I know this was fast. I just wanted a small DadMight chapter ^_^
OoOoOo
Dagobah Beach had become Izuku's favorite spot in the city in the last year. It allowed him an escape whenever he was feeling particularly stressed or anxious. He liked to jog along the shore, especially at night when nobody was around. With all the trash cleaned up, it really was a beautiful place. And it was also where all of his important talks with All Might happened.
Like this one.
Izuku watched as his mentor smiled kindly at him, but he couldn't bring himself to return it. Not when All Might didn't have One For All anymore, not when his condition had caught up with him. All because he was saving Izuku.
He was the one who ended All Might, he could never make up for that.
All Might spoke up first. "I heard your meeting went relatively well," he noted.
Izuku shrugged. The meeting had been more or less a blur to him. He had sat there as Principal Nezu asked question after question, mentioning events Izuku had temporarily forgotten. It made him feel, well, shitty to realize how desensitized he had become to Kacchan's cruelty. If anyone else had gone through what he did, he would have been angry on their behalf.
So why couldn't he be angry at Kacchan?
Izuku wasn't an angry person, he knew that. But he could get angry at Endeavor and Shigaraki and All For One. Why was Kacchan any different? Why did he have him up on a pedestal?
What was wrong with him?
All Might looked at him with sunken, knowing eyes. "It's not your fault, you know," he said softly. As if Izuku was made of glass, as if he would break at any moment.
Izuku hated it. He chuckled dryly. "Are you talking about Kacchan or All For One?"
"Both."
Izuku clutched his scarred hands, unable to tear his eyes from the ugly marks that ran up both his arms. He would never be ashamed of how they looked, they were a testament to all the work he put on. But they were also a physical representation of his failure, of how he was unable to properly use his own quirk. He didn't deserve One For All.
And the person who did deserve it couldn't use it anymore. Because of him.
Before Izuku could stop them, tears welled in his eyes. Some hero he turned out to be. He couldn't even save himself. If it wasn't for his friends, he would still be with the League of Villains waiting for someone to rescue him like-
Like a quirkless loser.
"Young Midoriya, please," implored All Might. "I was losing One For All anyway."
The boy sniffed, desperately wiping his eyes. "Because you gave it to me," he pointed out.
All Might grasped his shoulder. "And I have never regretted it," he declared. "My boy, I gave you that quirk because you earned it."
Izuku gave him a doubtful look. "Really?" he asked suspiciously. As much as he hated it, All For One's words were still in his head. He knew the villain was manipulative, but what if there had been truth to those words? After all, he hadn't been lying about the HPSC labeling him as a suspect.
His mentor looked taken back. "Of course," he assured him. "Young Midoriya, there is no one else I would entrust with that power."
"Why not?" demanded Izuku. "If you never gave me One For All, you would still have it." A lump formed in his throat. "If I hadn't gotten myself kidnapped, you wouldn't have had to retire." He gave a humorless chuckle, trying to keep the tears from shedding. "I'm supposed to be a great hero, and I'm the one who ended the Symbol of Peace."
Next thing he knew, he was kneeling on the ground, unable to stop the sobs that escaped his throat. All Might was there next to him and holding him close. "None of that," admonished the blond. "You didn't end me, All For One did. You know that. And guess what?"
Izuku sniffed. "What?"
All Might's sunken eyes were soft. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat." His thin fingers ruffled Izuku's hair. "I don't regret anything I had to do to get you back home safely." His grip tightened slightly. "I don't know what All For One or the League told you, but I picked you because you earned it. I believe in you, Young Midoriya. I always have."
Izuku buried his face in his mentor's shoulder, not wanting the man to see him cry. All Might had always been encouraging, but to have this kind of support from someone he had looked up to his entire life...
"If I could redo that moment on the rooftop," All Might continued and Izuku's heart stopped. They never spoke about what happened on the top of that roof. "I would. I should have told you that you could be a hero no matter what. I should have supported you instead of feeling sorry for myself. Because you're more than One For All, Izuku. You're a hero with or without a quirk."
And there it was. When All Might had told him he could be a hero before offering his quirk, Izuku had thought he had healed. That he had reconciled with his four-year-old self. But the feeling back then was nothing compared to how his heart throbbed in his chest now.
All Might believed in him, truly thought the best of him.
Izuku pulled back and wiped his face. "Do you think Kacchan should be expelled?" he asked softly.
His mentor was quiet for a while. Then, "Bakugou is a promising student with so much potential." The words were hesitant, almost regrettable. "But his actions towards you and at the Training Camps proved that he doesn't possess the heart or spirit of a hero. His anger towards you is also very disturbing."
That hadn't exactly answered his question. Not directly, anyway. "All Might," said Izuku. He had been harboring this secret for a while because he hadn't wanted to draw attention to Todoroki that his friend might not want. But with everything that was happening with Bakugou, it didn't feel right anymore. Todoroki and his family deserved justice. And Endeavor shouldn't be a hero. "At the Sports Festival, Todoroki told me something."
His words spilled out of his mouth as he recalled everything Todoroki confessed to him. In all honesty, he should have said something a lot sooner. Who knew if his friend was in danger every time he went home? He watched as All Might went from confused, to disgusted, to angry.
But his mentor expertly reigned in his emotions. "I'll talk to Aizawa," he decided. "Things will be tricky because of Endeavor's status as the number two- now the number one- hero. Luckily, Young Todoroki will be away from him for a while when he moves into the dorms."
Izuku managed to smile. "Thanks, All Might."
OoOoOo
DADMIGHT FTW!
So this is just meant to be a small interlude before we reach the verdict next chapter. Before we get into it, I want to make it clear that what I decide is what I decide. There will be no changing it no matter how many comments I get about it. I'm sorry to those who will be disappointed, but I've had this in mind since at least chapter 10 and I've centered the whole story around it. I hope you all can respect that.
Anyway, I hope you liked it and please review!