As unsettling as Izuku appeared to be to all who knew him, they couldn't deny his status as a prodigy.

Instead of babbling noises after two years, Izuku was silent for three, and all of a sudden started speaking in complete sentences. Inko was so surprised that she considered bringing him to the doctor for an examination, but Hisashi talked her out of it.

Instead of crawling, then walking, then running, Izuku was found examining one of the kitchen knives 4 feet off the ground on the counter in the middle of the night when he was 2. From that night on, he needed no assistance in getting around the house. In truth, he had learned to walk after 15 months, but simply kept it a secret to maintain his freedom around the house at night.

Instead of reading the mountain of picture books Inko and her friends had gotten for him, Izuku spent hours on the computer, scouring the internet for information on sword styles, quirks, and history.

Though Inko and Hisashi were proud of their son, they couldn't help but feel as though his expedited development wasn't a result of his upbringing, but rather of his nature. A nature that baffled all who met him, as it didn't remotely resemble the timid demureness of Inko nor the charismatic charm of Hisashi. Inevitably, this led to a rumor circulating among the local housewives as to the "true" identity of Izuku's father. This eventually reached Hisashi's ears, and as a result, he started distancing himself from Izuku, spending more time at work and sometimes not coming home at all.

But none of this bothered Izuku. He was too invested in absorbing the knowledge of the modern era, and preparing for the day that his training could finally begin.

…

It was the middle of the night. Both Inko and Hisashi were asleep. He'd disconnected the nanny camera that had been monitoring him, and Izuku was ready.

The time had come to introduce his new body to total concentration breathing.

The action he had been practicing without thought for over four hundred years now seemed like an impossible task, but Izuku was nothing if not patient. Though his lungs were small and his body weak, he was certain that he could achieve total concentration breathing for at least a short period of time by the month's end.

If I am to push my body to its limits enough to make full use of my moon breathing technique, It is necessary for me to start training total concentration breathing as soon as possible. Izuku relaxed his body as much as possible and slowed his breathing to be as relaxed as possible. Finally, he exhaled all of the air out of his lungs.

So it begins.

And inhaled.

…

It was a good thing Izuku had the foresight to unplug the nanny device, otherwise his mother and father would have surely been awoken by his hacking and heaving. As it turned out infant lungs are not well suited to be expanded well past their limits, so it was extremely fortunate that he relented when his body began to give.

Gasping, sweating, and shaking Izuku struggled to return his breathing to normal. After enough time had passed he returned to staring at the ceiling in the hopes something on it could distract himself from the reality he found himself in. So this is what pain feels like.. It has been so long since I felt myself truly pushed to the limit that I forgot how difficult it was to actually struggle…

Izuku closed his eyes and prayed they would open again in the morning.

…

Though his first attempt had largely been a failure, Izuku understood that the strength he sought would not come in a day. Though his mind could envision the potential he had, his body was a bit slower to understand. Thus, his training had to progress very slowly. Every night Izuku pushed the limits of his breathing a little further, a little longer. Though he was by no means capable of combat he was already surpassing his contemporaries in physical abilities, being able to run, climb and jump faster and stronger than anyone else his age. Despite his advantages, Izuku never once slacked on his training, taking every free moment to get a little closer to his goals.

On his first day of school, Izuku was practicing total concentration breathing during recess when he heard particularly loud steps come closer behind him. He turned his head to find a blond, spiky-haired boy around his age with two followers behind him. As soon as he met their eyes the followers flinched, while the supposed leader returned the glare. Upon closer observation Izuku noticed that the blond one's sweat particles were composed of a different compound compared to a normal human's, eliciting the interest of the former demon.

"Hey! You're Auntie Inko's kid aren't ya?"

Izuku simply stared back.

"Mom wants me to take you under my wing. I'm Katsuki Bakugou, and I'm gonna be a hero!" He shined a grin at the cross-legged Izuku.

Izuku returned to his training.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Are you deaf or something?" Bakugou's faces twisted into a sneer.

"I have no reason to interact with you or your peers. Do not interrupt my training again."

"Training? You wanna become a hero too? How the hell are you going to do that with a weak-ass quirk like yours?" He laughed.

Izuku didn't even bother gracing him with a response.

"What? Nothing to say? Doesn't matter, cuz no matter how much you train, you're never going to be stronger enough to beat me!"

His two lackeys assented. "Yeah, freak!" "Bakugou's the best!"

Izuku slowly opened his eyes and considered his options.

