have? This technology we've been working on... it should have identified just what his Quirk was..."

"I'm sorry, Izuku," Inko whispered into her son's ear. "Let's go home now okay? I'll bake you a treat. Everything will be alright."

Izuku didn't respond visibly. His dreams of becoming a hero had been dashed. His aspirations to becoming Kaachan's Sidekick, his equal, dead in the water.

The Doctor's words were ringing on the door of doom. "It's like you don't even have a Quirk at all!"

He couldn't imagine it. Izuku should have. He should have known...

Izuku let his mother guide him out of the office. Inko tried to say something to the Doctor but he was too lost in a rambling.

"-but perhaps maybe." The Doctor stared at the results and rushed over to the fridge. "I know I have plenty of agents. If I could rerun this sample. Isolate the Quirk Factor then maybe..." But it was too late. He needed another sample.

"Hey, you wouldn't mind doing this old man a kindness would you?" The Doctor turned to the Midoriya family. "There's this good friend of mine who has the ability to identify just what exactly a Quirk does. If it wouldn't be any trouble could you..."

The Doctor stared wide eyed at the empty room. No...

The Doctor rushed out and yelled if anyone had seen the Midoriya family. But it was too late. Inko was already on her way home with her baby boy, thinking on how she could make this all better.

The Doctor nearly pulled his hair out. Invisible Quirks were rare! Often powerful! The Master had a little brother once, with an Invisible Quirk. And that Quirk had grown until it was a match with his Master's.

The Doctor had to inform All For One about this child, Izuku Midoriya.

Izuku had told Kaachan about the appointment. The next day at school he was waiting for Izuku. Him and the rest of the class. Of course Kaachan had told everyone to get ready to see Izuku's Quirk. That Izuku would be awesome enough to be his Sidekick.

Izuku wanted to kick himself for telling Kaachan. For getting Kaachan so excited. For letting him down...

Izuku stared up at the group of excited children surrounding him. Even the teacher looked interested. But Izuku only met eyes with Kaachan.

And Izuku knew that Kaachan knew.

Kaachan wasn't stupid. Kaachan was amazingly smart. He was just an amazing person.

And those red eyes, for a brief moment Izuku something other than disappointment or resentment. For the last time, Izuku watched as Kaachan looked at Izuku with sympathy. And just as soon as the emotion was there, just like one of Kaachan's explosions. It was gone.

Izuku had to tell the class that his Quirk was practically nonexistent. He was essentially Quirkless.

The teacher was the first to look disappointed, Izuku would never forget that. Nor would he forget how quickly Kaachan and the rest of the children turned away from him. How they ignored him.

"Stop! Stop it!" Izuku shouted as he ran in between Kaachan and the kid on the ground.

"What do you want, Deku?" Kaachan sounded arrogant, haughty.

"Stop it!" Izuku stood protectively over the downed boy. "He's had enough. This isn't like you, Kaachan!"

Kaachan is supposed to be amazing. A Hero who won every fight. Couldn't he see that he had already won the fight? That the boy on the ground had enough. It wasn't right. Kaachan wasn't right.

"Get out of our way, you Quirkless wannabe Hero," one of Kaachan's new friends warned Izuku.

Izuku raised a trembling fist in response.

"If you keep on hurting him. I'll stop you myself!" Izuku shouted at the three boys in front of him.

"Heh." Kaachan snorted. "You don't stand a chance with that useless Quirk of yours, Deku!"

One of Kaachan's friends grew wings. The other grew long fingers. Kaachan sent of a small burst of hot air from his palm.

Izuku held his ground as the three charged him. The boy with the fingers couldn't fight, his extra long fingers kept getting in the way. The boy with wings was just as bad, he kept throwing his body at Izuku without care. The real fight was between Izuku and Katsuki. Deku and Kaachan.

Someone fighting to save another. And someone fighting to win. Both embodying the essence of a true Hero and yet... Kaachan was fighting for all the wrong reasons and Izuku had no power to actually save the other boy.

One larger than normal explosion left Izuku lying on the ground scuffed and burnt.

The kid Izuku had been protecting ran off during the fighting.

Kaachan didn't spare Izuku a second glance as he stormed off angrily. His friends followed.

And Izuku just layed their in the dirt beneath the hot sun.

Not all men are created equal.

Kaachan was mean.

Kaachan was avoiding him.

Kaachan was disappointed in Izuku.

