Man, oh, man. I've been sitting on this idea for a couple of months now, and after some editing of the original script, polishing chapters and getting feedback from friends, it's finally ready. I've been finding myself in the niche of quirkless Izuku stories, but this one will explore another route to power which he can achieve. Also, I think we can all agree that the themes of quirkless and mutant discrimination weren't covered all that well in the main product, so I'll try my best to keep them present from the beginning of this without overshadowing the main plot. If you liked this first chapter, you can read the second chapter which I've already posted on my p-a-t-r-e-o-n and or for a little extra, join a discord I created where you all can share ideas and me. Also, this will be my first story that will be cross-posted both here and on my Archive account which feels like a big thing for me so if you prefer one or the other, you don't need to worry about switching as new chapters will be posted to each site within minutes of each other.

Chapter 1: Beginnings.

It was a regular summer's day, the sun was bright, and the temperature was high. With school out for the summer, students from kindergarten to university were out and about, enjoying the pleasant temperature with friends and loved ones. But there were always outliers, people who didn't much like the sun, people who preferred to spend their time indoors, perhaps working on hobbies or board games with friends. Maybe they were busy with some sort of passion project.

Among them, there was an even smaller group of people, those who didn't have friends to play with, friends to hang with. A young boy with busy green hair was in that group. He had tried to play with the other kids, and for once, wasn't regretted outright by them. But he learned the hard way they only let him play with them because they needed someone to be the villain in their game and hero and villain. It was much like cops and robbers, but much more violent as the scratches and bruises dotting his tiny body as he opened the door to his apartment. "I'm home, mom." He called out, his voice carrying just how sad he felt at the moment as he removed his dirty shoes before walking deeper into the place.

Stepping into the living room, he saw his mother on the couch, her back turned to him as she watched one of her shows on the TV, a glass of the adult liquid in her hand. He didn't comment on how common that had become these days. "How was your time with your friends?" She blandly asked, not turning to look at him, as if her entertainment was more important.

He opened his mouth to tell her what the other boys did but "…Good." He just lied, he had tried to tell her in the past and she would just dismiss it as roughhousing and tell him that he couldn't handle playing with them, he shouldn't bother. Maybe she was right, it hadn't always been like this, he and Kacchan used to always play together, talk about what kind of heroes they would be, and watch All Might save the day on the news and in their cartoons. He didn't like to play nice with him anymore, he didn't like to play nice with anyone anymore. He had seemed to hate him ever since he fell into the creek, he thought he had hit his head and told Auntie about it, but the next day, Kacchan found him during recess and he was mad, really mad.

There was a silence between them, nothing but the drama playing on the TV filling the void in the apartment, his mother's back still turned to him. he waited for her to say something, to see him, to ask him about his day or what happened like she used to, but there was nothing. "How was your day?" He eventually broke it, rubbing his face to get rid of the tears of how absent his mother was these days as she barely spoke with him, only smiled when they were out at the store and never hugged him anymore. He wished he knew what he had done wrong, but she never told him what he did, so all he could do was apologies and promise to be better next time which never seemed to be enough for her like it had been before.

"I'll be taking another shift so I'll be coming home late. So you're going to bed early, Izuku." He wasn't surprised by that. She had working late shifts for almost a year now. It meant more money for stuff, but it also meant she wasn't around.

"Oh…okay." He didn't make a fuss about it, she wouldn't stay if he did. Their afternoon was quiet, the bad kind of quiet as he knew that sometimes, Mom needed her quiet time but that had become a norm. He knew staying in the living room wouldn't be good as she'd ignore him, so he went to his room to quietly play with his toys. It wasn't all bad, he still had the full top ten heroes set which he could entertain himself, even if he didn't yell out their ultimate moves and jump around, even if he was alone

He was fine. He knew he could be worse off, mom always said to be grateful for what he had, so he was, even if it wasn't much. Hours passed, and Izuku moved to draw in his coloring books or practice his reading but he soon got bored of most of it. he was saved by his mom calling him for supper. Scrambling for the bathroom, he pulled out the stool and washed his hands like she had shown him before he went for the kitchen. Mom was already eating, already dressed for work at the hospital with her doctor's coat on the chair. She didn't say a word as he climbed into his seat and did a quick prayer for his food, she barely looked up from her phone as she scrolled through work messengers or something, he didn't know and he didn't ask.

