The Things We Share (and the Space Between Us)

I am dreaming. The thought is incoherent, and Izuku struggles with it.

He is standing in his full Hero costume on the beach - Dagobah Municipal Park Beach. He looks down; he has his long white gloves and green and black suit, along with his black, armored boot covers over his red shoes. The off-white, scarf-like cape he took to wearing after graduation is billowing in the wind, with its scarf portion around his neck.

He looks up, and sees… himself. But he's so young, smaller and shorter than he is now. His younger self is in his workout clothes, and the sun is setting.

The beach is mostly clear, but there is still some scattered trash. Little Izuku is standing, a trash bag in his latex gloved hands, looking off to the side. A few feet away, another man stands, locking eyes with Izuku's younger self. Older Izuku begins to tear up at the sight of his old mentor. All Might - Toshinori Yagi stands in his true, skinny form, wearing a winter jacket and speaking to the younger Izuku. It's been seven long years since Izuku saw his mentor and father-figure in the flesh, and the sight of him once more is almost overwhelming.

Older Izuku cannot hear them. There is no sound, though he can still feel the wind and the sensation of his shoes on the sand. He feels the warmth of the day, though it is fading with the sun as well. It's like he's watching the scene with earmuffs on.

But he vividly remembers the conversation.

"Are… are you sure, All Might?" The look of concern - and, at the margins, shame - is clear on his younger self as he speaks. Izuku was so worried, back then, that Toshinori's suggestion implied a lack of faith in him. Izuku was… and still is, if he's being honest, so afraid that Toshinori wasn't truly proud of him, or confident in him as a successor.

Afraid he doesn't deserve the power of One for All.

"I am. I believe you are the right choice as my successor, Young Midoriya. But… it is important that we get this right." Toshinori stretches out his arms, giving his trademark T-pose to accentuate his point. "It is imperative that you get into UA unimpeded… and I'm not sure what effect One for All will have on your body. Sending you into the entrance exam blind is… unwise."

Little Izuku's expression changes slightly, understanding mixing with his discomfort.

"So… it's safer for you to have me enrolled via special recommendation, and not risk it…" He finishes the implied thought, bringing his hand to his chin to think.

He does not yet have One for All, so he doesn't truly understand the implications that Toshinori speaks of yet. He doesn't yet understand how right Toshinori is, as far as how little control he would have when he would receive it later on.

"Yes, I believe that is the best way," Toshinori continues solemnly. "I know it isn't how you wanted to do it, but… the stakes are too high, I think. Principal Nezu is aware of our situation, and has told me he will make the appropriate arrangements."

His younger self nods, but his older self feels the tears pooling in his eyes. He… Part of him always wished, even then, that he had been able to prove himself. He still feels, even nearly a decade later, like he lives every day in Toshinori's shadow… and that he can never live up to the myth that is the Symbol of Peace.

I wish you had let me stand on my own, he thinks, and he is surprised when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

Toshinori's hand - not the Toshinori of his dreams, but the Toshinori of One for All. The true vestige of his father figure, the personification of the Symbol of Peace that stays with him through the borrowed sword they hold together every day. He is in his true, shrunken form, wearing his favorite yellow pinstripe suit and looking downcast, radiating impossible warmth.

When the vestige of Toshinori speaks, Izuku hears him, physically, and the effect is stunning, sounding like it comes from every direction at once.

"I wish I had too."

Izuku awoke with a start and groaned, and he found himself sprawled over his desk at the agency.

He wasn't in his Hero costume anymore. Instead he was wearing a long-sleeved forest green sweater with a white undershirt. He had khaki slacks on and his trademark red shoes; he was nothing if not predictable, at least when it came to dressing himself. Izuku wiped his mouth with his right hand, thankful he hadn't drooled much in his uneven sleep, and sat up in his chair so he could try and straighten his desk back out.

He also thanked the Izuku of earlier this morning that he'd managed to have a shower before passing out, at the very least. Unfortunately that probably meant his hair was more of a disaster than usual, given that he had fallen asleep on his arms.

