The ONE True Hero

by J Vision Lil

What if Inko believed in Izuku so he trained and dedicated himself to being a hero? What if he broke his limiter and was rejected from the hero course for being quirkless? This is a story of how Izuku Midoriya became a vigilante greater than any hero. The quirkless Deku who became the One True Hero. OPM deku, martial arts deku, Izumomo, confident deku, smart deku, vigilante deku.

28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28 is out and ready for you good people and I'm glad I was able to get this out so quick. This chapter will answer the unanswered question from the previous chapter and keep the story moving forward. The kind of hero ONE is and the circumstances that made him will be stated here and highlighted more in future chapters, this is just where it starts. New relationships are formed here and while this chapter has a handful of oc's as well as several references please accept and be happy with them because I enjoyed writing them and while some of them might not come back, they serve a purpose in showing the cracks in hero society. I read and liked the review on the last chapter and trust me when I say things are going to keep going. Enjoy!

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Chapter 28 What made you strong

It had been two days since the alien attack and the world was on fire. On one hand you have the people who were excited about the actual confirmation of alien life while on the other hand there were those seeking answers and fearful this was only the beginning of future attacks. Many questions have remained up in the air about that day. Not only did aliens come to earth, but they immediately attacked. Many heroes lost their lives, killed by a single alien that took the combined effort of All Might, Mirko, a UA student, two martial arts masters, two teenage girls and a cyborg to defeat. The independent hero ONE, was claimed to be on the ship and many could see and hear the signs of an intense battle from the ground. Moments after a bright light followed by a powerful bang the ship suddenly blasted off from the city before rocketing back into space. There were theories going around that the ship exploded, given the reports of a bright light in the sky that was the usual sign of an explosion.

Since the attack all types of people have been converging on Musutafu. Many scientists were running scans across the city trying to find if something in particular brought the city to their attention. Also if they may have left any foreign pathogens in the air or anything that may imply that they may be coming back, such as a tracker or a beacon. Alien enthusiasts began showing up hoping to talk to anyone who may have seen the alien or aliens. Foreign governments are clawing for answers and the UN is in an uproar from Japan's refusal to release any excess details about the attack. Prime Minister Yamato is in a bind from the constant calls from world leaders, astronomers, domestic AND foreign, along with the public wanting answers about why this happened, how it could have been prevented and what exactly happened. Against his wishes the names of the non-heroes who defeated the alien on the ground were released to the public. People began flocking to Rising Sky Dojo to get a glimpse of them, despite Yamato warning every news outlet not to bother them.

And then there was ONE. The damage from his battle in Kamino was almost rebuilt, his quirk status was still a hot topic amongst the people and as far as everyone knew, any questions that remained about the aliens could only be answered by him. The independent hero however seemed to be ducking the media. He was spotted all over the Chubu region since then, and those who asked him about what happened were only met with a "I'll tell you later". Whatever he was thinking, it made sense to him. For now everyone was waiting anxiously for the details of that day.

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Rising Sky Dojo

Keizo had finished his morning workout and was enjoying a peaceful meditation in the dojo. He always liked to clear his mind in this place. The quiet, calm atmosphere that was a place for improving one's self not only physically, but mentally and spiritually was his favorite place to be. The past two days have been interesting to say the least, since they defeated the alien several odd balls had made their way to the dojo asking questions about it. What was it like? What did its language sound like? How tall was it? How it smelled and even if it told of its intentions. After the battle and seeing the ship take off into space and seeing the threat was over, his sister along with the girls just went home. He was admittedly a little annoyed with the fact all their names were revealed to the public and now on the lips of everyone in the media. He had to answer to several police accompanied by government officials yesterday. They asked multiple questions about the battle in an attempt to learn everything they could about the attack, almost demandingly with Keizo having to scare them a bit to remind them to be respectful. Despite his sister's protests he indulged them, answering any and all questions about their battle while freeing his sister and the girls of any questioning.

Keizo took cool, crisp breaths and centered himself, his mind and body in perfect tranquility. He could hear his cell ringing from the house, a moment later he sensed his daughter heading to where he was with his phone. "Daddy?" Kiyuki called for him as she entered the dojo with his ringing cell, she found him sitting in the center of the dojo meditating. He opened his left eye in acknowledgment of her presence. She raised the phone, "The Prime Minister's calling you."

The master wasn't surprised to hear this, he extended his hand as his daughter gave it to him. He accepted the call, putting the phone to his ear he spoke, "Hello Naoe. What's it been, five years since we last spoke?"

The Prime Minister on the other line decided to go with the joke, "Has it been that long? It feels more like three to me. How have you been?"

"All things considered the past few days have been an experience. You know with our names and faces all over the media, not to mention the alien enthusiasts, and did I mention government people coming to MY house and being a little hostile in their questioning?"

Yamato could hear his old friend's frustration, he was told about the questioning and how Keizo basically answered for everyone. He had told them before they even went there to be respectful and to not anger him or Michiko, but given the intensity of the situation he figured those unaware of them didn't get the message. "I apologize for that, Keizo. I wanted to suppress as much information about you all as I could, but even I can only do so much when the public wants answers."

Keizo sighed, "It's fine, old friend. On the bright side this seemed to have caused a spark in some to come to the dojo and master themselves. The girls also seem to be handling this new found popularity well."

"Yeah, your daughter, Kiyuki and Saki Okoto. I must admit I was impressed at seeing them fight. They've advanced well beyond their years."

"And thankfully those adolescent egos are surprisingly in check." Keizo joked."

"Couldn't have been me?!" Yamato replied jokingly. The two men shared a laugh before Yamato got back to business, "It's good to hear your voice again but there's another reason why I called."

"Le me guess? You need information about the aliens only ONE can give you, because he's the one who took care of the ship and you can't get in touch with him."

Naoe's face became one of annoyance, "Perceptive as always Keizo. We still don't have all the details yet and I've got world leaders and almost every space organization on the planet breathing down my neck for information. It would be nice if I had all the details, so if you wouldn't mind asking him to swing by my office today to discuss those it would be great." He asked, not trying to sound desperate.

Keizo smiled as he accepted his favor, "Prime Minister sure is a tough job."

"I'm living my dream. But I'd be lying If I didn't wish I could go back and slap my younger self for being so passionate about pursuing this." He joked as he replied with a smile.

"Alight, I'll give him a call and let you know what he says."

"I appreciate that. Take care." Yamato said before hanging up. A moment later he called Michiko, asking her out on a dinner date to a popular Chinese restaurant called Hojo's.

---

Fujiwara lab

ONE, in his beta suit, was sitting in a chair. He had a new smartwatch on his right wrist and he was waiting for Taku to finish setting up the camera for his public announcement. They were in a section of the lab where they set up a filming set, his chair was in front of a white sheet and the lighting was excellent. He had decided to tell the truth and the whole truth about his "quirk" to his fans on his app. The video would go straight to them first and he would happily answer questions later. He'd also give the news station a call to set up an interview with Miko Fujioka. He'd be lying if he didn't say he wasn't a little anxious, he had no intentions of taking off the cowl or revealing his name but he just hoped the people would accept his truth. "Everything set, Intech?"

"Just a minute." He fidgeted with the camera for a moment before he seemed content, "That should be good. And we start in, 3.. 2.."

Before his sidekick could finish counting down, ONE felt and heard a call come through on his cell phone. Reaching behind him to see who was calling he saw it was Keizo, "Sorry man, gotta take this." He told Taku who just raised a flat palm, signifying him to take all the time he needed. ONE answered the phone, "Hello master. Having a good morning?"

"It's been alright so far. But I called you to let you know I just spoke with the Prime Minister. He wants to speak with you about what happened the other day. Today if possible? You're not busy are you?"

ONE looked around at the set up and sighed for a moment, he knew he'd have to talk about his happenings on the ship at some point, but he honestly didn't expect Prime Minister Yamato to go through his master to contact him. "Where does he want to meet to talk?"

"His office in Tokyo."

"This is one of those things I can't postpone so I'll head over there now."

"That's good. I'll call him and tell him you're coming."

"Alright, see you later master." ONE said before hanging up.

Intech looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "What was that about?"

"The Prime Minister reached out to Keizo to talk me into a meeting about everything that went down."

"Well it's not like we didn't know this was coming. I can only imagine the B.S Yamato's been dealing with since the attack. Political nonsense sounds like an actual headache." He scoffed.

ONE chucked, "Ain't that the truth… Let's do this when I get back. You're cool with that right?"

"Sure. Take care of what you need to." Intech said, warmly.

Alright bro. Be right back." He headed towards the elevator and upon reaching the top left the house before leaping into the air and flying towards Tokyo.

---

Kantei: Prime Minister's office and residence

Naoe Yamato sat at his desk, phone to his ear as he leaned back in his chair as he took a break from the work in front of him. He was happy that his old friend had returned his call so fast, "So you spoke to ONE and he agreed to come speak with me?"

"Yes. He said he'd head over right away. I got the impression he may have been in the middle of something so try not to keep him too long. A hero's alway on the move after all."

There was a tapping on the window to his left. "I'll try to remember that." He turned to see ONE floating outside his office, a smile on his face as he playfully tapped the glass. "Thanks again Keizo." He said before hanging up. He gestured to the hero to come in, ONE kicked off the air and vibrated his body, phasing through the glass, launching himself into the office. Yamato looked at the hero who stood up and turned around to face him, "Hello ONE. Sorry for going through such a process to set this up, but the sooner we did this the better."

"I understand. Sorry for not informing you right after the facts but I had a lot to think about. A lot happened the other day."

Yamato took a seat, "I can imagine. I'm happy to see things are going well for you even after I gave you your Independence License."

"And again, I thank you for that. I was actually in the middle of releasing a video when I got the call from Keizo."

"Well, let's wrap things up quickly so you can get back." He pressed a button under his desk and a moment later a man walked in carrying several sheets of paper. He was a middle aged man of above average height with spiky black hair, eyebrows and piercing dark eyes. He wore a black business suit with a white undershirt and a black tie, he also had noticeably muscular build. Yamato raised a hand, gesturing to the man, "ONE, this is Tadaomi Kurasuma, Chief Intelligence at the Ministry Of Defense."

ONE bowed his head in respect, "It's an honor to meet you Mr Kurasuma."

The other man returned a bow of his own, "Likewise." He raised his head and looked the hero in the eye, "I've actually been curious to meet you for a while now, ONE."

The hero smiled, "Not to sound conceited but you wouldn't be the first."

"I mean as far as heroes go you're pretty impressive. But what put you on MY radar is that whole meteor fiasco." He said sternly with a piercing gaze.

