Chapter 3: Training Montage

"Why are you training them?" Of all the questions Toshinori thought he wouldn't be asked that evening, that may have been the leading contender. He turned around to see another child, almost as angry as Shinsou had been when he had thought him a fraud.

"You have me at a disadvantage my boy," Toshinori offered, but the boy just swept his arm out in front of him.

"Cut the crap! You're training that villain and his minion. I saw you doing it. Why?"

Toshinori blinked, "Villain? Minion? Who are you talking about?"

The boy sneered, "Shinsou Hitoshi and Midoriya Izuku."

Toshinori blinked, perplexed, "I have begun training them, what do you mean calling them a villain and a minion?"

"They are!" There was a small explosion in the boy's hand as it curled into a fist, "Shinsou takes controls of people's minds, while Midoriya is a hopeless quirkless loser who follows him around! A villain and his minion."

Toshinori stared, "Wait, I recognize you now. You were the one the Slime Villain kidnapped." The boy tensed, both of his hands balling into tight fists, "How could you call the boy who helped you-"

"He didn't help me!" The boy shouted, setting off a small series of explosions around his hands, "I could never be saved by that quirkless loser!"

"Calm down kid," Toshinori lifted his arms to placate the child, but the boy seemed furious at the accusation, "All Might asked me to train them, well, one of them at any rate." Silently he began to appreciate Midoriya's technically true deception, "What's it to you anyway?"

"That villain doesn't deserve training. He should be in jail with that slime villain!" The boy was seething with rage and Toshinori boggled at the thought that he may have to form All Might to stop a child.

"As far as I know neither of them have broken any laws." Even Midoriya's minor bout of 'vigilantism' had brought nothing more than a rebuke from the heroes who, like him, hadn't been acting, as much as it shamed him to remember it.

"Shinsou will. I know it. You shouldn't train him, and without him Midoriya is worthless. You'd be better off dropping them both." The boy lingered for a moment, his anger seemingly boiled over. He stuffed his hands back in his pockets, "Neither of them are worth it."

'Funny, I think that's my decision to make' Toshinori thought quietly as the boy stalked back into the darkened park.

"Bakugo came to talk to you?" Midoriya almost squeaked as he dragged a fridge across the beach, "What did he say?"

"He said I should stop training you."

"What?" Midoriya lost his grip and fell down flat on his ass, "Y-you wouldn't-"

Toshinori waved a placating hand, "I didn't give it any serious thought. I was just wondering why you were spreading the news."

Midoriya boggled, "I didn't."

Toshinori rubbed his chin, "Would Shinsou?"

Almost at once he dismissed the idea, but Midoriya was already shaking his head, "Not to Bakugo. They hate each other, or at least Bakugo hates Shinsou. And nobody else talks…" He trailed off before he could imprecate his friend.

"Then he must have followed you last night." That caused Midoriya to cringe, "I'll have to be careful, the secret can't come out." Midoriya nodded, and Toshinori looked back down at him, "Now then, break time's over, this beach isn't going to clean itself."

"I hate suicides." Shinsou said, panting. Midoriya let him speak, it gave him more time to gather his own breath, "I really, really hate suicides."

"Giving up so soon?" Toshinori was grinning, which Shinsou correctly interpreted as a bad sign, "Today we'll be working on stomach muscles. Shinsou, you'll work as Midoriya's spotter. We'll start with crunches. Midoriya, lay on the ground, bend your legs and put your hands behind your head. Shinsou, hold his feet down. Now, Midoriya, slowly lift yourself upper chest off the ground…" Toshinori was watching his form carefully, "Now roll back. Good. Again. Do at least twenty." The first few seemed almost easy, but Shinsou could see the strain building by the eleventh. "Nineteen? No, twenty, I suppose that'll do for now, but you'll have to do more tomorrow." Toshinori watched as Midoriya slumped, "Now give yourself a rest and spot for Shinsou."

'Push yourself and he'll push himself' Shinsou thought as he strained muscles he hadn't given much thought to until they started to burn, 'I can do twenty, right? Right? Gah! Why does this burn so much!'