Looking at his plate, he saw that it wasn't katsudon like they normally had for dinner on Fridays. "I didn't get the groceries for it from the store, now eat your food." Was her response to his question about it, short and irritated as she kept her attention away from him as he just silently nodded, not pushing it.

The TV was still on, but it was playing the evening news now, which he paid attention to from the kitchen. He couldn't help but smile when he saw the news about Best Jeanist stopping a bank heist, or how Edgeshot stopped a massive drug production operation. But his eyes sparkled when the news shifted to All Might and how in just one day, he managed to save a small coastal town from a tsunami by throwing a punch so strong, it blew back the water. The sparkle in his eyes diminished as a father on screen thanked the number one for saving him and his family. Izuku's eyes turned to the empty third seat at the table. "Did…did dad ca-"

For the first time that day, his mother looked at him but it was with an annoyance worse than when he broke the vase that grand-dad left them. "No, now go shower, Izuku." He still had some food on his plate, but he knew he messed up.

"Yes, mom." He nodded as he obediently and quietly placed his chopsticks down and got off the seat to walk towards the bathroom. He only stopped at the turn, working up some courage. "Can…can I please watch it before I go to bed?" Inko kept her eyes on him, annoyed they might have been as she got up and picked up his plate to clean things up before work.

"Why would you want to waste your time on that?" She asked him, turning to scrap the leftovers into the bin before she placed the dishes into the sink to quickly wash them.

"Please, Mom." Inko signed, not wanting to waste any more time arguing with him as she placed the first clean plate in the disk rack.

"Fine, but only once. No repeats." He nodded though he didn't move as he asked another question. "Mom…did I do something wrong?"

She froze as she did the dishes, before turning to look at him with annoyance. He flinched under her stare before she signed, turning back to the dishes. "Clean yourself up otherwise no video." He left without a word, rushing to do as she told him, thinking he was just making it worse even if she didn't say yes or no like the teacher said a question should be answered.

Once he cleaned and dried himself, he was back in his room in his seat waiting for his mother to turn it computer on. It took longer than normal, but his mother eventually came, wearing her coat already as she wordlessly booted up the computer and went online. Once they found the video, she turned her gaze to him, freezing him for a moment as Izuku didn't want to anger her at the last minute.

"You watch it once, and only once. Then you turn it off and you're in bed, understood?" He couldn't nod his head fast enough as she huffed and clicked play before leaving to finish getting ready. He couldn't even say thank you before she was out the door, leaving him alone.

The video didn't have the same punch as it used to. Yes, she taught him the basics of using the computer so that he wouldn't bother her as much, but he hoped that they could watch it together, maybe watch someone else if it meant she would smile with him again, but she was gone. Watching All Might's debut, seeing him save so many people with a smile on his face, he couldn't help but wonder if he could save him, bring back the laughter and smiles that had been absent ever since he went to the doctor and learned he didn't have a quirk. He didn't think that was too strange, even if most of the other kids had quirks, there were like 3 others in his class like him…or, there were.

They were all gone. One said that his mom got a new job and would be moving to Korea, the other just never came back to class, and the teacher said her family also moved. "All Might, I know you're super busy saving the world and stuff but, could you help us too?" He asked for the video, but looked at the All Might action figure in his hands, closing his eyes as he made his request and hoped the number one and bestest hero in the world would hear him.

"Dad's never home anymore, he used to call every night and is super funny, but now he doesn't." He didn't know much about his dad, he knew he worked super far from home, so he could only be around on holidays, but he remembered that his dad used to sound super happy whenever they spoke on the phone before bed. Even though he didn't mind that he was gone most of the time, he still made sure to buy him stuff like foreign hero toys, even if he treasured the All Might action figure he got him the most.

Now, he only had that last phone call to think of. The call mom made after they came home from the doctor. She had looked strange the entire time back, really sad too but she wouldn't tell him why. She called Dad and he didn't sound happy, at least he thinks he didn't as Mom got super upset on the phone before she handed it to him. his dad, who always was warm and had a bad fire pun waiting, just told him he'd be busy for a while and hung up before he could even say goodnight.