He wasn't sure what Kurasuma's quirk was but he could tell from the moment he entered the room he was reading him. That look he gave, while intimidating, was nothing compared to his masters. He gave a warm smile, "Well I couldn't let a meteor fall on my town, could I?"

"I guess not." He raised the papers in his hand, "Sir, I have those photos you requested. Though admittedly it took a while to get them, and there's also something else." He said while casting a quick glance at ONE who caught a glimpse of one of the photos that seemed like a satellite pic.

He walked past the hero and handed the photos to Yamato, the man took the photos and the look in his eyes was telling as he scanned through them. "Thank you Kurasuma." He said before sitting back down. He continued to look at the papers before turning to the hero, "So ONE… We have a lot of information about the aliens that attacked Musutafu the other day. All Might, Mirko and Keizo Tabihara provided us with a lot of useful details. We know that you stopped their initial bombardment of the city based on what Tabihara said, however we're completely in the dark about what happened on the ship. All Might and Mirko were confident you were on it along with that cyborg fella that was with you in Kamino. If you wouldn't mind telling us anything that would be useful to help us better understand this incident we'd appreciate it. And please don't mind Kurasuma, he's only a witness and an extra ear given his position."

ONE took a quick glance at the spiky haired man who met his eyes before facing the Prime Minister, "Alright, I'll tell you all that I know. But you should know it's a long story from my perspective." ONE told the tale of how he initially decided to take the day off after the Kamino incident, how he first noticed the aliens and how he stopped them from destroying the city. He told them how he infiltrated the ship and wrecked in from the inside, all while killing any aliens that crossed his path. He told them about how Genos, the cyborg that helped him during The Storm and Kamino, had made his way onto the ship to help. He told them about his fight with Boros and his motivations for coming to earth, the Cosmic Cube under Mustafu and the prophecy he was told. He finished his story with the details of the ship's core rupturing from their fight and Genos flying it into space to save everyone from the inevitable explosion.

Both men had serious yet uneasy expressions on their faces once ONE was finished speaking, Yamato rested his head on his clenched hands while Kurasuma crossed his arms, the information he just received being a lot to take in. "That's a lot to take in, ONE." Kurasuma said, his unease noticeable in his tone.

Yamato's eyes had been closed since the final details of ONE's story. "So you're basically saying we were attacked by a crew of "Space Pirates". Their objective was to obtain an item that would allow them to commune with a being called God, and their leader just wanted to fight someone as powerful as he was because he was so strong it bored him."

"That is the entire reason for all of this, yes." ONE replied.

Yamato grit his teeth, physically upset, "That is the pettiest thing I've ever heard."

"Welcome to the club, pal. That ship explosion would have turned Japan into a hole in the pacific." ONE said back.

Yamato looked at ONE as he fiddled with the photos again, "ONE, how would you rate the power of Boros?"

ONE registered his question, the look in Yamato's eyes was serious, "I'd say he's the strongest person I've ever fought. I could kinda understand him in a way, when you're strong you want to test it against strong people, but the lack of a challenge can be boring." He paused and let his words sink in to the two men, "Still, even I found that stupid, and I told him that.. After I punched him."

"Well that's a relief. But I was mainly asking you that because of this." Yamato said as he handed him two photos. They were satellite pictures. The first was a photo of the moon that had a massive crater that wasn't there before and the last one was a shot of earth, the clouds parted on a global scale, originating from Japan. "There's a massive crater on the moon the size of a continent and the clouds were parted on a global scale, these photos were taken from satellite recordings during the time of the invasion, do you know anything about this?"

"Both of those were me." ONE answered reluctantly. "During our fight Boros got around my guard and kicked me to the moon. I had to jump back, but, thankfully I landed back on the ship. And as for the second thing, Boros was firing what he claimed to be a planet destroying blast at me, so to save myself AND the earth I countered it with a full power blow." He said with a smile and clenching his right fist.

Yamato kept a serious expression as he took in the hero's response, "So you survived a hit that launched you into the void of space, being on the moon without a suit and atmospheric reentry?"

"Yes. I was actually surprised myself, that was the first time I've actually been in space. Real life zero gravity is fun. I could breath at all up there, but the view of earth was beautiful" He crossed his arms and smiled, "I actually regret not taking a selfie at that time."

Both men went wide eyed at how casual his words were, Kurasuma was the first to comment, "Just how strong ARE you?"

"Extra-eamly! But that's not what matters. What matters is that I used my strength to fight for the people, and in this particular case, the world." He said chipperly with a smile.

Yamato was at a loss for words. While he was thankful to have all the missing pieces to the alien attack, the full picture wasn't making him feel too good as it opened even more questions and the possibility of future problems. "ONE, this "Cosmic Cube". Do you have any idea of finding it or it may draw more aliens to earth? " He asked, lowely.

"I actually don't have an answer.. To either of those questions. All I know is that it's apparently deep in the earth's crust under Musutafu. And as far as that cube is concerned, beings that call themselves "Gods" use them to spread their influence across the universe and the fact that there's one on this planet means they've been doing things here. That's actually a reason why I waited to talk about this, Intech and I made an attempt and scanning and finding this thisWho knows, they may be the reason we have quirks?"

Both Men went wide-eyed at his assumption, "So you can't rule out the possibility that this may happen again, or that this "God" may show up?" Kurasuma asked.

"No I can not, Mr Kurasuma, but what I can guarantee is that I will be here to fight if they choose to come here and attack."

Yamato took a breath, "Ahhh, to think for decades we wanted proof of alien life, now we have it and it may be the worst thing that's ever happened to us." He paused for a moment, thinking to himself, "Thank you for your information ONE." He stood up and bowed to the hero, signifying the end of their meeting.

"Happy I could help, and I hope this makes things easier for what you have to deal with."

"I appreciate your empathy."

"Before I forget, do you think I could get an independent license for my sidekick?" He asked with a smile.

Yamato looked at him for a moment, "That depends, what kind of quirk does he have?"

"A mutation type. It just lets him learn things fast. Not the most physical of superpowers, but we're a team. He works more on the technical side while I work on the physical side."

"I see. His name's Intech right?"

"Yes sir."

"Come back tomorrow, I'll have it for you."

ONE bowed his head, "Thank you so much."

ONE turned around to leave the office, "ONE! One more thing." Kurasuma called to his back. The hero turned around and met his piercing gaze, "While I can appreciate a man who hones his body, after all this, are you claiming to be quirkless?"

ONE eyed the older man, both unflinching. This is why he wanted to knock out his quirk issue earlier, it's about time. And in all honesty he was tired of hiding that side of himself especially when it can help and motivate people like him. He gave Kurasuma a warm smile, "Download my app, Mr, Kurasuma. Everyone will know soon enough." He said before walking out of the office, he closed the door behind him and left the two men alone.

Kurasuma faced Yamato, "He wasn't exactly what I expected."

"Really? And what was your perception of him?" Yamato asked.

"Well he wasn't nearly as arrogant as I thought. He just seemed like a normal guy who wants to help people. Who just happens to be incredibly strong, almost god-like."

Yamato registered his words, "In all honesty the way he spoke about stopping a supposedly planet destroying blast disturbed me a little. Especially considering the results of his "Full Power"."

"You're worried having someone as strong as him could terrify other nations?"

The UN was already in an uproar about the recent things he's taken care of. First the meteor and now this!" Yamato put his left hand to his head, "With all I've seen and heard all I can say is that I'm glad he's on our side."

"You think that he's quirkless?"

Yamato locked eyes with the man, "Kurasuma, you're the physically strongest person in the military, going all the way back to your agent days. As you know, the human body is capable of amazing things, but trust me when I say incredible power can be earned simply through a combination of harsh and proper training." He gave the man a playful smile, "By now everyone should know the quirks of those who fought the alien, and the power they each showed. For the non-heroes that's nothing but honed physical prowess. Also I gave him the Independent License largely because I thought he WAS quirkless and to give him some form of legality. Sometimes having a goal or a dream so dear to your heart can push you to make the impossible possible."

Kurasuma took in the words of the country's leader. " If that's the case do you think it would be possible to hire the Tabiharas to train our Self Defense Forces?"

Yamato's eyes went wide, horrified at the suggestion, "Oh GOD no. The Tabiharas are actually old friends of mine and trust me when I say they're NOT getting involved with the military. They're more than capable, but we have a better chance recruiting someone trained by them than them actually helping us train soldiers."

Kurasuma accepted his answer. He bowed his head, "Excuse me sir." He said before leaving the room, many thoughts going through his mind.

---

Fujiwara lab

Taku had been chilling on his balcony when ONE arrived back at the house. After giving the quick details about his meeting with Yamato the two headed back down to the lab. Everything was already in place and set up perfectly so all they needed was ONE to sit down, face the camera, and Intech to press record "Everything's all set my guy, you ready now?" Intech asked from behind the camera.

ONE took a moment to gather his thoughts, if he had any nerves now was the time to swallow them. He was thankful for all the years of mental training he's done, he would have to thank Keizo later. This was it, the moment he put it all on the table. He took a deep, crisp breath, "Let's do this." He said confidently, smiling at his friend.

Intech gave him a nod, "And here we go in 3.. 2.. 1. Action!" He hit the record button and the light came on.

ONE saw that the camera was now recording him, he made eye contact with the camera and couldn't help but let out a little chuckle. He raised his hands as if welcoming an audience, "Hello everybody it's ONE, your favorite Independent Hero." He put a finger to his lips and smiled slyly, "I'm in an undisclosed location that I guess you could call my workspace. Intech and I do a lot of our investigations here and as you can see we've set up a nice little filming spot." He gestured to the white screen and the area he was sitting in, thankfully the camera didn't show more than it needed to. "It's been a crazy week. A lot of questions, a lot of theories and speculations. The Kaminio Incident, then aliens show up. Just a crazy week and the weekend just started. Many people are looking for answers, wondering why some things happened and how things could have been avoided and if there's a reason to worry. I wanted to make this video to clear up some of the questions, mainly the ones about me."

"I know a lot of things are being said about me right now about my "quirk", those in the media, the public, those of you on the app who have speculated about it and had healthy discussions. I'm coming to you all first to clear the air about it. I know this is the first time I've ever done something like this and in all honesty I knew this day would come.. I just chose to cross that bridge if I ever got to it, and for better or worse that time is now." He paused for a moment, deciding on his next words. "It's true. I, ONE… Am quirkless." He paused for a moment and let the words set in. "I'm pretty sure this is a shock to many, but this is my truth." He raised his right foot, "Double jointed pinky toe and everything." He put his foot back down before taking a breath. "It feels kinda weird to finally let this out. Some of you may be racking your brains about how I could possibly be as strong as I am without a quirk? It's no big secret, it's merely the result of training."