…ignoring the boasts and jeers of children would be easy in this situation, however if I do nothing but express passivity they will likely take it as a sign of weakness and continue to harass me in the future…

A few seconds passed. "Yeah, that's what I thought you little-"

"Very well." Izuku suddenly stood up. "If you truly are superior to me then you will have no trouble in bringing me to kneel, correct?"

A maniacal grin spread across Bakugou's face. "Well duh! If you don't think so, why don't you find out?" As if to punctuate, sparks flickered from the palms of his hands.

I see… His sweat is composed of nitroglycerin. According to Mikepidia it is used to treat heart conditions, but when ignited creates explosions…

Bakugou took long strides towards Izuku before suddenly winding up for a right hook…

Right before receiving a swift jab to the throat.

"Hrgh!" and sank to his knees.

"Bakugou!" "Katsuku!" Both of his lackeys looked shocked, but did nothing to intervene. Even though Bakugou was incapacitated, and his lackeys were horrified, Izuku could feel nothing but disappointment.

According to his muscle composition he should not have fallen so easily after a single strike… Perhaps humans are even more fragile now than I remember.

However, after a few seconds, Bakugou started to rise again. "You freak," He hissed out. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"No." Izuku looked away as though the child was incapable of holding his attention. "I was simply appraising your strength. Unfortunately, you have failed to reach my expectations. Now leave me be." He started to walk away.

Bakugou suddenly fired off an explosion directed behind him and dashed towards Izuku's back, determined to pay him back double for his first attack. Reaching for the back of his head, Bakugou smirked knowing he was milliseconds away from his first heroic act: Blowing the head off of a murderous villain. At least, that's what he was thinking before he felt someone grab his hand and twist it around before it exploded into his face. Coughing and blinded, he had no way to defend himself when Izuku landed a second punch into his throat, except this time it carried strength, not speed.

"You villain!" "Get him!" Finally breaking out of their stupor, Bakugou's followers joined the fight in the hopes that it would even the odds.

It didn't.

…

"Mrs. Midoriya, you need to understand that the level of violence that happened today wasn't normal. Children do get into occasional scraps, but they do not break bones or punch throats. They pull hair, maybe throw a toy or two. To be frank, you're lucky that the parents of the other children aren't pressing charges."

Inko was barely holding herself together. "I-I understand sir, b-but I just don't know how this ha-happened. Surely they must have provoked little Izuku into a-attacking them, I-I mean he's usually so quiet…"

"I can assure you that nothing those children could have said would have justified the level of violence inflicted upon them by your son. I highly suggest scheduling him some sort of therapy to get his emotions under control. I'd hate to have a villain originate from our fine establishment."

"Y-yes sir.."

…

Later that night Izuku heard yelling coming from down the hall. Then pleading, then the sound of the front door slamming, and finally sobbing.

He returned his focus to his training.

…

Time seemed to pass more quickly after that. Months turned to years, and Izuku's small body started to grow taller and fuller, with muscles that started to match his unnatural physical abilities.

Even though he was top of his class in his first year of middle school, he was alienated by his classmates. Some remembered the violence he inflicted on his classmates on his first day of school, while others found his aloof personality intimidating. However, everyone was unsettled by his six blood red eyes and the feelings of fear staring into them could induce.

Though he was rarely physically confronted by his classmates, Izuku was frequently verbally harassed, most often by Bakugou. He saw fit to give Izuku the nickname "Deku" because of the seemingly useless nature of his quirk. Despite the impression he gave, Bakugou always remembered the day they first met, and never forgave Izuku for beating and humiliating him.

Izuku did not care however, because he had found the perfect place to both hide from the prying eyes of others and perfect his techniques. Dagobah Beach, once a tourist attraction for its scenic sunsets and rolling waves, was now a dumping ground for most of the greater Mustafu area. A perfect place for a swordsman to perfect his skills. Unfortunately, the one thing that this swordsman lacked was a sword.

Fortunately, he was about to get one.

…

Izuku had been practicing his breathing long into the evening and found that the sky had turned dark while he was training. Though he had no issue with ignoring the darkness due to his eyesight, he was well aware of the likelihood of his mother phoning the police if he didn't return home in a timely manner. And so, he decided to take a shortcut by cutting through one of the seedier parts of town. It was during this journey home that the sounds of a dispute reached his ears.

"L-listen man, just take what you want, I don't want any trouble."

"Bullshit! I know you're holding out on me. Where the fuck is the rest of it?!"

Izuku slowed his steps and started walking towards the direction of the noises.

"I-I don't know what to tell you, what you see is what I got."

"Listen you little shit, if you don't say something I like in the next few seconds you're not walking out of this alley alive."

