Skimming through the shelves packed with hundreds, if not more, colorful books on them should lift Izumi's spirits. Especially looking through the hero comic part,but it didn't. At all. If anything, it added more salt to the rhetorical wound.

Quirkless.

She was Quirkless.

Because of... something, she didn't know what it was. The Doctor explained it to her mom, but he used words that Izumi couldn't understand at her age. Besides, shewas more focused on the crushing feeling she felt. Her ambition, her dream... taken away from her. All because she didn't have what most of the society a quirk, she couldn't be a hero. Kacchan said it, the doctor said it, her mom said it... not directly, but she figured it out when she hugged her tightly andapologized continuously while shedding tears.

Izumi shook her head, trying to get rid of all those thoughts. Her mom came with her to this shop, so she could get some new hero comics and cheer her up. While she still had trouble reading and didn't understand a bigger part of the words used in them without explanation, she still enjoyed them, the colors, the action. heroessaving people and triumphing over villains. Izumi truly found herself wrapped in the world of comics.

She eyed the books on the shelves. Most of them had All Might on their cover. Izumi wasn't surprised by that, All Might was Number One Hero in Japan and Americaafter all. It was only natural for people wanting to see his adventures, even if most of them were fictional. Everyone enjoyed them anyway.

Under normal circumstances Izumi would grab one of them to her already large collection without a second thought, but this weren't normal circumstances. AllMight represented everything that Izumi couldn't ever hope to archive. All Might was a true hero with a charming smile and a powerful quirk. And Izumi couldn'teven get a chance to try to become one.

With a silent sigh, she hung her head low and left the shelf. She wandered for some time looking at the floor, before her eyes rose up. Izumi tilted her head to theside. She was still in the hero part of the comic section, but this comics were different.

Lines were more sharp to them, colors more toned, but still somehow flashy. But the most important thing was that, Izumi didn't recognize any of the heroes here,which for a dedicated hero fan was simply ground breaking. She deduced that may be some older heroes, like more than twenty years before her.

There was a guy with a hammer, red cape and some kind of armor with lighting around him. Then a huge, green human, whose muscles were rivalling All Might's,that was smashing through a wall. Next was a man in blue costume with a shield that had a fierce expression and explosions in the background, while jumpingthrough the air. And then... some kind of flying robot?, but the robot looked like a person. None of those rung any bell's in Izumi's head, and as a dedicated herofan she couldn't allow that kind of disgrace to shine upon her.

Intrigued and determined, she took one of those with the group. First thing she noticed was that the comics was rather dusty and the paper felt kind ofold. Ignoring it for now, she started looking at the her shock when it turned out it wasn't robot, It was a suit of some kind, that the main character made for himself to battle crime. Before Izumi knew ithad read four of those comics.

By the time she learned that they were some sort of Hero group called Avengers. There were two more members. One was a red-haired woman in skin-tight suit fighting with guns and batons and other was a brown-haired man in a leather suit with a quiver on his back and fighting with bows and arrow.

"Izumi, honey, what are you looking at?"

Her mom's voice brought out of her reading spree. Inko looked at her daughter and then at the comics sprawled at the ground around Izumi.

"I've found this", Izumi said, showing her mother the cover, "It's... The Awengers" she felt her tongue twist at that and judging from her mom's small laugh, she most likely messed it up. English words were hard to say.

"I believe it is The Avengers", her mom said slowly to help her with the word, "it means the ones who fight against wrong "

"It makes sense", said Izumi, "they are fighting evil after all". 'The green man must have a transformation quirk that also gives him strength, man with cape must have weather control quirk, man with shield must have body enhancement quirk, woman must have a cat reflex quirk, man with bow must have a quirk that helps with his accuracy with arrows and the man in suit must have a strength quirk to move around in the suit but he also shoots lasers, rockets maybe multiple quirks. There is a possibility-'

"Wow, kid you have got some brain there", came the voice from behind with weird accent.

Izumi jumped slightly and blushed. She was mumbling again.

Turning around, she saw a rather old man with glasses and slicked-back black hair smiling at her. He wasn't Japanese maybe American? He had a t-shirt with the store logo maybe an employee. He looked at the comics lying around.

