I had written most of the note up, but then the page froze ;-;. I don't remember exactly what it said, so I probably forgot to write something crucial. But, I do remember I wrote up responses to the comments! So, here you go!
adsit: That aspect of canon also bothered me. I get All Might was annoyed at Izuku for distracting him and finding out his secret, but still... All Might is the kind of hero that's used working under pressure and dealing with people bothering him (the press)! He should know how to be more sensitive, especially with a middle schooler. Maybe he sounded nicer in the Japanese version? I don't speak it so I have no clue. And I personally liked the first chapter better; it was more formal than the second and felt more professional, but a compliment is a compliment, so, thanks!
s082829: You'll just have to see. It'll probably be in the next chapter, not sure, haven't typed it yet.
Sewrtyuiop: Yeah, I think the intelligence aspect is partially for me though. If I had to describe my own personality using MHA terms, I'd say a mash between Ochako and All For One. (I know, weird. their personalities seriously clash.) And so many people have asked about Izuku's quirk, but I can only say you'll have to see. I'm actually not 100% sure what I'm doing for the Sports Festival Arc, so I'm not going to share any of my ideas lest they come into fruition. I appreciate your comment, it's my favorite kind, the one that shows people don't just idly read about my stories, they get immersed and think about it. It feels really good to hear!
LordXG3: I get what you're saying, but I don't really want to use the same words over and over. I like having variety; makes the story seem more interesting. Actually, I had my friend read these chapters before I posted them and she talked about how much she liked the variance. And, I actually had Yuuhei consistently before I published it, but I didn't like how it sounded so I changed it. I'll probably end up sticking with UA too though.
And in the anime, Kamui Wood's fangirls yell, "You can do it, Kamui!" and since I used that episode as a reference for the first chapter, I assumed it was ok to skew his name a bit. Every writer has their own style, I guess this is mine. Also, doesn't Izuku blushing, asking Kamui Woods for an autograph, and calling him Wood's-sama sound so cute? Or Woodsama? If someone makes a fic shipping them, I take the blame. And, it's nice to see you reading my fic because I'm an avid reader of yours. For anyone else reading this, it's called The Fafnir Knight and you should read it! It's really good!
Disclaimer: Kohei Horikoshi is the author of Boku No Hero Academia. This is a fanwork based off of his original work so please support him!
Well, now that that's finished (again [stupid wifi]), let us get on to the chapter!
Midoriya Izuku was perplexed. Bewildered. Flabbergasted. Any other adjectives you could possibly think of that boiled down to confused. The source of his puzzlement was the gaunt man in front of him, who's appearance may mislead most, but, he was truly a powerful individual. And this man told him,
"You can become a hero." Being told these words by the personage that held the title of the Symbol of Peace was no small feat. He may have gotten a tad emotional, but no one could blame him. He was being told he could achieve his dreams by the one who was considered the best at the profession he aspired to enter. This person also told him,
"I deem you worthy to inherit my power on one condition!" And if he was a bit disoriented, no one could blame him.
"Wait, inherit your power!?" His confusion, doubled with his headache (which he was sure was going to become a migraine), led him to splutter out the first question that came to mind.
"Yes! My quirk!" All Might exclaimed. That did not help Midoriya Izuku figure out what the emaciated hero meant. But, for saying such strange things, the fellow appeared quite chipper; paired with his idolization of him and trust that he had in him, led him to try to get answers out of the blond instead of running away as one should when someone declared something crazy.
"What do you mean? I've never heard of a quirk being passed on or given and I'm pretty sure with all the research done on quirks, someone would have figured that out! Also, quirks are people's uniqueness that is carried on genetically and the notion that quirks can be passed on or given is ridiculous and would go against everything that we know about quirks today!" Izuku proceeded to ramble on about studies regarding quirks until he was silenced by an annoyed groan from the man in front of him. All Might seemed to expect his response because he had an answer prepared.
