Izuku was walking aimlessly. After having his dream crushed by All Might, he didn't feel like going home.

He took a detour down a random street, and kept walking. He didn't want to give up… but what could he do? In a world where quirks were everything, he had nothing.

While he was walking down this random street, he saw a man mugging a random woman.

The man, who had a fish head?, ran by him, with a pink purse in tow. Izuku looked back to where he had run from, and saw a woman on the ground, clutching her head.

He started running before he realized it. He chased after the man, pushed through crowds of people, and when he got close enough, he launched himself at the man, latching onto him.

Fishhead threw him off of him and yelled. "Do you have a problem, kid? Last I checked, I didn't steal from you!"

Izuku stood up, and brushed some dust off of his clothes, before getting into a fighting stance he had seen from a random TV show. "Give the purse back, sir!"

Fishhead narrowed his eyes at the young teen, before grunting. "Not a chance kid, today's my payday. I'm getting pretty sick of you!" He started charging towards Izuku. He threw a right hook, with Izuku ducking under it, and hitting him with a right hook.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to do much damage, with the man simply looking down at him, with a wicked smile on his face.

"Man, for a hero wannabe, you're pretty pathetic!" Was all he said, as he planted his fist into Izuku's face, and everything went black.

Izuku was left floating around in a swirling void.

"For a hero wannabe, you're pretty worthless"

"I'm sorry, but there's no way someone like you could become a hero"

"I'm so sorry Izuku!"

Izuku woke up with a gasp. He sat up on his? bed. He looked around, and noticed that this was not his room. The bedroom looked like something straight out of the feudal era.

He stood up, and stretched as he let out a groan. His head hurt. Why did it hurt?

"You certainly got yourself into quite a pickle!"

A young woman entered the room. She was wearing a pink kimono with a horn mutation on the right side of her temple. She had straight black hair, and her eyes were bright pink.

"I'm sorry… who are you?" He asked.

She smiled. "I'm the woman you tried to help before you lost that fight"

It took a few seconds for Izuku to connect the dots. Suddenly, the earlier events flooded into his mind.

He quickly entered a deep bow. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't get it back, miss!" He shouted out.

She smiled. "Don't be! It's so rare to see someone even try to help while there aren't any cameras around. You brightened up my day!"

"Oh. Ok" Izuku said, feeling awkward. He stood back up. "Thank you very much for taking care of me" He said, before realizing how worried his mum must be. "My mum! Oh no, she's probably so worried!"

"No need to panic, I told her everything" The woman said, as she sat down on one of the rooms chairs.

Izuku was confused by this. "You know my mum?" She nodded. "We're only acquaintances, but I was friends with your father, if only for a brief time"

Izuku stepped forward, shocked by this. "You knew my father?" Once again, she nodded. "He was a good friend" She shook her head. "But now isn't the time for that. You need rest"

She left the room, as Izuku climbed back into his bed.

He wasn't able to get much sleep. That man's words haunted him, as did what All Might told him.

He woke up in the middle of the night. He knew that he wouldn't get back to sleep, so he stepped out of bed, and walked around the room. There was a nearby bookshelf. He took a book at random and opened it.

The title read: The Demon Slayer Workout Regime

"Interested in books, eh?"

Izuku snapped the book closed as the woman taking care of him stepped into the room. "Uhh, yeah I guess"

She smiled, before grabbing a couple books from the shelf. "You want to be a hero, right?" Izuku nodded. She continued. "Well then, try a couple of these books. You might learn a thing or two from them" She said as she handed him the books. "The top one will help you with a workout, there's some seriously tough stuff there, you're gonna need a pretty strong body to pull it off!"

Izuku looked down at the books in his arms. All Might's words seemed to overflow in his mind. "I don't know… I'm quirkless, I'm not really cut out to be a hero"

"At least take them home" She said. "You never know what you might get out of them"

Izuku accepted this proposal, recognising that she wouldn't give up until he agreed.

Izuku arrived home with the books given to him, and received a big welcome home from his mum. That day, and the one after that, went by like they usually did. Izuku kept up to date with any big hero news, but his heart wasn't in it as much as it usually was.

It was another normal, boring day for Izuku. He was lying down om his bed, scrolling through social media on his phone, when a thought came to him.

He wasn't really enjoying keeping up with the hero news as much as usual, so why not try out that manual.

No. He wasn't cut out for that stuff. He just wasn't meant for that kind of thing. Izuku firmly put that thought to rest, before turning his phone back on. He lasted less than 30 seconds before curiosity got the better of him, and he jumped off of his bed and grabbed the book on the top of the pile that that lady had given to him.

