MHA: The Black Bull

by Vizard Masky

Asta Kurosaki was said to be Quirkless like his friend, Izuku Midoriya, but that didn't stop him from trying to be the first Quirkless Hero. But once the two enter U.A., Everyone, including Asta himself, will learn that he *does* have a Quirk; a power that's equally as powerful, but just as mysterious as One for All. Izuku x Ochaco and Asta x harem.

1. The Quirkless Duo

Before we begin…

"Talking."

'Thinking.'

"Flashback quotes. Speech from a communicator/intercom."

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia nor Black Clover. Please support the official release. Thank you.

---

~TEN YEARS AGO~

Outside at a playground, a little green-haired boy with matching colored eyes and some freckles on his cheeks can be seen shaking on the ground with his fists up while doing his best to protect the boy that's being bullied by an ash-blonde boy with red eyes and some explosions coming from his hands. Behind the blonde boy, two of his lackeys, one fat with a pair of wings, and the other skinny with the ability to make his fingers longer, were following him from behind.

The green-haired boy, Izuku Midoriya, was shivering at his former childhood friend's evil grin, fearing that he might get hurt worse after he tried to protect another boy from Katsuki Bakugo's abuse.

Why were the three boys looking down on Izuku? Because he doesn't have a Quirk, an ability that allows people to become Heroes. And Izuku was looked down on because of it.

"So," Katsuki began while punching his fist into the open palm of his hand, creating an explosion. "Deku, the Quirkless wonder thinks he can still play hero, huh? When will you learn?" the blonde boy's evil grin widens while he shifted his eyes towards his lackeys. "Let's teach him the same lesson he's failed to learn."

The two boys nod in agreement and the three all together charged for Izuku, making the freckled boy even more scared than ever.

'No! I must do this… I must protect…'

BAP!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The two lackeys stopped in their tracks when they suddenly saw Katsuki get hit in the head by a projectile, followed by him clutching his forehead in pain.

"A rock!" the fat boy confirms the projectile as it is.

Izuku and the small boy he's trying to protect were surprised at this as well, with the latter of whom wondering if it was karma getting the ash-blonde bully.

After rubbing his head two more times, Katsuki quickly shot a glare at where the rock was thrown, with everyone else following his eyes, which were fueled with rage as blood trickled from Katsuki's forehead.

"Yare yare, I found three Villains attacking two innocent boys," the newcomer said while shaking his head at Katsuki, who's brow twitched at what he and his lackeys were called. "Why is it that people with the most badass Quirks have to be such meanies?"

While Bakugo growled at the newcomer, Izuku and the boy next to him was surprised at his sudden appearance. The newcomer had short, messy ash blonde hair that looked a little grayish compared to Katsuki's hair, green eyes, and was wearing a T-shirt with a cartoon bull on it and black short pants.

And if his eyes didn't deceive him, Izuku noticed that his arms and legs were rather well built for someone who's the same age as him.

"Oi! You have a lot of nerve to call me a Villain, pal!" Katsuki shouts before pointing at his own forehead. "And you can bet your ass that I'm gonna make you pay for doing what you did to me!"

The newcomer just shrugged his shoulders while the boy Izuku tried to protect took that moment to run while saying "I'm out of here!"

"You were doing something a Villain would, dude. Why else would I do that?"

Gritting his teeth, small pops of explosions started popping out of his hands as his anger grew larger.

"Heh! Leave him to us, Kacchan," The skinny kid said as he allowed his fingers to grow longer, which the newcomer noticed. "He's probably just some punk who speaks like he's all high and mighty!"

"Yeah," the fat kid agrees as he took flight, with the long-fingered kid shooting his fingers towards the newcomer.

"Oh no! Watch out!" Izuku calls out to the gray-haired boy, but his warnings fell on deaf ears.

The skinny kid grinned as his fingers were getting closer to the newcomer, but the latter didn't react at all.

Instead, his expression remained neutral and quickly sidestepped out of the way before the fingers could wrap around his body. He then nonchalantly grabs onto the bully's fingers with both hands while keeping his eyes on him, surprising the kids watching him.

The newcomer then shifts his eyes towards the kid with wings and jumped towards him.

"What the he-"

The fat bully was cut off when his shirt's collar was suddenly grabbed by the gray-haired kid, who then threw him into the long fingers before circling around him, the skinny bully, and a shocked Katsuki.

'He's using his quirk against him!' Izuku thought in astonishment as he continued to watch the newcomer run around the three bullies while also being curious about what his Quirk is. 'And he can run pretty fast, too. A Speed Quirk, maybe?'

"Oh crap!" the skinny kid shouted in slight fear. "You two get outta here before- OOF!"

The skinny kid and the fat kid collide with each other as the newcomer was able to quickly tie them together while making sure not to make it too tight, as they were the skinny kid's actual fingers.

Katsuki was able to escape by using his Explosion Quirk to propel himself out of the trap the gray-blonde boy used the skinny kid's Quirk for. As he did, he shot a rage-fueled glare at the newcomer, who dusted his hands after trapping his two subordinates.

"Ya know, you shouldn't rely solely on your Quirks," the newcomer addresses to the two bullies, despite his stare being on Katsuki. "You also gotta make sure you've got not only brains, but body strength as well!"

Izuku and the two bullies' jaws drop when the newcomer then flexes his arms' muscles with a toothy grin.

""Are those real?!"" The two lackeys of Katsuki question since they were in awe about how strong they looked.

"But that doesn't mean that it was easy," the newcomer continued before placing his hands on his hips. "I had to do a lot of hard work to get as strong as I've gotten. And I plan to continue growing stronger from here!"

Izuku's eyes remained glued onto the gray-haired boy as he took in everything he's said.

A tick mark grew on Katsuki's forehead while mentally cursing his lackeys for being so weak.

"So you think packing guns makes you strong, punk?! Yeah, right!" Katsuki then points a finger at him. "Who the hell are you, anyway?!"

With his toothy smile returning, the newcomer slams his fist onto his chest and spoke loudly and proudly.

"My name is Asta Kurosaki, and I'm going to become the first Quirkless Hero to ever exist!"

All was silent.

The boys were absolutely stunned at the bold declaration that Asta has bellowed.

Izuku and Katsuki were the most shocked of the four, but for different reasons.

For Izuku, he was taken back at the fact that Asta's goal is to become a Hero; a Quirkless Hero. And when Asta mentioned that he was Quirkless, he spoke as if it wasn't a big deal to him.

It was like this newcomer was proud to be Quirkless.

And after he kept Asta's introduction on loop for a while, a new spark of motivation erupted within the green-haired boy.

But Izuku's thoughts were interrupted when a loud explosion was heard. Turning his head back to Katsuki, he tensed up when he saw that he was more infuriated than ever.

"A Quirkless Hero? Yeah right!" Despite his glare being the most demonic Izuku has seen, Asta still wasn't fazed. "Do you seriously think you'll get far without having a power?!"

"If I try hard enough, yes," Asta replies with a nod, agitating Katsuki further. "Besides, what you're doing to that green-haired boy over there is something a Villain would do." Katsuki's body shakes even more with his bangs blocking the view of his eyes. "If you plan on becoming a Hero yourself, you're gonna need an attitude adjustment, and what looks to be some very needed therapy-"

BA-BOOM!

Before he could go on further, Asta got hit with one of Katsuki's explosions, making the former fall three feet away from him and land on his back.

Izuku and Katsuki's two lackeys gasped at the ash-blonde boy's actions, but the latter three expected that to happen to the newcomer since he confirmed himself to be Quirkless.

Seeing the downed Asta made Katsuki grin and look down on him.

"Heh heh heh! How do ya like that, Quirkless loser?"

Asta grunts in pain before he slowly began to pick himself up. The three boys looked on to him get back on his feet while wiping his lightly bruised face with his fist, stunning the three boys, with Katsuki being the most shocked.

"That's all you got? That felt like a normal punch!"

Katsuki took a small step back in disbelief of Asta's quick recovery. When he used his Quirk against Izuku, he would writhe in pain and have a very tough time getting up. But the newcomer, He took it like it was nothing. Granted, he did get Asta bruised, but he was still standing.

The ash-blonde explosion wielder grits his teeth as he and the others watch Asta put his fists up in a battle-ready stance.

'He… He didn't stay down..?'

"Well, what are ya waiting for?!" Asta asks Katsuki with a grin and furrowed brows. "Hit me with your best shot! Show me just how weak ya think a Quirkless fella like me is!"

Katsuki's eyes bulge at the Quirkless newcomer's bold challenge. His hands shake in fury for a few seconds before they light up with explosives.

"Alright, punk!" The blonde kid says before slamming his fists together, creating a small explosion. "But don't you dare cry after I kick your ass!"

"Bring it on!"

With a growl, Katsuki charged forward while Asta decided to wait for him to make his move.

Izuku and Katsuki's two friends watch on in bewilderment as the two began to have their battle. The former of the three was afraid for Asta and hoping that he knows what he's doing, while the other two were just as surprised, but were expecting the new kid to be defeated in a matter of seconds.

---

Five minutes have passed since Asta challenged Katsuki. And much to everyone's surprise, Asta lasted longer than Katsuki and his lackey's expected.

Izuku was the most intrigued. As he watched the duel, he saw how well he's dodged most of Katsuki's attacks. The way he side-steps at the correct moment, how he would roll out of the way after he was knocked down, it was almost like the green-eyed kid has fought before.

He found his durability and endurance to be impressive as well. No matter how many times Katsuki would knock him down with his explosions, he would lie there for a few seconds before getting up and shouting "I'm not done yet!", much to Katsuki's annoyance and impatience.

Even the two friends of Katsuki were appalled by Asta's will. But what shocked them, as well as Izuku and even Katsuki the most, was that Asta even managed to land a few hits on the explosion wielder.

That greatly enraged Katsuki, making him make his explosions much larger and much stronger. But even after hurting Asta with those, he still got up and kept fighting, angering Katsuki even more.

Izuku was now watching Asta on the ground face-first from the next hit he took. While Asta did punch Katsuki a few times, it was the latter that dealt the most damage to the newcomer, leaving him all bruised up.

"Ha..! You see..?" A smirking Katsuki breathed heavily while wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Quirkless nobodies like you and Deku stand no chance against one with a Quirk. Get it through your thick skull already!"

Izuku watched on in worry as Katsuki began to slowly walk towards him. He was about to shout at the ash-blonde boy to leave him be, but then, something happened that none of them didn't think would happen.

With shaky hands, Asta slammed them onto the ground and forced himself up, making Katsuki stop and watch him with contracted irises.

It was a very slow pace, but with all of his strength, Asta managed to get on one knee.

"I'm… not done yet!"

"Tch!"

Katsuki's eyes go even wider as Asta shoots his determined glare right into him. While he was, Asta got on his wobbly feet and returned to his fighting position.

Izuku was astonished by what Asta is doing. He was all beaten up from all of Katsuki's explosions, punches, and kicks, and despite all of that, he wasn't going to submit to him. He was still ready to fight and go another round.

"Tch! let's go, you guys!"

"Huh?" The skinny kid along with the fat kid were surprised by Katsuki's words while he began to walk away from him, especially Izuku, seeing such a choice from him to be rare. "Y-Y-You're going to-"

"That punk isn't worth my time! Let's go!" As he continued to walk, Katsuki shot one more glare at Asta, who wasn't fazed by it. "You better pray that you don't come across me again."

Asta didn't respond. Instead, he focused his attention on Izuku, and began to walk towards him, diverting the green-haired kid's attention from Katsuki to the newcomer.

"You alright there, dude?" Asta asks. "That guy didn't hurt you before I came across y'all, did he?"