"For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a hero. It's almost as if my life began the day I saw the video of All Might debut." His tone became solemn. "It's my earliest memory, and I can't recall anything before that. I thought it was SO cool. This guy.. In a sea of chaos, who was saving people left and right like it was nothing. Just watching everything that was happening around was scary, let alone picturing yourself in that situation. And in the middle of all of it the hero was smiling like it was nothing, assuring everyone there was nothing to fear because he was here." Speaking about this made him a little emotional as slight tears threaten to well in his eyes.

"Those words meant so much to me back then... I can't recall the first time I saw it, but what I do know is that somewhere in between the thousands of times I watched that video I decided I wanted to be a person like that." He paused and centered himself. "And then I turn five. Everyone around me was manifesting their quirks, though I didn't have mine yet just seeing others with theirs was so cool. We all wanted to be heroes back then, everyone already knew who the hero was going to be from the start. I was so innocent. That dream carved into my heart kept me positive as I told everyone how awesome their quarks were, and to wait until I get mine, it'll be just as cool." He lowered his head and clenched his hands together, the cool confident hero everyone knew becoming more and more vulnerable.

"Then there was that day at the doctor's office. After running some tests on me he sat down with me and my mom. He asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, naturally I said hero. "Sorry kid it's not gonna happen." His bluntness is something I will never forget, my whole world shattered in that moment. The rest of the day after that my mind and body were just in a haze. Everything I wanted, everything I knew and understood about myself suddenly became unrealistic, an impossibility. For the first time I learned that all men are not created equally. I was someone different from everyone else, and it scared me… A five year old boy's heart and mind were utterly lost.. With a spirit that was breaking more and more by the moment."

"Almost instinctively I did the one thing that could make me feel better, watch All Might's debut. Something about his smile brought me out of my haze, because he was smiling. He was always smiling no matter how bad things got. I remember trying it for myself, even as tears welled up in my eyes I thought if I could be like him in this hard time, it may make me strong. That I could still be like him even if I didn't have a quirk. Then my mom walked in and found me. I could tell she was reeling from the news just as much as I was. And I'm so thankful for the mother I have because when I asked if I could still be a hero she told me yes. But she also told me since I was quirkless I'd have to work hard to make it happen so I wouldn't worry her. Most parents probably would have apologized and wished things were different. Either my mom was just telling me what I wanted to hear or she truly believed in me, those words saved me and gave me a new direction. I resolved that day to be a hero just like All Might, no matter how hard it was."

"Two years go by and I've adjusted to being the quirkless kid. I had also been teaching myself martial arts as well as strengthening my body. Looking back on it, training back then was pretty unorthodox." He joked with a smile. "It didn't take long for me to become a prime target for bullies. The quirkless kid wanting to be a hero was probably the stupidest thing they've ever heard. Of all the good things that come from all the negatives of bullying it gave me thick skin. It made me tough and I never hesitated to stand up to the bad guys, just like All Might." He said with a warm smile. "There's no shame in losing a fight, I learned early on that those who pick on and belittle others are happiest when you don't fight back or stand up for yourself. And they especially hate it when someone they also beat down stands up for others against them."

"One day, after putting up a good fight but losing to some bullies I made it home. Mom was concerned about my injuries but she had a surprise for me, she had found a place where I could train and gain the strength to become a hero. My injuries didn't matter to me at all at that moment, I just wanted to meet the masters and start learning." His tone became more excited as he told his tale. "The first time I went to the dojo, to say I was excited would be an understatement. I remember walking through the front door and seeing all the other students training, just seeing the moves of people of varying ages lit a spark in me to one of them. I met the masters, and they wanted to know where my head was at. I'll never forget that moment, I threw my heart on the table, telling them my dreams, desires and why I wanted training. I was admittedly desperate, all I wanted was an opportunity. All I wanted was a chance to prove to others and myself that I could be more than what the world had labeled me as. No hand outs, no freebies, just a chance, all while swearing not to let them down or make them regret it… They said becoming a quirkless hero let alone the hero I wanted to be would definitely be impossible, that is unless I trained with them. I was accepted, and a new chapter of my life began.

"I began learning five different martial arts disciplines, seven days a week, I never went a day without training. I was like a sponge, and soaked up everything my masters had to teach each day, and I spent at least an hour after each lesson putting it all into practice and refining my technique. I pushed myself to the limit each and every day, I wanted to be confident and be able to say to myself I'm definitely stronger than I was yesterday. Strengthening my body and mind, mastering my disciplines and most importantly, myself. Never losing sight of the end goal of being a hero… It hurt.. It REALLY hurt. I really want to put this in perspective for you all… Imagine intense training five days a week, twice a day, and after each lesson you train hard for an hour before your next one. Power through that one and train again after. You go home, handle what you need to and do it all over again the next day. And on what should be considered days off you're exercising and running through all your styles, to perfect them even more before you do anything that would be considered play or relaxing." ONE raised bothi his index fingers, "THAT, is what's called dedication."

"I'm not talking about a week or a month, this training was my weekly norm for YEARS. I even added a morning workout that included hundreds of calisthenic reps and dozens of kilometers worth of running on top of early practice in whatever disciplines I'd be training in on that day. Keep in mind I'm still sore and aching from the previous day's training and would be happily tackling that later on that same day. Each and every day, day in and day out, I never stopped. The more I would push myself the more agony I was in after each day, I would acclimate, push harder, be in more pain, acclimate again, and push harder. That's just how it was because I wanted to be a hero SO bad! For someone like me there was no other way, I wasn't born with power but I believed with every fiber of my being I could earn it."

He raised his right palm, looking into it before clenching it into a fist. "And I DID earn it. Through nothing but my own hard work and determination. There were times I could barely move, yet found the strength to muster through my training. Imagine waking up each day and every inch of your body is screaming in pain from the moment you open your eyes in the morning. Finding the strength to walk, get through your intense morning workout and through your day before surpassing yourself to get through hellish training." He looked into the camera, "There were times where I genuinely thought I was going to die. Even when I was spitting and coughing up blood, and my bones made very concerning cracking noises, I never gave up or let that fear stop me. Because the pain I felt in those moments would be nothing if I lost my dream. Effort was all I had, giving up wasn't an option… So the only thing I could do was press on and turn the pain of today into tomorrow's strength."

He took a breath and paused before turning back to the camera, "Whoever decided quirkless meant powerless didn't know what they were talking about. Humans have gained incredible power long before they were born with it, but in this world built on quirks it's easy for people to forget that. I wasn't born with super strength, but I trained to obtain it. I wasn't born with super speed, but I learned how to break the sound barrier with ease. I wasn't born with the ability to fly, but I figured out a way. I wasn't born able to produce fire, but I found a way how. My point in all this is that there's nothing wrong with being born quirkless… Because ANYONE can be powerful with enough determination, heart, and faith in themselves… When I tried to go for the hero course literally no one believed in me. Not even giving me a chance just because I didn't have a quirk. It was painful at the time but I quickly realized it's perfectly fine if they don't believe in me, what matters is if I still believe in myself."

"That's something that can NEVER waiver. I have a WHOLE fire about myself that only those closest to me could possibly notice. I've saved millions, reverted natural disasters, defeated the most powerful and deplorable of villains, obliterated a meteor and defeated space pirates. And… It's all because I trained. That's IT! It's all because I trained to be what I always wanted to be. I'm only standing here as the person I am today because I never gave up." He gave a warm smile to the camera, "And to anyone watching this who's just like me, if you feel out of place, or less than because you're not like everyone else. I want you to know there's nothing wrong with you. Being like everyone else is overrated. Just be you. Pursue your dreams, be all you can be in whatever you chose to be. Just make sure to never forget that anything is possible, and with enough effort and faith in yourself you can make seemingly impossible dreams happen."

He brought his right index and middle finger to his temple and saluted to the camera, "That's all for now. I'm gonna go patrol, and I hope this video reaches people and lets some of you out there know you're not alone. Sometimes the people you never expected to, actually DO understand you, and that's a large reason why I wanted to do this along with clearing the air and getting this off my chest. I was never ashamed of it, my confidence is on a hundred thousand. But given everything that's happened recently on top of my independent status, I had just finally arrived at this bridge and it was time to cross it." He waved to the camera, "See you all soon, and take care." Intech smiled behind the camera before ending the recording.

"That was pretty good, man. Almost had me in my feelings for a moment."

"I'm just glad to finally have this off my chest. It's about time I finally did this."

"Well the video is uploading to the app now, we've got millions of downloads so thousands will see this in no time."

"That's one thing down. Hopefully the response to this is positive. I'm gonna try to get in touch with Miko Fujioka and set up that interview."

"Aw, actually going to the media huh? You know if you do that Katakuri might try to drop in on your interview, or convince her to get in your head?"

"I'm not worried. I'm not taking my cowl off, and Fujioka seems like a relatively good interviewer so I think I can trust her."

"Don't let your guard all the way down ONE." Intech said as he heard an alert. Signaling that the video was now fully updated. Aaand the video's up."

"That's good." ONE said as he stood up. "I'm gonna take off, we'll regroup later after I've patrolled for a while."

"That's fine." The two did a fist bump, "See you later."

With a nod ONE took off from the lab, once he was back on the surface he took off into the air after leaving the house. He alerted on the app that he was now on patrol and waited for requests to come in, in the meantime he was gonna patrol the city and look for crime.

---

As he flew over Musutafu park he could hear a rather intense conversation being had. He kicked the air to stop himself and floated for a moment, looking down he could see a man with a bull mutation quirk and a brown hair woman getting into a dispute. He kicked off the air and flew towards the ground, "You need to leave NOW!" The mother demanded.

"I have a right to be here, I'm JUST working out." The man said defensively.

"Not near my child you don't!" She replied smugly as she reached for her phone and dialed the authorities, as this was happening her son was pleading with her for them to just go. She acknowledged his words with a slight "OK" Before turning back to the man, "I am calling the police!"

Don't DO that, I'm not bothering you."

Dispatch picked up, "Yes, there is a bull-man threatening me and my son." Her body language became defensive and her tone distraught, "We're at Musutafu park, PLEASE HURRY!"

The man who had been recording her this whole time just gave her a look of pure annoyance as he shook his head. He turned the camera on himself, showing him and her, "There she goes yall. This is the world we live in."

Both adults stopped what they were doing when they saw a figure land next to them, both were startled when they recognized the figure. The little boy broke the silence with an excited look, "ONE!" He exclaimed happily.

