Kacchan was the greatest.

Ever since they were little, they've always been together. Their moms were close friends, but Izuku felt like they were closer.

But Kacchan was different from Izuku, everything he did he seemed to do perfectly. Playing football, skipping stones, down to even the smallest detail Kacchan would exceed all expectations.

Izuku was different from Kacchan, everything he tried would end up in flames. He always seemed to trip up at just the right moment, every single task he was given he could never execute perfectly, how could he measure up to Kacchan if he couldn't even do what everybody else could do?

How could Izuku succeed in becoming a hero, if he couldn't even reach the standard of an ordinary person?

How could he become a hero like All Might, if he couldn't ever beat Kacchan at anything?

Kacchan had gotten the strongest quirk of all, everyone praised his explosion quirk like the second coming. His peers, his teachers, his parents, Izuku's parents, everyone.

But once Izuku got his quirk things would be different right? Even though it was approaching his fifth birthday, Izuku held out hope. His mother reassured him that it was very unlikely that he'd be born without one, given the decline in quirkless births over the years.

But unfortunately his mother was wrong, even with the sharp incline in quirk strength and manifestation over the years Izuku was one of the unlucky few to be born quirkless.

Izuku tried everything, he stared at a spoon for hours on end, trying to make make it move. He tried breathing huffing and puffing to breathe fire, but not even an ember arose.

His countless attempts at trying to manifest a quirk led his parents to reveal the truth to him, that he was adopted from a very young age.

Apparently they didn't know exactly how his parents died or who they were, but there was a villain attack on the beach one day. Many civilians had died in the chaos, the bodies found next to Izuku were four adults of unknown age, two were male and two were female, as well as one of a girl around Izuku's age. They didn't know who he was or where he came from, but neither did Izuku. Even though he was one of the few who survived he did not escaped unscathed, suffering from brain trauma that resulted in amnesia. He was a completely clean slate which is probably why the Midoriya family decided to adopt him, naming him Izuku (出久) a boy from somewhere, from a long time ago.

How unlucky they were, to have picked up a quirkless child.

His parents could have been anyone, they could have been quirkless. Izuku could have been destined to be quirkless from the very beginning.

The gap between him and Kacchan would never ever be closed.

But All Might always said that anyone could be a hero didn't he?

So as long as Izuku held up hope he could do it right?

Of course Izuku stood no chance at fighting Kacchan 1 v 1, but that was fine. Even if he would never punch as hard as All Might, even if couldn't leap tall buildings in a single bound, he could at least try to even the odds.

So Izuku studied heroes, he studied quirks, he studied Kacchan. Even if he couldn't even measure up to half of what Kacchan was, he could at least try to close the gap with knowledge and data.

As long as he kept trying he could do it right?

But Kacchan tried even harder.

He trained for hours on end, not just with his quirk but his body as well. He could run faster than Izuku without lighting a spark from his palms, he could punch harder than Izuku without scorching his clothes. And all Izuku could do was take note of how strong Kacchan had become.

But as long as he held up hope he could at least try right?

The years went by in a blur and all Izuku could remember was walking down the roof of a tall building.

He had failed the UA entrance exam.

He had been knocked out and missed every hero exam scheduled.

He had failed his parents that were kind enough to keep him despite his quirklessness.

He had failed All Might, the hero he looked up to.

He had failed himself.

Midoriya Izuku had lost hope.

And so he took the advice of the person he once considered his closest friend, the person he looked up to since he was little, the person he admired even longer than All Might.

He stopped at the edge of the roof, the walkway below was one he crossed many times before. On the way to school, on the way back home, and now it would be the final road he crossed in the land of the living.

Izuku took a deep breath and steeled himself, slowly shuffling his feet off the ledge. The vertigo started to get to him, his body's instincts telling him to stop. But Izuku kept telling himself, 'There would be no more fear, no more disappointment, no more feeling anything after he fell.'

It would be all over.

"Hey, do you mind?"

"AHHHH!" Izuku screamed, falling back in shock.

"This roof's already been taken, go find your own."

"Wha-"

Izuku looked up to see the voice coming from a girl dressed in a school uniform he did not recognise. Her ash blonde hair was long and unkempt, covering her whole face like a bale of hay.

