I stood protectively infront of a fellow cowering kindergartner, arms crossed and blackened with soot. My legs trembled and my jaw quivered. If there was only one part of me that showed my conviction it was my eyes. Green like my mom's but filled with an intensity I'd been told was frightening.

"Get back, Deku…" growled another boy, Bakugou Katsuki. He too had intense eyes, but where mine were filled with a determined fire Bakugou's were filled with malice. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Deku. Worthless, Useless. Someone who couldnt do anything. That's what it meant. And that's what everyone thought I was.

"I-I…" I stammered.

Bakugou growled again, stalking forward like a predator. "Huh?! What's that? Did you say something?!

Two other boys flanked Bakugou and laughed. One hovered a little ways off the ground, tiny wings flapping as he did. The other opened and closed his unaturally long fingers, long as the forearm they led up to.

"Looks like he can't even speak either. He really is useless, just like you always say Bakugou." The flying boy teased.

"Quirkless and Speechless!" the other lackey added

I had thought the two of them my friends. We had played together, went adventuring after school together, had sat amazed at videos of heroes showing off their awe-inspiring powers and begun showing off our own powers with glee. Or, they had shown off their powers. I… I didn't have any. I looked back at the boy curled up in the sandpit. The boy was crying, fat tears plopping into the white sand. A bruise was already showing on his cheek. A bruise placed their by Bakugou and his two friends. Even if I didn't have any powers, even if I was useless I couldn't let them do this. This was wrong. "I-I wont let you hurt him anymore, Kachan!"

Bakugou, Kachan, extended his arms, palms upright.

Crack-crack-crack.

Little explosions, the same ones that had covered my arms in soot, crackled off in Bakugou's palms. Despite the situation I admired the scene. Bakugou Katsuki really had a powerful quirk. It may not seem like much compared to All Might's strength, only about as strong as some of the bigger fireworks some older kids would play with, but it hurt like heck if he blasted you up close. Also, Kachan's quirk was still immature, barely ten-months old, and still had much room to grow. I would often wonder just what those 'little fireworks' would be like in a few years.

"You still trying to play the hero, huh, Deku?!" Showing off his athleticism, Bakugou crossed the distance between us in a single bound and, almost quicker than I could process, fired off one of his palm 'explosions' right into my chest. With a crack and a flash of light I was pushed back, the power of the blow coupled with the surprise of it all nearing tripping me up and dropping me to the floor. "You'd better get out of the way, you quirkless nothing!"

Coughing and wheezing, I still righted myself, making sure my feet were firmly planted. Holding my arms up in an mockery of a fighting stance I called out defiantly from a clenched jaw. "No."

Furious beyond measure, Bakugou hurled himself at me again, open palm now aimed at my head. An explosion, louder and stronger than the one before it, sounded out from the all but abandoned playground and Bakugou stumbled back. His face was twisted in an expression of surprise and disbelief and covered in soot. His eyebrows were partially burnt off. "Wh-what… What?" Bakugou said. Arm had come up instinctively to block the headshot and my palm was facing out and smoking. That explosive blast had not come from Bakugou.

Long-Fingers was the first to say anything coherent after the unlikely happening. "No way, Bakugou… Am I seeing things or does Deku really have the same quirk as you do?"

A recent obsession with quirk theory supplying the thought, I had barely managed to conclude that the likelihood of me exhibiting the exact same quirk as Bakugou being so unlikely as to be impossible, what with us not being even remotely related, before I was brought to my knees by a sharp pain that shot through my back. I screamed. Had my sweater been off the others would have seen the flesh of my back seem to bubble and boil, contort, distend and ripple. As though there were vile creatures swimming around beneath the skin. The pain was terrifiying. My shoulderblades burnt with a fury that I could only describe as feeling like someone was pouring molten lava into my back while someone else took turns stabbing my shoulders and upper back. Pain run through not only my back but my hands and eyes. My fingers stretched and pulled, the pain induced sweat on my brow and along my arms would spontaneously crackle, pop and fizz, burning little pockmarks into the skin. My eyes throbbed like a heartbeat, burning.