"We have pictures of him, but it would be really nice if you could have him come over for dinner, maybe I can show him all my toys." He smiled, as that would make his day as whenever dad was over, they always did all the fun stuff they could. Go to the beach, to an amusement park, to a hero convention, or even just sit at home and play. That stopped after the doctor's appointment, with Mom telling him that his dad was working more. Pretty soon, Mom was working more too.

"Maybe you can help Dad get a new job, that way Mom doesn't need to work all the time. work is making her tired, so she doesn't play with me anymore, but if you fix things, then we can be happy again. And then I can train so I can be like you too, and make people smile." That had to be the issue. He had heard from older kids that parents had to work and sometimes that would take the piss out of them, he didn't know what that meant, but he figured it meant it left them tired.

But if All Might fixed it, then things would go back to normal! Mom wouldn't spend so much time resting on the couch with her adult liquid and instead pay attention to him again, smile at him and give him lots of hugs. Dad would call more often and visit so they could have big adventures together.

Turning the computer off and crawling into bed, he held his All Might toy tight as he thought that if he was the issue, then maybe All Might could help him it up to them, be a good boy again as All Might always said on the TV.

The memories of the past faded as his alarm went off, as loud and impossible to ignore as it was designed to be. Cracking his eyes open, he moved to turn the infernal thing off as he rubbed his hand through his hair, yawning as more of the blanket fell off his body, revealing his exceptionally fit topless torso, one covered with fold scars, from fights and rigorous training. Getting up from his bed, he started with his morning routine. It might have been 4 am but he never skipped exercise for petty reasons. Without fault, he pulled out his workout clothes from the drawer, grabbed a water bottle from the kitchen and was out the door.

He would only return 2 hours later, sweaty but wide awake and feeling great as he finished the last of the water and tossed it into the sink to clean later. Humming a little melody, he showered to get rid of the sweet and sink before getting into his school uniform. He kept humming his song even as his mother's bedroom door remained closed. Stepping into the kitchen, there was a tap on the window that drew his attention. He smiled when he saw who it was as he opened it and allowed the two cats to enter, the small animals elegantly coming in and jumping to the floor where they pawed at his pants.

"I know, your food is coming, be patient, Peach." He looked towards the blonde-furred cat as she nuzzled into his leg while the Red and brown-furred one purred at the kitchen sink drawer. "Mario, what the heck are you doing?" The cat looked at him with absolutely no shame as Izuku fondly signed, he didn't expect much shame from them but they always helped make his day a little bit better. Opening the doors, he saw that among the bags of other stuff, close to the back was the can of wet cat food, just a can.

"I'll need to pick up more cat food." Picking it out, he looked it over and was happy that it was at least large enough for the two of them as he grabbed a can opener, and served the two felines their meal on the small bowls close to the dinner table. After finishing preparing his nutrient-rich breakfast, he sat down to eat. The cats finished before he did so he picked up Peaches and sat her on his lap, patting her gently as he ate while the cat purred in contentment. Mario was off doing whatever he did, frankly, that boy seemed to think his apartment was a castle to be exposed. Meal done, he quickly washed the dishes, not reacting to the fact that the sink was clean of anything else.

"Alright, you two. You know the drill. I'll see you when I see you." He told the two cats as he grabbed his middle school jacket and scarf from the rack, opening his front door for the two cats to exit before he did. They hissed but didn't give him altitude as they walked out of his apartment. He didn't own them so they came and went as they pleased, at this point he was half-convinced that they went to whatever apartment gave them the most food and attention.

Deciding against the bus, Midoriya jogged to school, keeping a good pace and a smile as the warm weather, great morning work-out and great smell of the trees in bloom, the last one before summer kicked in. Avoiding people in the street, he reached the crossing right as the light was about to turn red. Despite a driver honking the horn at him, he waved at him as he had already made it to the other side before the car even for to the line.

But then, he heard a roar coming from down the street, away from where he was going but he couldn't help himself as that noise, and the growing crowd could only mean one thing. A thing he saw with his own eyes when he jogged over and saw a massive villain standing on the metro line above Tatooine station. The villain appeared to have a gigantification quirk, rare but not too rare. He wondered what set him off as he seemed to be incensed. Keeping his distance in case things got rough, he kept silent as he watched the ensuing battle as Death Arms, a local hero worked with another hero, Backdraft to protect the people while Kamui Woods, a rookie to the solo scene dealt with the villain himself.