"Well, my quirk is unique. You know how the media is always calling it super strength, speed, or stamina?" Midoriya nodded. "Well, I usually crack a joke or avoid the topic in interviews because the public must believe that the Symbol of Peace is a natural born hero." Midoriya's eyes widened. "The truth is, my quirk was given to me! As it was given to my master and her predecessor!" All Might swore the kid's pupils shrunk a few sizes, but he continued with gusto anyway. "A crystallization of power given to one person and grown then passed onto the next!" He made a show of each of the lights of each of the wielder glowing and traveling from a sphere to the following orb. "That is my quirk, One For All! The power to transfer power!"
"But-but, why give something like that to me?!" Izuku asked.
"You may lack confidence and a quirk that is useful for hero work, yet you ran past the crowd to save that boy! The heroes, the ones who are supposed to be brave, were standing around; doing nothing, but you took action! You managed to make sure the kid escaped and kept the villain back long enough for me to swoop in! And, as an added bonus, you were rational enough to tell me to send regards to your mother, which is something I wouldn't have done when I was your age! So, what do you say, kid?"
He wasn't even the least bit surprised when the boy answered with a firm,
"Yes! If-if, it's really possible, I'll inherit your power, All Might!" Izuku was absolutely beaming until his throbbing head finally turned into a migraine as he had expected. He groaned and collapsed onto the ground. All Might started fussing over him.
"Young Midoriya, are you okay? You need any help?" The man was already putting an arm around his shoulders and using his other appendage to lift him.
"Sorry, All Might. It's my quirk's drawback. I get a headache if I use it too much." Izuku replied. His neighbor sighed in relief.
"Want some assistance getting home?" He asked. Midoriya frantically shook his head.
"No, I'm sure you have important stuff to do and I wouldn't want to bother you and waste your time!" Izuku was sure his words would have carried more weight if he wasn't leaning on the guy so much.
"Nonsense! As my successor, we shall be spending plenty of time together, young Midoriya! I enjoy your company and do not mind taking a couple of minutes out of my day to walk you home! Now, lead the way!" Midoriya begrudgingly stumbled towards his house with All Might trekking with him and making sure he should upright. The silence may have been a bit awkward, but it was still pleasant since both parties were satisfied.
Halfway to his destination, Midoriya recalled something that All Might had said earlier. "Wait, what were you talking about when you said we'll be spending time together?" Izuku managed through his headache. All Might used one of his hands to quickly hit his forehead in frustration, then promptly put it back when he realized he had put Izuku off-balance.
"Please forgive me, young Midoriya. I had intended to relay this to you earlier, but then you had your… episode." When he heard nothing from the green haired boy, he continued. "To ensure that you receive One For All, I'm going to train you." He felt a shift in Midoriya's posture.
"You're going to train me?! All Might's going to train me!" Izuku squeaked. All Might slapped a hand over Izuku's mouth.
"Midoriya, my boy. You cannot go saying my name so freely! Luckily, it's late and there are not many people around, but you must be more aware of your surroundings." Midoriya murmured an apology and All Might got an idea. "Call me Yagi-sensei or Yagi-san, Young Midoriya!"
"Okay, All- Yagi-san. Is that your name?" Izuku asked. Yagi nodded. Izuku internally squealed at knowing All Might's name but contained it. "So, what training are we going to do?"
"If you give me your phone number, I shall text you an address." Midoriya agreed, so they exchanged numbers and Yagi sent an address to Midoriya as he promised. Midoriya was pleasantly surprised to see All Might's given name, Toshinori, in the information Yagi inputted into his phone. "Meet me there after school tomorrow, okay? We can talk about the training and the condition I mentioned earlier."
"Anything I need to bring?" Izuku asked.
"A water bottle, towel, and some head medication." Toshinori listed off.
"Got it." He replied as he looked around. "Oh, we're at my apartment complex All- Yagi-san. Sorry." He felt bad that even though All Might gave him the simple task (and honor) of calling him by his family name, Izuku kept messing up.
