I do not own My Hero Academia.

This story was written with the help of another writer who wishes to remain anonymous, but has done most of the work and wishes for it to be posted here on fanfiction.

There had always been a misconception when it came to saving people. For most, it was generally a lively experience that was resolved quickly enough: something happens, Hero steps in and removes the victims from the situation and then everyone is back to normal. Of course, reality was a different matter altogether. Then again, the aftermath, sticking around to make sure the rescued individuals are alright, try to calm down survivors, witnesses and saved people alike and checking that the situation was indeed under control, was perhaps too boring for the public.

At the moment, however, All Might wished he could just make a swift escape from USJ. Sadly, he was stuck as Toshinori Yagi. True, he wouldn't have abandoned the troubled and traumatized U.A. students outside the USJ while they waited for the police and paramedics, but All Might really wished he could be anywhere but there. Being stuck with twenty students, all of them with the same question in their gazes, didn't really suit him, not when one of his biggest secrets had just come out.

U.A. had responded swiftly enough. By the time All Might had managed to lead the students to an emergency exit, U.A. teachers had shown up for clean-up. Apparently, Nezu had suspected something had been up when no one at the USJ responded to his calls. Sadly, he had realized a tad too late.

All that they had to do now was wait… and boy the paramedics and police couldn't come quick enough. Seated or standing at the steps of the USJ, All Might tried to ignore the inquisitive stares from his students.

"So…" Ashido started saying, looking around. "What a day huh? I guess we are all tired, am I right?"

No one commented on that.

"At least some of us are happy," remarked Jiro, smirking to a certain rabbit girl.

Izumi was being held like a plushy by Ochaco. The rabbit girl had been gently placed on the brunette's lap, where Ochaco proceeded to scratch and pet the injured Izumi. Although poor Izumi did wince every now or then when she moved her legs ever so slightly, she looked lost in a happy world of her own under Ochaco's ministrations. The brunette, on her part, had a wide smile and happily tended to the rabbit girl. All in all, both girls ignored their classmates.

The students awkwardly glanced at a weakened All Might, who sat by the steps a short distance away from the class. He looked beat, and it was definitely a tad disturbing just how thin he looked for the teenagers, especially when compared to his hero form.

"Eh… All Might, would you mind telling us… ehm…?" mumbled an unsure Ojiro. "You know, what this is all about you… you know… ehm…?"

He trailed off, unsure how to continue. In fact, none of the students knew how to address All Might. They all shuffled on their feet or twiddled their thumbs, unwilling to be the first to bluntly ask the question that gnawed on all of them. Well, except for one person, that is.

"All Might, I think we are owed an explanation," Todoroki stated.

Even if he sounded sure, All Might could almost hear the hesitation. The other students were pretty much like him, curious yet hesitant. They weren't sure they wanted to know. All Might looked at their faces. It pained him nearly as badly as his old injury. Those were the faces of people losing hope, with fear gripping their hearts.

All Might clenched his fists, feeling shame in his gut. He had failed at maintaining his secret, and now the young aspiring heroes might lose confidence because of it.

"Guys, now isn't the time," said Yayorozu.

"She's correct! We will have more than enough time to discuss the matter at hand. As of now, it has been a long trying day and we should focus on recuperating," Iida added.

While more than one fellow student didn't appear to want to press the issue, they kept warily glancing at All Might. It couldn't be helped. They were still reeling at the revelation.

All Might sighed. He had feared the day would come he would have to explain himself. If only it had been delayed a bit longer…

"No, I think you deserve to learn the truth," the Pro-Hero tiredly said. "Might as well be now."

"Don't feel pressured, sir. We are just – eh – shocked… that's all," Kirishima hesitantly said.

"It's alright. I understand the gravity of the situation," sighed All Might. "The truth is, I was going to have to tell you sooner or later. Clearly, I didn't expect for villains to bring out such a challenging opponent as Nomu."

"You have an injury on your left side, don't you?" Tokoyami stated.

"How did…?" All Might asked, confused.

"The bird creature kept punching you there," Shoji said in his friend's stead.

All Might grimaced. He hadn't expected teenagers to be so observant.

"You are correct," All Might confessed. "And it is that same injury which has made it harder to maintain the form you all know."

"So you could always change?" Asked Yaoyorozu, blinking in surprise.

"How do you believe I managed to maintain my true identity secret? I could always hold my hero form as long as I needed but…" All Might trailed off. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath "…but an incident happened and, since then, I've been rendered unable to hold the form you've come accustomed to for long… each year being able to hold it less than the previous one."

The students were having a hard time digesting the truth. In fact, denial remained etched on their faces, if not outright confusion and disbelief. How could they not remain skeptical? They had long believed that All Might was invincible, the eternal guardian… a world without him wasn't really a world they were willing to even imagine.

"How long have you…?" Kaminari suddenly asked.

There was a long somber moment of silence in which the students nervously shuffled on their feet. Most weren't sure they wanted to learn more about All Might's ailment.

"Six years," All Might confessed, looking weary.

"You've been losing your power for six years?!" Squawked Mineta.

All Might nodded.

"I couldn't quit, nor could I tell anybody," All Might said. "If I wavered for one moment, villains would have felt emboldened."

