Chapter 2

Zurasame walked through the streets as an explosion was heard in the distance. Looking in said direction, he could see a smoke trail coming above the buildings.

'Strange,' I thought, 'When All Might left Midoriya on the rooftop, he didn't get to the bottom before that explosion occurred. Did my talk with All Might go faster than in canon? Regardless, I need to catch up~'

"Yatski!" I heard Midoriya cry out. Turning, he saw Midoriya running up to him, sweating, having carried both backpacks the whole distance.

"Midoriya, did you run all the way here?"

"Yeah," Midoriya panted, "What were you doing? I know we both admire All Might, but I'm not crazy enough to grab onto him right before he jumps."

'Well that's ironic.' "Sorry. I just really needed him to answer a question."

"What question was that?" Midoriya handed my backpack to me. Slugging it against my shoulder, I merely shrugged.

"It's not important. Now, let's hurry. We've got a villain fight to see. Based on the distance…Where do you think that is?"

Midoriya put a hand on his forehead to block out the sun. "Well, judging the height of the smoke relative to us, I'd say the Tatooin Shopping District."

"You know the shortcuts, Midoriya. Let's go!"

With that, the two of us began running, cutting through alleyways to shorten the time. When we got to the shopping district, we could see several heroes and cops trying to keep the civilians away. There was fire down the entire road, as the sludge villain was seemingly on a rampage. I could briefly see Bakugou's hair, and I saw Kamui Woods lifting Bakugou's 'friends' onto a rooftop. I had a joy in knowing that the timeline is still proceeding as planned, and it made me sick to know that I felt joy in it.

"Wait," Midoriya mumbled, "Didn't All Might capture him?"

"Shit," I whispered, catching Midoriya's attention, "It must've fallen out of his pockets when I grabbed onto him. This is my fault. Worse, it looks like the villain has a hostage this time."

"Don't worry, Yatski. Once All Might realizes it, he'll come here and beat the villain again."

'Midoriya doesn't realize that All Might has his time limit. Not only that, but he won't jump in anyway unless you go rushing in to help Bakugou. Now, time to get Midoriya to move.' I put on a shocked face. "Midoriya…who's the hostage the villain has?"

Midoriya, scared for said hostage, looks even closer. He gasped in shock as he saw who it was.

"K-Kacchan."

Without an instant to think, Midoriya began running. The moment I saw Midoriya lean forward to run, I ran alongside him. He ran past the heroes as I ducked under Death Arm's…Arm, and we ran towards the villain.

"No, you idiots!" Death Arms cried out, "Stop! You're going to get yourselves killed!"

"These brats again!" The sludge villain exclaimed, causing Bakugou to open his eyes.

'Zurasame? Deku?' Bakugou thought, seeing his rival and his 'sidekick' rushing towards them.

"Zurasame!" Midoriya cried out, "What are we doing?! Why can't I stop moving?!"

"No idea, I just started moving too! What's the plan?!" 'Seriously. It's been years, and all I remember is Midoriya rushing in, I don't remember what he did!'

"Uhhhh~Page 25, blind him!"

"Got it!" The villain tried attacking us, but I summoned a large shield to block it. Once blocked, Midoriya took his backpack, opened the zipper, and tossed it at the villain, causing the contents to fly out at him, some of them hitting his eyes. Flinching back, this causes Bakugou's head to become more open, coughing violently in response.

"Midoriya!" I cried out, summoning comically sized clampers and tossing them to him. Midoriya took them, then plunged them into the sludge villain, getting a grip on Bakugou.

"What are you two idiots doing?!" Bakugou yelled out.

"Don't know!" I replied, getting closer as I blocked another, smaller hit, "We just started moving!"

"And I couldn't just watch you die, Kacchan!" Midoriya added with tears in his eyes.

"Not how I wanted to show my new trick, but here we go!" From my shield, a pillar of red extended from the construct into the sludge, before becoming a sickle shape and wrapping behind Bakugou's back. Before, if I wanted to make an alteration to a construct, I would need to dismiss it, then summon a new one with the alteration. Now I could simply make the alteration to existing ones. With a heavy cry, we both pulled, Bakugou aiming his hands back and causing explosions as an added measure. With all three of us, we yanked Bakugou out of the villain, and fell to the street. As we hit the ground, I curved the shield, then had it cover us.

