Chapter 63: shared secrets

"You were inside One For All?"

"I think so," Izuku admitted, still in disbelief, "and I talked to the first holder." His hands were still shaking. Nothing of the weird sensation was left, even when he tried to activate his quirks - or quirk, singular - again, the feeling didn't return.

All Might folded his hands. "How is that possible?"

"I'm not sure… He said that One For All is evolving, it's growing with every generation and just like Burst fused with it… The power of the others did, too. And, if I'm not completely wrong, he meant that it was more than their strength that combined with One for All, but also…" Izuku drifted off. All that could be heard was the rustling of Recovery Girl pulling the plastic from the sticky side of a Band-Aid. Kacchan and Hikari had suffered some minor burns while All Might had luckily stayed fully unharmed. Neither of his classmates had said a word since they entered the infirmary.

"In other words… There is a possibility you might be able to use our predecessors' quirks."

Izuku still couldn't believe it. He had been born quirkless – not really, but he was made to believe so - until he was offered a quirk he thought would give him super strength, then Dragon told him about his original quirk that he got back by pure coincidence, and now he was about to get more quirks? His body wasn't even able to handle One for All. And besides, if he got all that power, wasn't he becoming more and more like him? Wasn't that exactly what All For One was? He was already afraid of becoming like Dragon, he didn't need more villains to add to that list.

All Might placed a bony hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, my boy, this must be a lot to take in. I'll do everything in my power to help you. For a start, I'm going to find out whatever I can about our predecessors. If we know their quirks we can prepare and train accordingly to prevent accidents like today from happening."

That sounded like a good plan. Izuku nodded.

"For now," his mentor raised his voice and turned to the two students sitting further in the back, "let's keep this development a secret. We can't have prying eyes draw false conclusions."


She crouched down, back against the cool wall of the hallway. Bakugou was leaning against the same wall further down, hands in the pockets of his pants. Recovery Girl wanted to ask a few more questions and had sent them ahead. They didn't get far though.

After an agonizing silence that lasted for far too long, Hikari found her voice, "How long have you known?"

"Beginning of the school year," Bakugou grumbled. Upon seeing the glare she sent him, he elaborated, "I've known his quirkless ass my damn life, it's not like the nerd could lie to my face."

They fell quiet again. Water flushed through a pipe in the wall across. A door was slammed shut in the distance.

"You're angry," the explosive blond read her correctly. Hikari pursed her lips.

"I'm not angry. I'm furious. But Izuku wouldn't want me to be, so I'll just… Try, I guess." After nothing came in return, she picked up again, "Are you seriously fine with all of this?"

He grunted. "Useless Deku getting recognized by All Might? Of fucking course I'm not!

"You know what I mean."

To that, he didn't answer immediately. Hikari eyed him through the corners of her eyes. A frown was plastered on his face. "Breaking all his bones, having to face some overpowered dick with more quirks than brain cells? Not exactly jealous."

She sighed. "Bakugou."

"The ugly shit-face and his Nomus got many quirks, Deku's got multiple quirks, seems pretty even to me, scarface."

There, he said it. Even if he only mentioned them passingly, he was concerned about the same thing. Hikari clenched her teeth. "How cute, don't tell me you're actually worried."

"The hell I am!" Came the protest, a blunt lie. They both knew that people were going to realise at one point that Izuku had multiple quirks, and then they would look at the only other beings with multiple quirks and as All Might predicted, draw the wrong conclusions.

The two teens' eyes met. As bad as they got along, they came to the silent agreement that this should never happen.

When the door to the infirmary finally sprang open, Bakugou pushed himself off the wall and Hikari came back to her feet. Izuku bowed in the doorframe. As he rose again, his eyes widened. "What are you two still doing here?"

"Just get your ass moving, I wanna take a shower. By the way, you two stink," his rival grunted.


All Might threw his head back and closed his eyes. Just when he thought things were looking up, they became more complicated. He vaguely remembered a particular statement his mentor once made, something that never made sense to him, not until now.

We'll be able to meet again, inside One For All.

"Toshinori, don't fall asleep in here. I have work to do." The school nurse poked him in the leg with her pencil, startling him enough to fall out of the chair. The retired hero picked himself up. Dusting off his trainers he asked for her opinion, "Do you think it was a wise decision letting young Shikogane in on the secret?"

The nurse stopped her writing but didn't look up from the paper on her desk. "I think it will be good for Midoriya to have someone to talk to."