"Huh? O-O-Oh, no! I-I'm okay, really," Izuku replies shyly before poking his two fingers together. "Th-Though, I should ask you the same thing."

"Nah. I've been through worse while I was training myself to get stronger." After scratching the back of his head, Asta looked back at Izuku. "So why was that guy being mean to you and that other kid who ran off, anyway, other than to show off and stuff?"

Izuku shifted his eyes towards the ground before answering.

"It's… Because I'm Quirkless." Just as he said that, he remembered when Asta first introduced himself and shot his head back to him before Asta could respond. "Wait! Y-You said that you're Quirkless, did you?"

Asta blinks at his quick questioning before nodding with his toothy-grin.

"Yep-yep! But that isn't gonna stop me from being a Hero! I'm going to prove to everyone that you don't need a Quirk to be heroic and helpful to the innocent!" He then flexes his arms before finishing with a roar: "I'll show them! I'll become the best Hero they can look up to with nothing but my strength and willpower!"

Izuku gasps at Asta's determination. Despite him being Quirkless, he still didn't give up on his goal to be a Hero.

He was kinda just like him. Izuku wanted to be a Hero, and he still does, even if he was Quirkless. But while Izuku was a little insecure about it, Asta didn't care about it and still kept pushing forward. He could tell because of how muscular Asta's arms are.

After hearing all of that, and even seeing that he can put up a fight, Izuku develops a bit of courage and speaks.

"M… Me too."

"Eh?"

Izuku was silent for a moment before he worked up the courage to look right back at Asta and tell him his desire.

"I… I'm Quirkless, but I still want to be Hero. E-Even though my friends make fun of me for it, I still hold onto that hope that I can still become one." With furrowed brows, Izuku looks down at his hand before forming it into a fist. "I want to be a Hero just like All Might! I want to be able to save as many people as I can with a smile and make sure that they are as safe as they possibly can.

Asta's eyes widen at the green-haired kid's statement. From how he sounded, Izuku really does want to become a Hero, even if he didn't have a Quirk.

After taking what he said in, Asta smiles at Izuku.

"Well, then you've got a lot of work to do, bud."

"Huh?"

Izuku was caught off guard by Asta's response.

"I'm aiming to be a Hero myself, and I'm Quirkless like you, so if I can make up for a lack of a Quirk with my muscle, stamina, and agility, you can too, bud!"

Izuku was taken back by Asta's words.

"Y… You think so?"

"Of course! I'd be a hypocrite if I told you otherwise! All you need to do is to work your body to get it as strong as you can, and you should be good to go! You just need to be determined enough to put the work into it. Make up for your lack of Quirk with muscle, agility, and willpower!"

Izuku's eyes widen at Asta. Even though he was a kid like himself, he was the first person to tell him that he can still be a Hero despite being Quirkless, and it came from someone who was Quirkless himself but made up for it in muscle.

As those motivating words continued to echo in his brain, Izuku's eyes began to tear up while his lips quiver into a smile.

"Th-Th-Th… Thank you very much, Kurosaki-san."

"Hey, call me Asta," the ash-blonde boy says kindly while gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "And your name is?"

Izuku wipes away his tears before replying to him.

"Izuku Midoriya. Call me Izuku. It's nice to meet you."

Asta smirks at Izuku before shaking his shoulder with a chuckle and closed eyes.

"Nice to meet ya too, Izuku!" Asta then opens his eyes to look at Izuku. "So… wanna hang out?"

Izuku blinks twice at Asta's offer and stays quiet for five seconds before his lips formed a smile.

"Sure! I'd like to!"

---

~TEN YEARS LATER~

Nobody is born equal.

That's what fourteen-year-old Izuku Midoriya had learned all those years ago while he was jogging towards his junior high school. However, that was his first and last setback.

Ever since Quirks were introduced to the world, allowing people to have powers like flight, super strength, etc., the concept of Heroes and Villains have ceased to be fiction, and have become reality.

As of this day, eighty percent of the world's population consists of superhumans with these special abilities called Quirks, and being a Hero has become a profession.

And being a Hero is what Izuku wanted to become. Not for the fame and fortune, like some Heroes are doing the job for, but to make sure that the innocent are safe while doing so with a smile, just like the number one Hero and Symbol of Peace, All Might. And with his inspiration of the number one Hero, and a new best friend he's made ten years ago, he made it his dream to become the greatest Hero to exist, along with his best friend.

Izuku continued his way towards school with those goals in mind until he discovered something that made him stop to a halt. Looking up to get a better look, his eyes widen when he saw a giant Villain going on a rampage at the Tatooin Station. While he was watching, the police were helping the civilians to evacuate while the people were talking about how this event has happened.

"Whoa! That's a huge Villain!"

"IZUKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

The green-haired boy jumps when he heard a familiar voice call out to him from behind. Turning around, his smile widens when he saw his best friend, Asta, running and jumping around obstacles to reach him with ease. For as long as he remembered when Asta moved into his neighborhood a few years ago, Izuku knew that his friend has started teaching himself parkour for better movement along with strengthening himself, continuing to inspire the green-haired boy to hold onto his hope on being a Hero.

With a roll, Asta landed in front of Izuku and gave him a salute, wearing a black headband with the gold head of a bull sewn onto it to keep his hair together.

"Morning!"

Izuku snickers with closed eyes while waving hello to his best friend.

"Good morning to you too, Asta."

Even though the two have bonded together growing up, Izuku still couldn't quite get over how much more muscular Asta was able to become for their current age of fourteen. Asta's school uniform was covering his muscles, but Izuku could still tell the difference between now and ten years ago.

After the two greeted each other, the boys heard the sound of metal breaking and looked to see a transmission tower falling after the Villain smacked it down. Just as it was about to slam into the ground, a Hero with white hair ran in just in time to catch it before it could cause any potential harm.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH! It's Death Arms, one of my favorite Heroes!" Asta yells out with stars in his eyes. "He's the Punching Hero who delivers justice with strength that can almost be compared to All Might's!"

Izuku nods vigorously with the same excitement as his friend's.

Just as Death Arms was moving the transmission tower out of the way, the boys then see water floating in the air forming a line, preventing civilians to cross it. Upon further inspection, everyone sees Backdraft, the rescue specialist, in front of them while focusing his sights on the giant Villain.

"Everybody stand back!" Backdraft instructs the civilians. "This will be dangerous!"

"Wow! Even Backdraft is here!" a female civilian says with glee in her voice.

After he smiled at the next Hero's arrival, Asta turns his head back to Izuku.

"So, what do you think that giant Villain up there is in trouble for? He looks pretty darn angry."

"Well, from what I've heard from the other people before you arrived, he stole someone's bag and went out of control when he was confronted."

Asta cocks a brow at Izuku's explanation.

"Really? Of all the crimes this guy would commit with a Quirk like his, it's theft?"

"Apparently." Izuku then smiles while pointing his thumb at the Villain. "We should get a closer look. Want to come?"

Asta grins in enthusiasm.

"Definitely! Let's go!"

The boys began to gently get past the crowd while politely saying "Excuse us" to each person they brush by. As they got closer, a third Hero jumped over the crowd, getting the boy's attention.

[KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! You can do it, Kamui!]

"Kamui?" Asta questions after he heard some fangirls squeal that name.

"As in Kamui Woods?" Izuku adds before the two continued to get closer to the action.

As they were, a Hero, whose outfit looks like it's made of wood, sprints his way towards the Villain and jumped near him. The giant Villain noticed him and attempted to crush in under the palm of his hand, but Kamui Woods was quick enough to dodge the attack while getting himself high in the air.

"Damn you…" the Villain growls before roaring at Kamui. "Get away!"

As soon as Izuku and Asta got close enough to the line made of water, their eyes widen when they saw that it was indeed the wood-wielding hero himself.

"Holy heck! It is him!" Asta bellows with a smile.

The crowd then watches Kamui Woods use his Quirk to grapple onto a platform to dodge another swipe from the giant before landing on said platform.

"Yeah, it is Kamui Woods!" Izuku says now that he got a better view. "He's the young and talented rising star!"

Izuku then heard some laughter to his right and turns to see a bald man in a white shirt looking at Izuku with a smile.

"You gave a perfect commentary, kid," the man says before pointing at the green-haired kid. "You must be a fanboy, aren't ya?"

Izuku jumps at the man's question before shifting his eyes back to Kamui Woods shyly.

"Uh, well…"

Back with the wood-wielder, Kamui Woods uses his Quirk to grab hold of the Villain's left arm. After it got connected, the giant violently moved his arm in an attempt to get it off, making Kamui swung around him and land on the top of a train with a somersault.

As soon as he balanced himself, he glares at the giant Villain.

"Illegal use of your powers during rush hour, and robbery resulting in bodily injury," his voice becomes angrier as he continued. "You are the incarnation of Evil!"

Kamui Woods then aims his right fist towards the Villain. As he did, his arm turned into a series of branches pointed at the giant.

"Here it comes, Asta!" Izuku announces as he points towards Kamui's right arm.

"Oh, yeah!" a pumped-up Asta agrees. "This is going to kick ass!"

"Show us something flashy, tree man!" the bald man standing beside the two shouts, feeling just as hyped as them.

With a determined gaze, the branches on Kamui's arm began to squirm around.

"Pre-emptive binding…" Kamui says before shooting the branches towards the Villain "… Lacquered chain prison!"

"Canyon Cannon!"

Just as Kamui's attack was about to reach the Villain, the fiend was suddenly kicked in the face by a newcomer Heroine, catching everyone off guard.

The Heroine is a voluptuous woman with purple eyes and long creamy blonde hair reaching her waist. Her attire consists of a purple and pale tan-colored skintight bodysuit accented with orange stripes, with a pair of purple gloves, matching colored boots, a domino mask, and horn-like protrusions on the sides of her head.

After the Villain fell down with a thud, the newcomer lands after her kick and wipes the sweat from her forehead.

"Whoa, that's a new one," Asta says as he got a closer look at the new Heroine. "Izuku?"

"No. This is my first time seeing her as well."

Just as Izuku answered his friend, the boys then saw a group of male photographers taking photos of the newcomer's backside with dark blushes on their cheeks. And because of how skintight the Heroine's outfit is, it showed off all of her butt, which was something a few photographers were snapping pictures of the most with some blood trickling down their noses.

"Phew! Today's the day of my debut," the blonde woman said before turning her head back towards the civilians with a sweet smile before backing up her rear with a wink. "Hello everyone, my name is Mt. Lady. It's a pleasure to meet you all~"

Because of her pose and the tenderness of her voice, it drew in more photographers to take even more pictures of the new Heroine. And because of how captivating her beauty is, most of the men wouldn't stop staring at her.

Even Kamui Woods was looking at her, but not for the same reasons as the other men.

"She… She's taking all the credit…" he murmurs while twitching in agitation with the branches on his arm still there.

Asta watches as Mt. Lady waves towards the crowd while shrinking back to her original human size.

"So, she can make herself huge?" he quizzes before smirking. "Sounds handy. At least we know there's a giant Heroine in case there are any more large Villains, right, Izuku?" He didn't get an answer, so he turned his head towards him to get his attention. "Izuku?"

Just as he was about to say more, Asta looked to see his friend jotting down something on his notebook while murmuring to himself about what he was writing. The gray-blonde boy quietly chuckles with a smile as he understood that he was analyzing the newcomer's Quirk in one of his Heroic Analysis books.

According to Izuku's mom, whenever Asta came over at their place, Inko told him that Izuku had a habit of murmuring to himself whenever he's thinking deeply.

