“Deku!” A boy with spiky blonde hair walks towards Midoriya, a cocky smirk on his face. Behind him a skinny boy follows, his fingers abnormally long.

“K-k-kachan!” He stutters out a greeting, taking a step away from him.

“What are you doing out and about? A quirkless loser like you should be hiding at home, hoping a villain won’t attack.” The sneer on his face seems rather punchable.

“W-well, I was just getting some stuff copied for, um, my new friend.” He shoots a glance at me and I wave.”

“Yo.”

Kachan gives me an incredulous look. “You’re friends with this quirkless Deku!? The hell is wrong with you!?”

I shrug. “So what if he’s quirkless? It doesn’t mean that we can’t be friends. Why do you care anyways? Sorry, not sorry, but I’m not interested in muscle-headed bullies.”

At my mocking tone he clenches his fists and I see sparks coming off of his hands. Some kind of fire related quirk? “Hey, Midoriya. What’s this guy’s quirk?”

“Huh!?” He makes a surprised noise at suddenly being addressed, and I see Kachan gritting his teeth out of the corner of my eye. “W-well, he can sweat out nitroglycerin from his hands and ignite it, resulting in explosions. It’s pretty powerful!”

Kachan’s angry expression changes to incredibly smug at Midoriya’s words. “That’s right you damn extra. So stay out of my way if you know what’s good for you!” He glares at Midoriya. “And as for you, give up on becoming a hero! I’m going to be the one to surpass All Might!”

My ear twitches at the mention of him, but even so I can’t help but snort at his words. Moving his glare to me, I decide to explain.

“Out of the hundreds of people with powerful quirks, you think that you’ll be the one to surpass him? And what do you even mean by ‘surpass’ anyways? You’ll be stronger than him? More popular? Earn more money?” I wave my hand in a shooing motion. “If you don’t even know your exact goal, don’t even bother talking to me.”

As I talked I could see him growing more and more angry. Midoriya, meanwhile, grows pensieve. Kachan decides he can’t leave without a retort.

“Obviously I’m going to be the strongest hero! Who gives a shit about popularity! The most important thing for being a hero is to beat down every villain!” His shouting is starting to draw the attention of passersby, who whisper to each other.

At his words, a sneer grows on my face, but before I can explain to him how wrong he is, Midoriya interjects. “The most important thing to be a hero is to help people. To make sure they know they’ll be safe when they hear the words “I am here”. Protecting people is what matters. Like All Might does.” His gaze turns determined as he stares at Kachan, who scowls.

“Obviously you just beat down the villains before they can hurt anybody! Aren’t your smarts supposed to be the one thing you’re good for, useless Deku!?”

“And what about the people who get caught in your fight?” My expression is blank, and my tone monotone. Hearing my sudden shift in speaking, Midoriya shivers. Kachan, meanwhile, sneers at me.

“Then you beat them up too fast for anyone else to get caught in the fight!” He puffs out his chest, proud of his brilliant argument. The long fingered kid nods his head with his arms crossed behind him.

“And what about the person you didn’t notice, the one who gets caught in either your attack, or the villains? Or perhaps you defeat the villain, but they get thrown into a civilian. What then?”

He scowls. “You just beat them down before any of that happens! Being the strongest means being strong enough to make sure none of that happens!”

I pause, a million thoughts rushing through my head. A shadowed figure overlaps with the boy in front of me, and I feel my nails digging into the palm of my hand. Next to me, Midoriya is trying to calm us down. I glance at him and see the same figure overlapping him as well.

Then I see my mother. I see the blood. I see the wrongness-

It’s only when I feel blood dripping from my palm that I come back to my senses, gasping as I do. Not more than a moment has passed, with Midoriya looking at me with concern and Kachan scowling at me.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. They aren’t him. Even though they idolize him, they don’t deserve my anger.

I’d still like to punch them in the face though. Kachan more than Midoriya though.

“Well, if that’s all that matters to you then do it. Pursue your dream. And watch as you fail. Watch as your dream comes crashing down around you.” I point my thumb at myself. “Because I’m going to be the top hero. And there’s not a damn thing anyone else can do to stop me. Not even All Might himself.”

The two look at me, one in shock and the other filled with pride and arrogance. They speak at the same time.

“”I will be the number one hero.””

The two look at each other, and Kachan bursts out laughing. “A quirkless loser like you can never be a hero!”

At his words, Midoriya stares him down, ignoring his laughter. He clenches a fist, remembering the words of a girl who spoke the words he’s wanted to hear since he was diagnosed as quirkless.

“I will be a hero. And nothing will change that. Not even All Might.”

His brain catches up with his mouth and he starts stammering. “W-well, w-what I mean is that I’ll give it my all to becoming a hero. And I doubt that All Might would pay any attention to me, but I would certainly appreciate his approval.”

I roll my eyes and smack him on the back, the brief moment of pain bringing him out of his funk. “You were doing so well with your courageous declaration too. Anyways, I’ve gotta get going. Don’t forget to message me which gym you found.” I look at the angry boy. “Kachan. Stop being a douche.”

I walk away, not looking back at his shout. “My name is Katsuki Bakugou you damn cat!”

The two former friends look at each other for a few moments more, neither saying anything. Then with an angry snort Bakugou stomps away, his mood ruined. The silent boy with long fingers follows him, a confused expression on his face. He thought that they were going to the arcade…

Standing alone now, Midoriya is silent. Then he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. After a minute of this, having calmed down, he starts. “I can’t believe I stood up to Kachan like that! And my dream, would I really pursue it even if All Might told me not to?” He stares down at his hand, deep in thought. Then he walks off, his conclusion left unsaid.

I pull out my phone, dialing Himiko. Hearing her pick up, I speak. “Hey, Himiko. You said you were going to get involved with the criminal underworld, right? Well I have a favor to ask…”