Hello everyone, I know it has been a long time since any progress was made on this story. I haven't really had the time to update as I would like to, and when I did start re-reading this, I realized that I wasn't happy with the product itself. A few readers have commented, albeit less than kindly, that it has just followed the cannon with little changes here and there, and they are right. So, with that in mind, I am working on trying to really take some more liberty with the story and use the cannon as flow chart because the third time is the charm, so they say. So, for those that have read prologue below, that really hasn't changed as it sets the stage, however, Chapter One is longer and has been changed to a place that I am okay with. Thank you all for your continued support, and I hope you enjoy.

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

"All Might Buff form speech"

"All Might Buff form thoughts"

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or Naruto; I merely enjoy adapting the stories.

"All men are not created equal. This belief held true for me from a very young age, that is, until I met her…"

"What are you doing, Kacchan? Can't you see he's crying? This isn't how a hero should act," yelled a trembling green-haired child.

This child was Midoriya Izuku, age four, and he now stood between his former friend and now bully, Bakugo Katsuki, Bakugo's two lackeys, and another child crying on the ground.

"Oh, if it isn't Deku trying to play hero again? What makes you think you can be a hero when you don't even have a quirk to help?" Katsuki questioned with a condescending sneer, his palms sparking with small explosions.

"W-what? No, K-Kacchan, I just think you should stop," Izuku stammered while waving his arms in front of him.

"Who do you think you are, trying to give me orders, quirkless?" Bakugo forced out, growing increasingly agitated.

As the sparks from his palms intensified, Katsuki and his group began to close in on Izuku, starting slowly but increasing their pace. Izuku trembled more as Bakugo approached, his hand cocked back, sparks menacingly dancing. Bakugo's strike came faster than Izuku could react, the explosion occurring directly in front of his face, sending him crashing to the ground with a soft thud.

"See, Deku? Do you see how insignificant you are, trying to play at being a hero?" Bakugo taunted, reeling his hand back for another blow.

As Bakugo swung again, mini-explosions went off as his hand neared Izuku's face. The green-haired child, eyes closed, could only muster one thought, "Stop, please."

Suddenly, everything fell silent, and Izuku could feel a gentle breeze caressing his face. Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself in a vast field beneath a blue sky.

"Where am I?" he thought as he stood up.

"We're inside your mind, ningen."

Izuku jumped at the voice, which boomed like rolling thunder. Turning quickly, he saw a giant fox with a Cheshire-like grin.

"WHAT ARE YOU?! PLEASE DON'T EAT ME," he screamed while cowering in fear under the gaze of the fox.

"Why wou—"

"Then you'll use my bones as toothpicks and—"

"Ningen, hey can y—"

"God, I haven't even gotten my quirk yet, is this how—"

"NINGEN, QUIET," yelled the fox, instantly silencing the frazzled child.

Izuku paused to look at the fox, really taking in its majesty this time. Before him lay the fox with its head resting upon its front paws, its nine tails curled around its side. Its fur was as white as a cloud in the sky, adorned with majestic green tips on its tails, ears, and feet. Opening its eyes, Izuku stared into the deep emerald slits gazing down at him.

"Good," the fox spoke again. "As I was saying before, this is your mind, ningen. I was wondering when we'd have the opportunity to meet."

"W-who are y-you?" Izuku stuttered, still trying to process the situation.

"I am Kurama, but more importantly, I am your quirk, ningen," replied the fox now known as Kurama.

"M-my quirk?" exclaimed the child who had once believed he might be quirkless. "You mean I can summon you, and we can fight together?"

As Kurama chuckled at his question, Izuku realized by the sound of the laugh that the being before him was female. "No, ningen, you will not be able to summon me, at least not yet. However, we have a special connection that should allow you to use my power," Kurama answered.

"That's so cool, can I—"

"That, however, is a conversation for another time, ningen," Kurama interjected. "Currently, we need to take care of the gnat who dared to raise his hand to my vessel."

"What do you mean?" Izuku innocently asked, tilting his head slightly. "Are you talking about Kacchan? I don't want to hurt him."

"Do not worry, ningen. I won't hurt the gnat; I'm just going to instill a healthy dose of fear into him," she replied, the Cheshire cat-like grin widening ever so slightly.

Bakugo grinned as his hand neared its target. However, just as it was about to make contact, all the force that was gathered halted, and Bakugo found himself unable to draw his hand back. Bakugo followed this hand back to the person he deemed useless and defenseless, the same person now glaring back at him with slitted emerald eyes.

"What the hel—"

"Look at me, gnat," a voice that sounded like a mixture of two called out to Bakugo. "You will leave the boy alone, and this will be the last time you pretend to be greater than my vessel," growled out what used to be Izuku.

"Let go of my ha—"

"I will not give any more warnings," continued Izuku, as if Bakugo wasn't struggling against him. "NOW RUN," Izuku's voice boomed, accompanied by an explosion of the same ethereal force.

"I'll remember this, Deku," Bakugo screamed as he turned and ran away, his cohorts already ahead of him, fleeing before the display of force from the once defenseless green-haired child. As the glow receded, Izuku blinked a few times, as if to clear a haze. The boy behind him stared wide-eyed at Izuku's back in awe.

"Thank you for saving me from them," the child squeaked out while bowing to show his gratitude.

"I-it wasn't that big of a d-deal; it's what any hero would do," Izuku replied, smiling with a small, fox-like grin.

"This power is amazing; I can't wait to see what else I…"

"Ahem, ningen, I believe you mean we."

Izuku jumped slightly at hearing Kurama chime in but shook his head and smiled another fox-like grin. "We, Kurama, I can't wait to see what we can do."

"Good," replied the snow-white fox, grinning along with her vessel.

"Good."