Disclaimer: The following is a nonprofit fan-based parody all rights reserved to Brandon Sanderson and Horikoshi Kohei. Please support the official releases.
The next morning Izuku woke early and groggily slipped from his bed. Standing up he shook himself to be a bit more alert, then started a quick stretching routine he had found in his research the evening before. Afterward, he changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and made his way outside, walking quietly so as not to disturb his mother. As he jogged down the route that he had mapped out, he was eventually joined by a shining ribbon of light that resolved itself into the shape of Sera.
"Morning Izuku," the spren said brightly,
Izuku smiled slightly at her peppy attitude, though he didn't respond because he was gasping for air as he ran.
"Wow, you are really out of shape," Sera commented, "if you really wanted to be a hero this whole time why weren't you doing this earlier."
Izuku paused at a crosswalk that was showing a red "do not cross" sign and jogged in place as he waited for the light to change.
"I 'huff' was focusing 'huff' on find'huff'ing a way 'huff' to fight without a 'huff' quirk," Izuku gasped out.
Sera hummed at his answer not convinced that it wasn't an excuse.
The light changed and Izuku took off. He didn't stop again until he reached the park that was his turn around spot. Resting a moment, he walked in circles with his hands on his head, breathing deeply.
"I had also planned to start doing this later this year in preparation for the UA entrance exam," he said, continuing the conversation. As he walked his face fell a bit as he kept talking, "Though I guess a part of me was still doubting that it was possible so I kept putting it off."
Seeing the dark expression on his face, Sera zipped in front of him.
"None of that matters now," she said sternly, "journey before destination, you are still on the journey to being a hero, and just because you weren't running your hardest doesn't mean you can't start now. As long as you haven't stopped then you haven't failed."
Izuku smiled at the spren.
"You're right," he said, his energy rekindled, "how did your search go."
Last night, as he was surfing the web for training tips, Sera had said they should also practice with their powers. Izuku had reminded her about the laws against using quirks in public so she said that she would look for a good place that they could use and had been out all night searching.
"I found a place," Sera said proudly, "It isn't very far from your house, about as far as this park actually, and like no one goes there. It is also filled with stuff we can practice using your powers on."
"Great," Izuku said, "let's visit after school today."
Turning away Izuku took off running back toward his home, trying to push himself just a little bit harder than he had on the way here.
When he entered the apartment, his mother started as the door opened.
"Izuku?" she said in confusion, "I didn't realize you were up."
"Yeah, sorry mom, I didn't want to bother you. I just went out for a run."
"A run?" Inko asked.
"I decided that I need to take wanting to be a hero more seriously so I did some research yesterday about exercise and I made a training plan. I'm trying to be ready when I take the entrance exam for UA in ten months," he explained.
"O-ok" Inko said, impressed by the conviction in her son's voice, "is there anything I can do to help."
"Um," now it was Izuku's turn to stumble. He had been so focused on doing his plan that he hadn't given thought to how his mother could help him, but an idea popped into his head.
"Could you make me snacks?"
"What kind?" Inko asked,
"Uh, how about a bunch of different types at the start. I told you how my quirk works by burning food right. Well, I wanted to see if I can find out if different types of food are more effective, is it better to have protein or carbs, or is it all about calories, no matter the source. Would fiber possibly let me store more food due to it not digesting as fast? What about sugar or nonedible substances would I still be able to…"
He started to mumble as he thought about the inner workings of his abilities but he was soon cut off by his mother.
"I will do my best Izuku," she said smiling kindly, "why don't you finish getting ready for school while I finish breakfast."
"Ok," the boy said smiling before leaving for his room.
As Inko watched him leave, she was surprised by a sudden voice behind her,
"Thank you,"
Spinning around Inko was surprised to find Sera watching her.
"For what?" Inko asked.
"For supporting him all this time," the spren answered, "I mentioned yesterday that I have been around Izuku for a while now. I have seen you, even when he wasn't around, and I know that it wasn't easy for you, trying to support him in his dream when you thought he was powerless."