"Who else knows, sir? Aside from the faculty, that is," Yaoyorozu asked with a frown. "Are the heroes preparing for when you… uhm… retire?"

And that was the question, wasn't it? She might have as well been plain about it: what was going to happen once All Might was gone?

"Yeah, the government is doing something, right? I mean, no offense, but you fill some big shoes," remarked Sero.

"Like crazy big," added Kaminari. "You are the Symbol of Peace and all of that."

"Endeavor won't be able stand up to the challenge," bitterly stated Todoroki.

There was a long awkward silence in which none of the students wanted to even touch on Todoroki's troubled relationship with his father. No one missed the way he addressed his own father by his hero name rather than any other way. The lack of belief in his own father was also telling.

All Might wasn't sure what to tell the students. He didn't want to lie (not that he had that much room to do so) but at the same time he didn't want to give the impression the future was looking bleak (even if, technically, it was). A world without a Symbol of Peace like All Might was one

Thankfully, Bakugo decided to throw one of his rants.

"Who gives a damn?!" Shouted Bakugo. "All Might is close to retirement. So what? He was freaking going to kick the bucket sooner or later! What? You thought All Might would stick around forever?"

By the guilty looks on everyone's faces, All Might had the impression that no one had envisioned a future without him.

"Pathetic," spat Bakugo. "Lucky for you, I'm going to make it to the top and be the next Number One Hero so you losers can play hero all you want."

"In your dreams, Bakugo," growled Todoroki.

"Oh yeah, Icy-Hot? You think you'll beat me?" Grinned Bakugo, fire in his eyes.

The wintry glare from Todoroki clashed against the burning amused face of Bakugo, and All Might could have sworn bolts of static started to appear from all the friction between the two.

"Pfft, yeah, as if!" Ashido chuckled. "You two aren't exactly weak, but we all know who is going to fill All Might's spot, right?"

It seemed almost instinctual the way everyone turned to Izumi, who in turn blinked at them, finally broken from her stupor. She looked around, confused.

"What?" Wondered the rabbit girl.

"We were talking about how you are going to be the next Symbol of Peace like your dad," Hagakure casually added.

"Well, I do want to be the next Sym- hold on, he's not my dad!" Izumi protested.

"You can drop the act, Izumi," Ojiro chuckled.

"But it's the truth," Izumi insisted.

"Really? You both have almost identical super strength. Heck, when you go super strong you both have those glowing veins all over your skin," pointed out Sero. "And now we know both of you have shape-shifting abilities."

The other students all nodded, certain that they had finally confirmed what they had probably suspected for ages.

Once again, it was none other than Bakugo that managed to step in and change the course of the conversation.

"He's not All Might's kid," Bakugo scoffed.

"How can you be so sure?" Kirishima wondered.

"I grew up with him," retorted Bakugo. He glared at Izumi, who in turn raised an eyebrow in return. "Went to the same school as Deku."

"Deku? Wait, where did I hear… Oh!" Hagakure gasped before snapping her head towards Izumi. "You were that guy you mentioned all along?"

The girls, who had been a bit troubled by the tale of bullying of the quirkless kid that Izumi knew, all stared wide-eyed. Izumi offered a strained smile and nodded.

"I still can't believe it… Izumi can turn into a dude," Kirishima said.

"Man, that's crazy," added Sero.

Of course, Iida, being Iida, had to loudly intervene.

"Such a fact does not change who Izumi is!" Iida stated.

"Wow, ease down, Iida! I didn't mean anything by it," Sero hastily added.

Before Class 1-A was about to be forced to hear one of Iida's long-winded lectures regarding morality and whatnot, the paramedics and police rolled up. The students didn't get much of a chance to talk after that. The entire place was suddenly packed with people and the teenagers were guided away. First they were checked by paramedics then the police started interviewing and getting quick statements from the students.

By the looks of it, the day was far from over…

-.-

Izuku was actually surprised when he was taken to a hospital. Perhaps he had gotten used to the idea of Recovery Girl swooping in to quickly heal him. In any case, the fact remained that paramedics took him for an emergency check-up. Hours later he would be told that Recovery had been unavailable and would show up the following days.

Hence, Izuku spent a weird night at the hospital. After all that had happened that day, he was restless. He thought over the rollercoaster that had been the visit to the USJ. It had started with Bakugo somehow exposing his little secret, followed by an invasion of villains, fighting said villains and then win the day by kicking that Nomu-thing's butt to kingdom come. Oh, and he had kissed Ochaco.

Izuku might have injured legs, but he couldn't help but grin. He had kissed a girl. That was crazy! Way crazier than actually saving the day. Was it wrong to be happier and more exhilarated about that tiny moment with Ochaco than anything else?

The memory of their lips locked together, Ochaco's warm breath and her body heat press against Izuku… it all consumed him. Of course, nothing lasts forever, and soon enough, his mind inevitably started going over some harsh realities, or rather a particular situation at hand:

His classmates knew that Izumi could switch to a boy's form, and maybe that she actually had been a boy up until very recently. Izuku worried that his classmates would change their opinion about him, or rather Izumi. Would they treat him like a creep? Would they call him names?

Echoes of his former schoolmates came back to haunt him. This time, however, Izuku dismissed their words and pushed them down. It didn't matter if Class 1-A wouldn't accept him. Ochaco didn't care and remained steadfast on his side, so Izuku couldn't care less about the others… although he really hoped they wouldn't treat him any different.

