"Bakugou and Midoriya are applying for UA. Midoriya, are you sure you don't want to consider an alternate option?" the teacher asked. The class considered laughing, but if they did so, they'd probably regret it. Midoriya was actually pretty terrifying for someone quirkless. "Kacchan, did you hear about the new hero, Mt. Lady? She has a gigantification quirk, which is awesome!" Izuku said, showing his friend his notebook--Hero Analysis #14. The two sat on the school roof. Kacchan wasn't listening, though.

"Kacchan?" Izuku asked.

"[bleep] that Tuesday." Katsuki muttered, before casting a gaze across where the two were.

"Let's...leave here." Kacchan said, a strange look on his face.

"You okay?" Izuku asked. Kacchan mumbled something, and the two walked towards home.

Last night, he'd traveled. Traveled to the world where Izuku was a vigilante, to--for the first time ever--the exact same day, parallel in time, to the current day. And the alternate Katsuki had said something horrible, awful, abominable, to Izuku--

s\w\a\n\d\i\v\e...r\o\o\f...q\u\i\r\k...n\e\x\t\l\i\f\e

He couldn't understand how their alternate versions haad become friends again, a few years later. Then, they had gotten attacked by a sludge villain. That was why he was heading home, instead of towards the arcade--he didn't want to risk it. Then, as they passed under a bridge, a manhole cover exploded.

"RUN!" Katsuki yelled, throwing explosions. They weren't enough.

"KACCHAN!" Izuku screamed, watching the sludge cover his best friend. He pulled and tugged at the mass, but Kacchan's explosions were getting steadily weaker. He had to think. Analyze--he could see the villain's eye. Izuku grabbed a pencil, and stabbed it towards the eye, point blank. The villain screamed, and Kacchan twisted as Izuku scrabbled at the weakening slime. It was working--Kacchan was almost out--and then--and then he stopped. Katsuki's hand dropped, he stopped struggling, his explosions gone, red eyes no longer scrunched in a terrified grimace.

"NO, no, KACCHAN!" Izuku yelled, going for the villain's eye again.

He Had To Save His Friend.

Even If He Was Already Gone.

Kacchan was still on the ground as Izuku pulled the villan away--

BOOM!

Izuku and the villain were thrown back by one of the strongest explosions Izuku had seen from his friend. Eyes again glowing red with rage, fire tearing through the dirty gunk, Kacchan coughed up slime as nitroglycerin sparked, lighting up the shadows of the tunnel. He looked for all the world, thought Izuku, like a creature rising from the depths of the earth. Izuku could almost see an unearthly glow surrounding Kacchan, who was growling something in a strange language as explosions echoed through the space, snapping from his feet as well as his hands. The villan, beat back though he was, rose up from the corner in all his disgusting, slimy glory before lunging once more--

"I AM HERE!"

SMASH!

"All Might!" cried Izuku, because the Number One Hero himself had punched the sludge villain into unresponsiveness. All Might poured the villain into a soda bottle before turning to the two.

"Are you two all right?" he asked. Izuku could hardly believe his eyes.

"Can you sign his notebook? He's too overcome with hero-worship to [bleeping] ask for it himself." Katsuki said, holding out Izuku's notebook. All Might gladly did so.

"I am glad you're all right. For a moment, I thought I'd arrived too late; that's an excellent quirk you have there, young man." All Might said.

"That's what he said." Katsuki glowered, before muttering something. It was, Izuku recognized, what he often said before analysing someone's quirk.

Okay, what the [bleep]. Katsuki was just getting over being dead for eight seconds--this had been only his second time in the gray space between, and he was terrified of nothing more--when he remembered no one knew what quirk All Might had. He had a quirk identifying spell, so--yup, he wasn't expecting seven ghostly figures, some more distinct than the others, and All Might himself surrounded in a nimbus of green lightning. Wait, this was the Green Lightning quirk? The one either stupid-faced million guy, stupid red hair guy, or stupid purple hair guy had? Why did All Might have it? In the quirkless world, All Might had given the magic sword to million guy, so maybe he gave the quirk when it was a quirk--wait, you couldn't GIVE someone a quirk. Unless you had All for One. Did that mean All Might had multiple quirks? Most of the ghostly figures had quirk-markings too, they were following him around, did All Might steal their quirks or something?

"Kacchan, are you okay? You're mumbling." Izuku asked his friend, who looked as though he had seen a ghost. Or several.

"Okay--I'm just going to--leave now." Kacchan said, and ran away.

"He's scared of you? Not that you're scary, Mr. All Might, this is so embarrassing, I meet my greatest hero and my best friend runs away." Izuku mutters.

"Now that I have confirmed you're okay, I must be off! I have to take this villain into custody--what are you doing? Let go!" All Might shouted, leaping through the sky with Izuku attached to his leg. He landed on the top of a building.

"All Might, please, I need to ask you a question!" Izuku said, once he was safe from death by falling. He looked up at his hero--and suddenly, there was a burst of smoke. Once it cleared, All Might looked, very, very different. "All Might?" Izuku asked. All Might, his secret put on the spot, explained.

"Can--can I be a hero without a quirk?" Izuku asked. Kacchan had told him so, many times, as had his mother, but this--this was All Might.

"My boy--" All Might started to speak, but before he could finish his sentence, a door leading downstairs slammed open. Katsuki was there. He didn't look surprised by All Might's appearance at all.

"Kacchan! Um, what are you doing here?" Izuku asked. The interruption allowed him to gather his courage, and realize what, exactly, All Might would say to him.

"Don't you dare say what you are about to say, All Might. My entire life, people have been telling me, that because I'm quirkless, I'm useless. But you know what? Kacchan says I'm the greatest hero he has ever known." Izuku said.

"He stands up for those who need help, and this past danger--I couldn't have escaped without his help. So don't you [bleep] dare to tell him what all other adults have told him." Katsuki said, almost in a single breath, following up on what his friend said.

"Your concern for your friend is commendable, young man, but that wasn't what I was going to say. Young Midoriya, you save your friend's life, and I was going to tell you that that ability of yours--to just move, to act regardless of danger--is the mark of a true hero. I'm confused as to how you do not look surprised at my appearance, young...Kacchan." All Might said.

"You're wearing the same clothes, and have the same hair. Wasn't hard. And my name's Bakugou!" Katsuki says, trying not to look at the ghosts, who, even though the spell for quirk-viewing had worn off, had not disappeared. It was beginning to annoy him.

"Young Midoriya, I believe you have the drive, and the ability, to become a hero without a quirk. But, should you desire one...due to my failing powers, I am in need of a successor. I would be honored if you accepted my quirk, and with my guidance, became the next Symbol of Peace." All Might said.

"Toshi, you had better tell him about All for One first." the most visible ghost said. Hah! Katsuki knew there was something strange with all the floating quirk symbols--uh oh.

Shimura Nana saw the young boy with blond hair turn towards her as she spoke, and realized the truth of his running away, earlier--he could see her. He could see her, and the other past holders.

"How?" Fifth asked, realizing this as well.

Katsuki grabbed Izuku's wrist.

"Let's meet at Dagobah Beach tomorrow. I've had [bleep] enough for one day." he said, dragging his friend back home.