The first thing he ever saw was a pair of scared, angry eyes. Those eyes belonged to his brother and they scared him still. He loved his brother despite this and his brother loved him. So big, so strong, so brave. The only person who he knew was stronger was his father, a man who loved them all, who always wore the kinds of suits an important person wears and who was kind to everyone and everyone respected, though he didn't know exactly why. The only one kinder was his mother who made even the worst fears vanish, the only person who could calm his brother when the screaming started, the only person who could talk to his father and look him in the eye.

He was six when he realized what pain was. He stood in front of his best friend for the sake of someone he was hurting. Behind him was the bruised, whimpering body of the victim who unknowingly had a look of hope at his arrival. With an ear shattering boom, Izuku flinched at the blonde approaching him while two others flanked him like sharks. The snarky, self assured smile mocking him as he hit the palm of his hand.

"So Deku, you think you can just show up and play hero? You don't even have a quirk!"

The green haired boy curled his fists like his brother had taught him and tried with tears in his eyes to glare at his oldest friend.

"It doesn't matter, you can't do this to people Kacchan!"

A punch from the side caught him in the cheek as one of the bond's lackies saw the opportunity. Soon it was followed by a kick by the one with extensible fingers. Before long it became a flurry of blows falling upon his body until at the end, an explosion was placed at his stomach, burning the skin to the consistency of a bad sunburn. So there he laid for a long while in agonizing pain. Shakingly he got up again once he found the strength in the rapidly darkening evening. When he returned home he was met by a sensation from his father the moment he got in the door. Like a tiger sizing up prey Hisashi Midoriya sat with his eyes directly on his son with not a hint of humor in his eyes.

Never in his life had Izuku seen his father like this. Even when uncle Garaki told them he was quirkless, his father merely laughed it off and said he'd just need to try harder to better. Now with the bruises and blood from his broken nose, he felt utterly at the mercy of his father who stood up from the couch, his towering height more acute to the boy than ever. They came face to face with the man, who knelt until they were eye level. The pressed suit he wore crinked audibly as the emotional blank canvas of his face settled into a smile that...wasn't right.

"What happened today at school?"

The boy stepped away from his father, his heart hammering yet he didn't logically know why.

"I...I fell down at the playground."

The unnatural smile didn't fade from the giant's face. His lips parted to display his shining teeth.

"Come now Izuku, we both know that isn't true. Why are you lying to your papa? Don't you wanna be honest?"

The younger Midoyria darted his eyes to the side, looking for any way out. He wanted to run to his room, to the streets anywhere that wasn't here. Yet at the same time a deep shame came to him at his father's words. Firmly his eyes set upon the floor as Hisashi spoke.

"Just tell me what happened so daddy can help you. I won't be angry, I promise."

Izuku found the words escaping his lips despite not wanting his friend to get in trouble.

"...Kacchan, he and his friends hit me."

A hand tapped his shoulder from his father, concern plastered over his face in a way almost as uncomfortable as the bad smile.

"Why? I thought he was your friend?"

Pain struck his heart when he allowed more words to come out in tandem with his tears.

"He was hurting someone and I went to stop him, but they just started hurting me instead."

A sensation like blood and death and violent things no child should know of exploded out from the man who took his son into a hug, burying his nose into his shoulder.

"You did the right thing Izuku, that was the price of doing the right thing. Pain always follows virtue."

Leading him to the restroom Hisashi took out a first aid kit from the counter and began to tend to his kin. Izuku flinched at the burn of the disinfectant, listening to his father continue to speak.

"You failed today son and that is alright because you can learn from it. And do you know why you failed?"

The boy shook his head as more shame mounted under the stinging pain of the treatment.

"You failed because you weren't willing to hurt them as they hurt you. You lacked the strength they had. Granted it was against multiple people, but you want to help that person they were hurting?"

He nodded silently, listening to his father as they sat with his face patched up by bandaids and an ice pack pressed against his left eye. Hisashi gripped his shoulders to ensure his child was hearing what he said.

"Then you have to be able to be dangerous, you have to fight and win or you'll be of no use to anyone. That means hitting, biting, stabbing even until the people trying to hurt you or someone else stops. Do you understand that?"

Izuku said nothing as he wallowed in his shame and self pity. Everything hurt, but it wasn't even his burns that truly wounded him. What made his moments sitting there being tended to by the man he admired more than anyone unbearable was the laugh Kacchan made when he walked away while Izuku lay there unable to move. It was so grating on his nerves, so nasty and mean that it ate at him like acid. That wasn't the Kacchan he went to preschool with who did it and for some reason he hated it. Worse still was how badly the kid who they had gotten their hands on first looked by the time he intervened. Who would do that to someone just minding their own business, much less when they wanted to be a so-called "hero". Tomura had told him about how bad and selfish heroes were, about how they were lying, self serving fools.

