A/N: I've decided to use this site again! I'll be putting my revised Ashwalker up for reviews and changes. There's only two chapters so far, but I think they're leagues better.

Izuku Midoriya hated bursting into flames during class.

His throat tickled as flames built up. His eyes watered as he felt the pressure behind them. In the desk in front of him, his best friend rolled his eyes and ducked.

Fire roared out of his nose and washed over Katsuki Bakugo's back.

For a moment, his classmates just stared. Katsuki was the resident King of the Class, and he wasn't shy about flexing some muscle to keep it that way. After a tense moment, a few nervous chuckles erupted.

"DEKU!" Katsuki yelled, turning around to slam his hands down on the meek boy's journal. "Get a hold of yourself! Don't let them laugh at you like that!"

"S-sorry Kacchan!"

"Who do you think you're apologizing to, dumbass?"

Izuku buried his face in his arms as Katsuki growled a threat at the rest of the class.

"Now, now, Mister Bakugo. There's no need to be rude to your classmates."

"They're beneath me and Deku, and don't you forget it!"

Their teacher had heard the spiel a hundred times. Luckily, the explosive teen would be onto high school in a few months, and then his classes would go back to being calm. Right? Middle schoolers weren't all like him.

"I remember. You're planning on trying out for U.A., right? I have some good news, in that case!"

The room seemed to tilt as everyone leaned forward.

"Today, we're talking about your upcoming high school careers!"

Groans filled the air and a few students looked longingly out the window. Cicadas rasped outdoors, hinting at the heat of summer and freedom from long lectures.

"You're all pretty much planning on the hero course though!"

Cheers abounded as the teacher threw his papers into the air behind him.

"As a teacher, I can't say how proud I would be to see one of my students reach the top. This is just your high school, though! I know you all want to be great heroes, and if you really try, you can be! But you must think realistically," the man said, pacing back and forth in front of the now-enthralled class. He pointed to the back row where the bully's favorite student sat. "For example, using your natural abilities! Izuku, for example, might become a teacher like me. I know he's got the smarts where his quirk might make hero work difficult."

The boy in question felt his face heat up and crossed his arms over his desk, burying his face in them. Blushing, for him, was always a dangerous prospect. With a quirk like his, rosy cheeks meant fire and a few weeks of serious burns. As the people around him flaunted their quirks, he glanced down at his journal. The kid whose neck could elongate would be useful for gathering intel. Similarly, the boy whose eyeballs popped out of their sockets and extended could peer around corners or assist with relief efforts by locating victims. Everyone he knew had a quirk that was useful somehow.

Not Izuku. Hard though he tried to make sense of his own quirk, hero work didn't seem realistic, and there just wasn't a precedent for quirkless heroes. Taunts from years past reminded him that the best he was capable of was keeping people warm for a few seconds before he burned himself to a crisp. They'd told him he ought to light a match and get it over with.

Of course, Kacchan would never let them get away with that sort of thing. His friend was amazing! Being resistant to the force of his own explosions made him a force to be reckoned with. Until his sixth journal, he'd had at least twenty pages of notes - per journal - about ways to use such a powerful ability.

What his friend saw in him, he wasn't sure, but he was glad to have someone to lean on. Even if it was like leaning on a rosebush, he'd just toughen his skin and ignore when his friend was a prick.

After such a public dismissal of his future in hero work, Izuku was surprised to hear Kacchan's silence. His friend's lack of self control normally outweighed his respect for authorities, and it wouldn't be the first time he verbally sparred with a teacher in defense of Izuku.

He pulled himself together and sat up. Kacchan was still facing forward, but his ears were red, a sure sign that his anger was simmering just under the surface. Despite himself, Izuku smiled. It had taken a while, but maybe his friend was finally growing up.

Before he knew it, the class was over, and he threw pencils and spare sheets into his backpack before carefully sliding his journal into its place. Hero Analysis for the Future v.13, the smudged cover read.

As his class shuffled out the door, Izuku flipped through the mental encyclopedia he'd built up. Kacchan's thirty pages of combat applications from Hero Analysis v.1, Hawks' sixteen pages on rescue operations from v.3…

"Hey! Deku! Come on, dude. I have shit to do."

