"...Jiji?"

"Yo… Izu-chan!"

Indeed.

There at the entrance of the Junkbeach stood two men.

One was an all too familiar cyclops who had been gone on business for months up to that point. He stood with a shit-eating grin, that was also all too familiar.

Izuku ran for his life, his legs burning from the exertion.

He had to get away. Couldn't get caught.

He had to keep running. He couldn't let that thing catch him.

"YEEEHEHEHEHE!"

Oh god, it was catching up.

He had to run faster, so he did.

He kicked up sand every time his feet hit the ground, making it all blast up in clouds around him.

That didn't slow his pursuer down at all.

And when he ended up tripping-

"Izu-chan!"

"Jiji, no!"

-it was over.

Awful memories associated with his uncle's grin aside, Izuku was happy to see the man.

He'd been gone for months on business in Kamurocho and Izuku was worried that he wouldn't be able to see the man before leaving for Okinawa the next week.

He always loved going back to Morning Glory, but it wouldn't have been the same with his uncle missing and unable to see him off.

But there he was, smile and all. And it seemed he wasn't alone this time.

Behind Majima stood a mountain of a man.

His face was stern and his hair was dark and long, falling to his shoulders.

Had Izuku met this man four years ago, he'd likely be close to bolting at this point.

Though when one considers the company that the two most prevalent male role models in his life happen to keep, it would come as no surprise that Izuku would simply walk up to the (presumably) devious duo.

Self-preservation doth not a good warrior make.

That was said by one of the smartest people he knew.

Well… knew of.

"When'd you get back, Jiji? And where've ya been?"

" 'bout an hour ago, and there was somethin' important that I had to take care of."

"Important enough that ya disappeared for almost half a year, Jiji?"

"Yeah, that important."

The grave tone in his, usually jaunty and boisterous, uncle's voice deterred Izuku from pressing the issue any further, so he nodded and watched his uncle perk back up.

Truth be told, he had more important questions to ask, chief among them being the one related to the giant who stood just a few feet away from his ocularly challenged relative.

"Who's this, Jiji?"

"Ah! Glad ya asked."

He turned and gestured towards the massive man with a flourish, saying, "Izu-chan, this is my brother, well my other brother, Taiga Saejima."

With an even more extravagant flourish, the cyclops directed his words towards the colossus who had been quiet throughout the entire interaction between the young boy and his uncle.

"Saejima, this is my amazing nephew, Izuku Midoriya-chan!"

Izuku, despite having been subject to it for a number of years, preened at the praise.

Saejima simply stared back, though a discerning eye would note the slight quirk at the corner of his lips.

To eyes like Izuku's, who had slyly kept them on his uncle's brother the entire time his uncle had been speaking, this was proof enough that this new man was alright.

He just needed to figure out what to call him.

Would Saejima-ojisan work? Nah, too stuffy.

Taiga-jiji, maybe? Mm-mm, too much like Goro-jiji.

Then maybe… Ah, that'll do!

Speaking directly to the ogre-like man, Izuku smiled and said, "Hajimemashite, Taijiji!"

Saejima blinked.

Majima laughed.

And Izuku, he grinned through it all.

When Majima told him that there was someone he wanted him to meet, Saejima didn't know what to think.

Things had been so hectic and he had been so busy trying to reign in some of the young bucks in his family that they hadn't exactly had a ton of time to catch up.

So when the cyclops approached him earlier that day and asked him to come meet someone in Musutafu, of all places, his interest was piqued.

When they got there and Majima brought him to what looked like a sandy junkyard, the interest sparked.

And when a young boy with green hair and freckles approached the two of them without a hint of fear or apprehension in his eyes, calling Majima 'Jiji', that interest burned with a raging passion.

But even still he remained quiet.

Until the boy called him, 'Taijiji'.

What the hell could say to that?

He had just met the kid and he was already calling him 'uncle'.

He didn't mind it, but it was… weird, to say the least.

Is that just what the kids do these days?

Even weirder still, was the feel he got from the kid.

He looked like a cheerful puppy at first glance, but for what looked to be a 7 year old, he gave off this strange presence that bubbled beneath the surface.

Like a rabid mutt, snarling in a cage.

This kid just got more and more interesting by the minute.

"Ahhh!"

Crash!

Well that didn't sound good.

Izuku didn't seem too perturbed, as he sighed and made his way over to where the scream and the succeeding crash had come from.

The two adults with him just gave one another an inquisitive look and followed along.

When Izuku, his two uncles in tow, reached the spot that he had heard the ruckus coming from, he wasn't all that surprised by what he found.

"Hatsume-san, you really need to be more careful."

"Oh, Midoriya-kun! There you are. Think you could give me a hand with some of this scrap here? I can't seem to get a good grip on it."

"That's probably because it's slowly turning you into a Hatsume pancake. Stay still, I'll get you out."