"I didn't support him," Inko said sadly, "not as I should have."
"You did your best," Sera insisted, "I could see it in your face, the thought of him trying to be a hero terrified you. But even so, you never stood in his way. You never once asked him to give up no matter how much you wanted to. You were put in an impossible situation and you did your best. That is all anyone can do."
Inko gave a teary smile, "In that case, you're welcome," she said, "and thank you for your words. Even though I may not feel I deserve them, I can tell that you think I do, so thank you."
The woman and spren smiled at each other for a moment more before Sera floated after Izuku. Wiping away her tears Inko turned back to the kitchen. She may feel like she hadn't been the best mother before, but that wouldn't stop her from trying harder from this point onward.
"Bye mom," Izuku called as he walked out the door to go to school, "I'll see you when I get home."
"Take care Izuku," Inko said as he shut the door.
As Izuku walked down the steps, he shrugged his shoulders trying to get his school uniform jacket to sit more comfortably. At the beginning of the year, his mother had bought two uniforms for him just in case. His usual jacket had been the one he wore during the villain fight yesterday. Last night as he had changed for bed, he finally noticed how much damage it had taken. One of the sleeves had been ripped at the seam, a button had fallen off, and the entire thing smelled of sewage and smoke. He had shown his mother and she had assured him that today while he was at school she would get it fixed up good as new. Until then, however, he was stuck with this jacket that just didn't feel right.
"Stop fidgeting," Sera admonished him as they walked to school.
She had taken her usual form that looked like it was wearing the girl version of the school uniform. He found it funny that she would often try to mimic the people around her when she could become any shape she wanted. He had asked her about it once and her response had been a simple, "People are interesting."
As they made their way to the school they spoke about their training plans and Izuku tried again to find out where the spot was that Sera had picked out for him. She would just deflect any questions saying, "It's a secret," in a cutesy way. In the end, he gave up and resigned himself to wait until that afternoon. It was a Saturday so classes were only a half-day rather than the usual schedule, so he wouldn't have to wait long.
As he walked he would sometimes pause to shake out his legs, which were still sore from the run he had taken that morning. As he was getting ready he had thought about burning some calories to fill himself with a little light because it always seemed to make him feel better, but Sera had scolded him saying,
"No cheating, you need to be strong on your own without using the power as a crutch, strength before weakness, Izuku."
As Izuku thought about what she had said he started a new topic of conversation with Sera as they walked.
"Sera, what do the words mean?" Izuku asked.
"Hm? What words?" Sera asked, apparently she was a bit more airheaded at the moment.
"The first oath I made. You have quoted it twice today. When I was running you told me journey before destination, and then earlier when I was getting ready you told me strength before weakness. If I remember correctly the first part was life before death, right?"
Sera thought for a moment.
"Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination. That is the first ideal. On my original world, there was an order of heroes called the Knights Radiant. A knight was made when a human bonded to a spren, there were different types of spren and each had different oaths for their specific order of the knights but every order kept this first ideal." Suddenly her face scrunched up as though she were struggling, "The ideal means… it means that, I… ah." Sera grabbed her head like she was in pain.
"Sera?" Izuku said in worry. His hands raised as if to grab her though he knew that he couldn't really touch her. He had tried in the past and she seemed to float around his grasp. It had felt a lot like trying to grab steam. You could feel something there but it wasn't solid enough to grasp.
After a moment Sera seemed to calm down but she was obviously saddened by what had happened.
"I am sorry Izuku, it is so hard to hold onto thoughts sometimes. It feels like I have them for a while but they slip through my fingers like sand and the harder I grab onto them the faster they drain away." Sera met Izuku's eyes and he could see sadness and despair at her condition. "I hate it because it feels like I am losing myself again, like I will go back to being a little mute ball of light. I'm scared."
Izuku's heart clenched. He could see his friend in such pain and there was nothing he could do. Putting on his most comforting smile Izuku tried to reassure the spren.
"H-hey, you mentioned yesterday that our bond is what helped you regain yourself then, maybe we just have to wait and let it grow. You called this the first ideal so there must be more. Maybe when I am ready to swear them, you will be able to get better."