His friend's rude voice broke him from his musings and he quickly swept the remainder of his things into his bag, sealing it up and jogging to the door.

"Jeez. I swear, if I didn't keep you in check, you'd stand there strategizing the best way to beat ceiling tiles in a fight," Kacchan said, slinging his bag over one shoulder.

"Y-yeah, sorry about that. I was thinking about adding a few pages to the Special Edition."

"Wait, you were serious about that?" Kacchan stopped still in his tracks, catching Izuku off guard, whose arms flailed for an instant as he balanced. "Dude, do you really need a whole book worth of notes on All Might and Endeavor?"

"Can I fit them all in one book?" Izuku fired back.

"Alright. Whatever, nerd," Katsuki said. They rushed down the stairs and out the door, where the blonde boy reached up and brushed his spiky locks of hair away from his forehead. He left his arms crossed behind his head as he took in the sun, frowning as he felt the shadow of the school building pass over them.

"I've been thinking about trying out a new skate path around here," he said, pirouetting as he stepped. Walking backwards without a care in the world was sort of his modus operandi, and he figured if he bumped into something he could probably beat its ass. "This underpass up here is pretty well shaped for it. When I get my provisional license I'm gonna try boosting myself over the street and onto the ramps."

"Are you sure you want to try it around here? If you hit the ground too fast you could get scraped up pretty badly. And that sewer grate is right in the middle of the path."

"Relax, dude. I'm not gonna meat crayon myself over a bad angle."

Izuku shuddered as the smell of the sewer hit him, and maybe a little at the terminology his friend used. Meat crayon? Really? Could anything conjure up something more hideous? Wisely, he kept his thoughts to himself. There wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that Kacchan didn't have a worse analogy.

Katsuki noticed the face his friend made and grinned. Meat crayon was definitely going in his dictionary of "words to make Izuku uncomfortable".

The smell hit him, followed by a half-inch thick steel sewer grate.

"Kacchan!" Izuku screamed, tripping over his feet as he tried to simultaneously look behind him and check on his friend.

"Oh, good! A medium sized invisibility cloak!" a gurgling voice yelled behind him.

Now, Izuku was no slob in the athletics department. His reflexes were sharp as a knife from growing up around Kacchan. His ability to dodge projectiles and punches was second to none in his class. Even with his instincts screaming "duck!" Izuku wasn't fast enough. A green fist of liquid slammed into his back, driving him into the concrete before yanking him up.

This was no playground bully they were dealing with. This was a bonafide villain.

Immobilized as he was, Izuku did his natural thing: he took notes. Mental notes, of course, because his backpack and journal had been launched forty feet by the force of the slimy liquid slamming into him.

From where he was, his assailant appeared to be about ten feet tall and broad. His vaguely humanoid shape sparkled in the sun, revealing his translucent nature. His intentions were just as easily seen through.

Izuku was going to die and it was going to hurt the whole time he was dying. Slime forced its way down his throat, violating his sinuses through his nose and ears. It was similar to what he imagined diving into a ripe dumpster felt like, and it smelled about as pleasant. His back popped multiple times as his torso expanded slightly.

"Struggle as much as you like, kid, the sooner you run out of oxygen, the sooner we're both better off."

Something, hopefully nothing less mundane than a bit of leaf detritus, tickled his throat and made its way too high. Izuku gagged as it touched his uvula and immediately sneezed, fire roaring out of his nose and sending muck flying.

"You sneeze fire? I might just let you live and take over blondie's body! What kind of useless quirk is that?"

While the villain waxed poetic about how shitty Izuku's quirk was, the boy himself took a breath of fresh, sewer-tainted air.
Don't I know it. At least sneezing fire comes in handy once in a while. If only my outsides were as resistant as my insides.

Wait.

If I'm surrounded by liquid, and I activate my quirk… Maybe the heat will dissipate faster than my skin can burn?

Worth a shot.

For a moment, nothing happened, and he panicked. Had it been that long? Did he not remember how to use his own quirk?

