"So…as third year students, it's time that you all start thinking seriously about your future!" The teacher exclaimed to his students before a smirk began to form on their face "Now…I could pass out these career aptitude tests, but…why would I even bother!?" He then grabbed the papers before scattering them all around the classroom, the smirk now manifesting into a radiant smile "I know you all want to be heroes, isn't that right?"

Instantly, the majority of the students began to cheer as they flexed off their wonderful quirks, all of which stood out from the rest. You had a guy who can enhance their muscles to crazy proportions, a girl who had the ability to manipulate her hair, and even some dude who can expand their neck to varying heights. It is truly a remarkable sight to behold, although this led to the teacher clarifying to his students regarding the school regulations "Yes…you all have some very impressive quirks, But I should remind you that no power usage is allowed during school. So you better get a hold of yourselves."

Just then, the environment turned silent once a certain voice encircled around the room "Hey teach! Don't you dare lump me in with a bunch of losers. I'm the real deal here, but these wannabe heroes will be lucky to end up as a sidekick to some busted D-lister!" That voice belonged to none other than Katsuki Bakugo, the boy with the most "gifted" quirk in Aldera Junior High.

Born with the ability to emit explosions from out of his palms, Bakugo had gained a newfound pride ever since. Overtime, this pride of his then morphed into a cockiness that skyrocketed to the point that he truly believed himself to be the best thing to ever walk on this earth. To be this egocentric is both infuriating and astonishing at the same time.

"Get over yourself Katsuki!" One of the students yelled which was then followed by a dozen more of them shouting remark after remark to the utter amusement of Bakugo "Hah! You think that is supposed to scare me?! C'mon now, I'll take you all on!!"

"Everyone please settle down! Now Bakugo, you've gained impressive test results. Maybe you will get accepted into U.A. High after all." The teacher states to everyone's shock, most of whom began conversing with one another.

"Are they seriously gonna try out for the most prestigious school in the country?!" One of the students said in disbelief.

"That school has less than a one percent acceptance rate! His quirk is pretty powerful but that school is nuts man!" Another student spoke out before hearing their fellow classmate call out in response "You said it! It's practically impossible to get into!"

"And that is why it's the only place worthy of me, Katsuki Bakugo!" The explosive boy stated before motioning himself on top of his desk. A smug look forms on Bakugo's face as he then revels in his superiority "I aced every single mock test! I'm the only one in this lousy school who even stands a chance at getting in! I'll end up more popular than All Might himself and become the best hero of all time! Not to mention I'll be one of the richest people in the world! Everyone will know who I am, and it all starts with U.A. High!!!"

"Oh right…Tsubasa, didn't you say you wanted to apply for U.A. also?" The teacher said, stunning Bakugo. As for everyone else, they immediately focused their attention on the chubby teen who couldn't look more embarrassed if he tried "Are you freaking serious? Did you have to call me out like that?"

"Pffft…dude, are you actually thinking about signing up for U.A.?" Scoffed one of his classmates followed by another who hit the nail deeper "Yeah I mean no offense, but you didn't have a very remarkable quirk to begin with, so the chances were pretty slim. And now that you lost that quirk, you might as well pack your bags and say goodnight."

Soon enough, everyone proceeded to laugh up a storm to Tsubasa's annoyance before he slammed his desk in irritation "Just to clarify to you all, I merely said to the teacher that I wanted to go to U.A. which I'm certain goes for all of you as well. I wasn't actually thinking about applying, nor did I ever say I was going to get in. Unlike a certain egomaniac here…I have common sense"

Packed with bridled rage, Bakugo proceeds to explode Tsubasa's entire desk, turning it into a crisp "Hey smartass! How about you say that to my face next time!?"

"Woah! Okay, firstly…that was my desk you jackass! And secondly…you do not have the right to be angry when you and I both know that it's true! C'mon, you're definitely smarter than this."

"Shut it blubbermouth! Having the gall to act like you're topshit is making me seethe! At first, you were just some pathetic loser with a crappy quirk like everyone else. And now…take a look at yourself! You're quirkless! So what makes you think you can walk a mile in my shoes?!" Bakugo angrily expressed before grabbing the round teen by the collar, his face appearing absolutely deranged "Hey, you gonna answer my question or what?! I'm listening!"

Lifted up from the ground, Tsubasa's grit his teeth in anger before delivering his response "I'm not gonna answer your question because if you had just paid attention, then you'd know by now that I wasn't even thinking about applying! God, you only ever focus when the conversation is directed towards you."

