Izuku had taken it hard. And anyone who had seen him around after the incident could agree.

But they didn't know half of it.

They didn't know about what came with being quirkless.

The abuse.

The demeaning words.

The scars.

The feeling of uselessness.

The self-loathing.

They knew none of it. Because to the kids in the hero course, life was fair. They had a good quirk, good opportunity, good friends.

A good life.

So no. No one truly grasped the understanding of what Izuku Midoriya was going through. It was like they were ghosts picking up straws. Impossible.

Izuku had taken a bullet for someone. For Mirio.

Overhaul was distracted, his eyes were somewhere else. Izuku knew that one of the underlined rules of becoming a hero was that you should never take your eyes off the enemy. But I have this feeling in my gut that something horrible is going to happen. I need to trust them, my instincts. Afterall, it is what led me to be the next successor of One for All. Izuku thought to himself.

So it is no surprise that when he took his eyes off the villain, they widened into saucers.

Shin was pointing a gun at Eri. Izuku's breath caught. He only had a few seconds to do the right thing.

He quickly turned around and flicked his finger at Overhaul, catching the yakuza boss off guard, causing him to fall and stumble on a previously made spike.

Sucks to suck.

Sucks to get impaled too.

The sound of a gun going off ripped through the air causing Izuku to whip back around and see Mirio lunging at Eri in an attempt to shield her from the bullet. But Izuku amped up his quirk to max power and catapulted himself in between Togata and the gun as another gunshot sounded, this time louder.

It was perfect timing too. Izuku could see Mirio shielding Eri in his arms, wrapping her in his cape, expecting a gunshot wound.

Being a hero means saving people.

"I chose the name Lemillion because I want to be able to save a million people!"

That was what Togata said, remembered Izuku, smiling faintly.

A third gunshot sounded as the first one hit. Izuku stood still, bracing for the next through gritted teeth. He could feel the bullet--he deduced it was a quirk erasing one--lodged in his neck.

The next bullet hit and went through his upper back and out his chest.

Holy cow that hurts worse than breaking bones, he thought to himself.

He only had a few more seconds until his knees gave out. Until he gave out.

His brain was spinning, colors fading in and out in a sickening way. He could hear sounds in the distance but they seemed so close. Or was that a whisper? He couldn't tell. He stumbled forward as the third and final bullet hit. It seemed to go onto his back, but he couldn't quite figure out where.

Yellow flashed in his vision.

"Midoriya!"

Izuku smiled. That third bullet signified a lot. To him it was like a final act before a curtain call. He knew nothing would ever go back to normal. He knew nothing was perfect. He knew nothing was fair. He new discrimination and hatred and sadness all to well. He knew he was merely a side character.

But at least his side character had saved a great hero.

He was able to save one life and in return Mirio would be able to save millions. And Izuku could not be more happy with that.

Afterall, who would want a useless Deku to save them?