An instant of self-doubt later, and his skin roared to life. His captor screamed in fury and pain as he boiled away, bubbles of steam erupting out of his skin. Izuku felt himself forcibly ejected, and as he spun through the air, he saw the edge of the sewer approach. At a speed like this, he'd splatter. At least the cleanup would be easy.

"Oh, dear! I'm late!" a man's voice boomed as Izuku felt a pair of strong arms grab him, setting him on the ground. "I can't let you harm any more civilians!"

Izuku shook his head like a wet dog, sending goo spiraling off his hair before he looked up at his savior. He blinked once, twice, and promptly decided he was hallucinating.

"There's no need to worry, I am here!"

He tilted his head to the side and hit the other side, trying to get the gunk out of his ears. Really, this was ridiculous. His ears were so clogged it was beginning to sound like All Might was here.

"Texas Smash!"

Izuku wasn't in the direct path of the punch, but the force of wind it generated left his hair straightened backwards and his whole body dried.

"A-ALL MIGHT?" Izuku stuttered.

The hero looked down at the boy, gave him a thumbs up, and smiled. "Yes! That's me! I'm sorry you got caught up in my villain-chasing. This guy is slippery!"

It was hard to look directly at the man. Seven feet tall and with a physique that would make a Greek god envious, he was the pinnacle of the human form. Steam seemed to waft off his skin as he collected the villain's eyes and mouth, the only physical parts of his liquid form.

"You seem like a bright young man," he said. His tone of voice was different than Izuku was used to from the hero clips, more conversational. Hearing him like this was strange, making him seem more man than myth.

"Y-yeah, I… I want to be a hero. My friend does too," Izuku said, poking his cheeks. "Wait, Kacchan! Where is he?"

"Oh, dear. I must be growing unobservant."

All Might tightened the cap on a holding container for the villain before rocketing off, searching for the boy's friend.

Damn, damn, damn. I can't just leave a possibly-injured civilian like this, but I'm running out of time!

From the corner of his eye, he saw a boy slumped against the concrete. A metal plate rested against his chest. His face was disturbingly relaxed, despite the blood oozing from a cut over his eye. The rise and fall of his chest was uneven and quick, which didn't look good.

To take a hit like that and still be breathing… I'm lucky it wasn't someone else.

He scooped the boy up and tore down the road to the green-haired boy, his breathing quickening. The last time he'd cut it this close, there hadn't been injured civilians.

"This is terribly unceremonious, but-"

As All Might reached Izuku, Katsuki's eyes blinked open, completely unfocused and enraged.

"Get the fuck off me! Stay away from him!" Katsuki screamed, sending an extremely surprised number one hero flying with an explosion.

"Kacchan!" Izuku shouted, pulling his friend to the ground.

His friend stared at him in confusion for a moment, before grimacing and reaching up to his head, seeing blood on his fingers when he drew them away.

The smoke began to clear and trailed off All Might's tall form.

"Hell of a kick, kid. It's alright," the hero said, falling to a knee. "I'm not here to hurt you. I dealt with the villain."

Katsuki's mouth fell open in shock as he saw who he'd "defended" Izuku from. His fingers went lax, his eyes rolling backward in his head as he fainted once more.

Izuku caught his friend before he could hit the concrete and looked to All Might for help.

"A-all Might?" he stammered as his mind raced for an explanation of the sight that met him.

It was like watching a person flex a muscle in reverse. All Might's body shook as it shrank, the steam flowing from his skin seeming to carry away his strength. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, kid. This is just a bit awkward. I don't blame him for panicking, but he hit an old wound," he said, pulling up his shirt to reveal a spiderweb of scarring on his side.

"Is that from when you fought Toxic Chainsaw?"

All Might's eyes brightened a bit. "Quick on the draw! It's not, but that's an excellent guess. The fight that caused this wasn't publicized."

"A villain who could do that to you… who could do this to you…" Izuku muttered, thinking as hard as he could. "I've seen rumors, but the only villain I've heard of that could have crippled you… was it a villain from before your debut?"

