"Rise and shine young Heroes!"
He really didn't want to get up today.
"Rise and shine young Heroes!"
Izuku Midoriya clutched at the All Might blanket and curled over on his side.
"Rise and shine young Heroes!"
He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a pained groan that entailed his mood on this fine Saturday morning.
"The day awaits with a smile!"
Izuku pressed an All Might graphic pillow over his head to block his ear from the intrusive noise.
"Rise and shine young Heroes!"
"Please, not today, All Might," Izuku whispered into All Might's bicep.
"Rise and shine young Heroes!"
He began to tap the sides of his bed rhythmically. Izuku really didn't want to get up today. Yesterday had been exhausting to say the least. It felt like he hadn't slept in days. Izuku considered if that was one of the many drawbacks of his Quirk. How many times had he died yesterday?
"Rise and shine young Heroes!"
That was math Izuku wasn't ready for this early in the morning. Last night, falling asleep felt so immeasurably good. Now though? He wanted to go back to sleep. As if that entire time Izuku had been awake…
"The day awaits with a smile!"
But that would mean…
His brain activity never reset when he died. Of course it didn't. If it had then he wouldn't have remembered any of the different loops. But if that was the case then the entire time Izuku had been awake even in all of the reset loops…
I've been awake for days!
It was no wonder why he had such a hard time thinking of such a simple solution to the Sludge Villain problem. All he had to do was not knock the bottle loose from All Might's pockets. He didn't actually have to fight the Villain or physically save Kaachan. But he had been so tired that he couldn't think straight!
"Rise and shine young Heroes!"
But wait… if my brain doesn't reset then how am I still alive? That time I dropped from the roof should have left some lasting damage to my brain cells. And every time I've been choked, that too should have damaged my brain by lack of oxygen. So my reset obviously keeps my brain intact enough so that I can still remember everything, I can still feel tired and exhausted from lack of sleep. But most importantly it probably heals my damaged brain cells! That just begs to question how Return By Death works as my Quirk? If consistent deaths can physically weigh on my mind, what else stays the same? Can I get physically stronger and have my body retain that muscle when I reset? Or is it just my brain that gets the special treatment. And if so, what effect is this Quirk having on my brain normally? I should probably test this afterschool-
"Rise and shine young Heroes!"
"Today is Saturday!" Izuku Midoriya bounded out of bed in an instant with his sudden realization. Today was Saturday. The Yuuei Entrance Exams would take place in less than a year. Izuku in his current state could not waste a single day without preparing. He'd been too preoccupied with the entire Sludge Villain yesterday. But today was going to be his starting line.
"Rise and shine young Heroes!"
Izuku whirled and tapped a button on his collectors item All Might alarm clock. As much as he liked All Might, he really didn't want to hear All Might say, "Rise and shine young Heroes," or, "the day awaits with a smile," again.
Izuku threw open his All Might designed curtains and let the morning sun light up his room. He hadn't braced for the immediate glare and winced from the brightness. But it was fine. Izuku covered his eyes and smiled through the window and up at the morning sky. Today was going to be a good day.
Inko Midoriya was a little startled by the sudden burst of energy that had come from Izuku's room. It was a Saturday after all and on Saturdays Izuku wasn't prone to leaving his room at least until midday. His usual Saturday mornings were spent on the computer watching the latest All Might or Hero fight. If not, then he would be deep in one of his many Hero Journal's documenting or reviewing Quirks.
"Hey Mom, I'm going out today. Do we need anything from the store?" Izuku once again surprised his Mother. It wasn't often that Izuku would offer to make a trip to the store but again… on a Saturday morning?
Inko frowned at her son. "Is there no new All Might videos, hunny?"
Izuku blinked. What?
Izuku shrugged. "Probably, Mom." He guessed there would be. Especially after the Sludge Villain incident but it wouldn't be anything too interesting. Just footage of All Might letting the Villain get away and no one had been around to record All Might saving Izuku and actually defeating the Villain in a single punch.
"Is something wrong, hunny?" his Mother asked him.
Izuku shook his head. "No, no. Nothing is wrong, Mom. I just can't waste any time today, that's all."
