A/N: I do not own My Hero Academia.

All Might starred at young Midoriya in silence. Midoriya looked back at the blond man without wavering confidence. There was something that felt so wrong about this whole mess. It almost felt like things weren't supposed to work out this way.

After hearing the young boy's story, All Might vaguely remembered Midoriya. He just didn't remember this sense of boldness. The boy All Might met was a shy, fan boy, who was so unsure of himself. The way this boy had grown was so different from the boy All Might had met before. Even his smile was different.

"Qurik-less villain, huh?" asked Tsukauchi. The police officer began to look over Midoriya's paper with more intent. "How does a kid like you do that? How does a middle schooler become villain in the first place?"

"It actually wasn't that hard," Midoriya explained. "I just needed to be in the right place at the right time."

"Right. The right place, the right time," replied Tsukauchi facetiously. "And what is the right place the right time?"

Midoriya smiled. "I took a trip to the mall."

"The mall?" asked All Might. Midoriya nodded.

"The mall."

All Might could sense Tsukauchi's annoyance. As a human lie detector, this kid was forced to tell the truth. It didn't seem like Midoriya minded. In fact, the green-haired boy didn't even look concerned for what he was saying. Meaning he was likely telling the truth of his own free will, despite Tsukauchi's quirk, which is why he was able to produce these small, throw-away answers.

"Could you elaborate on that?" asked Tsukauchi.

"Sure," smiled Midoriya. "But I wanted to talk to Kaachan first."

"That is not going to happen."

"Oh okay."

"…"

"…"

"You're just not going to speak?" asked All Might.

Midoriya smiled.

"… We can do this the hard way," said Tsukauchi.

"But then you won't get any information from me… I'm a bit more informative than the Nomu…and I'm sure you didn't apprehend many of my accomplices."

All Might could feel Tsukauchi's annoyance.

"I remind you, you were the one to turn on your accomplices to help us," the police officer said with a hint of malice. "You were cooperative once the battle was over. Why stop now?"

"I want to talk to Kaachan first. And my mother, if I may. I haven't seen her in a long time," replied Midoriya. His sense of calmness reminded All Might of a student asking to go to the bathroom. It raised a few questions.

"When was the last time you saw your mother?" All Might asked. Midoriya frowned.

"A few months after our last conversation. You remember what happened? Don't you?"

"Texas smash!"

The monster trying to take control of young Midoriya was gone in an instant, and the young boy was knocked out cold. He later felt someone lightly slapping his face. Confused, he opened his eyes. All he saw was his childhood hero. Midoriya screamed.

"Well looks like you're moving around alright," said the hero nonchalantly. Midoriya noted how the large man radiated power. His mere presence filled Midoriya with a feeling he couldn't explain. It felt warm and scary. It was something so intimidating, and yet so inviting.

"Sorry about that back there! I didn't mean to get you caught up in my justice-ing. Usually I pay more attention into keeping bystanders safe, but it turns out this city's sewer system is pretty difficult to navigate," He laughed. Midoriya swore the moment was offer in a moment.

He went on to explain how Midoriya was helpful in the villain's capture, and that he had captured the villain in a plastic bottle. Excited, Midoriya scourged for his notebook for an autograph, only to find All Might had already signed it.

As All Might made his way to leave, Midoriya had many questions to ask the pro hero. There wasn't anytime to. His body moved on its own to latch onto the Hero's leg. The two were in the air in an instance.

"Hey, let go!"

"No! If I do from up here, I'll die!"

"Oh, that's a good point."

"Please, I just have so many things to ask you personally! You're my favorite Hero All Might! I look up to you so much!"

"… Oh alright!"

All Might landed with the scarred boy on the roof of a building, and made his way to leave once again. Midoriya called out to him. So many questions. So little time.

"Wait one second!"

"I have to go!" All Might kept walking away.

"I have to know!" His mother's voice popped into his mind.

I'm so sorry, Izuku.

So many questions. He only asked one.

"Is it possible to become a hero, even if I don't have a quirk?"

All Might stopped. He later regretted stopping.

"I'm a normal kid without any powers," Midoriya tried to say above a whisper. Before asking again. "Could I ever be able to become someone like you?!"

All Might turned to face Midoriya. There was no time to talk.

"I'm sorry, young man."

Midoriya felt his heart break.

Smoke started to appear the number one hero, and Midoriya looked up and watched as the figure in the smoke jumped off the building and away. Not even bothering to spare a second glance.

And he was gone. Just like that.

"That was the first time we met," said Midoriya from the table. The look in his eyes was distant and hurt. He glanced up at the small blond sitting across from him. It felt the same as that first time. Like All Might wasn't supposed to be like this.

"I remember," said All Might. "Right after… that Villain took your friend, right?"

"Yes," said Mirodiya with a nod. "That same villain took Kaachan. Because of Kaachan's quirk and a few other factors, none of the pro heroes could save him. But I wasn't about to leave him alone like that."

"So, you ran into save him," said Tsukauchi reading Midoriya's file. "Very heroic."

"But I couldn't be a hero," Midoriya said simply. He looked off to the side, away from the two. "Like everyone said my whole life, a quirk-less nobody like me could never be a hero. That's why I didn't end up saving him. All Might did."

Midoriya glanced back at the two of them. His smile appeared once again on his face.

"You know what's funny? The reason no one went in to save Kaachan was because their quirks weren't in tune with the situation. They all decided to wait for someone with a better suited quirk to arrive and help."

Midoriya laughed like he heard something funny.

"I didn't even have a quirk I went in. No one went to save my friend, except you All Might. For that, I'm thankful, but still. I was lectured for thinking about getting involved. As if I could stand and watch… I realized long ago that no one is made the same. Our society puts so much emphasis on what quirk we have. It decides everything for us," he said. "Do you know what that's like?"

