Stripping the Future

Izuku is having a good dream, the kind that makes you feel warm and safe when you wake up even if you can't remember it, when his phone rings. He blinks himself awake and palms his dresser for his phone. It's the middle of the night, who could be calling this late? Yuuei's practical final exam was tomorrow or later today rather so he can't imagine any of his classmates would be awake at this hour. For a moment, he considers ignoring it but then again, it might be something important. He doesn't even look at the caller ID as he answers.

"'ello?" he mutters sleepily, rubbing one eye.

"Young Midoriya?" Izuku rubs at one eye as he pushes him up in bed, what was All Might doing calling so late? "I'm sorry, my boy, I didn't wake you, did I?" His mentor asks anxiously.

"No," Izuku says even as he yawns, "it's fine, what's wrong?"

"Can you come over? It's about One For All and I'm afraid it's rather important," All Might says again, sounding just as agitated.

"Right now?" Izuku whines, "it's the middle of the night, can't it wait until morning?" He asks as he properly glances at the clock. He needs to be up for the exam in a few hours and it takes almost 30 minutes to get to All Might's apartment from here. There's a long pause on the other end as he hears All Might's quick, rattled breathing. As he wakes himself up a little more, Izuku begins to realize how odd the situation is. Unease presses against his shoulders, not truly bothersome but enough to make him focus a bit more.

"Is everything alright? I can come over if it's important," Izuku says, swinging his legs over the bed. In his head, he's already getting ready to grab his shoes and a coat and race out the door. He probably should leave a note for his mother, maybe he should just dress in his uniform in case this goes on too long.

"No…" All Might breathes out tensely, as if it pains him to say it. "No, it's uh fine. I'm sorry, Young Midoriya, it was quite foolish of me to call so late the night before a big exam. I feel a little... I guess I uh got myself a little turned around," the hero mumbles nervously.

"It's no trouble; I can be there in twenty minutes if I rush," Izuku presses. What was this even about? "Is something the matter? Do you need me to call Recovery Girl?"

"No, please forget it, my boy," All Might says before coughing hoarsely into his fist. "It had seemed urgent at the time but… is there any way we can meet at the beach tomorrow morning? Before your exam? I know it's a chore but it would make this old man feel a whole lot better."

"Yeah, of course, no problem. I'll meet you there at the usual time," Izuku says as he reluctantly tucks his feet back under the blankets. He still feels a bit weird but if All Might says it's alright... "Are you absolutely sure?" He asks one last time. But it's already a losing argument as he's tucked himself back into bed, letting the residual warmth and All Might's gentle, soothing voice wash over him.

"No, please, go back to sleep; you'll need it for tomorrow, trust me," All Might chuckles and things almost seem normal again. Izuku hums as a little bit of the tension leaves him. He settles more readily into his bed, sleep tugging at him once more. "I know you'll do wonderfully, both in your exam and with One For All. You know I'm very proud of you, son, quirk or not."

"Thank you," Izuku preens, the warmth from the compliment pulling him further into sleep, back to his half forgotten dream. "Proud of you too, see you in the morning," he mutters as his eyes slip shut.

"Yes, in the morning. Sleep well, my boy." Those were the last words he hears from All Might before the phone clicks off but Izuku is almost back asleep. A part of him is reminding himself to set his alarm so he doesn't miss his appointment with All Might but the rest of him is warm with the knowledge that he will succeed with the care and guidance of the greatest hero. He's lulled back into sleep, his phone cradled limply in one hand, without any other worries to burden him.

No worries, that is, until he blearily wakes up to his alarm a few hours later and realizes with sickening clarity that he's overslept and probably left All Might waiting on the beach. Izuku launches himself from bed, dresses in his uniform in record time before sprinting out of the house with his bag slung over one shoulder and a harried goodbye to his mother.

He only has an hour before he needs to head to school for his final exam so he hopes this meeting won't take too long. While he's frantically texting All Might that he's sorry for being late, he gets a priority email from Yuuei. He reads it in a rush only to skid to a stop to make sure he's read it correctly.

"The practical exams have been postponed?" He mutters to himself, taking a few steps backwards until his back hits a nearby wall as he quickly scrolls through the rest of email. It looks like the whole school is closed for the day; he notices that no official explanation is given for the sudden and unexpected cancellation. "What could have possibly happened overnight?" He asks quietly.