The hero smiled at the boy, raising his right hand and giving him a small wave, "Hey." He then turned to the adults in question. He saw that the man was large, at least two meters tall with a brawny muscular build, wearing back sneakers, sweatpants and a white tank top under a gray sleeveless jacket. His skin was black with short straight red hair with brown eyes and the head of a bull with short horns that grew from his head at a ninety degree angle. The woman was average height, looked to be in her late twenties with wavy brown hair and green eyes. She wore a burgundy shirt with blue jean shorts and gray shoes while her son wore a blue t-shirt, black shorts and black and white shoes, he also carried a yellow plastic baseball bat and ball. "I was just flying over when I heard your dispute, what's the problem here?" He asked, glancing at the two adults.

The mother was the first to respond, "Thanks for coming, ONE. YOU need to make him leave! He's scaring my son." ONE glanced at the young who seemed to be fanboying over him and not at all bothered by the supposed scary man.

ONE turned to the man who was still recording him, instantly becoming defensive, "I'm not doing anything I'm just working out!"

ONE glanced between the two adults and the picture of what was happening became clear, he turned to the mother, "Okay, if he's working out then what are you and your son doing here?"

The mother looked at him surprised, not expecting him to ask her anything. "We're just out here for a walk but my son wanted to play here because it's so spacious."

ONE crossed his arms and looked at her questionably behind his cowl, "Okay, but that just means you have to share the space. This is a public place, for everyone." He explained calmly.

"He's scaring my son! He needs to leave!" She demanded.

The man groaned, "See ONE, look at her, she's crazy."

ONE looked at the boy who was playing with his ball and bat. "Doesn't look afraid to me?"

"Maybe not now, but he was a moment ago." She looked at the bull-man, "His body language, the way he was yelling was scaring him." He turned to the man with a look that showed they were on the same page here, this was merely an example of quirkism . ONE then went on edge as the scent of blood hit his nose, "Wait a minute." He said as he spread his senses, not only could he hear police sirens getting closer and closer but he also sensed a presence in the bushes up a hill off the path. The two went back to arguing when the woman mentioned she already called the cops, to the hero's annoyance. Clearing the bushes he found a dark blue haired man unconscious, bleeding from the head laying on his stomach with his pants lowered. It didn't take long for him to quickly get a full picture of this, someone had assaulted this guy. He quickly called EMS before he walked back down the hill, he released a small wave of Power aura that scared both of them and made them shut up, "I just found a hurt guy up there. Do either of you have an ID on you?"

The man raised a finger, "I don't have to show you anything, I know my rights." He said defensively.

"True. But the cops are going to be here any minute and they're going to be a lot more scary than me."

"Mommy, I need to go get my ball." the boy said as he headed up the hill.

"Daisuke wait!" The mother ordered but it was too late as the kid spotted the body.

"He's not moving." the boy stated as his mom caught up to him and also caught sight of the body.

"Oh my god! That's why he was acting so crazy he just attacked someone!"

The bull-man was shocked, "Wait, I don't know anything about that!"

"Sir, can you please just show me your ID?" ONE asked, calmly.

"I didn't DO anything!"

"How do I know that? Make this easier for yourself man. I'm not accusing you, you're both suspects to me." The bull-man registered his words, he put his phone down and pulled out his wallet and showed him his ID. ONE took out his hero phone and scanned it, finding his name was Sasuke Oushigaki and had outstanding warrants on his name but nothing violent. He gave back the ID before he turned to the woman who was glaring daggers at the bull-man. "Ma'am, can you show me your ID?"

"Why do you need to see mine! He's the one up to no good here!"

ONE gave her a stern look as he raised a finger, "One, be careful before you accuse someone of something. Two, as far as I'm concerned you're both suspects until I clear you. And three, looking a certain way because of your quirk is NOT a crime, nor a logical reason to call the police." The woman looked at him completely shocked, almost fearful. "Now can you please show me your ID?"

The woman didn't argue and gave it to him, he gave it a scan and saw her name was Hisako Imei and was surprised at what he saw, several instances of false accusations and a restraining order against her. His face was neutral as he went over the information. He walked back up the hill and inspected the man, he noticed before he was still breathing, turning around he saw several squad cars pull up on the road opposite the walking path. He saw several police quickly get out of their cars and began approaching the man, clearly intimidated by him.

"Alright, what's happening here folks?" One of the cops asked/

"That's him! This is the man, officers." She said, pointing.

The man kept his phone out, recording the whole encounter, "Officers, I'm not doing anything to her."

"Back up big guy." A cop ordered, raising a hand.

"What? I'm not doing anything!"

"You got an ID on you?" One of the cops asked.

"I don't have to show you anything, I know my rights."

"Arrest him, he just attacked someone!" The woman exclaimed, these words putting the officers on edge.

"What are you talking about?" They then spotted ONE up the hill near some bushes, "ONE?"

The hero sighed as he made his way down the hill, "I got a victim up here. EMS is enroute."
Two officers walked by him and saw the body, next moment they were ordering the bull-man to put his hands behind his back as they wrestled him to the ground and placed him under arrest. It didn't take long for a crowd to form with phones recording from all angles, the situation with Toudou still fresh in people's minds. EMS along with SVU had showed and quickly helped the man, before loading him into the ambulance. ONE along with lead investigator Biwako Saizo were able to get the man's name, Itona Hatsei.

ONE observed the police at work and mentally noted the mistakes being made around him. Such as caring more about being recorded, not running Imei's ID or even asking her basic questions and just assuming they were correct with the Oushigaki. As the situation continued they decided to put a cuffed Oushigaki in the car, much to his and the hero's disbelief as this was clearly profiling. The crowd recording who were mostly mutants were in support of the man, but ONE wanted to see him and let him know he was all over this case. The ambulance took off, the car carrying Oushigaki was gone and the crowd had begun to disperse. ONE looked around the crime scene, very much disappointed with the officers. He approached Saizo who prepared to leave with her team, "What the hell was that?"

The brown haired woman gave him a stern look, not in the mood. " Excuse you? Watch your mouth ONE. We have a victim of rape with extensive trauma, he was in the area, he refused to answer questions, he has warrants."

"I GET that, but you guys overlooked so many things here." She's gone now, but you let her file a report, took her as a lead witness, and neither you, nor the arresting officers ran Hisako Imei's name, nor did you come correct with Oushigaki. They just cuffed him, threw him in a squad car, THEN ran his name only to find non violent outstanding warrants. You profiled him and arrested him because of how he looks, that's not good or respectable police work."

Saizo and the cops behind her were annoyed by this statement, "We're on the side of the victim here, ONE."

"But DON'T be blinded by implicit quirk bias." The statement seemed to hit them all. "This entire situation started because of that. She called the cops before I even found the body and even then she was adamant Oushigaki was a bad guy and was responsible for this, she said so herself."

Saizo was shocked at his last words, "Wait, the mom called the cops before anyone found the body? Dispatch didn't tell us that."

ONE cocked his head, "Of course they didn't. I'm the one who called that in. I was on the verge of peacefully settling their dispute when I sensed it. Being the detective I am, I ran BOTH of their names and got BOTH of their stories for being here. As they were both in the vicinity making them both suspects, and based on that information it was easy to tell that the mother is either quirkist, or quirk biased, I'm choosing to go with the ladder. While a video of Musutafu PD arresting an innocent man is probably making its rounds across the internet, even as we speak. I'm gonna stick my aura in the water and crack this case. Why? Because I don't have biases." He said before squatting and leaping into the air, flying away. He left the remaining officers at the scene looking off in the direction he flew in, they all took a collective breath as they pondered what he said.

"Really don't like that guy." Saizo said as they headed to their cars.

ONE landed on the roof of a building and called Intech, after the phone rang for a few moments he answered. "Intech?"

"Already on it bro. I put our vic's name into a database and I got a hit on a credit card with his name that was used at a bar downtown early this morning."

"What bar?"

"Polar Star."

"That's near Kuro's steakhouse isn't it?"

"Right across the street. It's one of several outdoor bars on the block and it's open the latest."

"Well, I'll go ask the owner some questions."

"I got a proper photo of our vic, I'm sending it to you now." He said before hanging up.

ONE got the alert and saw the photo of Itona Hatsei, he disappeared in a flash, heading to the bar. He arrived within seconds and found a man with an ape-like appearance cleaning up, the man was admittedly surprised to see the local independent hero walk in. "Hello, ONE. Can I help you?"

"Yes, sorry to interrupt you but I'd like to speak to the owner." He said warmly.

The man smiled and pointed a thumb to himself, "I'm your guy."

"Great, that makes things simpler." He pulls out his phone to show a picture of Hatsei, "This guy was found attacked and left for dead in the park. He was here ordering drinks at last call. Did you see him or notice anyone leaving with him?"

Ther bar owner squinted his eyes as he analyzed the video, "Don't remember him. But it WAS busy. Everyone was outside, no one at the bar. When I'm loaded, I've only got eyes for that paper thing."

"Naturally." ONE said as he looked at him skeptically. "If it's not too much trouble do you mind if I take a look at your security cameras?"

He shrugged, "It wouldn't do you any good, it's busted."

"That's irresponsible." Everything about this guy was giving the hero bad vibes. He knows something he's deliberately not telling the him. He's a good liar, but not good enough. "I'm actually linking up with Musutafu PD on this one, mind if I have some of their tech guys come down and see if they can fix that and maybe find anything?"

He looked at the hero nonchalantly, "Not without a warrant?"

"Noted." ONE bowed his head, "Thanks for your time." He left the bar and he could sense the man's anxiety, he focused his senses and heard him make a call.

Just then Intech came through on his cowl, "Hey ONE. I got the traffic cam footage from last night, sending it to your phone now." ONE looked at his hero phone and saw the video and Hatsei walking along the street with a light haired man taller than him and around the same age.

"That's definitely not Oushigaki." ONE narrowed his eyes, "This guy looks vaguely familiar to me?"

"Because you saw him at the crime scene. I put his face in the video and it turns out he was there recording in the crowd, you spotted him five times."

ONE narrowed his eyes at the man's face, ""Now I remember. He was mouthing off to the cops about recording not being an issue. So our real perp may have gone back to his own crime scene? Got a name?"

"Just a social media handle. He posted the video he recorded at the scene, buddy's not a big fan of cops. That being said, he's tagged two girls in a post, Kaori and Kanae Mitsurugi. There's another girl he didn't tag but these two should be the easiest to find."

"Look for the one he DIDN'T tag? They tend to always have more interesting stories to tell."

Intech thought about it for a moment, "You're right. Get back with you in a bit."

"Alright, while he's looking for that I should head to the hospital. See if Hatsei regained consciousness or if his family has any answers." He took off towards Musutafu Memorial hospital and quickly arrived in the ER. He found two female offices, a blonde and brunette, from SVU speaking to a doctor, he had the head of an owl and seemed upset, "Itona's one of the good guys. Who the hell would do something like this?" The doctor asked in frustration.

"You knew him personally?" One of the cops asked.

He's a resident. He got bumped up to the ER a couple months ago."