She raised her hand and shut the symbol of peace before he could argue, "You're his mentor, a hero he has admired his whole life. He respects you, idolizes you, he's only recently started to see himself as something other than an incomplete copy of you. I can see that he loves you deeply, but he still sets you on a pedestal. He would never defy you or dare to argue something you say, at least not out loud."

Toshinori wanted to protest. He wanted to tell her that things were different, but it remained a stone-cold fact that they weren't. He made a mental note to clear things up with the boy later.

"What about young Bakugou?"

"Toshinori, do you need glasses? Bakugou is hardly a person to confine in and with all the mending their relationship needs, they have more important things to discuss, should they even start talking to each other at some point."

Deep inside he knew that, so he stayed silent.

"Midoriya trusts her, and from what I can tell from the sessions I'm having with the girl, their relationship is helping them both. I don't want to know where the boy would be after everything with Dragon and now Eri if he didn't have someone who understands his complicated and conflicted sentiments."

Recovery Girl was probably right. Who was he kidding, the elderly woman always was. All Might dragged his hand over his face and sighed. It was time to leave, he had assigned himself a lot of work.

"Thank you for your time."

The heroine shooed him out of her domain with a wave of her hand. "Go on, you're not the only one who has work to do. And don't neglect your other students."

"I wouldn't dare." At last, a tiny smile found its way on his face, though it was short lived. Already standing in the doorframe he poked his head back into the room. "What do you mean with their relationship?"


Their way back was spent in silence. Bakugou slipped out of his shoes, threw them to the other eighteen pairs - how they landed so neatly Izuku couldn't explain - and disappeared in a hurry. Hikari walked up the stairs by his side, though she didn't spare him a glance, not even a word. He could feel something ominous radiating from her.

"Are you angry with me?" He asked as they arrived on the second floor, before she could disappear upstairs. The girl stopped in her tracks. Back still turned to him, she spoke in a calm voice, "No. I'm not angry with you."

"Then, what…?"

She was in front of him in an instant and pushed him towards his room where she slammed the door shut behind their backs.

"If you really must know," she kept her voice low, fearing to be overheard, "I feel an urge to punch All Might into his bony face."

He paled. "W-Wha-why?!"

"Transferring a quirk to you that destroys your body and now turns out to be like seven quirks instead of one?!I hate it but fine, I'll have to accept it. He didn't know it would turn out this way, he had your consent, and you're able to live your dream, you saved god knows how many people. But what I really can't get behind." She took a deep breath. "He also doomed you to fight against the possibly worst and strongest villain of all time and he didn't have the balls to tell you until months after you accepted his power?!"

"He didn't-"

"Izuku, I know how much you admire him." She waved at the limited edition All Might wall scroll he inherited from Sir Nighteye and now hung over his bed. "But this is wrong!"

"But I accepted it! If that's what it takes to save-"

"That's what I mean! You're… You're too good for your own good! He had no right to choose your future for you!"

"Maybe he didn't," Izuku snapped back, "but what's done is done, and I wouldn't want it any other way! The life I have now, it's all thanks to him, thanks to the power he offered me. Maybe I wouldn't even have a life if it wasn't for him! I don't judge you for feeling the way you're feeling, I've lied to everyone this whole time, so I can't blame you for being angry. But I've accepted my fate. Just like I know I will have to face Dragon, one day I will face All For One or Shigaraki Tomura. And once the time has come, I will be ready."

They glared at each other, neither willing to back down. Izuku hated it.

"Fine, then." Hikari crossed her arms and leaned back, her eyes shooting daggers at him. "If that's your decision… Then I don't care if it's two quirks, seven, a hundred or two thousands, I'm not letting you face him alone. I will train harder and longer than ever before so I'll become strong enough to stand by your side when the time comes. I won't stand in your way, I will cleave the way with you. Got it?"

He was at loss for words. Of all the things he expected her to say, this wasn't close to any.

"I won't leave you," she added in a softer tone, "no matter how hard you'll push me away. Better get used to it."

He should be saying something, but nothing came to his mind. His vision grew blurry from the tears that dreaded fall. Letting go of a shaky breath Izuku ignored the ache in his chest as the pounding of his heart grew almost unbearable. He bent forward over his friend's crossed arms, reached out to hold her face, careful to avoid the band aid under her right eye, and pressed his lips to hers. Izuku expected her to draw back in protest, being too upset after their argument, but Hikari tilted her head almost immediately and unfolded her arms so he could step closer.

