A sizable dust cloud remained from All Might's battle with Nomu, surrounding his tall body in waves that made him look more dangerous than before… as if he could, at any moment, pop out and destroy his enemies. He watched Shigaraki and Kurogiri, standing hesitantly some feet away.

"You've weakened?" Shigaraki mused doubtfully. "Not that I can see… we're completely out-matched. How dare you do that to my Nomu…? You cheated…!"

I gave a quiet scoff as I watched the scene before us. Leave it to a villain to call the hero a cheater.

The handsy villain began scratching at his neck once more, furiously ranting, "He's not weak at all! They… they lied to me?!"

Kurogiri floated up beside his shoulder — my best guess was that it was to console him.

"Well?" All Might demanded from where he stood, his glare somehow looking more dangerous even from where we were. "Coming to get me?! What happened to clearing the game…? If you can take me, then bring it on!"

Shigaraki made a growling noise at the back of his throat, clearly uncertain about what he should do next.

My fingers were itching to reach for my sword to try fighting him again.

"Right…" Todoroki commented from right beside me, "we're not ready for this level yet…."

"Says who?" I asked automatically, my line of sight going — along with everyone else's gaze — to the back of the green-haired boy that had walked slightly ahead of us. I eyed the way he now stood stock still, his own fingers curling into fists at his sides, his shoulders tense.

Wherever Midoriya was intending to go… I was more than willing to join in. He knew something about All Might's weakened strength that the rest of us did not, and that led to him being far more nervous than anyone else. His anxious muttering reached my ears, though the words were jumbled too much for me to understand them.

"Midoriya!" Kirishima called out, reaching his hand out as he walked toward him. "We oughta just hang back for now. Rush in and they might take you hostage or something."

No… they don't want hostages. The way they tried to take out Asui, they would easily kill him — at least, Shigaraki would use his quirk to do so — and, anyway, I don't think he's hearing a word you're saying right now, I thought, keeping my eye on Midoriya even as the scene before us continued to unfold.

"Well?" All Might called out again. "What's keeping you?!"

Shigaraki continued scratching relentlessly at his neck — something I was hearing get fervently louder with each scrape. "If only we still had Nomu! If only! He was taking those hits so well…!"

"Tomura Shigaraki…" Kurogiri's smooth voice broke through his panic. "Calm yourself. It's apparent that Nomu did manage to deal some real damage. The kids are holding back for some reason. And reinforcements from the school are bound to arrive in a few minutes. But if the two of us double-team him, we still have a chance…"

Shigaraki was evidently mollified by the portal man's words, as the scratching slowed to a complete stop while he let the suggestion sink in. "Yes… yes, yes… right… right… right…. We can do this…. The final boss is standing right there…"

Tch! I ground my teeth together, bracing myself for the fight to come. If All Might really was on his last leg, then it would likely be left to myself and Midoriya. No matter the cost, that boy was going to jump into the line of fire. Kirishima, Bakugo and Todoroki were of the oblivious opinion that none of us were needed at the moment.

The footsteps of our classmates walking away from us echoed through my eardrums, my gaze still trained on Midoriya who stood just as still as All Might himself.

"All Might'll take care of the big bads," Kirishima said brightly. "Let's go see if we can help the others…"

His words tapered off, however, and their footsteps stopped a short distance away.

"Hey, Midoriya?" Kirishima voiced curiously.

The boy gave no answer. His muttering continued, unaware of anything but the number one hero's situation before us. I even heard Todoroki's soft voice call my name above his mumbles.

"Kirita…"

I placed my finger loosely against the button for my rocket sneakers, hearing Shigaraki speak alongside the sound of his feet tapping against the ground in a run. "This is… revenge for Nomu."

After those words were said, I knew I was right to watch Midoriya. His legs left the ground without a moment's notice, leaving me to quickly speed after him. There was the unmistakable sound of bones breaking, both of his legs flailing uselessly behind him as he soared through the air.