"It's fine, Midoriya my boy! Everyone makes mistakes, we just need to make sure we learn from them! Now, do think you can walk to your apartment by yourself or do you want me to take you?" Toshinori asked. Midoriya was conflicted. He was exhausted, his head was throbbing, and he was glad that... Toshinori was speaking to him so quietly because noise was bothering him, but he didn't want to impose. All Might had already offered so much to him and he didn't want to ask for more. But, telling him that he was fine would be lying. Even if it was because he wouldn't want to force All Might to do something for him, it'd still be dishonest. All Might had put so much trust in him, now he had to put trust in All Might!
"I'm really, really sorry to bother you so much when there is probably a lot of important stuff for you to do, Yagi-san, but I'm extremely tired, I smell like sewer, and my head hurts so, yes please," Izuku replied flippantly. Yagi chuckled a bit and held on to Izuku as he trudged up the stairs to his apartment. He idly wondered if Izuku's headache is what made him act more forward, but then Yagi made a realization.
"Young Midoriya, won't your mother be slightly perturbed if you enter the house with a stranger in tow?" Toshinori asked in a voice that was almost a whisper. Something clicked in Midoriya's head and he came up with the best response he could think of.
"Just tell her the truth. I know One For All is supposed to be a secret and everything, but if I'm going to get it, I can't just tell my mom that I suddenly got superhuman capabilities; she won't believe it." The blond haired man opened his mouth as if he was about to comment, but Izuku interrupted him when he suddenly spluttered out, "Sorry, Yagi-san! It's your secret, not mine and if you don't want to tell my mom I totally-"
"It's fine Midoriya, my boy. Your reasoning makes sense and although I might not be a mother, I can understand how if her son went to a location with no explanation and brought a stranger home, she'd be upset! I shall tell her as well, once you receive my abilities. For now, I shall be known as Yagi-sensei, your trainer!"
"So, if I don't get the power for some reason like you think I'm unworthy, my mom will just think that you're training me?"
"Yes and no! I was thinking more along the lines of you getting into some more danger and getting hurt badly enough that you cannot receive my power. And about what I'll tell your mother; another factoid for your otaku mind, Yagi Toshinori works for All Might. It's a trick I use to keep people in the dark, but have an explanation to how I have access to the things All Might does. So, I shall just tell this to your mother."
"That's a neat trick! What do you mean by 'hurt badly enough I cannot receive your power'? Do I need to be healthy to sustain it or-? Oh, we're here." Izuku said because they arrived at their destination. "I can stand up by myself, for now, Yagi-san. If I know my mom, which I do, I won't be standing for long anyway." Toshinori let Izuku go, but as Izuku knocked on the door, he couldn't help but wonder what Izuku had meant by that.
A lean, pretty, green-haired woman opened the door. She looked like she had barely aged in ten years; for being Midoriya's mom, she appeared quite young. Toshinori was about to greet her and explain why he was here, but before he could, the woman yelled, "Izuku!" and tackled her son in a bear hug. He seemed to expect it, so Yagi just stood there awkwardly while they conversed.
"Honey, I watched the news! I swear, you almost gave me a heart attack when I saw you jump in to save Mitsuki's boy like that! Never do that again, you hear me!" Inko scolded. The middle schooler sighed.
"Mom, I'm okay! All Might saved me! And the other heroes weren't doing anything and I couldn't just let Kacchan die! And wait, I was on the news?!" Izuku yelped as his mother squeezed him harder. "Mom, I already have a migraine! Can I please lie down? You're embarrassing me…"
"There's no one here to be embarrassed about, sweetie!"
Toshinori decided it was a good time to make his presence be known. "*Cough, cough*" The older Midoriya turned to look at him. "Hello, Midoriya-san, I am Yagi Toshinori. I work at All Might's second secretarial office. "Second" refers to non-business matters. In other words, my department manages All Might's private affairs. I made an offer with your son that I'd like to go over with you." He said as he extended his hand. The older Midoriya shook it.