"You little punks!" The sludge villain exclaimed, raising a hand to smash into the shield. However, the attack never connected, as we felt a rush of wind next to us.

"I really am pathetic." I heard All Might say through the smoke. When it began to clear, Midoriya and Bakugou were both shocked to see, though Bakugou was too busy trying to catch his breath from the sludge villain. "I told you the traits of a great hero," All Might then yanked his arm off the villain, "But now I see I wasn't living up to my own ideals! Pros are always risking their lives! That's the true test of a hero!"

"Damn you, All Might!" The sludge villain tried to attack All Might, but it was too late.

"Detroit SMASH!" All Might punched the villain, sending his body scattering into god knows how many pieces, and the wind vortex from the punch briefly forming a tornado. Since we were under the half bubble, the wind barely affected us, but the construct was shaking from the force of it. When everything became quiet, the once clear sky started to darken as rain came down. Civilians and heroes were initially confused at the sudden change, but quickly realized that the cause was All Might's punch. Quickly, everyone started cheering for him, while I simply gave a smile.

Once the civilians settled down, the authorities worked to collect all the villain's sludge parts. News reporters began crowding All Might, while me, Midoriya, and Bakugou were separated. As expected, Kamui Woods and Death Arms scolded us while Bakugou was praised. I could've chewed the two heroes, but, with so many reporters, I didn't want to cause an even bigger scene for Midoriya.

Hours later, Midoriya and I were walking through the neighborhood streets, several blocks away from Midoriya's apartments. Midoriya, instead of looking dejected like in canon, simply looked embarrassed.

"Lots of craziness for the first week of school, right, Midoriya? Meeting All Might, fighting a villain."

"I wouldn't say we 'fought', more like get in its way."

"Did you throw that backpack at the villain?"

"Yes?"

"Did it hit the villain?"

"Yes."

"Then we technically fought the villain. Though, don't think I didn't notice the pros scolding you much more than me."

"It's to be expected. I am quirkless, after all."

"Still doesn't make it right. Well, once you get into U.A., I want to see the look on their faces."

"Deku!" We both heard Bakugou's voice yell out. We both turned, seeing him running towards us.

"Kacchan?" Midoriya questioned.

"What does he want?"

Bakugou caught up to us, taking a few deep breaths. "Listen. I would never ask for help from a weakling like you. Don't think you can look down on me, and don't think you can embarrass Zurasame. We were doing fine without you, got that! You're just a quirkless loser who won't even cut it as a cop! You did nothing, and don't forget it." With that, Bakugou turned around, storming off.

'Hmm, definitely different from before.'

"What was that?" Midoriya questioned.

"I…think he just insulted you, but did it in a way that also complimented me?"

"He's…not wrong though. I only used those pliers you summoned to try to pull him out."

"You did better than the other heroes, who simply stood there while he was being choked. Even if they couldn't hurt the villain, they'd keep his attention off of Bakugou. Anyways, will you be good for the rest of the way?" I needed to be the only one in the street, as Midoriya doesn't know about Skinny Might, and he might not appear if it's the two of us.

Midoriya nodded, "Yeah. See you tomorrow?"

"You know it. Tomorrow we'll do our normal run, then head back to your place for the schematics. Time we start looking for people who'll build them."

Midoriya nodded again, then started running down the street. I leaned against the wall surrounding one of the houses, and decided to wait. Once Midoriya was out of sight, All Might would appear.

Three minutes.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Now I was starting to worry. I quickly did a search of the area, but All Might was nowhere to be seen. 'I screwed up the timeline. Despite the fight happening almost exactly the same, All Might isn't here. Did…Is All Might not considering either me or Midoriya for~' A hunch occurred to me. I texted Midoriya.

Zurasame: Hey, you home yet?

Midoriya: Yeah, no trouble. Why?