The office was one he shared with Shouto Todoroki at the Endeavor Hero Agency, and it was not the largest thing in the world. They had redecorated when Endeavor had retired, two and a half years ago. Where Endeavor had gone for intimidation and power, they tried to make the office space more bearable, as they expected to spend a lot of time there. Shouto decorated things in a more subdued fashion; softer colors, more knick knacks, and he even let Izuku pick out some silly All Might merchandise and assorted Hero doodads to put on the shelves and around the room. They also had a number of framed images of themselves and their class, both throughout their time at UA and after the fact.

Shouto hadn't wanted to change the name of the agency, however, even when his father retired and the two of them were promoted from sidekicks to lead Heroes.

"It is important to remember how I got here," he'd said at the time, before pausing and adding, "…and what I am trying to be - and not to be."

Izuku privately suspected that Shouto also secretly just thought 'Endeavor Hero Agency' was a good name, and it was to be fair. It also made it easier for them to get recognized and stay relevant in the Hero world - not that the pair of them had much issue with that, with their combined case completion rate.

Izuku finished fixing his desk, then arched his back with a small sigh, raising his arms above his head to stretch.

He'd been working with Shouto at his father's agency for five years now, since graduation - and before that even, as interns when they were students. Reporters incessantly asked him why he didn't start his own agency and he always demurred. The truth was, 'I am not cut out for administrative work or employee management' was an unsatisfying and frankly embarrassing answer, though it was the truth either way.

He remembered when he used to have nightmares of the villains he fought, not of mountains of paperwork. Izuku hated paperwork, though he'd do it. His only saving grace was that Shouto was a machine at paperwork, and they had a lot of office staff to assist them as well.

Izuku was the number one Hero now, two years running, and after all the work he had done to get there, it felt… hollow. It was frustrating to have achieved his dream and gotten to where he wanted to be and not feel happy about it. Part of him was sad because his family wasn't there to see it, but… he knew it went deeper than that, and he wasn't sure why. His dreams had also been more and more surreal in the past two years, and he got less and less decent sleep because of it.

He pushed his chair back slightly and bent over, opening the mini-fridge below his desk and pulling out his gym water bottle.

At least the Izuku of this morning was smart enough to refill it and put it in to become cold, he thought dryly.

He looked over at the digital clock he kept on his desk, with the green numbers glowing forebodingly in the dark. A little after six in the morning, the display read, and Izuku groaned in dismay at the sight. Operating on four-odd hours of sleep wasn't healthy, but he didn't sleep well these days anyway. Really, he hadn't for a long time, between how hard he worked and his intensifying sleep issues involving nightmares.

Good thing I have the day off, he thought, but there was no joy there. Today was a special day, but not a happy day.

He was contemplating getting up to turn the light on for a few minutes as he sipped his water. It was probably pretty sad for him to sit in a dark office and brood; that was for Hitoshi, or maybe Aizawa when he wasn't in his sleeping bag. Then again, knowing his former teacher, Aizawa probably could just see in the dark by now with how much time he spent in it. However, before Izuku could work up the will to get up and quit daydreaming, the door to the office swung open.

In the doorway, his back illuminated by the soft light of the hallway, was Shouto Todoroki. He sipped on an iced coffee with a straw, held in his left hand, while a white take out bag was in his right hand and his jacket draped over his left arm. Shouto was wearing dress clothes today; a white dress shirt with a black tie, and black dress pants with black shoes, because he would be staying in to do administrative work and making some executive decisions for the agency. Shouto looked at Izuku for a few moments, straw still in his mouth, silently mocking his friend with his solemn gaze.

Izuku gave his best friend and Hero partner a halfhearted glare.

"Don't even start," Izuku said, but his voice betrayed his tiredness. He already knew he was going to get (proverbially) roasted by Shouto and had long ago resigned himself to that fact. The edges of Shouto's mouth curved up ever-so-slightly into a smirk. If Izuku didn't know him, he probably wouldn't have noticed it really.

Izuku narrowed his eyes at Shouto, but he just walked calmly over to Izuku's desk. Shouto adjusted his arms, setting his coffee down on Izuku's desk and reaching into the bag. He brought out a plastic to-go bowl, covered in cellophane, holding chopsticks against the top with his thumb, and wordlessly set it in front of his fellow Hero. Then he picked his coffee up and padded silently over to his own desk on the opposite half of the room. Calmly, he set his drink down, then he laid his jacket over the back of his chair. He then set the bag down next to his drink and lowered himself into his chair.