"The Demon Slayer Workout Regime? I guess I could give it a try"

Izuku flipped through the book, eyeing the different exercises. The book detailed a three year exercise plan, followed by extensive sword training. It must have been designed for someone with a sword quirk. Izuku decided to start the exercises. Even getting 10 months of training in would get his body into pretty good shape. That's the amount of time until the UA entrance exams. Not that it mattered, its not like he stood a chance anyways.

Izuku sighed. But there was no harm in trying! He slipped back in bed, preparing himself for the start of this training tomorrow.

The next day, Izuku woke up, had breakfast, and went to school. He endured the taunting of the class, made more bearable by Bakugo being absent. Apparently he had gotten into a scrape with a villain, and so he had a few days off to recover.

Once the school day was over, he headed over to the local beach. It was polluted behind belief by people dumping their rubbish into the ocean, but there was enough clear space to get started. Izuku opened the book, and read the first page.

As Izuku was exercising, the advise from the book ran through his mind. "Run 10 kilometers every day!" He thought as he ran. This was to build up stamina, and to strengthen his lungs.

This was followed by strength training. Push ups, bicep curls, Sit ups, crunches, the list of exercises seemed to stretch on and on.

After completing that absurd amount of exercises, he had a mountain of stretches left to do.

And after all that, Izuku was hurting in places he didn't even know had muscles. He sat down on the beach, groaning from the pain, when he heard a short quiet laugh.

"So you decided to check out the books after all?"

He turned around to see the lady that had lent him the books.

"Oh, hi miss!, uh yeah, I decided to give the first one a try"

The only response he got was a short nod, before she continued. "Izuku, don't give up on your dreams"

Izuku was shocked, where was this coming from.

The confusion must have been written across his face, because she decided to explain. "While I was taking care of you, I heard you talking in your sleep. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but…" She paused, searching for the right words to say.

"Izuku, you have a gift. Even from the short while that I have known you, I can tell that. You have this kind smile, it reminds me of my brother"

She had a soft smile on her face, as she started at the rising sun.

She turned to look at him. "Izuku, this will be the last you see of me for a while. I wish you luck in achieving your dreams"

Izuku was staring at her, speechless. He didn't know what to say. She stood up, and started walking away. He rushed to stand up. "Wait!" He yelled.

She turned her head, and looked at him. "Goodbye, Izuku" and as the sun rose, she vanished in front of his eyes.

He stopped running, his outstretched hand falling to his side. "I didn't even get to know your name".

Izuku wasn't sure of what to do, so he just started walking home.

The next few months were a blur. Every day he would get up, do what the book told him to do, eat what it told him to eat, and then he would go to bed and get up he next morning. Everytime he would think about giving up, he would remember that woman's words. And then, 9 months into the training regime, Izuku was left befuddled.

"Perform all push ups, sit ups, squats, and your run while using Total Concentration Breathing. What's that?"

Izuku decided to do a bit of research. He looked on every website he could find, but he found nothing. The book also frustratingly stated that the technique wasn't allowed to be written down, so he wouldn't be able to find it in the other books. The closest thing that he could find was this old drawing.

It was simplistic. It looked like a sort of brainstorm. In the middle, in bold letters around it, was "SUN". Surrounding it were five more words. FLAME, WATER, STONE, WIND and LIGHTNING.

Above all of them was MOON.

And there were other similar words branching off of the six that surrounded SUN. Izuku had no idea what all of this meant. He decided to let it go, and continued with his training.

And then suddenly, the day came. Izuku found himself standing in front of the building he had longed to enter for so long. He looked down at himself. He used to be so thin. But now… He clenched his arm, and saw his biceps. That manual was amazing! Not even a third of the way through the training manual, and he was already this strong. Whoever this Demon Slayer hero was must be incredibly strong! So why had he never heard of them?

Bakugo bumped into Izuku, pushing him aside as he walked past. He looked back at Izuku and sneered. Izuku already knew what Bakugo thought of him and he didn't care anymore. Just like that woman said. "He would never give up on his dream" He thought to himself as he stepped into the massive building.

"Not ever"

The written test was first. It was way tougher than anything he had done in Aldera, but he managed to get through.

All around him, however, it was clear that there were people who were struggling more than him. Every few minutes someone quit, until the end of the written, where at least half of the applicants had quit.

By the time the test was over, Izuku wanted to never touch a pen again. But, if he only had to write for 3 hours to get into UA, then it will have been worth it.

