The boy shivered beneath a ratty tarp, his entire body frigid as the rain fell down around him. On the street nearby, people walked past in rain slickers and umbrellas. Their heads down or in cellphones. They didn't even notice him, too wrapped up in their own little worlds to care about anything else. The boy's stomach growled, he hadn't eaten in a week, and if it hadn't been for the public water fountains in the park, he likely would already have died of thirst. He could have gotten something to eat if there was anyplace he could have easily stolen from, but there wasn't. No news stands or outdoor markets, and he was too weak to pick a pocket effectively. There were no options, not unless he used. . . his quirk.

He snarled the thought away, he might not be the most law abiding eight year old around, but he still had some morals dammit. True his quirk was strong, so strong in fact that his parents had taken him from America and dumped him off here in Japan out of fear of it. That said, his control was spotty at best, and he refused to risk hurting innocent people just so he could survive. Maybe he was being stupid, but he figured there were certain lines that just couldn't be crossed. It was the razor edge that separated a punk, from a true villain. He'd bend rules, or even break 'em if he thought they were stupid, but he'd never stoop to true evil. Too bad the whole damn world still saw morality in black and white.

To the world around him the boy was trash, bad seed, a rotten apple. No one cared to help him because he didn't fit into their neat little definition of what a good person should be. He stole, he fought, he beat down punks twice his size for fun, and yeah, he had a mouth on him. Eight years old and he was already an outcast. He'd been in a foster home, but once they saw his quirk they wanted nothing to do with him, so he left. Fuck 'em! He'd been alone all his short life, and he'd done fine.

His stomach growled again, and he shivered. Maybe 'fine' was overstating it. Water trickled through holes in the tarp to drip down onto his ratty, stained, and already thoroughly soaked sweatshirt. His vision swam as he struggled to stay awake. 'Fine' was definitely overstating it. The boy was fairly certain he wasn't going to make it through the coming night. How long had he been fighting this? Surviving on the barest hope that he could catch a break? Would it really be so bad to sleep. . . to just. . . let go? The boy felt his eyes flutter, the cold fading as his body began to shut down. . . .

"Oh gosh! Are you ok?!"

A shadow passed over the shivering boy, and he forced his eyes open. There, standing over him, was another boy, looking down at him with a genuinely worried expression. The boy who had spoken wore a yellow rain slicker, and had an untidy mop of green hair that matched his dark green eyes. Eyes that were filled with kindness as he held out a hand.

"Come with me, we need to get you someplace warm!" The seated child stared up at this kid, one even younger than he was, doing what no one else of any age seemed interested in. Offering genuine help. Slowly, his arm trembling, he reached up, and took hold of the the green haired boy's hand. The verdanett smiled.

"C'mon. . . let's get you home."


(9 years later.)

"DAMN YOU DEKU OUTTA MY WAY!" Katsuki Bakugo snarled at the boy standing between him and the lousy extra he had been teaching a lesson to. Izuku Midoriya shook his head.

"No! That's enough Bakugo! This isn't how a hero behaves!" Bakugo ground his teeth in rage. It was just his luck that Deku would stick his quirkless nose where it didn't belong. Bad enough that over the last nine years he'd been steadily growing a spine, now he thought he had the right to tell Katsuki Bakugo what to do?!

"SHUT UP YOU STUPID DEKU! WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO ADVICE ON HOW TO BE A HERO FROM A QUIRKLESS LOSER WHO WILL NEVER BECOME ONE?!" Bakugo roared. However, no sooner had the words left his mouth, than a voice as smooth as silk spoke up.

"Because he is gonna be a hero one day." Bakugo felt his mouth go dry, as from around the side of the building came a figure who, even if he'd die before admitting it, had haunted Bakugo's nightmares for the last nine years. He was about a year older than the other two boys, or the curled up figure of the crying brat who had drawn Bakugo's ire. He was a few inches taller than any of them too. He had long slicked back black hair, and wore a red T-shirt beneath a black leather jacket with a high collar. Black jeans covered his legs, terminating in black, steel toed leather work boots. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of wrap around sunglasses, the mouth of his sharp featured face curving into an unsettling grin. "My bro is gonna be the greatest hero that ever lived Baku-bitch, so you might wanna show a little respect. Otherwise when my bro makes it big, he might not sign your autograph book."

Bakugo felt his entire body burn with rage, grinding his teeth together, as Jigoku Midoria, hands in his pockets, casually walked over to stand next to his adopted younger brother. Bakugo hated Jigoku more than all the other inferior extras and nobodies in the world combined. Not just disliked or found annoying, but genuinely hated. Ever since he'd shown up to school holding Deku's hand all those years ago. . .

He'd seemed like just another nobody at first, quiet, but not nervous, he had stuck to Midoriya like glue his entire first day. Then, as so often happened, Deku, the quirkless little bastard, had started talking about being a hero to the punk he'd claimed was his elder brother. Bakugo had, as usual, stepped in to remind Deku not to talk above his station, and then. . . Bakugo still remembered waking up in the nurses office covered in bruises and with his nose busted. Next to him were his lackeys, one with a dislocated arm, and the other so badly beaten he was barely recognizable.

