AN: Thank you for the encouraging reviews! I forgot to mention before that this story starts around the end of Season 3 and diverges from canon from there.
CHAPTER 1
TWO YEARS LATER
It had been two years since All Might's overnight disappearance, and people still talked about it, though not as often anymore. It had become one of the biggest mysteries in the world. Both in mass media and on social networks, all kinds of theories about what had happened to the former Number One Hero were put forth every day, some crazier than others.
For example, there was this conspiracy theory that All Might had been a robot or an android, an American war machine in development that had been put to a long-term test in Japan. Now that this weapon had been successfully tested, it had been taken back to America for a secret mass production to form an invincible army.
Other, less far-fetched theories claimed that All Might was simply on a long-term secret underground mission, or he had been captured and killed by a villain, or he had decided to retire as a teacher on top of retiring as a hero and had gone to live the rest of his days in an undisclosed location so he could finally get some peace and relax.
There was also the theory that All Might had been abducted by aliens, which was considered one of the most ridiculous theories out there. Ironic, since it was also the truthful one.
Obviously, Izuku had tried to tell everyone what happened after the incident. He had told his mother, his classmates, his teachers, the police, Gran Torino, the media, everyone.
In hindsight, he probably should have waited until his serious concussion and his other injuries from that night had been healed before he started screaming and freaking out and blathering incoherently like a raving lunatic. Maybe then people would have taken him more seriously. Maybe.
"I believe you, Deku," Uraraka had said, and he hadn't even been sure if she actually, sincerely believed him, but her unwavering support had been like a lifeline among all the jeering and pity-filled glances and shaking heads and down-to-earth explanations about concussion-induced hallucinations. It had meant so much to him that he couldn't stop crying, until…
"But what can we do, though?" she had gone on saying, more subdued. "Nobody believes you. Even if everyone did believe you, you were the only eyewitness, and you never actually saw those aliens, and there's stuff you don't remember because of your concussion."
"Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do this time," Iida had added solemnly. "It's entirely out of our reach."
"We can't save everyone," Mr. Aizawa had told him later on when asked for advice. "Sometimes, we fail. People die. Villains escape. Some cases are never solved. It's illogical to dwell on it when there are so many lives out there that you can still save. Life moves on, no matter what."
Izuku refused to give up hope. Hope that someday, somehow, All Might would be back and everything would be back to normal. However, Mr. Aizawa had been right about one thing — life moves on, no matter what.
Life did move on. Even with All Might always in his thoughts, Izuku healed from the concussion and the broken bones. He was lectured by Recovery Girl about respecting his body's limits. He continued studying at UA. He continued training to control One For All, now under Gran Torino's guidance. He had a busy life. So busy that sometimes he could almost forget about All Might.
Almost.
Eventually, he resigned himself to the idea that he would probably never see All Might again. He supposed it wasn't as heartbreaking when you had already had to deal with your father's absence. What was one more father figure vanishing from his life? Especially a father figure who had been much more of a father to him than his biological father had ever been.
Yes, Izuku should be used to it by now. His eyes burned with unshed tears, but he held them back. That was not what All Might would have done in his place. No, he would have done exactly the opposite. He would have laughed. He would have been brave and put on a big smile to comfort everyone else as well as himself.
He wasn't Quirkless little Izuku anymore. He was Deku, the future Number One Hero. A third-year at UA. Practically a pro.
Nevertheless, he often found himself on that beach where he had last seen All Might. The same place where he had ceased to be just a Quirkless fanboy to become the ninth holder of One For All. The same place that had been swarming with garbage until he had cleaned it up with his bare hands. All Might had been so impressed and proud…
The beach was deserted, as usual at this time of the night. Izuku plopped down on the sand with a heavy sigh and watched the dark waves, allowing himself to get lost in memories.
His gaze rose to the sky, where some stars were visible despite light pollution from the city. People had told him that it had been just a dream. It did feel like a dream now. It had all happened so fast that he had barely had time to react. But he knew better than to let himself believe it had been just a dream. As much as he would have liked to deny it, it had been real. All Might was gone.
On nights like this, when he came to this beach, he wondered. Was All Might still up there, somewhere in the vastness of outer space? Was he cold there? In pain? Conscious? Aware of his situation? Did he remember Earth and Izuku?
Was he even still alive?
Izuku shook his head to dispel such thoughts, deciding that they would do nothing but make him depressed. He checked the time. He had promised his mother that he would visit her and have dinner at her house tonight. Izuku was always so busy with his studies, his training, and his internship, so he seldom had time to visit her anymore. He couldn't be late now and risk upsetting her — or worse, worrying her.
He stood up and was ready to go home when he suddenly caught sight of someone else on the beach, walking along the shore. From the distance between them and in the dark, he couldn't see them that well. All he could tell was that the person was tall, very tall. Tall just like…
Despite himself, Izuku started walking towards them.
A mop of golden hair danced in the breeze as its owner, staggering slightly as if dizzy and lost (drunk, maybe?), suddenly stopped and looked up at the dark sky.
For a moment, that person had looked just like…
Izuku shook his head again, harder this time. No, it couldn't be. It couldn't be him. For a moment, Izuku's eyes had just seen what he wished they were seeing. Or maybe he was just tired, he considered as he rubbed his stinging eyes.
And yet, when he looked again, that person was staring back at him. As if in synchrony, they both started moving to get closer to each other. The closer they got, the more that person looked like All Might, dressed exactly as he had been on the night of his abduction, two years ago.
It was like a mirage. An illusion born from his wishful thinking. Another hallucination?
"Young Midoriya?" the person asked, and there was no doubt about it. That voice, that inflection…
"All Might?" Izuku's voice was barely a whisper. "Is that really you?"
"My boy, you look like you've just seen a ghost!" A familiar laugh. "Of course it's me. Did you think I was gone for good?"
And just like that, Izuku felt like the pathetic middle-schooler who would just cry from pure joy at the mere sight of his idol. His feet seemed to break into a run all on their own.
"ALL MIIIIIGHT!" His voice echoed in the empty beach park as he ran to the other man and then he seized him in a tight embrace. He wanted to be sure that this wasn't an illusion or a ghost.
He felt the other man embrace him back just as tightly, so that Izuku could even hear his heartbeat.
"It's all right now," said All Might. "Because I am here!"