Shouto did not take his eyes off of Izuku the entire time, and his mismatched eyes had incredible smugness in them as he pressed his lips into a thin line. He eased into his seat, folding his hands into his lap below the desk. Then he smirked for real now, and Izuku's expression soured on his own face before Shouto even got a word in edgewise.

"You let her get away again," Shouto said calmly. Izuku groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"What did I tell you, jerk?" Izuku whined, and Shouto snorted mercilessly.

"You've been after her for eighteen months and the closest you got, you got tazed. Maybe it's time to give up and let the cops handle it," Shouto said. He had returned to his normal, expressionless look, but Izuku knew he was trying hard not to laugh at the Symbol of Hope. "Frankly, I still don't know why you accepted that case to begin with."

"In for a penny, in for a pound," Izuku grumbled, making an ineffectual, vague waving motion with his hand. The honest truth was that he was well aware that he was more so suited to direct confrontation missions - punching a bad guy in the face - and not so much dealing with thievery or spies; he was too invested to quit now, though. "Besides," Izuku continued, "I took that tazing really personally, and I took this case because if it was stumping everyone else, I figured I might as well take a crack at it."

That was a lie; Izuku took the case because he felt pulled towards it, in a way he couldn't adequately explain - but he wasn't about to say something that insane out loud to Shouto. Shouto just chuckled at him.

"I think she took it personally too, since she was flirting with you the last few times you chased her."

Izuku was in the process of checking the heat of his katsudon bowl with the back of his hand. Shouto had warmed it with his quirk, how nice of him, Izuku was idly considering. And then he heard Shouto tease him and he choked on his air. He sputtered, then he grumbled incoherently as he stripped the plastic off his breakfast and made to take a bite.

"That's not appropriate," Izuku said, more to himself than to his friend. It was notably not a denial of Shouto's implication, either. Shouto was in the process of unwrapping his own food - cold soba, of course. He hummed noncommittally at Izuku's answer, and Izuku's eyebrow twitched. "Don't mock me!" Izuku added firmly, pointing his chopsticks at Shouto.

"Maybe if you asked her out on a date, you could catch her that way," Shouto deadpanned remorselessly. Izuku scowled at him. "When is the last time you went out on a date, Izuku?" Shouto asked, ignoring the scowl, then he slurped some noodles.

"That's none of your business!" Izuku insisted, then he started stabbing at his food like it had kicked his puppy.

"Been that long, huh?" Shouto said with a completely straight face. Izuku looked over and stuck his tongue out at Shouto before taking his first bite. They ate together in semi-comfortable silence for a bit, but Izuku felt the air grow heavier between them.

I should've let him keep teasing me about the thief, he thought, mentally cursing himself. Today was one of his least favorite of the year, and Shouto was well aware of that fact. Shouto read him like a book, and Izuku realized his expression was probably somber in his thoughts.

"So… I take it you're leaving once you finish eating?" Shouto then slurped more noodles, but the teasing undertone was gone from his voice.

"Yeah… yeah, I have to," Izuku responded sadly. It wasn't that he minded visiting, it was just that it ruined his whole mood for days afterward. "I'll… I'll say hello for you, yeah?"

"I would appreciate that," Shouto said in a bit quieter of a voice. He paused for a moment to take another bite, then he continued, "I would have bought flowers, but I figured you already have that covered?"

Izuku nodded, as he already had a plan to pick up the flowers he ordered at the store on his way. He didn't feel hungry anymore, but he forced himself to finish. Not sleeping enough was already bad enough, he couldn't eat too little as well. Making mistakes like he had last night would keep happening if he kept up his unhealthy habits.

There was another extended silence between the two men, not as comfortable this time. Izuku finished his food, spinning his chair so he could throw the container into the bin to his side, then he put his hands on his knees and rubbed the fabric of his pants. He didn't want to get up and leave yet, but he also didn't want to stay there and make things awkward for Shouto while he was trying to work.

