Prologue

Brave, Benign and Bold, Blood coughing pile of Bones!

(Also Known as All Might!)

Toshinori Yagi never considered himself lucky. He was born quirkless in a world that was quickly changing its status quo. Kicked out of his own home, the only thing he could worry about was surviving on the streets. Then he met Nana Shimura, the pro hero that gave him a chance.

"Citizens have no one to believe in, they need to rely on someone. That's why…I want to be the pillar that gives people hope."

"Huh…so that's what drives you to become a hero, even though you're quirkless."

She then called him crazy but that wasn't really going to stop him. She also made him clean a whole beach for training, so maybe she was the crazy one. 'I swear if I ever get a successor I'm going to go easier on him.'

It was a tough road, even after mastering control over his given quirk, but it was worth it. He was strong beyond measure, he could jump across city lines, he even got a cool cape! With this he could become a symbol like he always dreamed, he was now the strongest!

Then the symbol of evil showed up, an overwhelming threat, a walking malice. His teacher lost her life just to buy time for his escape.

He wasn't strong enough.

He trained even harder, pushing himself until he threw up, he had to get stronger. He made a name for himself, climbing the ranks.

He still wasn't strong enough.

He finally faced off against the great evil that took his master's life. This was no longer about being the best to protect people, this was revenge.

He was barely strong enough.

He killed the bastard, at the cost of his own health, he could never use his quirk the same way again. His sidekick suggested retirement, but he couldn't when the people were expecting a symbol. They haven't spoken since.

The number one will never be strong enough.

Years later he received a call from the principal of UA. "Principal Nezu? To what do I owe the pleasure? Or phone call, I mean."

"All Might! Your old sidekick Sir Nighteye has put forward a recommendation for One for All. His name is Mirio Togata, he's currently interning under Nighteye himself."

"Oh, I don't know Nezu, I'm not really-"

"All Might, I'm going to be real with you. Your sidekick completely groomed this student to be an exact copy of you, and I need you to have a talk with him, it's making everyone uncomfortable."

"Like I said, I'm not really looking for a successor right now."

"I understand. But could you at least reconsider the teaching position? Who knows? Maybe you'll find your own successor."

Toshinori clutched his old wound, his time limit to be All Might had decreased over the years. He had to consider retirement, and to find a successor, since that's all anyone will talk about with him.

"All right, I'll do it, at least it will give me an excuse for my decreasing public appearances."

"That's the spirit! Come to UA in two months time when the new school year starts, that will give you time to get everything worked out. Oh, and if you don't want to confront Mirai yet, could you at least have a talk with young Togata-"

Toshinori hung up, he had a lot to think about, he would be moving back to his home country. 'Maybe I should start moving now? I could use the first two months to get myself settled in Japan first.' He chose to go with this option, he didn't have much in America, plus he wanted to catch up with an old friend and his mentor.

He shuddered, maybe he could just send a letter to Gran Torino…

His wound flared up again, yeah this was humbling, he really should have considered the teaching job earlier. He'll have a chance to relax in Japan, things were easier in Japan he wouldn't have to strain himself anymore, probably. Hopefully.

Almost two years earlier.

Jeremy Inman never considered himself lucky, his quirk dealt with sludge, freaking sludge!

No matter what jobs he takes, whatever career he wants to follow, he was always asked to help with clogged toilets. He was always the dirty work guy. Well if people want him to do dirty work then he'll just have to get his hands dirty.

With crime…

The alarms of a local bank were blaring as a sludge creature ran out with cartoon bags of money, the creature cackled as he made his escape. "Ha! I can't believe I did it! This was too easy!"

He took a bite of his bagel, banks don't have restrooms so he had to get sewage water from the toilets in the donut shop next door, he figured he might as well rob them too. The crowd were slow to evacuate so he just phased through them, of course taking some of their stuff with him. "Thanks for the wallets, purses, and clip-on ties idiots!" He was on a high, he should have gone villain years ago! Nothing could ruin this moment!

Tohru had just landed without a problem on the account that people were panicking and crowding elsewhere, "Huh, New York, haven't been here in a while." She pulled out the address handed to her by Hisashi.