"Hey! I asked for an answer, now give it to me or else!" The bad tempered blonde spouted, not realizing that he just proved his ex-friend's point before the teacher decided to finally step in "Can we please digress the situation!"

Unfortunately for them, Tsubasa was in no way ready to deviate from the head-to-head confrontation he's landed himself in. As a matter of fact, he's in quite the mood to take things up a notch "Yeah, you really want an answer? I got an answer for ya."

Without hesitation, he unexpectedly spat on Bakugo's face to everyone's surprise. It wasn't long before Tsubasa realized that perhaps he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

The next thing the boy knew, he found himself lying agonizingly on a bed in the nurse's office while a multitude of groans escaped out of his mouth "Yeah…maybe that wasn't the best idea…"

"You can say that again. Bakugo is both bite and bark, so I was quite surprised to hear that someone had the willpower to stand up against that delinquent. I probably shouldn't be talking about this sorta stuff considering I'm a nurse and all. Leave it to the teens to spread gossip" The faculty member stated while making sure her patient was in good shape.

"Well…we have a bit of history together, so I suppose that would explain why I had a bit of a backbone compared to my classmates." Tsubasa said, chuckling at his own comment before wincing at the pain Bakugo inflicted on him.

"Speaking of backbone…he might've been close to fracturing your spine in the process. Thank god something like that didn't happen. Anywho, it looks like all is well and done now. You can sit up now." The nurse instructed Tsubasa to which he acted accordingly before feeling around his cheek that had been bruised to hell "Soooo does that mean I'm free to go now?"

"Mhm…just make sure not to pull anything stupid like that again, alright? I understand that teens these days can behave a little irrationally, but you have to learn when to quit."

"Learn when to quit you say? Hmmm…why does that sound familiar to me? Well anywho, thanks for the advice. I'll be on my way now." Tsubasa announced before heading out of the nurse's office only to be bombarded by two faces he really wasn't looking forward to seeing. It was Tesaki and Hashiga who looked all the more worried, with the former expressing his concerns first "Dude, you alright?! It looked like you went through a mighty beating!"

"For real man! We knew Bakugo had a bit of a temper tantrum, but that was too much." Hashiga added before he and Tesaki noticed Tsubasa walking the opposite direction of them.

"Yo! Wait up!" Tesaki shouted as both he and Hashiga ran up behind the once winged user who turned and started glaring daggers "Oh, so now you have the decency to care about my well-being? First you two left me when I lost my quirk, then I got treated like I don't even exist, and on top of that…the entire class laughed at me which if memory serves correct, included you both! So what on earth changed this time around?"

Hashiga in a moment of embarrassment, tries his best to justify both his and Tesaki's rather questionable actions "Okay…yeah, that does sound pretty bad now that you're saying it out loud. Look, don't take it too personally man. It's just that if we were seen hanging out with you, we'd be laughed at as well. You understand, right?"

"W-what? Nooo!! I don't understand! That is incredibly selfish! Why would you think I'd be okay with that?!" Tsubasa exclaimed, his face reddening with anger while Tesaki and Hashiga stood there in awkward silence. If these two were trying to make amends, they're doing a really terrible job at it.

"Woah, first Tsubasa tries to pick a fight with Bakugo and now here he is doing the same thing with his lackeys!" Hearing an unfamiliar voice, all three turned to see one of their classmates who wore a toothy grin. That grin belonged to Hajime Nobasu who had the ability to extend his eyes to a marginal degree. Not only was he the weirdest kid in class, but his quirk has been regarded as pretty below average. If it weren't for Tsubasa, he would have most likely been the punching bag instead.

Nobasu snickers in delight when another classmate joins in on the conversation "I see you're enjoying yourself Nobasu. To say I'm not in the same boat as you would be a lie." The other classmate in question was the girl who can perform telekinesis through the tip of her fingers, otherwise known as Yubi Hinto. While Hinto was a lot more reserved compared to her unusual friend, she had no problem reveling in one's shortcomings.

"Hey, you two forgot about me already?" Lastly, now standing in between Nobasu and Hinto was the boy who can grow rocks anywhere from out of his body; Goichi Gohara. With a quirk as powerful as his, he certainly had a lot of potential to become an amazing hero. Unfortunately, he had been completely overshadowed when Bakugo entered the picture.

Ever since, the only ounce of attention Gohara has ever received was from his two friends. And while it definitely helped cure the pain, it still wasn't enough to fully satisfy him. So what does he do? Point and laugh at other people's misfortune to make himself feel better. Everyone else in his class was doing it, so there shouldn't really be a problem, especially if it's to a quirkless nobody like Tsubasa.