But Izuku could see the other side of Kaachan. The part he didn't dare to share with anyone else. The part only Izuku and his parents knew was there.

Kaachan was feeling guilty.

"Come on, stupid nerd. Can't have a worthless nobody like you getting lost out here in the woods."

Izuku nodded at Kaachan's words. He didn't necessarily agree with Kaachan's mean implications. He was just excited to hang out with his old friend again.

Kaachan quickly turned away from Izuku and began leading the four boys out of the woods. Kaachan's new friends were with them too. One of them was even looking worried.

Were they really Kaachan's friends? If they were. Then they would know Kaachan would keep them safe. Kaachan was amazing like that.

"Come on, stupid Deku!" Kaachan called back. "Can't your useless Quirk make you at least a little faster?"

Izuku shook his head and tried to catch up.

He knew it.

He knew he hadn't imagined it.

Kaachan was smiling.

A distance had grown between the two friends. First Kaachan had gotten his Quirk. Then his Quirk was amazing, setting high expectations from everyone. Then Izuku got his worthless Quirk. And the divide only grew further between them. Between their own expectations and society's. The two friends soon forgot how to interact with one another. They fought. They got angry with each other. But still to this day. At this moment...

Both Kaachan and Izuku were happy.

Izuku didn't cry. He wasn't crying.

He was thinking.

Alone.

In his room.

In the dark.

His eyes occasionally straying towards the news articles all over the internet.

He couldn't think about them.

He couldn't think about Kaachan.

He had to think about his Quirk.

Because if he was right.

None of this would matter.

He could still fix this.

A pair of clouded green eyes glanced at the latest report from today's incident.

All Might Too Slow!

Then to another.

Junior High Student Katsuki Bakugo Pronounced Dead On Arrival!

Izuku shut his eyes, wanting to close them forever.

Aldera Junior High In Mourning!

Izuku smacked his cheek so hard he thought his lip might have split.

All Might Slowing Down? First Casualty Since-

He couldn't stop looking. He had to stop looking. He couldn't be distracted. If he was right then maybe…

"I know this isn't what you wanted. You say a lot of mean things Kaachan. Things that just aren't true." Izuku Midoriya said from the top of Aldera Junior High. He stepped closer to the ledge and gripped the safety fence.

"It's all this pressure. I know. Because I've been there with you every step of the way. Always watching from your shadow. You're amazing Kaachan. And with that greatness comes attention. It's just like All Might in a way. Everyone is always watching. With their expectations through the roof. As they should be. You are an amazing person Kaachan. You'll make a great Hero one day."

Izuku began to climb the safety fence.

"You see," Izuku grunted, pulling himself up further. "That's the difference between you and me, Kaachan. Everyone expects everything of you and nothing of me. No one would expect me to be a Hero. And my Quirk isn't Invisible. It's a Dormant Quirk. A Quirk that fails to activate without a specific trigger. But you already knew that, you're smarter than people think Kaachan. Maybe it's your temper. But some people think less of you."

Izuku sat on top of the safety fence, looking over the city.

"You see, we are more alike than you'd think Kaachan."

Izuku dropped down onto the ledge and nearly slipped. With a yelp he caught the fence behind him and steadied himself.

"I figured out my Quirk, Kaachan. It's nothing flashy. At least not on the surface. But the Quirk itself or at least the idea of it... is unheard of. My Quirk is activated upon my death. I still don't understand how it works but when I die it sends me back to a metaphorical checkpoint of sorts. As of now I'm not sure if I'm sent back in time or if I'm just slipped into another parallel universe with little to no changes to ours. But I suppose that doesn't matter. What does matter is how much I can use this power. Like all Quirks it works like a muscle. It can be worn and torn. I think if I die one too many times I won't come back. That's kind of terrifying. The fear is so great I almost don't want to continue down this path."

Izuku let go of the safety fence and took one step towards the edge. The city looked so beautiful under the light of the setting sun.

"I'll call this power of mine, Return By Death."

A gust of wind nearly knocked Izuku off. It felt unnatural in timing to the boy and he wondered if there was something more...

"I'm sorry, Kaachan. I know you hate it when I ramble. So I'll cut it short."

Izuku leaned over the edge and took in a deep breath. Someone was screaming down below him.

"I will make it so that you will live Kaachan, so you can live your amazing life and become a great Hero. But with this power. I too."

Izuku jumped.

"I will become a Hero too!"

Izuku died on impact with the ground.