At some point, in all of his overthinking, he fell asleep. He clearly had been more tired than he had thought, for he would later swear it wasn't that late when he fell asleep. Then again, he had had a busy day, so it was expected of him to be dead tired.

When Izuku woke up, it was with the most pleasant of surprises.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Ochaco called, poking at him.

"H-hey," stammered Izuku, blinking. This wasn't a dream was it? No? Aww…

The sun was pouring in from the window to his left all while Ochaco stood on his bed's left, her back towards the door. She grinned at him.

"Finally! I had been poking at you for ages," Ochaco laughed.

Izuku just smiled.

"Sorry 'bout that," mumbled Izuku. He glanced at her clothes. "Wait, shouldn't you be in school or-?"

Ochaco burst out laughing at that.

"Really? School? Izuku, we were attacked by villains yesterday! You can't hope students to just recover and carry on like nothing happened," Ochaco giggled. "Aizawa decided to give us a few days off."

Izuku frowned, only to gasp.

"Aizawa? Is he alright? How is he doing?" Izuku asked.

Ochaco chuckled.

"He's fine," she said. "Grumpy as always. Just came from seeing him. He and Miruko are down the corridor actually, and they are in a real foul mood, especially Miruko. She really doesn't like hospitals."

"Who does?" Izuku said with a playful smile. "That said, I didn't think Aizawa would ever give days off."

"Well, he was hit hard on the head," Ochaco joked.

The two chuckled, only to feel guilt and grimace. As funny as it was that their stern and scary homeroom teacher had allowed for some respite, they couldn't forget the state the man was thanks to the Nomu creature.

"That might have been a bit low…" Ochaco sighed.

She turned towards him and grinned.

"But enough of that! How are you doing?" Ochaco tentatively asked. "I thought Recovery Girl would have already healed you."

"So did I," Izuku replied. "She is busy with something else… or she wants me to suffer a bit."

"Recovery Girl wouldn't want that," Ochaco giggled.

Izuku doubted that as well, but it was fun to think of the old school nurse being grumpy at Izuku.

"By the way, Izuku, the others wanted to pay a visit," Ochaco said.

"Others?" Izuku asked.

His blood run cold. His classmates. Oh God, it was already happening!

"Guys, he's up. You can come in!" Ochaco called before Izuku could beg otherwise.

And just like that, the door opened and in marched the visitors.

"Hey Izumi!"

Izuku blinked over and over and yet he still couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Guys?" He asked, confused.

Marching into the room and almost crowding around him were his classmates. Almost all of them actually. They were all smiling and cheerful, glad to see him. It took him quite a bit to realize that he wasn't actually in the Izumi form, what was baffling by itself, and yet they seemed quite warm and mirthful in his presence. That was a first.

"Wow, so that's your boy-form, huh? A bit plain," Hagakure remarked.

"I had no idea you had green hair," said a wide-eyed Kaminari.

"That's what surprises you?" Jiro chuckled.

"I like that shade of green, ribbit," bluntly stated Asui.

Tokoyami and Shoji, ever the silent ones, only hummed and nodded for whatever reason. Those two were a surprise by themselves, but even Koda had shown up.

"Everyone, remember, this is a hospital to let us try not to cause a ruckus!" Exclaimed the enthusiastic Iida.

His classmates all sweatdropped in response.

Izuku turned to Ochaco, who sheepishly smiled at him.

"I guess everyone wanted to see if you were alright," Ochaco innocently said.

"Hell yeah! After you were all manly and kicked that Nomu whatever's butt, we had to at least come, right?" Kirishima said. "And hey, see what we got you!"

To Izuku's mounting surprise, his classmates had brought a few gifts. They had brought a few so-called healthy snacks like apples and pears (an idea from Iida), a cake (from Sato), a "get better" card signed by everyone which had a cartoony rabbit, a memory stick with music (courtesy of Jiro), another memory stick with videogames (allegedly, Izuku wasn't sure if he trusted the content of that stick coming from Kaminari, Mineta and Sero) and a book about heroes.

"Ochaco told me you were something of a hero fan," Yaoyorozu said, handing over the book.

Izuku stared at the book that had been dropped on his lap, ready to squeal like a fan-boy. Ochaco laughed at that. Yaoyorozu looked confused at Izuku's lack of verbal response.

"Don't mind him. He's a bit dorky as Izuku," Ochaco joked.

Izuku, however, was far more dumbstruck by the fact that his classmates appeared rather… nice? He was in his Izuku form and they all appeared unbothered. Well, a few did stare at him, but it was more in surprise and amusement than anything else. It was so… odd. Regardless, it made Izuku's heart clench.

"Hey, are you alright?" Ochaco asked.

Izuku managed to smile and nod. He was very proud by the fact he hadn't started crying yet. That one was a miracle.

"Y-yeah," he managed to say.

"So man, how are you doing?" Kirishima asked. "I am surprised you aren't up and running already."

Izuku could only smile sheepishly at that.

"I might have gotten overboard with my quirk," said Izuku.

"Hey, did you do that to yourself yesterday?" Hagakure asked, pointing at Izuku's scarred arm.