Izuku looked over at the clock and it was almost seven, now. He knew he shouldn't stall too much longer, and he resigned himself to a long and unpleasantly sad day.

"The Hero ranking ceremony and charity gala are coming up soon, don't forget," Shouto said idly, snapping Izuku out of his uncomfortable thoughts. Izuku looked over and Shouto wasn't looking at him; instead, he had his phone out, probably checking yesterday's news.

"Yeah, I know. I made sure to get a suit pressed and dry cleaned this time," Izuku replied matter-of-factly. Shouto knew that; he picked out the suit for Izuku, since Izuku was hopeless when it came to fashion. Shouto was just trying to be helpful and keep Izuku from getting lost in his thoughts, and Izuku endlessly appreciated his friend for it.

Shouto had his phone in his left hand, and he reached over for his bowl with his right hand. Izuku smirked when a thought occurred to him, however; maybe he could get back at Shouto yet.

"You know… I think Momo said she was going to go, and she was asking about what to do with her plus one." Izuku tried very hard to contain his smugness, not quite succeeding in the process. Shouto's eyes widened slightly, and Izuku looked down to find that he had accidentally frozen his soba bowl in his hand. Izuku guffawed at his expense, imagining a devil on his shoulder in the form of Mina, and Shouto glared at him in turn. "Maybe I'm not the only one who hasn't been on a date in too long, huh?"

Shouto had been pining after Momo since their second year of school, but he'd never had the guts to ask the creation Hero out and it endlessly amused Izuku.

"Go catch your damn train," Shouto said in mock anger, though he couldn't quite hide the small smile that pulled the corners of his mouth up. Izuku held up his hands in surrender, smiling at his own mischievousness. But then his gaze became solemn again, as he mentally prepared himself to go out.

"Thanks for breakfast, Shouto," he said, and he gave a small wave as he walked to the door.

Shouto grunted affirmatively, back to checking the news on his phone - now in his other hand, as he used his fire to heat his soba back to acceptable levels.

I'm dreaming again, he thinks. He does not enjoy this aspect of One for All, though it never used to be so… intense.

This time he is at the Sports Festival in their first year. He is walking down the halls towards his match against Shouto. He is also standing to the side, again in his full Hero costume. The unreality of this out of body experience never grows normal for Izuku, as he watches his younger self walk along like a play being acted out for him.

His younger self stops to speak to Endeavor. Again the words between them are silent for the older Izuku, but he remembers. He remembers how stunned he had been at the time to learn even in sparse detail how Endeavor treated Shouto as a boy. More significantly, he remembers Endeavor demanded that he put up a good challenge, so that Shouto could become stronger. It is shocking both to the Izuku of the past and even Izuku today, and it was perhaps the first time he really began to question the nature of Hero society as such, even if he rarely pursues that thread of thought for the sake of his own sanity.

The younger him wants so badly to challenge Endeavor on this, to tell him that Shouto is greater than Endeavor believes, and if he is brave enough, to tell him that Shouto is already greater than Endeavor could hope to be. But… he is afraid; he is afraid of Endeavor and he is afraid of what those words would mean for him and his dreams of being the greatest Hero, and his place in the world with his borrowed power. He hangs his head in shame and accepts Endeavor's words, too unsure of himself to challenge the older Hero, and to this day Izuku regrets it.

The older Izuku follows the younger version of himself to the ring. He remembers this day well, though he and Shouto rarely discuss it out loud.

Even at the time, his younger self understands that something is wrong - very wrong - in the relationship between Shouto and his father. Shouto hadn't been willing to tell him too much before the match; still so cold and untrusting, and Izuku so unsure of himself and his ability to socialize with others. But there in the arena little Izuku stands before little Shouto, and he cannot find the words to articulate how he knows Shouto is greater than his father, and that Shouto's fire is his own alone. The words he wants Shouto to hear, and which Izuku had been too timid to say to Endeavor.

