I don't believe in heroes... but I believe in you.

"Bereto," a woman called out kindly. "So you're here this time."

Byleth looked toward the voice and saw the woman—Sister Grace—reach out her arm, silently asking the boy to grab it. Wordlessly, he dropped his stance and dispelled his sword to reach out and grab the outstretched arm.

With his hand in the soft grip of the Sister's hand, the duo started walking along the cracked concrete ground away from the ruins of a building demolished by villains last week.

"Are you training to be a hero?" she asked.

"No…" he responded. "I don't want to be a hero. I don't want to be an idol that people worship"

The azure haired child's eyes were blank but beneath them, because he remembered betrayal and sadness; war and death. He already lost so much in his past life. Why would he want to lose any more? He just wanted to live a quiet life.

The Sister gave a small smile at the mature words that shouldn't normally come out of an eight-year-old boy's mouth. A caregiver should normally be startled at his strange views, but Byleth was always mature and special like that.

"But you're already a hero for the other children in the orphanage, Bereto! How is it different from being a hero for other people too?"

Byleth barely bit back his cynical laughter.

If being a hero was as easy as children looking at him with bitterness, then he wouldn't be stuck in the body of an eight-year-old boy.

.

Byleth was two years old when he noticed something concerning.

Strangely concerning.

From what he remembers, he lived in St. Mary's Orphanage ever since when he was born.

But yet… all the children that came into the orphanage were either four or five years old.

Babies his age or younger were never brought into the orphanage.

And the most concerning thing of all was… No one came to adopt any of the children at the orphanage.

Strange... he thought.

.

Byleth soon found the answer to his question at the age of three.

"Heh! You quirkless orphans! Get off this playground!" A small boy who looked around six years old taunted with his gang of friends. "Get back to your Quirkless Orphanage!"

Quirks?

What were quirks? Byleth asked himself.

Surprisingly, the taunting boy's arm transformed into a hammer and dangerously hit the ground in front of the small group of orphanage children.

Byleth blinked.

Magic?

He never saw any signs of it with the other children in the orphanage. This was his first time venturing out of the orphanage with the other older brothers and sisters and he saw some strange things on the way to and back from the park.

Byleth tugged on the sleeve of one older brother as they trudged back to the orphanage without even setting a foot in the playground.

"What is a quirk, Natsu nii-san?" He asked with innocent curiosity.

The older child's face became dark and he looked sad. Angry. Bitter.

"Quirks are special powers that people have."

Byleth blinked. Were these quirks similar to Crests?

"Do you have a quirk?"

With a strained expression, the child replied, "I don't have a quirk, Bereto. Neither do all our other brothers and sisters. That's why we were abandoned at the orphanage."

.

What a terrible, cruel world.

That's probably what Edelgard would say about this world.

But Byleth felt like saying the same too.

Apparently there were people who were called Pro-Heroes and Villains in this world.

A world where most people had quirks and being normal was abnormal.

A world where people were callous and selfish enough to abandon their quirkless children at an orphanage when they were old enough to remember their abandonment.

What a despicable world, Byleth thought.

.

"You're at this park again? Get out already! Go back to where you quirkless orphans were abandoned to!" A familiar bully and his friends started yelling as Byleth and his siblings enjoyed building sandcastles.

Well, Byleth's siblings enjoyed building them. Byleth merely chaperoned them in his young three-year-old body.

"W-we were here first!" One of his sisters yelled. "There's plenty of room anyways!"

"You quirkless losers should know your place!" the bully yelled and readied his hammer arm for another swing. Byleth, realizing the damage it could do to a vulnerable young child, reached for something—anything, to stop the assault.

And a familiar, albeit smaller, sword materialized in his hand. Without thinking very much, the azure haired boy flung the sword to the hammer arm, hitting it away from the path to his sister's head.

Seeing the outstretched ivory sword, the bullies and his siblings all stared at him with varying levels of shock.

.

"Sister! Sister!" One of the younger boys cried out as they saw Sister Grace waiting for them in front of the gates to the orphanage with their other siblings. "Bereto has a quirk! He has a quirk!"

Byleth saw the flutter of emotions flashing across the faces of his brothers and sisters.

The young ones looked in awe and fascination while the older ones looked bitter and jealous.

And Sister Grace she looked—what was that expression? Byleth frowned as he saw her wide, scared eyes quickly turning to faux excitement and happiness.

.

"You're going to the quirk doctor's?!" Natsu nii-san; the one who told him what a quirk was and was one of the few older siblings that didn't have a sad, jealous expression when finding out that Byleth had a quirk; asked him as he was waiting for Sister Grace to come out of the Orphanage to go to the quirk clinic together.

"I am."

"Oh." Natsu replied sadly. "I don't like the quirk doctors. After I went with my parents… they abandoned me here."

"Oh…" Byleth's brother was a few years older physically, but in the end, the young six-year-old was still a small boy compared to him in mentality. "I'm sorry nii-san… but because of that, we're now brothers. I'm thankful to have you as my brother."

