The summer heat hung heavy in the air, the kind that clung to skin and made the city smell like concrete and exhaust. Izuku Midoriya walked along the narrow pedestrian path beneath the old overpass, notebook tucked under his arm.
He wasn't in a hurry. He was thinking.
The day's training session had been intense—forty minutes of parkour drills, a full hour of shadow sparring, then a review of the latest hero battle reports. But his mind wasn't on the exercise; it was on the growing pattern of villain sightings in his area. Someone was getting bolder.
That was when it happened.
A shadow burst from the alley behind him. A sloshing, gurgling roar. The stink of sewage and rot hit him like a wall.
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The Sludge Villain
The thing that lunged at him was a writhing mass of greenish slime, eyes like jaundiced marbles and a mouth full of yellowed teeth.
Izuku didn't scream.
He didn't even freeze.
His feet shifted, body turning side-on to reduce his target profile. One hand went for the collapsible baton hidden in his backpack's side pocket. He'd trained for surprise attacks. He just hadn't trained for something this… liquid.
Before he could strike, the villain surged forward—too fast. It wrapped around his torso, pinning his arms.
"You'll make a perfect skin suit, kid!" the sludge hissed.
Izuku twisted, angling his head away from the suffocating ooze. His mind was already racing through options when—
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A booming voice shattered the air.
"I AM HERE!"
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The Entrance
A gust of wind slammed into Izuku as a towering figure dropped from above. Sunlight glinted off the man's smile, his presence filling the entire space beneath the bridge.
"All Might…" Izuku breathed.
Not like a fan meeting their idol for the first time, but like a chess player recognizing the king piece in the flesh.
The No. 1 Hero's punch reduced the sludge villain to a splattered mess across the pavement. Izuku hit the ground coughing, gulping in fresh air.
"You're safe now, young man!" All Might's grin was blinding, his voice carrying that same theatrical confidence seen on TV.
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Different from Canon
In the original story, Izuku would've been babbling by now—tears, frantic questions, trembling hands.
This Izuku simply straightened, dusted himself off, and met All Might's eyes with a level gaze.
"Thank you for the save," he said evenly. "If you hadn't arrived when you did, I would've had to gamble on whether a blunt strike could disrupt his cohesion."
All Might blinked at the calm tone. Most civilians clung to him in relief. This boy was already analyzing the fight.
"You seem… composed for someone who was nearly suffocated."
"I've been preparing for situations like this," Izuku replied. "Though I admit, I haven't had much practical experience against fluid-based opponents."
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The Notebook
While All Might secured the villain in a soda bottle, Izuku pulled out his notebook—not the messy fan journal of canon, but a clean, indexed logbook with diagrams and tactical notes.
Page 37: Sludge-type villains – weaknesses: dehydration, containment, rapid temperature shifts and eyes.
Page 38: Potential counters: absorbent material, rapid freezing, chemical destabilization and throwing solid things at eyes.
All Might leaned over slightly, curiosity piqued. "You've been… studying villains?"
"Villains, heroes, tactics, urban escape routes. Information's as much a weapon as a quirk."
That earned him a longer, measuring look from the Symbol of Peace.
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The Leap
All Might crouched, ready to leap. "Well then, young man, I must be going—"
Izuku acted on pure instinct, his hand shooting out and grabbing onto All Might's leg just as the hero launched into the air. The city blurred beneath them, the wind whipping at Izuku's face until, with a solid thud, they landed on a quiet rooftop.
All Might turned sharply, his voice stern. "That was incredibly reckless, young man! What if you'd fallen?"
Izuku didn't answer right away. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to meet the Symbol of Peace's gaze.
"You're not going to answer the obvious question, are you?" he said at last.
All Might tilted his head. "And what question is that?"
Then suddenly All Might disappeared in smoke and came out small Might. He tries to explain the situation "listen young man – w-why are you not surprised young —"
Izuku was watching small Might calmly. After that Izuku cut off Small Might before he could say anything and Izuku said " I will keep this a secret All Might . So what happened to you."
Small Might remained silent for sometime before revealing the truth " you've seen the real me kid. Five years ago...an enemy did this to me. My respiratory system was nearly destroyed and my stomach had to be removed. I've wasted away because of the after effects of the surgeries and I can only do hero work for three hours. Now ask the question kid."
Izuku's hands trembled slightly, he knew what small Might is going to say. but his voice came out clear.
"Can someone… be a hero without a Quirk?"
The rooftop went silent except for the faint hum of the city below. All Might's smile faltered, and for a moment, the unshakable hero looked almost human.
Then, he sighed, while looking up directly at him "I'm sorry, young man. It's not that I want to crush your dreams… but being a hero is dangerous. Without a Quirk, the risk is—"
Izuku's chest tightened. He already knew the answer, but hearing it still cut deep.
"So… you're saying it's impossible?"
Small Might didn't answer directly. Instead, he stepped toward the roof's edge. "Think about your future, young man. There are many ways to save people — not all of them require a cape."
And with that, he stepped into the rooftops down stairs while giving Izuku a last smile" young man dreaming of helping people is good,but make it realistic." Izuku sighed ,he expected this but hearing it again still breaks his heart. With that Izuku started to prepare his act to save Bakugou and make small Might realize that he also has a heart of a hero. Now his next is to get the Quirk from small Might.
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Thanks for reading chapter 7 And this chapter is rewritten, so if there any mistakes please tell me.
Next part: heart of a hero.