They clash and little Izuku breaks himself terribly - his fingers and his arms, damaging his face even. He obliterates the air itself, and in turn shatters the ice into snow. Shouto's attacks are stunningly massive, but without his fire he cannot hope to defeat One for All - even if Izuku's hands are permanently maimed in the process. In the end, Izuku Midoriya defeats Shouto Todoroki by ring out - but he is too hurt from the fight to continue. After the fact, Katsuki Bakugou is declared the winner of the tournament by default after he defeats Tenya Iida in the semi-final.

Older Izuku, the observer in this dream space of One for All, watches idly as Kacchan accepts the first-place medal and sighs silently to himself. Kacchan was never satisfied with that victory and it did not help mend their relationship at UA even though Izuku so desperately wanted things to be better.

He never did tell Kacchan about One for All, or Shouto for that matter. Sometimes, he wishes he did.

Izuku woke up when the train went over a particularly bumpy part of the tracks.

He slowly sat up. He must have dozed off on the long train ride, as he found a seat after the morning commuters got off to go to work. Izuku carefully brushed himself off and righted himself in his seat, silently grateful nobody had sat near him and that today was a fairly quiet ride once the rush was over, all told. The train ride was about two hours for him, between going to the flower shop and the cemetery itself as well as the workday crowds early in the morning. Izuku checked the time on his phone; just after nine. They must have been close to his destination.

Thankfully he did not drop the bouquet of flowers he brought as he slept, nor did he crush them, as he had simply slowly leaned forward in the chair when he passed out. He looked up from his idle thoughts to see a woman - probably in her early thirties - with a younger child, a little girl.

The little girl was looking at him with an expression of awe. She obviously recognized him, and her mother - he presumed, anyway - was looking at the girl with fondness but also a bit of unsureness. Izuku didn't really mind it when people recognized him in public or wanted to talk to him though. He liked interacting with people - whether they were fans or just someone he was saving - because he felt it was part of saving people with a smile.

As such he smiled sheepishly, closing his eyes and giving a little wave of acknowledgement to the girl. When he opened his eyes and looked at her mother, she looked at him with a question in her eyes: 'Is it okay…?' He nodded and his smile brightened, so she released the hand of her daughter, who came over to Izuku. Even barely woken up and having a bad day, he was determined to be a happy, comforting presence to the public. It was what the country needed from its number one Hero.

"Can I have your autograph, Jade Rabbit?" The little girl asked shyly, keeping her voice low, and Izuku gave a little chuckle. He then gave her the best Hero smile he had.

"Of course, young lady. Who should I make it out to?"

"Ah, my name is Sara!" Sara whispered excitedly, beaming at him. She handed him a little pocket notebook and he felt a wave of nostalgia as he signed his name with a flourish, 'to Sara' written underneath. It was just like the kind he'd started carrying in his first year at UA, so he could take notes on all his classmates' quirks and make little plans and tactical drawings.

Sara giggled and bounced on her feet as he handed her back the notebook and her small pen, then she went over to hug her mother close at her waist. The older woman smiled at Izuku, and Izuku's smile softened in turn.

"Do you remember the sinking ferry you saved, about two years ago?" Sara's mother asked, and Izuku felt recognition hit him as he thought about it.

"Ah, yes! That was very scary," Izuku said, hoping he was coming across as humble. He never liked to brag about the bigger incidents he resolved, though he remembered all of them. He had made a habit of writing them down - taking notes on how things went, how he could've done better, and what to do if something like that happened again - so as to keep his thoughts organized.

"We were on that ferry, and this one was only six at the time. She's been a big fan ever since," Sara's mother said, giving Izuku a look of immense respect. He gasped in response, feeling a genuine sense of warmth and comfort.

It wasn't the first time he'd run into someone he'd saved while out and about, but today… It was special, today, and he felt good about it. He suppressed the pinprick feeling of a tear forming on his eye, and gave the two ladies another picture-perfect Hero smile.

"I'm glad you could be here to see me again today," Izuku said, with utter sincerity. He saw a bit of himself in little Sara, and he hoped she would hold onto her wonder at the world yet.

Sara's mother nodded, then leaned down to whisper something to Sara. The little girl gave a small pout to her mother, but then relented and gave a cheerful wave to Izuku. Then they made their way over to a seat that had opened up while he was asleep. Sara chatted quietly but animatedly with her mother, and Izuku smiled softly and looked away.