Most would find this annoying, but to Asta, he got used to it. Although, he would be lying if he said that he didn't want him to try and do that in his head.

"Taking notes, eh, kid?" the bald man from earlier asks Izuku, getting both his and Asta's attention. "I assume ya wanna be a Hero yourself, huh?"

Izuku froze when he heard him ask that question. He stuttered at first, but before he could get a word out, Asta wrapped a friendly arm around Izuku's neck and grinned at the man.

"Yessir! In fact, he and I are both aiming to become Heroes. We plan to be the best heroic duo the world's ever seen!"

"A-A-Asta!" Izuku blushes in embarrassment when his friend roared those words.

But to the green-haired kid's surprise, the bald man laughs kindly at them and gives them a thumbs up.

"That sounds exciting! I'll bet you two can pull it off!"

Izuku's eyes widen at the man's encouragement before smiling in gratitude.

"Y-Yes! We'll be sure to do our best!"

"Yep-yep!" Asta follows with a nod before shifting his eyes towards his best friend. "C'mon, bud, we better get to school! I'll race ya!"

"Huh?!" Before Izuku could question him, Asta already took off in a sprint towards the direction of their school. "H-Hey! Asta!"

"C'mon Izuku! Ya gotta keep up if ya wanna be a Hero!"

Izuku pouts at Asta before he too began to run. It took him a while, but he finally caught up to Asta after he slowed down a little so he can give him somewhat of a head start.

As they ran, the bald man chuckled at the sight of the boys smiling at each other as they raced and talked about other things along the way.

"Ya know, if one took only one glance, those two could be seen as brothers."

---

Hours later, the school day has come to a close. Asta wrapped up his work and placed his belongings in his school bag. After getting up from his desk and saying his goodbyes to some of his classmates, who oddly enough didn't make fun of him being Quirkless, he began to walk to the classroom next to his own, since that's where Izuku is since they aren't classmates.

As he walked out of his classroom, he became prepared for the worst-case scenario since he also knows that Katsuki Bakugo was in the same class as his best friend.

Asta remembered his past attempts to try and befriend Katsuki, but because his ego still was intact from ten years ago, it was proven to be difficult. But that didn't stop him from trying.

Though, he would be lying if he said that his attitude didn't piss him off.

"Welp, let's get to it."

Getting ready, Asta approached the entrance of Izuku's classroom and slowly guided his hand towards the door. As he did, he heard some talking from the other side, and it didn't sound good.

"H-Hey! Give it back, Kacchan, please!"

"Heh heh heh! Looks like he's still not giving up his dream, Kacchan!"

Asta's eyes narrow, knowing exactly where this is going, and began to open the door to confront Katsuki.

---

"Tch! Stupid Deku. You never learn, do you?"

Izuku watches to see Katsuki summon small popping explosives in the palm of his hand while bringing it towards one of Izuku's Heroic Analysis books in his other hand.

But before he could blow it up, a hand grabbed Katsuki's arm and held onto it tightly, while another hand snatched the notebook from the ash-blonde bully.

"I'd ask you the same thing."

Izuku gasps when he and the other three boys heard a familiar, but stern voice from behind Katsuki.

"A… Asta!"

As he turned his head around to see the boy holding onto his arm with a firm face, and his own face twisted in anger.

"What are you doing here, you little dwarf?!"

Asta was unfazed at his menacing voice.

"Taking back my friend's property before you damage it."

With a snarl, Katsuki attempted to strike Asta with his free hand, only for him to jump out of the way and catch Izuku in his arm, who was carrying his schoolbag as he did so.

The two lackeys of Katsuki watch Asta with surprise on their faces. The speed in how he moved made them remember the first time the two saw the gray-blonde kid.

They didn't want to admit it in front of Katsuki, but for someone who doesn't have a Quirk, they think Asta is pretty impressive.

"You damn Bakasta," Katsuki growls. "You're the one who keeps filling in those hopes in Deku's head, aren't you?!"

Asta's face didn't change.

"Why do you even care about what we want to do anyway? It shouldn't be any of your business."

Katsuki's brow twitches at his calm retort.

"Because it's impossible for the Quirkless to be Heroes, Bakasta!"

"How do you know that?" Asta questions before pulling a sleeve up from his shirt and flexing his arm's muscle, making Izuku and Katsuki's two lackeys shiver at how toned it is. "If you could just wait until the entrance exams at U.A. start, then maybe we'll know for sure. As you can see, I've worked my ass off to get my body this strong. I've always been training ever since I've discovered I have no Quirk. If I can make my body powerful enough to make up for a lack of Quirk, then so can Izuku! I can guarantee it!"

Izuku kept his stare on his best friend as he defended him from Katsuki's verbal and physical wrath. It was always like this whenever Katsuki ever saw Asta with Izuku. Katsuki would make fun of Izuku, and Asta would protect Izuku, and constantly challenge Katsuki on his beliefs.

Katsuki kept quiet for a five seconds before his lips turn into a smirk with his bangs hiding his eyes.

"Yeah, keep saying that shit all ya want, ya Quirkless dwarf! But I'm going to be the first and only Hero from this shitty junior high school. I'll be the first to win the honor of becoming a student at U.A. since I'm the best of the best." With his grin still intact, Katsuki places a hand on Asta's shoulder. And as he did, Izuku saw steam fuming from Katsuki's hand. "So with that said… Don't you, or that nerd dare get into U.A., Bakasta."

Izuku shivered at the venom the ash-blonde boy used in his voice. But of course, much to the lackey's surprise, Asta stayed strong.

"I don't have to take orders from you. And neither does Izuku."

Katsuki snorted at the gray-blonde kid.

"Whatever you say, dwarf." Katsuki then approaches his friends before setting his stare back at Izuku, making him jump. "You wanna be a Hero so badly, Deku? Well, if so, I've got an idea for ya." Knowing Katsuki, Asta didn't like where this was going, and he stayed vigilant. "If you want to have a Quirk in your next life, then go ahead and take a swan dive off the roof!"

Izuku and Asta's eyes went as wide as they could go when they heard Katsuki say such a thing. Even his lackeys were taken aback by the suggestion he gave to Izuku, but they barely showed it.

After taking in what he's said, Izuku shoots his head up at Katsuki with a mixture of anger and sadness in his face.

Katsuki snickered at this and created some small explosions from his palm while giving him a menacing stare.

"What is it, Deku?"

BAM!

Just as he made his explosions, Katsuki was caught off guard when an enraged Asta slammed his fist harshly into the ash-blonde boy's stomach. The impact was so hard, it knocked the wind out of Katsuki and made him throw up some saliva.

Izuku and Katsuki's friends gasp in shock at Asta's action as Katsuki fell to his knees while holding onto his stomach.

"Shit! Kacchan!" one of his friends shout in worry as Katsuki fell to the ground, having a hard time breathing because of the impact of Asta's punch.

As Katsuki's oxygen supply was getting back to normal, Asta turned away from him and began to walk a few steps before stopping.

"If All Might caught you saying that, he wouldn't see you as a Hero…" Asta paused for a moment before continuing. "He would see you as a potential Villain that needs to be put on a watch list…" He then shoots a contracted-irised glare towards the ash-blonde kid and finished with all of his rage and disappointment in his voice: "Bakago!"

Katsuki clicked his tongue with widened eyes when he heard Asta call him that nickname. It was that very nickname that he started to call him after the second time they met when Asta moved into Izuku's neighborhood because of how mean he found Katsuki to be.

And Katsuki despised being called that, especially by a Quirkless person. He wanted to shut him up by blasting him to kingdom come, but since the pain was still in his stomach, he still couldn't move.

After the brief glare between the two blonde boys, Asta took a breath to calm himself down and gave Izuku his notebook back.

"C'mon, Izuku, we're out of here."

Izuku followed but didn't say a word. He was still shocked by what Katsuki has told him to do and what Asta did afterwards, but because he was too scared to say anything, he just stayed quiet.

As the two left, Katsuki just continued to look forward at the door. His snarling could be heard growing louder and louder with every passing second. And because of Asta punching him in the stomach, it made him remember the past times where Katsuki was never able to make him afraid of him like he would to Izuku.

'That fucking dwarf..!'

---

"H-Hey… Asta? Don't you think you may have hit Kacchan a little too hard back there?"

Asta shifted his eyes downwards towards the ground as the two walked home together and sighed.

"Maybe I did… But that Bakago should at least have known better not to say such harsh words to you."

"And I agree. I understand that he's driven you a little mad because of how he… acts, but you almost made him throw up. You even said yourself that you want Kacchan to be a better person."

"I know, I know. But he needs to know that he's not the only strong person out there and that the weak can work themselves to become stronger. If he keeps acting all tyrannical, I don't see his career going smoothly."

Izuku understood what Asta is saying. Every time he protects him from Katsuki's harsh treatment at junior high, he'd always remember the past times where he would stop him and always say that he will become strong if he trains physically for it.

In fact, Izuku always saw Asta as his second inspiration next to All Might. Before meeting the gray-blonde boy, all hope seemed lost to Izuku when a doctor told him and his mother that he's unable to have a Quirk. He recalled when his mom would hug him tightly, saying that she's sorry for him not having a Quirk. It was heartbreaking, and the treatment he was getting from his first childhood friend, Katsuki, didn't make things better.

But when he finally met Asta and learned that his goal was to become the first Quirkless Hero, that got his wanting to be a Hero to become much stronger than before. Just watching his best friend doing hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups, lift-ups, parkour, shadowboxing, and other physical exercises got him motivated to do some working out on his own. While he didn't train as much as Asta because of his studies on both school and Quirks, he still does it when he gets the chance.

It was Izuku's friendship with Asta and the gray-blonde boy's advice on becoming physically strong that made Izuku not care what anyone else thinks of his goals. He will keep his chin up and keep moving forward on his path of being a Hero alongside his best friend: Asta Kurosaki.

"What do we have here? Two bodies I can use."

The boys pause their walking when they hear a sinister voice speaking from behind. Suddenly, Asta's instincts kick in and he grabs Izuku in his arms and leaps away from where they stood, catching the green-haired boy off guard. That was when the two heard a splatting sound to their right and looked to see a large being made out of a dark green mud-like substance, staring at them with large sharp serrated teeth forming a dark grin as he watched them with his big red eyes.

'A villain!' Asta thought with a narrow-eyed stare while Izuku looked at the sludge Villain with fear.

"Now now, don't be afraid, you two," the sludge Villain tries to soothe. "I just want to hijack one of your bodies. It'll only hurt for about a minute, then it'll be all over." He then looks over the two boys until his eyes pause onto Asta, whose glare tightens on him. "This one's got a strong body. Perhaps I'll use you."

The sludge Villain's tendrils popped out of his body as he prepares to hijack Asta. The latter watches the embodiment of ooze lunge towards him and got ready to pull off a counter-attack.

"Watch out!"

But suddenly, Izuku pushes Asta out of the sludge Villain's way, surprising Asta as his quick action resulted in Izuku getting caught in the dark green ooze's body.

"Izuku!"

The sludge Villain shifts his eyes towards what his body caught and saw that it was Izuku he's captured instead of Asta.

"Hmm… that's not who I wanted to hijack, but beggars can't be choosers, I suppose."

Asta shudders as he watches the sludge Villain's clutches on Izuku get tighter and tighter, with some of the slime entering his mouth.

"Oi! Give me back my friend, ya slimy bastard!"

The sludge Villain laughs at Asta's demand.

"Try all you want, kid, but my body is all fluid. No matter how many times you punch or kick me, I'll never let go of this boy!"

Asta grits his teeth as the fiendish ooze continued to cackle. And from the looks of it, Izuku was slowly beginning to lose consciousness.

