It all began with a simple game, a pointless and harmless competion. Stone skipping, the concept being so easy to grasp for the four children participating in it.

Grab a neat looking stone, throw it towards the lake and try to make it bounce. The winner was whoever managed to make the rock go farther, or bounce more, there were some arguments about it when someone made it skip five times, but didn't cover as much distance.

However, those arguments only ever were made to determine second place, since one certain Katsuki Bakugo was always victorious on the game, fourteen times played, fourteen times won. Much in contrast to Izuku Midoriya, eternal loser of the game, the only time he had managed to make the rock bounce was on his first ever throw, where the stone slipped from his hands and fell to the ground behind him. Similar performances on other games had earned the boy the nickname of Deku, of useless.

But the fifteenth time they played was quite different. Katsuki did his usual throw, even broken his record by a small margin, doing four bounces, however, Izuku's throw went across the lake, practically flying above the water, still no bounces, but no one there was focusing on that.

"Woah, d-did you see that guys!?" The guy's exciment was practically radiating off of him, looking at the distance, trying to see if he could spot the rock he just launched. "I-I made it fly!"

While the other two kids were starstruck by that display, Katsuki just stared dumbfounded, not understanding how Deku of all people managed to do that, even as the smartest among the group of four year olds, it took a while for him to put two and two together. "A Quirk... Deku got a Quirk before I did."

"I did!?"

"Woah, that's awesome!" One of the other kids said.

In was in the fifteenth game of stone skipping that Izuku manifested his Quirk for the first time, the ability to attract and repel.

It was also there where Katsuki said something that would haunt his memories to this day.

"Pfft, like that matters, just wait and see how much more awesome mine will be!"

He was diagnosed Quirkless exactly one month after that day, and once the doctor said that, he could only hear himself saying those words.

At first, during the first year or so, nothing seemed to be different. He was still leader of the pack, so to speak. He lead the way through the forest, he decided what game they were gonna play. However, there was a noticeable difference.

Izuku's presence and importance in the eyes of the others. Even if Katsuki was leading the way, he could tell, the others were not really following him, but his childhood friend instead. As Izuku began to know more about his Quirk, others began to took notice of it.

And so did they notice more and more Katsuki's lack of one. Everyone but Izuku, who seemed oblivious of the situation, always treating everyone as he always had. Then, a year later, the catalyst that made it change happened.

"Hey, why are we still hanging out with Katsuki?" One of the members of the group said, quite openly despite Katsuki being right there to hear it.

"Huh?" Izuku didn't hide that he didn't get the question.

"C'mon, Izuku, he's Quirkless. Dad says that those kinds of people are like monkeys compared to us." The other completed his friend's logic.

"The hell did you say!?" Katsuki stomped towards them in an attempt to intimidate them into taking that back.

They responded by manifesting their Quirks, fingers and wings respectively. "We said you're a monkey."

The blonde wasn't deterred by that in the slightest, and was about to honor his unspoken threat before the fourth member of the group stepped between them, took a deep breath and with a smile he turned towards the two.

"Well, if you think that, then you can play without us. But you can't play with us either, ever. Now... shoo, shoo." He then waved them off, activating his Quirk, making them be pushed away by the small gesture.

Their group of friends got reduced to a pair of friends ever since. Why was Katsuki currently reminiscing on such memories nearly a decade later? He didn't know, maybe it was because they were about begin their last year of middle school and that could mean they weren't going to be seeing each other as often as they did now. The idea of losing contact with your only and best friend wasn't appealing.

Even if the nerd is insistent on saying I can get to U.A.

He tsked and went to look outside his window, it wasn't much, the view wasn't all that great, and air wasn't all that fresh, but it felt better than laying on his bed doing nothing.

The sky was blue and cloudy, it was a nice temperature, the nerd was waving at him right next to the window, which was located at the second floor...