Now I was truly nervous. All Might didn't approach either of us! Which means he might not consider us potential heirs to his quirk.

Zurasame: Just one of those bad feelings. I'm nearing home myself. Goodnight, Midoriya.

Putting my phone away, I started running back home. If All Might doesn't give his quirk to either of us, then who knows how things might change. Would he give it to Mirio? Would he be able to maintain his form for longer because he still has it, and not just the vestiges? Honestly, I doubt I would get much sleep tonight, but I resolved myself. If I didn't get One for All, then my next goal right now would be to ensure that both me and Midoriya get into U.A., at the very least.

It was the next day, and school had ended a couple hours ago. Once our daily exercises were done, we each headed to our homes for a quick change of clothes. Now, I climbed up the Midoriya Aparment stairs, wearing a black jacket with a red t-shirt. Ringing the bell, the door opened, revealing still slim Inko Midoriya.

"Oh, Zurasame," Inko exclaimed, "It's good to see you again."

"Yes, Miss Midoriya," I panted, "It's good to see you as well. Just here for Izuku."

"He's in his room, looking over the metal arms."

"Thanks." I took my shoes off and walked towards Midoriya's room. Since Inko never fell into the depressive state she did, she didn't let herself go. Which was good, as Skinny Inko was certainly a positive.

Entering Midoriya's room, I could see several All Might posters and figures around the room. Not just that, though, as I saw a few DC comic books on a bookshelf. While Midoriya was certainly an All Might fanboy, he was really enjoying the DC comics. Recently he's been entertaining comics concerning Zatara. However, we both were concerned with something far more important. I walked towards Midoriya, who was busy at a computer, rapidly typing lines of code.

"Midoriya, finalizing the schematics?"

"Yeah," Midoriya responded, not looking away from the screen, "Just seeing if there's anything else to do."

I leaned over the desk, looking at the screen. Since Marvel didn't exist, I decided to have Midoriya build the robot claws that Doctor Octavius would use. When I broached the idea to him, he seemed a little hesitant, not sure if such an idea would work, even if the arms were controlled by AI, as I suggested. I countered by saying that that would be the final result, not the prototype. Eventually, Midoriya came around to the idea, and we spent the past three years working on blueprints.

"Unless we find someone to build it," Midoriya stated, "I'm not sure we can build it in time for the Entrance Exam."

"Yeah…" I cupped my chin, "I'm not the genius here, Midoriya. I may be better with people, but I don't have that kind of influence."

Midoriya waved his hands in a panic, "No, it's okay. Besides, you were the one to design the style of it." He pulled up the original style for the arms, which were actually the arms used by Olivia Octavius in Into the Spider-verse, "My original design would have been much more difficult."

"Cheaper, but far harder to make. Regardless, we still got one year~"

The front door rang, with Inko yelling that she'd get it.

"~Anyway, with the money we've saved up, we could make the claws, but connecting them to you will be the far more challenging part."

"Yeah, I've made a few sketch designs for how we could control them~"

"AAAAAH!" Inko screamed, causing us both to jump in fright.

"Mom?!" Midoriya cried out as I summoned a hammer in one hand. Before we got halfway to the bedroom door, we heard a very familiar boisterous laughter. Midoriya and I both froze up in shock, as I just dropped myself onto the bed. After a couple seconds of our brains readjusting, we ran out into the living room then the entryway, seeing Inko in complete and utter shock as All Might was at the door.

"Ah, young Zurasame and Midoriya," All Might proclaimed, then, with a much quieter tone, added, "May I come in?"

"A-a-a-a-All Might?!" Midoriya sputtered, and I was in shock. As far as I knew, All Might wouldn't even come to the Midoriyas until after his fight with All for One, so why was he here now?! After a minute to collect our thoughts, Inko invited All Might in. As we passed Midoriya's room to get to the living room, All Might, for the briefest of moments, stopped his walk to glance into the room, seeing the All Might merchandise. He gave a silent chuckle and continued onward, the three of us not noticing him stopping. Me, Midoriya and Inko sat at the kitchen table, while All Might, too large for the chair, simply stood.