"Are you kidding me…"

"Tch, go away. If you have the decency to die, then at least die somewhere further away from me."

"How is it that the one roof I picked, I went up to, I resolved myself, just SO happen to be the one roof in Japan where somebody else was trying to kill themselves too!? Such Misfortune!" Izuku clutched his head in frustration.

"What the fuck? Stop whining and just go already, I was here first."

"I was staring at this building for TWO Weeks!"

"I don't see how that's my problem."

"God damn my rotten luck!"

"That's it!"

The girl seemingly having enough of him, kicked Izuku to the ground.

"Either you leave or I'll push you down myself."

"Fine!"

"Good, now- …what are you doing?"

Izuku crossed his arms and hugged himself.

"You said you were going to push me down yourself."

"Arghhh…" She facepalmed.

"Great… all your talk about misfortune and bad luck, but really the unluckiest one is me for choosing this fucking rooftop."

And just like that Midoriya Izuku not only failed to kill himself, but also inconvenience some other girl who came here for the exact same reason.

"…Look I'm sorry, you go ahead. I'll just… wait for tomorrow?…"

The girl stared at him in confusion. "Who the fuck tries to act like a gentleman when someone is trying to kill themselves!? You're taking the whole 'ladies first' thing to a whole new level!"

"So I try to kill myself first and you yell at me!? And then I let you kill yourself first and you yell at me too!?"

"…You know what? Fine!" She grabbed his hand.

"We'll die together, alright!?"

"What? Really?"

"Oh, what now!?"

"It's just… isn't this something you do you know…"

"Know what?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Isn't this something a couple should do? You know the whole suicide pact deal, where they rather die and be together in death than be apart?"

"…"

She was completely dumbfounded. Her brain failed to comprehend what kind of mental gymnastics this boy went through to come to that conclusion.

"…Aha-hahaha-"

"Uhh…"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The girl burst out laughing.

"….Can I just die now?"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahaha…haaa…" The laughter slowly died out.

"Are…are you ok?" Izuku innocently asked.

The girl had a sudden look of shock, before recovering and settling into a smile. "Fine…"

"Pardon?"

"I'll give you one day, I'll delay my death by one day. And you…"

She poked his chest.

"You are going to take me on a date."

"Nani!?"

"You were the one said that we should go out like a couple would right? So why the fuck not? Our bodies would paint a much prettier picture going splat on the ground together, as our blood flows and mixes together. How romantic, it's like a gorier modern Romeo and Juliet."

Izuku was quite disturbed by the deranged way the girl envisioned their deaths, but he agreed anyway. If he was going to die anyway, at least he would have the experience of having a girlfriend before he died. That's a pleasure not many high schoolers get before they committed suicide.

"Great! I know a place I always wanted to take my boyfriend to!"

She grabbed onto his hand and ran toward the stairs.

"W-Wait a minute!"

She raised a brow. "What's wrong? You agreed didn't you?"

"So…we're dating right?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Like boyfriend-girlfriend dating right?"

"Yes, I am a girl and you are a boy. Unless you're not? Wait, are you just a cute tomboy? You don't seem like you have a transformation quirk."

"Yes I'm a boy! It's just that… I don't even know your name…"

"You never told me yours either."

"Eh? Oh! Right, right!" Izuku blushed and bowed profusely.

"My name is Midoriya Izuku, Yoroshiku!"

"…Hime(姫)."

"Just Hime?"

"Just Hime…" She confirmed.

Izuku smiled. "Nice to meet you then Hime-san!"

Hime smiled back. "Drop the honorifics Izuku…"

She dragged him down the stairs. "After all we're dating now!"

The date went how Izuku thought a date with him would.

Hime wanted to go to a flower park together, which while a nice place for a date. They could hold hands while admiring the flowers, the Higanbana were in season making for a beautiful sight. It truly would have been a nice place for a date if she was going out with anyone else. During the duration of the date Izuku had already tripped over 20 soda cans littered about, one of which he rolled down a hill, got pricked by a bush of roses, and somehow managed to land underneath a woman's skirt which she promptly kicked him in the face for.

But at least Hime seemed to enjoy his misfortune, laughing at his misery every chance she got.