"What's the special occasion?"
"Special occasion?" Izuku was confused for a moment. "No, Mom. I just- if I want to make it into Yuuei, I have to start training right away."
"Yuuei," Inko looked sad. "Izuku, hunny."
Izuku didn't want to hear it. "Do we need anything from the store?"
Inko hesitated. "No, nothing today, sweetie. But listen, Yuuei isn't-"
"Then, Mom," Izuku cut his Mother off. "Can I borrow some money to buy some weights?"
Inko was startled from Izuku's interruption. It wasn't like Izuku had interrupted his Mother before when he was excited about Heroes or Quirks. But this wasn't like those other times. Both Mother and Son knew that something was off…
Izuku chalked it up to a sudden change in confidence.
Inko was worried. "Well, sure Izuku. But could you tell me why… Why Yuuei? I know they have a wonderful General Education program, they are the top school in the nation-"
"I'm not going into Yuuei for the General Education department."
"Then what about the-"
"I'm not going for the Support Department either." Izuku stared defiantly at his Mother. "I am going to be a part of the Hero Course."
"But, Izuku sweetie," Inko started. "That's too dangerous for my baby, especially without a-"
"I have a Quirk." Izuku stared down at his feet. Guilt was already bubbling in his chest. He couldn't tell her. He couldn't tell anyone about Return By Death. His Quirk wouldn't let him. So if he couldn't tell her about Return By Death… "I can sense danger."
Inko paused her worrying. "What?"
Izuku gulped. Was he really going to do this? It didn't feel right lying to his Mother. It felt like a betrayal, like a dagger in the heart. If she ever found out…
Izuku hoped that Inko Midoriya never found out about his Quirk.
"I can sense danger. Danger Sense." Izuku took a deep breath. "I was attacked by a Villain yesterday."
Inko gasped and clutched at his sides checking for signs of injury. "Oh, dear! You weren't hurt, were you? Oh my sweet baby boy!"
Izuku pried his Mother's hands off of him gently and he smiled at her. "That's when my Quirk activated. You see Mom. I've never had an Invisible Quirk. It was just Dormant because I've never been in danger like that before," Izuku explained to his Mother. The best lies were best told with truth.
"My baby," Inko sobbed. Tears were running down his Mother's face. "I knew something was wrong when you came home yesterday. You weren't acting normal. You were so… miserable."
Miserable? Izuku Midoriya? Last night?
No, impossible. He had been so relieved. He had been happy, right?
Izuku knew he had been tired. He must have looked like it too.
He must have worried his Mother last night.
Izuku felt like he was drowning. He blinked back tears in his emerald eyes. "I'm sorry I worried you, Mom. I didn't mean to."
"Oh, Izuku hunny." Inko held out her arms. "Come here."
Izuku did as his Mother bid and felt warm arms pull him into a hug.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that."
"But it's fine, Mother. I'm fine. And now I know I have a Quirk. I know that I can be a Hero."
Inko hugged him tighter. "Oh. But you'll be in danger. That's what your Quirk does, isn't it? And Yuuei? It'll be dangerous sweetie. Especially when all of the other kids-"
"I know." Izuku patted his Mother's back. "I know all of the other kids will have better Quirks, physical even. It won't be easy. But if becoming a Hero was easy, Mother… then I don't think we'd have Heroes like All Might and Endeavor."
Inko was sobbing into his arm.
"I know it'll be tough. And I'm still willing to go through with it. Yuuei. Becoming a Hero. It's always been my dream, Mother. You know that better than anyone."
"Izuku…"
"So, would you please let me buy some weights? I don't just need to study if I want to get into Yuuei. I'll need to become stronger. The stronger I become, the safer I'll be. Think of it like that, Mom."
Inko was trembling around Izuku.
"Please, Mom."
Izuku waited in his Mother's embrace. And then finally Inko nodded and let him go. Both of them had tears streaming down their cheeks. Inko grabbed several tissues and handed half of them to Izuku. The two spent half a minute drying their eyes.
"Because of what happened yesterday. I know that I can become a Hero. I even met with All Might!" Izuku's eyes were shining.