"Ah, this? N-not really. It happened when I tried to use my power. I was being reckless," said Izuku.

"Damn, I had no idea your quirk could cause such a mess!" Said Kaminari. He grinned. "Guess I am not the only one that needs to be careful, huh?"

"Yeah right," scoffed Jiro. She smirked. "At least Izumi doesn't go all 'whey'."

Izuku and everyone else laughed as Jiro pulled a dumb-looking face and gave thumbs up all while repeating the world "whey".

"I think I'll take going numb a few minutes instead of… ehm… this," Izuku said, gesturing at his legs. He looked at the sparkling Aoyoma at the back. "That or a stomachache."

"Hon-hon-hon" could be heard in the crowd.

Izuku turned to his classmates. He was rather touched by their presence there. To think he went from a quirkless loner to a rather popular member of a class of Heroes. Huh, life sure had its unexpected changes, didn't it?

"I am glad you didn't have to hide your secret for long," Yaoyorozu said with a genuine smile. "Kyoka and I worried that it would only make it harder when the truth finally came out."

Izuku nodded, only to freeze. Hold up, did that mean that…?

"Wait, you knew?!" Izuku squeaked, shocked.

"Eh… yeah?" Jiro replied, looking away. She was grinning from ear to ear. "Momo warned me the anti-pervert countermeasures were activated on the roof so we went to check…"

"…and, well, we kind of saw you and… ehm… stayed to listen for a while," Yaoyorozu finished.

"You have anti-pervert countermeasures?!" Mineta shouted. "Why would you need that?"

The girls glared at him. To his credit, he sheepishly smiled and cautiously stepped away from the angry females.

"I knew as well!" Proclaimed Ashido.

"Wha…?" Izumi asked in disbelief.

"Really?" Ochaco wondered, baffled.

"Yes, she might have shown up too," Jiro sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We still aren't sure why."

"I've told you already: intuition. I knew something was going on at the roof!" Ashido laughed.

"But wait, how did it stay a secret then?" Wondered Ochaco.

"Hey, I can keep secrets!" Ashido replied, offended.

The rest of the class, however, hummed in thought, much to the pink-skinned girl's chagrin. Ashido pouted but didn't say anything more.

"It's good to see you man," Sato said, looking far more sober than the day before. "You wiped that Nomu guy off the face of the Earth!"

"Yeah, it was amazing!" Mineta added, jumping to try and stick out from his far taller classmates.

"Our resident rabbit girl sure packs a mean kick," laughed Sero.

Izuku blushed, embarrassed at the attention and praise.

"I-I had some help," mumbled Izuku. He glanced at Ochaco, who blushed and averted her eyes.

"Awww, isn't that adorable?" Teased Ashido. "The first class couple! Oh yeah, finally! I knew there was something going on between you two."

"It-it wasn't that obvious," spluttered a red-faced Ochaco.

"Ah-ha, right," deadpanned their fellow classmates.

"It was more than evident," Tokoyami stated matter-of-factly, with Shoji nodding behind him.

Izuku and Ochaco hid their burning hot faces out of sheer embarrassment. Had they been crushing that badly on each other?

"I thought it was just a good friendship," pouted Yaoyorozu.

"You just wanted to have our rabbit girl all for yourself," teased Jiro.

"And I still do," grumbled a despondent Yaoyorozu.

The rest of the morning went on in the same vein. Class 1-A joked around, praised Ochaco and Izumi a bit more, before asking questions about Izuku. They were all sincere in their curiosity and, more importantly, friendly. It was better than Izuku would have expected.

In the end, the class decided to leave and give another visit to Aizawa. Apparently, Kaminari and Mineta were suicidal enough to consider even teasing the man. Thus, after a while, it was only Ochaco and Izuku who remained. It didn't help that Ashido gave them teasing thumbs up and Jiro made a passing joke about the two trying to be quiet if they did anything.

The brunette sat on Izuku's bed, blushing and looking at her lap.

"So…" Ochaco started.

The two looked at each other, unsure how to begin.

"What are you going to do?" Ochaco wondered.

"To do?" Izuku repeated with a frown.

"Yeah," nodded Ochaco. "Now that the secret is out, you don't need to stick to Izumi."

Izuku blinked, surprised he hadn't realized that. It was true, wasn't it? Why should he keep up the act with Izumi? He could be back to Izuku and perhaps be Izumi if needed.

"You could move to the boy's dorm, I guess," Ochaco stated.

"I think I'll be Izumi for now," Izuku decided.

Ochaco stared at him, surprised.

"Really? But I thought you wanted to go back as a boy. You said you used to be only Izuku until a few months back," Ochaco said.

Izuku grinned.

"I think I kind of like being Izumi… and you're right, I have been Izuku for nearly fifteen years now. I guess I need to catch up with Izumi, right?" Izuku laughed. "And think about it! I would need to go over moving my staff, getting used to new dorm-mates, change my costume..."

He shrugged.

"I think I'll pass," Izuku said.

Ochaco bit her lip and looked at her lip.

"This isn't because you… eh…" Ochaco glanced at Izuku, her face burning with a blush.

Izuku wasn't sure what she meant.

"You know… us! Izumi and me," Ochaco spluttered.