She held out the piece of paper carelessly in front of her, "Okay I think it's somewhere around this area-"

Something thick and slimy washed over her hand, the paper was gone. "Alright, we're doing this now."

The sludge villain laughed maniacally as he looked back at the disappearing crowd, stealing some last minute stuff as he made his escape. Of course it was mostly pens, inhalers, and a piece of paper, but it was the thought that counted. He spotted the nearest manhole, "And now to make my escape uninterru-"

His escape was interrupted by an invisible force, "Ack!" He grunted, which sounded more like a wet plop. 'What is this!' He tried to speak but it only came out in gurgles.

Tohru walked up to the pile of sludge, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

The sludge villain gurgled some more.

"Ugh! Freakin new york accents, hold on…" She zapped him with her translation magic, "Wait, wasn't I supposed to apply that to myself? Oh wait, you can't speak because your mouth hole is shut."

She released her hold a little, the second the villain was able to move his eyes he separated his head, that is to say a good chunk, off his body and booked it. He screamed the whole way as he dumped himself into the sewers.

"Dammit!" Tohru looked at the pile of sludge left behind, "How am I supposed to find the paper in this?" She could call Izuku, but she didn't want him thinking she was unreliable. She groaned in disgust as she forced her hand into the pile and pulled out the first object she touched. Using cleansing magic she was left with a perfectly clean inhaler.

A random bystander took it from her hands, "My inhaler! Thank you so much!" They smiled graciously as they walked away.

Tohru looked around and noticed a crowd with a growing anticipation in their eyes. 'I'm going to be here all day…'

The slimy fribble plopped himself in the darkest part of the sewers, sighing with relief. "Well that was humbling, no more villainy for me. I'll have to lay low for a while though, get a new identity and go straight. I'll leave the country, maybe I'll go to Japan? I do suddenly have a newfound fluency for the language."

He decided to go with this option, he could get a job as a translator, and not a plumber for once. Things were easier in Japan, he heard, he wouldn't have to strain himself too much, probably. Hopefully.

OOOOO

Chapter 4

Izuku and Toshinori

Present

Izuku was taking things easy on his couch, two months before his third year of middle school started. He had been training earlier with Katsuki and Himiko. The three friends were taking a breather in his living room, not wanting to strain themselves.

Izuku rested his head on the back of the couch, "Think about it guys, in one year we'll be taking the UA entrance exam."

Katsuki peered at Izuku, "You mean we're gonna ace the UA entrance exam!"

Himiko rested her head on Izuku's shoulder, "You mean you're going to ace it, Mr. Flashy quirk. Me and Izuku have to pass quirkless."

Katsuki shrugged, "Hey, who knows, UA using robots for their exams are just rumors. It could be a quirk demonstration." He said, trying to ease Himiko's worries. It helped a little for her but only ended up worrying Izuku himself even more. "And UA got rid of the quirk necessity rule, so I'm sure they'll be fair in their assessments." He said, trying to ease Izuku's worries.

It didn't work.

Himiko was quick to pick up on her boyfriend's distress, mostly thanks to his sweaty, shaking movements. "Come on Izuku, it'll be fine. You said UA was the best hero school right? They'll have to be complete idiots not to recognize your heroic spirit!"

Izuku relaxed a little, "Yeah, you're both right, I have nothing to worry about. We've been training for this, there's nothing we can't accomplish as long as we stick together!" He looked at the time, it was three in the afternoon, "Oh! Hey, my favorite hero merch shop is having an All Might sale today, to commemorate his return to Japan. Do you guys wanna come with me?"

Katsuki got up from his seat, "Can't, sorry, the old hag is nagging me about my chores again. (I swear she does this every week.) I gotta get home."

Izuku was a bit disappointed, "Oh, okay. Himiko, what about you?"

Himiko reluctantly got up as well, "No, sorry sweetie, I've got a family therapy appointment today."

"Am I going to get to visit your parents soon?"

"No, they're still mad at you for feeding me blood on a regular basis. That's…kinda what the appointment is about." She kissed his cheek before following Katsuki out of the apartment.

Well, so much for sticking together, but at least he wasn't alone. "Hey Tohru-"

Tohru rushed out of her room clutching a burlap sack in her hands, "Sorry Izuku, I've got dragon things to do!" The sack started thrashing around violently, she hastily summoned a portal and disappeared into it.