And just like that, the written test was over. Like there was no time to waste, they were wicked away into a grand Hall. Everyone took their pre assigned seats

Bakugo was assigned to sit beside Izuku, but refused to acknowledge him. Present Mic came on stage, and started discussing the rules of the combat test.

The test was basic, there were numerous different machines, and each awarded various amounts of points for defeating them. Aside from that, the only rule was that there was no harming other applicants.

Then, after the explanations were finished, and everyone was pushed out of the room, they were led into their different areas, each with their lockers with their homemade hero suits. Izuku suited up into the green jumpsuit that his mum had made him.

The fact that they were fighting robots worried Izuku. How was he supposed to destroy them? He didn't even have any weapons!

Izuku sighed as he walked to the gate that everyone was being directed to.

Suddenly, Present Mic's voice came over the speaker, the gate opened, and the test began.

Izuku rushed through the gate, but as fast as he ran, he couldn't seem to break from the crowd. So, he decided to take a trip down a few alleyways in this fake city until he had managed to separate himself from the rest of the crowd. No point in staying with everyone, he wouldn't have a chance at getting any points that way.

He ran through the street he had reached, running past streetlight after streetlight, passing a corner out into a main street, when he spotted one. A robot.

It was big. Tough. Looked like at least a 2 pointer. Izuku prepared himself.

He let the robot strike first. As it attacked with a right hook, he dodged to the side, then ran past it until he got a clear view of its back. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any exposed wiring, so no easy option.

The robot turned around, and went for another punch. Izuku hopped out of the way, barely avoiding the punch. He was extremely grateful for the exercises that manual had provided him.

The robot hit the nearby building, breaking through the wall. It pulled its mechanical arm back, freeing it from the wall.

Izuku noticed this, and decided to reposition himself. He moved beside a streetlight, and waited for the robot to strike.

Sure enough, the metal foe took the bait, and slammed its fist into the pole. Subsequently, the robot was shocked by the electricity that coursed through the streetlight. Izuku's opponent fell to the ground, the foe defeated.

Izuku smiled. "I actually did it. Me. A quirkless loser. I beat it"

His smile grew as he looked back at his foe. "And it didn't even take me that long!"

However, his smile quickly vanished as the robot rose back up. "You're kidding…"

He could hear what sounded like a fan whirring inside the machine. If it was going before, it was definitely louder now.

Could he try doing the same thing twice?

He took a few steps back, and the machine chased after him. He stepped beside another pole, but the machine refused to come any closer.

"So, they learn, huh?" Izuku muttered to himself. He needed to find a new way to hurt it.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Izuku's head. He rushed forwards, and as the robot threw another punch, he slid underneath it, rushing past it. He reached the broken streetlight.

The remains of the upper half of the streetlight sat on the ground, broken up into multiple pieces. He picked a sharp, jagged piece of metal up from the pile, and approached the robot once more.

The robot threw out another punch, but Izuku was getting used to it throwing the same punches out every time. Izuku once more dodged the punch, moved to the robots back, and wedged the piece of scrap metal in between the metal plates that made up the back and the neck of the robot.

Izuku stepped back, and the robot's head began to spasm. A thick smoke rose from the neck of the metallic beast, as it fell to the ground, for, Izuku hoped, the final time.

Izuku stood over the iron corpse, examining it for a few moments, until he was sure it wasn't getting back up.

He took a few deep breaths, satisfied with his first victory, and he ran out, looking for more opponents.

The teachers of UA were watching the examination from a series of screens, no doubt set up by the principal of UA.

Midnight, a sultry woman when it came to hero business, but one who could be serious when she needed to be, was the first to comment.

"Well, it seems to me that we have quite a few talented individuals this year, and to think that these aren't even the special recommendations!"

Snipe, a hero with a theme reminiscent of a cowboy, nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes, I would have to agree. There are a few here that really stand out. Like that kid with the explosions. The last time anyone had that kinda skill in the combat test was All Might, right?"

Eraserhead, a hero with unkempt black hair, nodded his head. "Yes, but his aggression is worrying. That kind of attitude can be extremely dangerous"

Midnight smirked. "Yeah, but that's what we're here for, isn't it?"

Eraserhead sighed. "Yeah, I guess so"

Eraserhead turned his sights over to a thin, frail looking man. "All Might, you've been staring at one screen this entire time"

All Might seemed to wake from a trance when his name was mentioned. "Ah yes, my apologies, one of the students simply caught my attention"

Midnight was about to say "Which one?", before she was cut off by Eraserhead.

