"Don't let it escape!" shouted a man, running alongside a group of white robbed individuals. They were chasing something.

"I'll go this way and cut it off!" yelled another, turning down another path.

The three sets of footsteps splashed through the puddles that riddled the Musutafu alleys. It had recently begun raining.

"Gotchya!" yelled a voice from around the corner.

"Let me go!" yelled another.

The two robbed men turned the corner, revealing to them their comrade, who was currently holding a man in a headlock. The subject of their pursuit.

"Nice job, Mamoru!" shouted one of the men.

"Of course! I grew up here. I know these alleyways inside and out," said Mamoru. He said into the man's ear, "You picked a bad time to reveal yourself, beast."

"That girl was about to die! What was I supposed to do?!" asked the man. He glanced at the apparel of the three men "I always knew you people were corrupt."

The leader of the three laughed. "Is it corrupt to do God's work?" he asked, sending a fist into the man's gut. "I don't think so."

After the punch, Mamoru, the man holding this "beast," threw him to the ground. "Do you have any family?" he asked.

The man wiped his chin, "What do you care?"

"I just want to know if there might be anybody who misses you… you know, when you… disappear."

"So, what," began the man, "you're gonna kill me?"

"Don't be ridiculous," said the leader, reaching behind his back. He pulled out a knife and shoved it deep into the man's rib cage. "You killed yourself a long time ago," he said, pulling the knife out. The man's body fell back to the ground, splashing in a puddle.

"So," began the leader, "which one of you brought the fruit?"

"I-I thought you brought it…," said Mamoru. The other man nodded in agreement.

"Why do I even bother?" asked the leader. "Whatever. Let's just hope that the person who finds it calls it in."

"Wait!" said Mamoru. "Do you hear that?!" A set of footsteps could be heard coming closer and closer towards the group of men.

"C'mon," began the leader, "we gotta get out of here." He took a last glance at the man in the puddle's lifeless body and scoffed. "Dammit!" he thought. "At least there's no evidence."

Izuku D. Midoriya had decided on a shortcut home today. Normally he'd take the long way (as to enjoy the view), but once it began raining he changed course. "Almost there…," he said as he turned the corner into a wider alley filled with puddles.

Izuku stopped in his tracks as he spotted something that almost ruined his appetite. A man was laying in a puddle, his head half-covered by water. "Oh my God!" yelled Izuku, running to help the man. He knelt by the man's side, "Hey! Hey! You're gonna be alright, man!"

A mixture of blood and water came from the man's mouth as he coughed. "Sorry, kid," he began, "I've already lost too much blood."

"You don't know that!" yelled Izuku, reaching in his pocket to grab his phone. "I'm calling for help!" It seemed luck was not on Izuku's side today as his phone call had been unable to go through. (Being in an alleyway, surrounded by tall buildings, isn't great for reception.) "Dammit!" he exclaimed.

"What's your name, kid?" asked the man.

"M-Midoriya D. Izuku," he responded, rolling the man over. "What about you?"

"Monko Luffytaro, but my friends call me 'Luffy.'" The man smiled. "What do you want to be in the future?" he asked.

"I'm going to be Number One," Izuku answered. Izuku had known what he was going to do ever since he was able to comprehend having a goal. He had wanted to become the best hero there is, the Number One.

"Hah," laughed Luffytaro. "Quite the dream you've got there."

"Thank you, sir," said Izuku.

"What's your quirk?" Luffytaro asked. After seeing the sunken look on Izuku's face, he had received his answer. "You're quirkless, aren't you?" Izuku nodded. He laughed, "I was quirkless too."

"'W-Was?'" asked Izuku.

"That's right, kid," said Luffytaro. "I shared your dream at one point in time. I wanted to be Number One as well. So, you know what I did?"

"Wh-What'd you do?" Izuku asked, now at the edge of his seat.

"I made a choice," said Luffytaro. "Follow the world, or follow my dream." He laughed. "Of course, life doesn't always turn out how we think, but nonetheless, I followed my dream." Luffytaro felt the life drain from his body. "I don't have much time left…," he said. "Tell me, Izuku. What… will you choose?" he asked with his dying breath.

Izuku took his hands off of Luffytaro's wound, which he had been applying pressure to. "I'll follow my dream," he said, clenching his fist. Tears welled up in his eyes. "Dammit!" he yelled, slamming his fist into the ground. "Am I so useless that I can't even save one man?!"

"Hey!" shouted a voice from around the corner. "I heard shouting over this way!"

Izuku looked at the corner, then his blood-covered hands. "They'll think I did this," he thought to himself. "I've gotta get out of here!" Before he left, he grabbed a memento to remember the man by: A straw hat.

Izuku bolted around the corner, just in time as well, as he heard the group of people find Luffytaro's body. Once he heard them call the police, he left. He did his absolute best to calm down on his way home. There was no way he could tell his mother about this. She was already worried sick (which he knew after discovering the sixty text messages she sent when he was in the dead zone).

Inko Midoriya showered her son in affection once he had arrived home, not caring that he was soaked because of the rain.

"Mom… I'm fine," said Izuku. "Listen," he began, prying her off of him. "I lost my appetite on my way home. I'm just going to head right to bed."

"A-Are you sure, Izuku?" she asked.

"I'm sure. I love you."

"Where's he get that hat?" asked his mother, internally.

Izuku closed his door upon entering his room. He dropped his bag onto the floor and fell right onto his bed. "I can't believe I couldn't help that guy. How useless could I be?"

He stayed like this for a while, until his stomach growled. He sighed, "I guess I could eat something." He sat up and walked towards his bag. "I'm pretty sure I saved an apple from lunch in here." His eyes widened as he dropped the bag and fell to the ground. He backed himself up to the wall.

"Izuku, honey…," said his mother from the other side of the door. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah!" he chirped. He cleared his throat. "Everything's fine!"

"Okay, sweetie!" she responded. Izuku waited until he could no longer hear her footsteps and slowly crawled back to his bag.

"How did-? But I-! Huh?!" He grabbed the purple object from his bag and held it in front of him. "I've gotta call this in," he told himself, reaching into his pocket and grabbing his phone. As he dialed the number, a voice returned to mind.

"I made a choice," it said. "Follow the world, or follow my dream." Izuku looked back to the object and placed his phone back into his pocket. The voice continued, "What will you choose?"

"I'll follow my dream." Izuku closed his eyes as he bit into the Gomu Gomu no Mi.

After quirks became a normality to have among the population, another strange "evolution" took place in the world: Devil Fruits. Of course, they weren't always known as "Akuma no Mi (Devil Fruits)." There was even a point in time where they were known as "Kami no Mi (God Fruits)." This name change occurred when it was discovered that, when consumed, the fruit would take a person's ability to swim in the sea and, if they had a quirk factor, it would be erased.

Since nothing showed up on any sort of scan that was performed on the fruits, people became scared of them. Fearing them as if they were possessed by devils (hence the name.) Before it was realized as being irrational, people who ate the fruits were recognized as no longer being human, resulting in an intense prejudice against them. However, while this is still considered irrational, it is still mainstream for Devil Fruit eaters to fall victim to extreme prejudice among society.

Izuku had a long way to go until he was hero material, and he knew that. That's why he had begun training at what he considered to be a perfect spot. Dagobah Municipal Beach Park was the perfect spot to train. Heavy garbage and no people? Those are the perfect circumstances for training a devil fruit power. Thus began Izuku's training regiment for the UA Entrance Exam. What Izuku wasn't aware of, however, was the man who would watch him strain his body to its absolute limits every day.

"Seems that the kid has potential. And drive," said the man. "He may be worth a shot."