Sera smiled at his attempt to comfort her then pumped her fist energetically,
"Yeah," she agreed, "we just have to train and get stronger and become the best heroes ever."
"Yeah," Izuku agreed, happy to see her enthusiasm return, "now let's get to school so I am not late."
Izuku put some last-minute additions to his notes as the teacher wrapped up their lecture. Saturdays were normally for review so he only needed to pay partial attention because most of the material that was talked about he had already written down. The majority of Izuku's day was spent watching Sera as she lazily floated around the room or staring at the front cover of his analysis notebook where he had written the words of the first ideal.
The words were interesting, they had the sound of something vaguely philosophical, but when he said them his mind always flashed back to the moment when he had sworn the oath. No one told him these words before that moment. They had come into his mind completely of their own accord. They were old words and by saying them he had accepted to live in a certain way. The only problem was that he didn't fully understand yet what that way was.
Eventually, the students heard the bell signifying the end of the day. Sighing in relief at being free to continue his training, Izuku began to pack his things. It had been a peaceful day which Izuku mainly ascribed to the fact that Katsuki hadn't come to school. Izuku hoped that he was alright. As much as Izuku didn't like Katsuki he didn't want anything to happen to him. Izuku truly believed that with his power the boy could be a great hero. His attitude may need work, but Izuku had seen Katsuki be good in the past so he tried to keep hope that he could learn to be kind again. Though honestly, the other boy made it hard sometimes. Izuku's thoughts were interrupted by a call from across the room,
"Hey Deku, don't think you will get away scot-free just because Bakugou isn't here."
Izuku immediately tensed. A part of him hated that he had been trained to respond to that derogatory name but over the years he had learned that by ignoring it he would just be taking an explosive hit that he hadn't prepared for. In the end, he decided that if the bullies were going to warn him he might as well pay attention. As he looked across the way, instead of Katsuki walking across the room for him, he was treated to the long-fingered form of Nagai Yubi.
Nagai was one of Katsuki's oldest minions, having joined the explosive boy in his bullying all the way back in elementary school. Where they differed was that other than Katsuki's violent tendencies and crude speech, he was a model citizen. He never broke rules other than quirk usage, he had the top scores in their class, and he wanted to be a hero. Nagai on the other hand was a full-on delinquent. He was failing, or near failing, most of his classes; he was known to extort students; and he would often come to school smelling like cigarettes, which he would blame on his father but many students confessed secretly that they had seen him smoking on the street.
On any other day, Izuku would be cowering away from this cruel boy. But, after what he had been through yesterday, Izuku was just indifferent to him. The sludge villain had looked at Izuku with true malice and an intent to kill. Nagai merely had a smug sense of self-importance which had been inflated by his close relationship with the most powerful kid in the school. Turning back to his desk, Izuku continued to put away his school supplies.
"Who do you think you're ignoring, you quirkless loser," Nagai said after seeing Izuku's reaction.
Izuku hesitated when his hand found the charred notebook. He thought of the words inside. How long had he cowered, acting weak, so that the bullies would leave him alone? The name quirkless didn't sting so much now that he had power of his own, instead, it sparked a wave of righteous anger. People thought they were entitled to lord themselves over him because they were strong when he was weak. That wasn't how strength should be used. Didn't heroes show every day that the strong were supposed to stand in defense of the weak, as a bulwark against the pain that the world tried to inflict upon them? Izuku wasn't strong yet, he had only begun on that journey, but he refused to act weak in the face of those who tried to improperly use their strength.
"Strength before weakness," Izuku whispered to himself.
Squaring his shoulders, Izuku stood and glared at the approaching boy. Nagai was alone today, even though he was a delinquent he didn't have the presence to draw followers the way Katsuki did. He was probably trying to bully Izuku as a way to establish himself outside of Katsuki's shadow while the explosive teen wasn't here. At seeing the usually timid boy stand his ground though, the long-fingered bully halted. The rest of the class froze as well. There were still a few stragglers either talking to friends or packing their things as Izuku had been doing. Nagai's calls to Izuku had grabbed their attention, now their eyes all widened at the scene before them. Izuku, the class punching bag, had just stopped one of his tormentors in their tracks with a look. Nagai glanced around and, seeing the reaction of the crowd, tried to regain control of the situation.
