15 April 2179

Izuku looked down at his right hand.

It had regrown overnight, the skin was identical to his original arm, right down to a scar he'd got when he was six.

Bakugo had challenged him to a bike race, and of course he'd accepted, eager to prove that he could keep up with his quirked friend. Izuku had hit a rock, flipped over the handlebars and cut his arm on a broken piece of glass.

However, Recovery Girl's test had shown that the muscle, the bone and the everything else under the skin was brand-new, no sign of any wear and tear.

That must mean that the skin retaining its original appearance is due to my perception of myself, my sense of identity, how I see myself.

"Izuku?"

The green-haired boy looked up, then across at Toshinori, in the driver's seat. "I was muttering again, wasn't I?"

Toshinori nodded.

"S-Sorry, I'm trying not to-"

"It's fine." Toshinori interrupted, keeping his eyes on the road. "It's good that you have an analytical mind, especially with your quirk. There was actually something I wanted to tell you about, my time limit."

Izuku felt his mouth go dry. "It went down, didn't it?"

Toshinori nodded. "I've got a bit more than two hours left, but there's more to it than that."

"O-Okay." Izuku nodded, listening intently.

"I need to explain something my master told me about how One For All is passed on first." Toshinori paused, bringing the car to a stop at a red light. "Then I passed the quirk to you, it essentially copied the power stockpile into you."

Izuku nodded. "Y-Yeah, whenever I use it the stockpile fills back up, I haven't been able to use power faster than it can replace it yet."

"I've only ever used One For All's power beyond its ability to replenish itself a few times." The light turned green, Toshinori accelerated the car. "Plus, every time you tap into it you make it stronger, you increase its limit, kind of like building muscle."

The green-haired boy made a noise of understanding.

"However, for me, now that I've passed the core of One For All on, that stockpile no longer refills, whenever I use its power, I deplete it permanently." Toshinori explained. "And my physical state forces me to draw on the quirk just to be All Might. I'm draining what power I have left far faster than I hoped, before yesterday I had around 60 percent left, today, it's 40 percent."

Izuku looked on the verge of tears. "But at that rate, barring another USJ-level event, you'll be out of power by July, August at the latest."

Toshinori nodded. "That was what was expected."

"But what about the 80 percent I transferred to you?" Izuku questioned. "I went into my quirkspace last night, I have the 10 percent you gave me back to heal the decaying on top of my usual 100 percent, what about the rest?"

"Izuku, I transferred all 80 percent of that power back to you, all but 10 percent was used faster than it could restore."

Izuku stuttered. "W-We bu-urnt through s-seventy percent of One For All's power?"

"It was for a good cause." Toshinori nodded. "Now, about my time limit-"

"Wait, that wasn't the thing you wanted to tell me about? That was all the explanation?" Izuku blurted out.

"It was." Toshinori made a right turn. "My limit is just over two hours, but we found a way to increase it."

"You have?" Izuku asked, wide-eyed. "How?"

"Because of you." Toshinori smirked. "When you and I combined our power to supercharge that regeneration quirk of yours, it didn't just heal you, it affected me too."

"It healed you?" Izuku's eyes shone. "Like, fully?"

Toshinori shook his head. "The scar is still there, and I only have one lung, but my stomach was completely regrown."

"Then that means you could rebuild muscle mass, reduce the rate at which you're depleting One For All!" Izuku spiraled into frantic mumbling, too fast for human ears to understand.

"Izuku."

"Yep, sorry." Izuku shook his head. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Same thing you and your classmates will be doing for the Sports Festival. Training."

Izuku nodded. "We could train together."

Toshinori couldn't have stopped himself from smiling even if he'd wanted to. "Izuku, my boy, I would be honoured."

The green-haired boy blushed, suddenly nervous that his childhood hero wanted to train with him.

"We're here." Toshinori pulled into the car park, finding a spot and cutting the engine. "Let's go, shall we, Young Izuku!"

Toshinori bulked up into his hero form, giving Izuku a thumbs up.

RIP!

Izuku's eyes widened, choking back a laugh.

Toshinori deflated back to normal.

"That sounded bad." Toshinori commented, before looking down to see his suit jacket had been turned to shreds. "I forgot this jacket wasn't one of the stretchy ones Power Loader made for me."

The hero and student got out of the car, the former pulling his destroyed jacket off and throwing it back into the car.

"That was a mistake, I'll just have to do without."

