"I'm sorry, but if I'm being honest, I just don't think you can become a hero without a Quirk."

The words echoed in Izuku's ears as he made his way home. That was what All Might had said to him right before the hero left to give the bottles containing the slime villain to the police.

Izuku put on a smile for his Mom when he got home. He rambled about his day like he always did, but his heart was not there.

"I'm sorry."

That's what his Mom had said when they found out he didn't have a Quirk, as she cried over his shoulder and held him close, the beloved video of All Might flickering in the background.

What the doctor had said in a said in a tone of polite finality as he handed the diagnosis over like a death sentence.

What his teacher had said as he felt her attention leave him to focus on other children.

What a stranger had said as their facial expression changed to pity when Izuku told them of his Quirklessness.

"I'm sorry…"

The words continued to echo in his head as he tossed and turned for hours before falling into an uneasy sleep.

Izuku was in a forest. Tall grey trees towered above his head disappearing into the mist. Water dripped from their unseen branches. Their trunks where covered in thick moss.

He looked around with a sort of detached interest, somehow aware of the fact that he was dreaming. He was standing on a trail. Before him the trail branched into two paths, both disappearing into the dark forbidding woods.

He shivered. Something about this place set him on edge. He was just about to pinch himself in an attempt to wake up when something bright yellow appeared in an explosion of colorful smoke before him.

Izuku jumped back with a yelp, landing hard on his bottom. There was no pain. Right… Just a dream.

Izuku looked up to examine the newcomer. The thing floating before him was a triangle. Its bright yellow was garish in contrast to the bleak landscape. It had arms and legs and was wearing a black top hat. In the center of it a single snakelike eye stared back at him. As it moved little bits of sand fell from the cracks that littered its body.

Izuku took a step back. He bumped into something.

"Relax kid, I'm not going to hurt you," A high pitched, crackly voice said from behind him.

Izuku let out a high pitched scream and spun around.

The triangle was right there. Its eye crinkled at the edge. Izuku held a hand to his chest, breath coming in and out of his mouth in rapid gasps. It threw an arm around his shoulder even as he flinched back.

"I heard you had a bad day," The triangle said, unheeding of his discomfort.

It held out its hand and replay of Izuku's conversation with All Might appeared in the air before them.

"I'm sorry, but if I'm being honest I just don't think you can become a hero..."

"Why are you showing me this?" He asked angrily, pulling away from the triangle. "How did you…"

"Because I think he's wrong," It cut Izuku off, a smirk clear in its voice.

He froze.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I think you can become a hero kid!" The triangle said, twirling a cane that appeared in a puff of smoke.

Izuku stared dumbly, shock numbing his thoughts and an odd mix of emotions closing around his throat.

"What?"

"A bit of slow aren't you?" It chuckled. "You still want to be a hero don't you?"

"Yes but…"

"Then I can help you!" It said cheerfully leaning on his shoulder. It held out a hand in front of them, blue flame flickering in its palm. "You just have to make a deal."

The feeling of wrongness reasserted itself in full force and Izuku tore himself away from the triangle putting several strides worth of distance between them before he spun around to face it.

"This is a dream, how can you change anything in the real world? What are you really after? I don't mean to be rude, but I don't trust you."

The triangle stared for a second then laughed. The sound rang from the forest all around them in a hundred different voices; a jarring radio static rode the cracks. Izuku cowered.

"A smart one aren't you? Of course I want something. Nothing in this world is free. See how I'm crumbling?"

The triangle indicated at the cracks in its body.

"Someone got irritated with me a while back and tried to kill me." Red lines flickered across its body for a moment before it resumed its amiable tone. "I survived, but only barely. It's taken centuries to pull myself together this much. If you would give me some of your energy, let me hide out in your brain space for a while. I'd be able to heal so much faster. In exchange I'd help you become a hero!"

"How?" Izuku asked, all his instincts were screaming at him to get out of there. But…

But this was the first time he had met someone who knew he was Quirkless yet still thought he could be a hero. It couldn't hurt to hear it out right? Maybe he'd get some ideas.

The triangle's eye crinkled.

"You humans are arrogant creatures. Cute though. You think you know so much yet you've barely scratched the surface. I can teach you things that will set you far ahead on the path to becoming a hero. Ancient knowledge, spells, magic… you name it, I know it! You want to go to UA right? I can get you there."

Izuku was shaking. The promise was so tantalizing. Somehow he felt that what the triangle was saying was the truth. He wanted it to be true so badly. The dream that had always hung just out of his reach seemed close enough to grasp.

The triangle held out a hand, eerie blue flames flickering between its fingertips.

"So what do you say kid. Are you willing to take the risk? How badly do you want to be a hero?"

Izuku hesitated a moment longer then, before he could second guess himself, he thrust his hand forward and shook the triangles.

It grinned.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you. The name's Bill. I look forward to seeing what sort of hero you become."

The screaming was silenced as Izuku woke up with a gasp, his right hand tingling as if it were on fire.