"Are you going to at least meet Midoriya's twenty?" Toshinori seemed to take a certain amount of glee in pushing them. In the back of his mind Shinsou wondered if Toshinori had had a teacher like this. "Good! Now swap back." The color drained from Midoriya's face, "Do at least twenty."

"How many times are we going to do this?" Shinsou managed to ask as tears filled Midoriya's eyes.

"Oh, just another two sets, why? Getting tired?"

Toshinori frowned thoughtfully as he tugged at his suit. Having one fitted for his deflated state felt like a defeat, but appearances mattered. Talking to the boy's parents had become necessary once Midoriya had spilled the beans during dinner and the need to speak had grown more urgent once he began training Shinsou. He knocked on the door twice, and then only because it opened before the third knock. He blinked, looking down slightly at a slight woman with dull green hair. Like her son, he presumed. "Is this the Midoriya residence?"

"Yes," She answered, and then she looked at him, her eyes rolling over his form. He was glad for the suit; it filled him out quite a bit. "Are you Toshinori Yagi?" She sounded skeptical, and he supposed there was some justification. He certainly didn't look like any personal trainer you'd find in a gym.

"Yes. May I come in?"

She hesitated, still looking at him, but then stepped back, beckoning him to enter. He heard someone call something indistinct from another room and she merely turned, "It's him." She still didn't sound very confident. He took off his shoes and put them neatly aside as he walked into Midoriya's home. It was a humble place, a simple apartment but it was warm and lived in. His own home didn't have the same vibe, before or after his injury. It was just a place to stay and rest. She guided him into the kitchen where a man was sitting, waiting. He was of average height and stature, clean shaven with neatly coifed light purple hair. To most other people he would likely be unremarkable. To All Might that wasn't quite true.

"Shinsou Yawaraki, the man with the magic hands." He almost laughed, "I should have realized the family connection."

His outburst and the man's subdued smile seemed to catch the woman off guard, but she took it in stride, sitting down beside him. "Please sit down, I made some green tea if you want something to drink."

Toshinori accepted a gently steaming cup graciously, "Thank you both for meeting with me." He swallowed the lump in his throat, "I feel I have been remiss in keeping you in the dark."

Midoriya and Shinsou glanced at each other, and then looked at Toshinori. Agreements must have been made well before he had arrived he thought as Inko began. "Why are you training our sons?"

Toshinori looked at the pair levelly, "I began training Midoriya after the incident with the slime villain. All Might sees potential in the boy. He showed great heroism and almost certainly saved his classmate's life. All Might felt that heroism deserved recognition, and asked me to train him." He paused, watching the woman's eyes shimmer with tears of pride. The other man smiled and placed a hand on hers.

"And my son?"

"After Shinsou recovered from his illness I found Midoriya's attention diverted. He only has ten months to train before the UA entrance exam and he can't afford to be distracted. I asked him to bring his friend so they could practice together, hoping it would keep him focused. I believe it is working."

Yawaraki gave Inko a wry look, "So your son is still helping mine."

"Your son said he is going for the hero track as well. Since our first night they have been proving to be good examples for each other, and their competition has pushed them to advance farther and faster than either may have alone."

Yawaraki nodded, but Inko held a ghost of a frown, "Aren't you afraid of pushing them too far?"

"I'm monitoring their exercise carefully."

The parents shared a meaningful glance. "I mean no offense, Toshinori-san…" Yawaraki clasped his hands together as he leaned forward, "But you don't look to be in good physical condition yourself."

Toshinori winced, and looked down at the table, "I had a run-in with a villain six years ago. I was severely wounded." He paused, and picked up the cup of tea, "Until this cools down I shouldn't drink it, it might do too much harm to my internal organs."

Both of them cringed, "I-I can get you something else if you want." Inko offered meekly, but Toshinori shook his head.

"It's fine. I'll wait."

Yawaraki coughed, "I suppose that's how you met All Might then?"

"Not quite, but he was there to rescue me." Which was technically true, for a given value of true.

"I see…" Shinsou drew back, mulling over the information.