They hadn't kissed since that night. Back then, they had gotten carried away, overwhelmed by a wild mixture of emotions. But the days after, neither of them had been ready for this kind of intimacy. It wasn't that they didn't want to, they held hands when no one was watching, hugged and cuddled when they spent time alone, and spent most nights snuggling in Hikari's bed since she claimed to be creeped out by all the All Might figurines watching them in his room, but neither found the courage to make the first move. Not until now.

In need of oxygen, Izuku drew back and slowly opened his eyes. "I won't push you away."

"Good," Hikari breathed, "I wouldn't let you anyway. And thank you for telling me, for trusting me, it means a lot. Your secret's safe with me."

"I know."

The way she looked at him with so much affection and gently massaged the back of his neck had him melting. How had he been able to resist for so long? The girl leaned in, asking for another kiss he wouldn't deny her. He remained hesitant at first but the softness of her lips and her firm grip on his shirt caused a fluttering inside his stomach. Izuku went with the flow of motions, his mind on the brink of going blank, when something softly pinched his lower lip. He squeaked.

Did she just... Bite him?

Hikari pulled back with a bright red face and sniggered. "Sorry. Just… Have you been using chap stick?"

He may have felt bad about the poor state of his chapped lips last time, so, yes, he might have turned his room upside down because he knew he had one lying around somewhere. Not that he would admit that.

"M-maybe."

"You're adorable." That statement wasn't helping lessen his embarrassment at all. He inhaled deeply, the fresh air helped him cool down before he accidentally set something on fire. When he was calm enough to look back up the boy was met with the same mischievous grin as before and decided that screw this, he was going to get his revenge.

Izuku could tell she didn't suspect anything when he leaned in for a third time, his movements a bit more daring. It was her time to let go of a surprised yelp as he squished her lower lip between his and gave it a light suck. He immediately let go after the sound escaped her, fearing he had gone too far, when something to brushed against his lips that didn't feel like one of hers.

He drew back, gasping, eyes wide. It had been an accident - This was only their second time doing this! Being met with equally wide eyes, Izuku gulped. He couldn't even say how he got the idea, what if he overstepped- Before he could apologize Hikari cupped his cheeks and came so close the slightest tilt of his chin would have sealed the tiny gap between them. Golden eyes met his, she seemed to be looking for his approval. He swallowed hard. His hands found their place around her waist and suddenly, the small distance between them was gone. Hikari gave him a short peck, then longer one, by the third one he felt something brush against his lips, instinctively making him part them.

The girl halted, waiting for his reaction. Gathering all his courage he opened his mouth, pulling her lips with his, and very, very carefully pushed his tongue forward. It met something hard that felt like teeth. His partner tilted her head further, offering him better access until something brushed against his tongue. His heart missed a beat. He didn't even feel the nails dig into his shoulders, he couldn't resist the urge to press on and get to know more of that unknown sensation. A weird sound escaped him, but his mind was too far gone to notice, he moved on, wanting more-

Hikari grunted painfully. Izuku practically jumped away. "D-did I do something? Did I go too-"

"Shelf," the girl growled. He tore his eyes off her to look at their surroundings and realized that they had miraculously wandered half across the room and that he somehow managed to squish the girl between his body and the bookshelf without noticing.

Face red in embarrassment he stepped back further, releasing her fully. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's, uh, it's fine." She cleared her throat and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. He could only stare while his mind tried to catch up. Suddenly aware of the wetness around his own lips he did the same. A deeper red soaked through his skin and he slapped his palm on the tiny green flame that flashed up on his lower arm, he was unable to look her in the eyes. Was this supposed to be like that or was he just incredibly bad?

"Well, I'm glad I didn't take a shower yet," Hikari broke the awkward silence, "I'm feeling kinda sweaty again."

Izuku blinked. He hadn't realized how his body was basically burning or how his shirt clung to his torso. To be fair, his normal body temperature was hotter than a normal human's, but not that much. Was this a normal reaction? Did all the people with fire or heat related quirks go through these experiences? Would he have to force himself to stay-

The freckled teen slapped his hand in front of his mouth, stifling his own rambling. Not now!

A laugh rang in his ears, tearing through the emotional walls he began building around himself. This was okay. They were still new to all of this, it was fine they weren't used to it yet. Tears of relief stung in the corners of his eyes and soon, Izuku joined in.

The next thing he knew, they were hugging each other comfortably. He relished it, although he agreed that yes, they both desperately needed a shower.

"You know… It all makes sense now," Hikari murmured into his shoulder. Izuku drew his head back, only able to catch a tiny amount of gold staring up at him.