What a nice family, Izuku thought, but then he felt a pang of sorrow.

He was glad that he could help people like them. He was glad that he was successful as a pro Hero - the number one now, for two years running. He'd made it - he'd done what his mentor had so fervently hoped he'd achieve - and become the new Symbol of Hope.

So why did he feel so empty and alone?

The rest of Izuku's train ride was uneventful, and he kind of wished otherwise. He needed distractions on days like today, though the universe rarely provided.

Instead Izuku walked along the path in the cemetery, scanning the grassy hills and looking to see if anyone was there. The paparazzi were relentless, but this place… even they knew better than to intrude on certain things. Not that it stopped them from trying in the past, though, before they gave up on it. Izuku saw a groundskeeper across the way, vacuuming up leaves with the nozzle his quirk transformed his arm into. Izuku waved, and the groundskeeper waved back. The gardeners all knew him by now, which he wasn't sure was a good thing or a bad thing.

It's a nice day, today, he thought. It wasn't as happy a thought as it should be.

It was early November and starting to get a bit chilly. But the sun was out and the temperature was reasonable that day. It was about mid-morning now, but early on a weekday there wasn't a soul in sight that didn't work there. The cemetery's emptiness didn't comfort Izuku. It only magnified his feelings of dread and loneliness.

Izuku walked along for a while, until he came to a familiar stone monument: All Might, the Symbol of Peace, immortalized in granite in his traditional flexing pose with both arms over his head, in the final iteration of his Hero costume. He stood proudly on a thick, dark-colored block, but near his legs, facing the other way, was another figure. That was Toshinori Yagi, his true self - battered, bruised, and bloody, in the torn shreds of his Hero costume - immortalized there too, as he was in his final moments.

This monument is dedicated to the greatest Hero of our age: All Might, the Symbol of Peace.

He died as he lived: defending the people of Japan from great evil.

The words were engraved in white text on a stark black plague attached to the front of the stone block. Sometimes Izuku wondered if they could've done more for the Symbol of Peace - but realistically he knew that no monument was ever going to feel truly fitting.

To the right of the monument, a few feet away, was a more traditional headstone. It was plain in comparison, but in Izuku's opinion, it was just as important, if not more so - at least to him.

Inko Midoriya. Wife to Hisashi, mother to Izuku. Taken too soon, we thank her for the time she gave us.

Izuku knelt down and gently placed the flowers under his mother's headstone.

To her right, there was another plot, unfilled and with a blank headstone; it was reserved for his father one day. Izuku hadn't spoken to Hisashi Midoriya since his mother passed. Truthfully he wasn't sure if he ever would again. His father had expressed no interest in reaching out to him and Izuku wasn't really interested in meeting Hisashi more than halfway himself.

Izuku slowly settled down between the graves, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

"Hey, Mom. Hey, Toshinori," Izuku said quietly. He always felt so small and heavy when he came to visit. "Shouto says hello."

Izuku wasn't worried about getting grass stains on his pants, as he clenched his fists against his knees. He could already feel the tears coming, but he was determined to say the words he came to say.

"It's been three years since you left, mom. I hope you're doing well," Izuku started again, looking down at the ground. "I'm still the number one Hero, for now. We'll see if that stays true when the new rankings come out."

Realistically, Izuku did not expect it to change. But… he always worried he wasn't enough, despite his case completion rate and how hard he tried to work. He took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I met a nice mom and daughter on my way here. They told me I saved them, a few years ago. It was… when I was still so sad. When I was grieving. But I feel like you must have been watching out for them, to keep them safe through me…" Izuku sobbed, unable to keep himself from shivering. Before, he had been at an acceptable temperature, but now he was so cold. "I'm glad you don't have any more pain, Mom. Thanks… for everything. I miss you."

He paused, and took another breath, though it came shallower that time. Then Izuku looked at Toshinori's monument with sad, wet eyes.

"I've been having the dreams more often recently. It's so strange to know how close you still are, but… not, still." He unclenched his right hand, holding it up to look at his scars; they were worse on his right side, as he had overused it when he was still training to use One for All in earnest. "I've been practicing, training, studying… doing my best, I think. I hope you're proud of me. I… was never brave enough to ask you that before you left."

