Midoriya Izuku never really had friends.

His father, Midoriya Hisashi, was a villain. A fire breathing villain, that went by the name of Flash Fire. A powerful fighter and arsonist, it had taken the combination of Endeavor, Best Jeanist and Hawks to take him down.

He didn't know his father was a villain. His mother never told him, but he had noticed her breakdown when his father was been carted away in a fire resistant police car.

He was a smart child, an empathetic child. He could tell when someone was feeling sad, when they needed help, and would try his best to comfort them.

He had noticed his mother's change in emotion, and despite only being three, he had tried to comfort her. She had ended up spilling the entire story to him. He himself had declared Midoriya useless, and had ditched them in favour of being a villain.

She had grown distant. She never really acknowledged Midoiriya, blankly looking at the boy as she brought him home from preschool, empty inside as she just went through the muscle movement of doing daily everyday mundane tasks.

He understood. Her own deteriorating mentality over her husband had taken over. She didn't, couldn't, wasn't able do anything to stop her son's classmates from bullying the poor boy who was just too nice to everyone. All that was getting to her head. And he didn't blame her.

Midoriya was short, way shorter than the rest of his peers. No one wanted to befriend him, saying that it wasn't cool to be his friend. They claimed that he was too nice, too cheerful, just too happy and smiley in general. He was too talkative, too willing to make friends. They said with that attitude, he couldn't be a hero.

He wasn't weak by any standards, given he was still a toddler. But no one really cared about that. He was short, thus he was not worthy of being friends. Simply, childish logic, but it still stung all the same.

It would get better, he told himself, eventually.

It didn't.

Midoriya Izuku was declared quirkless at the age of four.

They punched him, kicked him, used their quirks against him. The teachers didn't stop them, and occasionally Midoriya did overhear them, and even the caretakers had decided to let the children do whatever, as long as they didn't end up killing the boy or causing long term damage. They were just roughhousing, after all, they said, children do that all the time.

They called him Deku. They called him weak, useless. That he wouldn't amount to anything because he was simply quirkless and powerless.

Then, they found out that his father was Flash Fire, when a teacher accidentally spoke too loudly and they all heard him from outside their classroom.

Then they said the best he could do was become a villain so that when they became heroes, they could beat him down easily.

They didn't know what they were saying, Midoriya reasoned, It made them feel better about themselves.

He was okay with that.

But Midoriya also wanted to prove them wrong.

He knew he was quirkless. He needed to somehow even the playing field. He had been analysing quirks since he was young, but all that knowledge was useless in a fight if he was hit in an instance.

He slowly learnt how to read people's movements. Every twitch, every blink, how they walked, how they talked, how they slouched or lay down. He needed to learn, to keep up with the other super powered children he called his classmates. He didn't have a choice if he wanted to be a hero.

Shinsou Hitoshi was a scared, introverted child.

His father was a villain. That wasn't bad enough. He had inherited his father's dark eye shadows, and his insomnia.

He wanted to be a hero. He wanted to help other people.

His classmates said he looked like a villain, and because of that, he should be one.

Then he turned four, and his quirk came.

A brainwashing quirk. Just like his father's.

His mother was nice to up, right up until he manifested his quirk. A combination of his father's brainwashing quirk, where he has to make physical contact to brainwash a person, and his mother's quirk, a minor echolocation quirk. She never did anything against him, but the small ounce of love she once showed him had disappeared into an emotionless husk. She had turned in on herself, often ignoring her son in favour for wallowing in her room. She pushed a bowl of food in front of his face, before locking the door and leaving the poor child to eat on his own, in silence, haunted by the muffled tears.

Instead of just bullying him, his classmates now steered clear of him, leaving a metre wide radius around the poor purple haired toddler like he had some kind of contagious disease.

They blamed everything on him. A missing pencil, a broken lunch box, two children getting into a fight, a torn piece of paper. They said it was him. Or, if they were caught in the act, claim that Shinsou was brainwashing them to do it. The caretakers couldn't do anything. They had no proof that Shinsou do it, unless you counted twenty toddlers speaking against him as proof. And as the damage wasn't too great, they dropped it, but even the adults kept a wide berth from Shinsou, avoiding him as much as possible.

Shinsou just wanted to be a hero.

Was that too much to ask for?

He didn't want to be defined by who his dad was. He didn't even meet him before. He didn't ask for his quirk to be so similar to the villain's.

Why couldn't anyone treat him like he was himself?

"Alright, the neighbouring preschool had been attacked by villains, so for the next week or so, the children will be attending other schools around the area. We will also be taking in some of the children. Please welcome them!"