Inko gnawed on her lip, "I understand that they need to exercise and train to get into UA, but don't you think you're going overboard? Izuku is spending five hours a day training every day of the week."

"That does have me concerned as well." Yawaraki added pensively.

"Before quirks, people training for the Olympics had similar training time." Toshinori supplied smoothly.

"That's true," Yawaraki caught Inko's eye and nodded, then looked back at him, "But those individuals would have been training like that for some time."

Toshinori suppressed the urge to wince, "That's also true. Unfortunately Midoriya only has ten months."

Inko bit her lip, "Do you truly think with your training he will have a chance?"

"I do." Time to pull out his ace if he had any chance of convincing them, "And so does Shinsou."

Yawaraki eyes widened sharply and he coughed, "He-he asked you?" He looked at Toshinori, but wouldn't quite meet Toshinori's gaze.

"I know about your son's quirk. Midoriya told me before I began training him." Toshinori smiled, as both parents relaxed, "Hitoshi confronted me about it after his first night of training; he thought this may have been some sort of cruel joke. After talking with him I offered to let him… confirm I was telling the truth."

Silence cloaked the room and Yawaraki and Inko looked at each other. "I'll have to confirm that with my son of course." Yawaraki murmured as he looked back at their sons' trainer.

"Of course."

"With training this intense… I… there may be injuries, pulled muscles, cramps, things that could delay training without needing to visit a hospital. If anything of that sort happens, please don't hesitate to call me."

Toshinori managed to smile at that, "While I hope to avoid that, the offer is very much appreciated."

Inko looked relieved for a moment before letting out a breath, "I do have one more question…" She shifted uncomfortably, "H-how much is this going to cost us?"

"Cost you? Nothing. Just the grocery bills."

"You're not charging us anything?" Yawaraki stared at him incredulously, "Midoriya's training schedule alone is a full time job."

"All Might is paying for it."

"But why?"

Toshinori smiled at Inko, "Because he believes your son can become a hero."

Yawaraki and Inko shared another look, "… And?"

Toshinori began to realize he may have time for that tea to cool.

"Pushups! At least twenty five! Three sets!"

"You shouldn't be doing that."

Hitoshi's voice was barely above a whisper, but it caught Midoriya by surprise. He almost lost his place in his notes, frantically looking at the paper to make sure he hadn't overwritten anything. All the while he was losing track of his count. He grimaced and tried to focus on the teacher, squeezing the grip strengthener and taking notes.

"Miiidoriyaaaaaa..." Shinsou's voice was almost sing-song, an impressive feat for someone who wasn't moving their lips.

"Please, I'm trying to focus." Midoriya struggled to remember his count while looking at his notes and trying not to lose his place or write over anything.

"Then maybe you shouldn't be squeezing that grip strengthener?"

Midoriya shot him a look, "What?"

Shinsou smiled, the smallest gap forming at the side of his mouth facing his friend, "My dad talked to me. Toshinori is pushing you as hard as he can." He leaned back in his seat, "You shouldn't be doing any training right now."

Midoriya cringed, "It's just a grip strengthener!"

"Still training." Shinsou reached out with one hand, squeezing the air, "Hand it over."

Midoriya sagged in his seat, and handed it over, "Fine."

"Thank you." Shinsou's smile never left his lips, "Now pay attention, this may be on the test."

Midoriya sighed, having hopelessly lost his place in both his notes and what the teacher was saying. He opened his mouth to ask if he could borrow Shinsou's notes when he saw him squeezing the grip strengthener, "W-wait, but you just said-"

"Izuku," Shinsou smirked magnificently, "I'm not doing as much training as you."

"Lunges! At least thirty! Four sets!"

"Is it just me or are Shinsou and Midoriya getting better at this?" Jinzo asked incredulously as Shinsou managed to bunt a ball that had been hurled at him.

Bakugo scowled, focusing on Midoriya as he dodged another ball his side had thrown at him. They were usually eliminated first. The fact that they hadn't been irked him. "Just focus on getting them out first, okay?"