Izuku smiled, an idea forming in his head. "All, I mean, Toshinori, what were the measurements for the jacket?"

Toshinori frowned in confusion, before grabbing the jacket and handing it to his successor.

Flipping it over, Izuku read the tag, using his Perfect Recall quirk to store the information, and then dredged up a long-past memory of watching a textile documentary in class.

Holding up his arm, pink and blue sparkles fluttered around his skin as he created a bundle of yellow material from it. Taking the material, Izuku shook it out to reveal it was a suit jacket, almost identical to the one Toshinori had destroyed.

Toshinori took the offered jacket, slowly pulling it on, finding it an almost perfect fit. "That was Young Yaoyorozu's quirk, wasn't it? To have such a grasp on it so soon."

Izuku rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I copied a quirk that gives me a perfect memory, but I can't create very much before I run out of stores."

Toshinori nodded, before smirking. "So, you copied Creation from Yaoyorozu when she visited you in the infirmary yesterday, right? Doesn't it require physical contact?"

Izuku blushed as they ascended the stairs of the apartment building. "N-No, it was nothing like, we, she just held my hand."

"Did she now?"

The green-haired boy's cheeks somehow managed to get redder, his speech becoming near-incoherent. "W-Wait, that, she-"

Toshinori chuckled, placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Relax, I'm just pulling your leg."

Izuku calmed down, realising that they were stood at the front door of his home.

"Are you coming in?" Izuku queried, pulling on the straps of his backpack.

Toshinori nodded. "I am, but as Mr. Yagi, your teacher, and not, you know…"

Izuku knew exactly what he meant.

"There's actually something I should tell you about before we go in now I think about it." Toshinori rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I actually introduced myself to-"

The No.1 Hero was cut off when the door opened, revealing Inko.

"Mr. Yagi!" Inko squeaked, her cheeks tinting slightly pink. "W-When U.A. rang, I didn't realise they'd be sending you."

Izuku narrowed his eyes, looking first at his mom and then his mentor, before back again. "Wait, what?"

"Izuku."

The green-haired boy was pulled inside the apartment and swallowed up in one of his mom's hugs, he hadn't realised how much he needed it until now.

Toshinori stepped in afterwards, closing the door behind himself.

"Are you okay?" Inko let go of her son, taking his hand. "Were you hurt?"

Now it was Izuku's turn to look nervous. "Er, I copied a regeneration quirk?"

That had been the wrong thing to say. "You healed? How bad was it? Was it-"

"It was bad, but I did do it to myself." Izuku answered honestly.

"To yourself?" Inko looked frantic. "Is this the first one you copied? The one that broke your arm and legs in the entrance exam?"

Izuku paused, before nodding. "It is, the more quirks I copy the stronger it becomes, and the more it hurts me."

Inko sat down on the couch, Izuku sitting next to her, while Toshinori took the armchair.

"I want to ask you to stop using that quirk." Inko said, making her son's eyes go wide. "But I'm not, I spent so many years not believing in your dream, and I'm not going to do it again. Izuku, I believe you can master that quirk, so it doesn't hurt you."

Izuku began to tear up, prompting his mom to do the same, as they hugged again.

Inko nodded. "I love you, Izuku."

"Thanks, mom." Izuku smiled. "For believing in me."

The two broke apart, before Inko suddenly realised that Toshinori was still there.

Inko started, before jumping to her feet. "Oh, Mr. Yagi, would you like some tea, some coffee, maybe something to eat?"

"Coffee would be great." Toshinori smiled at Inko, making her blush slightly again.

"Of course, I was brewing some before you arrived." Inko went into the kitchen, clanking sounds echoing back to Toshinori and Izuku. "I picked up some high-calorie biscuits as well."

Inko returned to the living room, placing a tray down on the coffee table.

"Here we are."

"Thank you very much, Ms. Midoriya." Toshinori smiled and nodded, accepting a coffee.

Izuku sat on the sofa, entirely nonplussed. "What is going on?"

Inko looked at her son. "What did you say, honey?"

"How? How do you know To-Mr. Yagi?" Izuku questioned.

Toshinori spoke. "I met your mother before I started training you, to ask for her permission."

"You did?" Izuku questioned, before coming to realisation. "Mom, that's why you were so quick to accommodate my meal plan."

Inko nodded. "It is, I have to admit I was surprised that All Might's secretary wanted to train you to be a hero."

That told Izuku what he needed to know, his mom didn't know Toshinori was All Might.