Alright, now he was alone. It wasn't so bad, it's just been a while since he was left alone with his own thoughts. He started thinking about everything that happened so far. His life has certainly changed for the better since middle school, resolving things with Katsuki (kind of), meeting Himiko, and getting a dragon maid. That last one was a bit out there, sure, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

But now the intrusive thoughts were coming, was he really deserving of this happiness? If this is the happiest he has ever been would that mean things could get worse, would he fail the exam?

He shook those thoughts away, he had to be optimistic. He got dressed and grabbed his backpack for the merchandise he was going to buy, stuffing his 'Hero analysis for the future 13' journal in it just in case. He had to be optimistic…for his friends' sake at least, if things don't get worse they can only get better, right?

Shinya Fukumatsu was having a terrible day, he didn't think it could get worse. He had been laid off from his job of one and half years. Despite his unwavering loyalty to the company he was still the first employee to be let go of. Maybe it was because despite the fake Japanese name and fluent accent they could still tell he was American, or maybe it was all the insults he whispered in English when he thought no one was listening, either way his termination felt unfair.

He sighed to himself, 'Well, at least things can't-', suddenly he fell down an open manhole, without delay he pulled himself out, "Are you kidding me?! Who leaves an open manhole unattended?!" He threw his hands up in frustration, noticing that they became sludge from the sewage water he landed in. It wasn't just his arms, his whole body was covered in sludge, he could already feel his face morphing into that sadistic smile that freaked people out.

His yelling caused a commotion, "Ahh! A villain!" Someone freaked out. The commotion started a panic.

"Well that was a bit prejudiced, why would they think that?" The sludge villain turned around and realized he was standing in front of a bank. "Fuck. Well it's not like things could get worse. I might as well just…"

He broke into the building, stealing all the money he could and ran back out. "Ha! Catch me if you can!"

The crowd of people were standing by in shock, "Huh? There's no hero around?" Someone asked.

"Normally someone would come right away" Said another.

The sludge villain laughed as he made his escape, "Oh? And who's gonna come to the rescue? All Might?"

A muscular figure stepped through the crowd, "As a matter of fact…"

The sludge villain looked back momentarily before his eyes widened, "Fuck."

It was such a beautiful day out that Izuku decided to walk all the way to his favorite merch store. His trip took him to the underside of a bridge. 'Huh, haven't been here in a while. This was the route I took to avoid Kacchan…' No, best not to think about the past, he already told himself to be more optimistic from now on. But how does someone become more optimistic?

Fake it? Izuku pulled out his journal and checked his All Might sketch, he was always smiling, perhaps he could do the same. Waving around his right fist, Izuku did his best All Might victory laugh.

The sludge villain slowly rose from the depths of the sewers.

"Hahaa-ha ha! Haha- huh?" Izuku stopped laughing as he slowly turned around at the sound of mush sloshing around.

The sludge villain looked at Izuku, "Huh, never tried to possess someone before. Oh well, first time for everything."

Izuku tried to run away but was immediately caught by the villain. He was choking, he panicked as he realized the villain was forcing some of his sludge down his throat.

"Don't worry kid, I swear this isn't what you think. I'm just desperate for an escape right now. When I'm done I'll be sure to give you a proper burial in the sewers."

Izuku still thrashed, clawing at the slime, but it did nothing, he couldn't grab a hold of anything.

The manhole cover was blown away, catching the villain's attention. He turned around and was looking at All Might himself.

The hero gave a smile, "It's all right now, young man. I am here!"

The villain panicked and lashed out at All Might, but the hero easily dodged the attack and prepared his own counter. Pulling his fist back, he unleashed a devastating punch, "Texas smash!" He called, as the punch released a gust of wind that literally blew the villain away. The sludge splattered all over the walls, and Izuku was left unharmed.

All Might wasted no time and captured the villain in an empty soda bottle. After he was done he walked up to Izuku who was still coughing up pieces of the villain.

"Are you all right young man?" He asked.

Izuku strained his voice, "Yeah I'm fine, I'm used to getting choked by my maid's tail- Holy crap! You're All Might!"