Inko was giving Izuku fish eyes. "A-All Might?"
Izuku smiled and wiped away another tear. "Yes, Mom. All Might."
Inko flung herself at her Son for yet another hug. This time it was a happy thing. And once again both Midoriya's were in tears.
After telling his Mother all about All Might and how cool he was in person and after eating breakfast and of course after changing and then after actually sitting down at his computer and researching just how to actually get into shape.
Izuku Midoriya stepped out of the Midoriya Apartment and looked out upon the city. A gentle breeze ruffled his green hair and Midoriya pumped his fist into the air. "All right, Izuku. Let's do this, Plus Ultra!"
And thus, Izuku Midoriya descended down the stairs of the complex at a fast and safe pace in a light green shirt, shorts, and his favorite red shoes. Once his left foot hit the city sidewalk he began to run. He got a few odd looks from passersby and a guy with a snout for a nose gave him a thumbs up.
"Glad to see some of today's youth taking advantage of such a beautiful day," the man with the snout commented.
Izuku turned his upper torso while running passed the man and waved. "Good morning, Mister!"
"Good morning to you too, young man!"
Izuku made it five blocks into the city from his apartment when his lungs felt like they were burning.
What the hell? Why is running so hard?
Izuku already wanted to stop. This has been enough for now. He could stop and continue later. Heck he could probably walk the rest of the way to the athletics store.
Izuku shook his head. No damn it! I'm going to have to give it my all if I want to get into Yuuei with my Quirk! This is what it means to Go Beyond! Plus Ultra!
So Izuku kept running.
Izuku only stopped running when his legs were literally shaking. He felt like throwing up. Izuku doubled over and dry heaved. He had no clue how far he'd run. But if it was any guess then maybe he'd run close to two miles.
Izuku coughed and wiped at his lips with a thumb. He felt dizzy. He wanted to drop over and pass out. Someone was patting his back.
"You okay kid?"
Izuku nodded absently.
"How long have you been running, kid?"
Izuku glanced up at the sun's position with one eye. "I don't know. Maybe half an hour?"
The stranger stopped patting his back and Izuku's mind started working. He took a step away from the stranger and spun.
I've heard that voice before!
"With a workout like that for a body like that, you're gonna kill yourself kid. Make sure you take breaks at intervals comfortable with your body. That's how you build muscle. What you're doing here? You're gonna tear something."
Izuku stared up at the Hero.
Izuku stared up at Death Arms.
He pointed up at him. "Y-youre Death Arms! The Punching Hero!"
The Pro Hero suddenly looked taken aback before grinning and scratching his head. "Heh, you a fan, kid?"
Izuku's mind blanked. Was he a fan of Death Arms? He supported all Heroes so did that technically make him a fan? It would be nice to say he was a fan right? But that would be lying. But Death Arms had just given Izuku some running advice.
Izuku shook his head. "No, sorry."
Death Arms looked downcast for a moment before cheering up. "It's okay kid. It's not like I'm in the Top Ten or anything. Just make sure you pace yourself in the future."
Izuku had to ask. "Can I have your autograph?" Izuku dug into his pocket and pulled out a small notepad. Unlike his Hero Journals, this was a smaller size and was what Izuku used when he didn't have his backpack with him.
Death Arms eyed Izuku. "I thought you weren't a fan, kid?"
Izuku shook his head. "Well not exactly. You see, I want to become a Hero myself. And I appreciate all the work every Hero does so I guess maybe that makes me a fan of all Heroes even if I'm personally not. I also like to document and record Hero Quirks because Quirks are so fascinating and my own-"
Death Arms waved Izuku off. "All right. All right. Here." Death Arms reached into his pocket and signed Izuku's little notepad with a pen. "I'm sure you're an interesting kid and you'll make a fine Hero when you get yourself into proper shape. But I'm a Pro Hero."
Izuku accepted his little notepad back.
"I'm on patrol. And you know what they say. Evil never sleeps!"
And with that Death Arms was already running off at a full sprint.
Izuku stared at the Pro Hero with just a hint of jealousy before smiling down at the signature.