"Um, come inside, Yagi-san…" She replied hesitantly, looking over to her boy for reassurance. The nod and hopeful look in his eyes helped with her worries a bit, so she let Toshinori inside her apartment. "Sit at the table, please, make yourself at home. Would you like some tea or coffee?"
"Water is fine," Yagi replied. The older Midoriya quickly pulled the younger Midoriya to the couch so he could lie down then rushed to the kitchen to get Yagi a glass of water.
"Here you go!" Inko said as she handed Yagi his drink. He thanked her and she proceeded to sit down across from him. No one spoke. Inko decided to break the silence. "So, Yagi-san, what is it you want my Izuku for?" The question did not contain venom, but Yagi could tell she was suspicious of him even with Midoriya's reassurances.
"I want to train him. I saw him saving that boy earlier and I think he'd make a great hero." Toshinori stated. The woman sitting across from him's frown twitched into a small smile when she heard him complimenting his son, but her serious expression returned quickly and he got no further reaction from her, so he kept going. "In my time working for All Might, I've seen plenty of heroes' careers flourish and others sink. The main difference between these heroes is that the ones who don't do well rely entirely on their quirks. The best heroes have great quirks, sure, but also use their physical strength to gain attention and defeat adversaries."
"So, you want to work with Izuku to help him become a good hero?" She asked, contemplative expression gracing her features. Toshinori nodded. "And, what would this cost me?"
"Nothing, Midoriya-san. Think of it as an old man wanting to help with the growth of the younger generation." The woman's eyes widened a bit.
"May I speak with my son for a second, Yagi-san?" Inko asked. Toshinori smiled and nodded. Inko walked over to the couch her son was laying on and whispered to him, "Izuku, do you really want to work with this man?" He nodded and grinned.
"Please, mom! He works for All Might! He even introduced me to him briefly! It was so cool!" Izuku was practically glowing with excitement and his mother could not say no to the positivity and delight on his face. He knew her too well.
"If this is what you want sweetie... Go to your room. You're not in trouble or anything, but I figured you might want to shower and sleep now." She said as she walked back to the table and sat back down in her previous chair. She turned to Yagi. "I'll allow it. With a few conditions." Her impromptu visitor and her green-haired son were both staring at her with rapt attention, even though the youth was on the way to his room.
"One. All training must not interfere with Izuku's studies. If his grades decrease because of this training we will talk." As she spoke, Toshinori wondered how even though he's faced countless villains, this woman around his age could be so intimidating. "Two, you need to tell me where you'll and what you're doing be at all times. A schedule would be preferable; I'm sure Izuku doesn't want to have to text me what he's doing every single day. Three, whatever training you're doing cannot harm Izuku at all. During the period of time that you are training in, I may add some new rules or adjust some of the current ones. I'm willing to negotiate, but no arguing. Now, any questions, comments or concerns?" She asked calmly.
Toshinori raised his voice. "I'd be happy to create a plan that had his studies, sleep, and diet in mind. Also, we'll only be training at one location. Dagobah Municipal Beach Park. Do you know where that is?"
Inko was unmistakably confused. "That dump? Why are you going there?" Izuku decided he had been standing around for too long, and entered his room for some much need rest.
"Training, of course. I'll be having Young Midoriya clean the beach." Toshinori said in deadpan.
"Why would you have him clear the beach for training?"
"Picking up different pieces of trash exercises different muscle groups. Also, heroism originated from community service and I feel that cleaning a beach would be a great way for Young Midoriya to explore the roots of heroism and begin his journey to becoming a great hero. The cleaning improving his physical prowess is merely a great plus." Inko now understood why this man was All Might's secretary; he definitely had a way with words.
"I see," Inko said plainly. "Well, Izuku seems quite taken with you, you're offering to help him with his dreams for free, and you seem like a personable man, so as long as you abide by my conditions you can train Izuku all you want." Toshinori visibly smiled at this, he was glad he had talked to Midoriya Inko, he'd hate to have Izuku meet with him in secret and keep her in the dark. She was a pleasant woman and he'd wouldn't want to worry her.