"We're very sorry. Can we speak with him? Has he refined consciousness?"

"No he's still unconscious, and he's heading into surgery." The doctor responded.

"Were you able to do a rape kit?" The blonde cp asked.

"No, we had to stabilize him when he got in. But I can get you his clothes."

"We appreciate that, as soon as you can."

"'I'll get those for you." He nodded his head in another direction, "I told his family you were here. Keep in mind, they may not know exactly about his.. Orientation."

"We understand." The blonde cop turned her head and saw ONE approaching them, "What are you doing here, ONE?" She asked demandingly."

"Helping to do the right thing." He answered with a smile.

"This is an active investigation being conducted by OUR unit. Half the department may let you do what you want, but DO NOT, get in the way of our investigation." She said threateningly.

ONE just looked at her unamused. He took out his phone and played a video, it was the video of Oushigaki arrest. "This video is trending. And while the guy you profiled is sitting down at the station, Intech and I have been working and may have found the actual suspect."

The brunette cop had a shocked look, "Already?"

"Already. I heard everything you all just said, so let's go speak with the family. Then we can go back to doing this in our own respective ways." He walked past the two women, leaving them stunned. He approached a pair near the window looking into the operating room. They were a middle aged woman and a young man in his early twenties, both with dark blue hair. "Excuse me?"

The pair turned to the voice that spoke to them, "ONE?" The young man said, a surprised look on his face.

"Would you be Itona Hatsei's family by any chance?"

The woman, who was the same height as his own mother, looked him in the eyes, "I'm his mother."

The young man stood up, "I'm his brother." He paused for a moment as he looked at the hero, "You're the one who found him right?"

"That's right." ONE answered gently as the cops caught up to him. "The cops are doing their own thing with the investigation and so am I. Can I ask the two of you some questions?"

"Of course." The mother answered, clearly upset by this whole situation.

"I heard Itona was a resident here. You must be proud?"

The mother hugged herself, on the verge of tears, "Very… He's worked so hard, he loves his job. He's a good boy."

"I'm sure. He seems like a good guy… How does he normally get home?"

"He walks." The brother answered lowely.

ONE raised an eyebrow behind his cowl, "Through the park? At night?"

The mother perked up, "I tell him not to. It's dangerous!" She recollected herself, "Was it him?.. The guy in the video."

The blonde cop was about to answer but ONE beat her to it, "The police are speaking to him. Tell me, do you anything about Itona's personal life, some of his friends?"

The brother had a look of discontent, as if he knew something. "No. He doesn't have time for that. It's all work." She glanced at her son for a moment, "And family."

ONE got an alert on his phone, Intech had texted him the name of the girl in the photo with their potential perp. "Thank you for your time. I hope your son makes a quick recovery."

Thank you ONE." The mother said as she turned back to the window to look at her son being transferred to surgery.

ONE and the two officers began to leave the ER, they both noted how ONE was watching something on his phone, "Any details you wanna share with us ONE?"

"Intech just sent me the name of somebody who may know the real perp. I'm gonna go talk to her."

"And you don't wanna share that information with us?"

"It's not that I don't WANT to, it's just that we don't investigate the same."

"I haven't forgotten how you accused us of being quirk biased at the scene."

"I apologize if I offended you. Even if you were "By the book" I saw simple mistakes that were made from clear implicit bias. From the arresting officers, to you all. Tell me, did you run Hisako Imei's name at the scene?"

"No but I took her statement." The blonde said defensively.

"So basically you let her file a police report and took her as a witness despite her not knowing anything about the body before I pointed it out? The whole situation started from her claiming Oushigaki was menacing her and her son. It took me twenty seconds to learn that was false and if you HAD run her name you would have known she has a history of making false allegations as well as a restraining order against her. That's your lead witness by the way."

Both women had no words, with looks of discontent. The brunette sighed, "That was our mistake, we should have run her name too."

"Any particular reason why you made that mistake? Keep in mind it wasn't just you, every officer on the scene made that mistake."

Both women looked at him, clearly in thought. ONE sensed a presence and turned to see the brother making his way towards them. "Hey, everyone. Um, I didn't want to say this in front of my mother. But Itona texted me last night, told me not to wait up."

"Do you know where he went?" The blonde cop asked.

"Those outdoor bars downtown." ONE answered, shocking everyone.

"How did you know?" The brother asked.

"Me and my sidekick work fast." He answered with a smile.

Both cops looked at him annoyed, while the brother seemed to like his proactivity.. "Yeah, he said he was going down there. My brother likes to… Unwind, after a shift. It's a party scene down there now."

"We appreciate it, thank you." The brunette cops said before they both left, but not before stealing a glance at the independent hero.

ONE could hear the two women talking as they made their way to the elevator, he turned back to the brother, "One more thing?" He pulled out his phone and showed him the guy his brother left the bar with, "Do you recognize this guy?"

He analyzed the photo, squinting his eyes to see if he knew him. "No. But he is Itona's type. Tall, good looking, boujee dresser."

ONE put his phone away, "You clearly knew. Did he ever talk about that part of his life?"

"My brother compartmentalized. Family and work was one thing, life another."

"I see." ONE gave a final bow, "Thank you for your time."

Musutafu Elementary

ONE was sitting in the principal's office, it felt kinda weird to come back to his childhood school like this, but the person he needed to speak to was an assistant teacher here. After a few minutes of waiting a very well endowed woman with short dark brown hair came in, she was admittedly surprised to see the independent hero. "Hello ONE?"

ONE bowed to the woman respectfully, "Hello Akira Yoshii, thank you for taking the time to come and speak with me."

She gave him a warm smile, "It's not trouble at all. How can I help you?"

Is it okay if we speak in private?"

"That's fine." The two left the office and went outside to the entrance of the school, no one was outside and ONE could sense they were clear to speak freely.

"Let me get straight to the point." He pulled out his phone and showed her the picture she was in with the blonde haired man, "Do you know this man?"

Yoshii had a look of annoyance when she saw the man's face, "What did Jinta do now?"

"Jinta?..."

"Hanasaka. He's pretty charming but he needs to sit down once he's swimming in dry sake."

"You two dated?"

"We had a thing. VERY briefly. When he couldn't get it up.. He'd go off on me." She said with a hint of sadness.

ONE narrowed his eyes, "He never hit you did he?"

Akira shook her head, "No. It was more on the verbal side. The next day he'd turn up with a gift and flowers but that got old. Fast." She put a hand to her cheek, "Not one of my brightest dating choices. Twenty five, and he still lives with his mother. What was I thinking?"

ONE took in these words, "Do you have his address?" Yoshii turned to him with a curious look.

Musutafu PD

ONE had made his way into the station and was headed to the SVU's section of the department. Many officers cast a mix of friendly and angry glances at him as he made his way through the department. He made it to the office and could see a tv playing the news report of the arrest with many expressing anger at what many call a false arrest along with quirk discrimination. He spotted a public prosecutor talking with Seizo, they both were watching the news reporting on the arrest. "That video's got over three million views already, and you don't wanna know how many calls we've been getting. PLEASE, tell me he is good for this?" The prosecutor asked Seizo.

The brown haired woman crossed her arms, "Not entirely but there is an inconsistency in his alibi."

"Great. That gives me something to work with." The prosecutor said, almost excited.

"Don't be too sure." A strong male voice said, startling them both. They turned to see ONE walking towards them.

"What are you doing here, ONE?" The prosecutor aked, annoyed.

"Helping. I've got the name and address of the man who left the bar with Hatsei last night. You should let Oushigaki go and look into him."

Seizo shook her head, "And what do you base this on?"

"He left the bar with him after last call, Hatsei's likes to go home though the park, AND he was one of several people recording at the scene. He's a lot more suspicious than Oushigaki. How credible is your lead witness by the way?"

Seizo shook her head, "You think you're SO smart. Here's what you don't know, there's an inconsistency in his alibi, meaning he had time to attack Itona Hatsei."

ONE crossed his arms, "Okay, mind if I sit in while you talk to him?"

"As long as you don't get in the way." She answered before walking away. ONE just sighed and followed the woman and prosecutor into the interrogation room.

Oushigaki was sitting in a chair at the end of the table, he clearly wasn't pleased with this situation and just wanted this to be over. His eyes went to the door as three people entered, one was the cop from before, the other was ONE, surprisingly and the other was a gray haired man. "Mr Oushigaki this is prosecutor Takashi Kubo and you know ONE." Seizo said, gesturing to the two males.

"ONE and a prosecutor. That supposed to make me nervous?"

ONE raised a hand, "Not from me being here it shouldn't."

Both members of law enforcement looked at the hero unamused. Kubo took a breath, "Not at all Mr Oushigaki, we want the same thing. The truth."

"I already told the cops the truth at the scene."

Seizo looked at him slyly, "Not exactly. We checked when you clocked out at work and the time you said you arrived at the park but it gives a two hour window that includes when Itona Hasei was attacked."

He clasped his hands, "I had nothing to do with that."

"If you didn't do anything, just tell us where you were." ONE encouraged him warmly, "Help yourself out here."

The bull man sat in silence for a moment before he sighed, "I was having coffee with my sponsor. Before our meeting."

Everyone in the room was surprised at this, "Meeting? What program?" ONE asked.

"Narcotics anonymous." He answered, once again shocking everyone. He paused for a moment, "Last winter I hurt my back. I got hooked on oxycodone. I'm clean now."

Seizo's confidence in the situation had fully slipped away, She put her hands on the table and looked him in the eyes, "Why didn't you just tell us that?"

"Because I want to advance. Drivers get better benefits and pay. I didn't want YOU, telling my boss I was at a meeting." ONE crossed his arms and gave them a look so piercing the shame and fact that they arrested him for nothing was starting to hurt.

"Can you give us your sponsor's name?" Seizo asked, almost reluctantly.

They all left the room and sat in the office. ONE had given his information about Jinta Hanasaka to them so they sent two officers to bring him in. Seizo sat in a chair while ONE leaned against a counter. "ONE?" The independent hero turned to her, "I'm NOT biased." She said seriously.

ONE just looked at her for a moment, "I'm sure you're not. But can you say that you came correct when handling this? While profiling is important when it comes to understanding criminals, this was not one of those times."

"ONE, we were by the book."

"In other words it was business as usual? That's not a good sign. When you fight to maintain the status quo you become physically incapable of seeing the holes in your Eutopia. I fight for the people, i.e everyone. So it's important to come correct, be understanding, and not rush to conclusions because of what you see. I was disappointed in you all earlier, that's all."