In a rare moment of emotions, Byleth gave a small hug to his brother.

Surprised at the introverted boy's sudden bout of physical affection, the older boy stood frozen for a moment before hugging the Byleth back.

.

"Yes, it seems that he doesn't have a pinky joint." The doctor noted as he skimmed his eyes over the X-ray. "And you said his quirk is summoning a sword?"

Sister Grace nodded.

"What a fine quirk. He may be a great hero one day."

Even with the small smile on her face, Byleth could tell that Sister Grace's smile was rather forced.

"Well, you can register his quirk as you leave the office and we can send it to the Quirk Registration Department for you."

"We will. Thank you, sensei." Sister Grace stood up from the stool and Byleth followed suit.

"Thank you, sensei." Byleth said as he gave a small bow to the older gentleman who waved goodbye to him.

As he went back to the front office, Sister Grace was given a paper to fill out.

Byleth peeked at what she wrote down for him.

Mari Bereto, Age 3

Quirk: Summoning an ivory sword

.

"Sister, is it bad if I have a quirk?"

Sister Grace's eyes grew wide for a second and Byleth could feel that she went through numerous responses in the two seconds she paused to think.

She turned to face Byleth and crouched down to his eye level. "No, Bereto. I'm merely concerned that your brothers and sisters might feel jealous and sad that you have a quirk and they don't. You should practice your quirk, but please don't make others jealous by showing off in front of them. You're a big boy, so you understand, right?"

Byleth nodded in understanding.

"Of course, Sister."

He completely understood what she meant… but Byleth was convinced that her worried expression earlier was not just because of fear of the other children being jealous.

But he didn't voice his concern as a three-year-old boy shouldn't be so keen on reading expressions just yet.

.

Byleth blinked as he saw the Failnaught in his hands.

How did this get here?

Unlike the Sword of the Creator, Byleth hardly ever wielded this bow.

Could he…

Oh.

Byleth looked at the Areadbhar in his other hand.

It seemed like he could summon the Heroes' Relics. He tried summoning the Aymr... and there it was—right in his hand.

He looked at them and again noted that they were much smaller than they were originally were, like the Sword of the Creator… and he had a theory.

Were these… made of his own bones?

Measuring the size of the Sword of the Creator against his own spine, Byleth realized that it must be it.

These Holy Relics were now made of his bones… and not of the Nabateans.

But instead of feeling the fascination he should, Byleth dropped his head down and wept at how these weapons shouldn't be wielded by him, but rather his students.

.

Byleth never had a friend before.

He had brothers, sisters, and students before, but he never had a person specifically titled his friend.

Sure, his siblings could be his friends… but they didn't want to be.

Byleth would follow his siblings as a chaperone to their outings to parks even though he never played with them. Because even though he protected them from the bullies that would come to taunt them, his siblings didn't feel so grateful that their sole non-quirkless brother was protecting them. It cemented another thought that they were powerless.

But Byleth didn't believe that. He didn't chaperone them to protect them while thinking of his siblings as weak. He never used his Heroes' Relics when the bullies tried to pick fights or chase them away. Yet the children whose eyes were first filled with curiosity soon turned into bitter resentment as they remembered that they were quirkless and couldn't do the same things Byleth could do.

They believed that Byleth's mastery over a mere wooden stick that he waved threateningly to the bullies was because he had a quirk.

But his sword handling wasn't a part of his quirk. He even tried to teach some of his siblings, but they all gave up, saying that they couldn't do it because they don't have Byleth's quirk. Even his closest brother, Natsu nii-san, gave up after a month.

Byleth realized after a while that just coddling these children wouldn't do any good for them in the long run so he stopped going to the park with them and would instead go to a nearby forest clearing to practice with his weapons.

.

"That sword is so cool! Is that your quirk?"

Byleth blinked at the boy who approached him.

He noticed the young green-haired boy always watching his training for the past two weeks, but he just disregarded it because it wasn't bothering him at the moment.

"Yes. Do you like quirks?"

"Yeah! They're so amazing! I want to know what mine is already!" The boy exclaimed excitedly. "I'm turning four soon!" he said while holding up four tiny fingers.

"Oh, that's nice. I turn four in a few months too."

Then a voice of one of his siblings called out to Byleth, cutting off their conversation.

"See you again." And Byleth left the boy who shyly waved goodbye.

.

When Byleth saw the little green-haired boy again, he was crying behind the bushes of Byleth's normal training area. Byleth frowned at the light burns that he hand over his arms as if he shielded himself from a fire or explosion.

"Are you okay?" Byleth asked.

The small child jumped and whipped his tear-filled eyes toward the azure haired boy.

"I-I'm okay!"

"I don't think you are. Let me put some medicine on your arms."

And Byleth got out the first aid kit he always carries around for his accident-prone brothers and sisters and started cleaning and applying ointment on the child's arms.

"W-why are you being so nice? Didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?"

The little boy's eyes opened widely.