I screamed and screamed. The gathered boys all turned tail and ran, frightened.

"N-no, please! Help me! Help me!" I begged, pleaded. But they were too afraid to hear my pleas, and so I was left alone even as the skin on my back finally pulled too far and burst open, pushing out two bony, reed thin wings along with a colourless gunk that splattered all over the sandpit. Too weak to even hold up their own weight the wings crumpled in on themselves, folding up like dropped cloth. There was a moment of release, of satisfaction, once the wings had burst out my back, allowing me a moment to finally take a breath.

The moment was over all too soon though, my stretching fingers called for attention. The material that was my 'finger meat' soon ran out, or so it seemed, because the elongated finger soon opened at the tip, passing through bone with scattered strips of flesh. I screamed again. In less than three minutes it was all over, but for me it seemed like the greatest portion of my life. And when it was, wracked with the relatively dull throbbing, I could only cry and shake.

_MIMICRY_

The buzz of students in conversation rang through a classroom at Aldera Junior High. I sat amongst the class, silent. My hair had grown quite a bit since my kindergarten days, long enough that it fell over my eyes. That was by design. It let me hide my gaze from the annoying pests in the room. Right now that gaze was focused on the conversation of three students to my left, all gathered around a desk beside a window. The three students, uninteresting teen boys, were speaking of an attack at thetrain station that morning. They wouldnt have been worth my attention otherwise.

"You should have seen her! She was so hot man, I'm telling you." The apparent ringleader continued, prodding at his friends shoulder.

"What did she call herself again?"

"Mt. Lady. Not the best name, in my opinion, but with a gigantification quirk names arent that easy to come up with I suppose. I mean, what should she have named herself? Giganta-Lady?"

"Big Beauty?"

"Her Giant Hotness." Riffed another

"Triple-Z Cup." Said the first, smirking. A nearby girl slapped the back of his head without looking, not even pausing to stop her own discussion with her friends. It was not an uncommon occurence. I bit back the urge to sigh.

"Ouch." The boy said not making any attempt at retaliation, still smirking and oblivious to my general displeasure at the way their conversation was unfolding. With a quirk like mine you were all but guaranteed to become interested in strong quirks. In figuring out how they worked, in defining their limits. Discovering a new hero- and by extension their quirk- had always made me feel like a kid in a candy store. It was enough to make me listen in to idiotic conversations. I didnt have to be pleased at the exchanges though.

"Anyway, who was she fighting in the first place? Cant have been anyone really tough, if it was her debut."

"Ah- Thats where you're wrong, buddy boy. The guy she took down must have been as tall as a six-storey building, looked sort of like he had a shark head. Enhanced Strength too, if I had to guess. Shame he was just a petty thief."

The enhanced strength aspect was obvious but may have been noteworthy if the increase was significantly greater than simply a natural consequence of increased muscle-mass. I doubted it, seeing as they said he was only a petty thief. Also the three were stupid enough to need to state the obvious.

"Really? So a giant vs a giant, right? That must have been a really cool fight then."

"And you're wrong again, buddy boy."

"Okay, now you're just fucking with me. Why do you always want me to be wrong anyway, Yama?"

"Maybe because its still funny. Anyway, Z-Cup didn't really do all that much. Just landed the final blow. Dont get me wrong, it was still really impressive but Kamui Woods was the one who first caught up to the guy and started apprehending him, fought him for like five minutes and looked like he had the dude dead to rights by that point. She sort of stole his capture, appearing out of nowhere."

"Kamui was there? Shit, that sucks. Kamui is one of my favourites too. Hope he wasnt too pissed off by it."

"Nah, Kamui isn't the type. I think she was so hot he would have been happy to give up a hundred captures if she asked, you know what I mean?"

The three laughed pervesely but the conversation had lost it's appeal to me by then. It figured that someone with a gigantification quirk had to steal someone else's capture to have a good debut. Yeah, on the surface gigantification seemed like a pretty amazing quirk but the truth was when you broke it down it was mediocre at best. It typically came with enhanced strength, that was true, that though was more a necessity than a side benefit. You couldn't really lug around a larger body with your regular strength. And for some reason in the majority of cases that enhanced strength couldn't be used except whilst in giant form. It was also common for the giant form to be less like a scale of gradation, from standard size to maximum size, but rather like turning on and off a switch. Either regular size or giant size. This would, of course, lead to a utility problem. Gigantism was simply limited. Most couldn't fight in tightly enclosed spaces- not without risking massive collateral damage.

