"Again?"

"Again!"

"Izuku, sweetie, I think you're responsible for half this video's views already! It's a little too scary for mommy to watch."

Izuku Midoriya wanted more than anything to be a hero just like All Might.

"When I get my quirk, I'm gonna be just like him!"

"I'm afraid there's no hope for him."

"No! Surely there's some sort of mistake? He was showing signs with all the rest of the kindergartners! He- he's got something, hasn't he?"

"He does lack a second joint, but historically, a quirk that goes under within the first weeks of development does not return. Your son is functionally quirkless."

Ten years later, Midoriya plodded along the street, face downturned.

"You need to be realistic," All Might had told him. "It's not wrong to dream, but without power, can one become a hero? No, I should think not."

"I suppose he's right. Of course I can't be a hero like All Might," Izuku thought bitterly, "I'd just get in the way of the pros. They're faster and stronger than me and so are the villains."

His one chance to meet his idol hadn't gone so well. The empty street gave him plenty of time to regret it.

"Don't cry! I knew this already. Even the best of the best said it. Still, it hurts… it's because I tried so damn hard," he rationalized, "in another life, if my quirk hadn't vanished, I would be one of the best."

The sound of an explosion shocked him out of his thoughts. It quickly became clear why the streets were so empty. Down a side street across the road from him was a congregation of hundreds of bystanders to a fight.

"Don't go. I always do this. I'm so used to gawking, but I'll just make myself feel like an even bigger loser."

He refused to look any longer until he realized who was involved in the fight. Gasping, he turned to the scene, confirming his fears: the villain he had struggled with earlier had escaped from All Might.

"All Might must have dropped him when I grabbed on! This is my fault."

"Why are the heroes just standing there? It seems like he's grabbed a middle schooler!" a voice called out from the crowd. More and more voices joined them, and Midoriya began to move.

"This is my fault. I- I have to do something!"

His instincts screamed at him to stay away, but the battered spirit inside him insisted. His feet moved before logic could take hold. A glimpse of the victim sparked something inside him, spurring him on faster and faster as he shoved through the crowd.

"Get back here, you idiot!" someone screamed.

His internal monologue returned as he questioned why he was doing this, but he was going to fall if he stopped now. The villain began to threaten him, shooting towards him with lethal abandon. All of the boy's studies returned and he threw his backpack as hard as he could.

"Kacchan!"

"Deku! Why?!"

"My legs started moving before I could think!"

It was a little pathetic when he looked back on it, but that moment was a step in the right direction that day. So many things could have gone wrong, but he had a streak of luck. All Might had swooped in to save them at the last second.

To his surprise, the rest of his walk home wasn't as depressing as it had started off as. He'd gained a sort of closure from his own act of heroism, even if it had nearly gone south. All Might had no qualms about crushing that.

"I AM HERE!" the hero cried as he dashed around a corner. His muscle form collapsed and he spat blood for a moment.
"All Might? W-what are you doing here?"

"I've come to apologize. I was wrong about what I said earlier. I have a proposal…"

"Huh?!"

"Without you, without your story, I'd be little more than an action figure for the media to play with. Fake muscles, insincere smiles, and a message of hypocrisy."

"That — no, All Might! I mean, it was all my fault from the beginning! I got in your way even though I'm quirkless, I dared to ask if-"

"Exactly my point, young man. Of all the people at that scene, it was you who moved first, despite your powerlessness in the situation. You spurred me to action! Young man, there is something you must know about your actions. Most of the top heroes have similar stories from their childhoods… their bodies moved before they could think! You show those traits!"

Midoriya fell to his knees, tears filling his eyes. This was too much for him.

"You can be a hero!"

A/N: This is not going to be the standard length for chapters. Tell me what ship you'd like to see in this story, M/F. Dekuraka is cute, but vanilla, Dekumina is really cute but if this gets big I don't want to take any spotlight from Awkward Energy… Too many to pick from, but I'm not a harem writer. Give me your ideas! I only have one concrete ship and it's Yaoyoroki. Todorozu?