"N-nothing." He deflected nervously.

"It's fine if you don't want to say."

"Oh…"

They stood silently for as Byleth finished patching up the wounds and after, the azure haired boy just sat next to the green-haired boy for moral support.

"I'm quirkless…" the boy finally said after minutes of silence.

Byleth's eyes turned to the boy who finally said what was on his mind.

"Okay. So?" He replied impassively.

The boy blinked owlishly as if he wasn't expecting that response.

"Y-you're okay with that?"

"I live in St. Mary's Orphanage, dubbed the Quirkless Orphanage. All my brothers and sisters are quirkless. Before I got my quirk, bullies kept taunting us but now they stay away when I'm around."

"But… you have a quirk. I'm quirkless."

Byleth gave another glance at the sad child. He sighed inwardly but decided to go for it.

"I made a decision. You, what is your name?"

"M-me?"

"Yes."

"M-my name is Izuku."

"Okay, Izuku-kun. My name is Bereto. We can be friends from now on."

.

The two boys were walking at an even pace, Izuku looking excited and Byleth looking as impassive as ever.

With a blink, Byleth stopped the shuffling of his feet.

"Ah, Izuku-kun. Maybe we should go to a different park instead."

"Ehhh? Why's that?"

"I remember that there was a new place that my brothers told me that had more interesting things. Let's have a look at that."

"Okay!"

.

When Izuku got home that day, his mother ran toward him and gripped him tightly in a hug.

Apparently, the park they were supposed to go had a villain who could make deep holes appear on the ground, which caused a lot of civilians to fall in and get really hurt. Furthermore, the heroes that came to apprehend the villain were a bit accident-prone and left a lot of collateral damage.

"Oh Izuku, I'm so glad you didn't go to that park today!" Midoriya Inko said as she sniffled into Izuku's shoulder.

Izuku hugged his mother back with wide eyes.

"I'm so glad Bereto-kun suggested somewhere else."

.

After running back to St. Mary's after splitting up with Izuku, Byleth ran into a small storage closet and released his adrenaline-filled breath.

I knew that summoning Sothis' bones or the Heroes' Relics wasn't my only quirk, he thought to himself as he gripped the shirt right on top of the area of his heart. Or maybe that's not even a quirk at all.

But the slight smile faded from his face as he remembered the memories attached to these two gifts and remembered how alone he was in this world.

He slumped down against the door and burrowed his face in between his arms and legs. Byleth stayed in that position for a long while.

.

"Do you want to be a Hero, Bereto-kun?"

"A Hero? That's probably the last thing I would want to be in this world."

Izuku frowned a little. His friend's quirk was amazing! He could summon a really cool looking sword that can extend and stuff! And he was so good at sword fighting!

"But a hero is so cool! You would be a great hero!"

"I don't believe in heroes, Izuku."

Izuku's eyes opened wide.

"What do you mean, you don't believe in heroes? They're right there in front of us!"

"I don't believe what they believe themselves to be. Many people, including Heroes themselves, believe that Heroes are like gods, but they're still human. So they shouldn't be seen as gods."

"Ohh… umm.." Izuku tried to comprehend what Byleth said inside his little five-year-old mind. "You're Christian right?"

Christianity, along with most other religions, quickly diminished in the past hundreds of years after quirks started becoming more widespread because people soon had powers that could be said to be the same as gods.

People stopped believing in religion and turned to worship human idols instead.

"Not exactly. I believe in the goddess Sothis."

.

"Watch your back, Deku! And you too you orphan freak!" Bakugo spat out as he slowly back up and then completely ran away from the playground. Bakugo experienced his first loss from Byleth's sword skills first hand.

Izuku tried his hardest not to cry but Byleth could already tell that his young friend was ready to burst.

He gave the small green-haired boy a hug.

Immediately, the young Midoriya boy burst into tears and Byleth patted his back.

"Why can't I have a quirk? Why does Kacchan always bully me because I'm quirkless?" he cried out as he sobbed into Byleth's shoulder.

Byleth set his palm down on the young six-year-old boy's head.

"Izuku, don't listen to the bullies. Don't think that they are your friends. You are strong, powerful, and smart. Remember. Bakugo-san just wants to bring you down. So you have to be even stronger and learn to surpass him. Heroes cannot be bullies. Heroes bring down bullies as they do villains"

Izuku sniffed some more and said in a muffled whisper. "You're right. Kacchan—no, Bakugo-kun is a bully. Heroes cannot be bullies. And Heroes bring down bullies… so… you're my hero, Bereto."

Byleth wanted to sigh. He wasn't a hero. He wouldn't be a hero. But he didn't voice this incorrect assumption and continued comforting the young boy.

.

"Guess what?"

"What is it, Izuku?"

"I beat Bakugo-kun at school today at ball throw!"

"Very good. It seems like the 1000 sword swings I make you do every day helps."

"Ugh yeah… I guess it does…"

"For that, we're going to increase it to 2000."