"Wh-what are you saying nerd, you doing that mumbling thing again?" Nagai clenched his teeth when he finished, upset at the stutter that had appeared while he spoke, but he tried to disguise it as a smirk.
"Yubi," Izuku said, his voice calm and level, "you and Kacchan have been bullying me for a long time, trying to get me to know my place." Izuku then turned and grabbed his bag, slinging it over his shoulders. "Well, I have decided that I do know my place." Looking straight into the bully's eyes Izuku began walking, "I am going to be a hero and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me."
Izuku didn't say another word as he walked straight past the frozen form of Nagai Yubi and exited the classroom. The bully stood stock still for a moment until his shocked state was disturbed by the whispers he heard around him. Glancing about he saw that all the people were talking quietly but excitedly to each other.
"What are you all looking at?" he yelled in his most threatening voice. The room went silent watching him. The stares left him flustered so he stormed out of the classroom looking for the boy who had defied him. When he got out into the hallway, he saw no sign of the green-haired youth. The boy punched the wall with a roar of frustration, then put his fists in his pockets and walked away.
Izuku hurried down the street outside the school at his fastest walking pace. As soon as he had made it out of the room he had felt his feet speed up hoping to make it out of the building before Nagai retaliated. As he walked, his face was red, his eyes were wide, and he was mumbling at a mile a minute.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh. What was I thinking? That was so stupid. Now, when I see him next, he will pound me for sure, and he will tell Kacchan, who will get mad, that I am trying to be a hero still and then they will break my legs so that I can never take the entrance exam and I am so dead oh no…"
"What are you talking about?" Sera suddenly yelled in his face, breaking his muttering storm and halting him in his tracks. "What you did back there was amazing. You finally stood up to those bullies after all this time. I am so proud of you."
Seeing the spren's excitement helped to lift the boy's spirits enough that he no longer felt fear due to what just occurred. As he continued walking, he thought about the experience of standing up to the bully.
"I-i h-honestly don't know what came over me." Izuku admitted, "I was thinking about a part of the first ideal, strength before weakness, and I thought about how I normally act weak in front of Kacchan and his friends. I felt that I couldn't do that anymore. I needed to start using the strength I have even if it isn't that impressive. I am sure Yubi would still be able to beat me, but I couldn't roll over and just take it."
Sera floated down and settled on his shoulder,
"You didn't use to do that you know," Sera said, "The memory is fuzzy because it was from back before I could really form myself, but I remember a day in a park when you stood up for another kid. It was behavior like that, that drew me to you. Your ability to pull from a well of strength when you were trying to protect someone. You need to learn that the strength is always there, so you can pull it out when you need it, not just when others do."
"I guess you are right," Izuku agreed, thinking about yesterday when his feet had moved on their own in defense of the boy who hated him the most. He never really felt that drive when he was the victim, but seeing others in need moved him. Could he be a hero if he was unable to save himself?
Sera launched herself off his shoulder and spun in the air in front of him.
"Of course, I am right." the spren said, "and that is why we train."
"Yeah," Izuku said, smiling now, "let's get home so we can grab my stuff, then you can show me the spot you found."
The boy's pace picked up as he made his way down the road toward his home.
About a half-hour later, prepared for training, Izuku stared in shocked horror at the trash heaps in front of him as he looked over Takoba Municipal Beach Park.
"Isn't it great?" Sera asked happily.
Izuku knew of this beach, it was the most infamous city park in all of Musutafu. In the past, several community service groups regularly vowed that they would restore the beach to its former glory, but none made any real progress. Eventually, the people of the city decided to just avert their eyes and ignore it. Izuku looked at her and saw the proud smile she wore. He tried to think of the nicest way to express his feelings.
"It certainly is surprising that you would bring me here," Izuku said, putting on a shaky smile.