The bell rang a few minutes later and with it strolled in their class teacher. He was balding, though his ridiculously wispy comb-over seemed to say that he hadnt yet accepted the fact. He walked in with a serious demeanor and immediately shouted for attention. "Quiet down! Quiet down!" The teacher demanded. I sighed. My class was filled with the rowdy, juvenile sort so it took longer than normal to quiet down. But they did, eventually.

The teacher regarded them sternly. "Now, it's high time you all took your education seriously. You need to take time and decide exactly what it is you are working towards…" his seriousness broke with a grin "Oh, who am I kidding you all want to become heroes, right?"

The class roared their approval, throwing their hands up in the air, many summoning their quirks. All but me and another classmate. I wasnt exactly the cheering sort.

"Oh, that's right. Two of you even decided to apply to Yuei Academy. Bakugou and Izuku-san."

Bakugou, previously reclined back in his seat with feat atop the desk, stood up and shook a fist at the teacher. "Hey, teach, dont lump me together with these side characters! The only one here who has what it takes is me!"

"What did you say, Bakugou?! You think you're the only one here who has what it takes? I-"

Before the guy had even managed to finish Bakugou was there, hoisting up by the front of his shirt and holding a crackling hand to his face. "What was that? Huh?!" Bakugou asked, nose nearly up against his would be detractor's own.

The student paled, defiance flushing from his face in a moment. Stammering, he pointed straight at me. I frowned. " I- I mean… W-well, what about Izuku? Doesn't he have a pretty good quirk, too?"

Bakugou looked about ready to kill the guy at that.

"Now, now. You all need to calm down. Bakugou please go back to your seat. Miyamoto, dont antagonize him."

Bakugou headed back to his seat, but glared back at me with a fierce hatred, Miyamoto forgotten and deciding that it was somehow my fault someone had dared talk back to him. It seemed to say, I'll make you pay for this. That guy… Really had anger issues.

_MIMICRY_

"You think you're tough shit, Deku?!" Bakugou called.

School had ended and I, as a card carrying member of the go home club was leaving, headed off to the train station. Bakugou had, after that shit show of an orientation period, proceeded to glare at me all throughout the day. Something I had ignored with the composure that could only come from butting heads with him in the same sort of situation for years.

So I did what I normally did in response to a crazed shout of indignation from an aggro teen with the power to blow things up. Gave Bakugou a sidelance glance and continued walking. Trailing just behind Bakugou were a gaggle of boys who, as teenaged boys, were compelled to seek out and observe any potentially violent confrontation. Some were Bakugou's regular troupe, the kids who were his groupies masquerading as 'friends'- including the winged boy who had aided Bakugou the day my quirk manifested in kindergarten. I had never forgotten that day, nor anyone involved.

I made it a few steps off before the hairs on the back of my neck prickled and I stepped to the side, just as an explosive blast of flame passed by where my head would have been. This looked to be one of those, 'You aren't going to walk away from me, Deku' days. I sighed exasperatedly.

"What the fuck do you want now, Bakugou?" I asked, ticked off.

"What do I want?! What do I want?! What do you think you're doing, applying to Yuei?! You knew I was going to apply!" bits of spit flew from Bakugou's mouth and his hands twitched, a sure sign that he was ready to begin exploding things indiscriminately. Why he hadn't seen it coming was beyond me. It wasnt like I had kept it a secret. I had only told him I would be going to Yuuei Academy a thousand times.

"You're going to go hoarse, you know. I'm right infront of you, asshole. Stop shouting."

"You bastard… You think you're better than me?!"

I had absolutely zero fear of Bakugou. Not anymore. His threats and hollering did little but annoy me. "At what? You're going to need to be more specific. I've got better grades, for example. And I'm definitely a lot better at knowing when shouting is appropriate and when it's just irritating." I said blandly, internally happy to piss off Bakugou as much as possible.