The school, as they always did since Bakugo's quirk had developed, hushed up the incident. However, they had not expelled Jigoku, but rather, had told Bakugo to steer clear of him and not make trouble with him or Midoriya. Bakugo had been stunned, he had never gotten so much as a waved finger over Midoriya in the past. The extras who ran the school, knowing he was destined for greatness and hoping to garner some prestige off his assured rise as a hero, had always ignored his actions before. But that was before Jigoku. . .

After their first fight, Bakugo never got a free ride again. Not because of the school, but because whenever he tried to exercise his right to shut down the worthless extras around him, Jigoku and Midoriya showed up to put a stop to it. At first, Bakugo had fought them, but even aided by his barely tolerable lackeys, Bakugo always lost. Time after time they had fought, only for Bakugo to end up face down in the dirt as Jigoku and Midoriya stood over him, one laughing, the other offering to help him to the nurse. That in and of itself would have been awful enough, but it had only gotten worse.

After the tenth time Bakugo lost, the rest of the school cheered actually cheered for Jigoku. A worthless shitty extra not even worth the oxygen he was sucking, and the whole school was cheering for him! Then, as if to pour salt on the wound, Bakugo found the other kids starting to stand up to him, and if he ever tried to force the issue, he could expect a painful visit from Jigoku directly after school, if not right there and then. Slowly, he lost everything, his sway over the teachers, the admiration of the other students, and even his lackeys, who abandoned him in favor of hanging out with Jigoku! Then. . . then the ultimate indignity had happened, the thing that truly destroyed his reputation as king of the school. He had finally cornered Deku out of reach of his brother, finally he would get justice. But then. . . Bakugo growled, the memories burning like acid, as he grudgingly stepped aside.

"Good boy." Jigoku declared jovially, as if speaking to a trained dog. "Now get on outta here while I'm still in a good mood." Bakugo glared at Jigoku for a moment, small explosions popping around his palms as his eyes became pools of pure wrath. Jigoku just chuckled. "Now now Baku-boy, you wouldn't wanna get in trouble for unlicensed quirk use, would you? I'd hate to see you fail to get into UA. After all. . . my bro will need a good sidekick." Bakugo all but saw red, roaring out in rage as he hurled himself at Jigoku.

Waiting till the last possible second, Jigoku stepped nimbly out of the way of Bakugo's attack, before grabbing one of his outstretched wrists. Pivoting on one foot, he twirled around Bakugo to appear behind him, before sending a vicious kick right to his groin. Bakugo's indignant scream became a high pitched squeal, as he fell to the ground with both hands on his crotch. Jigoku let out a sigh that sounded almost bored.

"You never learn Bakugo. Even with your quirk you're no match for me or my bro. You're just not in our league. Maybe spend a few decades training on Mount Kilimanjaro with the wise old sage who knows the only martial art able to defeat me?" Here Jigoku let out a nasty chuckle. "While you're at it, see if you can catch a unicorn so it can use its magic to grant you a new personality." Izuku shook his head, his voice containing a hint of reproach as he addressed Jigoku.

"Not your best material bro. Besides, I think Kaa-chan learned his lesson." Bakugo, though still in immense pain, managed to turn his hate filled gaze on Midoriya.

"FUCK OFF DEKU! I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY!" Jigoku responded with a kick to Bakugo's side, causing him to curl up in pain.

"Bro, there are very few thing in this world as certain as the fact that this second rate shit stain is never gonna learn. Especially if you keep goin' soft on him." Midoriya shook his head.

"Maybe, but it doesn't seem that your beatings have done a whole lot to solve the problem either." Jigoku let out a laugh.

"Point taken. How's the victim?" Izuku pointed down a nearby alley.

"Took off the instant you showed up, he did shout out a thank you over his shoulder though." Jigoku nodded sagely.

"Well as long as he's ok. We better get going though, first bell is in ten minutes, we don't wanna be late for your big moment." Izuku smiled and shook his head, knowing his brother was referring to submitting his application to UA.

"Right!" Izuku declared, pumping his fist in determination. "Let's go!" Jigoku laughed, as they headed for the school, after taking one last look at Bakugo to make sure he wasn't too hurt.


Jigoku propped his feet on his desk as he leaned back in his chair. Hearing the sound of giggling, he turned and threw a small salute to the gaggle of girls stealing glances at him from their huddle in the corner of the room. Instantly the giggling increased, as they turned away blushing. However Jigoku's flirting was swiftly interrupted by the sound of someone furiously writing in a notebook.

"So, who's the lucky hero you're chronicling this time?" Jigoku asked, turning away from the girls to glance at his brother's hunched over form and erratically moving pencil.

"Mount Lady!" Izuku replied excitedly. "She has an amazing expansion quirk that allows her to increase her size and mass almost instantly!" Jigoku chuckled as he folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Ah right, she and that plant guy were in the news recently right? What was his name? Kami-be Good?" He inquired lazily.