All Might straightened, flashing a smile, "Ha-Ha! Glad to see you're fine!"

Izuku internally panicked, "Oh my god it's All Might! In the flesh! (He looks different in person!) I-I need an autograph!" Izuku started frantically searching for his notebook, but realized it had fallen out of his backpack.

All Might handed it to him, "Looking for this?"

"Oh! Thank you!" Izuku flipped to the latest page, "It's already signed?!" Izuku started bowing at a ninety degree angle, repeatedly, thanking All Might.

While All Might was amused by this display he still had a captured villain, "Well I best be going! Evil never rests and neither do I-"

"Wait! All Might! Can I ask you something?"

The hero stopped and turned back to Izuku, 'I guess I still have a bit of time.' "Of course young man! What is it you wanted to ask?"

"I was wondering, can someone without a quirk, become a hero like you?"

All Might faltered, how could he answer that? Maybe back in the day he could have said yes, encourage the boy, he used to be quirkless himself after all. But now? After the horrors he faced against that villain all those years ago, could he truly say he could be a hero?

All Might coughed into his fist, there was blood, 'Shit'. "Well I hate to cut this short, but this villain still needs to be detained." All Might laughed nervously, "So if you'll excuse me."

Izuku started panicking, "Wait, but…" Izuku didn't need to hear All Might say it, he had his friends to support his dreams. But something still compelled him to grab onto All Might's leg as he leapt away into the sky.

"AHHHHH!"

As the two disappeared out of sight, a soda bottle made its descent into an empty alley.

Katsuki made his way through the alley, "Damn hag! I show up for five minutes and the first thing she does is send me away again?!" Katsuki grumbled, as he pocketed a grocery list he decided to let out his frustration on a discarded soda bottle.

The bottle hit a wall, bursting open, releasing its prisoner. The sludge villain laughed maniacally, "Hehe…Let's try this again."

Izuku dragged his feet as he walked, trying to dry his tears, 'Idiot, you can't let one person ruin your dream, you have your friends backing you up! Didn't you say you were going to be more optimistic for them?' But that one negative opinion was from the number one hero himself, how could he remain confident after that?

The sounds of explosions grew louder, Izuku looked up and noticed he was standing behind a crowd, 'Oh, I walked to the villain attack out of habit.' He spotted the sludge villain, "Wha-?! No…how did-" Then he spotted the victim, making eye contact with his friend. The look in Katsuki's eyes pushed him to move.

The villain spotted Izuku running towards him, "You again?!" He launched his tendrils.

Tohru came back home covered in scratches, her hair a mess. She breathed a sigh of relief, "Phew, finally got rid of all the duendes living in the walls. Weird, we don't live in Mexico…" She turned the tv on, a news channel was reporting a villain attack. "Huh, that looks like my kid… Oh my gosh! That is my kid!"

OOOOO

Before Izuku was given a chance to catch his breath he had a bunch of pro heroes reprimanding him for throwing himself at a villain. Katsuki was receiving praise from some pro heroes but he wasn't hearing it. He made his way over to Izuku, "Alright, that's enough! He doesn't need to hear useless criticism from a bunch of useless sidekicks who stood around uselessly-!"

Izuku pulled him away, "That's enough Kacchan, it's my fault really."

Katsuki furrowed an eyebrow, "Hey, you okay? Don't let what those guys said get to you."

"No, it's not that, it's just," He looked towards All Might's direction, he was currently doing an interview, "Nevermind, I'll tell you later."

Katsuki nodded, "Fine, see you at your place later. I still have to do some grocery shopping, hopefully before my mom finds out about this mess." His phone buzzed, "Crap, it's her! What do you want!" He answered, walking away.

Before Izuku could walk away himself a meteor fell from the sky right next to him. Unsurprisingly it was Tohru, "Izuku! My little hatchling, are you hurt?!" She smothered him unto her chest, checking his hair for leftover sludge. "Gosh! How many licks is it going to take to get you cleaned up?"

Izuku pushed her away, "Tohru, I'm fine, let's just go home…"

Tohru looked slightly hurt at being pushed away, "Izuku? Is something wrong? Don't you want to get your hero stuff you were talking about?" Tohru asked softly.

"No it's fine, I'm fine, let's go already, can you make a portal?" His eyes didn't meet hers.