Bakugou thrust his left palm out. I had already begun moving as soon as I saw his hand move. The explosion shot off, wider and less concentrated than his earlier attempt. It was in game terms, an area of effect technique and in such close proximity was all but impossible to dodge. Thankfully I got out of the way of most of the attack and it did nothing but cause some superficial damage to my school uniform and shove me back a bit. Not enough to send me sprawling, at least. That had been little more than a warning shot though. If Bakugou became really serious, as it seemed he was bubbling towards, then there would be serious property damage. Along with a lot of broken bones and third-degree burns.

Of course, I could become really serious too.

"Dont try being clever with me, nerd. You know what the fuck I'm talking about."

"No, I really dont. Yuuei accepts anyone good enough to make the cut. They have a set amount of students they'll accept, that's true, but if you think getting one student to not pitch up to the entrance exam is going to drastically increase your odds then you're an idiot. Unless you were planning to intimidate every prospect in the hopes that you'll be passed through by default?"

Bakugou turned red. Well… Redder. "That's not true! You know that's not true, useless bastard! I'll have no trouble blasting through the exam. With a quirk like mine it'll be a walk in the park! I dont want you to tarnish my reputation by association. With a guy like you failing the test they might decide to mark me more harshly, since we're from the same school."

I shot him a taunting smirk. "Ahh… Now I see… You say that you're worried I'll lower your odds of passing, but I think the real reason you dont want me to participate is that you know I'll outshine you."

Bakugou turned quiet, staring at the ground coolly. "… Say that again."

Oh, here we go. Looks like I might be having some fun now. Fighting Bakugou was only worth it when he was serious which, despite his blustering, was not all that often. At most once or twice a week. "I said, you're scared that I'll make your attempts look pathetic in comparison. I'll blow your results so far out the water they'll wonder how we're even part of the same species, let alone coming from the same school."

The gathered students sucked in a collective breath.

"… You'd better get ready for a fight, Deku. I'm going to blow you to bits."

My smirk widened. I felt at the quirks of the gathered students, using a technique I had dubbed my Quirk Field. A facet of my quirk that allowed me to feel the quirks of those around me within range. I thought of it as a bubble that centred on me and encompassed a set area. It was hard to explain just what it was like to 'feel' a quirk. I could tell the distance and size of quirked individuals within my field yes, but when I probed or focused on any one quirk in particular, especially unfamiliar ones, there was little way to predict exactly what I would sense. It was common for a picture of a coloured orb of light to come to mind, along with a vague sense of the scope of the power. But sometimes I would see objects or symbols, paintings or animals. Sometimes even short memories of the quirk being used.

They were all students I had seen around before though and so their quirks were already pre-programmed, thankfully. But what to choose… And how many? It took me a few seconds to think of a suitable package to combat Bakugou. Something flashy and effective, but not too familiar. This wasn't our first rodeo, not by a longshot.

I pulled at my tie and tugged off my blazer, tossing it aside. Unbuttoning my shirt, I kept my gaze on Bakugou who stared with a furious expression. I knew from past experience that he would wait for me to get ready before attacking but I wasnt so lax as to rely on past experience. Folding my shirt and tucking it into my school bag I stretched out my arms and rolled my shoulders. I was not the greatest physical specimen. My skin was pallid and unhealthy looking, the bones of my ribcage clearly visible. I looked like a person a month into a protest fast, somewhat anorexic and as though it were a miracle a strong gust of wind hadn't already picked me up and carried me away. None of the boys laughed at my appearance though. They knew better. Regarding Bakugou, I said "Mind if I take a second to warm up?"

"… Whatever." Bakugou said dismissively.

My back bubbled and twisted for a moment and then two glorious wings burst free. Completely unlike the first time I'd grown them the wings were fully functional and looked strong, also unlike the wings of the kid I had based them on they were not at all leathery like a pterodactyl's but feathered and angelic. Or they would look like the near perfect replicas of the angel wings painted in christian church murals if they werent a shimmery black in colour. I thought black suited me better. Making my wings flap I reveled in the familiar ease of operating multiple sets of musculature that had not been there moments before. Flying like a bird was to me like riding a bike. Once you got it down you never really forgot.