"Intervals, huh?" Izuku asked himself.
If he ran in short bursts and stopped. No.
Izuku started to walk. His legs were burning.
He was already so tired and all he had been doing was running. While that constituted as training, he still had to train the rest of his body besides his legs. And on top of all of that he would have to learn how to fight. Oh, and he'd have to study for the end of year finals.
Yuuei only accepted the best of the best. That includes grades.
And he had less than a year to prepare.
I'm so screwed!
Izuku ended up running a total of three more times that morning. His journey had taken him to the Dagobah Municipal Beach.
The place stunk!
"Oh my." Izuku stared at the beach and then to the sign and then back to the beach.
The beach was cluttered with trash. No, the beach was buried beneath trash. Mountains, valleys, it was a world of trash. Rusted cars, old and broken appliances, thrown out garbage, and there was probably at least one dead body in that mess.
"How could anyone let this happen?"
The sun was well into the sky and directly above Izuku. It must have been noon.
Izuku pinched at his nostrils when the sudden toxic smell was sent his way from a windy breeze. Izuku hacked and coughed. This was nasty! How could anyone? Wasn't there some governmental program dedicated to keeping places clean? What about community service? Were there any Heroes who cared about this?
While it was disgusting to look at. It was also quite sad too.
This was a part of his city.
And it seemed as though no one cared…
Against his better judgement, Izuku descended down into the sea of garbage.
Izuku walked around towered vehicles. He stepped over rotting trash bags. He crawled over a dishwasher in between two hills of broken electronics, furniture, and more trash.
After what felt like ten minutes to Izuku of climbing carefully through a jungle gym of trash did he finally see the blue water. And Izuku watched as the tide brought in even more trash. A tire and yet another rotting trash bag struck land and lay where the tide had cast them.
"This is horrible…"
The next morning, Izuku left a note on the kitchen table for his Mother to find and he snuck out of the Midoriya Apartment. The sun was just beginning to rise in the distant horizon when Izuku began picking up the Dagobah Municipal Beach. Two trash bags at a time. He carried them a mile to the city dump and returned to the beach to carry another set. And then another. And another…
Izuku returned to the Midoriya Apartment sometime before noon. He was drenched in sweat and every nasty smell imaginable.
His Mother had gagged and immediately pointed Izuku towards the shower. Izuku made sure the smell was gone before sitting on the living room couch with weights in each hand. Izuku lifted each weight up to his shoulders while watching television and talking with his Mother.
Inko eyed her Son with concern and Izuku only smiled at his Mother. "If I want to make it into Yuuei. Then I've gotta do my best!"
At first this behavior was worrying his Mother. But after a week of this consistent schedule of waking up before dawn. Going down to the beach and cleaning as much as he could before noon. Returning for breakfast and then studying. Some evening he would even return to the beach to clean a little extra.
On school days, Izuku would make sure to head straight to the beach every single day after school.
By now he was carrying three trash bags in each hand.
Izuku started sneaking his hand weights into school. Training his wrist and lower arms under his desk one at a time while studying, listening, taking notes, and taking exams.
Kaachan wasn't taunting or talking with Izuku anymore. If anything, Kaachan seemed just as focused as Izuku. They were both training for Yuuei in their own ways.
As the weeks flew by, Izuku noticed some muscle growth while staring into the bathroom mirror.
"Huh?"
After a month of cleaning the Dagobah Municipal Beach. Izuku had removed every single piece of garbage lying around the beach. You could actually see sand now.
And now that Izuku had cleaned up all of the rotting trash bags laying around…
Izuku stared at the household appliances. Washers, dryers, televisions, cabinets, and everything in between. Izuku stared at the rusted vehicles. Then Izuku stared down at his hands.
What do I do now?
That question had a very simple solution.
Izuku stepped in front of a sink and bent down low to pick it up.
Izuku struggled and strained until it felt like his arms were going to fall off.
Why were sinks so heavy? And this was just a sink. Singular. Izuku glanced around at a couple other sinks and at all of the much bigger and heavier stuff.
I'm going to die.
