Midoriya Inko knew the moment the doctor confirmed that Izuku would never have a quirk that life had just become infinitely harder for her son.

It broke her heart when he turned to her, barely able to force the words out through his tears, and asked if he could still be a hero. It twisted painfully every time he spoke of his dream with a hope she couldn't bring herself to shatter. Izuku held onto his dream despite everything, and it hurt Inko to know that one day he would have to face the truth. The doctor's prognosis could only mean one thing.

Izuku could never be a hero.

Maybe Izuku would come to the conclusion that he couldn't be a hero over time. Maybe he would find a new dream, and the day that Inko dreaded wouldn't come. As awful as what being quirkless meant for Izuku in the long run, the most immediate consequences were much worse. Inko could help him follow whatever new passion he found, but she couldn't, it seemed, do anything about the bullies.

He never said anything to her, and Inko never saw anything directly, but something at school changed once Izuku found out he was quirkless. He mentioned Bakugou Katsuki less and less frequently, and he flinched every time Inko brought him up. Bakugou and his other friends stopped coming over, and Izuku stopped being invited as well.

Moving up to the elementary school proper, Inko had hoped that Izuku would make new friends. For a moment things looked to be alright, but although the classes had changed the bullies hadn't. Izuku started coming home immediately after school, and Inko knew things hadn't improved. What could she do about it though?

She had tried to get Izuku to tell her what was going on, and she couldn't break his trust in her by pushing when he said that nothing was wrong. She hated waiting around doing nothing, but it seemed like her only option was to let Izuku come to her when he was ready. A year passed. Then two.

And then the bruises started and everything changed.

Izuku refused to tell her who had hurt him, but Inko knew it must have happened at school. It was unfortunate for the principal that he took Inko's known kindness to mean she would take abuse against her child lightly. Her fury rising when he claimed that no teacher had reported bullying of any kind, and surely Izuku must have been exaggerating.

The conversation didn't end well for him, and Inko came to a conclusion. If the school wouldn't do anything about what Izuku was being put through, then she would. The lease on their apartment would be up soon, and Inko had been putting money aside for a rainy day. Izuku's unhappiness more than qualified. At the end of the school year they would move, away from the bullies who had been tormenting him for months, away from Bakugou Katsuki and his band of followers.

Izuku would have a fresh start at a new school, and Inko would make it clear before classes even started that she wouldn't put up with anything like what he had been going through now. She had failed her son once by not being able to take control of the situation. She wouldn't fail him again.

Izuku had gone to school with the same people since preschool, and suddenly being thrown into a new environment with new people felt weirder than he had imagined. He hadn't complained when his mother explained they were moving, a transfer to a new office taking them outside of his old school's zone. He knew his mother suspected something going on with Kacchan, but he had never wanted her to know the extent of it. Now he wouldn't have to.

One his first day at his new school, Izuku dressed in his new uniform, nervously glancing at his reflection. Some of the last bruises he had gained during the break when he ran into some of the kids in his old neighborhood hadn't faded yet, but Izuku could blame them on being clumsy if anyone asked. His mother didn't seem to believe him when he said he fell off his bike, but she hadn't pressed him just changed the subject to his new school and all the friends he was going to make.

It was nerve wracking standing in front of the class as the teacher introduced him, stammering out his name when prompted, and he took his seat quickly the moment he was allowed. No one whispered behind his back. No one called him names. He wasn't Deku here, and even though he hadn't magically gained a quirk by entering a new school he would never have to have that name hurled at him by someone he once thought of as a friend.

The bell rang for break, and Izuku knew the question would come up. He considered lying, making up a quirk that he wouldn't have to demonstrate, but he knew that would only backfire in the long run.

He tried to say the words as confidently as he could. "I'm quirkless." He had already tensed when he realized the reaction he had expected wasn't coming.

"Ugh, that's awful," the boy who sat next to him said.

"I can't imagine not having my quirk. Is it weird?"

Yeah, some of the questions they asked were insensitive, but no one hated him! No one had turned their backs on him! Or called him names! He would never tell his mother he was glad she had been transferred, but for a moment it seemed like school would be better.

"At least you're not like Shinsou."

"I'd rather have no quirk than a quirk like him."

The words were different, but tone sounded the same.

"Shinsou?" He asked, hesitantly. The students he had talked to, they weren't different it seemed. Not really, and Izuku had learned years ago that opinions could shift with a single word.

His seat neighbor grimaced. "Shinsou Hitoshi. He's over there." At that he pointed to a boy from their class who sat against the wall of the building alone and reading a book. Izuku recognized the wild purple hair from their introductions. "I would stay away from him, if I were you. His quirk is some kind of mind control. Say one word to him, and he can make you do anything he wants."

"Of course we would get the future villain in our class," another kid added. "But don't worry. As long as you don't talk him, he can't use his quirk on you."

"Has he ever done that before?" Izuku asked, resolve building with every word they spoke. "Used his quirk just because he could."

They exchanged a look, and whatever they said next Izuku already knew the answer was no.

"Not in school, but there are stories."

"I heard he made a kid from another school walk through traffic."

"Someone told me he uses it to ace his tests."

"But you haven't actually seen him do any of this?" Izuku clarified. They both shook their heads

"Midoriya-kun!" Someone yelled behind him as he started forward, but he ignored them.

He stopped in front of Shinsou, shuffling his feet. Shinsou didn't look up from his book as he said, "Come to see the next supervillain? I'm sure they were all excited to fill the new kid in."

Izuku didn't hesitate before responding. "There's a supervillain here? Maybe we'll get to see a pro hero then!"

At that, Shinsou looked up startled. "They did tell you about my quirk, right?"

"Do you mind if I sit?" Izuku asked instead. When Shinsou didn't answer, still looking at him with wide eyes, Izuku sat. "They told me what they thought about you're quirk."

"And you don't believe them." Shinsou's tone fell flat. "Well, I have to tell you whatever they said about how my quirk works was probably accurate. I could have controlled you anytime after you answered me." He turned away from Izuku, looking out over the courtyard, but the book remained closed in his lap.

"But you haven't. Do you want to be a villain, Shinsou-san?"

By the way Shinsou reacted, his mouth dropping at the question, no one had ever asked him that before. "Of course I don't," he frowned. "I want to be a hero."

Izuku grinned, and Shinsou couldn't help but think that it was the warmest smile he had gotten from someone other than his family since his quirk manifested. "And you're going to be a great hero! Just like your quirk doesn't mean you have to be a villain, me not having a quirk doesn't mean I can't be a hero, too!"

Shinsou stared at Izuku a moment longer before a smile crept up across his face. It was small, but Izuku could work with it. "I-I know what it's like to have you're whole class against you, Shinsou-san," he said, and Shinsou noticed the bruises that dotted his arms matched his own. "I don't want to go through that alone again. Do you?"

"No." The word felt heavier as he spoke it, but whatever the consequences of this decision ended up being Shinsou felt like it would be worth it.

If possible, Izuku's grin grew brighter. "Nice to meet you then! I'm Midoriya Izuku! Please take care of me, Hitoshi-san!"

Maybe, finally, Shinsou had found a friend he could trust.

AN: I'm also posting this to AO3, but this is basically the Childhood Friends AU I desperately wanted to read but couldn't find. It'll be one shot-esque chapters leading up to their time at Yuuei before transitioning to multi-chapter plot lines. Chapters will get much longer after this one.

Let me know what you think!