"Oh, okay. Let's go to that alley, everyone is looking at us for some reason." The reason was because she fell from the sky and made a crater on the road, but people were quickly forgetting in favor of All Might keeping the spotlight.

All Might was keeping an eye on Izuku even with the media attention, he wanted to amend the brief connection they had. If that terrible first impression could be considered a connection. He noticed the boy was walking away, then excused himself, using his super speed to disappear into the same alley. He watched Izuku step through some portal at the end of the alley, internally he panicked, he didn't get the kid's name. Without thinking, he jumped in after him.

Izuku stepped into his living room, breathing a sigh of relief. He was about to walk to his room to lie face down on his bed when he heard a yell behind him.

"Young man! There's no need to feel- oof!" All Might had launched himself at Izuku with the last of his strength. Thankfully, it caused him to run out of fumes. So instead of crushing the poor boy, he only awkwardly tackled him in his bony form.

Unfortunately it also caused him to cough up an unhealthy amount of blood which caused Izuku to scream in terror.

Tohru watched the whole thing but still misunderstood the situation. "Oh my gosh! It's another one of those fucking gremlins! Izuku, hold it down, I'm grabbing the bat!"

Izuku managed to compose himself, "Wait! Tohru! It's okay, it's just All Might!"

Tohru was still confused, "All Might? You mean that smiling idiot you have plastered all over your room? Why does he look like a yara-ma-yha-who victim?"

The hero got up from the floor, trying to salvage the situation. "I can see why you might think that ma'am, but your son is right, I am All Might. This form is a result of a villain attack a few years back."

Izuku tried to correct him, "Um, she's not my-"

Tohru interrupted, "Then what's a hero like you barging into our living room for?"

The pile of bones managed to look sheepish, "I truly am sorry for the intrusion, I just wanted to have a talk with…" He looked at Izuku expectedly.

"Um, Izuku Midoriya…" He answered.

The hero smiled, "Toshinori Yagi." Izuku tried not to freak out. Toshinori continued, "Young Midoriya, your actions back there were quite inspiring. You, a quirkless boy, were the only one to charge in to save someone."

"I didn't really do anything…I wasn't even thinking, actually, it was like…"

"Your body moved on its own."

Izuku's head shot up, "Yeah, how did…?"

"Young man, I came here, barging into your living room uninvited through some peculiar portal, to thank you, and to discuss your question from earlier. If you hadn't told me about your life, if you hadn't charged into the fight, I would have stood by and done nothing like some bystander. Your actions taught me to go beyond, so thanks. Every hero has a story, and for the greatest heroes all their stories start the same: Their bodies moved on their own."

"What- what are you…?" Izuku started to tear up.

"Young Midoriya, you can become a hero."

Izuku's eyes welled up. He always heard it from Himiko, Tohru always showed support, he and Katsuki always trained together, but to hear it from his idol, the man who inspired him. He couldn't stop the tears.

Toshinori, All Might, raising his arms in the air, dramatically spoke, "That is why I have chosen to pick you as my successor. Young Izuku Midoriya, you are worthy to inherit my quirk, One for All!"

Izuku slowly looked up, the tears dried up, "W-what…?"

Tohru decided to step in, "Alright, I've heard enough! I don't know much about quirks, but if this is some scheme to get new recruits for your cult you should know, Izuku doesn't believe in any god, enough that he was able to pull a holy sword off my back!"

"Tohru, please stop talking." Izuku said before Tohru could cause more confusion. Tohru was shocked by Izuku's dismissiveness. He turned to Toshinori, "What do you mean, inherit your quirk?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like. My quirk, One for All, is a sacred torch passed on from master to student, improving in power before being passed on to someone else. This cultivated power is what helps me save those in need of a hero."

"And you want to pass something like that…to me?"

"I was on a long hunt for a worthy successor." Not true, he only recently started searching, "And I believe you are worthy to inherit my power. You don't have to answer right away…"

Izuku finally steeled himself, "I accept!"

OOOOO

Much to Tohru's annoyance, Toshinori decided to stay for dinner. Also to her annoyance, Katsuki showed up.

Katsuki eyed the skeleton, "You mean to tell me that's supposed to be All Might?"