The simple solution was solved when Izuku began scavenging through the unnatural junkyard and found several small wagons, sleds, and rope. Most of the rope was in terrible condition and Izuku just knew most of it wouldn't hold for more than one trip to the scrapyard. But it's what he had to work with.
Izuku managed to roll the sink onto a pair of sleds. He tied it all together with rope and began to pull. He heaved and grunted. His back hurt like hell but just when he was about to give up…
The sleds moved. And they kept moving. Izuku didn't dare lose momentum and he began to drag the sink towards the scrapyard.
And so began Izuku's improved junk hauling technique.
Until one of the ropes broke only three feet away from the scrapyard.
On the next day Izuku went out and bought some rope that wasn't about to fall apart.
Izuku kept this up for weeks.
When it became easier to move the sleds he began to run with them.
And after two more weeks he didn't need the sleds anymore.
He was carrying massive blown out tires in his arms. He even carried a steel safe on his shoulder!
Now, when Izuku stopped in the morning to check for muscle growth there was definitely some muscle there.
He was ripped.
And it had only taken him six and a half months of hell.
And he had less than that to prepare for the Yuuei Entrance Exams…
One day Izuku had caught Kaachan staring at him in class. There was no malice, no ill intentions. Just plain observation. And then a nod.
Kaachan had nodded at him?
He had. And it wasn't just Izuku's body that had improved. He was almost at the top of his class with all of the extra studying. So much so that several of his teachers had commented on this fact. His teachers at Aldera never said anything nice about him.
As Izuku walked through the halls of Aldera Junior High he noticed that it wasn't just Kaachan noticing his physical development. Some guys were staring with obvious envy. A couple girls blushed as he walked, causing Izuku to blush as well. He wasn't used to so much attention. And to be fair it wasn't a lot of attention. Maybe only three or four people. But to Izuku who had never received attention like this before, it was everything.
Even Kaachan's two friends stopped mocking him. It was so surreal that Izuku thought he had to be dreaming.
But he wasn't dreaming.
He was getting stronger. His grades were getting better. The Dagobah Municipal Beach was nearly cleared. All he had left were a few piles of very heavy appliances and vehicles. But a majority of the beach was spotless. And every time Izuku arrived at the beach to clean up just a little more, he felt good.
This was all well and good.
But he still didn't know how to fight.
And he still hadn't experimented with Return By Death.
If he was going to pass the Yuuei Entrance Exams…
He would have to work on both of those factors on top of everything else.
Three and a half months before the Yuuei Entrance Exams, Izuku was sitting on the beach, leaning up against a tipped over washing machine. He stared at the rising sun, mesmerized. His hand was shaking.
Izuku let out a deep sigh and wanted to cry.
In his shaking hand was a knife from the kitchen.
Before, everytime he had ever done this it was to save someone, to stop the Sludge Villain. But now…
Now it was just to test his Quirk. To see what he could do. How far he could push it…
I'm scared.
Izuku brought the knife up and hesitated. How did he want to do this?
One, two, three…
Izuku blinked down at the knife.
One, two, the-
He shoved the blade into his own throat.
Izuku gagged on the sudden feeling of steel in his throat. He couldn't breathe.
He couldn't breathe.
He was dying.
It hurts!
Izuku was crawling through the sand.
Someone please take it out. Someone, save me…
Izuku clawed at the pain in his throat.
Blood coated the newly cleaned beach and Izuku Midoriya died.
Izuku Midoriya woke up from his bed clutching at his throat and gasping for breath.
It hurts! Someone take it out! Please!
Izuku doubled over his All Might blanket and coughed.
He was shaking. Someone was shaking him. Izuku looked up with wide emerald eyes and stared at his crying Mother.
"Izuku, hunny? What's wrong? Answer me! Please?"
And then Izuku remembered. He wanted to test his Quirk. He had taken a knife from the kitchen with the intention of resetting at the Dagobah Municipal Beach to see if he would wake up on the day the Sludge Villain attacked or if he would wake up much more recently.
"M-Mom?" Izuku croaked.