Jinzo glanced at Akemi, who just shrugged in response. Both of them hurled balls at Shinsou.

"I don't think I've ever lasted this long." Shinsou shouted as he blocked one ball and dodged the other.

"Neither have I." Midoirya shouted back, "It's kinda fun when you actually get to play." He dashed sideways, grabbing a ball from the floor in a move not too dissimilar to one of the suicides from training, except instead of heading back the other way he took another step and hurled the ball at the other team, catching someone in the chest. His eyes widened as the student walked off in disgust, "I got someone?" He laughed, "Hey Shinsou, I actually got-" His head jerked slightly as the ball connected with it. He glanced back to see Bakugo smirking at him. "Well at least it was fun while it lasted."

Almost too fast to see Bakugo threw his hand up and caught a ball he must have seen from the corner of his eye. His gaze shifted to Shinsou, catching him with a smirk that was almost feral in comparison to the one he had given Deku. Shinsou recovered from his throw and made a disgusted sound as he marched off the court and sat down beside Midoriya, "So much for avenging you."

"You tried, that's what counts."

"Yeah, but you managed to actually hit someone." He slapped Izuku's back, "Good job with that. Though I will have to tell Toshinori you already ran some suicides today."

Midoirya merely shook his head and laughed.

"Planks! Hold for at least three and a half minutes! Four sets!"

"So which beach are we going to?"

Yawaraki glanced in his rearview mirror at Midoriya. The boy… well, maybe young man, seemed excited by the prospect of a relaxing day. He couldn't blame the boy, he and Inko had spent a not insignificant amount of time explaining that the boys were still boys to Toshinori before he acceded to giving them the last day of summer off from their training. Still, he seemed full of jittery energy, which may have been because it was his first morning off from training in months. "Yutapa beach."

Midoriya's brow knitted together, "I've heard of that," He hesitated, "isn't that near Dagoba beach?"

"It's next door, but don't worry too much about it, the currents are completely different. Nothing washes ashore there." Yawaraki smiled, "And hard as it is to believe Dagoba is looking better these days. Some environmentalists are probably trying to clean it up."

"That seems kinda pointless," Shinsou murmured as he looked out the window, "The sea is just going to fill it up again."

"The effort is nice though." Inko offered, and Midoriya breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Yeah, but I doubt everybody's heard. That truck is full of trash, probably going there to dump it."

"W-what?" Midoriya's heart lurched and he tried to look out Shinsou's window. The truck was stuffed to the brim with old appliances including a fridge that, to his now experienced eye, would a real pain to shift, "That's illegal!"

"Yeah, probably," Shinsou said blithely, still watching the offending vehicle, "But who is going to notice a truck full of junk on that beach? Yup, there they go." Midoriya suppressed a whine as the truck put its blinker on and made its way over to the Dagoba beach exit. Shinsou glanced at him then did a double take, "You okay man? You look like you're about to cry."

Naturally the sand was scalding, and it got caught in his sandals, but as they headed to the beach Midoriya tried very hard to push out the thought that more work had been added to his morning exercises. There were several girls in the water, a boogie boarder further out. Probably warm enough then. He grinned, "Race you?"

Before Hitoshi could open his mouth Izuku was racing ahead, his sandals flapping wildly. He glanced over his shoulder, but found himself alone; a smirk was fixed on Shinsou's face as he casually ambled after him. Izuku blinked, kicked a bit of sand, and tumbled onto the seemingly boiling hot sand. Scrambling to his knees he pushed himself up and began brushing off the rapidly cooling sand as Shinsou finally reached him. "No training today okay?" His friend smiled and patted him on the shoulder before passing him by. Grudgingly Izuku huffed and followed, catching two of Shinsou's backwards glances, his friend's smirk returned with a vengeance as they reached the waterline. Shinsou stepped in first, turning and smiling widely, "Looks like I win anyway."

Izuku rolled his eyes, "Jerk."

"Hey, you challenged me. Don't blame the tortoise for beating the hare."

"I'm glad they're taking some time to rest." Inko watched the boys fool around in the water, "Izuku has been working himself to the bone."