"What?! NO!"

.

"Oh yeah and yesterday, I was able to get a glimpse of the Wild Wild Pussycats while mom and I went shopping at Mustafu Mall!"

"Uh-huh." Ten-year-old Byleth replied without even bothering to comprehend what his excited green-haired friend was rambling about excitedly and just focused on his book. He learned to phase out the energetic gushings of his childhood friend that he has known for the past six years.

"They were SO COOL! Their quirks are so awesome and amazing to see first hand."

"Uh-huh."

"Oh but in the end, the Blade Breaker came and finished all the villains off in just two swings."

"Uh-hu—wait. Could you repeat that for me?"

"Oh what? Oh. The Blade Breaker came and finished everyone off in just two swings?"

"The Blade Breaker?" Byleth questioned.

"You don't know him, Bereto?! He's not one of the top 10 Heroes because he never does any interviews and isn't super popular because of that, but he's still a great hero! His fights are televised a lot."

"It's no wonder I never heard about him. We don't watch Hero-related things at the orphanage."

"What?! Why not?! They're so amazing to see!" Izuku exclaimed with a scandalized expression.

"I don't really care for it myself. As for my siblings… they just chose not to. I think when they're young, they want to watch what their favorite Heroes do and they turn on the TV for themselves and then… they just stop. Because they don't believe that they could be like their Heroes anymore."

"But anyone can be heroes! Even All Might says so!"

"Izuku, I don't doubt that. But I don't think you realize what a lot of my siblings feel about quirks in general. They were abandoned specifically because they didn't have a quirk. I know that they try to not think about it, but they're still really bitter and angry… even to me who has a quirk. After all, they are surrounded by everyone who has a quirk once they leave the confines of St. Mary's, so they don't like to remember that I have a quirk even though I don't use it at home. I'm grateful that you have a loving mother, but all my siblings remember the faces of their terrible parents who abandoned them."

"Oh…" Izuku looked down solemnly and wondered what kind of parent would ever abandon their child just because they didn't have a quirk. "I'm so sorry. I didn't exactly think about that." He was so thankful that his mother loved him even though he was quirkless.

Even though she didn't believe that he couldn't be a hero.

"If you want, I can share my mom with you, Bereto-kun!"

At the green-haired boy's serious expression, Byleth gave a soft chuckle.

"It's alright Izuku. I was abandoned before I knew my parents, so I don't even think about it. I also have enough siblings, an amazing Sister, and a great friend to fill the void anyway."

And I had the best father anyone could ask for.

Izuku blushed at the compliment.

"Bereto…do you…think that I can be a hero?" the young green-haired boy asked cautiously, fearing what his friend would say to him.

Byleth gave a firm look to the shy boy.

"Izuku. I believe you can be a Hero and more."

.

The Blade Breaker.

An older generation hero but he was very active still, cutting down foes with as much grace as an elephant

Which meant, there was nothing graceful about it.

The Blade Breaker was named the Blade Breaker for the reason.

Such as why the Blade Breaker was dubbed the Blade Breaker in Fodlan.

Byleth's breath hitched as he saw the image of the hero on the library computer.

The Blade Breaker was wearing a mask, but it was him.

It was HIM.

His father.

.

"Izuku. How do you meet Heroes?"

"Huh? You're interested in Heroes now, Bereto-kun?!"

"Kind of. How do you meet them?"

"Well, sometimes you have a chance of meeting them on the street while they patrol, sometimes heroes have fan signs, and sometimes you can see them when they're fighting villains!"

"Okay… how about the Blade Breaker?"

"Oooh! The Blade Breaker?! Well, I guess you are interested in him because your quirks are similar in a way… but let me check!"

Izuku ruffled through his schoolbag and found exactly what he was looking for.

"Okay! Hero Notebook No. 3: Blade Breaker… blade… strength… patrols—ah!" Then Izuku's brows furrowed. "Hmm… it doesn't seem like he does patrols himself nowadays because his agency is big enough to send patrols for him. It's normal for high ranking or well known, long time Pro-Heroes. And he never does fan signs or anything… so I guess the best bet is to hopefully find him fighting a villain?"

"That sounds simple enough."

.

Why was it so hard to catch one man?

Oh well of course it's because he's trying to catch a full-grown man with the power and independence to go anywhere he likes while Byleth was an eleven-year-old child that was limited by everything from laws to money.

Not that it could stop him.

But to go around anywhere truly freely, he needed to be an adult. Also, he needed money, but he didn't have either of those.

Yet.

.

Seeking out underground fighting rings made by villains was a slightly dumb idea, but hey! It worked in the end.

That's what Claude will say to justify running away after completely thrashing the villain fighting ring with the huge bundle of money he won.

But they never saw his face and Byleth only used gauntlets so they couldn't trace anything back to him.

He also wore everything and everything to make himself taller. (Curse his 4'9" 11-year-old height) and was barely able to make himself 5'2" with combat boots and insoles.

But why could he never meet the Blade Breaker for himself?