And then he remembers the phone call from early this morning. He thinks about how off his teacher had sounded, how he had practically begged Izuku to come see him in the middle of the night for seemingly no reason. The niggling feeling of discomfort that never quite went away blossoms into full-blown dread. Before he knows it, he's switched tabs and has pulled up All Might's contact information. His thumb hovers anxiously over the call button.

"I'm just letting him know that I'm on my way," Izuku reassures himself as he dials the familiar number. "And to ask him about the situation at school, everything's fine." He murmurs, his free hand bunching up in his pants as the phone continues to ring. All Might could be busy with whatever's happened at school and forgot to tell Izuku, he could have forget his phone at home or dropped it in the sand again, he- it finally picks up.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I'll be right over like you asked! Is there anything you need? Are you okay? Why is school cancelled? What did you want to-" Izuku asks in a harried rush, fighting against the anxiety forcing it's way up the back of his throat. He's just being paranoid, he's fine, everything is fine. All Might will accept his apology and laugh at Izuku for getting so worked up over nothing. That's how this story is supposed to go.

"Kid, no, Midoriya," Gran Torino sighs into the phone and the last bit of desperate hope dies in Izuku's chest. No, oh no, no please. He chokes back a sob and his weight against the wall is all that's keeping him on his feet. "I uh, shit, I don't know how to tell you this kid but, it's, well, it's..." Torino never gets around to finishing that sentence but he doesn't have to because Izuku is smart. He's already blubbering and fighting back tears, he doesn't need to be told what has happened.

He already knows what has been lost.

XxX

"What the hell are you doing here?" Shouta hisses as he opens Yagi's front door and finds his problem student standing there, trembling and sobbing as if the whole world has collapsed around him.

"I live nearby, I-I called to talk to Y-Yagi-san about-about school and-," Midoriya hiccups in between sobs. The boy has never been anything less than a solid pillar of determination and now he's crumbling at the edges. Shouta narrows his eyes, he has no idea what the boy is doing here but there's bigger things to worry about right now.

"I said school was cancelled for today now scram, you aren't needed here. Go back home and wait for further instructions about your exam," Shouta continues sternly, blocking the door.

"It's alright Eraser, I told him to come. Kid deserves to be here, it's what Toshinori would have wanted." Gran Torino, Midoriya's sponsor and apparently All Might's one and only emergency contact, says dully as he quickly ushers Midoriya into the apartment. Shouta frowns at the two of them as he shuts the door. He'd suspected that Midoriya had been aware of All Might's ill health but this is something else. Yagi hadn't been shy about his fondness for their most stubborn student but for the boy to be involved at a time like this…

"C-c-can-can I-I s-see h-him?" Midoriya asks, barely holding himself together. Gran Torino pulls the boy down into a stiff, one armed hug and rubs his shoulder. Shouta thinks it's just as much to hide the stricken look on the older hero's face as it is for Midoriya's comfort. All Might always seemed to avoid the trappings of a normal life but, if he had any sort of family, the remains of it are huddled right now in this small, messy apartment. He turns and bustles with some of Yagi's old American records to give the two a semblance of privacy.

Shouta knows it's wrong to curse the dead, but he's sorely tempted as Midoriya's anguished cries bounce off the empty walls.

"You can if ya want but, there's nothing there anymore. He's gone, Midoriya," Gran Torino says thickly, his voice gravely with emotion. "He was real sick ya know, we all knew this was coming, just didn't think it would be so soon."

"I-I still want-want t-to see h-him," Midoriya chokes out, grief written all over his tragically young face. "I need t-to s-say g-good-good-" he cuts himself off, seemingly unable to finish the sentence and curls in on himself as if he could hold onto that pain to keep it from escaping. Gran Torino sighs sadly and rubs the boy's shoulder again.

"Yeah, okay, just take a minute and calm down, kid. He wouldn't want ya to be upset like this," Gran Torino says gently. "Besides, you and me have a couple of things we need to talk about and we need to make a decision sooner rather than later." He shoots a glance at Shouta and he knows he's not meant to intrude on whatever is happening right now.

"I need to let the rest of the teachers know what's happened; I'm only here because the id- er Yagi didn't show up for the preparatory meeting for the exams." He barely holds back a wince; All Might was supposed to fight Bakugou and well, Midoriya. That's obviously not happening now. Or ever.

"You, me, Nedzu and Midoriya are the only ones who know right now. I believe it goes without saying that this will probably need to be kept under wraps for a little bit," he turns to Midoriya, who doesn't exactly have a reputation for keeping sensitive information to himself. One look at his student's face tells him this isn't the time for that conversation.