The brown hair woman took in his words, shame prevalent on her face. As far as she cared her only bias was for the victim. But ONE's words were making her think, how did that bias affect her decisions, how she looked at certain situations, how she treated certain people, how she allowed that treatment. One of her partners came over, "Seizo? I've got Oushigaki's sponsor on the line. He's a corporate lawyer and says he'll only talk to us if Oushigaki gives him permission." The two officers along with ONE went back into the interrogation room.

They put the phone on speaker and laid it on the table in front of the bull man, "It's okay to talk to them, Tsuchiya."

"That's all I needed to hear." A male voice said through the phone.

"When was the last time you saw Oushigaki?" Seizo asked.

"This morning. We met up for coffee and a walk. After the meeting we said goodbye and he said he was heading to the park to workout, captain."

Oushigaki looked at the officers, annoyance and irritation were present on his face, "That's what I've been telling her."

"Oushigaki's been diligently working his program. I don't see him doing anything that would jeopardize his recovery or his job, and I can get about a dozen others to vouch for him as well. Oushigaki do you need a lawyer? I can send someone from my firm."

He faced the officers, "That's up to them. Am I free to go?" That wasn't a question.

Seizo met his gaze, "Yes. We just need to call and have them drop the charges."

"Yeah, I would do that." He said, annoyed.

She turned to her partner who gave her a nod, "I'll start on the paperwork." He was about to leave the room when he stopped, "Oushigaki, one more thing."

"Do I have a choice?"

The cops look at ONE who just shrugged. He pulled out his phone and showed him a picture of Hanasaka, "Do you recognize this man?" ONE asked.

He looked at the photo for a moment before turning to Seizo, "You want my help now?" He asked with a combination of shock and anger.

The brown haired woman could hear his frustration, "He was in the park during the arrest. Did you notice him?"

"Before or after the cops threw me in the squad car?" He asked, clearly sarcastic. Though the officers had looks of sympathy he didn't care. "Look, even if I did notice him, why would I HELP YOU?" His words were directed right as Seizo.

"I understand you have a right to be angry." She said, not trying to sound patronizing.

Her patronizing sounding tone only made him more irritated, "Don't tell ME I have a RIGHT to my anger." He said calmly before leaning back in his chair, "I already know that."

After he was cleared Oushigaki was free to leave the station, ONE decided to walk with him as he made his way out. "I'm sorry that this happened you know."

"At least one of you is. I appreciate what you tried to do back in the park ONE. But I'm not surprised nobody listened to you."

"People are complicated. And no one is perfect, but some things still shouldn't happen."

"They never asked that woman any questions did they?"

"None of the questions they should have." He paused for a moment as they walked, "So what are you gonna do now?"

"Well thankfully it's my day off. So I'm gonna go home, get some sleep, and tomorrow I'm suing them." He said seriously, looking back at the station."

ONE took a breath, "I understand."

Oushigaki looked at him perplexed, "You're not gonna try to talk me out of it?"

"It's an unfortunate situation. Mistakes were made that shouldn't have been. Hopefully something like this will make officers think more laterally when handling cases like this."

The bull man raised an eyebrow clearly surprised. This is the first time he's ever spoken to the independent hero and he was truly surprised at his outlook. "That's pretty optimistic of you, ONE."

The hero shrugged, "I try. I fight for the people. And I've been doing this long enough to know how to handle situations like this. You train for it and experience sharpens your instincts, or at least it should."

Oushigaki smiled at the hero, the first legit smile he's given to a person in a while. Because of how he looks he's always come across as intimidating to most people, the incident in the park this morning wasn't a first for him. Even heroes who notice this happening never really give him the courtesy they give to the person who isn't a mutant type. But ONE was different. From the moment he arrived at the scene he treated them both with complete equality. He didn't make an unfound assumption about him and listened to both sides. He saw the hero side with him after hearing both stories and even when he found the body of the injured man he treated them both as suspects, running both their names and not judging him for what he saw. "Hpm, you're a good guy, ONE."

"I try." He raised a hand to the man, "You have a good one." He said warmly with a smile as he went back into the station.

Several officers tried to come at him when they saw he was still hanging out in the station, ONE just brushed them off and only gave his honest opinions of just helping out. Jinta Hanasaka was brought in for questioning. He lied through his teeth about his interactions with Hatsei and even gave a bogus alibi, they were able to trick him into getting his DNA and it was a match to the semen found in Hatsei's underwear. He then tried to spin another lie about them both being drunk, Hatsei inviting him to the park and trying to assault him and him pushing him off. As this happened his lawyer came in having been hired by the owner of the bar claiming to be looking out for him and his mother. Hanasaka's smugness at the whole thing was sickening, even commenting that he drinks for free every night. After some talking with his lawyer who tried to go for misdemeanor assault he was booked for first degree battery and sexual assault. He tried to call this a "He said, he said" but no one was going for that especially with Hatsei's current state.

ONE left the station and went back to patrolling, he had a few words for the officers of how they had completely wasted time with the wrong person and given the anger at the cops building right now because of this they should redefine their understanding of "By the book".

The day came and went with ONE handling a few requests on the app, the most intense of which included a child's kidnapping. It hit his heart as even though this young girl was being tormented she never stopped believing at every moment of it that he was going to come and save her. He hit the kidnappers with a blast of Power Aura so strong that fear may take over them for the rest of their lives just from hearing his name.

---

Shizuoka City

The sun was beginning to set and across town another situation was going down. An ten year old boy named Shogo Kurano who deeply looks up to the hero ONE, runs into his house. He was a boy of average height with brown hair, brown eyes, wore a black t-shirt with ONE's face on it, cargo shorts and red sneakers just like ONE's shoes. He had a bruise on his left eye and another on his right cheek. He had just seen ONE's video and he could hardly contain his excitement. He was quirkless, his hero was just like him, and though people laugh at and make fun of him they don't know what he goes through everyday. But ONE did. His mom was in the kitchen on the phone and making dinner when he ran in. "Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!" The blonde haired woman turned to her son who had the biggest smile on his face, "He's just like me! He's here! He's coming!"

The mother looked at her son, confused. "Who's here? And who's just like you?"

"It's ONE mom! He's quirkless too!" His smile was so big and tears threatened to leave his eyes. "He said people treated him the same way people treat me." He began punching the air, "All I have to do is work hard enough and I can be a better hero than anyone else. I can beat the bad guys just like him!"

The mother had a look of shock written all over her face, while many had suspected it, the independent hero was quirkless? Just thinking that doesn't make any sense. She knew her son has had a hard time since his diagnosis, but to think he could be like the hero he practically worships? She put a hand on his shoulders, "Shogo." She began.

"It's okay Mom. I made a flag. I promise everything will be just fine. We'll both fix it." He said empathetically.

The boy ran back outside and grabbed the flag he had made. It was a ONE themed flag with the hero's color scheme and his smiling face in the center. This was actually the second one he had made as his father tore up his first one, his friends laughed at him for making it but knew one day his hero would come save him and his mom. He picked up a hammer and some screws and began to nail the flag on the side of the house facing the street. He heard his father yelling from inside the house, and though he was afraid of him, today he promised himself he would be brave. He ran back into the house to find his father, a large muscular man with black hair and a goatee, wearing a tight black shirt and blue jeans, towering over his mother who was on the floor, tears flowing from her eyes and apologizing profusely. "You call this coffee!"

"I'm sorry. I-"

"I'll give you something to be sorry about!" The man declared as he raised his right fist to strike his wife.

Before he threw his punch the boy appeared in front of his mother, arms spread, shielding her. "You leave her alone!"

The father was more annoyed than angry at this action, his fist still clenched, "What the?"

"You're not hurting her again! Not ever!" The boy had conviction in his words, bravery on full display as he swallowed his fear facing the scariest person he knew.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?!"

"ONE'll stop you! You'll see! He'll-" The boy never finished that sentence as he was backhanded by his father. The hit knocked him to the side and made him hit his chin on a nearby table. It was always like this, his dad would get angry, take it out on his mom, and he'd defend her. He could take it, no one would ever hurt his mom. One of the happiest days of his life was when he discovered ONE. A hero who helps everybody. He waited a long time for him to come and save them and he was positive today was the day. Seeing his video made him so happy, but it also taught him something important. Even though you're "Powerless" Don't be afraid to stand up to the bad guys. As he began to pick himself up off the ground he felt his shirt being grabbed roughly.

His father dragged him out of the house towards the basement. He quickly opened the door and threw him down the flight of stairs, "You ain't seeing anybody! And you're gonna stay down here until you learn some respect!" His father yelled before slamming the door.

Shogo picked himself up and leaned against a wall, he had landed pretty hard from that fall and he was angry, sad and afraid. He tucked himself into his knees and began to cry, all the bravery and courage he felt seemed to fade away. Then he remembered his flag. The flag he made for his hero, the faith he's carried that he'll stop the bad guy and save him and his mom. It was frustrating, no matter how bad he is, his mom always says his dad is a good guy. But he knew better. Good guys don't hurt their families, good guys don't make you feel the way his dad has made him feel. He wasn't strong enough to stop this bad guy on his own, save his mom or himself. His dispar finally git a boiling point, "OOOOOONE!" The boy cried out at the top of his lungs, tears streaming down his face as he hoped his hero would hear him.

ONE was flying over the city of Shizuoka having just wrapped up an incident with a jewelry theft when a cry for him hit his ears, he quickly headed in the direction of the scream and arrived at an average looking single floor house. On the side he saw a cool looking flag nailed up with his color scheme and a nice looking picture of his smiling face drawn on it. ONE smiled at seeing this, "That's pretty cool, gotta meet the one who made that." He was certain the scream came from this house. He spread his senses and could sense the layout as well as the people inside, two adults, a man and a woman, and one more. There seemed to be a basement with a boy inside. Turning on his scanner he saw a kid curled up in the basement. He walked along the side of the house and found the door to the basement and opened it. There he found a brown haired boy, curled up and crying in a corner at the bottom of the stairs. The look on his face was fearful, almost as if he were expecting someone else.

His eyes shined with hope when he registered who it was standing at the door, "ONE?" He said as tears of joy flowed over his fearful ones.

The hero descends the stairs, he notes how this boy has bruises on his face and the fear he sensed when he first saw him. "Hey, are you okay kid? What's your name?"

He whipped his tears, "Shogo Kurano." He answered perfectly.

"Hi Shogo. My name's ONE. Did you make that flag up front?"

A bright smile spread across the boy's lips, "Yeah! I made that! You're my favorite hero so.. I thought it would make you come." He answered, lowering his head, almost embarrassed.

"Well now that I'm here and I've seen it, I think it's really cool." ONE said with a warm smile. "What are you doing down here?" He gently put a hand to the boy's bruised eye, "Who did this to you?" He asked, sympathetically.

Shogo lowered his head for a moment, then he remembered his feelings from earlier, "A bad guy." He answered, meeting the hero's eyes.