'What the hell, what the hell, what the HELL?!' I panicked. I have a glimmering hope that this is the timeline somehow readjusting course, though that didn't bode well if I intended to make more drastic changes in the future.

"Forgive me," All Might declared, "I would've been here sooner, but I had to be sure the research I did was authentic."

"U-um," Inko questioned, "What research?"

"Research on your son, young Izuku Midoriya here!"

"W-why were you doing research on me?"

All Might pointed towards me. "Because of your friend, young Zurasame…Which," All Might's normal smile turned into a solemn frown, something that Midoriya and Inko have never seen, "Brings me to the first reason I'm here. I wish to apologize."

"Apologize?! For what?!"

"When your friend grabbed onto me the other day, after I landed, he asked me a question: Could you become a great hero, despite being quirkless? At the time, I only thought of what the safest answer would be for you. I imagined that only a hero with a great quirk could stand against great villains, so I told him that you couldn't become a hero."

Both Izuku and Inko looked shocked that All Might, Izuku's idol, was denying him his dream. All Might continued.

"But your friend didn't despair. He said that, to prove me wrong, he'd make it his life's goal to get you to the Top Ten! Such passion for a friend I hadn't seen in years. I had one such friend, but that was long ago."

'Is he referring to Nighteye? I wonder if I could convince him to see his former sidekick again?'

All Might's smile returned in force. "Then, the moment of truth! When you ran at the villain, risking your life without a moment's hesitation. You had no rightful reason to get involved, not when other heroes were on the scene, but you did so anyway. There have been many great heroes since the dawn of quirks, and they all had the same defining trait: Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think."

"But Zurasame also went in there!" Midoriya retorted, to which All Might merely laughed.

"Yes, but he could defend himself. You, young Midoriya, had no such defense, and you went in anyways, saving a fellow classmate. Such an invigorating sight, I knew I was mistaken. When I said you couldn't be a hero, I said it because I didn't know your character, and I simply wanted to protect you. However, seeing it now, I can say that you can most certainly become a hero!"

Izuku and Inko were already crying, while I merely smirked.

"Which begs the question: If you could have a quirk, what kind would it be?"

"Huh?" Midoriya questioned. I could see what he was going with here. Trying to align Midoriya into the idea of taking One for All. I decided to play ball with it.

"You mean like, have someone give their quirk to Midoriya?"

All Might shook his head, "No, no, nonono, simply just having a quirk. If you could have one, would you take it?"

Izuku rubbed his chin, then he did the most dreadful thing of all…he began to mutter. Honestly, I could understand why many characters in the show found it a little overwhelming, even after all these years. The smile on All Might's face slowly faded, but still remained. He leaned towards me.

"Are you getting any of this?"

"Every second or third word," I groaned, "Better than most times, at least. Midoriya!"

Izuku jolted, "Oh, my bad."

All Might laughed heartily, "No, no issue. Such an active mind should not be reprimanded."

"But, to answer your question…No."

"Oh?"

"If I did that, then it would be admitting that you were right. That you can only become a great hero with a quirk. So, even if the quirk given to me would make me the strongest hero in history, I still wouldn't take it. I'm sorry, All Might."

All Might's level mouth quickly formed a smile. "Haha, good answer, Midoriya! You're right, it would be the easy way out, and true heroes always rarely take the easy route. Now, which heroes would you like me to recommend for you?"

"What?"

"Well, if you want to get into U.A., you'll need to train vigorously for the next year. I can recommend several pro heroes that have training that would help you build up your strength." To emphasize his point, All Might flexed his muscles.

"Oh, well, I've actually been looking into cybernetics and robotics." Midoriya brought up his phone, and showed a picture of the blueprints. Not as detailed as on his computer, but enough for him to make spark notes if needed on the fly.

"Yeah," I added, "Midoriya has blueprints for robot arms that he'd use. However, even with both our families saving money, the amount we'd need to build them, let alone find someone to build them is…"

All Might placed a hand to his head. "Ah, yes, one of a hero's greatest obstacles, money. It's an unfortunate necessity of life today, but upcoming heroes usually have a hard time starting out if they aren't financially secure. Hmm, if you are wanting to be a more techy hero, then maybeeee…Ah, yes, of course! One moment."