All Might couldn't help but make a noise in surprise, which quickly turned into coughing and hacking. Droplets of blood splattered against the ground. "You really are a sharp one! I can't tell you what went down, but that's the closest I've heard anyone come."

Izuku shone with the praise, before frowning once more and standing up. He cradled his unconscious friend in his arms.

"I'm sorry we got in the way."

"Don't be. I'm sorry I wasn't stronger. Do you know how old I turn this year?"

"Fifty! Your birthday is-"

"Slow down! I'm not as young as I used to be, in any case. I've been looking for someone to succeed me as the number one hero. I like that Hawks guy an awful lot, his skill in rescues surpasses my own. Even in my golden age, I would have struggled to keep up with him," All Might said, putting a baseball cap on and beckoning Izuku to walk next to him. Kacchan's weight slowed him down, and Izuku thanked his lucky stars he didn't skip gym classes. It was strange to see his idol deflated, and with the cap, he was unrecognizable.

Seeing the worried expression on the boy's face, All Might smiled. "Don't worry about your friend. Based on what he hit me with, he seems sturdy. To be able to stand his ground while letting out that much force…"

"Kacchan is tough. He reminds me of you sometimes. He's got a super powerful quirk, and he never loses fights. I wish he didn't start so many, though," Izuku said, nervously twirling a finger through a curl in his hair.

"You really look up to him, I suppose?"

"More than almost anyone. You and Endeavor are two of my biggest inspirations, but he's probably the third highest person on my hero ranking. I think I'll end up being his sidekick one day."

"You're going to be a sidekick?" All Might said, his pace faltering for a moment. "I think you'd do well on your own. You actually remind me a bit of how I was when I was younger."

It was Izuku's turn to stumble. "Really? How? I'm just a nerd who can control and make a bit of fire. I can't even keep myself from getting burned."

"You know, I wasn't born with this q- I mean, when I was younger, I didn't think my quirk was anything special."

"It has to be, right? You got this far!"

"I did, but it wasn't just because I have a good quirk. Think about it. If you were able to generate so much force, how would you use it? Most people would just think to use it for close combat, and I thought so too. I didn't even think about using the force of the wind it creates until I was so strong that I had to hold myself back."

"Not that I'm not appreciative, but… why are you telling me this? I'm just a fan off the street."

"You looked like you could use a pep talk. Besides, you've seen me like this now. I should probably ask you to keep this a secret. There aren't many others who know about it."

"I'll keep your secret, sir! Don't worry about it. I don't think most people would believe me even if I did tell them. I mean, there are a few people online who have been speculating about it, and how your public appearances have been decreasing for the past few years, but most just chalked it up to aging."

All Might's eyebrows rose. This kid was definitely well informed.

Izuku felt his cheeks brighten when he realized how quiet All Might had become. "Sorry. But… Why the stories?"

"Oh, that. Well, I'm trying to say you should look at your quirk from a different perspective. Your logical reasoning is clearly sound, but it's always hardest to see oneself in the best light. Your quirk probably has applications you've never even thought of! Actually, would you mind telling me a bit about your quirk?"

"O-oh, it's not much. I haven't even named it. It's just listed as a heat generation quirk, without any resistance to fire. If I'm being honest, it seems like fire actually hurts me more than it hurts most people. I can just heat up my skin, and if I make it hot enough, I can create fire. I, uh, can also sneeze fire, if that's useful."

"Hmm. You seem to know more about me than you know about yourself!" All Might chuckled. "Do you know the limit of how hot your quirk can go?"

"I've never pushed it that far. My skin can't take it, and my mom doesn't like the idea of me hurting myself while I test it."

"Your arms don't look like they've got any burn scars."

"What about it?"

"Well, if you've pushed your arms hot enough to produce fire, surely you would have burned yourself pretty badly. Maybe your arms are more resistant than you think?"

"Well, after I did that, they were pretty burned. I think I just heal really fast."

"That would be worth looking into! Training a quirk like that could make you pretty hard to beat."

They stopped as they passed a park next to the closest police station.

