Tapping Potential

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. I'll admit, I'm writing this as a reason for smut. But since I like plot with my… plot, I am trying to write a decent story… that just happens to be built around smut. I don't like to get too OOC, so enjoy. (re-uploaded for grammatical corrections)

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It is a fateful moment. The great hero known as All Might had run out of time. Against his will, his secret had been revealed to a kid he didn't know. This rabid fanboy had grabbed onto his pants as the hero jumped high enough to leave the city dangerously far below them. When they landed the boy stuttered and looked ashamed of what he had done but said he had an important question to ask, one that he trusted his idol hero to answer. In fact, he was so wrapped up in asking the question that he hadn't even noticed his hero had deflated into a standing pile of skin and bone.

"Even though I have no quirk, so I'm constantly made fun of by everybody. Maybe because I am quirkless, I don't know. I just think saving people is the coolest, most awesome thing ever. To know no fear and save people with a smile, is it possible to become a legendary hero like you? …AHHHHH!"

…Until now. The kid risked his life to ask this question, literally. All Might knew his words had impact. "Is that why you want to become a hero, to save people?" He asked, buying time to formulate an answer.

"Yes, absolutely," the boy answered without hesitation.

All Might sighed. He lifted his shirt, revealing a mass of scars like a broken window spreading out from above his stomach. The green haired kid flinched and stepped back. "Pretty gross, right? I got this five years ago. It took out my stomach and half my respiratory system. Since then my time as a hero has decreasing. I'm only able to do hero work about three hours a day."

Recovering from his shock, Izuku asked, "Was that your fight with Toxic Chainsaw?"

"Hey, you really know your stuff. But, no. That chump could never hit me this bad. This was another villain that we kept out of the public eye." He paused to look the boy in the eyes, "I'm old and getting older. I've attended more hero funerals than I care to count." He could see the boy losing hope, trying to think of some way to soften the blow. "Having a quirk, it's like have an ace up your sleeve. It gives you the confidence to stand in front of a villain and say, 'I have an advantage over you'. Do you have anything that could give you that type of advantage?"

Izuku stayed silent, crossing one arm in front of him as he looked away.

"Do you have the strength and flexibility of an Olympic athlete?" Even though it was obvious, the boy shook his head. "Do you have access to cutting edge technology and support gear?" The boy just looked away. "Have you mastered at least two martial art styles?"

Izuku realized he really hadn't done any form of training that would take him closer to becoming a hero. He could say that Katsuki would have "put him back in his place" if he tried to rise from being more than a useless weakling, but that's just an excuse. If he believed in his dream more, he would have found a way. Maybe that's all it was, just a dream. Not a goal.

"No," he said quietly.

"That's not true."

Izuku's head snapped up at his hero's words. He couldn't have possibly heard that right.

A distant explosion rocked them, breaking into their conversation. All Might looked like he wanted to say more, but turned and ran to the door and down the stairs. Izuku hesitated after being left on the roof so abruptly, but began running after his hero, knowing he would be going towards the explosion.

Despite his longer legs giving him an advantage, Izuku caught up with All Might to find him breathing harder and faster than he should be, before he remembered what the man had said about missing a lung.

"Why haven't you transformed yet?" He hissed as he pulled up along side.

All Might looked at him, "Already… (pant) used… (gasp) my-time-up.. (wheeze)"

They rounded the corner and took in the scene of controlled chaos. The heroes were fighting fires and keeping the crowd at a distance, pulling victims out of the rubble, or just watching because one was too big to fit in the narrow street. But they were doing damage control only; the villain had taken a hostage and no one was attempting to rescue him.

Izuku surveyed the scene as All Might caught up, "Pathetic." He clutched his chest, out of breath, "I'm truly pathetic."

Izuku got a good look at the hostage as the captured boy let another blast from his hand the only served to keep the heroes at bay. "Katsuki!" He cried and ran to jump the barricade, only to be stopped by a large hand around his arm.

"Stop! What are you doing, kid?" All Might asked, dragging the boy back and around the corner from the scene of destruction.

"Wait. That's Kachan back there. I have to do something!"

"Do what?" All Might grabbed the boy by the shoulders and gave him a shake, "Do what, exactly? Do you have a plan at all?"