"Man, you are more entertaining than I thought!" She kept giggling away on the park bench.

"Such Misfortune…" Izuku rubbed his face with an unopened pack of ice cream.

"Hey! Don't let that go to waste!" Hime snatched the pack away from him. "This is the expensive stuff!"

Normally Izuku would be more cautious about his spending, but seeing as he had no need for it tomorrow he decided to go all out today, and make it the best date that he ever had.

Well, the only date he ever had.

"So what now?" Hime asked.

"Umm….How about we get to know each other? You know? Like a…normal date?" Izuku suggested.

"Normal date huh?"

"Yeah…"

They sat there in silence as they thought about what they were going to say.

"So why'd you do it?" Hime asked bluntly.

"…I…"

"Never mind, that was a stupid way to start small talk."

"I-It's fine…I just…I…"

"…Let me start then."

Hime tossed her ice cream stick into a nearby bin.

"I had a… relatively normal childhood, was born the oldest. My parents were nice enough I guess, school was normal, basically everything was normal. That is, until I finally snapped."

"Snapped?"

Hime reached into her shirt a pulled out what seemed like a cross necklace.

"My quirk is… not a pretty one. I just kept holding it back, holding and holding, until one day…"

She gripped on her necklace hard.

"It just exploded…"

She squirmed a little in her seat.

"My parents took it pretty hard after the…incident. 'Why couldn't you just been born normal?', 'You were such a good little girl!', 'You're cursed!', 'Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why!?'"

Hime took a moment to breathe before she continued.

"Soon after some guys from god knows where just suddenly appeared. I think they heard about my ability from the news, or…"

'Or my parents called them.' Izuku thought to himself.

"Brought me to some villain lair looking place, kept asking things about my abilities. Prodding me, using my body for some typical villain mastermind shtick. But I just… couldn't take it anymore, so I managed to escape. I ran up a building and… some green haired idiot had the same idea."

Izuku flinched. "Yeah…"

"But hey, at least I get to lose my virginity before I die."

"Yeah…-wait what?"

"What? Wasn't that the plan? Don't tell me you actually want to die a virgin?"

"N-No! But… It's just… H-How did you even know I'm a virgin too!"

Hime raised a brow. "Fine, you can top me then stud." She opened his stolen ice cream pack and started suggestively licking.

Izuku stammered, failing to grasp the situation at hand.

"Either way, I'm not planning to go back to that place. Not even a nuke is going to make me go there, well not alive at least."

"Right…" Izuku's blush started to die down.

"Well, how about you then?"

"I-"

Why did Izuku want to end it in the first place?

Because he was born quirkless? 20% of the population was quirkless.

Because he failed the UA entrance exam? Only 36 people passed every year.

Because he couldn't be a hero? How many people actually manage to be one? And even then, how many don't end up retiring a few years in? Either from extreme burnout, injury, or even both.

So why did he want to do it? Why did Midoriya Izuku want to kill himself?

It wasn't as if his life was over the moment he failed, he still passed the written test which guaranteed him a spot in UA's general program.

He still had parents who loved him.

He was still well and able bodied, even after the injuries he sustained during the entrance exam.

Compared to Hime, Izuku was living a life of luxury.

Because of her quirk she couldn't go back to her normal life, not like Izuku who just couldn't be a hero.

Because of her quirk her parents didn't want her anymore, but Izuku's parents were kind enough to take him in after his birth family died.

Because of her quirk she was taken away by villains and tortured, but Izuku just cried and blamed his misfortune and his quirklessness.

So what exactly was his reason?

"It's because I'm weak."

"Weak? Are you sick or something?"

"No, I'm just… I was born quirkless."

"Oh."

"But that has nothing to do with why I'm weak."

It was never the misfortune, the quirklessness or the bullying.

"Midoriya-san is just a weak, pathetic bastard who couldn't even keep it together after failing one exam. That's all…"

They sat there in silence for a while, thinking of what to say next.

Hime looked contemplatively at him, before smiling. "Hey…"

Izuku perked up. "What's u- Ugubuh!" Hime stuffed what was left of the ice cream into Izuku's mouth.

"How's your ice cream?" She gave him a cheeky smile.