"A bad guy huh?" He extended a hand to the boy, "Come on, you're safe now."

ONE sensed a presence approaching and turned around just as a tall muscular, black haired man with a tight black shirt and blue jeans stood in the doorway, "What the hell are you doing here?!" He exclaimed, demanding an answer.

ONE looked at the man and glanced back at Shogo who's entire body language was fearful and pleading for help. "I take it this is the bad guy you were talking about?" Shogo just nodded.

ONE turned to the father who was glaring daggers at him, "You've got no right to be here!" ONE walked from the boy, fist clenched as he fully assessed the situation. He released a wave of Power Aura onto the man as he began ascending the steps, the father felt overwhelming fear as if death himself was approaching him. As ONE got closer and closer he felt smaller and smaller, "Y-you hear me! Y-you've got no right!" He managed to squeal through his gripping fear. He fell back as ONE made it to the top of the stairs, feeling like a tiny, insignificant insect before a beast that would claim his life if he so much as breathed wrong.

As ONE stood tall, looking down on the abusive father who had a look of sheer terror, he took a breath to quell his anger. "Shogo! Come here?" The boy made his way up the stairs and saw his father, the scariest person he knew, on the ground, terrified and looking like he was about to pee himself, "What do you see?"

"My dad, finally getting a taste of his own medicine." He answered with an angry look bearing down on his old man.

"You could see it that way. But do you want to know what I see?" Shogo looked at him, "I've seen it plenty of times since I became a hero. A small, pitiful, insignificant creature desperately trying to be big… This is the furthest thing from a man." He gently placed a hand on the boy's head, "Don't ever forget what this looks like. No matter what happens to you, never become this." Shogo registered the hero's words, still looking down on his so-called father who was cowering before the hero. He'd been scared of him for so long, and when ONE came to stop him he wanted him to get punched. But seeing him right now, and how ONE's handled him, he could see ONE was right about him. He would never forget what he's done, and would never be anything like him, ever. His mom came around the corner and put a hand to her mouth from the shock of this situation, ONE shot her a quick glance before turning back to the fearful man. "You will never hurt these people again…Stand up." He ordered.

Shizuoka PD

ONE had brought the father to the police, though he could have torn him apart for what he did, he wanted to teach Shogo that violence is never the answer to an emotional problem. While the father was being handcuffed and escorted away, ONE stood with a local detective, "He was abusing them." She said to the hero's back.

"I know. For no reason." ONE responded with crossed arms.

A cop approached the two, "We were able to get the mom and son to a safe and quiet place and they told us everything." A male cop said. "The mom is so emotionally fragile she actually empathized with him a few times, making excuses for him."

ONE lowered his head as he gripped his own biceps" That's the sad reality in abusive relationships... But there's NEVER an excuse!" He stated angrily. "So what can you do?" ONE asked.

"Well given everything that's been told to us, best case scenario he's looking at at least six years."

"I see." ONE responded. He then sensed two presences approaching, it was Shogo and his mother. His father was sitting in a chair, handcuffed, his head down, not even looking at them. The boy hid behind his mom who was avoiding looking at the man and just looked at ONE, the hero gave them both a warm smile as he approached them.

"Hello you two. How are you holding up?"

The mother answered first, "We're doing fine." She then bowed her head, "Thank you again, ONE." She said with sincerity.

"It was no trouble at all, no need for thanks."

He turned to Shogo who found the courage to look at his father, "What'll happen to him?"

ONE put a hand on his shoulder, "There will be consequences. He'll be going away for a long time for what he did." He pulled out a piece of paper he'd written his number on, "Shogo?" The boy looked at him, "This is the number for my hero phone, I want you to call or text me as long as you want to. Feel free to leave a message, just tell me how you're doing and what you're up to." He said warmly.

Shogo took the paper, "Okay."

The cops took the father away, "Good thing you came along ONE. Otherwise we might've never known about any of this. It needed you to get to the bottom of it." One of the cops said.

ONE turned to leave as Shogo and his mom were taken away, "no, it didn't… All that was needed to handle this was someone.. ANYONE.. With a voice, a phone… And ten yen worth of compassion."

---

The sun had gone down and ONE had gotten out of his suit for a while. He went down to Dagobah beach, the calming splashing of the waves was more intense at night but the scene was still peaceful. Since that time he spent cleaning it, coming down to the beach to clear his head had become one of the most relaxing things he could do. It's just something about the splashing of the waves that was just so tranquil and calming. It didn't matter when in the day it was, this was always a peaceful place. He stood on the platform overlooking the beach, just looking out to the sea. He saw and sensed several people who were walking along the beach, coming and going as they shared in the peaceful atmosphere.

Today had been a pretty full day, it didn't take Yamato long to issue a press conference to address the public about the full details about the alien attack. He didn't mention the "Cosmic Cube" that was supposedly under the city, but he did mention how they met together and discussed the incident, filling in all the blanks and letting it be known the ONE was the one to stop the aliens. Since that and along with his video, the community section on his app has been blowing up. Over ten million people have seen it and the comments are a mix of shock and support. Naturally there's the cynical comments claiming he's a liar and what he does is impossible to imitate merely through training. Many people are even calling for him to be the new symbol of peace. All Might's retirement has sent ripples throughout the world but especially Japan. People are feeling a new sense of uncertainty that hasn't been felt since before he came onto the scene and they don't know how to cope.

Now that All Might's gone Endeavor is now the new number one hero, and while many people don't doubt his effectiveness, he's no All Might and he definitely isn't ONE. Since he became independent he can officially have a spot on the hero billboards, but until the next chart came out it was something he'd address if it ever comes up. Izuku took a breath to decompress about today's events, a gentle, almost soothing breeze blew across the beach. Izuku sensed someone behind him, "Young Midoriya?" Turning around, he saw Small Might in a white dress shirt, black pants and shoes.

"Hello Yagi. Or should I say Small Might?" He said jokingly with a smile.

The skinny blonde man lightly chuckled, as he rubbed the back of his head, "You're a little late, Present Mic's already coined that name."

"Of course he did. What brings you out here?"

"I was just in the neighborhood. It's been a crazy few days and I thought this would be a good place to find some serenity."

Izuku turned back to the beach, "Well you definitely came to the right place. This is one of the most tranquil spots I can think of, it's why I like coming out here. "

All Might took a few steps and stood next to the teen, both taking in the calming sound of the ocean. They stood in silence for a while before the blonde spoke up, "How have you been?"

Izuku didn't turn to look at him and just kept looking straight, "Pretty sure I'm the one who should be asking you that. I heard about your last fight, you used it all up right?"

All Might sighed, "That's right. One For All is gone from me completely now."

"And in spite of that, you still didn't give up, and managed to finish off the alien you all were fighting." Izuku said, turning to the hero with a smile.

All Might was moved by the young man's smile, his tone and aura were different since they last spoke. "I just remembered something at that time, something I had forgotten because of my dependency on my quirk. And that was what made me worthy of it in the first place."

Izuku faced the ocean again, "As long as you have no regrets it's fine. Once you've gone the distance as far as you can, your hero's journey is complete."

"That's a true statement, but I admit retirement hasn't fully set in yet."

"I hear you're a workaholic? I give you a month before you fully set into retirement."

"Well I'm still a teacher so I won't be completely bored." He joked with a smile.

The two shared a brief laugh before they went back to silence. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore maintained the calm atmosphere between the two. All Might turned to the greenette, "I um, saw your video earlier. I watched it with Melissa."

Izuku looked at the skeleton looking man, "It was a bridge I knew someday I'd need to cross. People have been speculating about me and my "quirk" since I stepped on the scene, and after everything that's happened this week I figure I may as well clear the air.. I told my truth. I'll probably have to go on a major platform and go in depth about that but I wanted to go to the public that supports me the most first. The response has been pretty positive, I've met several people today who were greatly impacted by it, in a good way."

"Melissa was one of them too." All Might said, looking him in the eyes.

"When I met her back on I-Island I found out she was just like me. But I couldn't tell her my secret… It was really nice, meeting someone who's like me. Someone who aims high, with the drive and dedication to reach their dream." He chuckled, "I actually wouldn't mind investing in her future support company." He joked.

All Might couldn't help but chuckle at this as well, "I'm sure she'll turn the industry on its head!" He said with a laugh. His laughter stopped and he lowered his head as he readied to say something he's been wanting to tell the young man since he learned his identity. He raised his head, "You know… I was also quirkless as a kid." He said calmly.

Izuku turned to him, shock evident on his face, "What?"

"Now that OFA's gone from me it's the end of my dream.. I'm back to how I used to be."

Izuku looked in the man's sunken blue eyes, this information was something he definitely wasn't expecting. He figured All Might's quirk was a transformation type, hence the muscle form, and the lightning was the power of OFA. His mind is rocked by this revelation, the greatest hero the world has ever seen, was born quirkless. He took a moment, finding his words, "I never would have guessed."

"I was born at a time where people with powers were just starting to become the norm. Japan was very different back in those days. Everyone was on edge, people lived in constant fear and unease and it all goes back to All For One. He was at the peak of his powers and no one could stand against him. Despite not knowing any of this, I still strived to become the symbol of peace. I felt the people needed a symbol to rally behind in order to smile, feel safe and live happily. I met my master and told her about my dreams." He smiled at the nostalgia, "Despite saying openly that I was weird and a little crazy, she believed in my aspirations and passed the power onto me." His face became more solemn, "A quirkless kid who wanted to be a hero.. With dreams and goals much bigger than himself… Her seeing something and believing in me is the reason for all of this."

Izuku kept eye contact with the man as he spoke, his tone about his master carried hints of joy and sorrow. He could tell he was being genuine and was building up to an apology and as he listened he felt numb and a little guilty. At first he assumed All Might was just lucky to be born with his awesome power, that he could never understand him even a little about what he's had to go through. But hearing him speak now just made any anger or resentment he felt towards the man slowly fade. It made him think about his own life, how he wouldn't be who or what he is today without HIS masters, seeing something and giving him a chance. Izuku raised his eyes, looking past All Might, "That's… That's just like me." The blonde man looked at him as he continued, "The day I met my masters I told them why I wanted to be a hero, I poured my heart out, basically expecting them to say no. Wouldn't have been the first time no one wanted to train a quirkless kid, deeming it a waste of time." His words made All Might feel for him, "All I wanted was a chance. Promising with all my HEART not to let them down." He took a breath with an excited smile, "They gave me a chance, and I kept my word." He raised his arms and gestured to himself, " Eight years later and this is the end result. I'm happy with it."