"I… I just…"

"At best, you give him two hostages, at worst, you get yourself killed."

"But the heroes aren't doing anything. Ka-chan is suffocating like I was. He'll die." Izuku seemed to suddenly realize he was talking to. "You. You can do it."

"I used up my time already." All Might let his arms drop to his side. "I'm useless. Shit!" he said, punching the wall.

Izuku looked around, transforming into All Might in the middle of the crowded street would be a disaster. He pulled the deflated hero into the nearest alley where he sagged against a wall, "Listen to me. Kachan will die and the heroes aren't even trying to rescue him. You've got to, All Might. You're the only one who can." The skeletal man only lowered his eyes in shame. "You once said that a hero should always be willing to put his life on the line. Those showoffs out there are not the real deal, you are. You can do this, All Might."

"I don't know if I can." He said flatly, not looking Izuku in the eye. There was nothing he could say. He knew he was betraying everything he had ever stood for. "I got nothing left."

Izuku looked around in frustration. He would beg, if that's what it took. But seeing his hero become so… so human, it was unnerving… No, that had to take a back seat right now. "Ten seconds," he announced. "Just ten seconds, that's all you need. Just jump in, save the day, turn around and say," Izuku stood up, bowed at the waist perfectly 15 degrees, raised his hand in a stiff, half salute and schooled his face into a stony likeness of All Might, "'Sorry, but I have someplace I really need to be.' Then jump out of there."

A snorting laugh escaped from All Might before he could stop it. The boy's impression of him was spot on, but more than that, he was still smiling. In the face of another boy he knew, a friend, about to die, he was still smiling. And he was right. Should it hurt his pride to be schooled by a schoolboy? No, the number one hero was not above that and he never should be. He stood up. "Ten seconds, eh?" Izuku nodded his head enthusiastically. An idea occurred to All Might. "Ok, then. Run to the end of the alley and meet me on the other side of the building. I'll need an alibi." He jumped using his instant transformation as an extra boost to make it to the top of the building.

Izuku ran. As he was nearly halfway down the alley, he heard the trademark battle cry, "Detroit SMASH!" He did his best to run faster while dodging trash cans and debris. "…need to be. I'm counting on you heroes." Izuku pushed himself to the end of the alley as All Might hit the pavement in front of him and stumbled. Izuku caught him before the skeletal man hit the ground and tried to lower him into a sitting position. All Might coughed up a significant amount of blood into his hand as it ran down his chin.

Seeing his hero in such a state, Izuku began, "I am so sorr…"

"Hey, kid." A police officer came from the chaotic scene, Izuku guessed he was following All Might, "Woah, shit. What happened?" he asked looking at the bloody form of All Might.

Izuku looked at the blood coming from All Might's mouth, "I-I think he was caught in the explosion. I'm taking him to the medics."

The officer looked beyond Izuku, down the street, then back at the bystanders pushing at the barricades, "Yeah, thanks. You do that, kid." He turned and went back to crowd control before the barrier was crossed.

Izuku turned back to All Might, who was smiling at him, which was a little creepy on such a thin face. "You did good." He said, standing up and wiping the blood off his face. "Come on. You hungry? Let's get a snack."

"Sure," Izuku said, eager to hang out with his favorite Hero. They found a nearby diner and ordered some food, though All Might only got a milkshake.

"Are you feeling ok?" he asked the moment the waitress left.

All Might looked at the boy who knew his secret and just shrugged to himself, "It hurt, I'm not gonna lie. But you know something? I'm glad I did it." His deep voice resonated with satisfaction.

"I'm glad too." Izuku grinned back.

"I got you to thank for it, you know."

"But I didn't do anything." Izuku smile faded with a bit of self-recrimination.

"You're wrong. If you hadn't given me that pep talk, reminding me of what it means to be a hero, and what I fight for…" All Might stopped a moment as he looked off into the distance, "well, I just hate to think what would have happened."

"But you…" Izuku looked around the diner and dropped his voice to a whisper, "you're All Might," Izuku whispered. "You…"

"That means absolutely nothing," All Might spat, "Not if I can't live up to it."

"You would've. I know it."

All Might smiled, deciding not to argue about it. "Either way, thank you. For being there for me. I really needed to hear what you said." All Might couldn't help but smile at the grin Izuku beamed at him. "You know, you really would make a good support hero. What's your name, anyway?"