I raised my left arm in the air, palm up. A fiery explosion, stronger than any Bakugou had yet demonstrated this afternoon, erupted at a thought. Raising the right next, I watched intently as my right hand seemed to disappear, in its place a thick haze of hot steam shot up with a hiss. Stone grew over my torso, moulding itself to my shape like armour and continuing upward and over my mouth, stopping just beneath my nose. Like my wings the stone was dark and aesthetically pleasing. I, it must be said, tended toward flashy displays of my power. It was, in my opinion, the only thing Bakugou and I had in common.

"Damned Copycat." Bakugou hissed "You ready yet, Deku? I'm not going to wait forever, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get this started. My train will be arriving in twenty minutes so I'm going to have to wrap this up quickly, sorry."

"Tch. Dead people dont need to worry about public transport."

Their parts said, Bakugou and I rushed at the other, fists raised.

"Stop! Stop fighting!" Shouted a high pitched voice insistently.

Thinking it may be a teacher come to send them off to the principal's office and have their parents called us would-be brawlers paused. Neither Bakugou or I cherished the thought of having our parents called, if for different but similar reasons. I hated it when my mom tried her infuriating brand of doting parenting. Instead of being a teacher it was another student, a third year from Class B. An effeminate boy with shimmery hair grown shaggy, looking suspiciously like my own style. The boy was sweating and panting, having run from who knows where on the school grounds upon word of the potential fight reaching him.

Incensed at the interruption, Bakugou rounded on the boy jabbing a finger in his direction. "And just what the fuck are you doing, huh?! Cant you see we're trying to fight over here, you damn extra!"

Instead of cowering like any of the other students, and perhaps anyone with the common sense to identify a violent, grudge-bearing individual would have, the boy foolishly stood his ground. "You arent going to hurt Midoriya-san."

Did this guy not know who I was? It wasnt possible. My fame, or rather my infamy, was well known. No Musutafu resident would think me someone who needed protecting. I felt my anger bubble at the mere thought.

Bakugou's eyes widened in disbelief. There was a rush of movement, a bang! And a pause followed by a thump as the boy hit the ground. The assembly of onlookers watched as the subject of Bakugou's anger cluched at his stomach and began to cough up blood, gasping for breath.

"That'll teach you to talk trash to me, idiot!" Bakugou said, full of bravado. But I could tell in the tightening of his eyes and the slight shiver that ran down his back that he was disturbed. His outburst had seemed unflinchingly aggressive, but I had caught the slight shakiness that crept in too. People who had the balls to stand up to Bakugou, few though they were, tended to be made of sterner stuff. A blow like that wasn't usually enough to have someone like that out of commission and Bakugou had never done quite so much damage so quickly. He didnt know how to respond.

Bakugou regarded me. "Fight's over. Seeing as how this kid was trying to protect your honour you can take him up to the infirmary. Teach him how to mind his better's on the way. You should really try to train your underlings better, Deku."

I had not paid any attention to the speech. I knew pretty much exactly what Bakugou was going to say as soon as I saw his reaction to the downed boy, and so had begun putting my clothes back on my now wingless body. Tying a windsor knot and loosely draping my blazer over a shoulder I regarded Bakugou.

"…No." I said "If he was stupid enough to interrupt the fight and become collateral damage he can see himself to the nurse. I have no idea who he is anyway." I wasn't about to help out some idiot who thought I needed protecting.

"I-izuku- san…" the boy muttered, teary eyed.

I didn't look back.

_MIMICRY_

Despite taking the train I had planned to I did not head straight home. I suppose it would be more accurate to say that instead of being a member of the go home club I was instead a member of the leave school asap club. I didnt like being home. The atmosphere was always tense and eerily quiet. Instead I roamed the streets aimlessly. By now I was certain I could navigate the streets and alleys of Musutafu blindfolded, without hitting a single street-sign or lamp-post. Because of that I paid little attention to my surroundings and instead directed my attention, as I often did, to the portable gaming system held in my hands. I loved video games and I was pretty damn good at them. Right now I was playing Dragon Adventure IX, a role-playing game set in a world of magic and fantasy. I should have paid more attention to the world around me, though.