All Might pulled out his phone and began dialing, stepping away from the table. As his back was turned, I finally let my calm vener break.

"Midoriya, this is insane." I excitedly whispered, to which Izuku and Inko both agreed.

"Any longer," Inko replied, "And I'm not sure my heart can take it."

"Hello," All Might said in his phone, "David, it's me."

'Wait, David? As in David Shield, from the Two Heroes movie? Well, if this works out, maybe I can prevent another catastrophe.'

"Oh, you're in a meeting? I'll be quick. There's a boy here that I'd like to recommend…..He wants to get into U.A….He has some tech I'd think you'd be interested in….The thing is, he's quirkless, just like Melissa…..Yeah….Uh huh…..Okay, I'll give it to him. Catch you another time, David," All Might hung up the phone, then turned back to us, "Would anyone mind giving me a paper and pen?"

Inko quickly pulled a pen from a desk bin, and I grabbed a paper. In a flash, All Might wrote an email address.

"This email is a secondary email for David Shield, a dear friend of mine, and a scientist of I-Island."

"I-ISLAND!?" Midoriya cried out, ""But that's where the best scientists in the world go!"

"Haha, yes! He's currently in a meeting, but send him the details from this email. His secondary account is known only to me and a few close friends of his, so he'll know that you are the boy I spoke off. I have no doubt that, with your analytical mind, combined with David's, you could easily make these inventions before the next school year starts."

Inko finally couldn't take it anymore. Everything she hoped for her boy was coming true in the span of a couple minutes. As a result, she fainted, but I caught her before she began to fall.

"All Might, I think Mrs. Midoriya needs a little rest after all this."

"Oh, of course! Of course! I need to take my leave as well. Justice doesn't take breaks, after all." All Might began walking to the front door. As he reached it, putting his shoes on, Midoriya and I, after gently placing Inko on the couch to make sure she was okay, ran up to him.

"All Might," Midoriya exclaimed, bowing to him, "Thank you." I quickly followed suit.

"Oh, you don't need to thank me, young Midoriya. As I said, this is my way of apologizing. Now, I expect you two to work your hardest. Go get into U.A., and surpass your limits," All Might left the building, then, as he jumped high into the sky, we heard him yell, "PLUS ULTRA!" At those words, several curtains from around the apartment opened up, and some of our neighbors looked out to see All Might's fast fading form. None of them knew that All Might was just in Midoriya's apartment room. From their perspective, All Might was just passing through the area. Funny how they made no response when Inko screamed like a banshee.

We closed the door, then, like cement blocks were tied to them, our shoulders and knees felt heavy.

"Midoriya," I groaned, "Tell me this is a storm and not a hurricane. I don't think I can handle the second phase."

"No," Midoriya replied, his eyes glazed over, "I think I can rest for a secon~Wait, no I can't! I need to send Mr. Shield the email message!" Midoriya sprinted into his room.

"Midoriya, isn't Mr. Shield in a meeting?"

"Yes, but if All Might said this was his secondary account, then it's unlikely that he'd have access to it during a meeting. This way, when he goes to it, it'll be waiting."

"Smart. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to possibly pass out on the living room arm chair."

I didn't catch what Midoriya said, so I simply dropped myself onto the chair in relief. 'We slightly derailed the plot, but now we're on a new track. Not sure if I'll get One for All, though. Then again, I highly doubt All Might would reveal that tidbit in front of Izuku and Inko~Speaking of which.'

Inko slowly came to, rubbing her head. "Oh, Zurasame, I'm sorry, I must've fallen asleep. I had the craziest~"

"A dream about All Might coming into your home and offering to help Izuku become a hero?"

Inko initially looked shocked, but then her shoulders slumped in exhaustion. "He was actually here, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. Mind if you tell my parents about it?"

"Do you not want to?"

"No, but they'll never believe it if it comes from me or Izuku."

Inko wiped a tear from her eye, "True. I just never imagined something this wonderful happening to Izuku."