"Kamui Woods." Izuku corrected. "He's amazing!" Jigoku shrugged, opening one eye to look over at the diagrams and notes his brother was focusing on.

"Hmm. . . Mount Lady's quirk seems kinda limited from what you got here. I mean, she'd make a hell of a battering ram against anything fortified, but in a city fight, or an area with lots of civilians, her size turns into an instant liability. Since about seventy to eighty percent of villain attacks happen in enclosed environments, seems to me her best value would be in damage control and evacuation, not direct combat." Izuku nodded.

"Yeah, I had the same thought. But she is relatively new to pro heroing, so it's possible she has techniques that make her more versatile than she looks and we just haven't seen them yet." Jigoku gave a lazy nod as he stretched his arms out. Yawning as he brought his feet off his desk and turning to lean on it with one elbow, as he gave his full attention to his brother.

"Maybe, only thing I know about her is, based on the one interview I saw, that girl has 'high maintenance' written all over her. She's a hero for the attention, I don't buy for one second that she's got any noble ideals. The look in her eye reminds me too much of Baku-bitch, it's all about her." Izuku gave his brother a chastising look.

"Come on, you've never even met her, how can you be so sure? Maybe she was just nervous during the interview or something?" Jigoku chuckled and shook his head. That was his bro, always seeing the best in people.

"Just trust me bro, I know selfish when I see it. It's all in the eyes. You know what to look for, and you can tell who somebody is without them saying a word." Izuku opened his mouth to reply, but was silenced as the teacher arrived.

"All right, settle down class. I know it's the last day before break but let's at least try to have some civility." Jigoku let out a derisive snort at the idea of an institution that ignored his brother being bullied calling for 'civility', hypocritical bastards. As per usual, he couldn't resist stirring the pot a little.

"You heard him everybody. Let's give the guy who let a blond asshole stomp all over you for years in hopes of the school sucking glory out of his tit, some respect. After all, remember how he was always there for us?" He sniped, glaring at the teacher with a look of absolute contempt. The teacher audibly gulped as the classroom quieted down. He knew better than to reprimand the punk king of the school, especially when he had a point. Truth be told, Jigoku and Izuku often did more for the students of the school in two weeks, than he had during his entire tenure. Wisely, the educator in question decided to move on. Unfortunately, the only real thing on his agenda was looking over his students various high school applications. Shuffling them as he stood behind his desk, the man caught a glimpse of something that made him do a double take.

"Izuku is applying to UA?!" The incredulous declaration slipped passed his lips unintentionally, but the whole room heard him. For an instant, there was silence, then everything was made worse, by a shout of indignant rage.

"THAT SHITTY DEKU IS APPLYING TO UA?! IS THAT A FUCKING JOKE?!" Instantly, the entire room stared at Katsuki Bakugo in horror. Unfortunately, he ignored them. "THAT PATHETIC LOSER DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A QUIRK!" Bakugo only considered what he had just said, when the temperature of the room suddenly started climbing. A smell like ash and sulfur filling the space, as the classroom was instantly turned into a sauna.

"And who the fuck said you need a quirk to be a hero?" For all its calm, the voice of Jigoku Midoriya had the silencing power of an overhead gunshot. "Before quirks, people ran into burning buildings without being fireproof. Fought criminals without being bulletproof. And stopped nuclear meltdowns without being radiation proof." Here the class trembled as Jigoku rose out of his seat. As he stood up, it seemed as if the sun itself dimmed, the shadows of the students beginning to dance and distort into grotesque shapes, as horrifying whispers no one could understand buzzed in their heads. Walking over to Bakugo, he placed his hands on his classmate's desk, as he leaned over him. There was a hissing noise, and a sweet smoky smell of burning wood, as the surface of Bakugo's desk turned to charcoal where it met Jigoku's flesh. "Much though a dumbass like you might think otherwise, 'Hero' isn't a job you can train for, or a skill you can learn. It's a state of mind, a calling that can only be heard by those who exemplify what's best about humanity. They don't save the day for cameras or money, they do it because it's the right thing to do. Real hero's aren't selfish or cruel, and always look to make the world better. My bro has those qualities in spades." Here Jigoku grabbed Bakugo by the throat, suppressing his power just enough to avoid burning him. "I on the other hand, am exactly the kind of selfish prick who'll happily beat down a mouthy little shit who I think needs a lesson in manners! Even if they can't possibly fight back. . ." The snarl on Bakugo's face was defiant, his hands slick with sweat as he prepared for another one sided battle with his hated nemesis. Only for a hand to appear on Jigoku's shoulder.

"That's enough." Izuku declared, his voice steady, but with a distinctive note of steel in it. "Bakugo isn't hurting anyone, he's just being an ass. You know the rule." Jigoku nodded, the temperature and shadows returning to normal, as he let go of Bakugo.

"We finish fights, we don't start them." He recited, reeling in his temper with a degree of effort. Taking a deep breath, Jigoku turned away from Bakugo, but not before issuing a parting shot.

"Lucky for you, my bro is heroic enough to even save his enemies. Bear that in mind the next time you start talking shit. . ."