Katsuki stared at said nerd, currently floating near him, a nerd that kept waving with a smile. And then proceeded to toss an eraser right towards Izuku's head, it bounced off of his forehead and the blonde managed to catch it.

"Hey, that was mean!" As he said that, he somehow lost balance in the middle of the air, both trying to rebalance himself and to mantain altitude. "Woah-oh!"

"And you being outside my window is creepy!" He yelled back. "Who the hell made you think that was a good idea? And since when you could fly?"

"I was about to knock...! I just found out I could do this last week and, oh-uh, thought it would be a little- Woah!" He keep trying to readjust himself in midair as he spoke. "-a little funny if this was how you found out, but I need more practice, socanyougivemeahandhereIthinkI'mgonnafall."

Rolling his eyes at the display, he took hold of his friend's arm and pulled him towards his room, where Izuku let go of whatever method he was using to levitate and fell unceremoniously on the floor.

"Thanks, Kacchan..." He said with his face still planted on the floor.

"Can't have you ruining the hag's flowers. She's somehow gonna blame me for that. Now get up, you're gonna get the floor dirty. It's already bad enough that you're entering with your shoes on, don't need your spit on it as well."

Slowly, Izuku stood up, and quickly scanned the room. Why? Katsuki didn't know, it was just a room. A bed, a desk, a drum set, a nightstand, a shelf, a closet and a bean bag. Admittedly, the drum set was eye-catching, but he knew Izuku had seen it more that enough

"It's just my room, not like you haven't been here before."

"Your collection grew." Izuku pointed to the shelf, the one with figurines, stepping closer to it, and once he did, he stilled. "Actually, how did you-? This is an original Debut figure! Where did you get it!? And why didn't you tell me!?"

"Same ol' store, some guy sold it yesterday. Just the one. You just didn't get there in time." His voice was infinitely less interested in the figure that his friend's was.

"Oww..." Izuku stared longedly at the All Might figure carrying several people. "How much do I have to pay you for it?"

"Just for you, nerd, three times the global economy."

Did he actually valued the figure that much? Nah. Did he get it mainly because he knew Izuku would desperately want it? Absolutely. Would he keep it for at least a year before even considering it gifting it to the nerd? Maybe.

"Yeah, that's fair..."

"Now, why are you here?" He crossed his arms. "You don't normally come to my house unnanounced just for shits and giggles."

"Kacchan... that's how you treat not only a guest, but also your best friend...? That's so sad." Izuku sighed as he plopped down on the beanie bag.

"Stop pretending to be hurt and just answer the damn question, you asshole!"

His childhood friend dropped the facade and smiled, "Got me. Well, I won't test your patience any longer." He reached into his backpack and pulled out a notebook, opening it up to some pages containing some sort of training regime. "Ta-da! I found this. Considering we're aiming for U.A I thought that we could try it out. It seems really reliable and plenty of Pro's have used it. Even though the source is a bit iffy, I think Eraserhead also utilized some variant of this one and-"

"Already knew of it." Katsuki interrupted before Izuku got deep into his mumbling. "Besides, didn't I tell you that I would figure out how to become a Hero on my own?"

He just started the regime a week ago, and it was hell. He even puked with one of the runs alone. But just like the nerd said, it was legit, he knew for a fact that Death Arms used it. Whether or not that Erasersomething also did he didn't care.

"Yeah, you did... But a little help doesn't hurt. Everybody needs a hand sometimes."

"And do I need it?"

Izuku knew a trap when he saw one, and that question was such a big one that he had to take a good second to formulate his answer.

"Maybe. Not always, I'll even admit you don't actually need it right now, but... I still want to help. I always want to help people, even if it's not needed."

If that wasn't the best summary of his friend Katsuki has ever heard, he didn't know what it was. Maybe the same, except with an added 'way too interested in analyzing people and their Quirks' somewhere in between.

"Well, I don't want any of your help, you damn nerd. Quirk or not, I'm gonna kill the competition all on my own."

That was the idea anyway.