"Well, I have brought Young Izuku here and he seems like he'll be fine, so I'll be taking my leave," Toshinori announced as he stood up and pushed the chair he was sitting on into the table. "It was wonderful meeting you, Midoriya-san, and I hope to see more of you and Izuku in the future." Toshinori started walking towards the door, then turned around abruptly. "Oh, and I almost forgot something. Sorry, Midoriya-san, it seems like every year added to the amount I've lived wears my memory down..." Yagi sighed. "I'd appreciate if you could send me a copy of Young Izuku's biometrics."
Inko had been very suspicious of Yagi for a majority of the time he'd been here, but she understood why a trainer would ask for a document detailing his trainee's capabilities, so she merely nodded.
"Thank you. Once you send that to me, I'll write the schedule for you. May I have your email address?" Toshinori asked. Inko agreed and the two exchanged information.
As Yagi bid farewell and left her apartment, Midoriya Inko faintly wondered what her son was hiding from her.
When Midoriya Izuku woke up and saw that it was already ten AM, he rushed out of bed so fast you'd have thought that All Might had already given him his power, One For All. And just like that, the events of the previous day, and, accidentally, his headache, all rushed back to him.
Seeing the heroes' fight against the giant villain, being humiliated in class, Bakugo calling him useless (for the hundredth time), Bakugo telling him to kill himself (yikes), using a lot more power than he usually did, trying to fight off the slime villain, getting rescued by All Might, holding onto All Might's leg, meeting Toshinori, Toshinori (All Might) telling him his desires were unrealistic, immobilizing the slime villain to save Bakugo, getting autographs from heroes, Bakugo (sort of) complimenting him, being told that his goals were achievable, accepting All Might's power, getting a huge migraine... and, apparently, skipping school. His mom would be so upset with him!
It was then his foggy mind noticed a glass of water, some food, headache medicine, and a piece of paper with his mother's handwriting on it. He picked up what he presumed to be a note and read it out loud, just to hear the sound of his own voice and to make sure yesterday's events and today's awakening were not part of some sort of intricate fantasy.
"Dear Izuku, I turned off your alarm last night because I knew you'd probably have a headache all day and I thought you'd appreciate some rest. Don't worry, I called your school and told them you were sick. I've left you your breakfast, medicine, and water. If you need anything, please call me. Love, Mom." He finished. He internally grinned, happy to be reminded just how much his mom loved and comforted him. She'd always been there for him, cheering him on and giving the best hugs. If you'd asked him who his favorite hero was, he'd say All Might, of course, but his mother was a close second.
She was not the only one who had supported him though. He had a few friendly acquaintances at his school who'd encouraged his dream, but there was one of them who was a girl in his class who also had a telekinetic quirk, and he wasn't sure if she actually liked him or if she just liked his quirk. He'd heard of quirk marriages being arranged after middle school and the thought scared him a bit. She was nice enough though, and she was also interested in science, so he ignored his suspicion and focused on finishing his food, drinking his water, and taking his medication; aching skull forcibly shoved into the background.
If he was going to be the successor to All Might's power, he thought as he pulled out his grip strengtheners, he had to work for it.
That was actually a lot shorter than the first two chapters. It's been going down 500 words per chapter, but I promise no chapter will ever be under 2000 words (it'd hurt my pride as a writer)! Also, it'll spike up and down based on how motivated I am, the importance of the event, and how much I enjoy writing it. This is sort of like a long mini-chapter, and it was mostly fluff. I decided to include a segment on developing All Might and Izuku's relationship further and wading in Izuku's mentality and how his mom ties into it. This chapter was the outcome.
Make sure to continue leaving well-thought-out comments (if possible)! I love the feeling of elation that manifests within me when I read a comment like that.
Remember to always go beyond, Plus Ultra!