Yet that couldn't be all heroes. At least not the ones like All Might. He never told anyone except his mother about how he watched those videos online after she showed him one by accident over a year ago, but the longer he thought about it and the look of suffering on the kid's face, the angrier he became. His fists trembled as that laugh echoed in sync with that poor person cowering before Kacchan. He lifted his head, suddenly feeling much stronger while his heart pounded furiously.

"Daddy, can you teach me how to be like you? Show me how I can be dangerous so nobody has to get hurt like that again?"

Hisashi paused at his son's words, seeing the resolve in those eyes which were an exact copy of his own and could help but smile. He ruffled his hair when Izuku stood up, feeling a pride that nothing else could ever grant.

"Of course."

A sharp pain swarmed over Izuku's body, stabbing like needles into his injuries that nearly made him scream if it weren't for the fact it was over in less then a second. He turned to the mirror in front of him and to his amazement found none of his bruises and the pain was completely gone. It was like they simply vanished at his father's wish. A laugh came from the giant as he pushed the boy back into the living room.

"Come on now, we can't let a few bruises stop us. We have work to do after all."

They entered the oversized SUV that served as one of the two family vehicles and before Izuku knew they had left. The drive itself was long, made worse by the building anticipation of how he'd get stronger that made him jumpy as he fidgeted around in his carseat. After passing the city limits and driving deep into the countryside, the car came to a stop at last. Green surrounded them on all sides when Hisashi drove off the road and down into a hidden path where a clearing in the forest laid just up ahead. The smell of life tickled his nose and Izuku forgot for a moment as to why he came here in the first place when he became enraptured by the beauty of nature. The sound of a car door slamming shut brought him back to reality and like any loving son, followed his father when he beckoned him.

In that field Izuku stared at his father like he was made of marble, noticing the massive difference in size which made him uneasy when he saw the man make a fist after throwing his suit into the car and standing in only an undershirt and gym shorts.

"Alright first off, let's start with how to throw a punch."

Again and again Izuku listened to his father teach, mimicking his instructions to the best he could until he got it perfect. From there in the hours that followed came the lessons on punching, kicking, grappling which imparted knowledge older than even the boy's father onto him. It had turned to night now and the moon shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the field effortlessly. Hisashi was sweating now from the countless demonstrations he had to make in order to properly teach his son and he was happy. Yet that dried quickly when he realized what was left to do. Watching his child kick and punch in the air, the innocent smile on his face warming his heart with the power of a million suns, he sighed at the cruelty that must be taught.

"Izuku."

The boy spun around joyfully at his papa, feeling stronger than ever before.

"Yeah?"

A discomfort so great took hold of the man that it physically hurt him. Why did this world have to be so sick? A part of him wished that his son could stay this way forever, naive and happily ignorant of the evils of mankind. Yet he saw countless times how that mindset ended in reality when set up against those less empathic and he'd be damned a thousand times over if it would happen to his boy. Clenching his fists, Hisashi spoke with a pain in his voice that had any of his enemies heard, they would never hear anything again.

"You've done well today and I'm very proud of you. But we can't go home until you learn the most important fact about fighting."

The boy raised an eyebrow at his father, unsure of what to make of his expression.

"What's that?"

"How to make someone stop hurting you."

A fist the size of a cooked ham was delivered into the boy's face, sending him reeling backwards with blood dribbling from his nose. He didn't shout, he didn't scream, he didn't even shed a tear. All he did was look at his father in shock, the question of "why?" etched into his very muscle. Hisashi flinched at the sight, tearing his gaze away as he fought down the voice screaming at him to stop.

"You can't beat everyone by skill or hard work alone in a fight, Izuku. Sometimes you'll either find someone with a quirk so powerful that fighting them like a normal man is a death wish or someone with nothing left to lose who will stop at nothing to kill you. These people exist and there's only one way to beat them, you have to fight to kill them before you get killed. That's why I'm going to keep hitting you until you make me stop."

Izuku stepped back from his father, trapped between fear and loyalty to the man. Breathing was hard with his nose so busted up, yet he still tried to reason with him.

"Daddy, wait I-"

Another punch slammed across his cheek, jerking his head to the left as Hisashi was becoming visibly angerier to the point where veins were popping on his forehead.

"You can't win by just talking! If you're unable to fight back against someone they won't listen unless they know you're not to be messed with! If someone like Mitsuki's brat attacks you they aren't going to listen, they just want to hurt you! You tried to talk sense into his head, but he didn't listen right!?"

A tremble came over the youngest Midoriya as he saw his blood on his father's knuckles. Along with that came the shame of what happened at the playground and how helpless he was to save someone.

"...No, he didn't listen to anything I said."