"Nice taste kid, no one read these anymore"

Izumi raised her eyebrows and asked, "Why these are good and I liked them?"

The man smiled and chuckled slightly, "Because they are pre-quirk comics, they are nearly two hundred years old." explained the employee making Izumi and Inko gasp. "Only employees here read them... only some of them including me actually. Want to tell me more about them?" Izumi nodded vigorously, excited to know more.

The man chuckled, "Very well, the green guy was a smart guy who can turn into that when he is angry, the man with cape was considered god related to norse mythology, the man with shield was considered to be peak of human capabilities, the woman was an assassin and spy, the man with bow was the same as woman and he never missed his mark with arrow, and the man in the suit was a smart inventor/millionaire who after some terrible accident decided to help people with super suit of his making."

"Wow... they must have amazing quirks but wait these are pre-quirk era then they must have some powers to help...", mumbled Izumi but it was cut off by the man's laughing.

"You have an imaginative and colorful brain, kid", the man laughed and continued, "but you are wrong."

"What do you mean, Mr...", asked Izumi.

"Lee, Stan Lee, kid", the man now named Stan Lee said and continued, "what I meant is that not all of them don't have quirk."

"Huh?"

"The shield guy was injected with a serum to give him his peak enhancement and nothing else, the green guy was infected with harmful radiations while trying to recreate the serum given to the shield guy for army, the cape guy is from another world and others don't have any powers."

"So that means except the cape guy and green guy, others are quirkless?", asked Izumi with hope reignited in her.

"Well,... using our age terminology then yes they are quirkless" replied the man.

Izumi moved her eyes from the man to the cover of the comic, that showed the heroes in their suits smiling gently and looking at Izumi. Something warm filled her chest. And she knew what it was. That was the same filling she had every time, when she heard or saw All Might. Thefeeling that told her that everything was going to be okay now. That 'he' is here. That her hero is here, watching over her. Keeping her safe. Giving her hope.

Izumi sniffed and felt her eyes water, so she ran her hand over them. "Hey mom?" Izumi said, her voice being nothing but a soft whisper, but she knew she had her mother attention. "Can we... can we get this ones?"

"Of course, sweety." her mom answered, hugging her lightly and kissing the top of her head.

"And do we have a... book that explains words at home?"

"A dictionary? Yes, we do, why?" she asked curious of her baby girl motives.

"I want to read and understand the words in them." Izumi said, while getting up, there was the ghost of a smile gracing hier lips.

"If you want to read them, better start at the beginning." The man said, while eyeing Izumi, giving her warm smile. "I can fetch you those kid, they must besomewhere at the back."

"Yes, I would like that " Izumi said.

"Gimme a few moments while you can look around if something else may interest you."

Izumi simply nodded and watched the man go and look for the comics. She may not have a quirk. Her dream may be laying in the mud right now. But her spirit isnot broken. And Izumi would be damned if she gives up without a fight. If she can't have a power of she own, then she will simply develop it. Building it from theground up.

She looked around a bit to pass time when suddenly something caught her eyes, she took it ran to Stan Lee.

"Mr. Lee! Mr. Lee!", said Izumi gaining the attention of man.

"Yes? Ms."

"Midoriya, Izumi Midoriya", said Izumi, "who are these?" while pointing at the comic in her hands which hand five people in colorful spandex.

"Well Ms. Midoriya, they are called Power Rangers who are five quirkless teenagers who gain their powers from something called morphing grid", replied Lee.

"Are there any more like these?"

"Yes."

"Can I get them too please?", asked Izumi to her mom giving he puppy dog eyes.

"Umm..", Inko did not know what to say and looked at Lee for help.

"Miss when was your birthday?", asked Lee after a thinking for a while.

"Three days ago", replied Izumi.

"Well then it will be your birthday present and I will add all the pre-quirk era comics we have, okay?", asked Lee with a smile.

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Thank you! Thank you!", Izumi replied with stars in her eyes and jumping around.

"Thank you for this generous offer", Inko said bowing a little.

"Don't mention it." said Lee.

They both looked at Izumi jumping around happily.