"Izuku!" His mother wrapped her arms tightly around Izuku. "Oh, Izuku. You were screaming. You wouldn't stop shaking. And your neck! Hunny? What happened?"
My neck?
Izuku felt up around his neck and froze.
Inko was already rushing out of his room and rushing back with bandages.
"Oh, sweetie. Don't touch it!"
Izuku had nearly torn a hole in his throat in his sudden panic.
He hadn't had to use his Quirk in many months. He had completely forgotten what it had felt like to die and reset.
Izuku stared into nothingness.
This wouldn't do.
He couldn't have his Mother worrying over his mental health. Not now. Not when the Entrance Exams were so close.
Inko hadn't let Izuku out of the apartment at all that day. She had been loaded with questions. Izuku had done his best to reassure her that it was just a nightmare.
And somehow Inko had gotten it in her head that Izuku was having nightmares about the Sludge Villain incident…
He would have to reset.
He couldn't go on with his Mother questioning his career path like she was. She was filled with doubt and she might try to stop him from continuing.
Later that evening, Izuku snuck a knife out of the kitchen and reset in the bathroom.
Izuku Midoriya died in a bloody puddle in the shower.
This time Izuku tried to control his reaction to some degree. He didn't scratch at his throat and he didn't scream. But he did wake up gagging on air and blood that was no longer caught in his throat.
Izuku left for the beach to continue the cleanup ten minutes later.
Three days after he had last reset, Izuku stared at the remaining clutter on the beach. A couple motorized scooters, several washing machines, a car, and a car with flat tires.
Six days after he had last reset, Izuku stared at fewer washing machines, a car, and a car with flat tires.
Izuku began to stretch before climbing into the car. He didn't know what was wrong with it. He wasn't a mechanic. What he did know he had learned from the internet last night. Vehicles could be pushed and or pulled if left in neutral.
Izuku had spent most of the day pushing that car. Until a Pro Hero had stopped him in the city and asked Izuku owned the car, if Izuku had a license to drive, and if Izuku was even old enough to drive.
To which Izuku responded to all of those questions with a solid and definite, "no." He had gone on to explain that he was cleaning up the Dagobah Municipal Beach.
The Hero had been pleasantly surprised and thanked Izuku for his hard work. Then he stared at the car and spoke. "I never knew there was a car buried underneath all of that garbage."
To which Izuku automatically replied. "Two. There's another one."
Nine days after Izuku had reset in his bathroom, Izuku leaned against the last washing machine on the beach.
He was so tired.
He was sore.
Since he had started this strange way of working out and cleaning up the community he had passed out a total of eight times from overworking himself. His grades had actually begun to slightly decline. It wasn't by much and Izuku was sure he could pull them back up once he finished cleaning up the beach.
Izuku glanced over at the rusted car with flat tires.
I've come too far to quit now.
Ten days after Izuku had reset in his bathroom he had cleared the beach of the final washing machine and purchased a hand pump so he could air up the tires.
It took him nearly two hours to put enough air in all of the tires just so he could push it.
After pushing the car an eighth of a mile the tires were already flat again.
Izuku kicked one of the flat tires and immediately regretted it.
He had to air up the tires a total of thirteen times until a Hero had taken the junked car off of his hands and carried it to the scrapyard with some sort of telekinesis Quirk.
On the eleventh day Izuku collapsed onto a completely clean beach.
He had to test Return By Death again. He needed more information.
Izuku wandered into the cold water and plunged the knife in deep.
Izuku Midoriya died in the waters of the Dagobah Municipal Beach.
Izuku Midoriya- staggered, stumbled, and fell face first into sand.
Everything hurts.
His face hurt.
Phantom pain clung to his throat.
He needed to find a better way to reset.
Izuku listened to the tide and-
The tide? Sand? This isn't my room!
Izuku pushed himself off of the ground and stared at the Dagobah Municipal Beach. He spat up some sand, turned and sank to his knees when he saw a washing machine and a car with flat tires in the distance.
Izuku proceeded to scream.
Three days later, Izuku was sprawled out on the beach smiling.
The beach was beautiful. People had taken notice and the beach was now lightly populated.