"The principal has agreed to cancel school and is planning a few extra training days to give the teachers time to reorganize the exams but if feel you cannot attend, I can give you time to grieve your…" he trails off, who exactly was Yagi to Midoriya. His mentor? His idol? His father? How was he connected to the man and why had All Might's only personal contact told him to come? Yagi had volunteered to train Midoriya after the Hosu disaster because he'd taken a liking to the boy but now Shouta wonders if that was the only reason.

"We'll decide that later," Gran Torino barks, half shielding the boy as he leads him towards Yagi's bedroom where Shouta had found his colleague a mere hour before. "You make your calls; I'll deal with the kid and start working on arrangements. Toshinori had some plans in case he kicked the bucket early but," he sighs and some of the gruffness leaves his voice. "Just thought we had more time was all."

"We all did," Shouta says with an acknowledging nod of his head. He can't say he was All Might's biggest fan but he'd grown fond of the lumbering fool who really was as genuine as he appeared. Despite his attempts to appear otherwise, he's a bit shaken about walking in to find the Number One hero tangled lifelessly in his bed. He tries to put aside his shock and the beginnings of grief to focus on his first priority, namely his students.

Damn, what is he going to tell them?

Midoriya stumbles into the bedroom where Yagi is followed by Gran Torino who firmly shuts the door behind him. Doesn't matter, he has no wish to intrude on their privacy. Shouta makes his phone call, listening to the astonished wails of his peers as he informs them of the school's, of the world's, tragic but not entirely unexpected loss.

He doesn't mean to eavesdrop but he can't help but overhear certain things behind the closed door during lulls in his own conversation. Shouta hears the word successor pop up a few times from both Midoriya and Torino. More hushed whispers of DNA and "you gotta carry on his legacy" and "he loved you, boy". Even Yamada could connect those dots.

It should feel like a shocking revelation but it somehow isn't; honestly it explains so much. What's more incredible is the fact that affable, chatty Yagi managed to keep a child secret for so long. Of course, it must have been a shock that a man as powerful as All Might produced a quirkless son. But none of that matters now. All that matters is cleaning up the mess that Yagi left behind and taking care of his students in a world where the Symbol of Peace won't be there to save them next time.

Midoriya especially will need help, coping with the sudden death of his father as he tries to live up to that incredible legacy. Shouta has faith in him; the boy has a knack for turning tragedy into triumph. He will get through this and become a grand hero who challenged and successfully changed the system. All Might, who always seemed to light up at the mention of Midoriya, could rest well knowing he had left the world in good hands.

XxX

Inko isn't surprised when Izuku leaves the house in a rush early that morning; he's probably just continuing his training with All Might. She'd been nervous about this arrangement at first with everything that's happened but it's clear that working with his hero has given her son something he'd been missing with Hisashi being overseas for so many years.

She's a little worried when she gets a message informing her that Izuku's school has been cancelled for the day due to a staffing issue. Inko tugs on her lip, it's probably nothing. Just so long as there wasn't another attack, she wouldn't get herself worked up over nothing.

She's horrified when her son walks in the door a little while later, crying more forcefully than she's ever seen in her entire life. As she takes her boy into her arms and listens to his story, she can't help but weep herself.

XxX

Patrick normally is a fairly open person but, like everyone, he has his secrets.

While it's well known that his father is out of town more than he isn't, Patrick doesn't like to announce how much it bothers him to be alone all the time. The quietly ticking clock, the click of silverware over a solitary dinner and the endless creaks of an empty house drive him crazy with loneliness. He grew up with surrounded by noise and chaos that the sudden silence has been one of the most difficult parts of living in Japan.

So he avoids being in his house as much as he can, arriving as early as he can to school and staying until Chiura-sensei throws him out. School had been closed yesterday, yet another hiccup with the Heroics department, but it's open today. There's only a day or two until summer break begins and he's not looking forward to it. Without school, there's nothing to distract him from that big, empty house but at least his friends will keep him company. Maybe he can convince Midoriya to squeeze some time in for them into his busy schedule.

He starts towards Yuuei just as the sun is rising and it's a beautiful, seemingly ordinary day. He takes the long way around so he can grab an apple from the local market and waves to the school guard like he does every morning. Everything is going just fine until he opens the door to 1-C and finds a familiar but unexpected face.

