Resources are the most precious thing on the planet. Wars have been waged for that very thing: resources. Murders, Theft, someone has a resource or something you want, they come to try and take it. But there is one resource that can't be fought over time. Time is finite yet infinite. People are given a limited amount in an unknown quantity when they are born; they talk of how precious it is and then squander it because they believe there is more tomorrow, even if they don't know if that is true.

Time is the one thing people cling to desperately but also toss aside as if it is not worth holding onto. You spend time, never earning it.

Izuku Midoriya is four years old, waiting for his quirk to manifest, wasting his time dreaming of what it could be and how he can be a hero with it. What passes for a friend, Katsuki Bakugo has already manifested his quirk: explosion. Now, it is just a matter of time for Izuku's quirk. Today, though, will be a tremendous day that he will never forget, moments that may be lost to time for others but not for him.

-Visiting the Quirk Doctor-

He was picked up in the afternoon to see the quirk doctor because he had headaches and blurred vision. His mother, Inko, drives her son, listening to him ramble about the latest hero debut or some hero activity he saw online. When he teases him, whoever just debuted will challenge his favorite hero, All-Might, for the number one spot. Izuku would roll his eyes and tell her mom that no one could ever do that because All-Might is the best of all time.

They get checked in as Izuku walks over to the toy area, where another girl is playing with a toy car, running it along the mat. He notices she has bandages on various joints and is missing a hand. When he walks over, she smiles at him and says, "Hello," She has green hair and eyes like him, but hers are dark green, and her teeth are pointy. She was wearing a dinosaur shirt that had a t-rex with its arms out, and it said, "I like you this much." Izuku thought her shirt was funny.

"Hello," he replies, fetching another car from the bucket to play alongside her. "What happened to your hand?"

"Oh, it fell off," she says as casually as the sun is in the sky.

"Whoa! Are you okay?" he says, looking at her concerned.

"Yeah, it happens; it is because of my quirk. I can make parts of me float around, but I am not very good at it. So I was showing my friend, floating my hand around, and BAM, it fell down the drain, and I lost it." She said.

"That would scare me." He said, looking at her.

She smiled, "The first time it happened was my foot. I cried for like 2 hours. But then we came and saw the doctor and found out it would grow back. I had to hop around for a while. It was fun. I have to get a shot today to help grow a new hand; I don't like shots, though." She said, scotting her car closer to his. "Why are you here?"

"I get headaches and blur my eyes; I think it's my quirk." He said with a grin.

"I hope it's a cool one; you seem nice." She smiled, bumping his car with hers. "IF you are cool, can you answer this one question?"

Izuku nodded; after all, he wanted to be cool. "What is your favorite Dinosaur?" he noticed as she asked she was shaking her shirt at him.

"The T-Rex!" he said, giggling.

"That's right! I knew you were cool. What is your name, cool kid?" she said.

"Izuku Midoriya. What is yours?" he replied, bumping her car with his.

"Setsuna Tokage, but I let cool kids call me Set." Before they could continue their little banter, the nurse came out and called Setsuna's name to go back. "Will you put my car away?" Izuku nodded as the girl went to her mother, and they left the waiting room.

Izuku played with both cars for a minute before his name was called; he quickly ran over and put the cars away before taking his mother's hand so they could be led back. Inko was directed to the doctor's office, and Izuku was led into a testing room.

Inko sat patiently texting her husband, a little irritated at the lack of response; she knew he was home. When the door opened about an hour later, Izuku skipped in, followed shortly by the doctor, who looked like he had seen a ghost. Dr. Tsubasa takes a seat, folding his hands before he speaks.

"Mrs. Midoriya, your son has a quirk; his quirk factor is incredibly high for one so young. From all the tests we ran, it seems to be shaping up to be an emitter type. This is the cause of the headaches and blurry vision. Once his quirk manifests, these symptoms should subside. As I read his file, I saw that you have a minor telekinesis quirk, and his father can breathe fire?" he said. Izuku smiled as the doctor's mustache twitched. Izuku found the doctor's bushy mustache kind of silly.

"That is correct, doctor." She said. "Is something wrong, or is there something I should be on the lookout for?"

"Mrs. Midoriya, it was his quirk factor; it tested nearly off the charts. I am unsure what he will manifest, but it will be extremely strong. I recommend that you consider transferring Izuku to a different school with things in place to handle these things should they manifest at school." He said, handing her a pamphlet. "Also, the school has faculty that can help teach him how to control it best after it manifests. They specialize in helping kids with quirks that are difficult to control."