"Hitoshi isn't far behind." Yawaraki offered, "Has Izuku tried to show off any of his hard work?"

Inko merely shook her head, "No, has Hitoshi?"

Yawaraki grinned, "I actually know how large his bicep is when flexed." Inko held her laugh behind her hand, and he continued, "If I offered to do the same for Izuku he'd probably be jealous. Your son is packing on significant muscle mass, I didn't expect to see abs like that when he took his shirt off."

"That's good then?"

Yawaraki shrugged noncommittally, "He's a bit young, but it shouldn't affect anything. He's really dedicated to getting in." Inko smiled contentedly, watching her son for a moment longer before drawing out the novel she had brought out of her purse with an absent gesture.

The sun was in the middle of the sky when the kids came pelting back up the beach, "Hey dad, can we get a boogie board?"

Yawaraki chuckled, and pulled out his wallet, "How much are they?"

"Four thousand five hundred yen."

Inko was reaching for her purse, but stopped, "Ah, can you share?"

Izuku glanced aside, laughing a little, "It's okay mom."

Yawaraki rolled his eyes and handed over nine thousand, "Enjoy. Both of you."

The boys beamed and ran off. Inko watched them leave, and glanced at the sand, "You didn't have to do that."

"Oh what's the fun of one boogieboard? Neither of them knows what they're doing, we'll be lucky to have one left by the time we head back."

Inko shook her head and smiled, "Thank you."

Izuku carried his boogieboard under his arm as Hitoshi checked his shoulders, "I told you to reapply sunscreen."

"Yeah, I know." Hitoshi winced as he touched his scalded skin, "I always get burned anyway."

"That's because you never listen to him." His father shot back.

Hitoshi groaned, "This week is going to suck."

Izuku shrugged, "Of course it is, we'll be stuck in class with Bakugo again as of tomorrow."

"The uniform is going to kill me."

"I wouldn't expect Toshinori to take it easy on you either." Izuku patted him on the shoulder eliciting a strangled sound from Shinsou, "Maybe next time the grasshopper will listen to the ant."

"Jerk."

"We should head back to our apartment before you head home," Inko murmured, ignoring both of them, "I have an Aloe Vera he can use."

"Oh, I get the feeling he's going to need that." Yawaraki chuckled, "I hope you don't mind not getting it back."

"Crunches, at least forty! Four sets!"

"C-can we do something else instead? Anything else? M-my shoulders are really tender right now…"

"That just means you won't linger between crunches! Make it forty five at least!"

Just in case. Hitoshi looked at the papers again. Just in case. His form was already filled out. It took no more effort than the first form. It had all the same information as the first form. Knowing Inko and Izuku, all the information from the hero course application would still be on their computer. All it would take to send in the second application would be to change the checkmark. It would just take convincing him. Just in case.

That thought roiled his gut. Toshinori believed his training would be enough to get Izuku in. There were nights where he lay awake with aches and pains, from exercises that pushed him to his limits and beyond. And Izuku trained almost twice as much as he did every day. It was brutal, and there were times where Izuku was a zombie in class. The teacher had shot daggers at him, but confirmation from Izuku had kept him out of the hot seat.

But it still wasn't a quirk.

"Just in case."

Izuku looked at him warily, "Yeah but-"

"This is just a copy of my application. It'll only take a second." The words taste like ashes in his mouth. He'd done it, just in case Izuku was able to check. "Just… you know, in case something goes wrong. Imagine you get stuck in an exam with Bakugo. He'd screw things up for you just to ensure you fail."

Izuku blanched, "I… I guess it couldn't hurt. But…"

"No, don't worry about that. There's always a second chance. The sports festival, remember? People can advance from that if they have a good enough showing." It was true, an ace in the hole as far as he was concerned. It was rare, sure, but less rare than the acceptance of quirkless kids into the hero program.

Maybe it was the look on his face though, because Izuku seemed so reluctant. Had he framed it like defeat was inevitable? He remembered to breath, to smile nonchalantly, or as nonchalantly as he could. He had faith in Izuku. He did. It was other people he didn't trust.