I felt it, or rather him before I saw him. His quirk felt unlike any I had ever come across before, like jello. Or a notion of jello at the least. Something not quite liquid, not quite solid. "Lucky, a highschooler. I'll take you and your quirk hostage then. Just stay right there and it'll all be over before you know it." the sound came from a giant sludge monster, an eight foot tall monstrous mass of green slime with a sharp-toothed mouth and eyes twisted into an expression of delight. How the sound was made without, seemingly, any vocal cords was a mystery.

I narrowed my eyes, a slight panic rose in my chest. "Stay back. I have a dangerous quirk." I said, trying to remain as calm as possible. The truth to my words far from making the slime creature back off rather had him grin satisfyingly.

"That's even better!" It said raspily "I'll make sure to put it to good use, kid."

It rushed forward, moving much faster than any glorified blob of animated slime had a right to. Despite the fact that I knew my way around a fight and had rather good reflexes I couldnt outrun it, not as out of shape as I was. I was lean, yes. That much was true. But it was the unhealthy sort of lean. The kind where running anywhere and for any length of time would have you wheezing for breath. My surprise at being so swiftly attacked didnt help either and all too soon I was caught in the slime monster's body, unable to breathe or fight back. I didnt dare to attempt using my quirk to copy it's quirk, hadnt even paused to consider the most remote possibility of it. The pain involved with turning my bones, flesh and blood into slime would have killed me regardless, seeing as I had never had a chance to acclimate myself with this quirk.

And dying, as I was pretty sure I was on my way to doing, was painful enough without feeling your body slowly liquify. Indeed I doubt attempting it, even without the associated pain that always came with a new quirk, would have saved me. The process would have taken too long, long enough that I would have passed out or been too out if it to free myself.

"Ahh… Looks like you weren't kidding about having a powerful quirk! I can sense it's strength. Strange that I cant figure out what it is…"

Even caught in the foul tasting confines of it's body my eyes widened in surprise. He could sense my quirk. That meant that his quirk, or part of it at least, was similar to my own. He could get a vague sense of the quirks of those within his body and, using highly specialized chemical secretions and adept control of his own physical structure, take control of that person, both body and quirk. At least, that's what my mind supplied at the moment. Where I had gotten the information was a mystery. Likely my quirk had subconciously filtered it to me, but it may have been more likely that I had read about this villain online somewhere and couldnt clearly recall it. For a moment I felt a sense of comradery as two people with a similar quirk. That was overshadowed by the panic, fear and bewilderment I felt knowing I was going to die. There were no other quirks nearby, my loner tendencies had driven me to prefer walking around on my own in quiet, empty places and my attitude combined with my quirk made other people want to stay away.

"Well, if I cant figure out your quirk you'll at least be a good hostage!" The slime creature called.

Then I could suddenly breath again, the slime having shifted to make a mouth opening. I gasped for air, suddenly all too aware at how important air was to my health. I felt like writing it an apology for thinking it so trivial all these years.

"My bad, my bad. Sometimes I forget that you normals need to breathe! At least I havent accidentally suffocated anyone today."

His words were garbled through the slime but I could still make them out and feel myself bristle with anger. I tried desperately to get out but I could barely move at all, my thin noodly arms unable to do more than move an inch or too. "Struggle all you want, kid." The slime monster said, then barked a laugh.

Was this it? Wasn't I supposed to be stronger than this? Wasn't I the one with the better quirk? So why couldnt I break free, why couldnt I break free from this nameless, insignificant villain's clutches? I was being forced to be a hostage to a man who clearly had no misgivings against killing, who'd already nearly done me in without meaning to.