'Dammit! I gotta think! Surely, this Villain has a weak spot I can discover and exploit, does he?' Asta kept his stare on the blob as sweat began to roll down his forehead. There aren't any Heroes around for him to shout for, and if he doesn't do anything soon, his best friend will surely die.

Asta's eyes kept shifting around the villain for one more second before a light bulb appeared above his head.

'Wait, maybe I can attack his-'

"Fear not, kids!" Asta's thoughts were interrupted when he, the sludge Villain, and his captor heard a heroic voice from above, later revealing a blonde muscular man landing next to Asta. "Because I am here!"

Asta and the Villain's eyes widen when they got a better look at the muscular man, and they immediately recognize him as the Number One Hero, much to the sludge Villain's dismay.

"All Might!" Asta shouts to his delight before pointing at the green villainous blob. "This guy's got my friend trapped in his body! He's made of some sort of slime, so be careful!"

All Might takes a quick glance at Asta before nodding and facing the Villain, who shivered at the stare despite the Hero smiling.

"Fear not, young man, I'll save him from this monster's captivity!" All might then pulls his right arm back and morphs his hand into a fist. "Texas…" Then, with enough strength, he then aims his punch for the villain, making sure that Izuku isn't harmed. "SMASH!"

Before the sludge Villain could even react, All Might's strike tears through the creature's body. As it was, Asta then witnesses the villainous ooze break apart in a million pieces.

'Whoa! All Might's using the shock wave to tear that blob to bits!'

While Asta watched All Might defeat the Villain, Izuku was able to get a glimpse at his savior before passing out.

'All… Might..?'

Asta then sees his friend begin to fall after he was freed from the Villain's slime.

"Hang on, Izuku!" he yells out before breaking into a sprint and catching him just before his face could slam onto the ground and gently lied him down there.

As he was checking on him, All Might was collecting the scraps of the sludge Villain and storing them into an empty bottle. After finding the last few pieces, the Symbol of Peace looks back at the boy.

"A nice catch, young man," the Hero says to Asta as he looked over him and Izuku. "Will your friend be okay?"

Asta gently pushes his two fingers against Izuku's neck to check his pulse. After hearing some beats, Asta sighs a breath of relief.

"He'll be fine," he informs All Might. But as soon as he answered, he did an immediate 180-degree turn and looks at All Might with stars in his eyes. "But holy crap! To actually see the number one Hero in person! It's almost like I'm dreaming!" All Might flinches a little at how loud Asta was shouting. Before he could respond, the gray-blonde boy produced a photo of him and Izuku when they were younger from his hands at a speed of a bullet. "Please sign this for me!"

All Might takes a look at the photo of the kids and laughs his mighty heroic laugh.

"But of course, I'll sign it for you, my boy!" The humble Hero takes out a sharpie and adds his signature to the photo before giving Asta a thumbs up. "There you go!"

Asta looks at his now-signed photo as the stars in his eyes never went away.

"Oh, wow! Thank you very very much, sir! And thank you for saving my friend!"

"Ha ha ha ha! You're very welcome, my thundering fan! Though, I must apologize for getting you two caught up in my Villain hunt. Mistakes like that aren't my style."

"Oh, no no no, it's no problem at all!" Asta says while animatically waving his hands in front of himself. "I'm just glad you could make it on time!" But then, right in the middle of his excitement, something was brought to his mind. "Oh, yeah, one more favor, if you can, All Might!" Asta then dashes over to the unconscious Izuku and picks up his Hero Analysis book. Opening it to the last two blank pages, he presents it to the Hero. "Can you sign my friend's book here, too? If you could do that, I'd be much obliged!"

Even though he was grinning, All Might made a slight look of surprise before releasing another humble laugh.

"You're a great friend, aren't you? Despite his current unconsciousness you want still want to make him happy! Very well, I shall do the same for the pages of this notebook!"

While All Might was doing just that, Izuku began to stir awake. Once his eyes open, they widen as his head shoots up and he starts to look around his surroundings.

His sights then lay upon Asta, who, upon further inspection, was in front of…

"A-A-A-A-ALL MIGHT?!"

Asta and All Might heard a scream from behind them. Turning around, the former smiled to see that his friend was awake and well.

"Ah! Thank goodness your alright!" All Might began as he approaches Izuku, who was now getting jittery with a dopey smile on his face.

'All Might! He's here! He's really here! Up close with me and Asta! He's drawn in a totally different style!'

"Oi! Izuku!" The green-haired boy's fanboying was brought to a halt when Asta called out to him while tapping onto his shoulder. He then sees that his friend was holding out his notebook for him to take back. "Open it to the last two pages."

Izuku blinks at his friends before taking his Hero Analysis book. Upon opening it to the last two pages, his jaw drops with big white eyes when he saw All Might's name written by him on both pages.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?! YOU GOT ALL MIGHT TO SIGN IT FOR ME?!"

Asta winks at Izuku with a toothy grin.

"I wasn't sure when you were gonna wake up, so I asked All Might to do it for ya before he turns the Villain in!"

After that revelation, Asta releases a sound of surprise when Izuku charges him into a very tight hug.

"Oh, thank you, Asta! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He then releases Asta from his grasp to now bow his head to All Might rapidly like a robot. "And thank you, All Might, for saving us and signing my notebook! What a treasure! It'll be my family Heirloom!"

All Might laughs with Izuku while Asta snickers at his antics.

"Not a problem, my boy! Now, I must bring this fiend to the authorities!" All Might shows the boys a plastic bottle that imprisoned the sludge Villain. He then puts it away and salutes to them before turning around. "You two can catch me again on TV!"

Just as All Might bent forward to jump, Izuku suddenly remembered something and wanted to ask his favorite Hero an important question.

But unbeknownst to the boys, the Symbol of Peace's shoulders tensed a little as he was about to take his leave.

"W-Wait! Hold on, All Might, there… There's something I need to-"

"Until next time!" All Might says before taking off into the sky. "THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!"

Despite the force of the wind from All Might's powerful leap, Asta didn't cover his face as he watched the number one Hero leave the area. He stood there looking at the sky in amusement

"Wow, All Might sure is amazing, isn't he, Izuku?" Asta looks to his right for an answer only to see that his friend wasn't here. "Izuku?!" In a slight panic, Asta zipped his head all over the area for Izuku. A few seconds later, he heard familiar screaming from afar and looked back to where All Might flew. "Izuku!"

Without hesitation, Asta began to sprint towards where All Might jumped, hoping that he's fast enough to catch up to them and save Izuku in time.

---

Meanwhile, Katsuki Bakugo can be seen walking down an alleyway with two of his friends, mumbling to himself with a grumpy expression.

"Hey, Kacchan, don't you think you went a little too far with what you said to Deku?"

Katsuki grunted while crushing his empty soda can in his hand.

"It's his fault for messing with me. Seeing him still full of stupid dreams from back when we were kids just pisses me off!" The ash-blonde teen then looks down at the crumpled can with his eyes being fueled with more anger. "And then there's that Bakasta… He's the one who's making Deku hold onto those dreams, claiming he can do it without a Quirk…"

His red irises turn smaller and smaller as more memories of Asta being with Izuku and ignoring Katsuki's constant claims that a Quirkless person can't be a Hero played in his mind. Every time he told him so, Asta would always counter with "I'll never give up!" and "You won't know until you see it!"

Just hearing Asta's loud voice booming such statements made Katsuki grip the can tighter and tighter. He hasn't even forgotten earlier when Asta punched him in the stomach and talked down to him before leaving. That last memory was enough for him to blow up the can with his Quirk while snarling.

"Well, if you ask me, dude, if there's one Quirkless kid I don't want to mess with, it's definitely that Asta guy," one of Katsuki's friends says while taking out a cigarette to light. "I mean, have you seen those muscles when he flexed his arm? He is jacked! I have to admit, I'm starting to believe that he can pull it off!"

"It takes more than muscle to be at the top!" Katsuki snaps before turning towards his friends as he saw some smoke come their way. "And what did I tell you two about smoking?! Get caught, and it'll go on my record too!"

"Okay, okay. Sorry."

The two boys began to put out their cigarettes while rolling their eyes at their friend. As they were about to throw them away, one of them froze when he noticed something behind Katsuki.

"Um… What is that?"

Katsuki was about to ask what he was talking about before the boys heard a dangerous chuckle that made them freeze.

"A body with a strong Quirk… Perfect!"

---

Back with Asta, he continued to follow the path of Izuku's screaming voice, running as fast as he can. After minutes of sprinting, Izuku stopped shouting, but that didn't make him slow down.

'Okay… All Might couldn't have gone that far with Izuku. I just need to keep looking and…' As he made a turn, Asta saw a familiar muscular man standing on top of a tall building. "There he is! And Izuku's still with him!"

Asta then jogged towards the building and looked around for any possible paths to reach the top as quickly as he can. As he scanned his surroundings, the gray-blonde teen saw another building that was next to it. The buildings weren't close together, but they were far enough for Asta to have hatched an idea while slamming his fists together with a grin.

After stepping his feet in pace, Asta ran over to one of the buildings and jumps towards the wall. After getting both his hands and feet on the wall, he quickly leaps of that wall to plant himself onto the other building's wall and continued to repeat the process from there.

Asta continued to wall-jump his way upwards until his eyes finally caught view of Izuku. Once he saw him, he grabbed onto a bar of a building and was about to swing over to him.

"… The way you save people with your fearless smile! I want to be the strongest Hero just like-"

TAK!

Izuku pauses when he heard someone land next to him and sees that it was Asta.

"Izuku! I was chasing after you and All Might so I can catch you! You okay?!"

"Oh! Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Izuku answers before pointing a hand at his favorite Hero. "I was just going to ask All Might here about…"

As they began to face the Symbol of Peace, the boys' eyes broaden a little when they saw steam blocking the view of a different figure. The steam blocked their view for five more seconds before it finally started to fade away.

Once it did, the boys look to see a blonde adult man whose appearance can be described as skin and bones with sharp angular features and long limbs. His eyes are green, but his scleras are as black as the night sky. His head looks blocky with a triangular chin, and for some odd reason, his eyebrows disappeared.

The boys blink twice at the skinny blonde man before they shriek with dropped jaws and small pupils.

"WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?!" Asta questions the man of skin and bones.

"Is that… All Might?!" Izuku asked himself or the man in front of him. "But it can't be! You're all shriveled up! Are you a fake?! An impostor?! You're so thin!"

The blonde man shifts his eyes between Izuku and Asta before giving them his answer.

'That kid with the headband saw me up there, so I might as well.' "I am All Might."

""WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!"" The boys' eyes whiten at the man's reply.

"You know how people hold in their gut at a pool?" All Might quizzes. "Yeah, it's kinda like that."

"No way!" Izuku shouts.

"So, your muscular form is basically when your Quirk is active?! And what you look like now is when it's disabled?!"

"Oi! Pipe down, kid!" All Might hisses at Asta, forcing some blood to foam from his mouth, making the boys cringe at the sight.

After wiping the blood away, the blonde man sat down on the floor and sets his eyes on the boys.

"Alright, you two have seen the real me. But don't write about it on the internet, okay?"

The boys shake their heads in unison, agreeing to All Might's request. After getting their answer, he grabs onto the bottom left of his shirt and pulls it up.

Once the boys got a look at his bare chest, Izuku covered his mouth in shock and Asta gritted his teeth at the sight.

"H-H-H-Holy crap!" Izuku muffled from his hand.

"That's a nasty scar!" Asta says as his green eyes traced the very purple-red injury that covered the entirety of the Hero's left torso.

