AN: I had the idea that All For One messed with All Might and Izuku by exposing the secret about One For All. Focuses on how I think the public/world would initially react to the truth, along with some fatherly Aizawa. May make a sequel to this but we'll see~

"Izuku Midoriya," All For One stated with a voice amplified by yet another quirk. It reached far enough for the media equipment in the now retreating helicopter to pick up, "he's the one you passed it onto, isn't he? That formerly quirkless child is your successor."

Bakugo, Kirishima, and Iida froze. The trio slowly turned to look at the green-haired boy standing slack-jawed in utter confusion, although there seemed to be realization dawning in the blond's eyes.

"That's right, All Might. Your big secret will finally been exposed for the entire world to see. Everyone will know the truth about your quirk. It's a fusion called One For All," the villain spoke to the public, "that brings the user incredible stockpiled strength; however, it is not transferred through genetics like most quirks. No, One For All is transferred by DNA exchange only when the previous holder wishes it to be so. The reason the Symbol of Peace will die here today is because he's already chosen a legacy. His strength wanes, and all you will have left to succeed him is a boy not even finished with his first year of high school. I truly pity you for the sad future that awaits."

Izuku's blood ran cold.

"N-no." He whispered, his entire form trembling. "It can't be. All Might's secrets. Why? This is bad. This is really, really bad. This is—"

Why was it suddenly getting so hard for him to breathe? His vision was beginning to blur, his body suddenly feeling heavy. The secret that had been protected for generations was suddenly out. Even if when All Might defeated All For One there was going to be a tremendous uproar among people across the earth. Their entire view and understanding of quirks was about to change. Their vision of All Might would be fractured, and Izuku would be targeted by villains everywhere. People, civilians and heroes alike, would make their case on why they should be the inheritor. They would tell him why he wasn't a truly worthy inheritor, why he didn't deserve such power. The press would eat him alive. What would his mother think? His friends? They'd been lied to for so long.

Maybe... he wasn't good enough to become the next beacon of hope after all.

"Deku!"

The familiar shout of his childhood friend snapped him out of his daze. Feeling Bakugo's arm gripping his own tightly, grounding him somewhat, Izuku turned to face him with tears in his eyes.

"Kacchan," he said with a watery voice, "I'm s-sorry for—"

"Shut up, nerd. If what that villain was spouting is true then you had no choice but to keep All Might's and your own secrets. Your sappy friends will understand if they really care about you."

"But my mom, I told her what I told everyone else. I lied to her."

Bakugo's eyes widened at this.

"You mean to tell me I knew more than Auntie Inko?"

"I d-don't know, okay? It just felt like you had to know. Like you deserved to know more than anyone else," he attempted to explain. He opened his mouth to say more, but a huge explosion cut them off.

On the television screen a few moments later, All For One lie unconscious in a smoking crater.

People roared in approval at All Might's victory. Even those who seemed confused beyond belief joined in, the heroic triumph over evil overshadowing any misgivings those currently had about the truth about their number one hero and his quirk. This only made the contrast between how loud it was and how quiet it was about to be when All Might approached a camera crew that was making its way onto the scene along with disaster relief.

"Citizens," he addressed the crowd, unwavering despite his emancipated form. Izuku's breath caught in his throat at the bloody tattered uniform his idol had hanging off of himself. "Today a great evil has been defeated."

There was another round of applause from many of those watching the broadcast.

"However, today an even greater thing than my body has been broken: your trust in me."

Silence.

"I owe everyone watching an explanation. The villain stated earlier that I have been weakening for some time, and unfortunately he was not mistaken. Seven years ago I fought the exact same villain when both of us were stronger, and while I thought I defeated him back then it came at a cost. I received an injury that would slowly lead to the end of my career."

"Thankfully," he continued, "my quirk is special. One For All is a rare combination of two quirks. One allows the user to store and release massive amounts of power while the other passes on said quirk through DNA transfer. For a lack of better terms, One For All is not transferred genetically from generation to generation. It cannot be taken forcefully, but can be given to anyone the holder chooses. That is why I tried my best to keep it under wraps with only a close few knowing the truth. For keeping this secret I humbly apologize."

He bowed his head for a moment before raising it back up once more. There was still much he had to say.

"That being said, the villain also revealed that I had chosen a successor of my quirk. That is also true. One For All has already been steadily leaving me, but it exists in another."

Izuku felt his friends eyes on him once more.

"I will not say the boy's name again, but I will tell you a bit about him." A smile stretched across All Might's face. "I met him barely a year ago when I rescued him from a villain. At first glance I saw him as nothing more than a citizen in need. Later he came across as a scrawny fanboy," he laughed, "but I would learn that he had a heart fit for helping people. This once quirkless boy reminded me what it truly means to be a hero."

Iida gasped from where he stood behind Izuku.

"Bakugo wasn't joking back then," the blue-haired boy whispered in awe. "You… you were quirkless."