"But he wouldn't know anyone and the cost," she said, looking over the pamphlet. The school looked very nice but…

"The young lady your son was playing with in the waiting room attends that school, and they offer financial aid and scholarship possibilities. With his quirk factor, he would qualify for immediate enrollment; you should go home and talk it over with your husband." The doctor said. Inko nodded, bowing before she left with Izuku in tow.

-Home-

The journey home had Izuku talking more about his future quirk; he was bouncing at the excitement. He hoped his quirk allowed him to control fire, a mixture of his parents. Inko smiled and told him that whatever his quirk was, she would be proud of him because her son would be next number one. Izuku smiled and started talking about teaming up with All-Might and how they could work together.

They pulled up to their apartment building; Inko frowned as she still hadn't heard from Hisashi. Walking up the stairs to the apartment, she opened the door. It was eerily quiet.

Inko noticed that Hisashi's shoes were not by the door; as she went into the house, she noticed that some pictures were missing from the wall, and sitting on the counter was a manilla envelope, his ring, and a letter. Trembling, she walked over to the letter and opened it.

Inko,

I have fallen in love with another woman; in the envelope are divorce papers. I feel they are rather generous. Tell Izuku whatever you want. I don't want anything to do with him or you.

Hisashi.

Inko started crying, and Izuku ran over. "Mom, are you ok? Did something happen to Dad?"

Inko quickly squashed her tears, "Yes, baby, everything is fine. Your dad got called to America for work suddenly; he will be gone for a while, that's all."

"Ok," Izuku said. "Can I go play in my room?" Inko just nodded as Izuku walked down the hall; she called after him.

"Mommy is going to nap for a little bit, OK?" Izuku nodded and disappeared into his room. Inko stumbled down the hall to her room; she closed and locked the door before collapsing on the bed, crying into her pillow to muffle the sound.

-The Day at the Park-

The next day, Inko did her best to keep up the mask with Izuku; fortunately, when he wanted to go to the park, it worked out in her favor as her lawyer was near there so he could review the paperwork. She dropped him off and did her best to smile as he spotted some children from school and ran off excitedly.

Izuku spotted Katsuki and ran over to tell him the good news: he wasn't alone, as is usually the case. He was with Tsubasa, a portly boy with Red Dragon wings, and Iwao, a very skinny boy whose skin stretched to vast levels. When he came running up, he was all smiles; the other boys scowled while Katsuki stood up and placed his hand on his hips like his favorite hero, All Might.

"Well, Deku, you find out your quirk?" he sneered, or maybe he was smiling; it was hard to tell sometimes with Katsuki.

"No," Izuku said; he could already hear the snickers from Tsubasa and Iwao. "But the Doctor said my quirk levels are super, super high. He said that means my quirk is going to be really strong a-and it is an emitter type a-and that it's the reason for my headaches and stuff."

"That's fine, I guess," Katsuki said. "Well, you better figure it out fast." He pointed his finger at him, "No sidekick of mine better have some lame quirk. Now let's play!"

The kids immediately broke into a play of heroes and villains. Izuku got cast as a villain, but that was normal, as he didn't have a quirk; the other kids were slightly meaner to him. But they still allowed him to play, and for now, that was good enough. After about an hour, he had to take a little break due to a headache, but once that was done, a great expedition was laid out to the forest.

Katsuki, in the lead (of course), led them into the forest, searching for the lost treasure of All-Might. The kids were marching along, having fun, when they came across a small ravine with a river at the bottom. Our intrepid explorers attempted to figure out a way past it when Tsubasa spotted a log forming a bridge. The kids ran over, and it all seemed perfectly fine to them.

Tsubasa grinned and flew to the other side; Iwao volunteered to go first. The boy gulped and walked across quickly; he said it was a little slippery. Katsuki puffed out his chest and declared that he was next, and with his stick held high, he marched across. As he was walking and talking some nonsense, he suddenly lost his footing and began to fall.

All three boys reached out to try and catch their "Leader," but that was when it happened. Izuku had visions of Katsuki falling to his death. Now, there was a chance he would injure himself, but death was not likely but to a four-year-old…

No, I am not going to make it, Izuku thought. As he dashed forward, he heard a pop and felt a flood of something ripple throughout his body, starting at his head. He winced from the sensation, and when he opened his eyes. Everything was stopped.