It was…good. He couldn't put his finger on it, but this fight didn't excite him as others would have. Perhaps it was the fact he had already seen Death Arms and Backdraft in enough incidents to be able to guess what they would do. Maybe it was the fact that he had to listen to a bunch of high schoolers drool over Kamui Woods as he worked. Perhaps it was the fact that according to someone in the crowd, the only reason this villain was on the rampage was that he was a purse snatcher that could cornered…it was probably that last one. The bottom line was that when Mt. Lady came in, that was the most exciting thing of the entire thing as she ended this clown of a villain with a single strike and her introduction made him smile-that was the woman that knew how to make a dynamic entry and if he wasn't seeing things, she a great ass too! She clearly put in her time in the gym and followed a good exercise program, he couldn't help but shed a tear as he gave it a thumbs-up as he appreciated people who treated their bodies like temples and ensured they were in great shape.

"Wow, kid. You like her that much?" A man next to him asked, having seen him and his reaction to Mt. Lady as the pro shrunk down and waved to the reporters and crowd.

"Of course, how could I not? Did you not see what I just saw?" Midoriya replied, that even if he felt bad for Kamui Woods, the villain was handled and with minimal damage to boot.

"Oh, I did, kid. I did." He didn't quite understand why the man seemed to giggle there, or why he had a little red to his face. It wasn't that hot and it wasn't like there was anything funny with that just happened. Well, perhaps her take-down as that came out of nowhere and left Kamui Woods in the dust, but he didn't see what was funny about that. As he left to get to school, he wondered about just how much things had changed ever since the glowing baby was born in China 140 years ago, the world has seen its greatest change since the Iron Age as with time, more people developed extraordinary powers: quirks.

With the rise of superpowers becoming a normal thing, came an explosive rise in crime. In a world where any petty criminal could do what that one just did; the police would surely be overwhelmed and the streets no safer than those of an active warzone. But to combat that threat, came a new profession, heroes. People like Death Arms, Backdraft, Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady, are specially trained to not just use their quirks to protect and serve the people but to combat and defeat villains. But there was one that stood above them all, the shining symbol of peace.

The world's greatest Hero: All Might.

Even now, being a middle schooler, he couldn't get over just how cool he was! He was the pinnacle of everyone it meant to be a hero. He wasn't just the strongest but the most inspiring. He was someone who never did anything less than 110% of what was needed. A man who while he never talked about his quirk, always harped on how hard he trains and still does to maintain himself. Midoriya knew that he could never come close to that kind of power, even with all he had learned, but he could do nothing but appreciate and respect the symbol of peace as someone who helped inspire him to take the path he took and stick with it, even when things got hard.

His good mood evaporated when he finally made it to class. Walking through the halls, his fellow students kept their distance, whispered whatever new thing was being said about him if he was lucky, or downright said it out loud for him to hear. It got worse when he pulled out the door to his class. Most were already present and there was a group of boys snickering in the corner as he walked in and he didn't need to wait long before he saw way.

'Quirkless'

'Weakling'

'Outdated human'

'Primitive'

'Deku'

These were some of the many…many insults and slurs that covered his desk. Seeing it, he tightened his fist, the desire to get some sweet revenge for this rising in him before he snuffed that fire out, taking a breath through his nose and out his mouth, he repeated this three times before he calmed himself. Not even deigning to give those bullies his attention or reaction, he simply reached into his school bag and pulled out a dirty cloth and a spray bottle filled with detergent. He sprayed a little formula into the desk and got to cleaning it, having decided to shake things and he packed the one which smelled like blueberries as he had gotten a little tired of the old lemon he normally used.

As the door opened up, his old friend sauntered in, his hands in his pockets and his posture terrible. With him were Katsu and Fumio, who he could hear talking about Mt. Lady's debut as well, but focused less on her hard work and performance and more on the fact she was hot. He ignored them after that point, wasn't like they paid him any mind as they walked up to Bakugo's table as the blonde took his seat, placed his feet on the table and leaned back.