Izuku Midoriya started to exercise. He may have finished cleaning the beach but he still had training to keep up.
While Izuku was doing a series of three hundred sit ups he noticed a trash bag wash onto the shore.
He glared at it.
With less than two months before the Yuuei Entrance Exams, Izuku started watching YouTube videos. Specifically about fighting. Classic fighting styles and basic self defense tutorials as well as modern day fighting in depth discussions, lectures, and practice from Pro Hero Gun Head. Those were the most helpful to Izuku.
While it was true that after staying up late at night watching these videos over and over again wasn't helping him become a better fighter.
Actually rehearsing some of the moves he memorized from rewatching the videos was helpful.
One morning Izuku had passed out mid punch in a series of punches. That was when his Mother had found him and scolded him for recklessly training like he had been.
Izuku considered resetting until his Mother revealed that she'd been worried for months now.
And after what Izuku had learned from his Quirk. He couldn't reset whole months.
Heck he couldn't reset whole weeks.
Sometimes he'd wake up on the same day. And like the last reset, he could wake up a whole two days before the actual reset.
Izuku opened up a new notebook dedicated to his Quirk alone.
There were just too many questions.
And he really didn't want to test them all.
It still terrified him to reset.
To die.
"I-I'm sorry, Mom." And Izuku was sorry. He was sorry that he couldn't reset so that his Mother wouldn't have to worry in the first place.
Izuku promised his Mother he would take it easy until the Entrance Exams. He had cleaned up the beach entirely after all.
What was one more lie?
Izuku didn't let up on his training, or his studying.
He passed out two more times before the day of the Yuuei Entrance Exams.
"What is it you wanted to show me, Uncle Might?"
Toshinori Yagi stared blankly at the beautiful scenery before him. Then he looked back to the sign. And back to the beach again.
What had happened? Who did this? Why did they do it? This would have been the perfect place to ready his successor before the school year began. It wasn't like he was upset that someone had cleaned up the Dagobah Municipal Beach for the first time in nearly thirty years. But really? Now of all times when he needed to train his successor? The universe hated him, it was official.
"I. Uh."
The blonde haired American teenager blinked up innocently at him.
How should he put this? He had dragged her all the way to this city. To this beach because no one had cleaned it in thirty years. Only a couple of months ago it had practically been a junkyard and that he had wanted her to clean it up by hand to train her body for his Quirk.
Also that they were starting very very late and that even if they started now. A whopping two months before the Entrance Exams, there was no way in hell that his successor would be ready to inherit his Quirk. If only he had considered her sooner. If only One For All had pointed to her sooner.
And One For All had pointed to her, eventually. The Quirk was burning passionately for it had chosen All Might's successor for him.
And now, he needed to come up with a brand new way of training his successor that would make her feel proud and heroic at the end of it.
Toshinori sighed.
Melissa Shield patted the Pro Hero on the back with a confused but comforting look. "It's okay, Uncle Might. It's okay."
Toshinori chuckled into his hand. "Do you really have to call me Uncle Might now that you know about my secret?"
Melissa smiled warmly at him. It reminded Toshinori so much of Nana's. Of that green haired boy he had never seen again.
"You'll always be Uncle Might to me, silly."
Toshinori barked out a laugh and straightened.
In a puff of smoke he had transformed.
All Might grinned down at the girl who was tiny next to him. "Come, young Melissa. Let us run across this wonderful beach! Your training begins today!"
Melissa cheered and the two bagan to run across the beach in the early morning.
Whoever had cleaned up this beach, All Might had to admit. They were Plus Ultra!
While Izuku Midoriya was… training for the Yuuei Entrance Exam in his own unique way…
At the Bakugo residence on the upper floor, in Katsuki's room in particular was Katsuki.
Katsuki Bakugo was sat hunched over his desk writing down everything he needed to know for all of his finals for the ninth time today. And with his left hand he was curling hand weights.
Katsuki wasn't the top student in his class academics for nothing after all.
Die! Die! Die!
Katsuki scribbled, labored, killed the pages, his pencils, and his hands.
I'm going to murder these finals!