It's probably how his father's mercenary group was able to evade the Church of Seiros for such a long time…

.

"What is another way?" Byleth asked.

"Another way for what?"

"To meet the Blade Breaker."

"Umm… Heroes work with each other a lot so… you can become a hero?" Izuku supplied half-jokingly.

"Okay... You said that you want to be a hero, right Izuku?"

"Huh?! Yeah! I do!"

"From now on, when we train, call me Professor."

"Ehh? Pu-rou-pe-sa?" Izuku carefully spoke the foreign word. "Ah! Like a Pro-Hero?"

"No, a professor. Oh. Or, just call me sensei, like how they do here."

"… okay? Why though?"

"I'm going to be your teacher from now on. We'll both go to UA and become heroes, Izuku."

.

"Bereto! Bereto!" Byleth's green-haired friend exclaimed as he ran toward him. Byleth greeted the young teen with a wave of his own. "It's crazy! I met All Might today!"

Fourteen-year-old Byleth's normally impassive eyebrows raised slightly.

"Oh really? That's nice."

"And he… he told me I can be a hero!"

"I already knew you can be a hero, Izuku."

Izuku gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head.

"I know, but it was amazing to hear it from him too. Today was such a crazy day. He first said that I couldn't be a hero, and then Bakugo-kun got captured by a villain, and then All Might saved the day, and then later he told me that I can be a hero, and then… he said that he'll train me!"

"A very eventful day, I see. And what did you say back?" Byleth asked and he saw his friend's face falling a little.

"I… I want to get trained by him. I want to be like All Might. I'm so sorry Bereto-kun! It's not that I believe that I don't need your training anymore!" He said as he waved his hands frantically as if he was saying taht he wasn't trying to be rude.

"Izuku," Byleth said as he put his arm on his friend's shoulder. "I am a teacher, remember? You're already proficient at handling weapons, but I know that training under All Might could help you grow more. I am a teacher who strives to help his student reach their biggest potential. You don't have to feel sorry that you feel that you're going to be taught by the number one hero and not by me. After all, if All Might teaches you one way, you have a hidden skill that villains won't know that's coming, right?"

Izuku's face brightened up.

"You're right!"

.

Byleth lied a little about not teaching Izuku anymore.

After seeing All Might's training plan for Izuku, Byleth altered his own training plan for him. Of course, All Might didn't know about that. Byleth made sure to keep training Izuku in the ways All Might didn't and made sure that Izuku would continue succeeding in every way. Even before meeting All Might, Izuku frequently trained under Byleth so he had the basics of honing his body, which really impressed the number one Hero.

And even though Izuku wanted to tell All Might about his friend, Byleth asked him not to say anything.

.

"Why?" His green-haired friend questioned one day.

"Because I don't want to get tangled with more heroes than I need to."

"That's so weird… you're literally applying for a hero school."

"But unlike you, Izuku, I'm becoming a hero for a very selfish reason. I just want to meet one person."

"One person… you mean the Blade Breaker, right?"

"Exactly. I might end up quitting midway if it doesn't end up as I hope."

"What? No! You would be a great hero, Bereto!"

"Thanks, but I told you before, didn't I? I don't believe in heroes."

.

"You're in Exam Area D?"

"Yeah! What about you Bereto?"

"I'm in Area A. Good luck, Izuku-kun."

"Thanks Bereto-kun. You too."

But before they separated, Byleth put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Remember. Even though you learned a lot from Mr. AM," Byleth said as he used their codeword for the number one Hero, "you also learned under me for years. Don't limit yourself in this exam, Izuku. You're strong, and you can clear anything in front of you."

"I will! Thank you… professor."

.

Byleth cleared the robots with ease by just his sword. Was he holding back by not summoning his other Hero Relics?

Maybe, but he didn't even need to summon them as the exam was a little too easy in his opinion.

Byleth lunged the Sword of the Creator at a large signpost flying down to an unsuspecting applicant who was too focused on getting a two-pointer. The signpost flew out of its pathway to the applicant's head and Byleth didn't pause to see if the teen wanted to say thanks for not. After all, there was a limited time in this exam.

And the reincarnated professor had no doubt that his friend Izuku would do well in this exam. Even without a quirk, Izuku would be able to use his sharp mind and his various skills that even people with quirks wouldn't be able to.

Byleth really wondered why this society—this world—focused so heavily on quirks.

People thought of quirkless people lower than the bottom caste. They believed that they should lay low and continue to be weak.

But Byleth saw what kind of person Izuku grew up to be.

Izuku could be a hero even without a quirk.

Byleth didn't believe in heroes, but he believed that his friend could be a great hero.

.

"Let's go to school Izuku. It's strange to now meet in the morning to go to school together."

Izuku had a tearful look as he saw his long time childhood friend waiting for him outside his door.

For the first time in the 11 years he has known his friend, they were heading to school together.

"Thank you so much Bereto. If it weren't for you… I don't know if I would have ever gotten here."