Izuku just smiled, standing up before saying, "Alright, but we still got a little over a year before you do any of that." He walked towards the window, probably to make his exit. "Oh, another thing, uh - I hope this doesn't sound insensitive or anything but - please don't think that having a Quirk is important. It really isn't. People are people, no matter what."

"What kind of elementary grade moral bullcrap is that?" Katsuki asked, unimpressed.

"The kind I really believe in." He answered with pure sincerity.

"Whatever, just don't fall out of the window."

With nothing more than a wave and a smile, Izuku went away, slowly decending from the window, far more graceful that.

After a couple of seconds, Katsuki closed it, allowing himself to fall on top of his bed again.

Around a year, that's how much time he had left to prepare. To be the strongest, to never be defeated. The world was cruel for giving him such a dream and yet no actual power to realize it, but that was alright. He would use it, because if there was something Katsuki has learned to enjoy, it was to do something people told him he wouldn't be able to do, and then shove his middle finger right in their faces.

Having that motivation alone was making him believe he could do it.

The next morning, Katsuki woke up early to keep up with that ridiculous training he had found, it always started with that absurd run that made him puke. He went to a nearby park to do the run there, it was large enough for it and there were barely any people there in the mornings. Though because of that, he was surprised to see Izuku sitting on a bench near the entrance, wearing a light blue tracksuit.

"Oh. Hi there, Kacchan..." Izuku said while holding back a yawn. It was clear that he wasn't used to waking up so early.

"Why the fuck are you here?"

"For, uh, training. Y'know, I told you about the routine yesterday?"

"That's not the point, you damn nerd." Katsuki crossed his arms. "Why are you here, waiting for me, when we never agreed on a time and place for this shit?"

"Waiting for you...? Not really. Honestly, I'm sitting here because I'm still kind of half-asleep right now. I way understimated how much early six in the morning was. If I would have known you'd be here, I'd gone somewhere else..."

"And why the hell is that?"

"First you ask why am I here, then why would I want to be somewhere else? Getting mixed signals." Izuku chuckled a little bit at his own humor. "But seriously, I just thought you'd be upsed if I showed up to train with you after that whole 'gonna kill them on my own' thing."

"... Alright, fair."

Izuku was probably right, Katsuki had to admit, and he kind of didn't like whenever his friend somehow knew what his thought process was gonna be.

"Whatever, you're here. Might as well join me. I'm not gonna take it easy just so you can catch up to me."

"Huh. Funny..." Izuku stood up, staring at his friend with challenge clear in his eyes. "I think that's my line."

Katsuki stared back, with a vicious smirk. "You'll regret that."

And so, the fire of competition was set ablaze. Plenty of times, that was a good thing, it helped people have another reason to push themselves to improve, to be better. Other times... not so much.

Such was the case with this dreaded run. Because the objective no longer was to simply complete the run, but it got twisted into doing it faster than the other participant. Restraint maybe would have been an option for those with cooler heads. However, these were teenagers whose dreams involved becoming the number one hero for one reason or another.

It was because of it that once they finished the run, they shortly after collapsed on the floor, panting like they have been deprived the benefits of air for all of their lifes, their lungs and legs burning up, and with the dire need to vomit the breakfast they just had.

However, it was incredible still that before their worries about any of that, both of them said at the same time. "Fifty-five, thirty seven!"

Before allowing themselves to throw up behind the nearest bush, or to scream "Fuck!" as hard as possible.

"Whoo... Damn... It... It really is tough." Izuku said between pants, while using his hand to wipe vile off of his mouth.

"You... You think...? Nah... This shit's easy." Katsuki's voice was as coarse as sandpaper, which is why he guzzled down a whole bottle of water after hearing it.

They spend another five minutes just to recover their breaths.

"Hey, nerd... You didn't say the miliseconds."

That made Izuku look at his phone, with the stopwatch app still displaying the results of how it took him to complete the run. "Point ninety five seconds."

"Ha! Point eleven! Take that, you fuck!"