"Kacchan, don't be rude!" Izuku hissed.

"I'm not being rude! Being rude would be telling some kid they can't be a hero just because they're quirkless!"

"You have done that before… And besides, I told you already he's going to make it up to me."

Katsuki scowled, "And how's he going to do that?"

"Again, we're waiting for Himiko, then we'll explain it to you both." Izuku reiterated.

Toshinori tried to change the topic, "So… young Bakugou, do you live here as well?"

Tohru called from the kitchen, "No, Katchin's just here to leech off our food, again, like he always does…"

Katsuki chuckled, "It's so amazing that you manage to piss me off more than my mother without even yelling!"

Toshinori coughed, "Sorry to ask, it's just that this apartment looks a lot bigger than it should…"

Izuku said, "Actually it's two apartments, Tohru removed the living room wall that connects with Himiko's living room." (Hopefully the landlord doesn't find out.)

"I don't live here, but I've slept over sometimes in one of the guest rooms on Knifey's side. Which, I guess, makes it my room." Katsuki explained.

Izuku looked at him quizzically, "Knifey?"

"I'm still trying to come up with a nickname for Toga, don't rush me!"

Speaking of which, Himiko had just arrived at the apartment, entering from Izuku's side to get to him quicker. "Izuku! I saw the news! Oh my god, are you alright?"

Izuku got up to greet her at the entrance, "I'm fine! See I'm fine, don't worry." He said to alleviate her worries, smiling over her concern.

Himiko was relieved, but still decided to take the edge off by kissing Izuku. Her eyes widened before she pushed him away, "Bleh! Why does your breath smell like sewage?"

Izuku sighed, "I don't want to talk about…"

Thankfully he didn't have to, Toshinori took the burden of recounting the events of the afternoon. Finishing the story by explaining the true nature of his quirk and his offer to Izuku.

After he was done the others were left in silence to absorb the new information. Himiko was the first one to say, "Wait, you mean to tell me that you're All Might?"

"Yes, that was the first thing I said…" Toshinori responded.

"I have no more questions." Himiko said.

"Err… All right, anyone else?"

Katsuki grumbled, "No objections here, beating Deku to the number one spot will be more satisfying if he has All Might's quirk."

Toshinori nodded, "I actually wasn't asking permission, I just wanted to let you know that young Midoriya will be in my care for the next year while I train him. But don't worry, I'll make sure to give him enough free time to hang out with his friends."

Tohru leered at Toshinori, "Wait, what are you talking about?! Free time?! You don't mean to tell me that you're going to steal away Izuku for the entire year!"

Toshinori put his hands up defensively, "No, of course not! I mean I'm going to personally train him for a year."

Tohru got up from the table, "He already has a personal trainer! And that's me!"

Toshinori tilted his head, "You are? I thought you said you were the maid and/or mother? Slash dragon from another world."

Izuku looked at his idol, "You actually believed that dragon part?"

Katsuki grumbled again, "She only trains with him on the weekends, the weekdays Deku trains with me and the vampire."

Toshinori looked confused, "You two don't train with her at all?"

Himiko said, "Tohru doesn't want any physical contact with Kacchan if she isn't allowed to kill him. And I was offered but declined because I have my own type of training to do on the weekends." She explained while twirling a knife. "Also, I've seen what kind of training those two do and I would rather not get involved in that…"

Tohru harrumphed, "That's right! My alone time with Izuku is precious to me! Why do you even want him for the entire year anyway?"

Toshinori explained, "He has a year until the UA entrance exam, I need to train him to be at his best physically to inherit my quirk."

Izuku looked alarmed, "Wait! I thought you said I was worthy?!"

"You are worthy, but One for All is a whole lot to handle, it's the combined power of all the previous users. If you tried to use it unprepared your limbs would fly right off!"

"Oh my god! Has that happened before?"

"Well no… I don't think…"

Tohru snarled at Toshinori again, "And you want to give something like that to my Izuku?! And what about you two?!" Tohru started pointing at both Katsuki and Himiko, "How can you both not have any objections to this?! Katchin, aren't you at least jealous, or something?!"

Katsuki shrugged, "Like I said, it'll make reaching number one more satisfying. Plus it's a platinum upgrade to my training partner."