The greenette forced himself to ignore his friend in favor of paying attention to the television.

"I'm aware no matter how I explain myself there will be countless criticisms of my choice. To that I say this: I will defend my decision in choosing this boy as my successor until my dying breath. And to those thinking you can take advantage of his youth, well," he grinned. "You'll just have to get through me first. It's his turn now, citizens, and I could not be more proud."

"My boy," a finger pointed directly towards the camera…

"You are next."

Ever so slowly a variety of sounds began to fill the streets. Among them were clapping, shouts of All Might's name, wails mourning the sure to be retirement of the number one hero, and peoples' questions about who the hero's successor is. At the center of all of this Izuku sobbed grossly. Iida, Kirishima, and Bakugo could not fault him for that. It was all the recently rescued blond could do but grab onto one of the greenette's wrists and pull him away from the crowd.

"We should get out of here," he spoke to the other three students. "The police will need to know I'm safe so they can inform my folks, the school, and the damned press."

Neither Iida nor Kirishima argued, both of them also wanting to get Izuku somewhere safe. It was only a matter of time before those who remembered hearing Izuku's name made the connection between that and his face (he had been widely recognized after the sports festival after all). He would never hear the end of it once they did.

After Bakugo had been led away by police officials Iida called Yaoyorozu to inform them of their location. While the two students who got into U.A. on recommendations would need several minutes to arrive at the station's lobby, the class representative took to calling Aizawa. Since All Might had seen their involvement in Bakugo's rescue there was no point hiding anything from the teacher.

Kirishima also wasn't sure he could snap Izuku out of the daze he was in.

Since being released from his childhood friend's grip, Izuku had gone silent. He simply stared forwards, sitting on one of the lobby chairs with tear after tear trailing down his cheek. Neither of his friends could get a verbal response from him. He didn't move much either; he was completely unresponsive.

Todoroki would later call it a type of panic attack, Yaoyorozu a type of shock.

"Aizawa-sensei!" The four students called out when the underground hero arrived in his usual attire. His face shown with disappointment, but the worry in his eyes stood out the most. Worry for one of his problem children.

"I'll be speaking with you four later. For now I want you to go home, but expect a phone call from the school." Following the dismissal he walked over to where Izuku sat catatonic. From what Iida had explained over the phone and what he gathered from the newscast Aizawa could say his student was definitely in shock.

Crouching down so he was a little below eye level with Izuku, the teacher slowly brought his hand in front of the boy's face and snapped his fingers. Zero recognition passed through those green eyes.

"Midoriya," he tried. When the boy still seemed stuck in his own head, Aizawa reached out to grab one of the boy's hands.

The response was instantaneous.

Flinching back forcefully, Izuku blinked in rapid succession until he was squinting at his homeroom teacher.

"Aizawa-sensei? What're you... where are... All Might? Is he okay?"

"Calm down there, problem child. All Might wasn't injured badly enough to keep him down for long. He's receiving treatment by the best medical professionals in the area. Who I'm more worried about right now," he continued with a softening tone, "is you."

Izuku's lower lip wobbled at the genuine care in the older man's voice.

"I'm... scared."

"And why is that? As much as I want to expel the lot of you for your more than obvious involvement in rescuing Bakugo, we can deal with a less drastic punishment later. All Might will live. I assume you're fine physically?"

"Yes, but—"

"And U.A. will do all in its power to protect you from those who would want to target you for your quirk."

The greenette tilted his head in confusion.

"What?"

Aizawa rolled his eyes before moving the hand on the boy's own to ruffle his curly hair. "Did you think the sudden reveal that you're All Might's successor would stop us from doing our jobs? If anything this will just make your teachers strive harder to teach you to the best of our abilities. I for one won't be treating you any differently though, so don't think you'll be getting any special treatment. Just because All Might gave you his quirk doesn't mean I will let my attention to my other students waver. He might pick favorites, but I won't."

"I wouldn't want you to do any of that anyway, sensei." Izuku let out a small laugh. "I'm still scared though. All Might will have to retire now, and without a symbol of peace the villains might try to act up. The League of Villains especially."

"Midoriya, I won't deceive you and tell you everything isn't going to go to hell. At some point it very well might." He noticed the frown on the boy's face before switching gears. "However, there are countless heroes out there that will just have to work even harder to keep people safe. No matter how many villains rise up there will be heroes to stop them. No matter how many people are put in danger, there will be those to come to their rescue. In just a couple of years you will be one of them."

This made Izuku burst into tears once more.

"Thank you," he croaked out seconds before Aizawa pulled him into a comforting hug. The two of them stayed there like that for several minutes before Izuku began to fidget.

Standing up, Aizawa noted he would need to do some laundry as soon as possible. Tears and snot did not look good on black. Pushing that thought to the back of his mind for now though, he gestured for his student to follow him.

"C'mon, problem child. I'm going to have to escort you back home. After that newscast the media are going to be even more unbearable."