"No, Izuku. Even without my help, you would have gotten into UA. I just made it easier by developing your inner potential."

.

Byleth looked at the blonde-haired menace with an icy glance and ignored his argument with the glasses-wearing teen. He remembered Bakugo-san very well, especially the stories that Izuku told him about how he used to treat Izuku at school. After Byleth gave him a thorough beating when they were five years old, Bakugo-san completely ignored Izuku at school and Izuku was content with that. After all, he didn't see Bakugo as a friend nor a hero.

Because Byleth was Izuku's friend and hero.

.

Byleth wasn't impressed by the Quirk Apprehension Test.

After all, there were many quirks that were unsuitable to the different tests, such as his own. However, he knew that he could never be last because he has trained his body for so long. Even Izuku, who was quirkless, wouldn't be last.

Byleth didn't really feel that it would be fair for his classmates to use his full power. After all, they were children and he was a man who was 25 years older than them mentally and somewhat physically.

He didn't even exactly want to be a Hero.

So he didn't try.

.

…Izuku now had a quirk.

A very dangerous one, at that.

"So you have a quirk now?" Byleth asked nonchalantly after the ball throw and got out athletic tape to wrap the boy's broken finger for now.

Izuku tried to avoid Byleth's azure eyes earlier as if he committed a grave sin against him. At the green-haired boy's frantic eyes and his ramblings of I don't—no I do. Ahhh I didn't mean to hide it! Byleth stopped him with a pat on his shoulder.

"Izuku. You don't need to explain it to me. You don't have to spill secrets you don't want to say nor justify anything. Because you're my friend."

.

Aizawa looked at his students with a careful look. They were a troublesome lot. He didn't sign up for this stress.

Todoroki Shouta. He wouldn't use his flame side.

Bakugo Katsuki. He had a temper that would make for a terrible Hero.

Midoriya Izuku. He didn't have control over his quirk.

But they might not be as troublesome Mari Bereto. He was quiet and respectful enough. His quirk was interesting. Yet for some reason, Aizawa knew the impassive boy was holding back a lot.

Although his sword quirk had no use in any of the categories except when he twisted his sword around the ball and used it like a slingshot, he scored exactly 19th on the Quirk Apprehension Test. And even though his impassive face didn't show it, Aizawa felt like the boy was pretty satisfied with his score.

Yet Mari placed first in the Entrance Exams.

Both the written and practical exams.

That doesn't add up.

.

"I don't think you deserve to be a hero." Aizawa drawled.

Great. First day of school, and he was already having this kind of counseling meeting. He really didn't like this, but as a teacher needed to shape up this kid or he will really have to kick the teen out.

Byleth gave an unimpressed look at his homeroom teacher while sipping his tea in the counseling room after school.

"Oh? Why is that, sensei?"

"You're unmotivated. You should just quit if you don't feel like trying your hardest to be a hero."

Byleth hummed.

"Sensei, I think you're completely wrong. Why does my lack of motivation have to do anything?"

"It has to do with everything. Why do you want to be a hero in the first place?"

"I want to find someone."

"See, you're selfish. You're not going to be a good hero."

"I know I'm selfish, sensei, but I think I'm less selfish compared to any other person in the class. Why do you think my motivation is any worse than people who want to be a hero for the money, fame, or perverse wants? I think my motivation to be a hero is pretty tame in comparison."

"Yet you're not even trying your hardest to become a hero to achieve your goals."

"Because I don't need this schooling. I already learned it years ago. Nothing could help me grow."

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. "Do you think you're better than this school or something? If you're stagnant, then you won't be able to graduate. You have classmates who are stronger than you. The ones who aren't will either catch up to you or drop out. If you don't need this schooling, you shouldn't be at school."

"I'm stagnant… but I surpass more people than you could imagine, sensei. I don't believe I need to show up other students because they need to grow and I don't. I don't show my true skill because it's meaningless if my goal falls apart. I don't need to use it. If I get to find the person and they're not who I think they are, I'm planning to disappear from the hero society."

"Are you going to be a villain?" Aizawa asked icily.

"No, nothing like that. I want to live a quiet life. Or to be honest, I wanted to end my life before meeting Izuku. Because there's nothing left in this disgusting world for me except for him and my goal."

Aizawa blinked. He didn't come here thinking that it would be this kind of counseling session. He really didn't want to do this now...

"I could still kick you out."

"You could, but then could you really? I wonder what will happen to your teaching credentials when they find that you're the one who drove me to suicide."

Aizawa's eye twitched in annoyance.

"Seriously? Do you think that kind of threat would work?"

"No, because I wasn't serious. Not for now at least. But hear me out, sensei. If I can meet this person before I graduate, I will most likely drop out by my own volition."

Aizawa didn't like where this conversation was going and was so glad that he didn't have to talk about the seriousness of taking one's own life. This simple counseling session of trying to make the student scared enough to step up went a completely different way than he imagined. Although he was a teacher… he didn't feel qualified enough to do this kind of counseling.