"Neither did I. Honestly feels too good to be true, and that, once I bonk my head on something, I'll just wake up. Also," I sniffed the air, "What's burning?"

Inko then panicked as she ran for the kitchen. "The unadon!"

Several hours later, I was walking down the street as the sun was beginning to set. Not 'orange sky' time, but getting there. As I turned the corner down to my house's street, I passed an alleyway. As I walked further down, I got the distinct feeling I was being watched.

"Young Zurasame." I heard All Might's voice call out from behind me. Turning, I saw him in his normal skinny form.

"All Might. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to speak to you personally."

"Before you say anything, I'd like to thank you. You're helping Midoriya become a hero, despite what I said to you."

Skinny Might shook his head. "No, like I said. It was my way of apologizing. I meant what I said back there, that you and Midoriya showed more courage than any other hero there. If it weren't for the two of you, I would've simply stood there like a useless bystander. But, more than that, you stood up to me. I'm the Number 1 hero, and the Symbol of Peace…And you said that I was wrong. Many people think that because I bear those titles that I can't be wrong, among other things. But, when I said Midoriya couldn't be a hero, you decided that it wasn't right, that, come hell or high water, you'd make him a hero, and prove me wrong. That level of determination, against someone you admire, that your friend admires…," Skinny Might came up to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, "That's what made my decision."

'Here it comes.' "What decision?"

Skinny Might spread both arms out wide. "Young Zurasame, I choose you to be the inheritor of my quirk."

'Golden. But, I've got to keep appearances.' "..."

"..."

"...HUH?!"

Skinny Might began laughing. "You should see your face."

"Wait, are you saying that you can somehow give me your quirk?"

"You're already catching on. Good. Let me explain. Journalists try to guess what my quirk is, usually ending up with some kind of strength or invulnerability quirk. During interviews, if asked, I usually joke, laughing it off and dodging the question. Because the world needs to believe the Symbol of Peace is just a natural born hero like them. However, it couldn't be farther from the truth. This power isn't my own, it's a sacred torch that was passed down from someone else?"

"Wait, like the Avatar cycle?"

"Ava-what?"

"Old show. Basically think of it like reincarnation, increasing the power as it goes along."

"Oh. Close, but no reincarnations. The name of this quirk is…One for All. And, if you should wish, I can pass it down to you."

"Well~Wait, is that why you were asking Midoriya?"

"Smart. But, no, I didn't plan on giving my quirk. I was merely curious on how he would respond. A quirkless boy determined to become a hero?"

"And, if he had said yes to your question?"

"Then I would've simply played it off, saying that it's a shame you aren't able to get one. If he truly is going to go all out on becoming a quirkless hero, then a symbol like that for all quirkless is something I do not wish to rob. And he would've been a great wielder of One for All, had I chosen him. Watching you and Midoriya, I can see that you share many qualities that will also carry you to greatness, so I wish to bestow upon you my quirk."

I cupped my chin, seeming to be in deep thought. 'This is it. Once I take that quirk, I'm effectively signing my death warrant. However, the positives I could bring before that far outweigh the price.'

"You know, you're taking to this far better than I thought."

"Given the nature of quirks, it's only inevitable that someone would have a quirk that could be passed down to others."

"So, will you accept this power?"

"...I'm in."

"Great! Meet me at Dagoba in two days. We've got work to do."

Two Days Later, Dagoba Municipal Beach Park

'Jesus christ!' I mentally screamed as I worked to pull the storage container…with All Might sitting on top of it. 'How Midoriya worked through it all when he was even more spindly, I'll never know!'

"Come on! Put your back into it!"

At All Might's words, I continued pulling, barely moving it inches at a time. I then summoned several construct ropes, and they began dragging the container even further. Eventually, I had to drop the rope and collapse, my construct fading as well. I heard beeping on my right shoulder, my tracker indicating I was getting too high on my numbers. I took out a small vial, turned the dial on the side of it, and injected it into me. Fast acting insulin for the win. I already used constructs earlier, and this was simply the final straw before it warned me.

"All Might, there's a limit to how far one can be pushed before the body gives out!"

