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Izuku was watching another hero battle, but after that day with the sludge monster, it didn't feel the same. As usual it was the heroes coming to help, something that he'd always admired and looked up to. But a few things stuck out in his mind about that day. For one thing, when the sludge monster attacked Bakugou and he was the only one to try to do anything to help while the heroes stood aimlessly around, not only did people not thank him, but they told him he was in the way. Even All Might himself said he would be a liability. Granted, he magically took that back when he saw Izuku run in for the rescue and asked him to take on his power.

Izuku had laughed sardonically at the proposal and told him to get lost. Perhaps if All Might hadn't told Izuku he'd be a worthless hero as a quirkless person before, Izuku might be more eager, but this? It was an insult to injury.

Izuku turned away from the fight with a twist in his stomache. He needed to be somewhere, anywhere else right now.

His feet led him through the city until he reached the entertainment district. There was a band playing on a nearby open stage, and Izuku could see a music store nearby, which the band probably had a deal with. There were a few cafés as well, but for some reason Izuku found himself drawn to the local arcade. If anything, a few hours of games would be a stress relief for Izuku, or at the very least, a distraction. The machine at the entrance gave the option of ten, twenty-five, or fifty tokens to be purchased at a time. Izuku bought fifty and continued into the arcade. He wandered around until he found a game that looked interesting. It was a two-player shooter/adventure that he'd seen advertised a few times online and thought it might be interesting to try. He didn't have anybody with him to play with, but that was fine, it was less pressure for him. Izuku inserted four coins into the machine's slot and started up the game.

It wasn't a fairly difficult game, but it was fun trying to progress, and when he made it through an area a small pang of satisfaction ran through him, just enough to distract him from the brewing emotions building inside of him. Soon though his luck ran out as he ran out of lives and a back screen with "GAME OVER" appeared on the screen. Izuku shrugged and stepped back, deciding to find another game, but as he turned he felt a hand fall onto his shoulder. Izuku turned to see an older teenage boy watching him curiously with ruby red eyes.

"C-can I help you?" Izuku said, startled at the boy's sudden appearance.

"Play a round with me. You're not bad at this game, and I haven't had a good challenge in a long time." The boy answered in an unsettling, scratchy voice. "Also, I wanted to ask about this..."

Izuku froze as the boy pulled out none other than his hero notebook that he'd been working on until All Might had crushed him, keeping two of his fingers from touching the paper as he did so. He must have dropped it when he'd been out walking.

"...and why it seems that you've crossed out every rendering of the number one hero in it."

Shit.

Izuku swallowed. He'd done that in a blind fit of hurt, and hadn't ever intended on showing anyone else. And yet this kid knew. Izuku knew he had to tread carefully or he could end up on the ugly end of someone's fist (people were wildly protective of All-Might in this city), though as far as he could tell this kid didn't seem angry, just...curious. Izuku decided to play it cool, nodding in acknowledgement.

"One round. After that you give me the notebook and leave me alone."

The boy chuckled. "Yes, sir."

He seemed pleased as he inserted four tokens and waited for Izuku to do the same. As the boy picked up the controller, he kept his pinkies lifted up, the same way that he did with Izuku's notebook, suggesting to Izuku that perhaps this boy had some sort of five-point touch quirk. The familiar screen lit up with the start menu and after choosing their characters, they ventured into the game. Izuku wanted to brood, but that was quickly wiped away as he noticed that this kid...wasn't just good at this game. He was on an entirely different skill level than Izuku altogether, and Izuku suddenly felt motivated to show him up. Izuku began to focus on the game more, and for a while the two of them played in silence. The silence couldn't last forever though, Izuku knew.

The other kid was the first to break the silence. "So...the number one hero. What's your beef with him?"

Izuku didn't say anything for a while. He was trying to figure out how best to put it without being judged. As if sensing the reason behind his hesitation, the other kid sighed. "I'm not one of his maniac fans if you're worried. I'm not going to kill you for slander or anything like that."

Izuku was still dubious about that, but the other kid's words set him at ease, just a bit. It was another few moments before he answered.

"I...I'm quirkless." Izuku started, waiting for the kid to say something derisive towards him, but nothing came, so he continued. "I've wanted to be a hero for as long as I can remember, and All Might was someone that I looked up to, more than anyone. When I finally met him a couple of days ago, he told me that I would be a useless hero, and that I should forget about trying to be one. It's one thing to hear it from your classmates who all have super cool quirks, but I guess I hoped that the number one hero would at least see some value in me. But...he's the same as everybody else. Symbol of peace. Justice for some. Discard the rest."

The other boy clicked his tongue against his mouth. "For all the fame and glory that guy gets, I'm not surprised that he's secretly some sort of quirkist asshole."

Izuku blinked. "What? I mean yeah he's not perfect but he-"

"Hey. Shut up."

"I'm sorry?

"Yeah, shut up. You're going to tell me about how he basically crushed everything that you've wanted, told you you were useless, and now you're going to try to defend his stupid ass? Listen to yourself right now. You can't be someone's punching bag and be okay with it. Either he's a piece of shit or he's not. Got it?"

Izuku thought that was a bit harsh, but the other kid had a point. "Yeah. You're right, sorry."

"Good."

The two of them played in silence for a bit longer, until Izuku broke the silence this time. "What did you mean...what you said you weren't surprised?"

The other kid smirked and let out a soft chuckle. "Well, good ol' numero uno was never quite a ray of sunshine in my life either. I just figured that out a lot earlier than you did."

Now Izuku was curious. "What did he do?"

The other kid was about to answer when a ringtone went off from his pocket, distracting him just long enough that his character died in the game. He swore and fished his phone out of his pocket, muttering an annoyed "What?" into the reciever. After a few moments he sighed and said, "Yeah, I'll be there. I'm coming."

He hung up and turned to Izuku. "Listen, I gotta...take care of some stuff. But if you want, we can talk some more later."

Izuku abandoned his character to die in order to give the other boy his attention. He thought for a moment. This was a stranger, someone he barely knew. And yet...someone who might understand him. An understanding that he'd been craving for so long but had never gotten, not from Kacchan, not his teachers, not even his mother. His mother loved him, yes, but she didn't really understand him, not in the way he needed. But he needed this, so he nodded.

"Okay."

They exchanged numbers quickly, and after the boy gave Izuku's notebook back to him, he departed, leaving Izuku standing alone in the arcade. Izuku stared down at the new name in his contacts and a small smile began to grace his lips.

Tomura Shigaraki. His name was Tomura Shigaraki.