"Okay… then let's make this happen. Who is this person?"

"I want to meet the Blade Breaker."

.

The Blade Breaker—no, Eisner Jeralt—looked at the metal doors of UA with slight annoyance. What was with Eraserhead demanding he cash in his debt by coming to UA right this moment? Jeralt graduated from school early for a reason. His old mind wasn't fit to be amongst little kids. With a sigh, he walked through the doors.

.

"Hey, you called m—" And the Blade Breaker was cut off from his greeting by an assailant coming at him as he soon as he started walking into the counseling room.

Shit, Aizawa thought as he saw the boy lunging at the man with his quirk sword. Shit, shit. Was this what he meant about dropping out after meeting him? Does he want revenge or something? I thought he was an orphan! Or maybe that's why. The thoughts jumbled together in his mind as he quickly turned on his quirk.

But the boy didn't stop. The sword didn't disappear either.

Shit, shit, shit. Was it one of those quirks that he couldn't cancel because his sword was already summoned? And the student wasn't using his quirk to fight the Blade Breaker. But… the fact that his summonable sword could not be unsummoned by erasing his quirk was strange. Yet Aizawa didn't muse on it because he had more important matters at hand.

Jeralt easily parried the sword swung at him with his own and traded blows with the boy. Aizawa couldn't use his capture weapon in fear of the Blade Breaker getting caught as well. But even though he was so stressed out about the confrontation, Aizawa noted that the boy was indeed an excellent swordsman as he matched the Blade Breaker's sword swings blow for blow.

The two jumped back after one especially strong clash, their swords reverberating heavily.

Jeralt huffed in annoyance. "The fuck? You're bringing me here because you want to kill me with one of your kids, Eraserhead?" He asked with an irritated tone.

Aizawa knew that it was the perfect chance to capture the boy, so he used his scarf to bind the azure haired teen, but he easily jumped out of the way.

"Fuck. I don't know, Blade Breaker. He just said he wanted to meet you." Aizawa said as he manipulated his scarves again to capture the student.

"Can you really not remember?" Byleth said as he jumped away once again.

Aizawa stopped his assault to focus on the teen who tried to attack the Pro-Hero, wanting to know why the teen was attacking the Blade Breaker.

Jeralt took a real hard look at the teen.

And his sword.

"I've been trying to talk to you—even just see you—but… do you really not remember me?" The azure haired student said with tears flowing silently out of his eyes.

Aizawa looked bewilderedly at the crying boy. The completely impassive student—was he now a villain because he attacked the Blade Breaker?—was showing his first raw emotion that Aizawa never expected.

Jeralt looked down at the teen again.

He blinked once.

Twice.

"Byleth?"

Byleth summoned away his sword.

"Yes. It's me, father."

.

.

.

This time, Jeralt ran up to Byleth, giving him a bone-crushing hug and tears spilling out of his eyes as well.

"The fuck. You're a little kid now. I couldn't recognize you at first. You're alive—alive here. I thought that the goddess had already blessed me twice… but to see that she blessed me a third time…"

Aizawa looked at the scene in front of him with wide, shocked, and horrified eyes.

What the actual fuck?

.

"So he's your child."

"Yeah."

"And you didn't know he was alive."

"Yeah. I didn't even know that he was born."

"Okay… so how did you even recognize him?"

Jeralt flinched as if he completely forgot about that part.

"Um. He looks like his mother?" He supplied with an unsure tone. "Byleth is the name that we wanted to give him."

"Okay…" Aizawa said with narrowed eyes. "Just know that I'll have to talk to Principle Nezu about this. He will most likely get punished for using his quirk like that."

"Yeah okay, whatever. Can you let him go already?"

Aizawa looked at the azure haired teen bound by his capture weapon.

"Ugh fine. Go have your disgusting father-son reuniting moment again." And he released Byleth from his scarf.

"Thanks, Eraserhead," Jeralt said as he put a hand Byleth's shoulder and walked out.

"Oh wait," Aizawa stopped the father-son duo as if he just remembered something. "Mari—or is it Eisner now?—are you going to drop out of UA?"

Byleth stopped walking out the door and turned his head back to his teacher.

"Probably. I don't believe in heroes anyways."

"What do you even mean? Your old man is literally a Hero."

"I don't mean it as in I don't believe that they don't exist. I just don't believe that there should be beings called Heroes that try to take the spot of deities. They shouldn't be worshipped as if they are gods walking on earth because they're not.

Aizawa looked incredulously to his student. Or was he his former student now? Was he some kind of fanatic or a cult worshipper?

"Thus I don't believe in Heroes. I believe in the goddess."

"Same kid, same." Blade Breaker said as he ruffled his son's hair. "But it's been such a long time since I've thought about the goddess. It's strange that you're even more devoted than me and I've spent literally hundreds of years worshipping her."

Aizawa's brows furrowed incredulously.

What the actual fuck are they talking about?

.