It suddenly dawned to Izuku that the two had actually kissed and shared quite a nice moment and, thus, were at a step above friend. As expected, it was Izuku's turn to have a crimson face.

"I – yes – that – ehm…" Izuku stammered.

He shook his head.

"No, I mean, maybe I do want to be together with you," Izuku said. "Eh… I guess you aren't into boys, huh?"

"Trust me, that was one hell of a shock," Ochaco joked.

The two chuckled.

"I am serious, Infinity Girl," Izuku said. "I want to be Izumi and not just to… ehm… y'know, be together."

Ochaco frowned only to smile.

"Fine, but promise me you'll be Izuku too, alright?" The brunette asked. "I might not be into boys, but you are still my friend, no matter the form, and I want to keep it that way."

Izuku knew he was going to cry right then and there. It was a miracle he hadn't started the waterfalls already with all that had happened.

"So…" Ochaco started once again. She bit her lips, looking giddy. "Izumi and me… are we…? Ehm… an item?"

It was Izumi who responded, grabbing her hand and giving her one of her confident toothy grins.

"You bet we are!" Izumi laughed.

Ochaco laughed as well, before leaning forward and kissing the rabbit girl. Apparently, she had been meaning to for a while.

Life sure had its unexpected changes… speaking of changes, Izumi couldn't help but think about her mentor and reason behind all the madness.

I wonder how All Might is faring, Izumi pondered, before Ochaco deepened their kiss and the rabbit girl forgot all about the world around her.

-.-

As it so happened, All Might wasn't faring well. Oh, he had had company alright, and good friends at that. The problem was that given the circumstances, his present company wasn't exactly… comforting.

"You were foolish and reckless!" A grumpy old man huffed and puffed while smacking Toshinori's head with a cane. "To allow such a secret to show like that… I should be dragging you to a back alley and reminding you a few lessons you've clearly forgot!"

Toshinori, even bedridden and still recuperating, could do little to stop the onslaught from his old mentor, Gran Torino. Short and grizzly old, he had pale white hair and beard, all while clad in a white costume with a yellow cape. He looked to be well past his age of retirement, yet still managed to remain energetic and strong.

To make matters worse, Gran Torino wasn't alone.

"It was most irresponsible and dangerous," none other than All Might's former side-kick, Sir Nighteye, angrily stated while adjusting his glasses.

Dressed as any salary man, Nighteye was tall and deceptively lean with sharp and elongated features. All Might knew that Nighteye was far more muscular than he let on with his attire. His green hair stood out with its golden streaks, as did his cold stoic expression.

"Please guys, give him a break," said a man behind them.

He was a tall average-looking man, who so happened to be one of the greatest inventors of their age: David Shield. He had small sky-blue eyes and short, unruly honey brown hair with two prominent tufts curving outwards from the top of his forehead, a short goatee on his chin and wide-rimmed square glasses on his face. Even though he was a renowned engineer, David's words went ignored.

"I taught you better than this, damn it," Gran Torino scoffed, giving Toshinori another smack with his cane.

Gran Torino relented after all and stepped away from the weakened hero.

"Let us be fair here," David said. "These guys clearly knew about All Might's injury. That means only one thing."

"Let us not jump to conclusions," Grand Torino grunted. "He is dead. I saw the bloody body."

"And the underworld has been far quieter since," added Nighteye.

"Yes, but this Nomu creature you mentioned…" David trailed off, scratching his neck. "It had multiple quirks."

"It looked like it. There are many quirks that appear to provide multiple abilities, especially mutant-types," Nighteye insisted.

"And what about the fact of the dark-portal villain? There is no known quirk or person who has a quirk like that. This Nomu guy doesn't appear anywhere in the registry, either," said David.

He looked at the Heroes. They all averted their eyes, unwilling to concede the horrible possibility that David was right. In all truth, they had all suspected what David was alluding to. However, denial was all they had. To face against such a foe once again… it was beyond terrifying.

"We need to face it and deal with the truth," David stated. "And for that, we must consider the possibility that…"

He took a deep breath. He was pale and sweaty. He didn't like the possibility any more than his friend.

"…All for One is alive," David finished.

Gran Torino punched a wall, furious.

"How? How is it possible?!" Grand Torino shouted.

"With all the quirks he had… has… accumulated, there was always a chance, no matter how unlikely," muttered Nighteye. He adjusted his glasses, regaining an air of professionalism. "We need to prepare your successor, All Might."

"She did admirably against that Nomu creature," Grand Torino said, smiling with fondness. "Kind of reminded me a bit to Nana."

All Might smiled at that. Yes, Izumi did remind him of his predecessor at times.

"'Admirably' won't cut it, not against All for One," Nighteye dryly stated.

"No, it won't," Grand Torino gravely said. "We need to up her training."

All Might grimaced and turned towards David.

"Did you manage to get any readings on my power levels?" He asked.

"Yes," David replied. He looked pained.

All Might knew that whatever his old friend had tell him wouldn't be any good. He knew that himself already. He could actually feel it: his power, One for All, already down from what it used to be.

"I don't have that long, huh?" All Might asked with a weary sigh. He shook his head, despondent.

The mood in the room grew somber.

"We all knew it was going to happen. My power has already been in decline for a while, and now that I no longer have it, it was bound to accelerate," All Might stated.