Izuku took the strawberry choking hazard out of his mouth. "Blegh! *Cough cough* Ughh… Sweet, I guess? With a side of asphyxiation."

"Really? Because I thought the strawberry tasted sour."

"Huh? No it wasn't?" Izuku was confused.

"But that's how I tasted it, but you thought it was sweet right?"

"Yeah?"

Hime kept out of her seat and stretched.

"So don't assume that what you're tasting is the same as what I taste. Two people can have very different experiences with strawberries, y'know?"

"…Right…"

Hime smiled at him. "So where you want to go next?"

"Huh?"

"We've been to where I wanted to go, so where do you want to go?"

Was there any place he wanted to go before he died? His first thoughts were different countries on his bucket list that would probably never be fulfilled. England, Eygpt, The United States… But anywhere he could reach within the day… There wasn't a single place in Izuku's mind.

But there was one in his heart.

"So… why the beach?" Hime stared out at the waves.

Izuku tossed a rock he found by the shore, skipping it only 3 times before it sank.

He chuckled saying. "Just felt like seeing this place one last time before I die."

*SPLASH*

The waves crashed into Izuku, soaking his clothes.

*Sigh* "I'll miss you too, old friend."

Hime giggled. "You're weird."

"I know."

"And a loser."

"So I've been told."

"But…"

"But?"

Hime smiled. "Maybe if we'd met earlier we would have… Nah, never mind."

Izuku just shrugged and went back to skipping stones.

*Splish Splish Splish Splish Splish Splish Splish*

That made seven.

Izuku smiled, he finally did it.

*SPLASH*

A large wave suddenly crashed into the water.

"Woah what?" Did he just do that with a rock?

Either he unlocked the power of All Might or…

"GET DOWN!" Hime pushed him away.

A large mass of energy flew past them, just barely grazing Izuku's hair.

And surrounding them were many individuals cloaked in black.

One of them stepped up. "Return the asset to us and you won't be hurt."

If Izuku was a betting man, he'd bet that these were the guys trying to kidnap Hime.

"Fuck you! She's not going anywhere with you- OOF!" One of them moved too fast for Izuku to see, decking him in the gut with their scabbard.

*COUGH* "Urgh…" Izuku knelt down, clutching his gut in agony.

"IZUKU!" Hime knelt down to check on him.

"The next time I promise you, it'll be unsheathed." A feminine voice spoke.

"Fine, just take me!" Hime stood up.

"hi….me…" Izuku groaned out.

"Take me and promise me you'll leave him alone ok?"

"Those were the conditions…" The same cloaked man replied.

What? Why was she doing this? She said herself didn't she? That she rather die than go back with them. But she agreed! She agreed to go back, just so…Izuku wouldn't be hurt.

"Chain her."

Another cloaked man came up and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"L-Looks like this is it…"

Hime smiled at him, but he could sense the despair in her face.

"I-It looks like its time for us to break up, huh?"

This was all his fault.

She was doing all this for him.

It was because of him that she would suffer this fate, a fate worse than death.

Because of some boy that she just met.

A boy that was about to die anyway.

So if he was already resolved to kill himself…

Izuku got back up.

Then he wanted to die trying to save her.

"Don't even try you fool, what do you stand to gain from saving this girl? Theres no one here to see, no one here to watch, no one here to praise you for 'being such a hero'.

Hero? That wasn't what Izuku was, not in the slightest. He was just a weak, quirkless, idiot who wasn't even at the standard of a normal person, much less a hero. But there was a girl that needed his help, right in front of him.

"That isn't necessary…" Izuku spoke up. "There's no need for applause, praise or some dramatic theme shift for acting like a normal human being. There's no need for you to thank someone for giving you the help you deserve, no need to justify helping someone crying in pain, and no reason I should be turning my back and running."

"Argahhhh!" Izuku charged in and crashed into the man who held the cuffs.

Izuku started to pummel him with his weak quirkless hands.

Even if he was the weakest of them all.

Even if he had absolutely no chance of winning.

Even if he would die an even worse death in exchange, slow and painful til the very last moment.

Midoriya Izuku wanted to save this girl.

He wanted to give her, her normal life back.

The normal life that Izuku took for granted.

A slip of paper moved through the air, and exploded in front of him.