"Damn, who the hell is spraying detergent in here?" Bakugo asked, though most just laughed at his act as he pretended like he wasn't even in the room, nor did he ever even acknowledge the fact why Midoriya had to bring cleaning supplies with him to school. In his mind, he was a fly that was annoying but was unseen, unimportant and he had accepted that. He preferred it actually, it meant that he didn't need to deal with him as much as he would. Keeping his attention on cleaning his desk, he managed to clean up with enough time to put everything back into his bag before the morning bell rang and the teacher walked in, carrying with him a stack of papers.

Setting them down, the teacher started to explain why he had them. "Morning students, I'll skip the pleasantries and get right to the hear to the heart of the issue. As 3rd years, it's high time for you to seriously think about your future. For that reason, I'm going to pass out handouts for you to put in your plans, but-" Grabbing the top form off the stack, his serious demeanor melted away as he tossed it into the air.

"You all want to be heroes, don't you?" The class collectively cheered out a yes, almost every one of them activating their quirks in joy and perhaps to show off, Midoriya couldn't tell. "Yes, yes. You all have great quirks, but remember that using them in school is against the rules!" Midoriya also had his hand up, but no one seemed to notice.

From his seat, with his feet kicked up, Bakugo spoke. "Sensei, don't go and jump all into the same group. I find that insulting. Unlike these extras, I'm not going to be stuck at some dead-one nobody hero school out in the sticks." He said it as if it was a fact of life, the same as the sun rising in the morning. Of course, this blatant disrespect towards their classmates didn't go unanswered as the class started yelling at him.

"That was uncalled for, Katsuki!"

"Yeah, Where the hell do you get off saying stuff like that?!"

"You extras should just accept your role in life!" Despite that pushback, Bakugo was unrepentant as he continued to hold himself far above them.

Their teacher, who Midoriya had realized on their first day was just as incompetent as his 2nd and 1st-year homeroom teachers, didn't even try and reign in Bakugo for his behavior. He merely looked through his tablet where he kept notes on them. "Oh, if I remember correctly, you wish to apply to U.A. high, Bakugo."

Hearing that threw a bucket of water on the rage that the class felt towards the dirty blonde boy, how could it not as U.A. wasn't just some hero school? It was regarded as the best of the best, with only Shiketsu being able to call itself its rival in all things. To attend such a school, even in its general studies course was a surefire way to set yourself up for success in life ."The national school?"

"They've been in the top 5% of schools for the last 0 years!"

"It's a miracle just to get in, they have super strict entry requirements!"

Hearing all this talk about how great U.A. was and how much of an impossibility it would be to get into the place only made Bakugo's ego larger. "And that is why you're all destined to be extras till the day you're old and grey!" Uncrossing his feet, he jumped onto his desk, standing tall over the room with a smirk across his face.

"I aced the mock test, as expected of the future number one. I'm the only one from this place who even has the chance to get into U.A. And I'm going to surpass All Might and become the next top hero. My name will go down at the top of the highest earners." He proclaimed his goal to them all, the room falling silent as despite his terrible attitude and penchant for not even using their names, none could ignore his potential. Not only was he the top student grade and P.E. wise, but his quirk was made for hero work.

"Oh, Midoriya wished to go to U.A. as well, strange." Bursting that bubble, the teacher stated another stunning face as he stretched his head before looking Midoriya's way in confusion. Despite both his eyes and the eyes of their classmates being on him, Midoriya sat straight as he lowered his hand.

"That is correct, sensei. I'm also aiming to apply for their hero course come spring." Midoriya nodded his head, but his determination didn't elicit the same response as Bakugo's while they looked at the blonde with awe, it took no less than 2.4 seconds for the students to break out in laughter.

"Huh, Midoriya? No way!"

"Like you have any chance at getting in!"

"News flash, Midoriya. You can't become a hero just by studying!"

"Would they even let an outdated human try to take the exam? He'll break something in 10 seconds flat and try to sue them!"

In the face of this ridicule of both his dreams and his capacity to even attempt it. he stamped out his fury once more, even if it was stronger than before. He wouldn't let them dictate his fate as he remained determined in his response. "Of course, they'll let me take the entrance exam. U.A. did away with that foolish year 3 years ago, there might be no precedent-" There was a ping in his head, and the hairs on his skin stood right. He didn't question this sensation as he jumped from his desk, right before Bakugo brought his hand down onto it, an explosion slammed into the wooded construct, breaking it.