A group of adults ushered the new children into the room, and most of the students looked on in interest at the new kids.

All except one. Midoriya Izuku. He sat in a corner, quietly observing everyone.

The children were given time to interact with each other, and most of the toddlers that Midoriya knew just opted to forget about him, interested in the new students and their quirks instead.

Midoriya felt some kind of dark, haunting aura from somewhere. He turned, seeing a fluffy, purple haired boy, sitting in the opposite corner with his legs tucked into his chest, his arms resting on his knees as he placed his chin on his forearms, solemnly looking at everyone.

It felt familiar, and he didn't know why.

Then he realised that it was exactly how he felt.

The other boy was reclusive, he had been shunned, and ignored by everyone. They treated him like he didn't belong, and after so long of hearing it, he himself had begun to believe it.

That feeling was suffocating, it was like there were shackles clasped around their neck and wrists and ankles, not letting you go anywhere, leaving you to suffer in silence as everyone went about their day, not even glancing in his direction.

They're right. I'm quirkless, so I'm useless. But I'm the only one that should have to suffer like that.

Midoriya peeled himself out of his corner, and slowly made his way towards the purple haired boy.

"H-hi..." Midoriya said, stopping in front of the boy.

The boy's head shot up, eyes widening as he realised, that yes, someone was talking to him.

"H...hi?"

"My name is Midoriya Izuku!" Midoriya gave the boy a small smile.

The purple haired boy just looked at him, confused, blinking a few times as he finally registered what Midoriya had said.

"You're…. talking…. to me?" His voice was hoarse, as if he was suffering from a sore throat. In actuality, Shinsou was a stranger to talking. No one ever wanted to hold a conversation with him, and he was fairly sure he wasn't crazy enough to hold conversations with himself. Whatever semblance of speech the young boy had gained before the manifestation of his quirk had deteriorated into a harsh, raspy voice that he had coughed out in pure confusion.

Midoriya crouched down to get at eye level with Shinsou, but someone grabbed his arm, "Ah!"

"Hey, don't reply him! He has a brainwashing quirk! If you respond, he'll brainwash you into doing stuff!" A boy with ash grey hair pulled him away, "He's gonna be a villain when he grows up, so stay away from him! He's bad."

Shinsou flinched.

There is was again. Calling him a villain because of his quirk.

Because he simply had a non-offensive quirk that wasn't flashy as flashy as the rest.

Because he was unlucky enough to inherit all his father's villainous looking traits, and the very quirk that he used to aid his unlawful deed.

He pressed his face into his arms. Midoriya had been the first person to be nice to him in a very long time, but even that had lasted barely a minute before the others had decided to play the hero and "come to his aid and protect him from the future brainwashing villain".

"That doesn't mean he'll use it!" Midoriya protested. "And just because he has a brainwashing quirk, that doesn't mean he'll be a villain!"

Shinsou's face shot up. He was...defending him?!

But why!? He barely knew him! They told him his quirk! Why was he defending him!?

Shinsou didn't get it, he was confused, and his head was reeling that someone was actually sticking up for him. For the first time in his life, Shinsou didn't know how to react to the new situation.

It wouldn't last, he told himself, one way or another, they'll convince him otherwise. He'll turn away.

"Don't you agree he looks like a villain? And his quirk is the same as Controller's, that brainwashing villain!"

"So?" Midoriya shot back, "So what if his quirk is the same as a villain's? Shinsou-kun is his own person!" Midoriya pulled away from the grey haired boy, standing in front of Shinsou and balled his fists, as if to prove his point.

"You should know, don't you!?" A boy who could pull his eyeballs out of his sockets cackled, "Isn't your dad Flash Fire?"

Half of the occupants of the room gasped.

"So? I don't even know him! I didn't even know I had a dad until I knew his last name." Midoriya tried to defend himself, but a boy with rocks for hair suddenly turned his hand into rocks and grabbed the shorter, green haired boy's shoulder, "Look, Deku, your dad's a villain, and you're quirkless! You can't amount to anything in this world! So stop pretending to be the hero, trying to save someone who at least has a quirk, even if it's a villainous one!"

He clenched his fist, and Midoriya bit his lip as he felt pain shoot through his shoulder. The rock boy finally released his hold on Midoriya, and kicked him in the stomach, grinning as he fell down, clutching his stomach as he wheezed.

"It's not a villainous quirk! I'm sure he could be a hero if he wanted to with that quirk!" Midoriya coughed.

Shinsou just looked at Midoriya in shock. He was quirkless, and he was being treated like that? No wonder he thought so highly of every single quirk.