He looked straight at David Shield. It was time to hear the full diagnosis.

"How bad is it?"

David Shield grimaced. All Might mentally swore. It was probably worse than he had first expected.

-.-

If there was somewhere Bakugo didn't want to be, it sure was the hospital. Yet there he was, dragged in by his mother. When she had heard about Deku's state (and the whole USJ ordeal) she had pretty much kicked him to the hospital. Oddly enough, both his parents decided to go as well for some kind of checkup or whatever. Bakugo didn't care. The fact he was taken to the damned hospital of all things was enough.

Instead of going straight to Deku, Katsuki's parents went and did their own thing (whatever that was) and pretty much urged him to visit the nerd. He did walk off, but the last thing he wanted was to deal with Deku. Thus, he decided to waste time wandering around.

To his chagrin, he was unable to escape his stupid classmates. They crowded a corridor, and before he could make a swift escape, he was spotted. Worse, they actually approached him.

"Yo Bakugo, what a surprise," Shitty-Hair called with a grin. "Came to check on Izumi?"

"No," scoffed Katsuki.

"Then why are you here, man?" Tape-Arms asked with a smirk.

Katsuki scowled at the idiots. He was not about to admit his mother dragged him in.

"Hey, Bakugo, you knew Izumi, right?" The perverted midget asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" muttered Katsuki. He glanced around for an escape route. He was not going to hang around those losers if he could help it.

"Just curious. I can't believe such a super cute girl can turn into a boy. I mean, is that considered a trap or what?" The perverted midget wondered, looking lost and confused.

"You and your questions," chuckled Electro-dolt, giving a reassuring pat to the midget.

"Hey man, speaking of which, how was Izumi during middle school?" Shitty Hair wondered.

Katsuki gritted his teeth. Why did they care so much about that nerd? Worse, why were they acting so… normal? Well, normal in their loser way of being, of course.

"Annoying," grunted Katsuki. "He was a creep that spent his time muttering to himself in the back of the class. That and wasting his time stalking heroes."

"Seriously? Izumi?" Asked one of the extras in disbelief. "Izumi is nothing like that."

Katsuki would have ranted just how much of a nerd Deku was, and no matter whatever exterior he had, he would always be the same useless shitty nerd. However, recent experience had made Katsuki reconsider a bit. It seemed that differently from Deku, the stupid bunny had a spine.

Figures that Deku would grow some balls when he turns into a chick, Katsuki mentally huffed with a certain degree of amusement.

"No, she isn't, but that must be Deku posing," Katsuki muttered.

"What's with that name?" The tailed extra asked.

"Yeah, you keep on repeating it…" trailed off Tape-arms.

"It's nothing," Katsuki spat.

"Really? Because it sounds like an insult to me," Shitty-Hair pointed out. "And that isn't manly."

"Neither is Deku," huffed Katsuki with a smirk, only to add off-handedly "…Never expected him to be a tranny."

"Come on man that isn't cool," said the perverted midget.

Katsuki raised an eyebrow at the little shit. After all the stupid drooling and daydreaming the midget did, now he decided to have some moral standards?

"What? It's true. Deku was so useless that he needed to hide behind a cutesy furry girl form for people to like him," Katsuki said. "Didn't even have the guts to reveal himself."

"Can you blame him? I wouldn't be sure if I wanted to share that I could switch genders like that if I had that power," Shitty-Hair said with a raised eyebrow. "Some people can be real assholes about it, and maybe Izumi wasn't feeling sure herself."

"Kirishima, you are talking to Bakugo. You are kind of wasting your breath when it comes to empathy," chuckled Tails.

The extras laughed and Katsuki gritted his teeth.

"Yeah right, empathy. What a load of bullshit. If you had met Deku like he really is you probably wouldn't give a damn, probably would have treated him like the creep he is," Katsuki growled. "But because she's a chick you actually care. You actually don't give a damn that he's a weird tranny."

The extras didn't appear to appreciate his insults, not that Katsuki gave a damn.

"Why should we care that much?" Shitty-Hair asked, baffled.

"It's a crazy world as it is. Someone changes genders is really mild in comparison," commented Tape-arms.

"No kidding. There are way crazier quirks," added Electro-dolt.

"That's it? You hear that the stupid bunny has always been a boy and you just roll with it?" Katsuki asked, unable to wrap his head around their lack of thinking.

Well, in all actuality he should have realized the extras were a bit short in that department. Then again, they hadn't known Deku as he had. They had only met the stupid bunny, and even Katsuki had to admit the bunny was a farcry from the stupid nerd.

"Man, and you want to be a hero? Geez, I pity whoever needs saving from you," scoffed Electro-dolt.

"Yeah, whatever," Katsuki huffed before turning around and leaving the extras.

Like he actually cared about their stupid opinion.

On and on he went, aimlessly wandering across the corridors. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop thinking about what the extras had said. He really didn't give a shit about them, of course, yet their words resonated in his head, like one of those annoying songs of the radio.

A part of him was really miffed about the extras' nonchalance. They just didn't care that Izumi had been lying all along. However, another part of him understood that they probably didn't really understand the full scope of Deku. They had only met Izumi, the cute fluffy bunny girl that was all smiles and confidence… and power. Katsuki would reluctantly concede the bunny had some power. Those guys didn't know about the annoying nerd that would latch onto him like a creep, try to befriend him even, like an annoying parasite.