Sera did not appreciate his response, however, and she glared at him with her cheeks puffed out.
"Come on Izuku, look at it." she insisted, "No one ever comes here, there is plenty of space among the piles, and you can find tons of heavy stuff to lift so you can build muscles." To emphasize her point, she made her arms and legs bulge as if she had suddenly become a bodybuilder.
Relenting to give the area a try, Izuku hefted the bag he had brought to his shoulder. It contained his notebook, a towel, a few water bottles, and several Tupperware containers carrying snacks his mother had prepared for him while he was at school. She had even listed the ingredients on the lids so that he would have better data for his study into how different foods affected his energy output. He hadn't been able to help the smile that had come over his face when he had seen the care she had taken for him.
Izuku walked down a cement path that ran along the top of an eight-foot retaining wall that separated the beach from the road. The path ended at a parking lot where there were stairs that led down to the sand below. The parking lot was empty except for a lone white truck. As Izuku walked he heard rustling and muffled grunts coming up from the beach. Looking down, Izuku noticed a skinny figure in a dark blue shirt and pants carrying what appeared to be a broken microwave on his shoulder. Seeing the person struggle Izuku couldn't help himself from calling down,
"Do you want some help with that?'
Unfortunately, Izuku's call startled the man, who spun reflexively to see who had spoken to him. The weight of the microwave combined with the unstable footing from the sand caused the figure to lose their balance and begin falling back. Just as he had when his mother began to faint, Izuku burned the food in his stomach to get the light that powered his abilities. As the light filled him, the world seemed to slow as his thought processes sped up. He couldn't just jump down to help the person because they would both be falling at the same rate and Izuku had to travel farther to reach them than the person had to travel to hit the ground. He also didn't think he was fast enough to run to the stairs and back in time to catch them. Suddenly an idea sprang into his mind. He knew that he could stick other people and objects together by filling them with light, did that mean that he would be able to use that power on himself.
Deciding to risk it, Izuku moved forward and put his foot over the edge of the wall, pouring some light into the wall's surface, and using the sticking ability, he adhered his foot to it, then stepped off with the other. He had a moment of vertigo as he fell forward but his feet held firm. Crouching on the wall he judged his trajectory, canceled the force holding him in place, and launched himself down. He was aiming for the spot right behind the falling figure and he quickly flipped in mid-air, the move made possible because the light giving him an enhanced sense of balance, so that his feet hit the sand first. He landed with enough force to cause a small explosion of sand, but he ignored it and reached out steadying the man and the weight of the microwave.
"I got you," Izuku said, hoping to calm down the person so they wouldn't overreact at his sudden arrival.
When the figure had both feet under him again he dropped the garbage microwave and spun to look at Izuku. Both of their eyes widened as Izuku and All Might recognized each other.
"YOU!" they both shouted pointing a finger at the other person on the beach.
When the two heroic individuals had finally calmed down from their surprise reintroduction, Izuku, at the request of All Might, picked up the microwave, while the man himself grabbed a few other pieces of garbage and the two of them made their way to the white truck. As he deposited the microwave in the bed of the truck, Izuku could see that it was nearly full of trash. Turning back to the Hero, he saw All Might deposit his own load before addressing the boy again.
"So young man do you have time to sit and talk with an old-timer like me or are you just passing by."
"Your not that old All Might," Izuku responded, "and sure I would be glad to."
With that, the two of them made their way to the retaining wall and sat on the edge looking out at the trash-filled beach. As he walked Izuku noticed Sera, she was quiet and seemed to be studying All Might intensely. Ignoring that for now, Izuku focused on his idol who was stretching back causing some loud cracks to be heard from his spine. Unable to hold in his curiosity any longer Izuku finally asked.
"Why are you here All Might? Your agency is set up in an entirely different prefecture."
The hero chuckled at the question.
"That is a secret you will have to wait to find out just like all of my other fans." Looking the boy over, All Might then said, "As a question of my own, do you realize that you still have your quirk active?"