I held back the need to cringe at the sight, trusting in the speed of my sneakers to get to him in time. He was already halfway across the distance toward the villains, who'd just about made it over to All Might… the man that continued standing where he was. He really is weakened… he can't move from that one spot…!

All I heard from behind us was the shock in Kirishima's voice as he yelled, "M-Midoriya?! Kirita?!"

Ahead of me, Midoriya had one fist out in front of him and the other reeled back by his shoulder, aiming to strike the portal villain that had expanded his foggy body into a large, black mass. At the top of his lungs, he shouted, "Just gotta aim for his real body! That'll smash him away! Get away from… All Might!"

My main concern then happened just as I had suspected… Midoriya got closer and, through the darkness of Kurogiri's quirk, came Shigaraki's pale hand aiming to touch Midoriya's face. To kill him. The only good part of that had to be that he had distracted them from All Might, himself, however momentary it might be.

Releasing my finger from the button for my sneakers, I reached both arms out, effectively snatching Midoriya midair around his waist.

Flustered by my action, Midoriya yelled as we plummeted to the ground, "K-Kirita?! No — I won't get another chance!"

"And you won't have any more chances at anything if he touches you!" I retorted, shifting my body position so one arm stayed around Midoriya and my other hand pulled my sword out. "They're going to do everything they can to kill us, and you can't get away with your legs like this!"

"R-Right! Thank you!"

As I expected, Shigaraki's hand continued moving downward through the mass of Kurogiri's portal — almost like another disembodied hand just falling at our speed. While it reached closer toward us, I raised my sword to strike it and Midoriya reeled his fist back again —

THUNK!

Time seemed to freeze. A bullet buried its way into the space between Shigaraki's thumb and pointer finger, causing the villain to immediately retract his hand back through the portal. More gunshots sounded off after that, but I had a more pressing matter to attend to.

Sheathing my sword, I tucked my body in and helped Midoriya do the same before we landed on the ground and I rolled the both of us into an upright position. I then lay him on his back and straightened his legs out — to his hiss of pain — before assessing the situation around us.

All Might, coughing up a stream of blood, was relieved to say, "They're here!"

"Sorry, everyone," a voice called out, echoing throughout the large area.

At the entrance, I spotted the group of our pro hero teachers — the official arrival of our reinforcements. The gun was wielded by none other than Snipe, who kept it at the ready. Along with him were Midnight, Present Mic, Power Loader, Cementoss, Ectoplasm and — among others — Vlad King, on whose shoulder the mouse (or is he a bear?), Principal Nezu sat on.

The principal was the one speaking to everyone. "We're a little late. We brought everyone we could."

Standing directly in front of Vlad King and Principal Nezu was none other than Ida, proudly exclaiming, "President of Class 1A, Tendya Ida! Reporting for duty!"

I smiled at his level of passion. He'd done everything he could to make sure we got enough help, showcasing yet again that I was correct to place my faith in him as our class president. His quirk being one of speed was just a bonus, allowing him the means to do his duties as quickly as possible — a godsend considering the situation.

"Ahhh…" Shigaraki sighed in disappointment. "They're here… game over. Guess we gotta try again another time, Kurogiri… — Guh!"

There were another series of Snipe's gunshots being aimed at the duo, undeniably piercing Shigaraki in his arms and legs as he ducked to protect his head and upper body from fatal injuries. Not a moment later, as he jumped into the swirling darkness of Kurogiri's portal, did the entirety of them both begin to get sucked into one direction, courtesy of Thirteen's ability.

The portal, however, shrunk as he sucked them in… a sign that they were going to be gone before Thirteen could properly gain a hold of them.

Shigaraki spoke as they went, his gaze holding dead onto the number one hero. "I may have failed here, Symbol of Peace… but the next time we meet… You're dead, All Might."

With that, Shigaraki and Kurogiri disappeared from view… leaving an uneasy quiet in their wake.

I heaved a sigh of relief, coupled with the swift loss of adrenaline that reminded me of the throbbing sensation in my left leg… it looked like it was a bit swollen. Testing the muscles with light pushes of my fingers against my leg, there was a slight pain on both sides of my thigh. Damned Nomu… at least it's not broken….