It wasn't very rare for Daiki Hatsume to be found at the Junkbeach, looking for scrap for some invention or another.

It was far less rare to find him buried under a pile of trash that he toppled over through haste and carelessness, much to Izuku's chagrin.

What was rare, however, was the sight of him buried under the pile without a head of pink hair poking out right beside him right beside him.

And so, as Izuku began lifting a mini-fridge off of the man, he asked, "So where's Mei-chan, Hatsume-san? She's not in another section, is she?"

He sure hoped she wasn't, as much he liked the girl, even he would have to admit that she was a walking disaster, if left unchecked.

"Oh, MeiMei? She's sleepin' back at the workshop. I figured that while she was down, I could come out and grab some new materials for my latest little darling. She's gonna be a real beaut', I tell ya."

"Right… and how many times has she exploded, so far?"

"Three times. But hey, fourth time's the charm, right?"

"I think you mean third. Hold on, keep still, I don't want this shifting."

"Yeah, but we already past the third, so fourth it is!"

But four's an unlucky number, isn't it?

"Right, Hatsume-san."

He knew better than to argue with the eccentric man.

Months of experience have conditioned him against that.

And as the man continued to ramble, Izuku managed to get the last large bit of trash(a thick stack of sheet metal) of him.

"Alright, there you go Hatsume-san. Where's your truck? I'll help you carry this stuff there."

He didn't even bother asking what the inventor wanted, he knew the answer.

All of it.

Hatsume started walking in a direction, so Izuku picked up the stack of sheet metal and walked off after him, leaving his somewhat baffled uncles behind, until he came back to retrieve more of the trash.

About half an hour passed before Izuku left with the last of the trash and scrap.

Majima and Saejima, who had sat down and started smoking, heard what sounded like a small explosion ring out from the direction that Izuku had walked off in.

Saejima had been ready to go and see if the child who had been seen walking in the direction was alright, but Majima, being the responsible and attentive adult that he was, stopped him.

"If he needs some help, he'll call for it. Just give him a minute."

Lo and behold, a mere few moments later, Izuku came walking down the path, completely fine.

His clothes were slightly singed and tattered and he was covered in soot, but otherwise he was completely fine.

"Yo, Izu-chan! What happened over there?"

Izuku coughed slightly, exhaling a bit of smoke, before answering in short, breathy bursts, "Hatsume-san. Machine lifted trash. Truck. Then last load, too heavy. Machine overloaded. And boom. I'm okay."

Majima shrugged and replied, "Well, if ya say so." Before taking another drag from his cigarette.

Saejima, long having decided to stop trying to comprehend this child, simply sighed, a puff of cigarette smoke escaping between his lip.

Izuku just layed down (read:collapsed) and tried to catch his breath.

After a few moments of relative silence, broken only by the sound of Izuku's labored breathing, Majima spoke up.

"So Izu-chan. It's gettin' a bit late, but I got a surprise for ya. You mind comin' with me and Saejima here, for a bit?"

Izuku perked up at the words 'surprise for you' and his response was no surprise to either man.

10 Minutes Later- Karaokekan

"Kenka sun wo kekkou ya ga
Moshi uchi no shima ni haitte kitara
Son toki wa kega suru dake ja sumanee ya
Majima no maji rock…
Iku de!"

This really is a surprise. I didn't know Goro-jiji made music.

"Go all out, Majima!"
"You're doing great Jiji!"

"Ah, kora erai kimochi ee!"

Definitely a surprise.

"I ain't doin' it."

"C'mon bro. Just one, and ya ain't gotta be especially great at it either."

"You tryin' to start shit, Majima?"

"Please, Taijiji?"

Saejima was about to say no once again before he took a close look into pleading, teary green eyes.

Moments later...

"Dame da ne
Dame yo dame na no yo
Anta ga suki de suki sugite
Dore dake tsuyoi osake de mo
Yugamanai omoide ga
Baka mitai…"

Both Izuku and Majima stayed quiet.

They could both hear the emotion in the man's voice, and they weren't going to interject before he could get it all out.

When Saejima finished his song, there were tears in his eyes.

No one felt the need to mention them.

When it was Izuku's turn to pick, he took a few moments to scroll and look through his options.

Zetsubouchou Pride? That sounds cool.

"Artist(s): Judgement Kazzy and Gorogorogoro-chan."

Pass.

Like A Butterfly? Nah, I don't have a good feeling about that one.

Then how about…

Almost as if it were made for, Izuku felt drawn to this song. So he pressed 'Confirm', picked up the microphone and got into the zone.

"Saenai boku to boku wo kakomu sekai de
Egaite mo tsukande mo mada tookute"

"I-Z-U-K-U. Sing your song, I-ZU-KU!"

"Looking red hot, Izuku!"

He sang through the verse, feeling his Heat rise with every word.

And when he hit the chorus, it exploded.