"Back at Seishin, you treated us like everybody else. Usually, people are quick to… Well, those who aren't inherently mean usually just pity the quirkless. When you two came I instantly realized something was off about Momo, but you were nice to everyone, met them at eye level. That didn't change, even after we found out that you came from U.A."

Izuku bit his lip. Of course he wouldn't treat them any different, after all he had been in their shoes not too long ago, for the biggest part of his life.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

Hikari shook her head. "Then… I don't know if you remember, but we had one of our first real talks on the roof, when you confronted me about my family. I told you about my dad, how he couldn't become a hero and joined the police force instead. You gave me that look… Back then I couldn't make sense of it, but now I do. Someone has suggested the same to you, haven't they?"

The teen had to avert his eyes. Memories from his first encounter with All Might flooded his mind, how his future mentor told him to give up on his dreams and become a police officer instead, if he wanted to do good. But he couldn't tell Hikari that, not when she was already forming a grudge against his mentor.

"It," he began, unsure where to go from there, "it's been… Not easy. People said a lot of bad things, most of it I don't want to remember. But I don't have to tell you, you had to pretend to be quirkless until coming to U.A. too." Izuku dared to lift his gaze. Hikari pulled back and studied him with furrowed brows for a second until the expression was replaced by a melancholic smile.

"I always believed no one could ever begin to understand how I feel, and yet here we are."

"Here we are," he repeated after her, agreeing with every single word.

The dull knock of a door being slammed shut on the same floor caught his attention and out of nowhere he began asking himself what they would say if someone came bursting through his door in this exact moment. They may have backed up a bit, but their arms were still loosely around one another, close enough he could pull her in for another kiss if he wanted.

"Hey, Hikari?"

"Yeah?" She gave him a questioning look that made Izuku reconsider whether it had been a good idea to speak up.

"I know it's only been a week since we agreed to t-try this thing, a-and you wanted it to stay between us, but now that we've crossed that line, uhm, again, I was thinking… I was wondering if," he struggled finding the right words, "if that makes us… Like, uh, are we, are we dating? It's just… The others keep saying things, and I never know what to tell them, so I usually ignore it…"

Hikari's eyes went wide, a red tint returned to her cheeks. Panicking, Izuku quickly added, "Only i-if you want, if that's something you like, of course! I would love to be your boyfriend, but-"

Boyfriend. Did he really accidentally say boyfriend?!

A hand was raised in front of his eyes. Cool fingers cupped his face, her thumb caressed his cheekbone, making his already overworked heart quicken its pace again.

"I'm sorry I asked you not to tell anyone, it made you uncomfortable, didn't it?"

He hesitated, which was answer enough.

"I was scared it wouldn't work out with everything that's going on, but now that I know about your secret… You need people to support you, and I will help you in any way I can, and I believe that we can make it work." She bit her lip. "So, I would really like that. I would… I would love to be your girlfriend, too. So, if you want to tell the others, that's fine with me."

Girlfriend. She wanted to be his girlfriend. Izuku couldn't breathe.

"And, I'll come see your mom this weekend. After all, I have to ask Inko if she's okay with me dating her son."

Oh shit- He hadn't told his mom yet. He had let a few remarks slip, but since his mom already knew Hikari and how close they were, she probably brushed it off. At least she never asked about it. That would definitely be an interesting weekend.

"Oh, and by the way," he was ripped from his train of thoughts again, "I'm sure at least Kyouka, Aoyama and Shouji saw you holding my hand under the table after school. So, they might not be too surprised."

Izuku hid his face and whimpered. He was so bad at keeping secrets, it was a miracle not more had found out about One For All yet.

"Hey, Izu, please don't die on me now."

He groaned a bit louder, burying his face deeper. "I'm not going to make it through the next few minutes if you keep making me flustered," he whined. The nickname didn't escape him.

"That's too bad." A hand was placed on his chest. Izuku stole a peek at it through his fingers.

"Since we both agree with Bakugou that we're stinky teenagers and need a shower before dinner, which is about half an hour away, I was going to suggest we make use of those last ten minutes."

He dropped his arms. "Huh?"

"Since we agreed that we're in a relationship now…" She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, eyes fixed on her other hand that still rested on his chest. Izuku could only think how pretty she looked in that moment, and how lucky he was. "I wanted to suggest we explore that a little more? I, uh, I liked what we did before, and I wanted to ask you if- after we step away from the shelf- you'd like to try it again?" She shily peeked at him from underneath her bangs.