Everything, nothing was moving. Izuku looked around; Katsuki was frozen, about to fall off the log; a bird overhead wasn't moving; he reached down, picked up a rock, and tossed it. It didn't move once it left his hand; he could move the rock with his hand. THIS IS MY QUIRK! He was about to jump for joy when he realized Katsuki was still falling. Carefully, he walked over and was able to pull and move Katsuki. It was difficult; it seemed that Katsuki still weighed the same, and Izuku was 4, but he pulled him back to the side of the ravine; he was starting to feel cold. Izuku stopped and concentrated on the cold, trying to think about it stopping, but nothing happened. He imagined the cold being pushed out of his body, released, and everything started moving again. As the rock flies, the bird moves, and Katsuki topples over on the grass. Izuku was jumping around like a madman, pumping his fist. In the corner of his eye, a number appeared: 108.

Katsuki was lying in the grass. He had lost his footing and was about to fall off the log when suddenly he fell onto the grass, and Deku was jumping around like an idiot. "WHAT THE HELL?"

"MY QUIRK, IT WAS MY QUIRK, MY QUIRK CAME IN!" Izuku yelled. "I SAVED YOU FROM FALLING INTO THE RIVER; I DID IT; I GOT MY QUIRK!" Izuku, out of breath shivering, collapsed on the grass, smiling like an idiot.

Katsuki's eye twitched at Deku, claiming he saved him, but something had happened. "What happened, Deku?" Izuku sat up and started to explain excitedly, but when they got to the actual part about the quirk, Katsuki's eyes got wide. "YOU STOPPED TIME?" he yelled.

Izuku just nodded his head vigorously. "NO WAY!" Iwao yelled. Once the boys were back on the same side of the river, they demanded that he prove it. Izuku thought hard; then he snapped his fingers as he had an idea: the rock. He could move it, and when he threw it once time started, it went flying.

"OK, look at the ravine; I will stop time and throw a bunch of rocks. When it starts, you are going to see them all fly." The other boys nodded. It took Izuku a moment to trigger it again, and when he did, he jumped around again before remembering what he was supposed to be doing. The cold started building again; he could feel the ache in his bones. He released it once he had thrown about ten rocks.

The boys were standing there when rocks suddenly appeared before them and flew into the ravine. Their mouths were all agape as Izuku was standing there smiling, shivering.

"THAT IS FUCKING AWESOME!" Katsuki yelled, "You will be the best sidekick ever!"

"No," Izuku said smiling. "I am going to be the best hero ever!"

"Damn right," Katsuki said, grinning, "King Explosion and whatever your name will be."

The boys kept experimenting with Izuku's new quirk, but he could only do a few more before he was utterly exhausted and shaking from the cold. The boys touched him, and he was almost like ice. They decided that maybe it was best they stop for now. Smiling and laughing, they emerged from the forest. Izuku was finally part of the group now that he had such a quirk. It wasn't long before Inko returned, putting on her fake smile till she saw Izuku laughing and grinning; when her little man saw her, he almost knocked her off her feet; she could have sworn she blinked, and he was right there.

When Izuku saw his mom, he sprang to his feet and wanted nothing more than to get to her; it happened again. But this time, when he started moving, it wasn't cold that he felt but heat. Everything moved so fast that he ran over to her in a second. When he released the heat as he had done with the cold, he was in front of her, sweating slightly.

"Mom, mom, my quirk came in. I can STOP TIME!" he said, jumping up and down before her.

Inko was in shock. "What did you say, sweety?"

"MY QUIRK, I CAN STOP TIME!" he repeated like that explained everything.

"Izuku, calm down and start from the beginning." She said, holding her son's gaze. Izuku then told her the story of the log and ravine, how everything happened, and the few tests he did. He told me it happened again when he saw her, but this time, he felt hot and moved way faster. Inko hugged him tight. "That is wonderful, Izuku; I will call the doctor immediately. Now, let's get something to eat; you must be hungry." Inko wrapped her arm around her son; truthfully, she was happy. Her son had manifested a powerful quirk, which scared her. If he could stop time…

-Doctors Office-

Dr. Tsubasa was not expecting a call from Mrs. Midoriya the next day, but his eyes lit up when he took the call, and his mustache twitched.

"Yes, Mrs. Midoriya, bring him in right away. If what you say is true, then it is imperative that we see him as soon as possible; yes, see you soon."

He sat in the darkened room, his mind swirling with the possibilities and implications of whether this boy could stop time. His master would be so happy. He needed to tell him immediately; he quivered with anticipation. His fingers trembled as he dialed the number, "My Lord, the most extraordinary thing has fallen into our laps."

"I can hear the excitement in your voice, Doctor. Please share this development with me."