"Midoriya?" His friend jerks with surprise. "Hey man, I thought you finally figured out which classroom to go to." He teases as he walks over to Midoriya's old seat which has been empty ever since he transferred to Heroics.

"I," Midoriya's voice cracks and Patrick realizes as he gets closer that his friend is crying and looks like he has been for a while. "I'm sorry, I just needed somewhere to go," he explains, sloppily wiping away the heavy tears on his face but they don't seem to be stopping. Patrick is frozen. Midoriya cries at the drop of a hat, it's something of a joke between them but this is something new, something real.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Patrick asks, sliding into his normal seat behind Midoriya. "Did something happen?" Midoriya doesn't answer, instead letting out a few gasping sobs as he tries and fails to recover himself. It's familiar and just like that, Patrick is 10 years old again, in a hospital back in the States being told that his mother would be dead in a handful of months. He remembers crying uncontrollably, much like Midoriya is now. His friend's tears slow down to a trickle and he's slumped in his chair now; his eyes red, his face blotchy and looking as if he barely has the energy to exist.

"Is your mom okay?" Patrick asks quietly.

"Yeah," Midoriya breathes, sniffling weakly. "Yeah, she's fine. I'm sorry; I didn't think anyone would be here this early." It's a bit telling that Midoriya chose to hide in this classroom instead of the hero class but that's for another time.

"I get here early whenever I can," Patrick begins, "it's too quiet at my house." Midoriya nods and pulls his eyes away from Patrick to stare at his empty desk. "It might help to talk about it, if you want."

"I don't know if you remember him," Midoriya whispers after another long, silent few minutes. "His name is… was Yagi-san, he worked here part-time. He-he was very tall and skinny with messy blond hair. He-" Midoriya stops and tries to collect himself before he falls apart again. Patrick thinks he knows the man, he looked less like a teacher and more like an extra from a zombie film. He'd seen the man hanging around Midoriya before; they always looked happy. "He was-was sick, I knew it, b-but it was just so unexpected…"

"I'm sorry, did you know him well?" Patrick asks gently.

"No, that's the problem," Midoriya says, starting to cry hoarsely again, as if his very soul was leaking from his eyes. "I'd only really known him a mo-month but he believed in me, even before I transferred. He called me Young Midoriya and gave me good advice and-and was more of a father than my real dad who I've never met. It's not fair he left me so soon, I barely got to know him and now-and now I'll never get the chance..."

Patrick stands up and pulls Midoriya up into a hug, holding him tight like he wished someone had done for him when he was grieving. Midoriya shrinks into him and continues to sob. Patrick has always admired Midoriya's strength, his resolve to fight back at all the things wrong in the world. But right now he isn't the revolutionary hero who stopped the Hero Killer and instigated a social change. This is a kid who just lost someone very important to him and no one understands that feeling more than Patrick does. He continues to hold onto his friend even after his tears have stopped.

"Please don't tell the others," Midoriya mumbles from Patrick's chest.

"I won't but I still think you should. You shouldn't bottle these feelings up, it only makes it harder to deal with them," Patrick answers. "What does the hero course have planned for you today?"

"Extra training I think," Midoriya says before pulling himself away. He looks absolutely wrecked but a little calmer. "Our practicals exam got postponed, I think they're stalling for time because of uh..."

"So nothing important then," Patrick nods. "Go home, Midoriya. You're in no shape to be here and you're only going to exhaust yourself trying to keep up appearances."

"I can handle-" Midoriya offers weakly.

"You've been crying in your old classroom for god knows how long; you're not okay." He squats closer to his friend's level. "And that's fine, this will take time. Go home and let yourself grieve. See if you can help get Mr. Yagi's arrangements in order. It would be a better use of your time than hanging out here."

"But-" Midoriya sniffles.

"Go," Patrick emphasizes gently as he hands Midoriya his backpack. "I'll tell your homeroom teacher you were sick. Take care of yourself and Mr. Yagi."

"I appreciate it but it'll be better if I let Aizawa-sensei know," Midoriya says dully. "Thank you, Patrick. I'm uh sorry about all this." He mutters, gesturing to Patrick's wet and splotchy uniform.

"Nonsense," Patrick waves off as he leads his friend towards the door. "We're friends, yeah? And this is what friends do." He says cheerily before stopping in front of the closed door. "This isn't going to be easy, grief doesn't ever really go away but it will get better as time passes."

"Somehow I don't think I'll ever forget," Midoriya says more to himself before slipping out the door. "But thanks again, I guess I'll see you later," he says with a halfhearted wave as he slumps down the hallway. Patrick watches him leave with a frown before quietly sliding the door shut.