"I never thought I'd be here talking to you like this. I'm not as awed as I thought I would be. No offense! I don't mean that in a bad way, I just-"

"You're fine! No offense taken. I know I'm pretty different from my hero persona."

"You're just as amazing! I never really thought about what you must be like when you're not at work."

All Might grimaced, lacing his arms behind his head. "If you want to be a hero now, you should know that you'll never have privacy again. I haven't been out of the eye of the media since I graduated from high school!"

"That explains your disguise, I guess. Who knew a hat could make you so much harder to spot?"

"Definitely the hat," the hero said drily. "It has nothing to do with the fact that I weigh a fifth as much as I look like I do."

"W-well, yeah, that too. I know about how public a hero's life is, though. Kacchan and I are planning on applying to U.A. at the end of this year."

"Oh, you'd be about that age, wouldn't you? I think you can make it into the school!"

"Really?" Izuku said, beginning to smile.

"Yup! Actually, I've got a lot of off time for now. I might even teach you a thing or two while I'm in the area!"

If not for Kacchan waking up right then, Izuku would have fallen over. He hadn't been expecting an offer to learn from All Might today!

"What- where the hell are we, Deku? What hit me?" he said, doubled over.

"Careful, young man. You were hit pretty hard by a piece of metal."

It took Katsuki a moment to place the voice he heard, and his legs collapsed again when he remembered what had happened earlier.

"All Might?" he said, before looking up. Much to his disappointment, the man before him was way too thin to be the hero.

"Well, shit. I suppose I'll have to add another person to the list of people who know what I look like these days."

"You're not All Might," Kacchan growled, rolling his eyes in disbelief.

"You don't remember anything after you hit him, do you?" Izuku said, grabbing his friend by the shoulders. Kacchan turned to face him, and Izuku looked in his eyes. "I think you have a concussion."

"Are you trying to say that this guy is All Might?"

"Well-"

The man in question sighed. "Well, it's too late to pretend like I'm not."

"If you're All Might, why are you so damn skinny?"

All Might repeated his earlier actions, lifting his shirt to show the edge of the brutal scar he'd received years earlier. "Six years ago, I was in a fight with the most powerful villain in Japan. He destroyed most of my lung and digestive tract. The surgeries that saved my life left me crippled, and I've withered away since then. I can only hold that form for about two hours a day at this point."

"I guess it's been getting worse, then?" the teen responded, unsurprised. This was the sort of occupational hazard a hero took on when they chose to become one.

"Yeah. By the end of the next year, I might have to retire. Actually, I've… I shouldn't tell you kids this. You plan on applying to U.A., don't you?"

The boys nodded, gears turning in their heads as they began to come to a realization.

"You plan on working for U.A.!" Izuku shouted, excitedly putting the pieces together.

"You- I mean, n-no, that's not-" All Might spluttered. "Keep it down, jeez. It's a secret. You're too clever for your own good."

Izuku laughed. "I'm surprised more people haven't figured it out! It's your alma mater, isn't it?"

"That it is," All Might said as they reached the police station. "I may have to leave you here. I have to get this villain behind bars, and your friend here needs to be looked at by a medical professional. I'm trained well enough, and I think he's just got a concussion, but you can never be too sure."

Izuku's smile began to fade as he realized his time with his idol was coming to an end. "W-wait, before you go, can I get an autograph?" Izuku said, holding out his notebook. Asking for an autograph after all that meaningful conversation just felt strange.

Luckily, All Might took it in stride. "Of course! I'd be glad to. It'll probably help explain why you're late getting home! Come to think of it, I should probably get a parent's phone number for the police report, and I can talk to them to maybe save you some trouble."

Izuku's face paled as he realized how late he was. He thanked the hero profusely and wrote his mother's phone number on a sheet in his most recent journal, handing it to the man so he could copy it down - and so he could sign his autograph on the next two pages.

By the time Izuku and Kacchan were released by the nurse, two things of note had happened: the sun had gone down, and Mitsuki Bakugou had arrived to take them home. She'd been understandably concerned about her son, though she had a funny way of showing it - pulling him into a headlock and rubbing his head with her knuckles was probably not the best way to handle a concussed kid.