"Nasty indeed, kid," All might replies before going into detail. "A very strong Villain gave this to me five years ago. My respiratory system was nearly destroyed, and my stomach was removed. I've wasted away because of the after-effects of those surgeries. Now, I can only do my Hero work for about three hours a day."

"Five years… Izuku whispers before raising his voice a little for his favorite Hero to hear. "Was that when you fought Toxic Chainsaw?"

'This one's done his homework,' All Might thought in slight surprise before making a fist and answering. "Not a bad guess, but no. That lowlife could never do this to me!" He then shifts his eyes downwards and narrows them. "This was never made public. That is, I asked that it not be made public." He looks back at the boys. "A Symbol of Peace who saves people with a smile must never be daunted by evil. The reason I smile is to stave off the overwhelming pressure and fear that I feel."

Izuku and Asta gasp at the revelation. For as long as they could remember, they believed that he smiled because of his humbleness and fearlessness, and a part of them still believes that. But to learn that even he can be afraid, but fight it off just by smiling, it was crazy to them.

"A Pro Hero should always be ready to risk their lives to save the innocent," All Might adds before setting his eyes onto Izuku. "As for your question about being a Hero without a Quirk, do I think it's possible? No, I should think not."

It was that answer that made Izuku freeze up with wide eyes. Did he hear him right? All Might doesn't believe that a Quirkless person can be a Hero?

But Asta heard it clearly, and while his eyes were widened, his brows were narrowed.

"If you really desire to help people, kid, then you should become a police officer. Those Villain Custody Officers are often mocked, but that too is very admirable work." All Might proceeded to get up from his spot and slowly walk towards the door that leads inside the building and downstairs. "Look, it's not wrong to dream, but… you need to be realistic, kid. Without a Quirk, I just don't see you going far."

BA-BUMP!

Those words felt like daggers to Izuku. All Might, his all-time favorite number one Hero, has just told him that his goal to be a Hero was unrealistic and that he should try something else.

His bangs overshadowed his eyes. Sweat began to drip from his face as he remained still.

"Well, I disagree!"

Izuku and All Might's eyes widen when Asta decided to speak up. All Might was the most shocked as he turned his head to see a stern expression from the gray-blonde boy.

"Y… You-"

"Listen here, All Might! I still like you because of your heroics and resolve to save everyone, but that doesn't mean Izuku and I have to agree with everything you say!"

"H-H-Hey, kid! Speak quieter! You might attract attent-"

All might paused when he saw Asta pull up his sleeves in a matter of seconds. Then, he coughs up blood in shock to see just how muscular the boy's arms are.

'Holy hell! Can a kid be that muscular at that age?!'

"When I first found out I didn't have a Quirk, yes, I was devastated at first! But guess what, All Might, among the fictional Heroes they had on comics and TV before they became real, there was one Hero I watched who had no powers and was able to take on evil with his bare hands and some few melee weapons! I'm aiming to be that Hero!" Asta then points a thumb at himself. "And if my current strength without a Quirk isn't enough, then I'll push my body even further beyond its current limit! My name is Asta Kurosaki, and I will become the first Quirkless Hero to bring hope to the innocent! And if I'm able to reach that goal, then so can my best friend Izuku Midoriya!"

All Might froze into silence as Asta's words hammered into his brain. Hearing the resolve in his voice, it reminded him of so much back in the old days, back when he was younger and less experienced.

Izuku was just as shocked as All Might. He just heard his friend stand up for him and refute the Symbol of Peace's belief that being a Hero isn't possible without a Quirk. Even if it was his favorite Hero that said otherwise, Asta was there for him.

"Asta…"

"That's all I have to say," Asta says before patting Izuku on the shoulder. "We'll be on our way now."

All Might watches the two boys walk towards the door, with Asta gently closing it behind him. the Hero's eyes never left that door as he still remembered everything Asta has said to him. his eyes slowly shift down at his feet, mentally cursing himself for his choice of words towards Izuku, especially with what All Might himself had to go through to be where he is today.

'He may be a loud kid, but… That Asta boy… his determination to be a Hero despite lacking a Quirk… He's almost like…' All Might pauses as he realizes what he was about to think next. His eyes slowly widen as it came together for him. 'I wonder… could that boy be… the one?'

All Might ponders about that one final thought for a moment before deciding to hold onto it. Right now he had a Villain to take care of. After that, then he'll continue to think about the gray-blonde boy's words and confidence.

The blonde man digs into his pocket to collect the bottle he trapped him in. He then blinks to himself, only now noticing that the bottle wasn't in there.

"Wait, where did I put him?" He questions himself as he patted his hands all over his clothes. "I could've sworn that I-"

BA-BOOM!

All Might Pauses as he heard an explosion from afar. Turning his head right, he saw what he heard; a large explosion caused by an unknown force. He was confused for a moment, but that confusion turned into realization.

"Oh… crap baskets…"

---

"Pops! I'm home!"

After walking with Izuku for a while and assuring him that he can still do it, Asta was now in his house after Izuku told him that he wanted to walk alone for a while to think to himself.

'I hope you'll be okay, bud.'

"Ah! Welcome home, son!" After removing his shoes at the door, Asta looked and smiled to see his white-haired stepfather, Leopold Kurosaki, greeting him with a smile of his own. "So, how was school?"

"Eh, it was good," Asta answers before getting a whiff of the air. "Something smells good! What's on the menu tonight?"

"You'll love it, Asta," Leopold answers. "It's steamed potatoes and fresh beefsteak!"

Asta's eyes gain stars as his mouth waters in the thought of tonight's dinner.

"Sweet~! My favorite! This'll definitely fuel me up for my training routine! Thanks, Pops!"

Asta zips his way towards his room to change out of his school uniform.

Leopold looks towards where he ran and simply smiles before heading back to the kitchen.

"He's as energetic as always."

One minute later, Asta returned downstairs to the living room in a gray short-sleeved shirt and black short sweat pants, an attire used for when he works out after eating dinner.

"I wonder if the reruns of Adam West's Batman are on TV tonight?"

Grabbing the remote, Asta turns on the Television to look for his favorite show that was made back when superheroes didn't become real yet.

Asta continued to flip through the channels until the news channel caught his eye.

"Breaking news! A large Villain that appears to be made out of a green slime has been reported to be on a rampage!"

'What?!' Asta's eyes widen at the news. And when he saw the cameraman aim at the Villain in question, he immediately recognized him as the sludge Villain that attacked him and Izuku earlier. 'No way! How did he escape All Might's clutches?!' He kept his eyes on the feed until he noticed something else. The sludge Villain was shooting off explosives at the Heroes who attempt to get near him. Upon further inspection, he saw someone trapped in the goo, someone he did not expect to see. 'Is that… Bakugo?!'

"It has been confirmed by some of the Pro Heroes in action that the Villain has taken a young boy hostage and is using his Quirk to his advantage. And according to the two eyewitnesses, who are boys the same age as the hostage, they say that the Villain stuck onto their friend like glue and started to weaponize his explosive Quirk."

On the TV, Asta was able to see some of the Heroes that the man on the news was talking about.

Mt. Lady made an attempt to get to the Villain but was unable to due to the single-lane street blocking her path. If she tried to get across, she could destroy some cars and other small structures.

Kamui Woods couldn't do anything either since he was carrying the kids that were with Bakugo. And with Asta knowing that explosives and fires are his weaknesses, it made sense to him why he's keeping his distance from the sludge Villain.

Backdraft can be seen taking care of the fires caused by Bakugo's explosions due to them being controlled by the Villain, and the flames seem too large to deal with them quickly. If there were more firefighters joining him, he would've gotten to the enemy with no problem.

Death Arms couldn't do anything at all. Not only were his surroundings looking like a minefield, but since Asta knew that his strength isn't as powerful as All Might's, he figured there wasn't anything he could do.

"The Heroes appear to be having a hard time stopping the fiendish ooze! Some of the crowd watching are left wondering if the Quirks of the Heroes are strong enough to tackle the Villain, while some are wondering when All Might will appear, as the vast majority believe that he can tackle this situation with no problem."

Asta was left shivering at the news displayed to him on the TV. He was still trying to figure out how the sludge Villain has escaped. Perhaps when All Might turned into a skinny man, it fell from his shirt pocket? To Asta, it was a logical spot to put it, since the bottle that once imprisoned the sludge Villain wouldn't quite fit in the pants pocket.

The gray-blonde man shifts his eyes downwards at the turn of events. After learning of All Might's injury that limits how long he can use his Quirk, he was left wondering if there was any other Hero equally as strong as All Might that can save Katsuki.

"Huh?! What's this?! A young boy that appears to be the same age as the Villain's hostage is running over towards him!"

'What?!' Asta looked back at the television to see the boy in question. Once he did, he couldn't believe his eyes. 'Izuku?!'

On the TV, Izuku could be seen sprinting towards the sludge Villain. Even though his face shows that he's afraid, it wasn't stopping him from going towards there.

Seconds later, Asta blinked when he saw Izuku throw his schoolbag at the Villain's eyes.

'Is he trying to save him?!'

Asta watched on in shock as he then witnesses his best friend jump up towards Katsuki and began to claw at the slime in an attempt to free him. And from looking at the green-haired boy's face, he looked desperate to save him.

Asta paid as much attention as he could because of how zoomed out the camera was on Izuku. But with enough time, he gasped to see that the slime was slowly beginning to cover up Izuku's legs.

'Oh no! It'll be just like last time! And his fingernails aren't even making a dent on the Villain's slimy body! Just small claw marks that heal quick!'

Asta looks down at the ground. He thought about something in a matter of ten seconds. Once those seconds flew by, his hands clenched into fists, and Asta looks towards where he would go to the kitchen.

"Pops!"

"Yes, son?"

"Can you put dinner on hold, please?" Asta then looks towards the front door and squints his eyes. "I'll be right back."

"Oh? Where do you have to go at such an hour?"

Asta held his breath for a moment before coming up with the best lie he could. He hated to lie to his stepfather, but he didn't have a choice at this point.

"I… I forgot something back when I was hanging out with Izuku! I promise to return as soon as I can!"

The gray-blonde boy waited for Leopold's response. It felt like a long time to Asta, but he finally heard his stepfather's answer.

"Well, alright then. Don't be too long, though. The food's just about to be finished soon."

Asta sighs a breath of relief before smiling.

"You got it, Pops!"

And with that said, Asta quickly slips on his running shoes and leaves his house. After closing the door behind him, he began to bolts towards the area where the sludge Villain is at. Along the way, Asta uses parkour to climb up some buildings so he can get a higher vantage point for his search.

"Just hang on, you two!" Asta says as he leaps from building to building. "I'll see what I can do!"

---

All Might was in a state of disbelief at what he's seeing right now. He just watched Izuku, the boy who he told that being a Hero without a Quirk was impossible, risk his own life to save the ash-blonde hostage from the sludge Villain's grasp. Despite the green-haired kid's fingernails not making much of a dent on the slime, he still kept trying without any hesitation whatsoever.

Unbeknownst to Izuku, some of the Villain's residue began to spread across his legs as he continued to try and set Katsuki free.

"You…" Katsuki managed to say after some of the slime uncovered his mouth. "Why are you here?!"

Izuku, despite all of his struggles, flashes his childhood friend a smirk with tears trickling down his eyes.

"My legs just started moving on their own… And… You look like you needed saving, Kacchan!"

"Uh!"

All Might heard what Izuku told Katsuki, and it stunned him like the speech Asta gave him. That made two boys he saw great heroism from: Asta, for All Might's personal reasons, and now, this green-haired kid, who charged into action with no regards of his own life.