Watching the supposed fight unfold before his very eyes, Gohara fakes a smile as if to look friendly when it's quite apparent what his true intentions are "What up Tsubasa, you doing okay there? That fight looked like it hurt. I mean seriously, what were you thinking trying to go up against Bakugo of all people? And now here you are…compensating by opposing the weak."

"Yeah, as if you're one to talk. Just leave me be, I'm really not in the mood today." The quirkless user stated angrily before attempting to leave the area when he felt a hand placed to his chest. As expected, Gohara was not willing to let things be bygones yet "Oh c'mon bro, we just wanted to have a little chat is all. I mean what's the worst that can happen? It's not like I'm Bakugo or anything."

"I don't care if you're that backstabbing piece of shit or the fucking tooth fairy, I just want to be left alone!" Tsubasa really wanted to beat the socks out of him, but after replaying the nurse's advice in his head over and over again, he knew it would be best not to cause any more trouble.

With that in mind, he simply pushes Gohara aside and takes his leisurely walk out of the hallway. As for Gohara himself, he scowled before turning to gaze at Tesaki and Hashiga who both look a bit taken aback. Seeing the startled expression on their faces was certainly not what the rocky textured boy was expecting, but it definitely made him feel more in power which is very much to his liking "Oh? Are you two scared or something? I promise I don't bite, that's Nobasu's thing."

"Gohara's right! You wouldn't believe how many pencils I've bitten over the course of this school year alone!!" Nobasu gleefully said before feeling the back of his head get smacked. Hurt and confused, he turns to see Hinto who looked just as calm as she usually does, perking her glasses up in the process "They didn't need to know that."

"Yeah…and plus, my statement didn't warrant a response from you. I was just trying to sound cool which ultimately backfired…" Gohara stated to Nobasu, feeling completely exasperated by the entire ordeal before returning his attention back to the two followers "Back to our interrupted conversation. Was it something Tsubasa said that made you guys act so worried?"

"Oh…! So wait a minute, you're basically telling me that none of you three heard anything that we were talking about? Is that right?" Tesaki asked to which they all shook their heads in response, calming both him and his friend. Now knowing they have no clue about their attempted apology to Tsubasa, Hashiga puts on a bright smile and comes up with a lie on the spot "Well in that case, it was nothing special at all! Just Tsubasa being his typical jealous self and whatnot."

"Heh, yeah! Sucks to suck I guess." Tesaki added, hoping that his nonchalant attitude would be enough to keep their reputation afloat. Deep down, he knew just how shitty it was to make Tsubasa look bad to elevate themselves. It's not ideal, but sacrifices have to be made in order to survive. And just by the compliant look on each of their classmate's face's, it was a very worthy sacrifice.

Speaking of which, what the two didn't take into account was the sacrifice in question watching them from afar, gritting his teeth in anger before sighing in defeat "Yeah…I should've seen that one coming. And to think for a split second, I was actually considering giving those two numbskulls the benefit of the doubt. How stupid of me…"

Tsusbasa checked the time on his phone, seeing that there were still about a few more minutes until the school officially ends for today "Looks like I have some time left. Perhaps I can use this opportunity to load off in the bathroom."

Looking around, he spots a door leading to the men's restroom before entering inside and immediately feels relaxed. Being alone in such a limited space oddily helps ease his mind with how little sound there was. As long as he is in here, his ears don't have to worry about the sounds of laughter emanating from the entire class or Bakugo acting like a total scumbag for the entire school to see. It was just him and him alone.

At that moment however, as Tsubasa slackend his body against one of the bathroom stalls, he heard the door opening before gazing over to see that it was Yoriyoshi Shinya; his homeroom teacher who inadvertently caused the fight between him and Bakugo.

Upon entering, the teacher took notice of his student's presence as shown by his fairly startled reaction "Ah, Tsubasa! Quite a bit of a surprise to see you here after what had happened not too long ago back at class. Which speaking of which, how're you holding up?"

"Meh…I've dealt with worse to be honest. It's not the first time that Bakugo has done something like this to me." The boy responded, just finishing with washing his hands before giving his full attention while Shinya couldn't help but let out a little chuckle "Heh…I don't doubt it. That kid has a lotta animosity built inside of him. I swear, you can't go a single day without hearing any news about him. But you know…as much as I want to scold his outwardly behavior, Bakugo certainly has the most potential out of everyone in this school. And don't take it from me, take it from your classmates who view him in a bitter light."