Izuku looked at himself and saw that he was still leaking a bit of light, though it was harder to notice as the sun was still in the sky.
"Oh, um," Izuku said, still a little nervous about talking about his powers like they were a quirk, "I can't actually turn it on and off. From what I can tell my quirk works by burning food to create this energy that I use to power my abilities. Once the energy has been created though, it stays with me until it either leaks away or I use it all."
"Oh? How interesting," All Might said.
"I wonder though," Izuku said absently. Feeling inside himself Izuku touched the light that he held. He knew he could imbue objects and surfaces with it to use adhesion, so maybe he could push it out. Trying to think of how he lost the light fastest, he noticed his breath puffing like a luminescent cloud. Gathering the light into his lungs, he then breathed out and pushed the collected light with the air. His breath glowed more brightly as the light left him and it almost looked like he was breathing fire. When he finished he no longer glowed and Izuku started to feel the familiar hunger that came when he was out of light to sustain him.
"Wow," All Might said, "That was something. Could you use that for an attack?"
"N-no," Izuku said, feeling self-conscious at the man's attention, "honestly that would be something I would never want to do in battle because it would leave me powerless and I don't think it could actually do anything."
"So you just did it to see if you could, didn't you," All Might said with a sly look which made Izuku blush.
"HA," the hero barked out a laugh, "don't be embarrassed boy, I remember when I got my quirk and I wanted to try anything and everything just to see what I could do. It is good that you are learning, you never know when something you thought was useless turns out to be the key to saving a life."
Izuku felt his chest swell at the praise from the other man. Even though he had passed on the opportunity to be the man's successor he still admired him greatly for all he had accomplished as a Hero. All Might would forever be Izuku's biggest inspiration.
"Anyway," the hero continued, "judging by your clothes and that bag you must have been on your way to train somewhere. Am I right?
"Actually sir," Izuku said, "I was planning to see if I could train here at this beach. I learned that it was out of the way and that there is very little traffic so I could use my quirk without worrying about getting in trouble. Also, some of the debris looks heavy enough that I could probably do some weight training." Izuku felt a little bad about passing off Sera's Ideas as his own but he didn't know if she was comfortable with him revealing her to others yet.
"A splendid idea," All Might responded, "Have you given any thought to your training plan. Exercise is serious business when you are trying to be a hero."
"Yes, sir," Izuku said, reaching into his bag he pulled out the notebook and opened it to show his plan to the hero.
All Might took the notebook, smirking slightly as he recognized it from when he autographed it yesterday, and looked at the plan written out in orderly handwriting. As he read through the plan he hummed in appreciation.
"This is pretty good work, my boy," he complimented, "You could make a few changes here and there to get some more balance into the exercise. I also think if you are planning to use this beach you should think about adding swimming to your routine, it is a great full-body workout and can really help with building lung capacity." He pulled out a pen making a few notes here and there. "You also want to worry about your diet. From the look of you, you need to build mass, which will probably be extra difficult for you due to you burning away the food you eat to use your powers. You will need to make sure you eat large meals focusing on proteins and make sure you don't use your quirk so that your body has time to incorporate the nutrients properly."
With that, he handed the book back and Izuku looked at the revised plan. The notes that were added helped to pull everything together into a comprehensive health routine.
"Wow," Izuku said, "you know so much about this."
"Of course," All Might said, "you think those muscles I had were all from my quirk, I worked hard to sculpt the body I use as a hero."
"Oh, I am sorry, I kind of assumed when I saw your true form that…" Izuku trailed off looking away in shame for his thoughts.
All Might smiled, "Hey, don't worry about it, I don't doubt that the reveal you got yesterday threw a lot of your assumptions into question. It is thanks to my quirk that I am able to power myself up to a form that is close to my prime, but originally that was what I looked like all the time."
The two of them sat for a moment in silence recovering from the moment of awkwardness. Eventually, Izuku opened his mouth to ask,
"I know you won't tell me why you are in Musutafu, but why are you here specifically, at this beach?"