Much to his own surprise, Katsuki hoped Deku stuck to the rabbit form. At least as Izumi he wasn't so damn useless.

Katsuk stopped dead on his feet, surprised, before groaning and pinching the bridge of his nose. He really was exhausted if he was starting to say something remotely positive of the shitty nerd.

"Hey, Katsuki!"

Katsuki cringed. He turned around, only to see both his parents walking towards him. They were happy, and sickly so. By the lack of ruffled clothes, they had received good news instead of making out somewhere. They probably had checked on the rabbit girl.

"Did you check on Izu-kun?" Mitsuki asked with a wide grin. "We didn't get the chance. Is he alright?"

Katsuki frowned. If they hadn't paid a visit to the shitty nerd… then why were they so happy? Heck, they looked excited about something.

"Yeah," scoffed Katsuki.

"Oh, no need to act so disappointed," cooed Mitsuki. "I know you had a crush on Izu-kun's rabbit form. It's a pity he's taken, isn't it?"

Katsuki would have retched right then and there hadn't his father stepped in.

"Mitsuki," chuckled Masaru. "Why don't we just give him the news?"

Katsuki froze, his blood running cold. Oh no, news? What news? At a hospital? He stared at his parents, already feeling a knot forming in his gut. An idea popped into his mind, a horrifying – no, terrifying – idea. This couldn't be happening…

Masaru and Mitsuki entwined their fingers and shared a disgusting cutesy look (urgh, why did they have to act like teenagers?) before they looked at him.

"You are going to be a big brother!" The two adults chorused.

Katsuki just stood there. He had heard loud and clear, the words had reached the confines of his mind… yet he just remained rooted in place. Then, as all things Katsuki, he exploded.

"WHAT?!" Katsuki screamed.

Masaru sighed, shaking his head, while Mitsuki laughed her butt off.

"Ha, I knew you'd react like that," said Katsuki's mother.

"What the hell do you mean you are pregnant?!" Katsuki shouted.

"Geez, no need to scream. It's a hospital," snickered his mother only to add with mock annoyance. "And what do you think it means? I am going to have a second kid. You see, when a man loves a woman-"

"I know that!" Spat Katsuki. "Just why?"

"Eh, why not?" Shrugged Mitsuki, grinning. She was certainly enjoying his reaction. "I might want to have a daughter, or maybe a second son. Y'know, I won't be this beautifully young forever, and we always wanted another kid."

He wasn't sure how, but Katsuki was going to blame Deku on this. It was probably because he was all cute and shit as the stupid rabbit. That or Mitsuki didn't want her friend Inko to be the only one with a so-called daughter.

This is Deku's fault, thought a choleric Katsuki. That's it, I am going to wring his neck next time I see the shitty nerd.

Without a second thought, he spun around and stomped away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Asked Masaru.

"Leave him. Probably needs to stew a bit," chuckled Mitsuki. "Geez, he could have at least pretended to be happy."

"Just let it sink in," Katsuki heard his father say. "I'm sure it will do him good to have a sibling."

Katsuki, however, just needed to vent his frustrations and fury. Why? Why did his parents have to think about getting pregnant? Admittedly, he had feared that that would have happened at some point, but a part of him had thought it was just him being paranoid.

It was as he marched off the hospital's roof, towards the railing, that he finally managed to cool off a bit. Slowly, the reality of his situation started to consolidate.

I am going to be a freaking big brother, Katsuki thought, filled with an unreal feeling. Just great! First Deku goes all tranny and shit, grows a spine and now this? What the actual fuck?!

In any case, he remained there, fuming. Life sure wasn't going the way he wanted. Why was he so angry about his mother getting pregnant? He wasn't sure, but damn that he was pissed.

He prayed none of the extras would annoy him at the moment, because he felt ready to punch someone. Unfortunately, whatever deity was upstairs was definitely trying to make Katsuki as miserable as possible.

"Hey, Bakugo?"

Katsuki turned around and, lo and behold, Deku's girlfriend had come to annoy him. Just great. What's next?

"What do you want?" Growled Katsuki.

"Geez, what happened? You look angrier than usual," Round-Face said.

"That's none of your business," spat the explosive boy.

Sadly, Round-Face wasn't getting the hint and instead walked over to him. He gritted his teeth and sent his best glare he could muster. She remained undaunted, glaring back at him.

"Look, Bakugo, I don't like you, you don't like me," Ochaco said.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. Way to state the obvious.

"I know you are one piece of work when it comes to being a decent person, and I also know how much of an asshole you were to Izuku," Ochaco carried on.

Of course she did. Fucking nerds and spilling their guts out… probably at a sleepover…

"So, I will warn you once: you mess with Izumi or Izuku, and I swear, I won't let it slide. She might be forgiving, but I am not," Ochaco heatedly stated.

Alright, maybe Round-Face would improve his mood after all. She was being pretty hilarious and ridiculous after all.

"Ha, and what the hell are you going to do, Round-Face?" Katsuki asked.

Round-Face didn't respond right away. Instead, she frowned, leaned to a side and look at something behind Katsuki. The blond turned around, wondering what had caught the extra's attention. Seeing nothing, he looked back at her. That's when it happened.