With that out of the way, I tapped Midoriya's shoulder to distract him from his own pain — seeing as his expression was scrunched up to avoid whimpering. "Hey… how are you feeling?"

"I…" he panted, his voice cracking as he covered his eyes with his arm, "… I couldn't do anything…"

I held back a sigh, realizing his pain was far more deep than just in the physical sense. Even I understood what he was feeling — the sense of 'if only I could have done more.' It was a slippery slope to the ego, especially a prideful one.

But All Might surprised even me as he said, "That's not true."

My attention shot up towards him, finding my shock not just in his words but in the form of his body as the dust cloud drifted aside slightly so I could see. Half of him continued to be his muscular self, with the bunny ear hair tuft sticking up and all… while the other half looked anorexic, a sallow-eyed face with the other hair tuft drooped down.

"If you hadn't given me those few seconds… I'd be dead…! You saved me again," he told Midoriya earnestly. Then he shifted his gaze to me, a kind smile on his face as he said, "Both of you."

At that, All Might's body shrunk the remainder of the way. In his place stood a man half his height and four times smaller in body weight — so thin I would've mistaken him as homeless if I'd seen him at any other time. The pants looked extra baggy on him — especially the shirt, torn as it was.

"Did…?" I struggled to find my words, my brain not yet comprehending who or what I was looking at. Finally, I turned to Midoriya to ask, "Did the villains make All Might tiny, or —? Are you crying?!"

A barrage of tears escaped the teen laying on the ground, the arm he'd used to cover his eyes before were now wiping away the snot pouring out his nose. "I'm so glad… you're okay…!" he sniffled to All Might.

My eyes were furrowed as I looked at him, my brain feeling like it was only short-circuiting even further. "What are you crying for? He's okay…! I think?" I said uncertainly, looking back at All Might with a scrutinizing gaze. "Are you okay?"

"I will be fine… thank you, Kirita," All Might said, his voice slightly strenuous.

"Here," I stood, wincing slightly at the strain of doing so before walking purposely over to him, ignoring the sensation in my thigh of a snapping rubber band as I went. That's not a good sign… "You might as well sit down and relax a bit before the medics come."

As I reached him, placing a gentle hand against his shoulder, I heard a shout from the distance. "Midoriya! Kirita! You okay?!"

From where we'd left them, Kirishima came running, his voice and body figure unmistakeable through the dust cloud.

"Kirishima…!" Midoriya's tone sounded worried.

Even All Might's expression as Kirishima got closer was tense, sweat drops forming on his forehead and slowly racing down his face.

At the same moment, the two of them attempted to scream, "Wai —!"

Their shout and Kirishima's bolt to our rescue were cut off by what looked like cement molding from the ground nearby into a sturdy wall blocking us from view. On one end of it stood Cementoss, a serious look on his block-shaped head.

"We need to make sure all you students are safe. So head over to the gate. I'll deal with the wounded."

Who would buy such an underhanded way to cut us off from view —?

"Makes sense! Roger that!" Kirishima responded, his feet quickly tip-tapping away.

I can't believe it, I thought with wide eyes, taking hold of All Might's hand to keep him steady as he lowered himself to the floor. I sat next to him, deciding it would be for the best to just relax. We would be seeing Recovery Girl soon.

"Thanks…" All Might sighed exhaustedly, "that was close, Cementoss."

Cementoss walked over to us, an adorable-looking smile — if I had to admit — on his face as he said, "I'm a fan of yours, y'know… so let's get you to the nurse's office without revealing this side of you. But honestly, you've got to stop overdoing it…"

So this is something he does to himself on the regular… overdoing himself so he can't stay in that form for a long period of time. It's probably why he didn't show up for class when it first started… he'd already pushed himself.

There had been news articles popping up on my phone in the morning of All Might's escapades, stopping villains and helping civilians. In a span of ten minutes, he'd dealt with almost six separate incidents. It was record breaking… but also far too taxing, apparently. He'd gotten weaker, and he wasn't taking that into consideration…. No wonder Midoriya has no sense of constraint. He keeps breaking bones even when it's for something as simple as battle training.