Turning the corner, Izuku saw one man towering over another. The larger man had no weapons on him, but his quirk seemed to make his hands resemble brass knuckles. The smaller man however had an assortment of guns, knives, pepper spray, swords…

And a katana.

Izuku felt his heart rate accelerate. In all of the time he'd lived in this world, not once had he found a way to acquire a katana. For the past 13 years, he'd felt as though he was missing a part of his body. And now the opportunity came to rectify that.

"Excuse me."

The larger man turned around. "A brat? What the fuck do you want?"

Izuku slowly walked down the alleyway. "I was wondering if that katana there was available for purchase."

"Get the fuck out of here, this ain't none of your business." Izuku continued walking towards them.

"Are you deaf? I said get the fuck outta here or else-" A swift kick the side of the knee interrupted his threat, and lowered his head enough to be within Izuku's striking range.

Total concentration breathing. Followed up by a right hook to the jaw, the large man tumbled over.

"Hrgh…" A low groan escaped from the man crawling on the ground.

Izuku stared down at his opponent in dismay.

Hmm… Even with total concentration breathing I still lack the strength to knock a full grown man out with a single punch. He looked towards the man carrying the weapons. At least now pure strength won't be necessary to incapacitate my enemies.

"You, you little fucking brat… do you have any idea-" Izuku silenced him with a kick to his left temple, instantly knocking him out.

"Heeeee! D-don't hurt me!" the other man cowered behind a dumpster.

Izuku stopped in front of him. "I'm not going to hurt you. You are a purveyor of goods, no? How much would that katana-"

"Just take it! Take it and leave me alone!" Dropping all of his wares and stumbling to his feet, the man scurried into the darkness before Izuku could protest.

How unprofessional. Not only has honor died out in this world, but apparently manners have as well. He picked up the katana and removed it from its sheath to appraise it. Hmm… It appears it is not composed of 100% steel. Many impurities marr its surface, its craftsmanship is shoddy, and the length of the blade is too long for my body… he returned it to its sheath with a click. But it will do for now. Exiting the alleyway, Izuku left the body of the unconscious man along with the rest of the other weapons.

And under the cover of darkness, Izuku returned to his home.

…

Inko sat by two cold bowls of katsudon. Where is he? He never comes home this late… she stared at the clock. It was twenty past nine. She struggled to control her breathing. Should I call the police? What would I tell them? Isn't there a minimum amount of time that needs to pass before I can file a missing person's report? What should I do what should I do what should I-

The front door opened with a click.

Inko stood up with a start. "Izuku? Is that you honey?" She rushed towards the entryway.

Izuku stood there holding something wrapped in cloth. "Ah. Good evening, mother."

When he started to walk past her, Inko stopped him "Izuku, where have you been? It's past 9 o'clock! Did you get in trouble? Were you attacked? Did-"

"I am fine, mother. I was simply preoccupied." Izuku started to walk past her again.

"Wait! Preoccupied with what? And what are you holding in your hands?"

He gestured towards the long object in his hands. "Ah, this? This was a gift from a friend. I'll be making good use of it soon." He reached the door to his room.

Inko tried to stop him again. "Well, what about dinner? I made katsudon! You like katsudon don't you?"

Izuku didn't even look at her when he started to close his door. "Not particularly." It shut in her face.

Inko stood in front of her son's door for a few minutes before returning to the kitchen. She put away the food, cleaned the dishes and returned to her room before crying herself to sleep.

…

Unfortunately, openly carrying a katana was more frowned upon in this world than his previous one, so Izuku had to make do by concealing it in a guitar case and carrying it wherever he went. It was bulky and cumbersome, but it was better than walking around without it.

Making his way to Dagobah Beach, Izuku was elated at the prospect of finally being able to practice his forms once more.

It has been 13 years since I last unleashed my techniques. Though they will not be as powerful as in my prime, I still hunger to feel them once more…

Arriving at the squalid beach, Izuku reached his training ground; a wide area surrounded by towers of broken appliances, abandoned vehicles and other trash. Here he could unleash his techniques without fear of observation or interference, and with plenty of materials to work with he could do so on a multitude of targets.

Let's start with something familiar… Izuku turned towards a rusted refrigerator. That will serve as a suitable target.

Taking the katana out from his case and placing it at his side, Izuku positioned his right leg slightly behind him and bent his knees.

Relaxing his body, he let his attention focus on the target in front of him.

Moon Breathing, First Form. He tensed the muscles in the arm pulling his sword from its sheath.

Dark Moon, Evening Palace.

A flash of light, a whistle of air, and a single horizontal cleave sliced the refrigerator in two.

A satisfied smile spread across Izuku's face.

Oh, how I've missed this.