And what was more pressing was that his mom and All Might were friends, they'd been meeting up the entire time he'd been training for U.A., in the end, Izuku found it kind of funny.

Most kids would have been upset by this, but not Izuku. He wasn't stupid, he could see the looks the two were giving each other over their drinks.

Mom deserves to be happy, I would never stand in the way of that.

Izuku stood. "Er, I'm going to go for a run."

"A run?" Inko's attention turned to her son. "Are you sure you shouldn't be resting?"

The green-haired boy shook his head. "No, I just need to clear my head after, you know, what happened yesterday. I-I'll just leave you two to your conversation."

Izuku went to his bedroom, changing into a set of workout clothes, and heading out with a goodbye to his mom and Toshinori, leaving them alone.

Out on the balcony, Izuku pulled on his headphones and set off.

Toru stood in the middle of her bedroom, its sparse contents had been packed in boxes and loaded into the back of Eraserhead's car.

All that was left was her bed, a child's, far too cramped for her teenage self, and her wardrobe, a battered old relic, with two holes her father's fist had made.

"It's funny." Toru said, her tone suggesting it was anything but. "Ever since I can remember I wanted to escape, to leave him this room behind. Now that day's come and I feel scared. Somehow, I know I'll miss it in some way."

"Change is scary." Akatani spoke, stepping forward to stand at the invisible girl's side. "But you can't be afraid to move on, to move past them."

Toru nodded. "I know, but it doesn't make it any easier. How do you do it?"

Akatani started slightly. "Oh, you mean moving foster homes."

Toru nodded.

"Well, you just kind of get used to it, I don't really remember how many homes it's been, or how many more it's going to be." Akatani paused. "I just know that when I moving to a home, I'll be leaving again."

"That sounds sad." Toru commented.

"It is." Akatani shrugged. "But that's just the way it is."

"Why did you never, you know, get adopted?"

Akatani stiffened. "Because I'm quirkless, no-one wants a quirkless kid. Not even foster parents, not for long."

Toru frowned. "Doesn't it get lonely?"

"It did."

"Did?"

Akatani shuffled nervously. "Yeah, I've got people now, haven't I? Izuku, Hatsume. You."

Toru smirked. "I guess you have."

"Yeah." Akatani had a realisation. "I should probably be telling Izuku that we're brothers, shouldn't I?"

Toru shrugged. "He's figured it out already, the day of the press break-in."

"How do you know that?"

"I eavesdropped on him and All Might." Toru answered plainly. "The two of them looked pretty close, like they've known each other for a while."

Akatani made a choked cry. "Hagakure! You can't just listen in on people's conversions."

"It's fine, besides I didn't hear much, I was worried one of Midoriya's new quirks might be able to detect me." Toru frowned. "I need you to do something for me."

"O-Okay?"

"Please don't call me that name." Toru looked Akatani in the eyes, unable to ignore the scar she had given him the day before. "I don't want to be reminded of them, just call me Toru."

"S-Sur-re." Akatani stuttered. "T-Then you should at-t least call me Mikumo."

"It's a deal, Mikumo." Toru beamed, wishing that the dark-haired boy could see her smile.

"Woah!" Mikumo pointed to her face. "A part of you just flashed! Like, just your face"

Toru tilted her head. "It did?"

Mikumo nodded. "Yeah, it was really bright, so you can change your refractive index in different parts of your body then? Not just the whole thing?"

"I, I don't really know." Toru said. "I've never really tried that, my p-parents can't do that, so I never tried."

Mikumo shrugged, before his eyes strayed to a mirror, jammed down the side of the wardrobe.

Toru followed his line of sight. "Oh, that, I can't really use that anymore, I haven't been able to for a long time."

"A long time?" Mikumo looked puzzled. "But your quirk, weren't you born invisible?"

"I wasn't, no." Toru answered. "I didn't get my quirk till I was nearly five, but I didn't go invisible all the time until I was eight."

"You used to be able to turn your invisibility on and off?" Mikumo questioned, this disproved so many of his assumptions about her quirk, it was exciting.

"Not really, more that I had to turn my visibility on and off, over time it got harder and harder until one day I couldn't do it anymore." Toru sighed.

"Do you miss it?"

Toru hesitated, uncertain. "I didn't, but think I'm starting to. To miss being seen."

"I see you." Mikumo smiled, using his uncanny senses to look her in the eyes.

"Thanks, I needed that." Toru placed her hand on Mikumo's arm. "And thanks for staying with me, and Izuku, in the infirmary last night."

