"Oi, Deku, where are the snacks?"
"Snacks?" Izuku Midoriya asked, a look of confusion crossing his face, "What snacks? You only asked for drinks?"
"Yeah, but you took so long we got hungry," Fingers laughed, jabbing at Izuku's sides with his extended digits, "Now hurry the hell up and go get us some snacks!"
"Yeah!" the other boy shouted, "It's all your crappy quirk is good for, anyway!"
[Quest Updated: Deliver Drinks. Deliver drinks and snacks to Fingers and company. Reward: 2 experience.]
Izuku flinched slightly as the screen appeared in front of him, sighing as he quickly left the room to return to the vending machines. He kept his eyes down as he made his way down the familiar corridors of his middle school, standing in line to wait for the vending machine to become available. He looked up only when he was standing right in front of it, eyes darting to the number that floated above his head in the reflection.
[2]
The number was, as always, encased in square brackets, just like the numbers that appeared above everyone else's heads. He had, over the years, managed to figure out that the numbers somehow correlated to a person's strength and abilities, and the higher the number, the stronger they were. Most people his age had the number five over their heads, which seemed average, with most normal adults not getting much higher than ten or eleven. There were exceptions, of course, but they were exceptions for a reason.
Heroes. Most Heroes had numbers in the high forties or even fifties, denoting just how much stronger they were than the average person. Sighing, Izuku picked up the snacks he'd bought, checking his already dwindling pocket money and wondering if he'd have enough to placate Fingers and his cohorts tomorrow, turning around and slamming into someone.
"I-I'm s-sorry!" he squeaked as he scrambled to gather the snacks he'd dropped, body going cold as he heard the person speak, looking up into angry red eyes.
"The fuck do you think you're doing, Deku?" Katsuki Bakugo snarled as he loomed over the green-haired teen, "You running errands for those extras, but making me come out to the vending machines myself? You forget about me or something?"
"O-of c-course not!" Izuku squeaked, looking up at the [11] that hung over Bakugo's head, shivering at the double digits, "Y-you just d-didn't ask and-."
"Ask?" the blond growled, "ASK? I shouldn't have to ask you anything, Deku! You should be coming to meand asking what I want!"
"R-right!" Izuku swallowed, praying he wouldn't see the familiar screen appear, his hopes being dashed a moment later as Bakugo raised his fist.
"I'm going to teach you not to forget me again, Deku!" he snarled.
[Quest: Survive. Survive the fight. Reward: Variable]
------
Izuku hissed quietly as he applied the plaster to the bruise on his cheek, looking around the empty nurses' office with a sigh.
The school nurse always seemed to be out when he needed help, not that she gave much the few times he'd actually seen her, mostly just throwing a few plasters or bandages his way and ignoring him. This meant that he'd gotten quite good at tending to his own injuries, but it hardly mattered much, as he was almost sure to get more before the end of the day.
Sighing, he looked into the small mirror hanging on the wall, his [2] still floating above his head. This was his life at the moment, a weakling compared to everyone else his age, with a useless quirk that only told him just how weak he really was.
His dream seemed so far away, yet he couldn't help but grasp for it, just in case.
Just in case something amazing happened.
------
"You can't just say that to someone, Kacchan," Izuku sniffed as he walked home, making his way down the familiar storm drain, "What if I actually did do that?"
Shaking his head, Izuku forced the dark thoughts to the back of his mind, straightening his back as best he could and trying to walk confidently forwards under a bridge lined with garbage. He froze a moment later as the manhole cover behind him rattled, a screen appearing in front of him.
[Quest: Survive!!! Survive until help arrives!Reward: 100 experience]
"One…one hundred?" Izuku squeaked, that was the highest amount he'd ever seen for a reward, and the presence of exclamation marks didn't make him feel any more confident.
"Huh, a medium sized body suit," the voice chuckled cruelly behind him as Izuku turned to look at the massive mound of green sludge that was rising from the manhole, "Lucky me!"
Izuku barely had time to register the number above the sludge person's head before he was engulfed, the sludge forcing its way into his body as he desperately tried to fight back. He looked up at the number again, shivering.
[32]
This was it. He was going to die here.
"Never fear! For I am here!" the loud shout echoed from the open manhole, a muscular blond figure leaping out of it with a wide smile on his face.