"Ha! Are you giving up already?"

"Hell no. But you don't send a mouse to tackle a tiger. Unless that mouse is Jerry, then you might want to arm the tiger with a missile."

"Hmm, I'm not sure of what you're referring to with this 'Jerry', but I understand your point. But," All Might jumped off the container, "This training is necessary. With the way you are now, if I gave you One for All, you'd simply explode from the power alone."

My face turned white at the thought. "Well, I hope you have a game plan."

"Indeed I do!" With that, All Might gave the same speech about Dagoba beach that he gave to Midoriya in canon, and he expected me to clean up all of the beach…Without my quirk. He figured I might try to make it easier, so he expected me to do all the cleaning without it. A few hours into the job, I heard another voice cry out my name.

"Midoriya?" I exclaimed back, seeing his form coming down the beach. All Might panicked, ran behind some trash, then I saw smoke as Skinny Might came back out.

"Hey, you didn't text me at all this morning." Midoriya began, "I thought we were going to be doing our usual training."

I smacked my face. "Right, sorry, completely forgot. Also, Midoriya, this is…" I let it on so that Skinny Might could introduce himself.

"I'm Yagi Toshinori, Zurasame's trainer." Yagi offered a hand, not spitting blood, thank god.

"Oh," Midoriya took the hand, "I'm Midoriya Izuku, a friend of Zurasame. Yatski, what's going on?"

"I've…decided to scrap our normal training schedule."

Midoriya looked like he was about to faint from shock. "Why?!"

"Simply put, because you need to spend much more time talking with Mr. Shield. If you want to get those arms ready for the U.A. entrance exam, you need all the time you can get. So I decided to look for a physical trainer to give me something to do for the next ten months."

"Are~Are you sure?"

"We can't hold each other back, Izuku," I replied, saying his first name, "We've done all we can trying to work off of each other. Let's see what we can do when working with pros."

Midoriya once again was beginning to cry, so I chuckled, slapping the top of his shoulder.

"And work on those tears! You get emotional too quickly."

"Right!"

Yagi decided to chim in. "When are you talking with Mr. Shield, yo~Midoriya?" He nearly called him young, and, while Skinny Might has a faint voice connection to All Might isn't suspicious, using phrases in conjunction might raise some eyebrows with someone like Midoriya.

"Oh, in an hour or two. He was very interested in the designs, and even came up with an easy, if complicated, way to solve the controlling problem."

"Easy and complicated?" I questioned.

"Yeah, kind of an oxymoron, but it'll make sense once it's actually built. Now," Midoriya slumped, "Now we have to work out the science behind making it work."

"Well then," Yagi exclaimed, "What are you standing around here for?! Go get to work!"

Midoriya smiled, "Right! I'll see you later, Yatski!"

"I expect that thing by the time the exam starts!" I yelled to Midoriya as he ran off the beach. Once he was out of sight, I heard All Might chuckle, then a cold shoulder rise up. This was going to be a hellish ten months.

Nine Months Later

So far, the training was hellish, but I was also making good progress. About six months in, the plotline could've gone even more off the rails, as All Might suggested that my body was possibly ready for One for All. This made sense, as I was certainly more fit than canon Midoriya. However, this brought up a whole new batch of problems. The chief amongst them being 'If I took it early, would his power get weaker in those six months?'. I read plenty of fanfics that detailed that, and All Might always got weaker by the events of the canon show. I had no intention of letting something like that boil over into a problem, so I suggested giving it to me on the day of the exam. He was certainly concerned, but I simply played it off that I should have my body as ready as possible, and I shouldn't take a shortcut. He laughed at my usage of the word shortcut, but he agreed. All the while, as I trained with All Might, Midoriya was hard at work with the Shields.

About a month into the school year, David changed the normal email chat to video calls, though Midoriya had to purchase a camcorder for that. Four months in, and the two of them, already overworking on the specifics, accidentally brought David's daughter, Melissa, into the project. To find out that she was also quirkless brought a smile to Midoriya's face. I'm guessing because his actions might give hope to people like them.