She wanted to kiss him again. Izuku's voice was gone, lost in the depths of his big but empty brain. There was no way Hikari didn't feel the rapid pumping in his chest. Unable to do anything else the boy pushed his now official girlfriend towards the most comfortable part of his room, fully intending to follow up on that suggestion.


"Thank you for coming, young Midoriya, I know it's late."

He joined his mentor's side. The path looked abandoned, all he could hear were their steps, the rustling of All Might's jacket, and his own breathing. Izuku didn't recall the weather forecast, but the air smelled like snow.

"Is it about this morning?" It wouldn't surprise him.

"Yes."

A single snowflake danced in front of the next streetlamp. Had it always been this cold in February?

"All Might… You don't think it was a good decision to tell her, don't you?" Was he disappointed in Izuku?

"I didn't," the retired hero admitted, "but Recovery Girl convinced me otherwise. I do have a feeling though, that young Shikogane is angry with me."

Oh, he had no idea. Izuku mused where All Might was going with this, but the memory of what happened this afternoon brought a blush back to his cheeks. He kept his head down, hoping his mentor wouldn't notice.

"I always tried to do things on my own, to involve as few people as possible," the man began, "after losing my mentor… It was the only thing that seemed right to me. Sir Nighteye was one of the few exceptions, and you know better than anyone else how that ended."

Izuku bit his lip. If it was All Might's goal to make him feel bad about it, the symbol of peace was doing an excellent job.

"I didn't want to endanger innocent people, I didn't want my nemesis to have a leverage against me. But you, my boy… You showed me another way."

That caught the teen's attention. His eyes flicked from the cobbled path up to All Might.

"I did things my way… And I failed."

"No, All Might-!"

The teacher raised his hand, forcing his student to stop. "You… You're seeing and doing things differently. When I first met you, I saw myself in you, but I was wrong, again. You're not like me, young Midoriya, you're so much more, you're already better than I could ever be."

His legs stopped moving. Izuku could only stare.

"You showed me that there are other ways. You want to protect those around you, and you do so with little regard to your own wellbeing," his tone grew the slightest bit stern, "but you don't refuse their help. You work with them, and as a team, you've already reached heights most pros can only dream of. You bring out the best in people around you, you inspire them. You inspired me, all the way back during the Sludge villain incident. If you hadn't jumped in to save young Bakugou that day, I don't know if I would have found the strength to step in. Since then, I've watched you grow, and not once did I ever doubt my decision to make you my successor. Not only because you have potential, not because you work hard and want to be a hero, but because you are who you are."

A salty drop grazed the corner of his mouth and ran down his chin. Izuku's breaths became shaky.

"Thanks to you I found new strength. I was able to face All for One once again. This time, I didn't just fight for the sole goal of doing "Good" or "saving the world". At last, I accepted that I couldn't shut myself off forever, and through that I found things that were important to me. Things that made me powerful, and it made me realize that this is where true strength comes from. Not simply from wanting to do good or what you deem the right thing, but from wanting to protect what is dear to you."

A cold breeze tugged at Izuku's hair.

"And you are dear to me, young Midoriya, like a son. You are going through such difficult times, and this is the only thing I ever regretted, putting you through all of that."

He couldn't hold back any longer. Izuku threw himself at his mentor and sobbed into the man's jacket. All Might rubbed his back, he didn't make any sounds, but the movement of his chest told Izuku he was crying as well. What a bunch of muscular cry-babies.

"No matter where this is going, I'll always stay by your side. After all, I promised to be there when you finally tell the world that you are here. Together, we will unveil the secrets of One For All, and I can't deny any longer that we might need help for that. If it means we need to share our secret, then I'll respect your decision. After all, it's your quirk now."

"All Might…"

"It's alright," his mentor shushed him, "you're still young, you shouldn't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, it's fine to share that burden. I did what I deemed right, and you shall do what is best for you. There will be a chance to bring young Eri back and to stop Dragon, All for One is safely put away for the moment, so we don't have to worry about him. For now… Please just be a teenager, young Midoriya, Enjoy your time with your friends, at least for your years at U.A. You never know what will happen next."

"Th-thank you, A-All Might," Izuku choked, his sobs nowhere near ceasing.


A/N: The current arc in the manga is so heavy, wrote some fluff to cope. A lot of fluff. Thanks for the reviews und welcome to our new followers!

Yamajiji: Thank you! I'm used to writing action and plot driven stories, writing romance is hard, but I'm trying my best.

Ryu: Thanks so much for the review! I really needed to hear that…