"Leave me alone, you damn hag! I have a headache!"

She relented, but only so she could push him into the car next to Izuku. "Keep an eye on him back here, won't you?"

They drove in relative silence for a few minutes, interrupted only by the bumps of the road and Mitsuki humming the words to a quiet song on the radio. Katsuki brooded in the corner as well as he could in the car, growing angrier every time Izuku looked at him.

"The fuck are you looking at?"

"Sorry," Izuku said, turning the other way. Typical Kacchan, turning down any form of concern. Was he not allowed to be concerned for his friend who'd just had his brain scrambled?

"Stop worrying about me, dipshit. You've hit me harder than that thing."

"Play nice at least until we get Izu home or I'll hit you harder than that thing," Mitsuki said, throwing a smile in the rearview for them. Her "empty threat but I'll throw a sandal at you" smile was only a little terrifying and shut them both up.

"You're welcome to come home with us if you want, Izu. Masaru would love to have another quiet soul around," his adoptive aunt said as he opened the door, a foot already on the street.

"Maybe this weekend, but you know how my mom is," he spoke, walking around the back of the car to the sidewalk.

"I'll bet you five bucks she's gone through a box and a half of tissues by now," Katsuki said, rolling down his window.

Izuku waved goodbye as they pulled away, Mitsuki threatening her son with various punishments for getting into trouble again. After such a strange evening, hearing something as normal as the Bakugou family squabbles was welcome.

He trudged up the stairs, wincing lightly at a pulled muscle in his hip. The six flights of steps were familiar, and Izuku was almost thankful for them giving him some alone time so he could compose how he'd tell his mom about the events.

"Hi mom! I may have had a run-in with an evil slime monster and learned the most important secret of my life, which could endanger the public and the number one hero if it were to leak, and that makes us probably a target for villains!"

That definitely wouldn't work. He shuddered, and it had nothing to do with the breeze blowing down the hall. His keys jingled merrily as he unlocked the door, walking in and hearing a loud thump from the kitchen.

"Mom? I know I'm late, but can we talk for a moment?"

A second passed as he took off his shoes before the strangeness of the situation hit him.

"Mom?"

The lack of very-distressed-mother in his face was concerning. Any of the previous times he'd been late, his mom almost broke his bones with a hug the second he walked in.

The thump he heard was much more ominous now, and he speed-walked to the kitchen.

"Mom!" he yelled, kneeling down to where Inko Midoriya was passed out on the floor. Her eyes fluttered open, confused for just a moment, before she gasped and sat up.

"I-izuku! The phone! He- All Might-"

"Slow down!"

Inko took a deep breath, shakily standing up and taking her phone from where it rested on the counter. She steeled her nerves, turned to Izuku, and held the phone out before her.

"Talk."

"Huh?" he said, taking the phone and holding it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Good evening, young man! I hadn't expected to hear from you so soon. Is- is your mother alright?"

Izuku gave his mother a look out of the corner of his eye. "She's fine. I should have warned her that you would be calling, she's a little… touchy?"

Inko pouted.

"Well, whatever the case, I'm glad to get this chance so soon. Would you like to meet me at the beach park on Saturday morning? I think it would be a good opportunity to get you started."

"O-of course! I would love that!"

"Good! We'll start at 7 AM. Could you hand the phone back to your mother, though? I do need to talk to her."

The look on her face told him no, she was not prepared to talk to the number one hero, and she needed to lie down. "I don't think that's a good idea. She's pretty shaken. Um… maybe call tomorrow? Or I can relay it to her?"

"Ah, it's not that important. I suppose I can just get the details later. I hope I haven't caused you too much trouble!"

The two of them talked for several more minutes before Izuku realized that All Might, apparently, was too awkward to hang up. Finally, they ended the call and Izuku brought the phone - and a glass of ice water - to his mother.

Concussion or no, Katsuki was back to normal the next day. His mom had suggested Deku walk him home, which meant he had to ditch his friend the second he got the chance. The idea of someone thinking he was too weak to protect himself was absurd in his eyes.