"Himiko, aren't you afraid you'll get left behind by Izuku?!" Tohru asked.

"Nah, I'm only training with them because I want to go to the same school as Izuku. Once I graduate I'll probably go underground for a couple years, then retire to become a housewife to take care of two kids." Himiko responded.

Izuku looked at Himiko, "Wait, I thought you said you wanted three kids?"

"Oh! Well if you want three, who am I to deny your request Izuku!" Himiko smiled.

("Dammit, tricked again… She's going to get me up to six at this rate like she initially wanted…")

Himiko continued, "Besides, can you imagine how ripped Izuku is gonna get. I'm imagining a runner's body or a swimmer's physique." She started to drool, "My housewife fantasy will be a lot better when he comes home everyday to use those big strong arms of his to pick me up and-"

Katsuki interrupted, addressing Tohru, "Why would you think any of us would have any opposition to this? Deku wants to be the best hero he can be. This opportunity will help him be better than he could ever imagine! From the way I see it, you're the only one here with an objection, like this is about you and not Deku."

Everyone at the table was looking at Tohru. She stared right back, looking at everyone individually but not saying a word. Her face was stoic, making it impossible for anyone to read her emotions. It was unnerving for everyone.

Finally Toshinori decided to break the silence, "Um, Kobayashi, I understand you have the best interest for your child at heart, I can respect that. But this is more Midoriya's decision than mine, maybe if you two talk it out you can learn to accept his choice."

"Choice? …You want me to talk about it?" Tohru asked calmly.

Katsuki agreed, "Yes, but in private, and not here in front of everyone-"

Tohru slammed her hands on the table, "I'm never Izuku's first choice!"

The room was left in silence.

Katsuki grumbled, "Great, now we're involved…"

Tohru didn't stop, "You're damn right! I'm supposed to be Izuku's best friend, but instead he'd rather be a lickspittle to some dumb spiky haired squonk!"

"It's not dumb…"

"I'm supposed to receive all his affection, but now, he has a girlfriend and can't keep his hands off her for a second!"

Izuku's hand retreated back to his side where it was previously absentmindedly playing with one of Himiko's hair buns. "T-that's not true! Besides, you lick me clean almost everyday, and I eat your tail meat every once in a while."

Tohru crossed her arms, "Well maybe that's not enough for me anymore!"

"That's why her hair is always a mess…" Katsuki mused to himself.

Tohru continued, "I'm the first person to ever believe in Izuku's dream to be a hero, the first one to give him any support! Then the moment this bloody toothpick shows up, I get tossed aside!"

Toshinori had no words, in a sense he did feel guilty about all this. In another sense he felt way too awkward to actually say anything.

Himiko felt guilty. From the way Izuku had first described her she was afraid she had to compete with Tohru for Izuku's attention. But when she was met with no resistance she figured that meant she had Izuku to herself. Looking back, it was obvious whenever Tohru had to restrain herself.

Katsuki just wanted to go to bed.

Out of everyone, Izuku knew he was most to blame. "Tohru…" He tried to call, but nothing else came out. He had no idea what to say.

Unfortunately, even if he did find the words, he was met by resistance from Tohru, "No, I don't want to hear it! It's obvious I'm just in the way! I'll be sure to keep my distance from now on! I wouldn't want to ruin your chances of impressing your hero!"

"Tohru…" Izuku tried to call again.

"I'm going out for a walk… Don't bother waiting up…" Tohru summoned a portal and walked through it without looking back.

Izuku's head hung low, he couldn't believe it. He really messed things up with Tohru. He had been taking her for granted and he felt awful for it. "My god… I'm the worst. She's never gotten mad at me before. I need to fix this and I don't even know how…"

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about? Just go explain yourself, I'm sure she'll understand."

Izuku raised his head, "How am I supposed to do that?! She's not going to want to talk to me ever again!"

"Again, what are you talking about? Of course she wants to talk to you. The portal is still open…"

All their heads turned to the portal in the background. Tohru's voice could be heard from the other side, "And don't bother talking to me! I'm really, really mad right now!"

Izuku got up from his chair. "I have to apologize…" Izuku fetched something from his room before going after Tohru through the portal.