"Saenai boku to boku wo kakomu sekai de
Egaite mo tsukande mo mada tookute"

He could see himself on a fully cleaned Junkbeach, all grown up and muscular with a smile on his face.

"Nani wo suteraba soko ni tadoritsukeru
Nando mo nando mo sakende mite mo"

Villains stood all around him and the people he was protecting.

When they came at him, he took them down, giving the civilians time to get away.

Pretty soon, all of them were beaten. And Izuku stood above them proudly.

Just before the ground opened up beneath him and he was blown away.

And there stood a massive, snarling, sandy-furred, red-eyed pomeranian.

"Boku wa boku de shikanai kara
Yume de arou to genjitsu darou to"

When Izuku got back up and charged at the massive hound it barked and blew him away with a massive blast.

"Chippoke na boku wa kienai hikari wo…"

And the vision started to grow blurry as he fell deep into the water.

Was it over? Was that where his adventure as a hero stopped?

Maybe he couldn't make it.

Maybe the doctor. The kids at school. Kacchan…

Maybe they were all right.

Maybe he should just-

A hand found its way to his back.

Then another.

And another.

And he felt more and more.

And he could hear a myriad of voices, all of them so easy to recognize.

Izumi.

Eri.

Riona.

Taichi.

Shiro.

Mitsuo.

Koichi.

Ayako.

Haruka.

Kiryu-san.

Goro-jiji.

Dad.

Mom.

Their voices mixed. High, low, young, old.

But as different as their voices were, their words all rang the same.

"Don't give up! Keep pushing on! You can be a hero!"

And then… they pushed.

"...Soredemo sagashi tsuzukeiteru"

He could feel himself rushing towards the surface.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer.

Until he broke through and flew.

He could feel all the hope that his family had in him.

And it was with that hope, that he charged right back at the colossal pomeranian.

"Donna ni tokute mo tadoritsukeru
Shiramu sora wo mite koko ni kizamitsukeru"

It barked another blast at him, he charged straight through it.

"Nando mo nando mo sakenda mite mo
Boku wa boku de shikanai kara"

It swiped a massive paw at him, which was swiftly avoided, before Izuku jumped and sprung off of it.

"Yume de arou to genjitsu darou to
Kitto koete yukeru"

He flew straight past the monstrous pooch's head and went up into the clouds before he came back down, fist cocked behind him.

"Korondatee ii"

The big blonde dog wasn't prepared for this attack, so when Izuku came down hard on his snout, it let out a big yelp and a whimper before going down.

Hard.

"Naitatte ii"

When the dust cleared Izuku stood above his defeated foe.

Looking all around he saw men, women, and children, all clapping and cheering for him.

Looking forward he could see all the people who supported him.

"Itsuka sono subete ga hana ni naru kara!"

With a big bright smile, he raised a fist to the sky and loudly proclaimed, "I AM HERE!"

And the song was over. He was sweating and panting, having put his soul into his singing, but he still had the biggest smile plastered onto his face.

Soon after Izuku finished his song, the lady at the front desk called to inform the trio that their time was nearly up and asked them to return the microphones.

As Saejima put the microphones back into the box that they were brought in, Izuku thanked Majima for his surprise.

"Huh, whaddya mean? I haven't given ya the surprise yet."

"What?"

"Yeah, that ain't the surprise. This is." And he held out a bag that Izuku didn't notice that he had, before then

"Happy Late Birthday, Izu-chan. Go on, open your gift."

With his initial surprise gone, Izuku opened the bag and took out the contents.

He was greeted with the sight of a green varsity jacket, with a Hannya mask on the back.

It had red kanji written all around the mask that said, "Bring on the fights!"

"So how d'ya like it? Special-order material that'll make sure it grows with ya. That jacket's gonna last for a while, kiddo."

Izuku began to tear up slightly, but even still he smiled wide and said, "I love it, Jiji. I love it."

Present- Midoriya Household, Kitchen Table

As Izuku finished his story, he looked towards his mother, who had been listening attentively the whole time.

She stared him down a bit longer before sighing.

"Alright Izu, eat and get out of those clothes. I'll go run you a bath."

As Izuku nodded and set upon his dinner, Inko walked to the bathroom to start his bath.

As worried as she was, her baby was going to be a hero.

She would have to accept that.

And she would, as this would turn out to be just an average day in the life of Izuku Midoriya, the most unpredictable hero the world would ever see.

So that took longer than expected.

I just wanna take a quick moment thank each and everyone of you who read these first 13 chapters and choose to stick around.

I never would've expected this story to take off the way it has and it warms my heart see that so many people found this little project of mine so interesting.

Let me just say that I have no plans to abandon this story at any point. As this type this out right now I have over 100 chapters planned for this story.

And those only up to first half of season 4 in canon.

I hope you'll stick it out with to see this story to its end. (And hopefully to see a TV Tropes page made about it.)

Once again, thank you all for your support.