"Sensei…I wish I could disagree with you, but you're absolutely right. He'll have no trouble making it as a hero, and it kills me to even say that. I mean, why the heck does he get to have everything while I'm left to be the involuntary class clown? It just isn't fair."

"Tsubasa, while I understand that you're feeling extremely spiteful about all of this, I'd advise you to not take things too personally. Life will always be unfair no matter how you try to spin it. I know that's not what you would like to hear coming from a teacher, but it is an unfortunate truth."

"I know that…but what happened to me before I entered this school was beyond unfair, it was as if the world decided to toy with my dreams. To have something amazing only to lose it all is worse than not having it to begin with. There may be a lot of people who are as quirkless as me, but I can bet you that only a slither of them had dealt with what I had experienced. So yeah, I think I at least deserve to feel envious about the whole situation."

"And you're inclined to Tsubasa. But just because you can't become a hero doesn't mean there are other options for you." For all the encouragement the teacher tried to give him, it wasn't enough to stop Tsubasa from seeing their words in a negative light before he opened his mouth to make another rebuttal "So basically you're saying that you have no faith in me becoming a hero, because that's what it sounds like to me."

While it hurt to hear one of his students spout such a harmful accusation, Shinya could now see that Tsubasa was dead set on becoming a hero. Given his role as a teacher, he wanted to give him some ounce of hope that would lift his spirits up, even for the slightest bit. But sadly, there was no way he could twist reality "Listen, I get you want to be a hero and all. And I know you also want me to give you some motivation to help cheer you up. But I also can't stand here and lie to your face. As terrible as it is for me to say, I'm afraid you'll have to learn when to quit."

Those words again. First it was from the nurse and it came out of his homeroom teacher's mouth. The more he hears it, the closer Tsubasa is at figuring out where on earth he remembered hearing that. But why? Why did it have to feel so familiar? I mean, it's not like they were some secret password or anything special like that. It was just a regular phrase, and yet that hit him more than anything.

While he tried piecing those words together, the teacher was washing his hands before finishing and making his way out the restroom. But before doing so, he turned to look at Tsubasa and made one last comment "I know you didn't want to hear that, but I figured it needed to be said. And by the way, apologies for putting you on blast. Hope you have a good rest of your day."

With them now gone, it was back to him being alone. Only this time, he didn't feel relaxed anymore. There was now a sorrowness that he carried which proceeded to deepen about every second before being replaced by an alarmed feeling once the bell rang throughout the entire school; a reminder that he should stop getting too deep into his own thoughts.

Tsubasa quickly exited out of the restroom before walking through the once empty halls that are now overrun by scholars. Seeing the exit just a couple of meters ahead gave him a sense of relief, a smile forming on his face as he can finally escape this hellish place for the weekend.

All of a sudden, Tsubasa feels a hand grab him by the side of his head and gets slammed right into the wall. With how he's been positioned, the boy couldn't quite grasp who was the culprit behind this sudden assault. However, that soon changed the second he heard the blaring voice beam out for every person in the hall to hear "Hey! Nutface!! You have some nerve to keep walking like you're invincible!"

"Bakugo, of course…look dude, can you just let me the fuck go? I have no interest in dealing with your ass again. If you do, I'll just be on my merry way." Tsubasa offered to the blonde which was to no avail. In fact, it only made him want to persist the onslaught even more. Bakugo slams his ex-friend's face to the wall a second time for good measure, a psychotic smile beginning to forge "You really think I'm just gonna let you go that easily? No fucking way!! Not after making me look like a fool!"

"Make you look like a fool?! You're not the one who got beaten to a pulp! Haven't you taken the time to look at my face?! Jesus Christ, how insecure must you-" Tsubasa wasn't able to finish his sentence before forcibly being pounded to the ground.

For a school filled to the brim with students that aspire to be heroes, you'd think at least one of them would do something to help him out. But instead, they all encircled the two while inciting for a fight to take place, some of whom even taking out their cellular devices to record.

Tsubasa was not at all surprised, and yet it still hurt that nobody would even bother lending a helping hand of the sort. If they really wanted to be heroes, then why act akin to a villain if anything?

Feeling his head being pushed deeper and deeper into the surface, he could only watch as Bakugo's once psychotic smile turned into a more angry look "You really think I wasn't made a fool?!"

"Well yeah! You're the one who looks perfectly fine while I'm covered in bruises from head to toe! So please tell me how that makes you look like a fool here, because I don't see it!"