The skinny Hero clutches a hand onto his own chest, cursing himself for being so weak. And if that's not enough, memories of Asta's words started to pop up as well. And they resonated with what Izuku is doing right now.

"Dammit… I'm pathetic… I'm so damn-"

"IZUKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

But suddenly, All Might and everyone else near the Sludge Villain heard a battle cry calling out a name. Turning towards the source, everyone's eyes widen to see a young gray-blonde boy leaping across the buildings towards the sludge Villain. Izuku looked too, and he did not expect him to show up.

"A… Asta!"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN!"

"Who the hell is that?" a Pro Hero asked as he kept his eyes on the boy who got closer and closer to the Villain.

"Oi! Get down from here!" another Pro exclaims. "Do you have a death wish?!"

Asta ignored the next few cries of the Heroes and landed on the building next to the sludge Villain. He then looked at the building in front of him and used his wall-jump technique to go downwards, impressing some of the bystanders watching.

All Might's mouth foamed with blood. First Izuku, and now Asta arrives.

"Hmph! So, it's you again," The sludge Villain said with a smug expression, with Katsuki, Izuku, and a hidden All Might keeping their shocked stares.

"That's right, ya monstrous ooze!" Asta replies while getting into a stance. "Now give me back my friends!"

Everyone watching gasped lightly at the stern, blunt, and loud tone in Asta's voice. And from how All Might is seeing it, he isn't backing down.

The sludge Villain, however, just stared at him for three more seconds before unleashing a demonic laugh.

"A child giving me orders?! What a joke! Now that I have a strong host with a strong Quirk and an additional hostage, no one can stop me! Not even you, brat!"

Asta's expression didn't change, but his eyes did narrow dangerously, something that caught All Might off guard.

"I won't ask again."

The sludge Villain laughed again despite the boy being serious.

"Somebody wants to die young! What are you going to do, zap me with electricity? Speed around me until I can't keep up? Blind me with some kind of solar flare?"

Asta shook his head as he planted his feet firmly onto the ground.

"No," the boy begins before charging forward. "By using my own wits and strength!"

The sludge Villain looks at the sprinting boy and releases a quiet snicker before forcing Katsuki's arms to aim towards him, making a now-trapped Izuku gasp.

"Asta! Watch out!"

Unfortunately, Izuku's warning was shouted too late as the sludge Villain used Katsuki's Quirk to unleash a devastating explosion towards Asta.

"Jesus Christ!" Mt. Lady exclaims as she watched the gray-blonde get engulfed in the attack.

Izuku and All Might gasped with her, both wondering if he will be okay.

Once the smoke cleared out, it is revealed that Asta was now lying on his back with some bruises on his body. The blast also left his clothes a little torn up.

And what left the audience of the scene baffled? The kid was still breathing.

"Huh… I thought for sure that was strong enough," the sludge Villain said with mild surprise. "The boy didn't get incinerated."

Asta breathed deeply two times before pressing his palms against the ground and slowly got up.

"I'm not done yet!"

The sludge Villain looked at him funny as Asta tried to keep his balance. He was lucky that the blast didn't break any bones, but he can still feel the pain all over his body.

"Okay… Then show me your Quirk, kid! You said you're gonna use your strength, so it might be a Strength Enhancement Quirk like All Might's or Death Arms'."

Asta chuckles and grins at the Villain.

"Heh! I don't have a Quirk!" This revelation caught the Pros and civilians off guard. "When I mentioned my strength, I meant the strength that I've built up for my body! I'll use everything I got to save my friends from your slimy carcass!"

Everyone was silent after Asta spoke what he said. But after processing his speech, the villainous ooze laughed even harder.

"You're Quirkless?! Then this will be much easier! My body is made of slime, kid! Not even a muscle freak with no Quirk can defeat me! Scratch that, no Quirkless individual can defeat me! You're already beat, brat!"

Asta's eyes flinch a little at what the Villain said, but kept a straight face while cracking his knuckles, as he remembered earlier where he planned to hurt him the last time he and Izuku encountered him.

"We'll just have to find that out, won't we?!"

With a battle cry, Asta charges forward again, making the Sludge Villain roll his eyes.

"Fine. Learn the hard way."

The Villain launches another explosion against Asta, but this time, the boy paid attention and dodged left, surprising the Villain and the people watching the battle. The monster then aimed a shot at Asta's feet, but he missed again as he jumped over the attack and landed with a roll.

'I've gotta reach the bastard's eyes!' Asta thought to himself as he dodged another attack. 'Because of his material, there's no way he can blink! I can do this!'

"Grrrrrrrrr! Hold still, you Quirkless imp!"

"Not happening!" Asta shouts as he does a backflip to avoid another explosive attack.

But this time, the sludge Villain shot at the area he was going to land, and just as Asta did so, the Villain timed it good and was able to blast him in the legs.

Asta was about to fall on the ground face-first but was able to break the fall by pushing his hands onto the ground in a push-up position. He still felt the pain the explosives dealt to his legs, but he didn't care right now. What's important is to get his friends away from the Villain so he can leave the rest to the Pro Heroes.

Speaking of whom, the Pros looked on at the fight and had mixed reactions. Some were still mentally calling Asta stupid and suicidal, while some were actually stunned at how he kept going, even after he unintentionally revealed to everyone that he was Quirkless.

Mt. Lady was one of those Heroes who were thinking about the latter. As she kept watching him, she noticed how focused the boy was as he kept shifting his eyes around his surroundings. His dodging was even getting a little sloppy, leaving him vulnerable to some mild damage from evading too late, but he still kept going while roaring "I'm not done yet!" every time he got up, leaving the new Heroine surprised at the Quirkless boy's will.

All Might was just as shocked as the others. Asta said he had no Quirk, and yet despite the damage he's taking from the grazes of explosions from dodging a little late, he was still in the fight. It left the man of skin and bones wondering how long he's been strengthening his body.

As for Izuku, he continued to look at his friend with a worrying expression. He may handle some grazes of explosives and shake off getting rammed into a wall, but every time his friend would take massive damage, it would always be whenever he's in the air. In fact, he just noticed that the sludge Villain would always unleash a stronger attack when Asta is up there.

'I think the Villain is figuring out Asta's attack pattern.' Izuku thinks as he grows more afraid for his friend's life.

Now, Asta was on his hands and knees after all of the damage he got. Blood can be seen dribbling from his mouth and trickling down his forehead. The last explosion he took caused his headband to fall off his head in front of him and the bottom right of his shirt got destroyed, exposing a little bit of his stomach's six-pack.

"Ha! Do you understand now, brat! Without a Quirk, you don't stand a chance."

Asta gritted his teeth before slamming his hand on the ground and shooting a glare towards the sludge Villain.

"Dammit kid, you have to run, now!" Backdraft pleads with worry in his voice.

"No!" Asta snarls as he slowly gets up on one knee. "I'm… not done yet!"

"Oh, shut up!" the sludge Villain snaps, starting to get annoyed at Asta's countless attempts. "I will admit, you were able to avoid me very well without a power, but a Quirkless runt is still a Quirkless runt! I mean, come on, how long has this little fight been going? After all of this time, you haven't been able to damage me at all! And how can you with just raw strength and raw strength alone?!"

Asta attempted to form a sentence from his mouth, but… he just couldn't say anything. And that made the sludge Villain chuckle.

"Exactly, boy. No matter how strong you make your mind and body, without a Quirk, you are nothing! And if you can't defeat me without one, then that goes for the rest of the Quirked people! Face it brat, you are WORTHLESS!"

Asta's eyes widen at the villainous ooze's last sentence. And after a moment, they soften up and look downwards towards the ground.

Was the sludge Villain correct? Was all of his training on his body and mind pointless? Is it just like Katsuki said about his goals to be the first Quirkless Hero? Was it merely all a pointless dream to chase after, much like how All Might told Izuku?

Asta's hands trembled as he continued to think about it with his bangs covering his eyes, and the sludge Villain and All Might saw it, making the former chuckle devilishly and aim Katsuki's hand towards Asta to finish him off.

"Farewell, Quirkless imp."

'Oh no!' All Might thought as his eyes widen in fear. 'The kid is going to-'

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ILL ABOUT MY FRIEND!"

Everyone jumped when they heard another voice shout at the sludge Villain. Upon turning their heads, everyone saw that it was the monster's second hostage with the green hair who said what he said.

"I… Izuku..?"

"Asta is not weak!" Izuku says in anger at the Villain. "He doesn't need a Quirk to take you down! Not only does he have the strength, but he also has the necessary brains and wit to do it!"

Everyone gasps at the green-haired boy's claim, with All Might being the most shocked. And Katsuki could only look at Izuku with widened eyes as he was listening to everything that's happening right now.

"Oh, is that what you think, boy?" the sludge Villain questions Izuku, who nods strongly despite the situation he's in.

"Trust me, Villain, I've known Asta all of my life, and he is not a quitter! And I'm not saying it just because he's my friend…" Izuku was silent for a moment before finishing with a strong, loud voice. "I'M SAYING IT BECAUSE HE'S MY SECOND INSPIRATION NEXT TO ALL MIGHT FOR ME TO BECOME A HERO!"

All Might gasped with some blood spurting from his mouth as soon as those words landed on his ears. It made sense to him that he himself would inspire him, but for Asta to do the same? There must be a lot more positive things to the gray-blonde boy than he thought of when Asta disagreed with his claim on how Quirkless Heroes are impossible.

And for Asta, his heart skipped a beat when he heard his best friend scream that last sentence. And then… memories came flooding back to him.

These memories consisted of all the times Asta and Izuku hung out together. There were moments where they would go on small adventures in the woods and occasionally exercise, with Asta doing the most workouts than Izuku.

"Wow, Asta, you sure are amazing!"

"Please, it was hard work that got me this far!" a younger Asta said to a younger Izuku. "I need to be in the best shape possible to become the first Quirkless Hero!" he then points a finger at him with a happy-go-lucky grin. "You can do it too if you try hard enough!"

After remembering those good moments, Asta quietly snickered to himself.

'Dammit, what was I thinking to mope like this?' Despite the pain rushing through his body, Asta began to slowly get up and shoot his eyes towards his headband. 'I mean, yeah, finding out I was Quirkless did leave me all depressed once upon a time.' His hand slowly reaches for the headband. And then, with a grin, he grabs hold of it. 'But that's all behind me now!'

From the corner of their eyes, the sludge Villain and Izuku look and see that Asta was now standing with his headband clutched in his hand and his eyes being hidden by his bangs. When All Might saw this, he just continued to be impressed. The kid just kept reminding him of himself in the past.

Izuku did too with his actions minutes ago, but in the current situation, Asta hit more at home to him when it came to his past struggles.

"Holy hot damn," Death Arms says with wide eyes. "That kid is tough."

"Maybe so, but it's still reckless of him to keep going," Kamui Woods adds with a narrow-eyed stare on Asta.

The sludge Villain looked at Asta with a cocked brow, if he had any eyebrows.

"So, you're still up, Quirkless runt?"

"Yeah," Asta says coolly. With his bangs still covering his eyes, he slowly puts his headband back on. Once he did, Asta looks at him, revealing the most serious stare in his eyes. "Because I'm not done yet!"

Izuku, Katsuki, the sludge Villain, and All Might's eyes widen at how grim Asta's voice sounded. And at that moment, since they were the only ones who got a look at his face, they were able to see a strange phenomenon happen to the gray-blonde boy.

Was it just them, or did the four see Asta's right eye's iris flicker red twelve times before returning to its original green color?

The sludge Villain shivered lightly at the sudden phenomenon in Asta's eye, but quickly brushed it off to use Katsuki's Quirk against him again.