Despite losing, Izuku smiled. It was all in good fun, agonizing fun, but fun nonetheless. "I'll win tomorrow then."

Katsuki merely tsked at the notion, "As if." He took a deep breath and after a brief moment of thought, he asked, "Why do this?"

"Uhh... To train?"

"Not that. This is a hard as hell program, you've searched it, so you know most people pick it up at seventeen or eighteen at the minimum. I don't have the option to wait til then if I want to get to that damn school... But you do. We both know you can get there on Quirk alone. So why?"

"Hmm... Can I not want to be fit as well?"

"That could have been an excuse, but you do that for anything. I learn how to cook, you want to learn as well and Auntie teaches you. My mom puts me in drum practice, you suddenly want to learn an instrument or two and Uncle lets you take some music classes. Every single thing I do that I've told you about, you also want to try at. Why?"

Which was why he didn't tell his friend about how he was already using the program earlier, because he knew he would get involved in it some way or another.

Izuku looked towards the sky, thinking for a little while before looking back to his friend. "Would you believe me if I say it was just so I could do it?"

"Gonna have to explain more than that, I'm not taking what's essentially a just because as an answer."

"It's a dumb reason." He admitted with a smile, staying quiet for a while before continuing. "Remember Deku?"

"That old nickname? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, I was Deku. A Deku, couldn't really do anything. I think I was the last one of our class to learn how to count properly. But you were the opposite. Always picked up things really fast and managed to get good a them quickly. Not me, it always took me a while longer." He let out a chuckle. "It's dumb and petty but... When I realized that... I don't know, I just wanted to make sure you didn't adquire that many more skills than me before I couldn't catch up. Now I kind of do it because I'm used to it."

"Seriously? That's a dumb fucking reason."

"Not claiming otherwise, kid me wasn't the smartest. But it is fun to learn things, and I have picked up some stuff you don't do. Like drawing and analyzing things."

"Too bad the deal you made with the devil to learn that forced you to have that stupid as hell mumble thing you do." Katsuki joked.

"Hey! It's not that bad!"

"I'm not gonna argue if you want to lie to yourself."

"I could have just said that I like to learn stuff, is this how you're gonna repay my honesty!?"

"Yes. Now come up, the run isn't the only thing this program has."

"I know, I know..." Izuku let out a sigh, before turning toward his friend. "Wanna see who finishes the set first?"

"Pfft. As if there's any question it's gonna be me."

Somehow, despite the aching muscles that the competion caused, they didn't regret trying to one up the other.

Izuku was surprised at the relatively little amount of time it took them to get used to the program.

It didn't mean that they now were breezing through it, rather that they now didn't feel the agony of a thousand suns coursing through their bodies after the day was done, and considering U.A's exam was only eleven months away, that was a good sign. At least that was how Izuku felt. He still felt like collapsing after the runs, but at least now he didn't barf up his breakfast.
He was getting more used to the early mornings as well! Which was good, he supposed that maybe U.A being such a prestigious school, it could have some times when it was needed to be up and awake at such an early hour. Pure speculation, yes, but he was reaching for any benefits that could be taken from that training. He knew progress was slow, but anything that showed him that he was not wasting his time was encouraging.

Heh, Kacchan was right. If he wasn't doing it, I probably would have settled with a more maneageable routine.

Whatever the case, he now found himself entering his middle-school, all while writting notes on a villain attack he saw earlier. It was the first time he saw a Quirk that allowed someone to transform into a giant-sized version of themselves, it also was, coincidentally, the second time he saw pretty much the same Quirk. While seeing a hero making their debut was something he appreciated, there was a good part of him a bit bummed out that Kamui Wood's attack was interrupted just to give Mt. Lady the spotlight, he seemed to be having the situation under control, which raised the question, just how strong was the wood, because that villain could break concrete if saw correctly, that would logically have to mean that, if he was confident his technique would work, Kamui would have needed to produce a wood that was more resistant than that. Or maybe he was trying to restrain the villain so that he couldn't use his full fo-

Slap!