*BANG*

"Gah!" Izuku was knocked back.

*Drip*

"Huh?" Izuku looked up, and saw a huge water dragon looming over him.

"Eee!" Izuku ducked narrowly dodging it.

"You guys are taking too long." The figure held up his hand in a strange manner Izuku could not understand.

But what Izuku did see was the rest of the cloaked figures standing back from him.

And four crumpled pieces of paper scattered around the perimeter of where they stood.

Suddenly a bright white light began to shine above Izuku.

Izuku tried to see what the light was, subtly peeking through his right hand, before realising too late.

And a force of unknown proportions broke through the atmosphere and directly hit Izuku.

"IZUKU!" Hime cried.

"Well, that settles that."

"You were too flashy, the locals are going to take notice."

"Then lets not waste anymore time and-"

"AHHH! What the hell was that!?"

"-go?"

Midoriya Izuku somehow managed to escape unscathed.

"What the hell was that beam!? How the hell did you do that with a water quirk? Or do… d-do you have two quirks or something?"

"How the hell did he…"

"Gah! It was a dud you idiot!"

The same man who said that went up grabbed Izuku by the hair…

"Let's just do this the old fashioned way."

And slammed him into the ground.

*KICK*

"Gah!"

*STEP*

"Ah!"

The beating continued.

Kick after kick after kick.

*BAM*

His head, his shoulders, his back, were being beaten into a bloody pulp.

*BAM*

Izuku didn't know if it was just the one guy, or if they all joined in to beat on the Izuku piñata.

Either way, Izuku wasted no time even while being beaten into the ground.

He was used to planning ahead while being beaten, he had been doing it for years.

Somehow that one guy was using multiple quirks, so Izuku had to deal with him first.

Or perhaps they all had multiple quirks.

And the fact remained that Izuku had none.

No power, no way to defend himself, and no way to save her.

But there had to be a way, this is what Izuku studied for right? He studied quirks and heroes for years for a fight like this! He could think his way out of this somehow right? He just needed to-

The beatings suddenly stopped.

Izuku slowly raised his bruised and bloodied head confused, but eyes sharpened and ready to scan the area for his opponents.

But all he saw were messy blonde locks and sadness.

"It's ok… It's all ok now so please stop…"

"Hi…" Izuku could barely speak.

"Please stop ok? I've already made my decision."

No…

"I've decided that I want to live, so it's alright…"

"I-I'm sor…"

"Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. I was going to live a cursed life anyway, so nothing's changed. But now at the very least, because of you I know I won't be living like this for nothing."

She gave him a teary grin.

"At the very least, you showed me that even a cursed girl like me can still manage to smile."

"Hime…"

"So I'm going to place a curse of my own on you…"

*Chu*

Her lips left his forehead.

"I want to see you again ok? So please… please don't die…*Sob*" She started to break into uncontrollable tears.

That was the last he saw of Hime before the cloaked men disappeared, taking her with them.

Crawling to the edge of the beach wall, Izuku could do nothing but cry and lament.

He looked at the ledge above him, and suicidal thoughts began to fill his head once again.

Why did it have to be him? Why was he the one who was living a normal life, while she suffered? Why couldn't he manage to save her?

If Kacchan were here instead of me things would be different...

If All Might were here things would be different...

But the only one trying to save that girl was a weak, quirkless boy who ultimately failed.

Scum like him didn't deserve to live, while she suffered.

But Izuku who was cursed to live stopped himself before he could take his own life.

"…ARRRGGHHHH!"

So instead he rammed his fists into the floor, and when that wasn't enough he slammed his head into the wall. Over and over, and cried. Cried in his failure, his worthlessness, and his inability to save a single girl.

In the end he had accomplished nothing, learned nothing, and still was nobody. He didn't die, didn't get any stronger, in the end he didn't even get to lose his virginity.

"Wake up problem child, we're here…"

Izuku broke out of his trance in the cocoon of metallic cloth.

The scruffy man knocked twice and entered, dropping Izuku in front of a woman dressed in a dominatrix outfit.

"~Oh what do we have here?" The woman licked her lips.

And Izuku squirmed.

Maybe he was going to lose his virginity after all?

*THWIP*

Just not out of his own volition…