"They aren't students yet"

All Might looked back at the screen. "Maybe not, but I'm sure that this child in particular, will become one"

All Might coughed, before turning his attention back to the other teachers. "I'm afraid that I must, momentarily, take your attention away from the applicants"

All the teachers turned to face the wounded hero. "As you know, I still haven't found a successor. While I had planned to become a teacher in hopes to pass my knowledge on to the next generation, however, a recent-" He paused. "-Encounter has made me rethink a few things. So, for the moment, I'm afraid I cannot join UA"

There were more than a few shouts of protest, before All Might continued. "Don't worry, this isn't an indefinite hiatus. I will be back to teach at UA. Next year. But until then, I will have to depart from Japan, and search harder than ever before. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to us working together. Next year"

Within the next few moments, after exchanging pleasantries with the teachers, All Might left the massive campus that was UA.

While he was walking out of the gate, he thought about what he saw.

That boy. The same one he talked to. The same one he never got to thank for inspiring him.

It was good to see that he hadn't given up. If he had… If he had given up on his dreams because of All Might. Yagi didn't know if he could have lived with that guilt

And it was shocking. To see just how that boy had managed to transform himself. From someone who seemed so small and scrawny to what he had seen on that screen.

Yagi smiled. He decided that he'd keep an eye on that kid. He wanted to see just how far he would go.

Midoriya was panting. He had managed to take down a second robot. He had to admit, he was frustrated. All the robots were taken down in pretty much the same way, but almost every time he was close to taking down one, someone came in and destroyed it in two seconds!

He wasn't sure what to do. And that was before the rumbling started.

Izuku's jaw dropped when a massive robot rose up from the ground. It had to be at least 10 storeys tall, and all izuku could think to say was:

"How can they afford this!?"

The towering piece of metal seems to survey the fake city, as if it was deciding who to target. Then, it started moving forward. Its movements were slow, but it's sheer size made it move much further, and made it much harder to escape. Suddenly, there seemed to be crods of people around Izuku, the giant monster forcing them to flee from their lonely spots.

The crowd was rushing past Izuku, everyone was trying to get as far away from the machine as possible. Izuku was about to follow the crowd, when he heard a cry.

He turned his head back to see a girl with brown hair stuck under some rubble.

She seemed to be about the same age as him.

And the robot was about to crush her.

Would the teachers call the test off?

Could they even see her?

These were all questions Izuku would've asked himself, if he hadn't already started running.

Buildings near the machine were crumbling from the strain that the test had put on them, chunks of brick seemed to rain from the sky.

Izuku dodged each one that came his way, without stopping for a moment.

He rushed over to the girl, who was desperately trying to get out. She was stuck lying on her belly, one arm pinned under the rubble, the other stretched out, the only limb not covered by the rubble.

"Hey!" He shouted, trying to get his voice out over the massive noise caused by the destruction. "Are you hurt?"

"No!" She replied, equally as loud. "It's just, I can't move! I can't use my quirk either, neither of my hands can get to the stuff pinning me!"

Izuku nodded. He looked around for a second, and found what he was looking for. He moved away from the rubble, and grabbed a long streetlight. The bottom was destroyed, whether it was due to the robots or the crumbling buildings, Izuku didn't know. But it didn't matter.

Izuku dragged it back over, not unaware of how close the massive robot was getting.

He wedged the streetlight under the biggest rock that was pinning the girl in place, and pushed down as hard as he could.

The rock wasn't budging.

The machine's massive feet were getting closer.

"C'mon… Dammit!"

Izuku kept pushing as hard as he could. That girl was frightened. He could see it in her eyes.

He needed to get her out of here.

He kept pushing.

The robot's foot was in the air, slowly approaching the ground. About to crush them. Izuku didn't leave. He was close.

The rock started to move. Izuku kept pushing, small indents formed where he was holding the streetlight.

Izuku was now covered in the shade of the robot's foot.

He wouldn't move. He wouldn't let anyone down.

The robot was about to crush them. The girl started screaming. Izuku kept pressing down on the streetlight to no avail.

It was about to squash them like ants when…

A massive air horn blared out across the fake city. The robot froze immediately. Izuku pushed down, and the rock finally budged enough for the girl to get her hands on the rock. It floated up, and she climbed out before the rock crashed back on the ground, and she puked up all over the ground.

Izuku looked down to the ground. If that thing hadn't stopped…

He was a failure.

The test was over. Izuku finished it with a measly 5 points.

A teacher showed up and took the girl away, and Izuku walked towards the exit.