Mikumo shrugged awkwardly. "I-It's okay, I couldn't sleep anyway, I just worked in my armor."

"Sorry."

Mikumo frowned. "About what?"

"About what? I hurt you, I damaged your armor." Toru argued.

"It's fine, armor can be fixed, you gave me a small cut, it's already healed." Mikumo took Toru's hand. "What's important is that you are safe, alive."

"But you weren't safe, if you hadn't said what you did." Toru paused, struggling to find the right words. "I'm not sure I would have stopped, I terrified that I would have killed you."

Mikumo shook his head. "You wouldn't have, I know that. You couldn't safely defy them, until then."

"Couldn't I? Couldn't I just have run away one night?"

"And go where?" Mikumo asked. "You'd have just been a missing child to be tracked down and returned home, no questions asked."

Toru looked up. "You sound like you have experience."

"I do. Not every foster parent gets into it for the love of raising children."

"Your foster parents, they're not-"

Mikumo shook his head. "No, no, that was a long time ago, not long after Snipe found me on the streets."

"It's time to go."

Toru and Mikumo suddenly realised they were still holding hands. The two teens blushed bright red, Toru's hidden by her invisibility, and broke apart, stammering their excuses.

Aizawa sighed. "I don't care, the car's packed."

Toru nodded. "Okay, time to go, I guess."

"It's okay if you're scared to leave." Aizawa assured her, echoing Mikumo's words.

"I know, but I have to, I need to." Toru froze, staring at the mirror down the side of the wardrobe.

The invisible girl dashed forwards, pulling the mirror out and holding it.

"I'm taking this as well."

Aizawa shrugged. "Whatever, there's space."

With that, the two teens and the teacher left the bedroom and out of the apartment door.

Toru stopped in the doorway, turning back to the rundown apartment that had been her home since she was born.

"So long, I guess."

The door closed, and Toru knew she would never see the place again.

Locking the door, its paint chipped and cracked, Toru she held up the key. She stared at it for a few seconds, before posting it through the door.

Toru turned to Aizawa. "I'm ready to go."

Dropping the microwave on the pile, away from the beach, Izuku turned back to face it, once again clean and usable.

"Nice work, kid!"

Izuku nodded to the passerby, with a nervous smile.

Walking down onto the beach, Izuku sat down and slipped into his quirkspace.

It was like a sky full of stars, all different colours, swirling around him.

It was overwhelming.

Holding out his hand, Izuku charged Quirksmith though it, summoning the four Speed quirks he now held, one he'd copied on Tuesday, during the stampede, the other three from the day before, copied from villains.

Bringing the same thrum of One For All as what he had used to create Rockhard into his arms, Izuku pushed it into the four quirks.

The four quirks, coloured white, red, a darker red and purple, glowed silver, before each one fused with another, leaving two silver quirks hanging in front of Izuku, before they fused again.

Izuku touched the remaining quirk.

Speed, created by Izuku Midoriya, aged 15, on April 15th 2179. Type, Emitter. Compound of four Speed quirks, gives the holder a x9.2 passive increase to their natural speed and agility.

"I can fuse copies of the same quirks more than once." Izuku expanded the new Speed quirk, he manipulated one of the strands. "I can still alter it like a simple quirk, the effect stacks, like in an inventory of a video game."

Reaching out again, Izuku summoned the six Strength quirks he had, ready to do the same thing he'd done to the Speed quirks, before pausing.

"What if I merged a Strength quirk with another quirk?" Izuku tilted his head. "Would it still grant me enhanced strength? Or enhance the effect of the quirk it's fused with?"

Summoning the two Stretch quirks he had, one that would stretch his arms, the other his neck, Izuku fused them into a single quirk.

Stretch, created by Izuku Midoriya, aged 15, on April 15th 2179. Type, Transformation. Compound of two Stretch quirks, allows the holder to stretch their arms and neck.

"Okay, so now if I…"

Taking a Strength quirk, the weakest one, a modifier of x0.4, just in case it denatured, Izuku flared One For All's power, fusing it with the Stretch quirk.

The fusion worked, the silver quirk hovering in front of him.

Super-Stretch, created by Izuku Midoriya, aged 15, on April 15th 2179. Type, Transformation. Compound of two Stretch quirks and Strength, allows the holder to turn their body into a rubber-like material that can flex and stretch.

Izuku smiled, excitement rising within him.