"I'd be dead if I hadn't overdone it," All Might explained, attempting to wipe dried-up blood from his mouth. "They were… just that strong."

Those words were enough to prove that the situation would've been far more dire if help hadn't arrived in time.

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In the school's hospital room, I sat on a chair directly in between the two hospital beds that Midoriya andthe small All Might lay on, both of whom were covered by blankets. My left leg was propped up in front of me on a simple ottoman, the bandages wrapped neatly around my thigh were barely visible under my shorts. I had refused Recovery Girl's offer for me to lay down in a bed, not desiring the feeling of helplessness that accompanied being in a hospital bed.

I was told the muscles in my thigh were strained — likely having been made worse with all the moving around I did after Nomu squeezed the life out of it. I felt a bit tired since Recovery Girl used her quirk to heal me — a simple kiss from the elderly woman — but it was still required to be bandaged for a few days.

Midoriya's legs were healed as well, though his left hand was bandaged up and there was an IV in his arm.

All Might's upper body was bandaged — a process I watched after seeing a gruesome, spider web-like injury spread like tendrils on his left side. It was definitely not a recent injury, something he clarified as one he got years ago from an arch enemy… one that required him to have multiple surgeries that dwindled him to this form. His 'bulk-up' form was a way of hiding the fact that the Symbol of Peace's health was on the decline.

Everything of which led to his speech on why Midoriya knew about his weakened self.

"One for All…" I repeated thoughtfully, mulling over the story he'd just told me. A story of inheritance that had never been heard of before, passing a special power down to the next aspiring, worthy hero.

If Midoriya's quirk wasn't so similar to All Might's — and if Bakugo, his childhood friend, wasn't so surprised to find that he wasn't quirkless — then the story would be too ridiculous to swallow.

"But… that's quite a responsibility to accept," I said seriously. "It's not just taking in a quirk, it's… it's taking on an expectation from a variety of past lives to live up to the way they used the quirk. It's conforming an extremely powerful quirk to a body that is not made to handle it, if the broken bones are any indication. Any extreme destruction to Midoriya's body — the way this has been going — and he could die along with any possibility of passing it on to someone else."

They both winced at my blunt words, glancing at each other with solemn gazes.

I sighed, looking at Midoriya, "I take it that it would be better conformed if you wouldn't use it at such extreme levels before you get used to it, but then you don't seem to have ever taken the time to figure out how to control it — if you're going to say it's because you haven't had the time to do so, then spare me the excuse. But… seriously, why choose to take on such power rather than try to make it into UA without it?"

"W-well…" Midoriya stammered, "I… uh…"

"Oh wait, lemme guess," I jerked my thumb at All Might, "Mr. Big Shot over here told you it wouldn't be possible to get into UA's hero course without a quirk."

All Might was decidedly silent as Midoriya fumbled with his words again, mostly incoherent — but ridiculous, nonetheless — babbles about appreciating the opportunity the number one hero gave him and understanding that he, himself, wouldn't have the abilities necessary to get in without a quirk. That before All Might, he didn't have the means to make himself into a capable hero….

My eyebrow was raised as he motor-mouthed his way through, up until his words tapered off awkwardly at my stare. Without much energy left in me to want to reach over and smack him upside his head, all I could say was, "It's a shame I didn't meet you sooner."

"It — it is?"

"Yes…. I missed a clear opportunity to knock some sense into you!"

If he could have careened himself away from me without hurting himself further, I'm sure he would have. His eyes were wide with something akin to terror as he nervously grit his teeth. My expression must be murderous or something.

"Look at me," I said, even turning to All Might as I gestured toward myself. "I'm proud of being quirkless. I wanted to be a hero as I am — so that twenty percent of our population can watch me become a hero, and realize that they're not as worthless as the majority of the world makes them out to be. If you would have just put forth the effort to train your body so you could do the same… there could have been two quirkless kids in Class 1A."

