His dad didn't like that he was in the hero course.

Did Izuku Midoriya care?

Not a bit.

Izuku was tired, terribly so. It had been a week since All For One's outrageous request of filling up the hero course, and Izuku thinks he did a nice job. He had gotten back in contact with Tokoyami, and his sudden homelessness, and surprisingly, UA seemed completely fine with it.

Except for the fact that one of his teachers went to Tokoyami's parents, claimed custody, and now is Tokoyami's dad or mom, but Tokoyami himself didn't reveal said teacher's identity. Which had his whole mini circle of 1-A and 1-B friends making conspiracy theories.

"I bet it's Yamada-sensei!" Ashido said.

Hagakure snorted, "Impossible. Tokoyami and Yamada? Impossible."

"Maybe it's the teacher barely anyone knows about," Kaminari pitched in.

"The caterpillar dude?" Sero asked.

"Yep."

Izuku ate his sandwich.

"So Midori, how's the hero course?" Uraraka asked.

Izuku shrugged, "Pretty boring. I'm looking for more classmates."

And thus started everyone at the lunch table signing up for the hero course.

~~~

"That was... Quick," All For One stated rather bluntly.

"If I knew it was this easy sooner, it would've been quicker," Izuku said. "But anyway, here is the list."

All For One raised a brow at some of the names, "Bakugo Katsuki, Kaminari Denki, Uraraka Ochako, Ashido Mina, Sero Hanta, Tokoyami Fumikage... Hagakure Tooru..."

Izuku analyzed his reaction, "They can all be heroes."

"Yaoyorozu Momo? From the Yao&Corps?"

"Yes."

"Her? A hero?" All For One was pretty disbelieving.

"You can always choose your own students, that offer is always open."

All For One didn't question Izuku's choices after that.

~~~

"Are you Midoriya Izuku?"

"Yes...? And you're looking for me because?"

"I need your help!"

Izuku stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I want to be a hero, Midoriya Izuku," A blonde kid had come up to Izuku and said one day, "Help me get into the hero course."

It took Izuku a while to realize that was Monoma Neito, and that he had met him at the normal cursed park. "You want my help to become a hero?"

"Yes," Monoma said. "I've always liked helping, but not as much as you... Everyone's so closed off to each other, we're constantly against each other and I want to change that."

Izuku hummed as if considering the decision, "But why do you want to change that? Why not just stay the same like everyone?"

Monoma sighed, "I'm sick of it. I hate how cruel humans can be to each other and I've seen it. What's the point in being so shitty so everyone you meet? They'll just be shitty back and then a cycle starts. I want to break that cycle. Instead of making everyone around me pissed, I want them to have a good day."

"That's admirable."

"I was inspired by you too. You're not the only one this park is cursed for."

Izuku sighed in relief, "Oh thank god it's not just me. That's so encouraging."

"I liked seeing you help people and decided to try it," Monoma had a light smile on his face, "And soon after, I found out that I loved it."

Izuku grinned, "You're definitely on the list."

~~~

It was on a tree when Izuku Midoriya met Hitoshi Shinsou. Shinsou seemed to be having a crappy as hell day and Izuku, being who he is, wanted to help. "Hey, are you okay?" Izuku asked from the bottom of the tree.

At first, Shinsou didn't reply.

Once Izuku repeated it and Shinsou figured out that yes, Izuku was talking to him, Izuku finally got a reply. "I'm fine."

"Then why are you so lonely in that tree?"

"Trees are just nice."

"Yes, yes they really are," Izuku agreed, "Just be careful."

"Duly noted."

~~~

Shinsou should've followed what Izuku had said. Now, with various cuts and bruises littering his body from the fall, Izuku was being a good friendly stranger and tending to them while scolding Shinsou.

"I was gone for a minute! And I told you to be careful!"

"I was careful."

"Then how did you fall?" Izuku stared accusingly.

Shinsou stayed silent.

"Whatever, it's okay," Izuku said, "Just be careful next time. There's not always going to be a random stranger willing to patch up injuries, y'know?"

"Why are you patching up my injuries, exactly?" Shinsou asked, "You don't even know me."

In this universe anyway, Izuku smiled sadly. Sure, this universe was fun but he missed his friends. His friends , the ones that helped him through everything, his class 1-A. "Because I just like helping. And since I don't know you, why not get to know you now?"