"'It isn't that bad', my ass. Don't you see you people are looking at you?" Kacchan said while placing his hand back in his pocket, giving a glance at the notebook, furrowing his brow in some sort of confused frustration. "How the fuck do you manage to make such organized notes when you talk like a babbling madman?"

"It's a talent." Izuku just rubbed the back of his head, where he had just been slapped. It didn't hurt too much, but it still hurt. "How do you have such an attitude, but can't stay past ten P.M to save your life?"

His friend just tsked, before heading back to their class. "C'mon, you barely made it in time."

"Which means I made it in time." He concluded, knowing full well that was not the point.

Katsuki knew better than to answer such a remark.

Classes were boring, even if Izuku tried to say that they held something of value. He didn't blame it on the teachers or anything, they were doing their job good enough, but that didn't make them feel any less dull.

And Kacchan thinks the same, but he would probably say that these are just a waste of time just because he's already good at the subject matter.

When it came to the last class of the day, however, Izuku didn't feel like it was boring. It was awkward. The teacher just had to make a whole little act about how everyone in the class was going to shoot for a hero school, and then just had to single Izuku out by saying he was trying to go to U.A. Just him, no mention of Kacchan. At first, he just kept quiet, and then the teacher began to rain praise on him, about how he had a pretty good chance of actually making it. How he was such a star student. And how honored the school would be if one of their students managed to graduate from U.A as a hero.

"Then why don't you mention Kacchan?" The words left his mouth before he realized.

"Hm? Bakugou...? Oh, right, he also wrote down U.A as his school of choice."

The reaction from the rest of the class was immediate. Whispers and murmurs, all while glancing at the boy in question, who in turn, was sending a glare towards Izuku. While he would respect the class a bit for trying to keep their opinions more privately, they were failing, and the gist of it could still be heard.

"Wait, him, seriously? C'mon, that's gotta be delusional."

"He's trying as a hero? I swear, with that attitude and all of that he'd be better as a bouncer in some club or something."

"No way, sure, he's got the grades for it, but he's gotta be aware that without a Quirk, that's just a dream."

And so on.

"I don't get it," Izuku said. "Why is it that I get your silence and the teacher's compliments, while Kacchan gets your doubtful whispers?"

"Uhh, you serious, Midoriya?" Komeda, one eye popped way higher than the other to signify doubt, asked. "You Quirk is strong and Bakugou's got none at all! That's all there is to it."

"Is that all that matters? By that logic, you should be getting the same treatment for applying to any hero course with a Quirk that you yourself say that causes dizzyness and headache after using it for more than one minute in total. Am I wrong?" After receiving no answer he continued. "If you're happy to try despite the challenges, that's good, I'm glad and I hope you succeed. But then you shouldn't discourage others from doing the same."

No further whispers. However, just by the glare he was feeling getting more intense on him, he knew that this was gonna lead to another discution.

A little while later, after class ended, he found himself alone with Kacchan in the empty classroom, and his friend looked as unhappy as he thought he'd be.

"What the fuck was that there?" Kacchan demanded an explanation.

Such a great way to start the conversation.

"Sorry, I couldn't stand that you were unnoticed and doubted like that."

"So you thought that it'd be best to talk for me then?"

No, the truth is that he didn't think much at all about that.

"... Well, you weren't doing it."

And he definitely didn't think about that before saying it.

"And I wasn't gonna!" Kacchan fumed. "They aren't worth it, if they wanna be wrong, let them! I'll just make sure that they know I'm giving them the middle finger when I'm big!"

That attitude... Izuku could admire a lot of aspects about his friend's personality, but that bit of antagonism Kacchan had towards everyone who doubted him wasn't one of them. Specially because the only time that his friend sounded certain of becoming a hero, was when it was as a means to spite those who didn't believe in him.