"Alright." Izuku murmured after a long moment, "I'll put it in."

"Cool." His voice sounded smooth to his ear, and he held his smile. Just another chance. Just in case. "It'll only take a minute. I even brought an envelope for you."

Midoriya's expression faded to a blank look, "I said I'll put it in."

Damnit. Damnit damnit damnit! He was trying and failing to keep the smile plastered across his face. He had to look away. He'd asked questions and received answers and Izuku trusted Toshinori so much that he couldn't believe it would be necessary. UA or bust. UA Hero Academy, the first quirkless student accepted. And Toshinori thought he'd be able to do it. And Izuku believed in himself that he could do it. And damnit if he could have that faith he'd sleep better at night.

"Please?"

Izuku looked pained for a moment and walked back into his computer room. Hitoshi sagged and waited. Three minutes and Izuku was back, papers in hand. "Done." Izuku looked blank, at least, for as long as Hitoshi could stand to see him like that. His gut was churning, and he wanted to leave the second they put the applications in the mail. Just in case.

"Lunges, at least sixty! Four sets!"

"Exam tomorrow."

Izuku picked at his bento, "Tell me something I don't know."

"Alright." Hitoshi grinned, "Dad said he wants to take us all out to dinner tonight."

Izuku looked up at him and blinked, "What?"

"You know, for good luck?" Hitoshi shrugged and opened his own bento, "Also, I asked Toshinori last night, he officially gave you clearance to have pork katsu."

Izuku sighed and tried to focus on his lunch, "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

Hitoshi gave him a winning smile, "I had him give me a signed note and everything."

Izuku moved his lunch aside and let his head hit the table.

"I have to say, I've been very impressed with the work both of you have been putting in these past ten months." Yawaraki murmured as they relaxed after eating, "You've shown incredible amounts of willpower and determination to get ready for this exam." He offered an easygoing smile, "I'm proud of you, both of you."

Izuku blushed at the praise, while Hitoshi merely rolled his eyes, "Dad, if you're going to say something that sappy you should carry something to bottle it with." Yawaraki merely reached out and ruffled his son's hair, eliciting a squawk of protest as Hitoshi tried to squirm out of the way.

"Just be careful out there." Inko offered, "I want you both to be safe."

"Yes mom." They both offered in unison, though Hitoshi's was more sarcastic in tone. Inko smiled anyway, pulling her unresisting son into a hug.

"Well, we're back." Yawaraki murmured as he pulled up in front of their apartment. He shifted into park, "Hitoshi, I'll just be going with them for a moment."

If Hitoshi had any objection he didn't say it, merely nodding to Izuku, "See ya."

Izuku beamed as he got out of the car, "Thanks for the permission slip."

Hitoshi rolled his eyes, "I can't believe you actually asked for it."

"Thank you for the meal." Inko offered but Yawaraki shrugged it off.

"It was nothing. I'll give him the real gift once we get inside."

"Real gift?" Izuku blinked, "You don't need to-"

Yawaraki shook his head, "Its fine Izuku. After all your hard work, if this is the only help I'll be able to give you, well; I hope it's some small help."

Inko opened the door and the trio entered. Yawaraki followed them into the living room, "Sit down please?"

Izuku sat and watched as Yawaraki knelt down in front of him, his hand beginning to glow. "My quirk, Relax. It'll drain all the tension from your muscles, all the small aches and pains you've been accumulating during your training, including the ones you didn't even realize you had." He grinned, "Just like my pro customers."

Izuku's jaw dropped, "Your customers are pro heroes?"

Yawaraki chuckled softly, "I know I've been keeping that little nugget from you for far too long, but they deserve privacy. Lots of heroes visit after big battles. I'm not Recovery Girl, my quirk doesn't heal people, but it can get heroes ready to go back into fighting shape so they can help people."

Izuku laughed, "That's great."

"It pays the bills." Yawaraki offered with a wink. "Ready?"