Losing someone you loved, be it a mother or a father figure, was one of the worst feelings in the world. He thinks back on what Midoriya said, he wonders if it's worse to lose someone who you loved and had a long history with, like his mother. Or if it hurt more to lose someone at the very start of a relationship, before anything could really be built and all that's left is painful what ifs?

XxX

"Aizawa-sensei!" Iida shouts, throwing his hand into the air, "we cannot begin our extra lessons! Midoriya has not yet joined us!" Ochako looks around nervously, hoping Deku will pop out of nowhere before he gets in trouble for being late. He's already on thin ice after everything that's happened…

"Don't worry about that," Sensei says distractedly as he looks over something on his phone. "Midoriya is taking personal leave; he'll likely miss the rest of this week and have his exam scheduled for another time. I'd worry more about your own performances."

"Did he say why?" Ochako questions, exchanging a look with Iida but she can see everyone else whispering amongst themselves too. Deku's been pretty wiped the last few weeks from his extra training but he never seemed the kind of person who stopped. Something really big must have happened for him of all people to take time off from school. "Can we-"

"You're not going to pass these exams worrying about things that don't concern you," Sensei threatens, his hair floating up in the air as he glares at them. "They've been restructured and are twice as hard as they were originally so you better give these training exercises the attention they deserve."

"Oh man, we're all gonna die," Kaminari whines, directing their classmates back onto the subject of their exams. Ochako worries her bottom lip, still thinking about Deku. Any of her other friends and she could have expected some sort of explanation but Deku's always been a bit guarded when it comes to himself. Sometimes she wonders if she even really knows him at all.

She's distracted from her thoughts by the grueling and frankly hellish training Sensei puts them through. It takes all her effort to keep herself upright and her breakfast from making a reappearance when he finally, finally, allows them a short break. Ochako falls to ground by Tsuyu and takes deep, gasping breaths in the sweaty air.

"Hey Sensei," Kirishima asks, sounding way too chipper. "When is All Might going to teach us again? I know he's missed the last few classes but I bet seeing him would really cheer up Midoriya when he gets back." Sensei freezes, just for a second, before turning slightly away from them.

"As you can imagine, being the Number One hero is a time consuming job. All Might was only supposed to teach part-time to accommodate his busy schedule." He says evenly. "Unfortunately, it's been more difficult than planned to balance his teaching and hero duties. He knows it's unfair to you and, as such, will no longer be teaching at the school." Sensei frowns and turns away completely. "I'm sure he'll stop by sometime to say goodbye," he mutters as he walks away from them.

"What, no way! I'm gonna miss him!" Mina whines sadly. "He's so dorky and sweet; I love it when he calls me Young Ashido like he's some sorta grandpa."

"All Might is among the most powerful heroes in the world, sought out by everyone for his strength and skill," Tokoyami comments. "We should be thankful for the time he graciously gave us and wish him luck with future endeavors."

"I mean I get that but it's still kind of a bummer," Sero adds, taking a drink from his water bottle. "Man, Midoriya is gonna be so upset. He's, like, the biggest All Might fan I've ever met."

"He might already know since he's been training with All Might, ribbit," Tsuyu comments. "I wonder if that will stop too."

"Either way, we should do something for Midoriya when he comes back," Yaoyorozu says with a warm smile. "He's been such an inspiration to our class; we should support him since he'll undoubtedly be disappointed by the news."

"All Might themed goodbye party!" Mina shouts, "Mido will love it, maybe we can see if All Might can show up too! One last hurrah before he leaves us!" Her classmates get a little more animated as they plan this imagined party, thinking of ways to convince All Might to show up. Ochako only partially listens in, instead mulling over her thoughts.

She wonders what happened to Deku, she would have heard if something happened on the news or he'd been hurt again so maybe something happened in his family. Deku doesn't talk much about them but Ochako knows he has a mother who he's very close to. She hasn't heard anything about his father; Deku's never mentioned him. Maybe something happened to hi-

"If you have enough energy to be chatting then you have enough energy to keep up with your training," Sensei announces, hooking Mina's arm with his capture weapon and pulling her to her feet. Once again, Ochako finds her thoughts being drowned in sweat and nausea. Still, in the back of her head, she tells herself that she'll be there for Deku when he comes back to school. It won't take away from whatever he's going through but it will be something at least. He's the strongest person she knows but even those people like that need support.