"Alright, brat. Your funeral."

The sludge Villain began to launch another explosion at Asta, but the boy side-steps while looking at the walls of the two buildings. Nodding to himself, he sprints towards a wall and jumps onto it. He then leaps off of it to land on another wall and began to run along it by grabbing onto a hanging bar for momentum support.

"That won't help you!" the sludge Villain exclaims before aiming Katsuki's explosions right at him.

Asta paid close attention at the timing of the explosives before jumping off the wall to avoid a hit. The Villain watched Asta fly towards him as a result of the dodge and sees him cock a fist back.

Once he got close enough, everyone watching releases a breath in shock when Asta punches the part of the Villain that no one hasn't thought of yet.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! MY EYE!"

The civilians and Pro Heroes watch the sludge Villain bobble his head around in pain. What surprised them about it? A Quirkless child inflicted that pain. And it worked.

After he landed a successful hit, Asta looks down towards Izuku and sees some of the slime loosening its grip on him.

"Ha! Just as I thought!" Asta shouts as he lands near Izuku and grabs hold of him. "The slimy bastard does have a weakness!"

"A-Asta!"

As Asta began to try and pull Izuku out, he heard the sludge Villain growl in pain and rage as he shot a glare at the boy.

"You… HOW DARE YOU?!"

"I dare because you have my friends!" Asta replies with another tug. "And I refuse to let them suffer at your hands!"

While he was watching, All Might's lips slowly form into a smile, mentally praising Asta for staying strong.

With another snarl, the sludge Villain tried to blow him up again only for Asta to grab onto the hand he was controlling and aimed the explosion created with it at the monster's face.

BOOM!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AGAIN WITH THE EYE?!"

And with that blow in the Villain's weak spot, the slime that restrained Izuku loosened even more, and With one more pull, Asta sets his friend free and quickly places him on the ground.

"Run back to the Heroes, Izuku!" Asta instructs before grabbing onto Katsuki's left arm, whose now on the lower part of the Villain due to his grip loosening because of the pain. "I'm getting Bakugo out of here next!"

Izuku hesitated for a second, but nodded and sprinted as fast as he could towards the crowd watching the battle. As he was, he turned his head back towards his friend with narrowed teary eyes.

'Win, Asta. Win!'

"Holy hell…" Death Arms utters in disbelief. "That kid's actually kicking his ass…"

"And without a Quirk, too…" Kamui Woods adds.

"Incredible…" Mt. Lady murmurs with her shocked eyes still locked onto Asta.

The audience keeps their eyes on Asta to see him now making an effort to pull Katsuki out of the sludge Villain's carcass. Asta managed to get one of his arms out, but the rest of his body was held on tight by the slime.

"Damn you, brat!" The monster shouts in rage as he attempts to hold onto his hostage. "Why won't you give up already!"

The sludge Villain then makes an attempt to injure Asta by biting him. Asta dodged to the best of his ability since he was still holding onto Katsuki's arm, but the monster managed to catch half of Asta's shirt in his teeth.

Asta and the Villain exchange glares. And then, after growling, Asta roars at the top of his lungs a quote that stunned everyone that listened.

"MY QUIRK IS NEVER GIVING UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"

With one last battle cry, Asta plants his left foot firmly on the ground and aimed his right foot at the sludge Villain's eye.

Asta delivers the kick towards the orb of sight, and as a result, the monster felt so much pain that his head was forced backwards, tearing off half of Asta's shirt in the process.

Once the slime loosened as a result of said pain, All Might watches Asta pull Katsuki away with all of his might. He finally got him free and allowed the ash-blonde boy to his space.

The number one Hero's smirk widens as grabs hold of his own shirt's collar, feeling more motivated and inspired by Asta's actions.

"Heh… I guess it's time to play my part."

Everyone else was in awe at what just happened. A Quirkless boy has just rescued a hostage from the sludge Villain with nothing but pure, raw strength. This was a feat no one expected Asta to pull off, but he did it.

And Asta won't realize it yet, but his actions have left quite the impression on a select few civilians.

Asta watches Katsuki cough into his hand while the latter shot a glare at the former.

"Dammit… I had this, Bakasta! Why did you intervene?!"

Asta was about to answer, but before he could, the corner of their eyes caught the sight of the sludge Villain oozing towards them after recovering from Asta's kick. And he looked very angry.

"You… You little brat! I'll kill you!"

Asta smirks at the sludge Villain and pats his chest with both hands.

"You're more than welcome to try, ya slimy bastard!"

The sludge Villain was about to do just that, but as he began to lunge forward, a familiar Hero landed in between him, Asta, and Katsuki and grabbed onto a part of the creature's body.

"The lesson I left with you and your friend back there… I should practice what I preach!"

"All Might?!"

The audience and a few Pro Heroes looked relieved when he arrived, but Asta and Izuku were the most surprised because of the injury he told them about. And the two could see it taking its toll as they saw blood shoot out from the number one Hero's mouth.

"A Pro Hero should always be ready to risk their lives, no matter the odds!"

The sludge Villain shudders as the Hero's glare meets with his eyes while morphing his hand into a fist.

"N-N-No! No!"

"Detroit…" All Might pulls his fist backwards and swings it towards the Villain with the intent of stopping him. "SMASH!"

Everyone gasps in awe as they witness All Might's punch slam into the sludge Villain in the speed of a bullet. Upon impact, the creature exploded into many fragments of himself.

The Hero's strike was so powerful, it forced the audience to cover their faces with their arms because of the wind pressure created by the swing.

The wind pressure resulted in the air current to rise, and at that moment, Asta felt a drop of water land on the shoulder where half of his shirt used to be. He looks over towards it, but then, the left corner of his eye saw another drop splat onto the ground, with a few more to follow.

"Rain?"

Just as Asta questioned the weather, the crowd behind him began to cheer loudly for the number one Hero.

"That was amazing!" A male civilian said. "He changed the weather with just a single punch!"

"Hell yeah!" A woman shouts in agreement. "That's All Might for ya!"

With a small smile, Asta began to walk back over towards Izuku, who was crying in relief that both he and Katsuki didn't get injured further, or worse, killed.

As he was approaching him, All Might took his leave after feeling more pain in his chest. After he did, the rest of the Pro Heroes went ahead and collected the scattered body of the sludge Villain, while the police were contacted to arrive at their location.

"Yo, Izuku, you doing good?"

"Y-Y… Yeah," Izuku nods while wiping away his tears with the Pros still finding the pieces of slime in the background. "S-Sorry… I really was expecting the worst."

"Well, it all turned out well in the end," Asta adds while patting Izuku on the back. "And I have you to thank, best buddy!"

"Huh?! Th-Th-Thank me?!" Izuku gets flustered by his sudden words and becomes nervous. "F-For what? I… didn't do anything but get myself caught again trying to save Kacchan…"

"But you helped me keep going."

"Huh?"

A question mark popped from Izuku's head, so Asta went ahead and explained further.

"It's because of what you said back there. You know, after that slimy bastard said that I was worthless without a Quirk." Izuku's eyes widen, finally remembering what he said to the Villain after saying those harsh words to his friend. "If you hadn't said what you said, I think I actually might've called it quits." Asta then chuckles at himself while scratching the back of his head. "Man, I was such an idiot to have such a negative mindset. Being in such physical pain from those attacks can do that to me sometimes. But no more! From this day forward, I'm gonna keep looking at the bright side of life and continue to grow stronger!" He then looks over to Izuku and gives him a friendly grin with closed eyes. "And I have you to thank for keeping my mindset on track, Izuku. You were my Hero back there."

Izuku gasps at those last words his friend told him. More fresh tears clouded his eyes as his lips trembled at the kind words. And then, while sobbing, Izuku latches onto Asta with his arms wrapped around him tight. Asta blinks at his friend but widens his smile as he gave him a brotherly hug back.

As they hugged it out, Asta looks over to where Katsuki was and saw that he was sitting on the sidewalk surrounded by some Pro Heroes. Among the Pros, all they gave him was countless amounts of praises on how powerful his Quirk was and how tough he was while being a hostage. A few of them even went as far as to offer him to become one of their sidekicks in the future.

But as he heard what the Heroes were telling him, Asta noticed something that he found to be very rare.

Usually, when someone praises Katsuki, no matter how old they are, he would always grin and say the usual stuff about how he'll be number one and all of that. But here, where he was praised by the Heroes, he didn't do that.

Instead of soaking it all up, Katsuki just continued to sit there with a frown, seemingly being annoyed by the Pros talking to him. It was as if he'd rather be anywhere else than around them.

Asta continued to blink at the ash-blonde boy and his current choice in attitude in the aftermath of the sludge Villain's wrath. As he was, he felt Izuku release him and looked to see that he's now calmed down, getting rid of the last few tears with his hand.

"You gonna be okay, bud?"

"Y-Yeah…" Izuku confirms with a nod. "I'll be okay."

"Ahem!"

Asta and Izuku jump at the stern tough voice that came from behind the former. Looking to see who it was, it was one of the Pro Heroes sending a narrow-eyed stare onto them. Or more specifically, Asta. Following behind him were Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods.

Asta looked him up and down a few times before his eyes gained some stars.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH! DEATH ARMS! YOU'RE ONE OF MY FAVORITE HEROES EVER!"

The Pros and Izuku covered their ears because of how loud Asta shouted.

"Oi! Tone down the volume, kid!" After Death Arms rubbed his ears, he got to the subject in hand. "Look, what you did out there was very impressive, but this is something you have to leave to the Pros!"

"He's right, young man," Kamui Woods chimes in with his eyes on both Asta and Izuku. "There was absolutely no need for you nor your friend here to put yourself in danger!"

Mt. Lady kept quiet as the two Heroes continued to lecture the boys. She was too busy staring at Asta's chest. Or more specifically, the part where half of his shirt is missing. As her eyes kept scanning the muscles that were peeking from the destroyed shirt, her cheeks turned red and she kept fidgeting with her fingers at how well-toned it was for a boy Asta's age.

"Asta!" The Heroine was snapped out of her thoughts when she and the other two Heroes heard Izuku scream at his friend while pointing at his torso. "I-I-I just noticed! Your shirt!"

"Eh?" Asta looks down at his shirt for a few seconds and brushes it off with a chuckle. "Oh, that? It's nothing to worry about Izuku. I got plenty more at home."

After saying that, Asta grabbed what remained of his shirt and removed it from his torso. Once he did, the three Pro Heroes' eyes nearly bulge from their sockets when they got a full look at Asta's abs.

"W… Whoa, kid…" Death Arms stutters as he looked at his well-toned pecks and six-pack.

"That… kinda explains those moves he pulled off…" Kamui said with his eyes looking as if they were gonna fall out of his mask.

Mt. Lady just turned away quickly from the boy while holding a hand over her mouth with the darkest blush formed. Once she removed her hand, she looked to see that her glove was now stained with the blood that came from her nose.

'D-D-Damn!' the Heroine thought as her eyes shifted as far as they could to the right to get one last glance at Asta's naked upper body. 'Th-That kid is really packing it!'

---

As the boys were on their way back home after the Heroes finished lecturing them, Asta noticed Izuku's gloomy expression and got closer to him.

"Is something wrong?"

"Huh?" Izuku looked up to see Asta's concerned expression and sighed. "Asta… do you remember the injury All Might told us about?"

"Yeah," Asta confirms with a nod. Then, his eyes widen as he remembered a certain detail from when All Might defeated the sludge Villain a second time. "You don't think his condition is worsening, do you?! Like, has he gone over his limit on how long he can keep his Quirk active?!"