"I'm sure they just need to know how driven you are. I know you'll be able to make it, and I know they can be able to see them too if you show them... I know you may feel like they might deserve it, but you're pushing them away by thinking of them like that, they're not bad people."

"I don't give a damn if they aren't! They may be saints for all I care, but that doesn't change the fact that I want them to realize that they were wrong about me right when it's too late."

"You don't think that's petty...? You're just happily labeling them as people to prove wrong when they could be your friends if you just give them a chance. Since we began middle-school you have barely talked to them, it's no wonder they doubt you, because they don't know you."

"...Tch." Kacchan turned around and headed out. "I'm going home alone."

That was his way of saying 'I do not want to talk anymore about anything'.

Izuku sighed, and decided to let it be. It wasn't the first time they had this kind of talk. Kacchan was a little... remorseful just because of the others' lack of faith. He shook his head before heading out of school, heading straight home, allowing his friend to take his time to cool off.

He really meant what he said. That all the class could see how capable Kacchan was and accept him as a friend, but only if Kacchan allowed it. Izuku knew that his friend probably treated them like that for some comments about his Quirklessness they had made when they heard about it, but everyone deserved a second chance. People are people, and people make mistakes. He personally believed that is it wrong to judge people on them, specially if they can improve.

In the middle of his meditation, he felt a small rumble beneath him, followed closely by the sound of a manhole cover being punched open behind him. He looked back and saw an amorphous mass of sludge, that was seemingly smiling at him in what could be described as a predatory manner.

"Ah, a medium sized disguise! Perfect!"

With those words, the sludge jumped towards him, most likely in an attempt to catch him, however, five meters away from him, the individual felt a force propel him backwards, making him fly away from the boy.

"Excuse me, sir, I'm no disguise, my name is Izuku Midoriya. What is yours? How can I help you?" He replied calmly, hoping that it would lead to a more civil conversation.

"What the-? Nevermind, you can help me by letting me get away from that guy!"

The still unnamed man tried the same strategy again, only for the results to be the exact same.

"That guy...?" Izuku tilted his head. "That doesn't tell me much. But, hmm, by your voice I can tell you've been running for quite awhile, that plus what you just said makes it clear you're running away from someone, considering a lot of heroes are currently patrolling the street three blocks down, and you thought it wise to use the sewers as a route of travel..." As he finished saying that, the sludge tried the same strategy once more, with the same results. "I didn't want to assume based on appeareance, but since you attacked me, I'm certain you're a villain. Probably a thief if the bills still in your, eh, body are any indication. So 'that guy' must be a Hero. Though... may I ask why resort to thievery? Are you in a bad situation?"

The sludge villain's eye twitched. "Ugh! You're insufferable! I did it just because I want to, that's why!"

It was this time that he tried something diferent, spreading himself as much as possible in an attempt to surround the student in all directions.

"I see. What a shame, I don't think I can help you then. Perhaps the Hero chasing you can."

"You can by letting me use you!"

Like a wave, the liquid rushed towards him from all angles, yet, when the sludge came within one meter on the boy, it found some kind of barrier, protecting Izuku in a semisphere. One of the eyes of the villain appeared in between the sludge, staring at the teen, who was currently whose eyes were currently closed shut, and his hair moving in a wavy manner despite the lack of wind.

"Ehehehe! I see! You're one of those mental types! This barrier of yours must take a lot of concentration! But how long can you keep it up!?"

"Long enough." Another voice answered for Izuku, one voice the teen recognized very well and almost made him lose concentration. "Texas..."

"Oh, fu-"

"Smash!"

It was then that Izuku felt both a strong gust of wind and some piece of sludge that went through his barrier, pushed by the impact of All Might's punch.

When the boy opened his eyes, he saw the area he was in almost completely covered by the sludge, the now unconscious villain making a groan, and then there was All Might, wearing casual clothes and holding a plastic bottle in each hand, kneeling down and trying to fit the villain's body into said bottles.