XxX

It's bright and sunny with not a cloud in sight on the day they bury All Might.

In a way, Izuku wishes it had been raining to reflect the misery in his heart but a smaller part of him remembers how brightly Yagi-san had shone. It's only appropriate that the sun be out to give him one last salute as his body is lowered into the cold, dark ground.

It's a small ceremony, quiet and hushed, no one ever saying his hero name aloud to ensure absolute anonymity. Izuku can't help but look around and feel sad. For all the people who loved and were touched by All Might, there are only a handful of people here to say goodbye to Yagi-san.

Some teachers from school, dressed in black with tears in their eyes and their heads bowed in respect. All Might's former sidekick, Sir Nighteye and Gran Torino of course, the former crying all the emotions the latter refuses to show. Detective Tsukauchi is there too; apparently he's been All Might's friend for years and had been in on the big secret. He'd squeezed Izuku's shoulder and said how proud Yagi-san was to have him as a successor, how happy he was to have Izuku in his life. The guilt eats away at him from the inside out.

"We'll give you some time alone with him," Aizawa-sensei says gently once the final words have been said and the ground has been replaced. All that's left now is for Izuku to move on with his life. Recovery Girl had reported the death as a heart attack from years of stress and physical strain but Izuku thinks it's wrong for a heart that big to just give out.

"I appreciate it, I won't be long," he mutters back as Sensei pats his shoulder and leads a loudly weeping Present Mic away from the grave site. Izuku watches them for a moment; he thinks Sensei has come to some incorrect conclusions about his relationship with Yagi-san but he's too tired to say anything. Whether it's because there's no point or because he wishes those accusations were true is something he'll worry about some other time. He turns back to the loose dirt where the greatest hero, the greatest man, Izuku has ever known is buried.

His name, his real name, is printed neatly on a small, grey headstone, nearly identical to the ones around him. Some of the other teachers had complained that such a humble grave site was inappropriate for a man who had been larger than life but Izuku things Yagi-san would have liked it. He'd spent his entire life in the spotlight, helping others, being their hero. In death, at least, he deserved his peace.

"Hello Yagi-san," Izuku says quietly to the hushed air. "I feel like there's so much we had left to do, so many things I never got to say but… I can't think of a single thing right now." His lip trembles as he fights back tears.

"I guess I'm sorry for not coming to see you that night, I don't know what you were feeling in those last few hours but I'll always regret not being there when you needed me. I'm sorry for being too slow with my training and-and I'm sorry for being a poor successor, for not being able to comply with your last wishes." The wind tussles his hair for a minute and he lowers the pitch of his voice.

"I think I know why you wanted me there; you were scared and wanted to pass on One For All before…" Izuku sucks in a breath through his teeth. "I-I didn't want to at first but Gran Torino convinced me to try today, before the funeral but-but I swallowed the hair a-and I don't think it did anything. I don't know if it was the delay or if it was even possible but, but I'm sorry All Might, One For All died with you." Izuku takes a couple of hiccuping breath as he looks at the people in distance, waiting for him to catch up.

Izuku sighs, "I should probably go now, everyone's waiting on me. I-I'll come back and visit soon. Sensei is giving me time but I still need to keep up with my training. I-I'm not sure I can do it anymore without you, without One For All, but it would disrespect your memory to let this stop me. I need to keep working, harder than ever if I'm going to succeed."

He frowns, "it will be… hard, going to school, doing hero work but I'll endure because-because," he grins and it's probably a sorry, soggy excuse for a smile. "Because you were here and I'll always be grateful for the little bit of time we had. Thank you, thank you so much." Izuku puts his hand over his mouth and rushes away from the grave before he can cry anymore tears.

He's had enough of weeping; if he's serious about moving forward as a hero then he'd got to learn to let go. He can't let his grief, over All Might and the potential for a quirk, hold him back when he's been placed back at the starting line. Sensei opens the door to the car for him as they're getting ready to leave and Izuku looks one last time at the grave. The sun shines down on the hill and Izuku thinks he sees the light catch on the headstone, as if Yagi-san is giving him one last smile, bright as sunshine. Izuku returns the smile and ducks into the car.


So, in brief. I mentioned that I wrote two endings for this story. The original which I posted and this one. I've noticed lately a lot of people were unhappy with the original ending but didn't go read the alternate version on AO3. I figured I'd save you some time and just put up the alternate ending here (which I prefer in the end) so you all can choose your which one you prefer.