"Wait… you're from this orphanage?!" Jeralt asked with a shocked expression.

Byleth raised an eyebrow.

"Have you been here before?"

"… I have. Oh, wait." Jeralt stopped his son before he opened the doors. "You said you're fifteen years old?"

The teen nodded.

Jeralt frowned.

"I think… there might be a chance that you're actually my child."

"Was I not your child before?" Byleth asked again with a raised brow.

The Blade Breaker sighed.

"Why do you always have to get so smart with me? I meant biologically. Again."

.

Byleth never saw Sister Grace this angry before in his life. But the sweet woman who never ever yelled at the children when they did something wrong looked absolutely murderous right now.

"I thought we told you to never come back again." She said with clenched teeth while glaring at his father behind him.

So they have some history together.

Jeralt's brows furrowed as he looked at the nun.

"But I needed to come for my child."

"No! He's not your child!" She tried to argue but her frantic eyes betrayed her lies.

The Blade Breaker's eyes narrowed.

"You could hate me all you want, Grace, but I can't believe you hid my own child from me. He is my child. Sitri's and mine."

.

"So met another lover here then? A sister named Sitri?"

"No, the only person I have ever loved in my life was your mother. There is no doubt in my mind that your mother in your past life, as well as this one, was the same person. My first blessing was being reborn in this world. The second was meeting her again."

"Then… why did you leave her?"

Jeralt looked at his son with a frustrated expression.

"She dumped me. Or well… I guess we weren't technically dating. She was a nun so you know how they forbid relationships."

"Yet you still had me…" Byleth stated with a deadpan expression.

Byleth's father's ears became a bit red.

"Yeah…. we did. I think the reason why she dumped me was that she had you. I was just starting out as a Hero… but I could have dropped everything for her." Jeralt so vulnerable at that moment. "When I heard that she died, I came to this chapel and Grace told me to 'get lost and never come back.' I still visit her grave secretly though."

Byleth's lips curled into a sad frown. In both his lives, his mother passed before he could spend any time with her.

"It seems… that you will have to show me her grave like you did last time." He managed to say.

Jeralt gave a saddened smile but nodded.

.

"So you don't want to be a hero even though you got into UA?"

"I… don't think so. Because I only became a hero because I wanted to find you. Now, I don't know why I would want to be a hero. Why did you choose to become a hero in the first place?"

"I don't really know myself, kid. I just wanted to feel some sort of excitement—some sort of similarity between Fodlan and this world. But I guess I didn't have a goddess literally living in my heart, however much it's hard to imagine." Jeralt shook his head in exasperation.

"You don't have to believe what I said, but you've seen the Hero Relics that followed me to this life. How do you even think I got this power anyways?" Byleth asked with a small smirk. "I'm actually quite sure that this isn't exactly my quirk and thus Aizawa-sensei wasn't able to cancel it when we were fighting."

"Really? Huh. Breaking blades isn't mine either, so I guess I'm not exactly surprised."

"I figured that was the case. You still fight like an overgrown elephant dancing on top of a tea table, so I knew that you must have kept the skills you had before."

"What?! Are you mocking your own father?!"

"Is it not the truth?"

"…. Whatever. Anyways, did you make any friends? Are you sure you want to leave your friends at the orphanage?"

"They are my siblings. If I ever want to visit them I can go and see them. As for friends... I have one. His name is Midoriya Izuku and he goes to UA with me. I think… I had a good time teaching him as I did with my past students."

"Huh. That's good, kid. I'm glad you were able to make a friend. But he can be your motivation. You don't have to be a hero. You can become a teacher again. If you want, maybe even a teacher at UA."

"I… was in a state of constant anxiety and fear that you wouldn't remember me. That you wouldn't be my father and that I would be alone in the world once again. I wanted to leave this disgusting world, really. Until I met Izuku-kun and learned that there was a Hero named the Blade Breaker. These two things gave me hope." Byleth looked down toward the ground and gripped his hands together tightly. "Even as I taught Izuku-kun, I didn't want him to be a hero, because he's going to have to sacrifice himself and put himself at risk. I know he's not weak; he doesn't need to be coddled. If I become a teacher again, what if I lose everyone? What if I become alone again?"

Looking at his son with a frown, Jeralt put a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder.

"No, kid. Stop thinking that. You're not alone. You also have me, right?"

Byleth looked up to look at his father's eyes. The azure haired teen gave a genuine, wide smile for the first time in his life in this world.

"You're right. I have you and Izuku-kun"

.

"So you're still here?" Aizawa asked the azure haired teen with a raised brow as he slumped through the classroom door the next day. "I thought you were going to drop out and that you didn't believe in Heroes."

"I said that I will probably drop out of my own volition and I still don't believe in Heroes, sensei. But humans constantly change and evolve, so I chose to change and choose a new goal, too. I am going take your spot as a teacher at UA after I graduate and become a Hero," Byleth said with a pleased smile.

Aizawa sighed.

He didn't sign up for this headache on top of his dry eyes.

.