"Glad to see you're alright, young man!" The hero said, looking at him while still filling the bottles. "I apologize for not instantly checking on you, but this scoundrel is slippery, almost lost him in the sewers! So I have to make sure I contain him before he wakes up!"

"U-Uhm, it's quite- Ahem!" Izuku coughed when his voice sounded a few pitches too higher for his liking. "It's alright! Can I get an- Ah, no, wait, before that... Do you need any help?"

Autographs could wait, what All Might said was right, the villain could still wake up and run away.

"Do not bother yourself, young man! I merely have to capture the main body! Shouldn't take too long, maybe take a few steps back in the meantime, just to be safe." His smile seemed to shine if just for a moment. "I can give you that signature you seem to wish after that, no problem at all!

Nodding dumbly, Izuku did as asked, and not long after, All Might had two bottles full of villain. Laughing, he approached the young man and pulled a pen out of his pocket.

"Now, do you have a piece of paper or something else I can write in? Believe it or not, writting on any surface is something I can't do." The symbol of peace joked. "Also, a name would be nice, I find it better when a autograph goes to a specific person rather than just being my name written down."

"I'm I-Izuku, Izuku Midoriya. You could use my, uh, my notebook, sir. Oh! And can you make another for my friend, Kacchan? A-Ah, but that's not his name, it's Katsuki Bakugou, if you used that nickname he would kill me." He let out a small nervous laugh as he handed the notebook to the hero.

Returning the laugh, All Might, quickly wrote down on two pages before returning the notebook to his fan. Izuku stared at the signature, with starry eyes, for a good while, not fully believing it.

"Well, young Midoriya, it was a pleasure," All Might said as he stretched, "but I'm afraid I have to drop this evildoer to the poli-"

"W-Wait!" He quickly closed the notebook and pulled out his phone.

"Hm? A picture? Hahaha, very well, I do have time for that!"

"Uh, no, not exactly... See. My friend and I want to be Heroes, a bit like you." In different ways. "But he's Quirkless, so, he doesn't believe that much in himself. Yet he still tries really hard! So, I was, uh, wondering if you could record, like, uhh, some words of encouragement...?" Izuku offered the phone with the camera opened so that All Might could record said video.

The number one hero stared at the cellphone for a good while, before gently pushing it away, regret clear in his face.

"I'm sorry, young man. I can't do that in good conscience. Being a Hero is a dangerous job, I have no doubt that you'll be able to achieve your goals, considering how you defended yourself against that villain, but... How could have your friend acted in that situation?" All Might shook his head. "It's good to dream, but one should ground their future in reality."

Seeing that Izuku didn't have anything to say, All Might briefly streched once again before jumping away.

The teen remained there, opened the book and saw the autographs, the same ones. Yet they didn't feel as impactful as before. Almost hollow.

A/N:

Hello!

Welcome, to the first chapter Change of Circumstances.

It's a pretty simple idea, it's simply a what if Izuku was the one with a powerful Quirk and Katsuki the one growing up Quirkless. That simple change. Of course, that leads to some other changes, the most obvious one being Katsuki's lack of a massive ego. Also, them being best friends instead of a bully and his victim.

Yet, there is a lot that remains of the original, Izuku is still someone who can't stand seeing someone he can help and not help him, and Katsuki is still a prideful, rude and somewhat temperamental guy. Also, yes, I do believe he would still be prideful despite not having an ego.

This first chapter is pretty, let's say, self contained, for two reasons, one, its focus is mainly to introduce the two main characters, and how they differ from their canon counterparts, and second, because this is kind of a proof of concept. How often I write chapters for this fic is dependant on its reception and also how often I get inspired to write for it.

Anyways, one thing I will say even if it's obvious, don't expect this version of Bakugou to take the role of canon Izuku. I do plan for some stuff to change significantly. And, hey, we might take a few more chapters to even get to actual U.A stuff.

Whatever the case, let me know what you think, reviews are always helpful.

See ya!