Izuku nodded and Yawaraki placed his hand against Izuku's chest. The moment it touched him Izuku feels the effect spreading. His muscles relaxed, and weights that he hadn't known he'd been carrying fell away. It also felt impossible to make any demands of his muscles at this point. He found himself inadvertently falling forward onto Yawaraki's hand, his arms slipping and dangling. His jaw dropped open, his head drooped forward, and his eyes closed. His breathing slowed, but remained steady. Yawaraki finished and gently guided him back against the couch.

"Is that… Is that normal?" Inko asked quietly.

Yawaraki let out a breath, "I usually activate my quirk over time, while giving a proper massage." He glanced up at her, "His muscles were incredibly tense; his muscles have been strained from all the effort he's been giving. Would you like me to carry him to his bed?"

Inko nodded and Yawaraki scooped the boy up, carrying him to his room and laying him down. "Thank you." She murmured as she knelt down next to Izuku's bed, "Tell Hitoshi I wish him luck too."

"I'll let him know." Yawaraki murmured and let him out. Inko watched her son for a moment longer, then kissed his brow and let him rest.

The sun still hadn't risen properly when he pulled up to Dagoba beach. The salt air was cool. It still galled him that he had to put on multiple layers. He just felt so much more sensitive to cold weather compared to how he used to feel. It was another vulnerability, another reminder, another bitter pill to swallow. But he had others to focus on now. The exam was hours away and today was the final day of cleanup. Izuku was so close, he could-

His thought was cut off by a warbling scream. Toshinori blinked and looked up at the mound of scrap and trash and heaped up- wait, was Midoriya was standing on a van at the top of the trash heap? Why the hell had he pushed a van to the top of the pile? How did he push a van to the top of the pile? Giving up on that mystery and ignoring his student's howling for a moment Toshinori ran to the stairs leading to the beach to find…

Nothing, nothing but sand and waves.

"Hey, hey, holy crap kid. You even cleaned up outside of the area I told you to. Seriously, there's not one spec of trash left on this beach! Only a few minutes to spare, but you exceeded my expectations! Holy stinking supercrap!" Involuntarily he shifted, his muscles bulging, his frame swelling. He glanced up to see Izuku finally finish screaming. In spite of the cold he was a sweaty mess, but he looked relieved. Actually, he looked relaxed. "Excellent work!"

"I finished everything, All Might." Midoriya shouted as he scrambled down from his perch, a smile on his lips. "At least until the tide comes in again."

"Don't worry about that now. You did great kid. I gotta say, I'm impressed. I knew you had it in you, but this is beyond." Izuku finally reached him, and he stood tall despite all the weariness he must have felt. He fished his phone out of his pocket, quickly unlocking it, "Look at this."

Izuku looked at the image of himself in tears on the beach, "Um…"

"It's you, crying, ten months ago! Look how far you've come, such improvement! There's still a long road ahead of you before you can inherit my full power set," He swept his arms out, "but it's starting to look like you can do it!"

Izuku looked himself over, as if taking stock of himself for the first time. He shifted and twisted in place, "Ten months." He murmured, and looked at All Might, "It still isn't enough, is it? I'll keep training."

All Might's laughter boomed, "You do yourself credit Midoriya! Gaining this quirk is not the end of your journey, merely the first step." He reached up and tugged a hair from his upturned bangs, "Someone told me this once, there's a difference between being lucky and deserving. One's an accident, the other a reward. Never get the two confused. Take that to heart young man, this gift; you've earned it through your own valiant efforts."

The hair swayed lazily in the wind as All Might handed it to him. "Eat this."

Note:

Many thanks to my editor: littlemissoyashirou

And more thanks to MysticMartyr who pointed out that ate my scene breaks *again*. Despite me actually SEEING them in the document when I uploaded it. *shakes fist*

Thank you to all of you who have chosen to review the previous chapters, I always appreciate it!

This took a bit longer than expected to write. I struggled most with Yawaraki's quirk use on Izuku, it felt awkward and stilted a few times over, but I fully intended to put it in from the start. There are some subtle changes. Next chapter will focus more on Shinsou's perspective. You can assume that what isn't written about does not dramatically diverge from canon.