"That's what I'm worried about," Izuku says as he shifts his eyes towards the ground. "When I get home, I'll send him a message on his website and apologize to him for causing him trouble."

Asta could see the guilt in Izuku's face. The green-haired boy felt responsible for the sludge Villain breaking out of the bottle All Might originally trapped him in. Even if the problem minutes ago was resolved, he still felt bad about it.

"Deku! Bakasta!"

The boys stop walking when they hear a familiar hothead shouting at them from behind. Turning around, they see Katsuki Bakugo ten feet far from them, slightly out of breath from running to them.

"I…" Katsuki began quietly before lifting his head up, shooting a glare right at them with blood shots in his eyes. "I never asked either of you to save me! I could've handled that bastard all by myself!"

The boys blinked at Katsuki before Asta decided to speak up.

"Hey, hold on, now. There's no need to feel emba-"

"SHUT UP, YA QUIRKLESS DWARF!" Katsuki snaps while pointing a finger at Asta. "How dare you… How dare either of you take pity on me?! Y'all trying to win me over or something?! Don't you dare mock me! Especially you, you god damn Bakasta!"

Unbeknownst to the boys, Katsuki's glare narrowed at Asta's right eye for a moment after he said the last part.

With a sharp breath, Katsuki turns around with his hands in his pockets and began to stomp away from them while muttering curse words here and there, making both Asta and Izuku sweatdrop at him.

"He's as moody as usual," Asta finally said with beady eyes before looking back at Izuku with a toothy grin and closed eyes. "But hey, all's well that ends well, right, bud?"

Izuku blinks twice at his friend before smiling back.

"Yeah, Asta. All's well that ends-"

"I AM HERE!"

The two boys jump high in the air with a scream as they heard a voice say those three words. Turning around before landing, surprise was written all over their faces when they see a certain Hero in his muscular glory.

"All Might?! Why are you here?!"

"Last time we saw you, you were surrounded by reporters!"

All Might lets out a hearty laugh before giving the boys a two-fingered salute.

"Shaking those people off is nothing to me! After all, I am All Mi-KOFF!"

The boys Cringe with twitching eyes as the Symbol of Peace was cut off by being reverted to skin and bones with blood shooting out of his mouth like a faucet.

"Oi, oi! Don't overdo your Quirk!" Asta shouts in concern with Izuku nodding rapidly in agreement.

After All Might stopped coughing, he wipes his blood off his mouth and locks eyes with Asta and Izuku, but not before taking a quick look at Asta's bare chest and shivered at how buff it was.

"Boys, I have come to thank you both and revise what I said earlier… I also have a proposal for one of you." The boys rose a brow at the man's statement but remained silent. "Without you two… If I hadn't heard your stories, I'd have been nothing but fake muscles and insincerity! You boys have my gratitude!"

"Fake muscles?" Asta puzzles with a tilted head and a question mark above it.

But then, Asta saw Izuku's expression turn regretful from the corner of his eye.

"No… It was all my fault from the start, All Might," Asta's eyes widen slightly when Izuku said that. "I got in your way by latching onto you as you were leaving. Even though I'm Quirkless, I-"

"Exactly!"

Izuku and Asta gasp lightly when All Might cuts the former off there. "Of all the people at the scene, it was only you, whose timid and Quirkless, who acted!" The blonde man then turns his head to Asta. "And your ability to rescue your friend and the hostage from that Villain was what finally spurred me into action!"

Asta's eyes broaden further when he mentioned his battle with the sludge Villain.

As for Izuku, he began to shake in place with tears threatening to leave his eyes.

"Most of the top Heroes show signs of greatness even as children," All Might continued. "Many of them claim that their bodies simply moved before they could think! That's what happened back there, correct?!"

Izuku's tears finally roll down his cheeks. As they did, he began to remember the past again. The sorrowful words of his mother began to play in his mind, forcing the green-haired boy to slowly get on his knees.

"Izuku…" Asta mutters with concern after seeing his friend in such a sad state.

"Y… Yes, All Might!" Izuku answers his favorite Hero, choking on his tears as the dark memories continued to be on loop.

All Might keeps his stare on Izuku for a few more seconds before a smile worked its way onto his face. And with a nod to himself, he clears his throat and addresses to both Izuku and Asta:

"Boys… You two can become Heroes!"

Upon hearing those words, Izuku could no longer keep it together and lets out all the sadness from his gut. As he sobbed, all of the harsh words the Quirked students gave to him began to fade away like a distant memory.

Asta walks towards his friend and kneels down beside him, planting a hand on his shoulder to comfort his friend.

"What did I tell you, bud?"

Izuku continued to cry for one more minute until he finally calmed down. And with the help of Asta, he was able to get back up with the gray-blonde boy patting him on the back afterwards.

After getting settled, All Might began to speak again, getting the boys' attention.

"I believe that you are both worthy of inheriting my power! But I can only give it to one of you."

Izuku and Asta blink at the skinny Hero twice. They then turn their heads to look at each other before setting their sights back at All Might and tilted their heads at him.

""Huh?""

Hearing their replies, if you could call it that, made the man of skin and bones burst into laughter, catching the boys off guard.

"I'm giving you boys a proposal! The real work begins here. I'll say it again boys," All Might points a finger at them with a serious look in his eyes. "I'm asking which one of you wants to accept my power!"

The boys scream as blood spurted from his mouth again because of how loud he shouted.

"You're hurting yourself again, All Might!" Asta says with white eyes. "You really need to quit yelling!"

"Right back at ya, kid!" All Might counters. "You're so loud, you might attract someone's attention to us!"

The two calmed down from their quick banter. And then, after wiping his blood off again, All Might began to go into deeper detail on what he's talking about.

"Anyway, what I'm telling you boys about concerns my Quirk. The tabloids like to guess that it's some kind of 'Super Strength' Quirk or something among those lines. And I avoid the question in interviews by making jokes about it. Because All Might, the Symbol of Peace, has to come off as a natural-born Hero." Taking a breath, All Might makes a T-pose to emphasize his power. "But my Quirk was passed down to me like an Olympic torch."

"Passed down to you?" Izuku repeats with both surprise and confusion.

"Really?" Asta adds, being as bewildered as his friend.

"That's right," All Might confirms. "And now, it may be your turn, whoever decides to be the one."

"H-H-Hold on a second!" Izuku blurts out before his eyes became spirals while thinking about what All Might said. "To be sure, All Might's Quirk is one of the seven great mysteries of the world, and there's been endless debate over what it might be…"

Asta looks over to Izuku and saw that he was now mumbling about the subject, making him snicker before setting his eyes onto All Might.

"Oh, don't worry about him. Whenever he's in deep thought, he'll always mumble like that."

"I… see…" the number one Hero says while giving Izuku a weird look. Seeing that the mumbling is going on for a bit too long, All Might snaps his head towards Izuku. "Do you really doubt me that much?! Nonsense!" Izuku was snapped from his thoughts when All Might shouted. "I have many secrets, but I never lie!" With an open hand, he hovers it in front of himself with the palm facing the sky. "I have the ability to transfer power. That's the Quirk I inherited. It is called… One For All!"

Asta and Izuku's eyes widen after they hear the name, with the former of whom finding the name to be a little odd.

"The first person cultivates the power," All Might explains. "And then passes it to another. The next then refines it and passes it on again. Rinse and repeat. In this way, those crying out to be saved and those with brave and true hearts link to form a crystalline network of power!"

After the boys take in all of the information of One For All, Izuku looks back at All Might.

"But all this… Why? Why us?"

"You see, boys, I've been searching for a successor or a while now, and I have found two people who I find to be worthy: you, and your… muscular friend. You two may be Quirkless; mere Hero admirers, but back there, you two were more heroic than anyone else!"

Izuku's eyes were about to shed tears again at the kind words of the Hero he admired for years. But as they were, All Might holds up a hand.

"However, I can only grant this power to one of you, as I do not think it is possible to give it to multiple people at one time. So boys, conference with each other, and decide among yourselves on who-"

"Give it to Izuku."

Izuku and All Might do a spit take at what Asta said out of the blue.

"Huh?! R-R-R-Really, Asta?!"

"H-H-Hold on now, boy," All Might says. "You've said that rather quickly. Aren't you going to think it over?"

"Nope!" Asta shakes his head with a stern expression, surprising All Might and Izuku further. "Have you forgotten what I said to you earlier when you first told us that being a Hero was impossible? I aim to be the first Quirkless Hero, and I intend on fulfilling that goal!" Asta looks down at his right hand and balls it into a fist with a smirk. "And hey, I was kinda able to prove that a Quirkless person can pull it off with raw strength when I saved Izuku and Bakugo from that slimy bastard, so if I can stand a chance against him, then I'll be able to handle the others! And because of that, I insist that my friend, Izuku Midoriya, is given One For All instead of me because he has the pure heart for it!"

"A… Asta…"

Once again, tears develop in Izuku's eyes after he heard Asta's opinion. The green-haired boy uses his arm to keep wiping them away.

All Might kept his shocked stare on Asta. The pure sincerity and seriousness in the gray-blonde's words made the Hero give him a smile.

"Very well, then. After seeing what you are capable of against that sludge Villain, who am I to deny you the type of Hero you want to be?" The number one Hero then sets his gaze upon Izuku. "Now for your answer, Izuku Midoriya. Will you accept my power?"

After taking a deep breath, Izuku looks strongly at his Hero. He's told him and Asta so much. He divulged his greatest secrets to them. And after hearing the kindness of his best friend, and the words of All Might telling him that he can be a Hero, how can he refuse?

"All Might… If Asta insists that I should inherit your Quirk instead of himself, then I shall honorably accept it!"

Asta and All Might grin at his answer.

"A quick answer," the Symbol of Peace says with a chuckle. "I expected nothing less." The number one Hero then points a finger at the boys. "Now then, let's talk about our training. For you, Izuku Midoriya, to be prepared for One For All, and for you, Asta Kurosaki, to become the first Quirkless Hero in existence!"

Asta and Izuku stand in attention, listening intently to the plans he was going to set up for the boys.

After he went over them, Izuku and Asta turn towards each other and nod with serious expressions.

No matter what, these two intend to become Heroes. And with All Might's help, they will pull it off.

To be continued in the next chapter: "U.A. Preparation."

---

Author's note: Hello again, everyone~! Yes! Finally! I'm doing a My Hero Academia Fanfic! Or More specifically, a crossover with Asta from Black Clover.

Okay, to be honest, the story is actually me bringing Asta in the MHA universe than a full-on crossover between all MHA and Black Clover Characters because A), he's my favorite Black Clover character, and B) I couldn't get this idea out of my head because of how cool his Black Asta form is, so I wrote up this chapter with hopefully more to come just to get it out there.

And in my personal opinion, Asta and Izuku can make great friends together.

Let's talk about Asta's Quirk. When it finally awakens at some point in the story, It will obviously be called AntiQuirk or Anti-Quirk depending on which way of typing it is better. As this story goes on, He will be more of a hand-to-hand combatant until later down the line when he'll eventually start getting his four swords, one at a time.

Now then, let's talk about pairings. Let's get this one out of the way, Izuku x Ochaco Urakara will be a thing in this fic. As for who to pair with Asta, I might just make it a harem fic because… Well… Asta technically does have one in Black Clover, so, why not?

The following girls are who I have in mind to take interest in Asta. Keep in mind that it's not final and will be thought about during production of the next chapter.

Asta: Setsuna, Tsuyu, Mina, Kyoka, Mei, Nejire, Himiko, Midnight, Mt. Lady, and Mirko

Well, that's about it. Until next time, folks~!