All Might was quiet for a moment, but then spoke quietly,
"I am here because I heard about this beach's story. How because of the people's apathy, this place has been left to languish as it now is. By doing so the community suffers. People may not realize it but by leaving this place as it is, people start to take less care of other places, eventually, it could lead to an increase in crime, hurting more innocent people. A community is like a living thing, if one part of it is neglected to rot, that rot can spread and if not treated, lead to the death of the whole thing. It is the duty of heroes to stand up and try to make a difference not just in the big things like villain attacks but in the small things, that most people probably don't notice but that still acts as a weight on their subconscious." He looked out over the beach. "I wanted to clean this beach to bring a little more light into the lives of the people who live near it."
Izuku looked at the hero in awe. The genuine care in his voice as he spoke about wanting to make the lives of others better was amazing and Izuku couldn't help but be inspired.
"I can help," The boy said earnestly.
All Might looked at the boy's eyes shining with a new purpose.
"I could help clear the beach as part of my training. Moving all the trash must be great exercise and you are right clearing the beach is bound to bring happiness to the people of the city."
All Might couldn't help but smile at the genuine excitement the boy felt at the idea of helping others.
"Sounds like a plan, young man," All Might said, "I will bring my truck around in the evenings and you can help me load it."
With their plan made the two stood up from their seats. At the thought of spending more time with his hero, Izuku was excited but he felt that he needed to do one thing if they were going to spend time together regularly.
"Sera," Izuku whispered, trying to get the spren's attention. She had still been staring at All Might in the way you might stare at a puzzle, "Sera," he whispered a little louder.
Finally, the spren shook her head and looked at him questioningly.
"Hm?" she said.
"Can you show yourself to him?" Izuku asked, "I want to let him know about you so we don't have to keep you a secret."
"Ok sure," Sera said easily.
"Ok, wait for my cue," Izuku whispered back.
"All Might?" Izuku suddenly said loud enough to catch the man's attention.
"Yes?" he said
"There is one other part of my quirk that I wanted to show you. This is Sera." Izuku said pointing to the spren.
All Might's face looked confused,
"There is nothing there." The skeletal man said.
"Huh?" Izuku asked, looking at Sera to see she was staring at the Hero again.
"Sera," Izuku said, "that was your cue."
The spren blinked, "Oh right, hi All Might."
The moment the spren became visible the man jumped slightly grabbing his chest.
"Good heavens!" he said in surprise.
After a moment of staring, All Might eventually moved closer for a better look.
"Amazing, so your quirk has a sentient component to it. It isn't unheard of but it is rare."
"Izuku is actually like you," Sera suddenly said, "He doesn't have a quirk of his own but instead got his powers from bonding with me just like you are bonded with those.."
The spren's mouth clicked shut and she slapped her hand over it.
All Might and Izuku's eyes bulged as they looked at each other.
"I-I mean, yes I am just a regular quirk like you have, hehehe." Sera tried to cover it up, smiling awkwardly.
The two humans looked at each other nervously.
"You know what," All Might eventually said to Izuku, "I will pretend I didn't hear anything if you do the same."
"Deal," Izuku responded.
Turning away from the spren, the two men decided to finish filling up the truck bed.
"You know," All Might said as they walked down the steps to the beach, "this is the third time we have met. And I still haven't introduced myself or learned your name."
Stopping the man turned to Izuku and said, "I am Toshinori Yagi, please be kind to me," before offering a shallow bow.
The boy was shocked at the introduction but returned it with one of his own, saying "I am Izuku Midoriya, please be kind to me as well," and offering a deeper bow.
As the two men walked away, Seranota sighed in relief. She had almost blabbed about the nature of her bond with Izuku without thinking. She was just too distracted by those shadows. She gave one last look to the seven figures following All Might. She would have to find a way to say thank you to the one with long black hair who had held a finger to her lips telling Sera to be quiet. Pushing it from her thoughts she zipped off to follow Izuku and look at all the interesting things strewn across the beach.
AN: As promised here is chapter 3. Please enjoy and as always all reviews and critiques are welcome.
Special thanks to ACreativeMindAtWorkHere for being the beta reader.