Dropping out of quirkspace and back into the real world, Izuku stood, activating Super-Stretch, examining his arm. Taking his other hand, he poked his arm with his finger, watching as it deformed like rubber.

Izuku activated Rockhard in parallel with Super-Stretch, to see what the combined effect would be. Poking the stone arm, Izuku watched as it deformed again, but it was definitely harder to do than before. More like hardened rubber.

What if I use this combination when I wield One For All?

The green-haired boy almost called on the immensely powerful quirk before realising exactly where he was.

Or maybe later.

Katsuki stomped up the apartment building stairs with his usual prickly attitude.

Reaching the nerd's floor, Katsuki slammed the door to the balcony open and mooched his way down, passing an emaciated man in a yellow suit on his way.

Stopping, Katsuki turned to look back at the emaciated man, that suit, it looked familiar.

Nah, that fucking skeleton isn't All Might, no fucking way.

Stopping at the door to the apartment, Katsuki knocked.

A few seconds passed, before the door opened to reveal Inko.

"Toshi, is there something you, oh, Katsuki!"

"Auntie Inko." Katsuki greeted, with the smirk that passed for a smile for him.

Inko opened the door wider, motioning for Katsuki to enter.

"It's so good to see you, it's been what? Seven months since your mother's birthday party, right?"

Katsuki grunted in agreement. "I was looking for the ne-, for Midoriya."

Inko smiled, with a small laugh. "There's no need to be so formal, you and Izuku have been friends since you were in nappies, although, you always did try your best to get out of them."

Katsuki frowned.

Has the nerd never mentioned that they weren't friends anymore, that they hadn't been for a long time?

"Force of habit." Katsuki shugged, hoping to deflect.

"Sure, actually, Izuku's gone for a run, you know him, he never stays still." Inko was straightening up the living room, the used tray of coffee and biscuits showing she'd recently had a guest, or guests.

Was it the skeleton?

"First it was the quirk analysis, now he spends all this time in his quirkspace tinkering with those quirks of his." Inko stopped fixing the cushions, looking at Katsuki. "Enough about that, I'm sure he bores you to death with quirk talk enough as it is. You can wait in his bedroom if you want."

Katsuki shrugged. "Sure, whatever."

Instead of reprimanding him or yelling at him, Inko just shot him a warm smile.

All it did was remind Katsuki of how much he'd wished Inko had been his mother instead of the old hag when he was younger.

Who am I kidding, I still wish she was my mother.

Katsuki trudged to Izuku's bedroom door, made obvious by the All Might-themed nameplate, opening it and entering, before shutting it closed behind himself.

It was like taking a step back in time, by about eight years.

All Might posters, as well as a few of Kamui Woods, the Wild Wild Pussycats and Ingenium. Figures of heroes, mostly of the No.1 Hero, were displayed pride of place on a shelf above his desk.

Katsuki examined the room, comparing it to how he remembered it the last time he'd been in it, when he and the nerd were still seven.

The major differences were the larger bed and a tall bookshelf, the latter filled with books on analysis, hero guides and the those stupid notebooks that the nerd was always scribbling in.

Walking to the bookshelf, Katsuki pulled the first hero notebook out of it and opened it.

On the first page wasn't All Might like Katsuki was expecting, but himself.

Below a crayon drawing of five-year old Katsuki was a torrent of words, Izuku's childish writing gushing over the blond boy and his quirk.

Katsuki couldn't force himself to read anymore of it, he closed it and returned it to its place on the shelf, instead plucking another notebook, number seven this time.

Opening it, Katsuki saw himself again, the drawing was much better, showing a nine-year old version of Katsuki using his quirk. The analysis was also much improved, listing his abilities, possible future applications for his quirk, some of which Katsuki noted were ones he had now discovered himself, as well as his weaknesses and how he could be beaten without using a quirk.

Without a quirk? Did the nerd really not know he had a quirk, did his father mess with his memories as well?

Closing the notebook, Katsuki swapped it for the tenth volume, opening it up.

Again, an improved analysis of Katsuki was on the first page, but the notable thing to the blond teen was the folded piece of paper that fluttered out of it and onto the floor.

Closing the notebook and dropping it onto the desk, Katsuki bent down and picked up the piece of paper.

Standing up, Katsuki unfolded the paper, it was a letter.

Dear Mom,

I'm sorry. It's my fault, I should do this to you, but I can't keep going, I can't...

Katsuki's legs gave out, he flopped to the floor, his back against the side of the bed.

