CONTENT WARNING:

Thoughts of s--cide and worthlessness, authority neglect, despondent appearances

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Izuku awoke to someone repeatedly patting his cheek. "There you are, kid!"

He opened his eyes a crack. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. he didn't know who he was expecting to be there, but he was definitely not expecting ALL MIGHT. His eyes shot open and he scrambled to compose himself. "W-Wha, why, w-where -" he tried to speak while coughing.

"Easy does it," the man exclaims, patting his back. "Now that I know you are okay, I must take my leave!"

Izuku couldn't believe it. His idol just saved him. Him, of all people. "Wait," Izuku said stumbling, "I need to ask you something!" He grabbed onto All Might's leg as he took off.

They landed on the rooftop of some old apartment building. "Kid, I must suggest that you let me continue with my day." All might said turning to leave.

"Wait!"

"I must insist!"

"I need to know! Can someone without a quirk be a hero as great as you?!" Izuku felt immediate guilt in asking. He was taking up this hero's time for a stupid question he already knew the answer to.

Then suddenly, All might was gone and there was a tall lanky man in his place.

"W-what?"

"Please don't freak out!" The man said frantically.

"A-alright." The gears in Izuku's head were already turning before the man spoke again.

"This is the drawback to my quirk. A while ago, I sustained a serious injury in a fight unknown to the public, and since then, I have had a slowly dwindling time limit to how long I can sustain my hero form."

"That explains the lower amount of All might sightings in the last couple of years. What injury caused that? What rate is it progressing? Are there failsafes in case a full collapse happens?"

"Those are a lot of questions."

In surprise, Izuku realized that he was mumbling again. He mentally cursed himself.

"I can't answer those, but I'll answer the first one you asked, about being a hero." The man paused for a moment.

"Anyone can go into hero work, I suppose. Its a broad spectrum of jobs with different skill sets. However, I don't think I can suggest becoming a pro hero to someone without a quirk. The field is dangerous, and without a quirk to combat or provide protection, it would make you more of a liability than anything. That is my honest opinion." The man stood and left.

----

Well, that was an experience. Not one that Izuku would like to have again, but it could have been worse.

He stood on the edge of roof for a while, just thinking. Of course, stupid useless Deku is good for nothing. He knows that already. So why does it hurt so much? The cold afternoon air whipped through his hair and uniform and made the raw skin on his shoulder sting. Sitting near the edge, he couldn't help but think of the irony of the days events. It was almost as if it was begging him to do something about it.

'Why does the world hate me? All I did was try my best and this is what I get? Fate is playing a sick joke and it ain't funny.' Izuku hiccuped as small droplets wet his face. Of all the times to cry, it was now.

He stood up and peered over the edge. If he were to fall, no one would save him in time.

'...'

Izuku sighed, stepped back, and walked to the door. He wouldn't do that to his mom, no matter how much he wanted to.

He had to get home. Sniffling, He went to knock on the door. After a while, five minutes at the most, a kid with floating purple hair opened it.

The kid stared at him a while before speaking. "You're not supposed to be on the roof."

"I know..."

The kid gave a huff of annoyance. "Get in."

Izuku was quick to shuffle inside, not wanting to inconvenience the other more than he already had.

As they walked down the stairs, the kid continued talking to him. "I don't know your name," He said with a questioning tone, "You don't live here."

Izuku didn't question his wording. "M-my name is M-midoriya Izuku."

This seemed like a good enough answer for the other kid, seeing as how he didn't push. Izuku was glad, he didn't feel like talking right now.

"My name is Shinsou Hitoshi." They had reached the bottom. "I hope to see you around some time."

"You too."

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AN:

Thanks for reading the second chapter. We finally get major cannon divergence! Yay!

Feedback is appreciated.

Updates every weekend.