"Oh shit!" the sludge said as All Might drew back his arm, hitting it with a powerful punch that scattered it across the storm drain instantly.
Izuku could only stare at All Might as the darkness closed in around his vision, his gaze falling on the strange numbers above the man's head just before he passed out.
[99 (24)]
------
"Hey kid, wake up!" Izuku coughed as he came to, quickly rolling over onto his hands and knees as he threw up a pile of sickly green sludge.
"It's okay, let it all out. Wouldn't want you getting sick from that stuff!" All Might laughed as Izuku wiped his mouth on his sleeve, "Well now, good citizen, it is time for me to take my leave!"
"Huh?" Izuku said as he watched All Might pocket a pair of soda bottles, before crouching down to jump away, Izuku's eyes darting back to the strange numbers above the Pro's head, questions boiling in his mind, "W-wait!"
And suddenly they were flying over the city, Izuku screaming as All Might looked down at him in confusion.
"Hey, let go!"
"If I let go now, I'll fall and die!" Izuku shouted back through the harsh wind, his eyes tearing up.
"Oh, right," All Might muttered, looking around for a rooftop for them to land on.
The pair landed easily on the roof, Izuku collapsing to the floor as he gasped for air, barely managing to get back to his feet as All Might prepared to jump away again.
"Wait!" Izuku shouted, "Can I… Can I still become a Hero even without a strong quirk? Even without one suited to fighting?"
"Without a strong quirk?" All Might said, turning to look at Izuku in mild confusion, before it transformed to a look of apology as steam began to rise from his body, "Look kid, you have to have your priorities straight. Not everyone can be a H-."
He was cut off as the steam enveloped him, being blown away a moment later to reveal the skeletal man now standing there, the two staring at each other in shock.
"Ah…shit," the blond man muttered as he coughed up some blood.
"A-all Might?" Izuku asked, his eyes darting to the numbers again, going wide at what he saw.
[24 (99)]
"They switched," he said softly, starting when All Might spoke.
"Yes, I am All Might," the skeletal man groaned, "Now, I can't have you spreading this around on social media, okay? It's very important that you don't."
"O-of course, All Might, sir!" Izuku nodded, "But…how did this happen?"
"How, you ask?" All Might sighed, lifting his shirt as he sat against the railing, revealing the massive scar, "It all started with this. Got it about five years ago, and it's been cutting into my time as a Hero ever since."
"O-oh," Izuku said as he stared at the scar in amazement, wondering how anyone could even be alive after taking an injury like that, let alone continue to be a Hero, "You were saying something earlier?"
"What? Oh, right," the man sighed, "You need to have perspective, kid. I'm not going to tell you that anyone can be a Professional Hero, but there are plenty of other everyday Heroes out there. The police, the fire department, doctors. If you really think your Quirk is as weak as you say it is, then maybe try out for something like that instead."
"O-oh," Izuku said softly, sagging visibly as he wiped his eyes, "Y-yeah, maybe you're right. If my quirk really is that weak, then I should…"
He was cut off by the explosion, the two looking up at the rising cloud of smoke in surprise.
------
"KACCHAN!" Izuku yelled as he charged towards the sludge Villain, ignoring the screen that appeared in front of him as he hurled his bag into its face.
Somehow, it worked, making the Villain recoil, and giving Bakugo a moment to breath as Izuku started to dig his hands desperately into the muck. He barely saw the massive pseudopod bearing down on him, only able to shut his eyes as he waited for it to impact.
"NEVER FEAR! FOR I AM HERE!"
The crowd immediately let out a roaring cheer at the shout, All Might leaping over them and obliterating the sludge Villain with a single uppercut, grabbing Izuku as he managed to snatch Bakugo's wrist, preventing them from being blown away.
The next couple of hours passed in a blur for Izuku. Later, he would vaguely remember being scolded by some of the Pro Heroes on site for acting so recklessly, even as they praised Bakugo. Izuku wondered why they hadn't done anything despite most of their numbers being higher than the sludge Villain's. He would also remember Bakugo coming and yelling at him about not needing Izuku's help. He would even remember the dark thoughts he'd had as he walked home in tears, thinking that his dream was over.
But none of that mattered now. All that mattered was what All Might had just said to him, Izuku falling to his knees as he sobbed happy tears.
"You too can become a Hero!"