SLAP.

Katsuki hadn't seen it coming. He felt Round-Face's hand. He felt the sting of the slap. Yet he couldn't understand what had just happened. When he did a few seconds later, he might have reacted with anger… hadn't he started floating away.

"Oy, what the hell?!" Shouted Katsuki.

Round-Face started leaving.

"Oy, Round-Face, put me down!" Katsuki yelled.

His eyes turned to the railing, which he was slowly starting hovering over. Luckily, she stopped by the roof's entrance, before she deactivated the quirk. Katsuki landed on his knees and flexed his arms, ready to go after the extra. Round-Face, in turn, turned around to face him, giving off her angriest face to date.

"That's for telling Izuku to throw himself off a building," Round-Face spat. "And my name is Ochaco… asshole."

And with that, she stormed off. Katsuki remained there, scowling.

Just great… fan-fucking-tastic, Katsuki thought. My life has officially turn to shit…

However, instead of throwing a rant, he turned to the railing, and looked down. Katsuki gritted his teeth before glaring at the entrance, where Round-Face had stood.

Alright, maybe it isn't all Deku's fault, Katsuki conceded.

After all, even he could see that he might have been a bit stupid saying what he had back then. He had considered a bad joke at the time, yet even deep down he knew he had been a bit on the wrong. Had Deku actually killed himself due to all the bullying, Katsuki would had had to kiss hia hero career goodbye. Worse, his parents would have been distraught, and so would have been Auntie Inko. His family would have suffered, and thus so would have Katsuki. Speaking of family…

Damn it, I am going to be a big brother, Katsuki thought with a growl.

Now he understood why it pissed him off so much: because it now meant he would have to take good care about someone else and be better for that someone else's sake. Worse, he was starting to see that perhaps he had deserved that slap from Ochaco.

-.-

Detective Maomasa Tsukauchi had his fair share of strange and unique cases. In a world of quirks and super-powers, where each generation produced more incredible abilities, the police had to deal with increasingly stranger things. Quirks, imagination and a lack of moral values were definitely a bad combination to contend with. However, his current case had left him stumped.

As he marched down his precinct, he scratched his short black hair while his rectangular eyes scanned the paper in his hand. After a while, Tsukauchi reached his destination: one of the many doors that lined up the white corridor. He took a deep breath.

"This case keeps getting weirder and weirder," Tsukauchi thought aloud.

He walked through the door, only to find himself in a dark room. There were other detectives and police officers present, all staring at a large window that showed a brightly lit interrogation room. There, staring at them was one of Tsukauchi's new mysteries: Tomura Shigaraki.

"Got any news on the other criminal?" Asked one of Tsukauchi's fellow detectives.

"Yeah, just came from the other villain's interrogation," said Tsukauchi. "Came straight away when the techies gave me this."

He handed over the paper. The policemen all crowded to the man who held it and together they read it.

"What does it mean?" Asked one of the officers.

Tsukauchi sighed.

"It means that this Kurogiri guy, and maybe the Nomu villain, have been artificially enhanced or even created in a lab," Tsukauchi said.

There was a long moment of silence.

"What?" One of the men asked, shocked. "But that's-"

"Impossible? I wish," Tsukauchi sighed, shaking his head. "I get how you feel; we are getting more questions rather than answers."

"You are going to give the freak over there another try?"

Tsukauchi reluctantly nodded. Not something he wanted, but they need to reach the bottom of that mess. If that meant dealing with a petulant man-child and try to squeeze the truth out of him… well, let it be known at Tsukauchi gave his all on the line of duty.

He turned around and was about to leave, when the lights started flickering.

"What the…?"

They all looked around, flabbergasted. Slowly, the lights started dimming. Suddenly, they were startled by their prisoner, Shigaraki, cackling.

"Bye, bye, officers," laughed the villain.

Tsukauchi reacted immediately. He spun around and yelled "Secure the prisoner!"

The officers, even with the lights slowly fading, rushed out. Tsukauchi approached the one-way mirror, glaring at the prisoner, who was starting to rave like a lunatic.

"I will remember you all… yes! I will remember your faces! I will see your faces as I kill you all! You, your families, your love ones!" Cackled Shigaraki.

Then, there was darkness, a faint click in the dark… and then there was light. It happened so quickly, Tsukauchi could have sworn it all happened in the blink of an eye. Yet the moment the lights returned at full force, Shigaraki was gone.

Tsukauchi punched a nearby wall. Everyone else present swore or had similar reactions. The doors to the interrogation door were slammed open, before the officers that entered all looked around, confused. They tried using infra-red goggles, as if the man might have become invisible, but Tsukauchi, also known as True Man, knew the truth: Shigaraki had escaped. Odds were, so had Kurogiri.

"What manner of quirk could have done that?" Someone asked.

"This is getting nuts," another person wondered. "Did anyone see anything? The guy just blinked away!"

"It wasn't the other villain. I didn't see any black mist," a third officer commented.

Tsukauchi stared at where Shigaraki had been mere moments ago. Something about it all gave him very bad vibes. His gut, the same one he had used to climb up the ranks of the police and solve many cases, was telling him something was coming.

Whatever it is, I just hope we still have All Might to deal with it, thought Tsukauchi. Or else, we are screwed.