Izuku erased the sad smile off his face, squashing down his misery for later. He stared straight into Shinsou's eyes and smiled brightly, "I'm Midoriya Izuku, you?"

Shinsou realized that this was the Midoriya Izuku everyone was talking about. The famed student in the hero course who's addicted to helping. But to Shinsou he's just not a student in the hero course, no wonder he was in the hero course when he was already a hero. "I'm Shinsou Hitoshi. So you're the famous Midoriya Izuku."

Izuku shrugged, "Me? Famous? Nah, I'm just being a compassionate human being." Izuku wasn't used to Midoriya Izuku being famous (it's not like he really was anyway), he was used to Deku being famous, but Midoriya Izuku ? That was a far fetched dream. Everyone knew Deku , not Izuku , but now, in this universe, no one knows Deku exists yet. This really is a backwards universe...

~~~

There was another issue that Izuku realized about this universe quite quickly. Since heroes went out of business, so did the support companies. And now getting support equipment is extremely difficult for those who still happen to have quirks, like Izuku or Ashido.

"Where are we supposed to get the costumes from?" Izuku asked, "A hero course needs support gear."

All For One looked amused, "Nedzu was talking about adding a support course too."

Izuku sighed, "But where will you get the materials or even a teacher for the support course?"

All For One said, "Do you remember the hero 'Ectoplasm'?"

"Of course I do. How would I not?"

"That solves our teacher issue."

"Yes but where will you get the materials?" Izuku asked.

"UA is a cte school," All For One stated, "We have an engineering course, where do think we get their materials?"

"Right."

All For One smiled, "No need to worry, we have this all handled. You just need to recruit people."

"Yeah," Izuku said, "What's our goal for the hero course anyway?"

"All Might has been getting stronger," All For One said, "We need help defeating him."

"Why not just give the heroes their quirks back?" Izuku asked, "It can't be that hard, especially if you take new ones everyday."

"I want to give the new generation a chance."

"By taking away everyone they looked up to?" Izuku inquired, "Basically..." Realization dawned on Izuku's face. "You're making child soldiers."

"How did you come to that conclu-"

"You eliminated everyone they look up to, making them easy to mold," Izuku sighed, "And that's what you guys have done with the children. You're essentially making the hero course soldiers to fight All Might."

All For One was silent.

"You're the one who suggested the idea to Nedzu, right?"

Silence.

" Please tell me that this wasn't your plan. That you really weren't trying to make an army with quirked kids."

More silence.

" And here I thought you were different from the other All For One," Izuku sighed for the third time that day (Or what he believed was third, he stopped counting), "I shouldn't get my hopes up."

Izuku packed up his things, noticing that the bell was going to ring, "But if that's really what you're planning, you best believe I will not stand for that."

"The children of the future are not your toys, All For One."

~~~

"You're in the hero course."

The voice that Izuku deeply recognized sent shivers up his spine at how cold it was. It was his best friend, Todoroki Shouto. Izuku turned around to face him, "Yes?"

"Why? Why are you making a hero course again?"

Izuku's lips pressed into a thin line, "I just want to help people, but I can't save everyone... So with some help, it'd be easier, don't you think?"

Todoroki frowned, "My father used to be a hero, he was the worst man I have ever laid eyes on."

"Which hero was your father?"

"Endeavor."

Izuku replied something that forever would change the way Todoroki thinks about heroes, "Endeavor was not a hero."

"What but-"

"He had the license, yes, but the spirit?" Izuku asked, "Never. Endeavor was not a hero. It's similar to asking what makes a human. Is it the biology? Because if it is, then if a person does horrible things, do you still account to them as human?"

Todoroki was silent.

"Or is it the spirit?" Izuku asked, "If the person's compassionate and they were forced to do horrible things, would you count them as human?"

Finally Izuku finished it with saying, "What's human varies from person to person. But does a hero? Endeavor was not a hero. Why don't you think about what makes a hero, Todoroki?"

What makes a hero, huh? Todoroki watched the hero course student walk away, I think I found one.

~~~

Hisashi cursed. His son had a mood- no, a personality- swing in a few weeks. Where did he go wrong in raising him? Because of all things,

Why did Midoriya Izuku want to be a hero?

It disgusted Hisashi. The old society, how they let such horrible people hold the title of hero.

He didn't want his son to ever hold that title.