He said I could be... a hero...?

"Psh. Don't be ridiculous." The grey haired boy snorted, "It's the perfect villain quirk. He can make anyone steal anything for him, doing anything, and they wouldn't be able to trace it back to him! Have you ever heard of a hero with a brainwashing quirk?"

"Well, Shinsou-kun can be the first! He has an awesome quirk so leave him alone!" Midoriya yelled, his voice squeaking as he yelped, when another boy who could expel smoke "accidentally" coughed into his face.

"Your word doesn't mean anything. You can't even stand up for youself, don't even think about standing up for other people."

"Anyone can be a hero if they try!" Midoriya yelped, tears pooling in his eyes as he tried to glare down his classmates who were starting to crowd around them, all of them jeering and mocking the poor quirkless child.

"Hey, leave him alone. He didn't do anything to you." Shinsou stood up. He didn't know why, but seeing the green haired boy being dragged into his own problem, and him being so willing to stand up for him despite not knowing him, despite everyone saying how he would turn into a villain, just made him want to protect the boy. The way he tried to defend him, believing that Shinsou could be a hero, warmed his heart, even if it was just the tiniest bit.

Scratch that. His heart had completely melted from the sheer conviction he had said that.

He wanted to protect him, protect that naive belief that anyone could be a hero, a belief that had been beaten out of him long before his quirk had even manifested.

His voice, it was quiet, but in that very instant, all the children clammed up.

"Tch." The rock boy snorted, grabbing the boy with grey hair, "Come on. Let's play heroes. Those two losers can just stick with each other." The rest of the children also dispersed, leaving the two shunned children alone in the corner.

And where were the caretakers? They were all outside, talking about the arrangements, and no one was keeping an eye on the children.

Midoriya coughed, and sat up, "Are you okay, Shinsou-kun?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking if you're okay?" Shinsou asked, confusing piling in his brain. Were interactions like this normal?

He sat down in front of Midoriya, shifting to his side as he pat his back as he coughed.

"Well... they were saying mean stuff about you're quirk... which is awesome... your quirk, I mean... not the mean stuff... so I thought..." Midoriya trailed off, scratching his head sheepishly.

Shinsou rubbed his neck, unsure what to say, "Is it... true? That you're... quirkless?"

Midoriya sadly nodded, "Yeah. It's okay if you don't wanna hang out with me... it's my fault that I can't do anything right... "

"I don't mind hanging out. We can be friends."

"Really!?" Midoriya's face lit up like a christmas tree as a large smile stretched across his face. He acted like Shinsou had just offered him the world on the silver platter, when all he did was offer the start of a friendship.

Shinsou couldn't stop himself. He had defended him, and showed him more kindness that anyone ever had, and now he was spouting more self deprecating words. His heart ached for the poor, quirkless boy, who had to suffer under his classmates constant jeering and mocking.

He wanted to protect that smile at all costs. That bright, million watt smile that rivalled the sun.

Shinsou gave a small, much smaller smile in return, but was a small smile nonetheless, "Yeah."

Two weeks passed by in a flash.

By then, Midoriya practically clung to Shinsou no matter where he went, babbling about something or another.

Shinsou, while he still never spoke much, was almost always seen with a small smile on his face as he listened to Midoriya.

The rest of the children never went near them, in "fear" that Shinsou would brainwash them. Even though the number of children in the room had practically doubled, there was always plenty of space around the duo.

The teachers and caretakers also left them alone. They didn't want to deal with the two most "troublesome children" of the bunch, the "abnormal" ones, the "weird" ones, the ones that "wouldn't amount to anything. They didn't want to be affiliated with a quirkless failure, or a future brainwashing villain.

Shinsou and Midoriya didn't care. They had each other. Their first friend ever. The first person that understood their situation, and liked them for who they were instead of what their quirks were or their family background. The rest of the kids could do whatever they wanted, Shinsou and Midoriya didn't care.

Shinsou gave Midoriya protection from his bullies. His reputation among his own peers was more than enough to drive them away, even if they weren't true. Midoriya defended Shinsou, gave him hope, excitedly explaining all the perks of a brainwashing quirk as a hero.

The duo's friendship had evolved very quickly. When you spend five years of your life being degraded by everyone around you, you end up clinging much more strongly to the first good thing that comes your way. After all, it was infinitely better than anything they had experienced before.

"Midoriya" and "Shinsou-kun" had become "Izu" and "Toshi".

Midoriya was a clingy person. Shinsou had been deprived of anything with a hint of affection aimed at him.

The two were practically family by the time two weeks were up.