Psh. Like Deku was gonna do much if he was attacked by a villain. As useful as his notes were, being a human torch was worse than useless. If his friend got into a tussle with anyone more threatening than a house cat, Katsuki would have to worry about dragging his friend away while also kicking ass.

Honestly, what was his mom thinking? She knew what he got up to after school. Today was no different. No stupid head injury was going to stop him for more than an hour or two.

His mouth tightened into a thin line as a car alarm echoed down an alley next to him.

Even as strong as he was, he still felt the pain of said stupid head injury. His brain was pounding, but rule number one of being a hero was not giving up, especially when it hurt.

His pace quickened as he looked down the side streets his old friends frequented. This was where they came to smoke and trade something more illicit, which didn't bother Katsuki. Trying drugs wasn't for him, since the best heroes in the world were clean, but he didn't give a shit what his friends got up to.

It wasn't a problem until the jackass with a finger modification quirk tried to pickpocket him. Deku would probably try to sympathize with the guy and make up some bullshit about having similarly useless quirks, and try to make the guy reform himself. Personally, Katsuki wasn't the therapy and rehab sort of guy. That's why he was here, walking like a thug up to the group of teens on the corner.

"Hey," he said, staring into the soul of Bendy-Fingers.

"Oh! H-hey, Kacchan," the dark-haired boy responded, drumming his comically-long fingers against his pant leg. "You here for some weed or what?"

"Let's make this quick. You're gonna give me the shit you stole, or I'm gonna bruise you up and turn you in to the police. I'll give you thirty seconds before I blow something up."

"You can't just walk in here and make demands like that! Who the fuck do you think you are?" said one of the boys. He was taller than the rest of them by a few inches, with a much broader body. Based on his bloodshot eyes and sarcastic tone of voice, Katsuki was pretty sure this guy was high, and almost definitely their supplier. He probably attended one of the local secondary schools.

The blonde narrowed his eyes and his fingertips crackled with puffs of smoke. "Fifteen seconds."

The tall kid walked forward and put a hand on Katsuki's shoulder, doing his best to look menacing. The shorter boy's complete lack of reaction was unnerving.

"Ten."

"I don't like beating up middle schoolers, but if you try something, I'll make an exception."

"Y-yeah! Fuck off! You can't fight all of us."

As his mental timer ticked down, Katsuki began to grin. It would have been better to do this the easy way, but the hard way was a lot more fun.

The dealer was the first to drop, his reflexes too slow to avoid getting the legs swept out from under him. Katsuki grabbed him by the front of the shirt to keep him from hitting the curb too hard, before dropping him and kicking Bendy Fingers into a light pole. Two explosion-laced punches sent Dumb and Dumber to the pavement.

The last guy put his hands in the air and sank to his knees. "P-please! I don't even know these guys!"

"Well, you didn't say that earlier. Get your ass up."

"You're not gonna hurt me?"

"No, it looks like you already pissed yourself. I'm a hero student, not a fucking psychopath."

The boy got up and ran for the first few steps before slowing to a pathetic walk. Katsuki sneered derisively at the smell of urine, and the thoroughly thrashed combatants groaned behind him.

"This was your choice, not mine," he said, slamming his hand into the light pole right by the pickpocket's face. "Just pay up and stop being a crook."

The boy whimpered and pulled out his wallet, rifling through it and handing him the money. Katsuki stalked back down the street, wincing with every step as his head protested. Behind him, he heard someone stand up.

"You don't understand what it's like! This is all my quirk's good for! You were blessed with something amazing like that!" the thief cried. The effect was ruined by the tears pooling in his eyes.

"Look, dickhead, not everybody is cut out for hero work," Katsuki said, looking over his shoulder. "Be a police officer. Be a desk worker. I don't fucking care, do something worthwhile with your life. Stay at home and smoke all day if it makes you happy. Just pray you don't cross paths with me as a criminal."

Izuku rested his hands on his knees and took deep, measured breaths as he watched the sun rise. Perhaps running all the way from home to the beach wasn't the best idea. In his defense, he had reason to be enthusiastic: he would be meeting All Might here in half an hour.

