The park was brimming with excitement. A group of friends, consisting of four boys, were playing the roles of their favorite heroes, and judging by the smiles on their faces, they seem to be having fun.

"Look out, you villains! I'm here to bestow justice! Feel the might of my roaring engine! Here comes the Turbo Hero: Ingenium!"

One child exclaimed loudly, striking a pose. All the other kids clapped, getting excited to play the role of their favorite heroes.

"With my overly passionate heart and my fiery nature, I will defeat you, you villain! I am Endeavor, and don't you forget it!"

As the children played, one kid was sitting away from them, his eyes looking dead. Whereas the children playing appeared to be 8 years old, the young boy sitting on a bench under a tree appeared to be 11 years old. He had dark hair and brown eyes, and a skinny figure.

He sat quietly, enjoying the popsicle he had in his hand. His eyes kept on going toward the only other children in the park beside him, and he wondered what they were so excited about.

To him, it appeared strange that they were still so excited about all this hero stuff. As far as he knows, heroes and villains have been the norm in this world for a long time. He didn't get why they were still so popular.

He shrugged nonchalantly before going back to eating his popsicle. It's not like he would ever get anything to do with them. He was Quirkless, after all. Be it a hero or a villain, he had no scope in any of those jobs.

"I'm here!"

"Hey, no fair! I wanted to be All Might!"

As the younger children bickered with each other, the boy closed his eyes, wanting to take a nap. There was still some time before his father came home from work. Till then, he supposed he could stay out and relax.

Some time passed, and the boy drifted into a peaceful sleep. A soft breeze blew by him, making him shuffle slightly. He felt comfortable.

His slumber was soon disturbed, however, as he heard the sound of children screaming and a loud crash near him.

He opened his eyes slowly, only to widen them the next instant at what he saw.

"Kakakakaka"

A man, or a crab? The boy couldn't tell. It was a crab with human legs, wearing nothing but its underwear as it held onto a kid with malicious eyes. One of its claws was on the ground, and a huge crater formed underneath it.

"Ta-kun!"

"L-Leave him alone, you villain!"

"...M-Mommy..."

The children screamed, wanting their friend to be released from the crab-man. The weird-looking man smiled cruelly, making all the children step back with paled expressions, the fear of their situation beginning to set in.

This was no longer a game. A real villain has come out of nowhere and taken their friend hostage, for whatever reason.

"Kakakakaka. Do you think I will let him go? No chance." The monster cackled, pointing his claw at the children. "You see something kids, I'm getting chased by a hero. I need someone as a hostage, and who else will be better than a child?"

He cackled again before his smile turned into a sadistic grin.

"If you feel left out, how about I take you three with me as well?"

All the kids fell to the ground, their legs losing strength as their eyes started tearing up. The kid who was gripped tightly in the villain's claw remained unconscious, a wound near his head for all to see.

The villain grinned even wider. He was loving the impact he was having on these children. He had their attention, something he has always dreamed of having.

Since he was a child, he had always wanted attention. Be it from his parents, his teachers, or his friends, he craved to be spotted. Unfortunately for him, he was not someone special. His quirk was regarded as strange, and his personality wasn't that noticeable either.

That's why he became a villain. Now that he was someone to be feared, he was finally getting the attention he deserved.

Musing in his thoughts, the villain failed to notice an ice cream stick flying in his direction till it struck his face. A bit surprised and annoyed, he turned around, only to stare at an older kid standing in front of him with shaky legs and his hand stretched out.

"L-Let him go."

The boy looked up at the villain, his heart beating fast. He wasn't sure why he was trying to save these kids he didn't even know, but he couldn't back out anymore.

There was no way for him to get out of this situation. Not to mention, he was quirkless and weak. He was surely going to die, and he knew that. Despite that, he couldn't help but run toward the kids when he saw them in danger.

He cursed his damn legs for acting out on their own!

"Ho? What do we have here?" The crab villain tilted his head, almost making the boy gag at how uncute it was. "We've got a hero on our hands, do we now?"

Hearing those words, all the crying children stopped to turn toward the older boy, their eyes filled with hope. They could tell the older boy wasn't a hero. But right now, to them, he sure did seem like one.

The boy's heart started beating faster and his legs shook. He was scared, and the villain could see that. He gritted his teeth in frustration, before running toward the villain with his fist raised.

"I said let him go!!"

The monster smiled cruelly, before hitting the approaching boy in the face with his claw, making him fly away and crash on the ground with a loud thud.

All the children cried, their eyes filled with tears and horror at what they just witnessed.

"Hmm? I thought he would use a quirk, but I guess he was too scared to use it properly. Kakakakaka."