Landing on his feet, he was faced with a pissed-off Bakugo, whose hand still smoked from his use of his quirk. Midoriya didn't think for a moment that the teacher would do anything to stop him, the man barely cared to keep the rest of them in check, the notion that he would write up their golden goose just made him frown, not that any could see it as his scarf kept the lower part of his face hidden from them. "You must have a screw loose, Deku! Even these extras have a better chance of doing that than you do! What can you do when you quirkless!" Bakugo yelled at him, throwing that fact at him like it was an insult.

"This isn't the right place for this, Bakugo and you know it." Midoriya still raised his fists, first into a boxing stance and then into a relaxed martial arts stance, his palms open with one held back.

Bakugo seemed to take offence to the fact Midoriya wasn't backing down, as he growled like a savage and let loose some more blasts from his hands. "Where do you get off telling me what I can and can't do, you quirkless reject? you think you can stand in the same ring as me?" Bakugo asked him, his eyes little pricks at this point as he wanted nothing more than to show this weakling his place; that being nothing but a pebble on the side of the road to his greatness!

"I seek something. A goal that I hold dear to my heart. If I need to best you to achieve it, then I shall fight." Midoriya knew that what he said would be interpreted as fighting words, but he also knew that Bakugo took just about anything other than submission and praise of his self-professed glory as fighting words as well.

As he suspected, Bakugo only got more aggressive as he took a step closer to Midoriya. "You think that you can beat me?"

"I don't waste my time thinking about such fights," Midoriya replied, keeping his eyes squarely on Bakugo, ready to defend himself if he tried to fight him. Even if he would be the one punished if things came to that, he wouldn't just let him pummel him so that he could feed his ego. The tension didn't stop when the teacher finally spoke up and told them to return to their desks, even though Midoriya didn't have a desk to return to. Returning to his seat, he knew that Bakugo hadn't dropped this and that once that bell left them out for the day, he'd collect on this slight to his vision of glory. And Midoriya would be ready for it.

When that time came, Midoriya was ready. As the teacher was as competent at his job as a bear was at babysitting, he didn't care to act when Midoriya packed his stuff 2 minutes before the bell went off, completely ignoring the last pieces of his lecture on Japanese history. When the bell went off, Midoriya jumped from his desk, over the desks of a couple of other shocked classmates and made it to the door in record time. He heard Bakugo curse as his chair scraped against the floor in his attempt to stop him, but Midoriya was out before he could even get to his feet.

"Deku, get back here!" He paid no heed to Bakugo's angry yelling, nor the sounds of explosions as the blonde's anger got the better of him as usual. Even as the halls started to fill with students leaving their classes, eager to get out of school, he didn't slow down in the slightest. The first person who saw him barreling towards them yelped, bracing for the impact but he evaded him, diving now and then left, right, left again, he moved through them like water through rocks. When there was no space, he used the environment such as jumping down between the spaces of the stairway, using the trashcan as a jump pad to clear a group of students blocking the way, or just smacking the heads of teachers aside. He knew that their efforts to stop him running in the walls were more to give Bakugo or whoever else wanted to mess with him a leg up.

Bakugo though was persistent. Midoriya was making good time and had already made it down to the first floor, but Bakugo's explosions weren't far behind. If he had to guess, he had worked on his propulsion skills enough to evade the crowds, what that did for the students he couldn't say but he would assume that a few would have hearing issues for a while if they were close to him when he set off his blasts. Seeing the entrance way ahead, lined with their lockers for small effects and their regular shoes, he knew that in that open space, Bakugo would only close the distance so he needed to lose him fast. So, he decided to hide by jumping up onto the lockers as he lay on his stomach, took a breath, cleared his mind and vanished into the background.

6 or so seconds later, Bakugo was on the scene, looking like an enraged Pitbull on the hunt for the rabbit. He looked around the place but didn't notice him before he rushed out, assuming that he had just left without his shoes to buy himself extra time.

Waiting another couple of minutes to ensure he was far enough away, Midoriya got down from his little hiding spot with barely a sound and calmly walked to his locker, with most barely giving him any attention, as if they couldn't see him. With his biggest problem most likely wasting his time looking for him, he was able to retrieve his shoes, clean out his locker of the normal hate mail and leave the premises.