He'd woken up two hours ago, shortly before the sun began rising, and made a quick breakfast and a pot of coffee that his mom had greatly appreciated. A shower and some stretches later, he sat down to catch up on the news, and his eyes glazed over at the details.

His fingers tapped excitedly at his thigh, his armrest, his desk… Nothing was good enough to distract him from what he was getting up to today. By the time the sun was over the horizon, he'd practically worn a hole in his carpet from pacing. A good run would get his nerves down, right?

Or at least, that's what he had expected. Izuku wasn't the fastest kid on the block, nor did he have the best lung capacity. In the wake of the slime villain, he was still feeling stuffed up.

Not that it would stop him, of course. He still wasn't entirely sure he hadn't died and gone to heaven when he was attacked. It was definitely easier to believe than actually meeting All Might.

Below him was the beach, and he was beginning to realize what his new mentor might have meant by "training".

"Beach" was a kind word to describe the scene in front of him. That word conjured images of white sand, crystal blue waters, and relaxing chairs under a palm tree.

No, this spot was almost as polluted as the city's landfill. If he hadn't grown up in the area he might even think the beach was the landfill. Old cars and appliances stood in rusting monuments to human wastefulness, and the closest thing to white sand that he could see was bits of paper and plastic shredded to oblivion.

Public service would be his training. It made sense. Still, he couldn't imagine one person cleaning this much rubbish away. Maybe All Might himself, but he had a sneaking suspicion that he was intended to clean it all up by himself.

"My boy! You're here awfully early."

Izuku yelped and stood upright like his spine was full of steel. "A-"

An instant later, Toshinori's leather briefcase hit him in the back of the head. "Not in public, kid! I should have warned you."

"Yeah, that makes sense! Sorry!" Izuku said, rubbing the sore spot through his hair. "What-"

"Just Toshinori. That'll keep things simple," All Might said. "Well, we're a little earlier than I'd anticipated, but that's a good thing! I don't suppose you'd know anywhere to sit down on the beach?"

"There's a little pavilion near the jetty with some picnic tables. I don't think anyone's been there in years, though."

"We'll see, then!"

Izuku stood there for an uncomfortable moment. What was All Might waiting for?

"Aaah! Sorry! I'll take you there now," the boy yelled, his face heating up to dangerous levels. "S-so, is there a reason you chose this beach in particular? I have an idea, but I want to hear your plan first."

"I'm sure whatever your idea is, it's right. I want you to clean this beach before the entrance exam at U.A.!"

"Yeah, that's about what I expected, but… How am I supposed to clean all of this by myself? And why?"

"The answer to your first question is that you'll get stronger over the next few months, and that's also the answer to your second question! You've got this!"

They arrived at the pavilion, passing between mounds of trash and twisted metal to see a faded white structure standing before the ocean. If not for the submerged garbage and the smell, it might have been a beautiful place to visit.

They sat down, and Toshinori opened his briefcase. A paper flew off on a breeze, but Izuku snatched it out of the air and held it down.

"Good reflexes! You'll need those," Toshinori smiled, pulling the rest of his papers out. "These will tell you what to eat, when to sleep, when and how to work out… You get the gist! It's the Hero Training for Dummies Edition."

"They've got a Hero Training edition now?"

"Not the point! We should get started sooner than later, so I'll let you look through these on your own time."

"I would have brought my bag if I knew you were going to these lengths! Sorry!" Izuku stammered, his ears steaming.

"No problem! Actually, you can keep the briefcase, too. I've got two or three of them back at my office, and my secretary keeps telling me they're unnecessary."

Izuku chuckled nervously as he gathered the plans, scanning them as he organized them. He was a fast reader, and these weren't particularly difficult. From what he could see, though, he wouldn't have any free time until the day before the exam.

"Alright! Let's go!" Toshinori said, running over to the nearest pile of trash and clambering on top of an abandoned refrigerator. "Pull this to the park entrance!"

"H-huh? Already?"

"You want to make it into U.A., right? We have no time to spare!"