The villain cackled, with no hint of remorse on his face after killing a child. He licked the blood off his claws, a sadistic glee flowing through his veins.

Not wanting to waste his time anymore, the villain decided to leave. He had fun, got a hostage, and killed a child trying to play hero. Yup, he was done here.

He should better leave before the heroes catch up to him-

"... s-stop..."

A pebble crashed onto his face, making him stop. Turning around, he saw the kid from before glaring at him. Blood was coming out of the young boy's head, as he stood up with shaking legs and panted breaths.

All the children looked on, their eyes wide. The villain grunted in annoyance, before approaching the injured, almost dead child.

"Still alive, I see. Is it because of your quirk? How annoying."

"..-o quirk..."

"What?"

"I said I don't have no quirk, you monster!"

The boy ran toward the monster again, before getting hit in the face with the claws even harder than before. He fell, his whole body shaking. It hurt, it hurt so much he couldn't breathe!

Still, he stood back up.

"No quirk, you say? So you're just a useless nobody then."

The villain taunted, growing a bit annoyed. The boy ran at him again before getting swatted away by him. It happened three more times, and his annoyance grew and grew.

The child was bleeding all over with multiple broken bones, but he still stood tall. Despite the shaking of his legs and his bloodied face, his glare remained as hard as ever.

All the children looked on at the one-sided beat down, their hearts beating fast. They were all so scared. Due to their fear, they forgot to run away.

The kids watched in fear, except for one boy with blonde hair and black sclera in his eyes. He stared at the older boy in awe, clutching his fist as he hoped for the boy to win.

"Tch. Just stay down, you brat!"

The villain slammed his claws into the child's stomach with all his strength, making the child reel back with blood coming out of his mouth. The young boy coughed, kneeling at the villain's feet. After a while, he began trying to stand up again.

The villain sighed in annoyance. He didn't have time for this!

"I said, stay down!"

He stomped on the child's head, making his movements seize finally. Panting in exhaustion, he began walking away.

The young boy was still breathing, and the crab man could not understand how that was the case. He grunted, before glancing at the 'hopefully' unconscious boy.

"I'm letting you live this time. So don't cross me again, boy."

As he spat those words, the boy's fingers twitched slightly. His eyes opened, and they held something special.

There was a fire in them.

"... Hold it... right there...."

"..What?"

The young boy stood up again. Despite the exhaustion and pain he was feeling, he could not help but smile at the situation.

For some reason, he was feeling excited.

"You know what?" The boy muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I forgot...how it felt, having a dream. You kind of reminded me of what it was..."

'I want to be a hero!'

'Sorry kid. But you don't have a quirk.'

'Is it...possible for me to be a hero?'

'No way. We don't want to play with a quirkless weirdo like you!'

'I...still want to be a hero...'

All those memories kept coming back to the boy, making him clench his fist. He remembered the day he found out he didn't have a quirk. He lost all hope of being a hero. But now, after fighting a real villain, he finally realized.

To hell with having a quirk! He would train and train and train till he gets strong enough to the point to achieve what he wants.

To be the hero he has always dreamed of being.

The Strongest Hero.

The boy grinned, his eyes burning with determination. Raising his fist toward the monster, the boy proclaimed loudly.

"Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a hero who could send rotten villains like you flying with just one punch!"

.

..

...

It was silent. Nobody made a sound.

The villain didn't move, his eyes squinted.

"Kaka..."

His shoulders shook uncontrollably.

"Kakakaka..."

His face twisted into a wild look.

"KAKAKAKAKAKAKA!!"

He began cackling wildly, making all the children start fearing for their life.

"That's it! You have done it now!"

The crab villain glared hatefully at the boy, his expression twisted.

"I told you times and times again to stay down, but you didn't listen! I don't care if heroes come and arrest me now! I'm not leaving this place till I kill you!"

He threw the hostage away, before running straight toward the boy. Turning toward the scared children, the boy said the words he wanted to say for a long time.

"Run. Now!"

All the children, as if the straw had broken, quickly stood up and began running. The boy with the black sclera glanced one more time at his savior and nodded his head, before grabbing his unconscious friend and dragging him away.

The villain ignored them, his eyes staring at his prey in bloodlust. Right now, he couldn't care less about anything other than tearing this boy from limb to limb.

"Die!!!"

He aimed his claw straight toward the boy's head at blinding speed, wanting to end this in one swift blow. Surprisingly for him, the boy was able to duck under his strike.

The boy made a fist and aimed a punch at the villain's stomach, hoping to finally land a blow.

Before he could do so, however, he was yanked away from the villain.

"Woah!"

"You alright kid?!"

"..."

"..."

"... Do I look alright to you?"

"R-right. Sorry for asking."

A hero has arrived.