"Ne… Toshi… Do you want to come over for a sleepover?" Midoriya asked. Shinsou's school was already repaired, and they wouldn't be able to see each other for a long time.

"I… never had a sleepover before." Shinsou admitted, rubbing his neck. He hadn't even met Midoriya's mother before, since the normal pick up location for the two groups of children were different.

"She's nice? I mean… she was. Now she ignores me most of the time, but I'm sure she'll be okay with it… if it's no bother to you. If you don't wanna come over that's fine as well. I'm not forcing you or anything, I'm sorry for bothering you…"

Shinsou sighed. Midoriya was way too nice and apologetic for his own good. He seemed to think that everything wrong was his fault.

"I can ask my mom…. but I don't know."

"Alright." Midoriya nodded, before leaning against Shinsou's side as he whipped out a notebook from who knows where.

He flipped it open, and Shinsou caught side of a flash of purple.

"Wait.. .what's that?" He made a grab the notebook, and Midoriya pouted, before snatching the notebook back. "No."

"Come on, Izu. Please?"

Midoriya pouted as he relented, flipping through the pages of his notebook as he came to a stop of a scribble of a person with purple hair. He wore a mask and donned a black jumpsuit, a grey scarf around his neck and random scribbles of purple that Shinsou assumed were hair was sticking all over the place.

"What's this?"

"It's… you…" Midoriya turned away and blushed, "I was watching UA's Sports Day reruns… and I thought your quirk was really similar to this other guy's who had red glowey eyes! Apparently he can erase other people's quirks and it's awesome! It's not flashy, but it's a great quirk. I was thinking… maybe you can use a support item… thingy…. " Midoriya scratched his head.

Shinsou felt his heart clench. The drawing wasn't the best, given it was scribbled by a toddler, but Shinsou appreciated that Midoriya believed that he could be a hero, regardless of what anyone else thought.

He felt something wet on his face.

"Are you... crying?! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to upset you, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Midoriya panicked as he saw tears rolling down Shinsou's face.

"I'm... really happy. Thank you..." Shinsou gave a small smile as he continued staring at the scribble in the notebook.

Somewhere else, Aizawa Shouta sneezed, and rubbed his nose.

"Oi, you're not getting sick, are you, Shouta? You know how often you overwork yourself." Yamada leaned over the table, where he was drinking some kind of tea.

"I'm not sick. Someone must be talking about me." Shouta wrinkled his nose, taking a huge gulp out of his coffee.

When Shinsou went home, he asked his mother. She just glanced at him for a second, before retreating to her room.

She didn't care.

He took that as a yes.

He grabbed some clothes and stuffed them in his school bag.

A sleepover sounded really nice.

"Ne! Toshi!" Midoriya dragged the purple haired boy over to a green haired lady, who wore the same blank look as his own mother. "This is my mom."

"Hi..." Shinsou shyly greeted.

Inko just nodded, as she turned around to head home. Midoriya grabbed Shinsou's hand, as he dragged the confused boy along.

It didn't take long for the trio to get to the Midoriya household, and Inko let the two boys in before closing the door, and retreating into her own room.

"So... what do you wanna do now?" Midoriya asked.

Shinsous shrugged. He had no ideas how sleepovers works besides the... sleep over at someone else's house part.

In the end, the two boys had played heroes. They would take turns calling for help, and the other would run all over the house trying to "rescue" the other. In reality, it was a glorified game of hide and seek. They steered clear of the kitchen though, cause they both knew kitchens were dangerous.

Inko had quickly put together a bowl of rice, some fish and some vegetables for the two boys before she left them alone again, but neither of them minded. They laughed at made silly drawings as they ate. They had each other. That's all they needed.

Midoriya and Shinsou carefully and neatly stacked their bowls and utensils together, before taking a shower and heading off to sleep.

That was also the first time Shinsou had ever gotten any real sleep. His insomnia always kept him awake all night, and he never got any restful sleep that lasted more than an hour or two. Something about Midoriya just made him feel calm, and accepted, and not having to worry about being pushed away.

Shinsou curled up in a ball and lying on the ground that was strewn with pillows and blankets, Midoriya clinging onto his outstretched arm like a koala.

"Will I ever see you again, Toshi?" Midoriya asked, sadly. Today was the last day that he was going to see Shinsou. His school and his home was way too far for either of them to meet up, and they doubted their parents would be willing to spend time to let them meet.

"Yeah. We'll meet again. Someday. I promise, Izu." Shinsou gave a small smile, and Midoriya burst into tears, latching onto Shinsou like a leech, saying how he didn't want Shinsou to leave.