He knew what this was in an instant, this wasn't a letter, it was a suicide note.

It wasn't long, apologising for his quirklessness and the burden he was to his mother, and how he could never become a hero.

The door opened, Katsuki didn't even have time to pretend he wasn't reading the note, not that he even tried.

"A suicide note?" Katsuki questioned, looking up at Izuku, stood in his doorway, sweaty and lightly covered in sand.

"Huh, you found it." Izuku's reaction was muted, almost like it was something he'd been expecting.

"What, where's the fucking stuttering? The nervousness?" Katsuki demanded angrily, unaware of the tears forming in his eyes. "When? When did you write this?"

Izuku sighed, pulling up his desk chair, sitting in it, facing his childhood friend. "Remember that week in the first year of middle school when I was off with the flu?"

Katsuki nodded numbly.

"It wasn't the flu."

The blond teen wasn't sure what to say to that.

He tried to kill himself?

"Was it me?" Katsuki's voice was barely more than a whisper. "Am I why? Why you tried, did-"

"Are you why I tried to kill myself?" Izuku supplied, before shrugging noncommittally.

"That's not an answer." Katsuki raised his head to look at the green-haired boy.

"No, it's isn't."

"Then give me one."

Izuku sighed. "I won't lie to you, Kacchan."

That told Katsuki everything he needed to know.

Izuku tried to kill himself because of me.

Katsuki dropped the note, clenching his fists.

I really am a villain-in-waiting, just like the old hag said.

"You were part of the reason, I wanted to be your friend like we used to be, but you just shrugged me off for no reason, it hurt." Izuku held out another piece of paper, this one an actual letter. "But this was most of the reason why I did it."

Katsuki took the letter, and read it.

It was a reply to fan mail, from Endeavor, or more accurately an employee of his. Clearly the nerd had written to the No.2 Hero, asking if he could be a hero without a quirk. The response was less than pleasant, large parts of it detailed how quirkless people couldn't be heroes, implied that they were less intelligent than quirked people, and all-in-all vaguely suggested that any quirkless person should kill themselves because in a couple of generations they'd be gone anyway.

It was disgusting.

"Did you not report this?" Katsuki asked, looking up from the letter.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, after, you know."

Katsuki knew.

"The Hero Commission investigated it, all they did was caution him for inappropriate language." Izuku shrugged. "Last I heard, he's the events manager for Hawks' hero agency."

Katsuki felt sick, that they'd seen this and found it only had 'inappropriate language'.

"Why didn't you go public?"

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think they would side with? The Hero Commission? Or some random kid with no quirk? Most people don't just agree with what's written in that letter, they openly preach it everyday, like those boys on the train, you know, the one who were hassling Akatani."

"I said these things as well, to you." Katsuki's mouth was dry, his tongue felt like sandpaper.

Izuku nodded. "You did, and I will never forget them. But I can forgive them."

Katsuki looked up.

"I forgive you, Kacchan."

"Why? You don't even know why I treated you that way!" Katsuki argued. "Why aren't you angry? Why don't you hate me?"

Izuku shrugged. "I guess getting angry isn't in my nature."

"Bullshit, everyone gets angry at some point, everyone."

"I had a dream last night, of the day we were at that playground, you know, the one that's a shopping mall now." Izuku spoke, changing the subject.

Katsuki remembered that day well, after all, Nigata had forced him to relive a memory of it the day before.

"Except, in my dream, the day went differently, I had a quirk, I had Quirksmith, I had a copy of All For One." Izuku paused. "And I accidentally stole your quirk with it, and then my dad, my father, did something to me and I forgot all about Quirksmith, I lost access to it, all the quirks I'd copied, gone."

Katsuki hesitated, before making his decision. "Your father is the Merchant of Quirks."

"I know." Izuku answered simply. "I've known for a few days now, All Might recognised the similarity."

"He messed with your quirk, made it weak to hide it, didn't he?"

"I think so." Izuku sighed. "He made me effectively quirkless, just so his life, his cover, was safe."

"Bastard."

Izuku's lips twitched. "Agreed."

Katsuki looked back down at the note, the words already etched into his brain. "Why do you keep this?"

Izuku gave a wan smile. "It's for when I'm feeling hopeless or upset, I read again, it reminds me how far I've come, it encourages me to keep going, to reach my dream."

The green-haired boy clenched his fist, looking Katsuki dead in the eyes.

"I'm going to be a hero, Kacchan."