All Might smiled at the young man. All the thoughts he had about all this time, wondering where he came from, what kind of person was he? How was he so powerful and if he had a connection to AFO? Now he was learning how unfounded a lot of his worries were. He was just a boy with a dream, who gave his everything to achieve it. Only to be denied by the people he needed to trust to give him a chance to obtain it. He never thought of himself as an ignorant person, he always tried to handle people with kindness and understanding, and it bothered him that ignorance was a driving force in creating ONE. How different would things have been if he saw past his quirklessness that day, or if UA gave him a chance at the hero course. As much as his role in the situation bothered him, a part of him couldn't help thinking it was for the best. ONE has saved millions, the country, the world, all because he didn't listen to them and give up on being a hero. When he saw his video and he spoke of how much the video of his debut meant to him it made him a little happy, and a little sad because it made him empathize with how he must have felt when the hero he admired shunned his dream and told him to give up. Something he himself never would have done.

"You're pretty impressive, you know that."

Izuku was surprised by the sudden compliment, sensing the man's emotional state. "I was never mad at you All Might. I resented you a little because I was sad. Sad because I thought you were no different than anyone else."

"I am like everyone else… I had become so dependent on the power my quirk gave I completely forgot there was a point in my life I swore to become a great hero even when I didn't have it." He looked the greenette in the eye, "Forgive me... For not understanding. You ARE a hero, in every way that counts young man. My ignorance just wouldn't let me see that."

Izuku stood firm, taking the man's words while wearing an unreadable expression, "It's fine. I accepted that a long time ago. All I want, all I've ever wanted, is to be understood." He looked into the night starry sky, "Personal goals aside, I've learned that deep down that's all most people want. There are a lot of cracks in the society heroes fight to protect, All Might. Today in the park is a textbook example. And without that basic level of understanding, respect, dignity and honor this society won't be a bright place for everyone. I'm just one person with his own problems, but there are more like me, and if those things were present, not just my road but many others may not have been so bad." He took a breath, "My point is, there's still a lot of work to do. You protected us all these years and have done fine. You can rest up after all your years of fighting, because I Got This!" He said confidently in his hero voice.

All Might smiled, "I'm grateful."

The two continued to talk for a while with them exchanging numbers. Izuku left and went home, having dinner with his mom and Eri. Once the two had gone to sleep he headed back out, it was a long night of crime fighting with him not getting back in until the sun was rising. He climbed into his bed and closed his eyes for a good, long sleep.

---

UA High two days later

Two buses pulled into the gate of UA, though things got a little crazy at the start, they were able to complete the summer training camp for the first year students. The students were aware of the chaos that went down while they were at camp, but the teachers reigned them in, convincing them it wasn't an issue until they were back home. Upon learning of the situation in Musutafu and those involved, several of the students were uneasy and for the remainder of the trip it was clear that several of them had many thoughts about the whole thing. Class 1A exited the bus, Mina Ashido stretched happily at being back home, "Oh, man~! We're finally home. Still can't believe all that stuff went down while we were at camp."

"It just goes to show you can't prepare for everything." Hagakure said as the two walked together.

Momo got off the bus, she had been in a flurry of emotions since learning about the alien attack and though she was able to focus on training her worry for Izuku, her master and friends never left her mind. When she saw that they were involved in battling the alien as well as ONE having gotten aboard the ship she couldn't shake the uneasiness she felt from this situation. She had called both Izuku and Michiko and gotten a good picture of everything, but she still needed to speak with Izuku in person. All the things he had to have been dealing with since the Kamino incident she wanted to be next to him, to talk to him, be there for him and find out where his head was at. And now with this situation with aliens and ONE's video he was under even more scrutiny, many people at the camp had seen his video with many of them in complete disbelief that ONE was quirkless. She did her best to keep her cool so as to not give the impression she knew this all along and unintentionally give up Izuku's identity, however since he saw the video Bakugo has been disturbingly calm. He had a look in his eyes that showed clear anger and malice, but it seems he was suppressing it and holding it in until later.

"Yaomomo?" Jiro called out to her friend, concerned.

Momo shook off her thoughts and looked at her friend, "Yes, Jiro?"

"You've been deep in your thoughts the past few days, are you still worried about your master?"

"I apologize if I've seemed distant, but I've had a lot on my mind."

The long earlobed girl blushed slightly, "Well.. If you wanna talk about it, I'll listen."

Momo felt warm at the words and consideration from her friend, "I appreciate it Jiro. But there are people I need to see first."

"That's fine."

"Man! Training camp was hard but we made it through somehow!" Kirishima confidently exclaimed as he stepped off the bus followed by Sero and Bakugo.

"You're not lying about that. I swear everyday it felt hell. The price of being Plus Ultra I guess."

"I trained hard, but I gotta admit I'm a little bummed out that ONE never came back to the camp." Kirishima said.

"In hindsight it's kinda better he didn't. Think about it, if he were helping us he wouldn't have been in the city to stop those aliens when they showed up."

"That whole thing was crazy! I couldn't believe it when I saw it online." He looked at the ash blonde who had a solemn expression with a calmness so unnatural it was almost concerning. "Hey, now that we're back from camp what are you trying to get into Bakugo?" He asked, friendly.

The blonde's expression didn't change as he looked at him, "Nothing with you idiots. There's some things I gotta take care of."

His words may have had his usual angry tone, but internally his thoughts were all over the place. The ones who trained Deku were at the center of the alien attack, and ONE/Deku had taken care of the ship. He basically saved the city and the world, outshining every hero in the country, including All Might while he was busy trying to strengthen his quirk. Speaking of All Might he was completely surprised by his retirement along with what his favorite hero truly looked like. He would be sure to ask him about it when he saw him next but right now his main concern was Deku, since that night in Kamino he's thought about little else. He was aware that the world was at a critical time right now but he didn't care, he would confront the nerd no matter what it took.

As all the students collected their things and left campus the two males teachers watched them, content with the progress everyone made during this week of training. Once everyone was gone the two men headed upstairs to speak with the other teachers, Nezu said there would be a meeting when they got back and though the both just wanted to go home it was the price of being a UA teacher. Eraserhead and Vlad King made their way through the halls of UA, making their way to the conference room. They spoke about the success of the training camp and the event happening in the outside world when they made it to the door. When they entered they found the faculty sitting together waiting for them, "Welcome back Eraserhead, Vlad King." Nezu said welcomingly. "I take it the training camp was a success?"

The student's pushed themselves and each other past their limits, so it wassn't a waste of time at least. "Eraser answered as he took a seat.

He's right. Despite the situation we bumped into, everything went above expectations from a training standpoint." Vlad King added.

"Well I'm sure you're both tired and in need of some needed rest, but before that I wanted to call this meeting to discuss a plan I've been mulling over for a while now." Nezu gestured to the paper in front of each teacher.

Everyone looked at the paper and were shocked by the principal's idea, "You want to implement a dorm system?" Ectoplasm asked, surprised.

"That's right. Given the recent boldness of villains I feel this is a necessary precaution to protect our students as well as allowing us to nurture them in a safe environment." Nezu exclaimed.

"It's not only that, but there's a traitor at UA." Present Mic stated.

Eraserhead sighed, "ONE said the same thing. According to him they didn't get the information about the change in location until we got there the first day, the only ones who didn't know where the camp was until we got there were the students."

Nezu clasped his paws together, a thoughtful expression on his face, "It's unfortunate and difficult to believe that one of our students is helping the villains. All the more reason to move them into dorms. We can keep an eye on them and closely monitor their actions. If this past week has shown me anything it's shown that the future is uncertain, and while you can't prepare for everything you can prepare enough so that you can rise up to the occasion. I'll send the email out later today, then we'll spend the next week meeting the parents and getting consent to house the students." All the teachers nodded and gave their own affirmations. "If there are any questions feel free to ask me later, but for now.. Meeting adjourned." All the teachers packed up and left, the boss's plan still on their minds. All Might stayed behind to talk to Nezu, "Something the matter All Might?" He asked, almost concerned.

"Nothing's wrong necessarily, I just wanted to speak with you." He answered honestly.

"About?" Nezu asked, curiously.

"I spoke with Young Midoriya the other day."

Nezu was surprised to hear this, "Oh really, and how did it go?"

"Really well, surprisingly. We talked, genuinely talked and I found out we were very similar. It really hammered home how things could be different if I tried to understand him back then and saw past his lack of a quirk."

"It's still shameful that someone like him isn't a student just because he's quirkless." Nezu clasped his paws, "I won't do that again." I saw his video, he's the very embodiment of Plus Ultra, I just couldn't see it, nor did I try."

"He seems to have accepted that. But open to watching us change and move forward positively." All Might said solemnly.

"That's a relief. I've been hoping to speak with him since the attack the other day."

"I didn't ask about any of that, but given what the Prime Minister said the other day, they spoke about what happened." All Might stated.

"I would like to know the finer details, that's all. That being said, you seem to have taken a lot from your talk with him."

All Might smiled, "I did… That first step you mentioned, I believe I may have taken it. He wants to make a truly peaceful and accepting world for everyone, and he understands the difference between the dream and reality. Mistakes I made, people I overlooked, lessons I didn't teach, I believe wholeheartedly he can do those things. Not as my successor, or the symbol of peace, but as someone who understands people, and genuinely wants to do right by others."

Nezu took in the hero's words, "Now that you're retired the state of our country is sure to change for the first time in decades. Villains have already shown to be more daring than in previous years and with you away from action they're likely to be even more so. For the first time in a long time this society will have to fend for itself. Endeavor is our current leader, but he's not the most ideal replacement. I saw the false arrest of the bull-man in the park the other day and ONE's attempt to get the police to handle it better. Though ONE has the power, I don't see him being a hero everyone gets behind, but rather a hero who inspires everyone to get strong together, and work together to collectively change and correct the flaws in our society."

All Might looked the chimera in the eyes, "You know principle Nezu, I was thinking exactly the same thing, sir."

---

Chapter 28 is in the books. I hoped you all liked it. I know this chapter lacks the action literally every chapter has but this was one of those where where I wanted ONE's heart to shine over his strength. We know ONE is powerful but I always want his heart to be his biggest thing. That more than any other factor is what makes him the hero he is. His care for others no matter what they look like or who they are, he will save and stand up for them. Ironically this situation with the bull man with the mutation quirk and the plight of those with mutations was something I've been wanting to introduce before the latest events in the Manga. Glad I beat them to the punch on one thing. Things are quiet now for the time being, but that won't last long and many people have their thoughts about ONE right now. How will our favorite independent hero respond and handle the ensuing chaos? Will it even be chaotic? And how will the natural replacement for All Might respond to that call? Stay tuned to find out. Next time, Bakugo goes after Izuku, Izuku and Momo talk, Hisashi comes home for good, UA moves the students into dorms, ONE talks to Todoroki and Endeavor and ONE helps the students train from the licensing exam.