"Don't you get it?! You made me look weak by acting superior!!" Bakugo answered, gritting his teeth as his hand slowly tightened "Even when you got your ass beaten, you still have the nerve to walk it off like nothing happened! You're not built like a hero, and you're not gonna be one either! So learn when to quit for once!!!"

For the third time this day, Tsubasa had been told those same exact words. However…hearing it come out of Bakugo's mouth, the quirkless boy finally discovered where he had heard that phrase before. Unfortunately, his thoughts couldn't linger any longer as the inflicting pain was too excruciating to keep focus.

As luck would have it, an uncertain number of faculty members had arrived at the scene, one of them being Shinya who wasn't looking too happy about the situation "What on earth are you doing?! Put an end to this right now!"

"Back off!! Can't you see I'm trying to teach this guy a fucking lesson?!" The aggressive student shouted, using his free hand to create a distance between himself and any of the teachers who have the courage to try and pull him away "Don't think I won't use it!"

Seeing that he wasn't planning on going anytime soon, Shinya decided there was no other option than to use a little persuasion "You know, I disregarded your last fight because of how well you performed on your grades. So I'd advise you to stop right now, because I will not hesitate to report you this time around. Just picture what U.A. might think about once they see your records. Here's a little hint for you, it won't look very good."

Bakugo paused for a moment, his face carrying an unclear expression before ultimately letting go, standing up right after as he glared down at the boy who had been an absolute pain on their shoulder "You better not piss me off again, or else." He then walked away, disappointing the rest of the students who did the same as well.

Picking himself off of the floor, Tsubasa turned to look at Shinya and showed his gratitude through a genuine smile. He still wasn't gonna forget what his teacher had said to him in the restroom, but he would be lying if he said they weren't a lifesaver.

Soon enough, that gratitude Tsubasa felt towards Shinya would immediately disappear once they proceeded to scold him about the fight he had gotten himself into "Are you serious? After our conversation not too long ago, this is what happens? I know you weren't the one to start the fight, but I also know that Bakugo doesn't react violently over nothing. He must've gotten mad from whatever it is you said, and to be quite frank…I'm not pleased to hear. Tsubasa, you seriously have got to stop making things worse for yourself. Didn't you listen to my advice? You gotta-"

"Learn when to quit? Yeah, I got the gist already. How can I not? When you hear it about three times in a single day alone, it's pretty impossible to get that line out of your system. Whatever…I'll just be on my way now." The teen expressed in a despairing tone before making his way out of the school, leaving Shinya both anxious and confused.

With no immense pain to distract him, Tsubasa finally had some time to review the moment he heard those words. It was right when they wiped out Midoriya who only wanted to protect a defenseless kid.

Tsubasa could recall the poor guy laying on the ground in a vanquished state while Bakugo watched with concerning pleasure before popping out that dreaded phrase through a threatening message "Just look at how weak you are! And you actually thought you had even the slightest chance at stopping us? It's time that you get real and learn when to quit."

Right after that, Midoriya was left to wither under the sunlight while his oppressors walked away and laughed as if they were pulling a harmless prank on somebody. It may have been really funny to Tsubasa's younger self, but now…he couldn't see what was so entertaining about it, especially given the recent events that occurred.

While it was a sad memory no doubt, that only left Tsubasa more puzzled if anything. None of it explained why that moment in particular bears so much significance to him. With the many times he and his friend assaulted the poor guy, there should be no reason for that certain piece of memory to weigh so heavily in his mind.

"This shit doesn't make any sense. Why am I suddenly so fixated on that one encounter? It's not like anything eventful happened, right? Yeah, what else could have possibly occurred? I went about my day as usual, those pieces of scum did whatever in their spare time. And as for Midoriya, he…uhhhh, wait…"

And that's when the answer finally dawned on him. What had transpired on that very day was right before Midoriya had disappeared into thin air, never to be seen again.

Nobody really knew exactly what happened to him, though it was speculated to be some form of kidnapping. Whatever the case may possibly be, it left Tsubasa worrying that the memory serves as some form of fate. Why else would today play out the way that it did?

"Could it perhaps have been a warning? Was that why those words popped out more than anything? Am I…gonna be like him too? N-no, I've just been hearing it so many times. Yeah, that's gotta be it. That's…gotta…be…"

Suddenly, a surge of wrath coursed right through Tsubasa's body, feeling his knees weaken before succumbing to the ground as tears began to manifest at the thought of everything that he had to endure for the last few years. Just then, his line of thinking has shifted over to the very incident that began his life of torment, leaving nothing but the imagination to do its thing.