"Then there's your proof Izuku! I don't want to do this, but as your father I have to if you want to thrive in this world! People like Katsuki are everywhere and you can't afford to be weak, not when you're quirkless! There will be people who will mock you as being lower than them because you don't have a meta ability, they will try to crush you at every step of the way because they can! You have to make them know without a doubt they're wrong about you otherwise things even worse than what I'm doing now will happen in the future from people who don't care about you at all! And then you won't be able to help yourself or save anyone!"

As fast as lightning the next punch came, landing square on his chin and knocking him down to the grass.

"This world will take everything from you if you let it so you have to be violent in order to keep what you have! You need force or you will be seen as less than nothing by everyone willing to use it! People will hurt others, it has been and will always be that way so you need to understand that if you want to help those in need! So stop crying and hit me!"

On the ground he felt his head swim. Tears were flowing down his cheeks yet the more he focused on the pain, more and more images popped inside his head. From the time he was five and went to that creek with Kacchan and Tomura that ended in Kacchan almost blasting him for trying to help(which was stopped thanks to his brother pulling him away in time), to the people who mocked him for being an outcast, to seeing so much bad happen to innocent bystanders and more built up. Only to be enhanced by the pain he felt and the pain in his father's eyes.

His teeth nashed together into a snarl while the last of his tears came down. Anger boiled in his blood for the first time in his life until everything was a red haze. He felt his hand touch something in the grass and without thinking, grasped it in his palm and smashed it on his father's face right as the man knelt down to deliver another blow. The sick sound of snapping cartilage answered back, sending the man reeling to one side, clutching at his face. Breathing was hard right now because no matter how badly he inhaled, there was never enough air. He raised the weight in his right hand to see that a large rock no bigger than his palm was coated red with the coppery scent of blood wafting up from it. He turned to his father who was still holding the broken remains of his nose. Instantly the anger evaporated into fear for his father.

He had hurt his daddy, but daddy tried to hurt him so doesn't that make it okay? Quickly his words echoed back in his mind like a recording and with them came the proof of the facts that he saw today. Yes, he decided as the shaking stopped, this was the right thing to do. Yet regardless of what he tried to convince himself of, that genetic concern for his kin remained to urge him forward. However the man himself sat up with the largest grin he had ever seen on his father. His nose was bent flat on his lip, blood falling in tiny, rapid droplets down his chin. This was short lived as right in front of his eyes, his father's nose shifted around back into place and repaired itself like nothing had happened.

Hisashi was across the field in seconds, scooping up his son and lifting him like he weighed nothing.

"Yes! That's it, Izuku! You did it, you fought back! That's how you win at this game son and you just aced it!"

A smile wide and jolly filled the titan's expression and soon his son copied the emotion, suddenly much prouder of himself for not backing down. Later they arrived home that night with ice cream in hand to Inko and Tomura about to start dinner. Inko questioned why they were out so long, but Tomura said nothing. He merely looked into his brother's eyes and saw the rage filled glint that answered everything he needed to know.

The following day Izuku returned to school with his head held high, looking directly at anyone who passed by like they couldn't lay a finger on him. That changed when he heard Kacchan's voice greet him as he walked into the classroom. The cocky grin which had become the bane of his existence was the first thing he noticed, then the jeering snears of the others who regularly joined in the teasing if only to not become targets themselves. The teacher had yet to arrive due to traffic so they had time to kill and as such Kacchan got up from his seat with his quirk popping in his hands, enjoying the center of attention to no end. He approached Izuku like he was nothing worth paying attention to and opened his mouth.

"Hey Deku what do you think you're doing here when you're nothing but a-"

A hand gripped the young boy by the hair and then in a few split seconds a flurry of punches struck him in the face over and over, bloodying his lip and blackening one of his eyes. Izuku did not let go of his classmate, only pulling him closer to slam a fist into his belly a total of five times. With a yank of his head, Izuku sent him crashing to the floor as vomit erupted out from his mouth, curling into the fetal position from the pain. He would be given no rest as Izuku planted a foot on his neck, placing all his weight to the other boy's windpipe as Katsuki stared up in primal horror at his former victim.

"What I'm doing here Kacchan is learning. I have a right to be here just like everyone else and you aren't going to stop me. I won't let you hurt anybody else or make them miserable for your enjoyment. You aren't a hero, you're a bully and I refuse to stand by and let you have your way ever again, you hear me?"

He applied more pressure to his neck before letting off him. Katsuki got up, his uniform now stained with stomach acid and his eyes filled with fear. Izuku did not take a step towards him, instead he stared directly at the boy to see if he still had any spirit to fight left. The answer was made clear when Katsuki said nothing and slinked away to a desk far in the back, away from everyone while the stink of his defeat wafted through the room. Still Izuku remained where he was, scanning the reactions of everyone around him for challengers. Yet to his utmost surprise, no one wanted to defend Kacchan. In fact most of them seemed relieved at what happened and some of them even looked at him with admiration.

A feeling bubbled in Izuku's soul, one that felt good beyond words at this and it was then he knew, things would be different from now on.