"It's Izuku. Izuku Midoria," he said eagerly. "What do you mean 'support hero'?" Of course, Izuku knew what a support hero was, but not only did he want to keep talking to his idol but also see what a pro hero point of view was.

"To put it bluntly, they are the hero to the heroes. They help a hero do their job smarter, faster, better than they could ever do alone. The down side is most people never hear of them because they are the behind-the-scene people propping up the hero. Like you did just now. No one would know, but you were as much a part of saving that kids life as I was. They are the people heroes go to when they are having trouble, are in a slump or just need a hand with something and I'm not talking about just support gear."

"I guess, but really doesn't feel like I did much of anything at all."

"Trust me, you were a bigger help than you know. Hmm." All Might thought back to their earlier conversation, "Let me look at that notebook again, the one I wrote in." Izuku fished it out of his backpack and handed it over. All Might had skimmed through it, noting the hero drawings and writing, but now he looked it over and read more extensively. The musings of quirks, their mechanics, their potential, all was laid out next to the personality and tactics of the hero. He nodded to himself as he read.

"This is good stuff, Izuku. I really mean it. It wouldn't take much more training to become a quirk councilor, a trainer or even a tactician for a hero agency." He looked at the boy who had risked his life to ask a serious question, one he obviously weighed against his own future. "I meant what I said before. Hero work is very dangerous and I would be remarkably irresponsible to recommend putting you on the front lines. You just met a common criminal today." Izuku ducked his head as he thought about his brush with death at the hands of a villain. "But behind the scenes, you could work to make heroes even better heroes and every person they help, you are part of that."

"It wouldn't be the same, though." Izuku said. There was a moment a long time ago that a younger Izuku got beat up trying to protect a kid he didn't know from the bully Kachan had become. The kid ran away as Izuku took the beating, but he felt it was worth it. He had saved the kid, after all.

But it wasn't realistic. Not if he couldn't even save himself.

All Might was trying to come up with a reason to give the boy some hope beyond being quirkless. Running his fingers over the scorch marks and water damage on the notebook. It was easy to figure out Izuku was being bullied, being quirkless made him a soft target. He was amazed the boy still has such a positive attitude. "It's not about that. It's about what a person can do, and what they can't do. And sometimes, no matter how hard you try, your arms just aren't long enough to save everybody." All Might had lost himself for a moment, his eyes getting a little misty as he was reminded of his own failures over the years. "But you help who you can, however you can, and keep moving forward. In the end, that's all you can do."

Izuku was again struck by the humanness of his idol hero in front of him. He knew that All Might had not been able to save everyone, only those he could reach. He had often wondered if the hero ever thought of those he couldn't save. Looks like he had his answer.

"Quirk councilor, huh?" Izuku sighed.

"Hmm," All Might nodded. "Or something similar. I think you have what it takes to make a positive impact on heroes." He said, sliding the charred notebook back to the teen. "I think you could make it into the General Studies program at UA."

"That's where I was planning on going, but do you really think I can?"

"The teachers have always been given a free hand with their students. If they see one with a particular talent, they'll encourage it. You could be helping out the Hero Studies students become better in no time."

"Wow." Letting go of his old dream hurt, but not as much as thought it would. Maybe he really could do this. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

The waitress stopped by, dropping off their orders.

"That's easy. You start with one." All Might took a sip of his milkshake, "If you can help one person, you can help more."

By the end of the dinner, they had exchanged numbers with a strict rule not to abuse it with stupid fanboy questions. Revealing his name to be Toshinori Yagi, All Might said he wanted to keep in touch, not just to keep track of Izuku's progress, but because Izuku was in the loop on the hero's secret. Such things should be kept track of.

Izuku put an ad online for quirk counseling services. It took over a month of screening clients since most didn't take an unlicensed quirk expert seriously. Finally, he received a message that would eventually become a turning point in his young life.

"I'm trying to get into UA. Do you think you can help me?" - Ochaco Uraraka

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OK, I'll admit I am not as creative as I pretend to be. I need a character to replace Midoria in class 1A. Even if we bring one up from 1B, we need a body to fill that spot. Suggestions and submissions are welcome. I also need some bodies for Izuku's GS class.