Then, two months before the exam, something shocking occurred. David had personally invited Midoriya and Inko to I-Island, to construct and make final adjustments to Midoriya's robot claws. Needless to say, the Midoriyas were both on the verge of fainting at that news. Not knowing how long they'd be gone, Inko gave my family the keys to their apartment, of which I would gladly help maintain.

Now, a month before the entrance exam, me and my parents were waiting at the docks. We had gotten word that they completed the project, and, while they left for I-Island via plane, they would be coming back to Japan via cruise line. While I-Island may be a moving island, it still did get cruise ships coming to the place, as they explained. I paced back and forth on the docks, concern building up. Even though David said the project was completed, I couldn't help but worry if something went wrong.

'I mean, I'm already fucking up the timeline. Why not screw with me more, right?'

"Yatsunori," my father exclaimed, "You're going to wear out the concrete."

"Sorry, dad. Just can't help but worry. This is Midoriya's lifelong project. If something went wrong…" I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders.

"You and Midoriya have worked so hard on it," my mother consoled, "And, thanks to All Might, he had the best scientist working on it."

"I know. But…he's my best friend. Wouldn't be doing a good job at it if I wasn't worried."

"What you should worry about, Suri," Johnson exclaimed, "Is that our boy is behind on cleaning that beach."

I winched. I came home late one time, and my parents were obviously concerned about what I was doing. On its own, it wasn't an issue, but they noticed I hung out with Izuku less and less. Reluctantly, I introduced them to Yagi. They thankfully didn't piece it together that he was All Might, though they were concerned when he coughed a small amount of blood. Yagi laughed it off, saying that he got into a bad fight years ago. Needless to say, they made doubly sure that I did my training, to which Yagi laughed even more.

Soon, a cruise ship could be seen on the horizon. In time, it reached the docks, and a passenger ramp came down, nearly twice as wide as normal passenger ramps. I guessed it was for the same reason the doors at U.A. were so tall. As passengers came down the ramps, I saw David Shield, but no Midoriya, either Izuku or Inko. Since neither of my parents knew Mr. Shield by face, I decided to approach him.

"Are you Shield David?"

"Ah," David approached me, offering a hand, "You must be Midoriya's friend, Yatsunori Zurasame."

"Indeed," I shook his hand, "I didn't expect you to be here."

"Had to be. I had a hard hand in making the project, so I wanted to see it fully used first hand."

"And…Where is Izuku?"

David simply smiled, turning to look up the ramp. From the darkened area, one claw reached out, planting itself on the side of the ship. One creeped out, placing itself on the ramp. Then, Izuku Midoriya revealed himself, a teary-eyed Inko following closely behind. As Izuku got to the bottom, the two claws keeping him in the air lowered him down, and all four inspected me as I got close. I was breathless as I inspected the arms. They perfectly resemble Doctor Octavius's robot arms. Though, the central unit was different. Rather than a metal clamp over his abdomen, the central until looked like a metal suit, and, if the shirt underneath was any indication, it seemed like he could somehow take it off. However, I didn't really care about the specifics right now. I simply placed my hands on his shoulder, slightly choking as I began tearing up. Following suit, Izuku began to cry as well.

"Izuku," I choked, "You did it."

"We did it," Midoriya hugged me, "I don't think I would be here if it wasn't for you."

And, with that, a new hero began to rise. The Octopus Hero…

…Okay, we may need to workshop that.

Author's Notes: So, Izuku now has Doctor Octavius robot arms. Will certainly make things more interesting down the line. His creation isn't a one-for-one replica, as the technology is more advanced than in that movie, but that will be covered more in another chapter.

So, I've got to confess, I botched this chapter and the previous one. I originally was going to end the previous chapter with All Might not appearing in the street, thus giving the cliffhanger of the timeline potentially screwed. However, I didn't believe that the next chapter would be long enough. So I cut it, then added it to the beginning of this. Then I kept on writing...and writing...and writing...Until I realized I could've left the first chapter in its original state. TLDR, I screwed up the flow of this chapter by not properly ending the previous one. Whoops XD.

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NEXT UPDATE: Multiversal Madness: Saber