"He might have missed me today, but he's going to be even worse tomorrow," Izuku said to himself as he pulled out the list of things he needed to get from the store before he went back to the apartment as his mother only ever left him the cash to pay for stuff and rarely did any shopping. Lucky for him, there was a small store not too far from his school which was willing to do business with him. So his afternoon and evening were planning out nicely for him, he even cracked a smile as he had something to look forward to later.

Coming to an underpass, he wondered about U.A. and its entrance exam. The written portion would be hard enough as regardless of quirk preferences, they didn't accept anyone with subpar grades, which would be an issue as his grades had been slipping these past few months thanks to him spending more time training, so he'll have to adjust. The practical was from what he would find, purely combat based which really bothered him. It seemed irresponsible bias towards physical quirks that could apply in combat, yet there was much more to hero work than just that. Surely a school like U.A. would know that, so why rig things from the jump?

Of course, that wouldn't matter to Bakugo as he was nothing but violence, having won the genetic lottery, he was all but assured a place if all he had to do was break stuff. But he wouldn't let that stop him, so what if he lost that same lottery and came out quirkless? So what if he couldn't blow stuff up with a touch, breathe fire, or levitate stuff with his mind? All Might didn't get to the top thanks to his quirk, he put in the work to get there and Midoriya knew that if he trained his body and mind, he'll be able to get into U.A.'s hero course as well, rigged exams be damned!

He froze misstep, that ping in his mind went off. Looking around, his narrowed-eyed gaze landed on the man-hole cover as he felt like something was coming, a threat was coming his way. Crouching a little, his 6th sense proved to be right once more as the manhole cover lifted up and from it, a green slime-like ooze came out, before it formed into a tall humanoid shape.

"A medium-sized invisibility cloak…it'll do." Well, if he didn't know before, he knew now as the villain tried to jump him, but dodged him, dashing to the side. Their slime body proved to be extremely agile as the villain turned back to him without needing to worry about bones, forcing Midoriya to roll to the other side before he decided to stop playing, took a breath, cleared his mind and vanished from the villain's sight.

The villain, for his part, paused in confusion as he looked for the kid. He was sure he was just there, where the hell did he go? He looked towards the entrance and didn't see him run, but he didn't hear him either. "Does he have a teleportation quirk for something?" He asked himself, only to be frightened when Midoriya seemingly reappeared right up in his face, the kid's eyes reminding him of a lion right before it clamps down its jaws on its prey's neck.

The boy didn't speak as with lightning-fast movement, reached his hand into his slime body, gripped his eyeball and pulled it free. The villain screamed in pain as his body wiggled and jiggled as he struggled to maintain its form. Landing a couple of meters back, Midoriya looked at the eye on his hand, being careful not to squish it as he examined it. It was nothing like the fish and frog eyes they dissected in biology, so closer to what he would expect of what a human eye would be like from what textbooks said. Watching it dilute and focus on him proved his theory that his body could function even separated from the main body.

Seeing the kid from two different angles, the villain was now pissed. Before he just needed an escape route before he was in town for no fucking reason, but now? Now he wanted this little brat dead! Midoriya felt another ping in his mind, stronger than before he detects malice from the villain now, an intention to do him serious harm. Eyeball in hand, he turned to face the threat, ready to pull the same trick twice and see if he wouldn't blind the threat till, he would call the police to pick him up. Then he felt another ping, something was coming-

The manhole cover that the villain came from shot up, slamming into the ceiling of the underpass enough to leave a dent before it fell back down to earth. The reason for this was made clear in the form of a tall, muscular blonde man with a small bag of shopping. The light of the entrance into the place might have blocked out most of his features, but both the now terrified villain and shocked Midoriya could recognise this person anywhere.

"It's all right now, young man." Climbing out from the man-hole, the man's foot landed with power and authority, his back straight with a smile on his face. "Because I am here!" All Might proclaimed, bringing dread to the villain and a sense of relief and fan-boy-like excitement to Midoriya as before them, stood the symbol of peace himself.

I'll cut things here. If you're reading this on fanfiction, then you can head on over to my p-a-t-r-e-o-n to read the second chapter of this. The author notes for this and that chapter will be there as well. If not, then you can read the second chapter on October 6th. Again, if you like to support me, please head over there anywhere, even if join at the lowest tier, it helps and I appreciate it.

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