The tears rolled in waves down his face, and he wanted to curl up a ball and join them there; just never leave, and let the ground take him. Izuku sniffled and suppressed an urge to wipe his face with his sleeve.

"I feel so alone… I wish you both hadn't had to leave. I'm sorry if that's selfish."

Izuku paused again, and held his breath. He screwed his eyes shut, and tried very hard to steady his breathing, so he could speak again in a more even tone. He wanted… He wanted them to be able to understand him, in the rather vain hope they could still hear. He meant to continue, but he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. They were very quiet; whoever it was, they were either very small or very good at hiding their presence.

He tensed, hoping they would pass. Instead, he heard them slowly come to a stop directly behind him. He held his breath as long as he could, then exhaled loudly. Then he gave into the urge to wipe his face on his sleeves and worked to compose himself. Whoever it was, they weren't interested in speaking. He felt anger and irritation rising in his chest the longer the silence went on, and if they had come to gawk at him or take his picture he had half a mind to yell at them.

"It's not very kind to bother someone who is mourning," Izuku said, letting the annoyance seep into his tone. On any other day, in any other place, he tried to have infinite patience for fans and the press. But not there, not on the anniversary of his mother's passing.

He heard whoever it was take a sharp breath. Then, a woman's voice that was unpleasantly familiar spoke.

"Sorry, Superhero. Didn't expect ta run into ya here, honestly," she said. Izuku whirled around, his frayed emotions getting the better of him.

"You!"

Green lightning crackled over his body as he rose into a low fighting stance, and the ground shuddered under his feet.

He was met with a woman, probably about his age, and seeing her out of costume was almost disorienting. She had shoulder-length brown hair, tied back in a ponytail. Two bangs framed her face and she had a permanent blush on her cheeks. She was wearing a dressy black knit coat, two pockets aligned vertically on either side of the front. A black skirt poked out of the bottom of the coat, and she had black leggings on underneath that.

In her hand, she held a long, closed black umbrella, the tip touching the ground as she leaned ever-so-slightly on it.

Stratosphere was very pretty, and he hated that his brain unhelpfully provided that thought to him without prompting. Izuku had never seen her face before. He'd never even seen her in civilian clothes; always in the costume she wore when out and about, doing… villain things. He couldn't help but blink a few times in confusion, mentally trying to reconcile the woman who confidently ran around stealing and routinely escaped police and Heroes alike with this unassuming woman who looked like she was out for a stroll.

But the voice - and the stupid nickname she used for him - were unmistakable. She was the 'gravity thief,' police callsign 'Stratosphere.' The woman he'd been trying to arrest for the better part of the last two years of his life. He expected her to match his tension. Instead she held up her free hand in surrender, and in spite of himself he deflated a bit. He noted the little pads she had on her fingers, for once able to properly see them in the daytime.

"Relax. I didn't come here to bother you," she said, rather miffed by his reaction. Her brown eyes were soft, and Izuku found he couldn't hold his glare in the face of them even though he was still annoyed. One for All died around him as he decided that while he was frustrated, he was most likely safe.

"Sure you didn't. You just happen to be in the same cemetery as me today, right?" Izuku scoffed, disbelief seeping into his tone through the irritation. He was blown away when she responded, just loud enough for him to hear.

"You know, you're not the only one who looked up to All Might."

All of Izuku's fighting spirit died then. He felt shame; he really was selfish. It made sense that even villains would look up to All Might, the Symbol of Peace. How could they not when he was the one who held up society itself for so long? He wasn't… He wasn't just the symbol for Izuku, after all.

Izuku rose slowly, as if she was a deer and he was trying not to frighten her away. However, she made no motion to leave, and indeed she looked distinctly amused and unimpressed. When he reached his full height and dusted his knees off a bit, she rolled her eyes. Then she made a beckoning motion with her right hand.

"C'mon, I wanna show ya something."

He hesitated, but only for a moment. In spite of his better judgement, he decided to follow along, curiosity overtaking his caution.