Another quirk suddenly flashed into my area of control. I had a brief glimpse in my head of a fist being punched forward and instantly carving a giant scar into the landscape before a blur of yellow and red filled my vision and I was dropped to the floor, free of the slime creature's grasp. I scrambled to my feet. In the scant few moments it had taken me to go from being freed and getting back to my feet the slime monster had been reduced to splotches of goo. Even as I watched they began slowly, languidly creeping towards eath other, attempting to congeal once more into a singular mass. They never got a chance to. That same red and yellow blur darted all over and within seconds there was no slime to be seen. Instead there stood a tall, glorious figure with spiky golden hair and the biggest, toothiest smile on his face. It was a smile that put all my worries to the side.

"Never fear, for I am here!" All Might, the greatest hero ever, boomed in a deep voice.

Despite myself, I was starstruck. I had lost much of my fanboyish tendencies over the years and no longer viewed most heroes with a fervent, quasi-religious awe but this was All Might. I had watched any and all of his recorded heroics and interviews since before my quirk had even manifested. He was my hero, my idol.

"A- All Might… I cant believe it…"

All Might gave a thumbs up. "Well, try your best! It's really me, in the flesh. I am deeply sorry for taking so long to arrive, young man. I was taken unprepared and the criminal used that moment to escape into the sewer. Forgive me for my shameful mistake."

He bowed slightly, and I felt the embarassment flood my cheeks. "W-what? No, you saved me from that thing. That was amazing! How could I be upset that you saved me? What could I ever do to repay you!?"

All Might scratched his head, as though flustered at the compliment. "Thank you. But it is a hero's job to prevent civilians like you from getting involved in issues like this. Had I been more attentive this criminal would have been apprehended without ever having had a chance to get to you. The only possible payment I could accept is that you please accept my apology."

"A-apology accepted."

All Might smiled wider. "Well then, I must be off. A hero can never rest on his laurels, so long as there are people yet to save. Goodbye, young man!"

"Wait!" I called out, arm reaching out at the retreating figure. "Please!"

All Might stopped and turned.

"There's something I've always wanted to ask you, ever since I awakened my quirk. Please…" I asked.

"Well, I really am in a hurry… But what type of hero would I be if I didnt at least attempt to answer a young man I wronged? Ask your question, and if I can answer I will."

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I was really about to do it, I was really about to ask my hero a question I had been wanting to ask for years. "With power like yours, with absolute power… Why do you settle for so little?"

All Might's smile disappeared. "What?"

"I mean, with power like yours why dont you demand more? You have the power to topple skyscrapers, to bring down mountains. Why dont you demand more?"

All Might frowned at me "I am not sure what you mean."

"You are very well known, especially in Japan. The Symbol of Peace. The only thing holding back a torrent of crime and violence. And I'm sure you've made a decent amount of money off your heroics. But why dont you demand more? With your overwhelming power nobody could deny you. You could make yourself ruler of Japan or even create your own empire. You could force political change for the better. You could do and have anything you desire. So why dont you?"

"What you're saying, what you're describing… That's not a hero. That's a dictator. No man should be allowed to force his will on a people. Any man who does is a monster." There was a strong conviction behind All Might's words. It sounded like something personal, not intellectual.

I waved my hands in what I thought was a calming manner. "I-I'm not saying that you would do anything terrible. But you're a good person. You're strong and kind-hearted. You know better than the politicians in power. You could make decisions that would make the world a better place, and you could do it rapidly."

"Every dictator, every cruel leader has had the conviction that they knew better. What is your name, youngster?"

"Izuku, Izuku Midoriya."

"I take it you want to be a hero?"

"Y-yes sir, All Might."

"Then know that the job of a true hero isn't to demand that others follow his every whim. The job of a true hero is to serve others, to do everything in their power to make this world a better place. To follow the laws of the people, even if he disagrees with some."

I frowned. "That can't be true. Other people, regular people. They dont have the ability to make intelligent decisions. They need to be saved from themselves. I think the job of a hero should be to make them do what's best for them, whether they like it or not."

The air seemed to turn cold, All Might's blue eye's icy with displeasure. "People like you, who look down on others… I think it may be better if people like you dont become heroes."

I lost all editing done to this chapter upon uploading it and will be going back to fix it up when I have time. If there are any egregious errors, spelling mistakes or the like please let me know and I'll do my best to fix it up. Hope you've enjoyed this first chapter.

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