"I… All Might helped me train for ten months so my body could withstand his power. As weak as my body was before… he said it would cause my head and limbs to pop off."

"That's an image…" I said dryly. "So… what kind of training did you do?"

"W-well, he gave me a special plan to follow!" he said with a large smile, as if hopeful that it would impress me. "I changed my eating and sleeping habits, and spent most days at the beach cleaning away garbage… most of which was made heavier by All Might sitting on them."

Setting aside the ridiculous image in my head of Midoriya carrying All Might on his back, I did find another reason to smile at him. "You mean… Takoba Municipal Beach Park?"

The beach in question had been deemed unsafe and unsanitary due to the large amount of garbage being washed ashore and dumped on for many years. This was until recently when they reopened it because the beach was found to have been completely cleaned out by an unknown good samaritan. And for it to have been none other than Midoriya… and to have been an idea courtesy of All Might… was enough for me to feel impressed.

"You really are something else," I said. "That was heroic right there, whether it was for training or not, and you did it all by yourself without a quirk. Without looking for recognition for it." When Midoriya's eyes became watery, I quickly cut in with some cold truth, "You had to train to be able to withstand his quirk, and yet you would have been able to figure out a fighting style to use without it if you put your mind to it. Now all you do is attempt to mimic his fighting style with his power when it's clearly not working for you."

The tears thankfully didn't escape him, but he nodded in understanding. "I know I have a lot of work to do…. But I am determined to figure it out! I will make this power my own and become a great hero!"

"Hmm…" I hummed, looking back at All Might who gave a small smile of pride at his protégé's resolve. "I guess I can't say much else seeing as you already made your decision before meeting me. But, now that I know all this, I can be sure to do everything in my power to keep you from going overboard — both of you."

"You — you would do all of that even after everything I said about being a quirkless hero?" All Might asked, his mouth open wide.

"Yes, even then," I replied readily, leaning against the back of my chair and crossing my arms over my chest. "I might have been pissed by what you said, but please. I can't prove my worth to one of my biggests doubters if he gets himself killed before I graduate."

"I…" his state of shock evolved into a small chuckle. "I appreciate that…."

"Kirita…" Midoriya said softly, returning my attention to him. "Can.. can you please keep all this a secret? No one can know about All Might's condition… or about his power passing on to me."

I snorted at the pleading look in his eyes, finding it funny and yet almost offensive that he didn't think I understood that much about all this. "Are you kidding me? Of course I'll keep your secret. We're friends aren't we? I got your back."

Midoriya's eyes teared up almost instantaneously, pouring down his face in steady streams. "R-right! Th-thank you so much!"

I cringed, "What is with you? Don't start crying again! It's really not necessary!"

"I'm sorry," he said, wiping away at his eyes. "I can't help it. I'm so happy."

"I see that.… Jeez, All Might, you could help him get stronger but couldn't do anything about that?"

All Might's helpless shrug was all the response he gave me… but it did give me another question to hopefully pull Midoriya out of his emotional state….

"Midoriya… how did All Might pass his power to you?"

"Oh…" he wiped at the last of his tears, "he had to willingly give me some of his DNA."

Okay, that answers practically nothing. "So… you had to drink his spit? That's gross."

Midoriya turned a bright red and vigorously shook his head, "No, no, no — I, uh — I had to — um —… swallow his hair…"

A disturbed shiver crawled up my spine at the thought. "Okay, now I'm not sure which one is worse…. I mean, spit is all warm and whatnot, but hair is just a super-thin thing crossing through your tongue and throat —"

Flustered, Midoriya interrupted me. "Yes, Kirita, I know… can you please stop describing it?!"

All Might's laughter at our expense was boisterous up until he coughed up a considerable amount of blood.

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I apologize for the long wait, everyone!

After the next chapter, ending season one, I'm wondering if maybe I should just attempt to treat it like the show itself…? You know, like write the entirety of season two before posting one chapter per week and then going for it again in season 3 and beyond? Think it'll work that way?