All Might didn't even hesitate to respond, "I know."

Midoriya went silent. It seemed as though he was thinking about how to continue from there. He looked so sad in All Might's eyes. The boy then spoke again.

"I wish you had just told me no," said Midoriya. "It would have been better if you just told me I couldn't be a hero…. I was tired of pity."

The boy's eyes went to the floor. He let out a small bitter laugh.

"I didn't mean to do that," All Might replied. "I would have said more… but I was running out of time."

Midoriya looked at All Might in his small form and smiled. "It's okay, I understand now why you ran… and I'm not holding you accountable. I'm just explaining."

"What does this have to do with you running away from home?" asked the officer. For a moment, Midoriya had forgotten about the other man in the room. His childhood idol took more care in his mind. It was surreal being in a room with All Might like this. It was surreal seeing the man in this state. Nothing felt like reality anymore.

"Sorry," said Midoriya. "I just… the apology hurt me. I was planning on taking the UA entrance exams later that year—they had change the rule that require applicants have quirks—but after that event I didn't want to anymore. Not if that was going to be my life."

"Izuku," said Midoriya's mother as she entered her son's room. Midoriya did not move. He simply continued to lay in bed. A washcloth rested atop his head, but the boy knew he did not need it. This kind of pain that left him lying in bed was not the physical kind.

"Izuku, you've missed nearly a week of school," said his mother. Midoriya could not see her face, but he knew the tone of her voice all too well. She was concerned.

"I don't feel good," he told her. It wasn't technically a lie.

His mother placed her small hand on his shoulder. He didn't look at her. She leaned down to press a warm kiss to his temple. She was so loving, so concerned. She was a good mother, Midoriya knew that. However, he knew as well that she could never understand him the way he wanted her too.

"Izuku, is something going on at school?" she asked. Midoriya shook his head.

"No, mom… I may feel better tomorrow," he told her. "I just want to lay here and rest."

"You haven't been sleeping though, honey," he replied. "I know you just sit in here and lay with your eyes open." Midoriya didn't say anything.

The doorbell rang.

Midoriya's mother placed another small kiss to her son's temple and left the room. Midoriya could hear his mother talking with another person. After a moment or so, the front door closed, and two sets of footsteps approached his bedroom. When the door opened, Midoriya rolled over to see Kaachan standing in his door way. Midoriya's mother smiled from behind the blond boy.

"Izuku! Kastuki is here!" smiled his mother. "I'll go make tea!"

When she left, Kaachan entered the bedroom. The blond took note of Midoriya's room with thought but did not say anything. Midoriya watched quietly as Kaachan opened his book bag, and threw some books on Midoriya desk. Midoriya assumed them to be his homework and for the first time in a day, sat up from his bed. Kaachan took a seat at Midoriya's desk.

"When are you coming back to school, loser?"

"When I feel better," said Midoriya.

"I don't think you're feeling bad at all, Deku," replied Kaachan with an accusatory glare.

"Trust me, Kaachan," said Midoriya. "I feel terrible."

The two sat in silence after that. Things had changed between the two after Midoriya saved his childhood friend. Midoriya wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. He watched as Kaachan began to glance around the room. Midoriya knew what Kaachan was wondering. He didn't want to answer. He had no choice when Kaachan finally asked.

"What happened to all your All Might stuff?"

"… I got rid of it."

"… What?"

"I got rid of it," repeated Midoriya. "I didn't want it anymore."

"But why?"

"… What happened, Deku?"

Midoirya didn't say anything. Instead he moved his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. His body was sore from lying in bed for such a long time. He moved to his closet and opened it to reveal all his All Might memorabilia boxed up. Midoriya glanced back at Kaachan.

"When we found out I didn't have a quirk, everyone started apologizing to me," said Midoriya. "Everyone pitied me… I don't know why I thought All Might would be different."

"… Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Deku," growled Kaachan. "You don't want people to pity you, stop pitying yourself."

Kaachan got up, grabbing his book bag and walked over to Midoriya. He gave the boy an intense glare and moved towards the door.

"You didn't pity me, Kaachan," Midoriya said. The blond stopped. "You were so happy that I didn't have a quirk."

"Get your ass back to school tomorrow," spat Kaachan. "I'm tired of bringing you your homework, you loser."

Kaachan quickly left. Midoriya watched as his mother entered his bedroom. The front door slammed, and his mother placed the tea for two on his desk.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"Kaachan just being Kaachan," said Midoriya with a small smile and a laugh. "Hey mom… do you think it'd be okay for me to go to the gym?"

"I thought you weren't feeling well?"

"I'm feeling different."

"I started going to the gym more," Midoirya explained. "I don't know why. I just wanted to be stronger. I couldn't build a quirk, but I could build my body. I could change my physical appearance at the least. About three months later, my body had changed completely."

Midoriya paused and looked at the microphone facing him.

"My mom wanted me to start looking at other high schools since UA was off the table, but I didn't feel like doing anything. My grades began to change for the worse, and all I did was work out. I didn't feel like doing anything else. That's when Shigaraki and I ran into one another at the mall."

"How did that encounter go," asked Tsukauchi. Midoriya smiled.

"I'd be happy to tell you more… after I speak to Kaachan or my mother."

Tsukauchi did not seem pleased.

"… I cannot make any promises. Please excuse me."

Tsukauchi quickly got up from the table and left the room. All Might watched as his friend left. His eyes turned back to the smiling teen in front of him. Midoriya gave him a polite smile. All Might was left alone with young Midoriya. Midoriya smiled.

"So, tell me," began the green-haired teen. "Who did you end up giving One for All to?"