Katsuki got up as well, "Well I'm going to bed before anything else comes up." He quickly made his way to the guest room he was staying in and quickly shut the door.

Himiko shot a glance at Toshinori, "So… Is there a reason you smell like blood right now?"

"I was sure I mentioned this, but I cough up blood on a regular basis." Toshinori responded.

"Gross dude, you need to learn to keep your blood down when you're drinking it."

"...What?"

Izuku found himself in the middle of a clearing in a forest. He spotted Tohru sitting down by herself on the other side of the clearing, facing away from him. He walked towards her but stopped a couple feet away from her. He heard her sniffing, her shoulders shook lightly.

If Izuku felt bad before, he feels terrible now. He vividly remembered their first meeting. (Well, the one where he was awake.) He remembered her crying at the time when he had rejected her offer. After he had managed to make her smile again he had silently sworn to himself to never make her cry again.

('Good job on that one, useless idiot…')

He also promised himself to make her smile once a day. An easy feat considering his mere presence lit up her day. But that didn't mean he didn't practice.

"Tohru."

"What do you want?" Tohru quickly dried her eyes but wouldn't face him.

"Do you know… what I wanted to be when I grew up, besides being a hero?"

"That's a trick question. You always wanted to be a hero ever since you could remember." She answered.

She really did listen to everything he said. "I'm glad you remembered that. But I wasn't entirely truthful when I said it."

"What?" Tohru looked confused.

"When I was very little, before I was exposed to the world of heroes, there was a time I wanted to grow up to be a dragon."

Tohru scoffed, "You're just making that up to make me feel better. It's unbecoming of you Izuku."

"Remember that one visit from my parents? The one where they decide to share our family photos with you. There was that one photo of me as a toddler wearing a dragon onesie."

How could she forget? She immediately made tons of copies of that one particular photo. She might be carrying three of them on her right now. "I assumed that was a onesie your parents picked out for you."

"No, that was me. I was born with green hair, my dad could breathe fire. For a short time, I thought I was going to become a dragon when I grew up. My dad would dress up as a knight to save my princess mom from my castle. We never really finished that game, I got too distracted destroying the toy village nearby…"

Tohru giggled, "You sound more like a chaos dragon than the princess kidnapping type."

Izuku took that as a good sign and sat next to her. "I may not remember that first night, but I'm willing to bet that the first thing I said to you was to ask you to breathe fire for me."

Tohru nearly doubled over laughing, "You did! You got so excited, you ended up falling on your back clapping and cheering for me!"

Izuku smiled at her, he may find it a bit embarrassing when it was about him, but he always enjoyed it when Tohru laughed. "Tohru, today I got saved by my favorite hero twice. Then he not only offered to train me, but he offered his quirk as well. And even then, today was only the second best day of my life, behind the day I first met you. Even if I couldn't remember the midnight meeting."

"R-really?"

Izuku handed her a notebook.

Tohru read the cover, "Tohru's spells analysis for the future?"

She remembered when Izuku was constantly adding new notes into the book. But he wouldn't ever let her look at the contents. Immediately she opened the book and started skimming through the pages. It was full of notes analyzing her spells, which was expected, but what she didn't expect were all the drawings of her. Almost every page had a drawing of her, in different poses, performing her spells. There were some of her dragon form, with small notes on the side where Izuku took the time to effuse his thoughts about how cool it was to live with a dragon. She turned to the first page to properly read the book, then started blushing at what she found.

Izuku continued, "I'm sorry I never said this before, but I'm grateful for everything you've done for me. I'm grateful for all the illegal things you were willing to do for me. I'm grateful for your daily presence itself. And I'm sorry I never said this before, but… I love you Tohru."

Tohru started to tear up again, "Do you… r-really mean that?"

"Of course, you're my family now."

Tohru started grinning through the tears, "Would you say, I'm like a mom to you?"

Izuku was taken aback, "Uh- I, think I've said this before, but I feel like that would be a bit much."

Tohru showed Izuku the first page from the notebook, pointing to a footnote he had written. 'A good mother figure.'

Izuku started blushing red, "Wait!- I meant to erase that!-"

Izuku was interrupted when Tohru flung her arms around him, hugging him with everything she had.

"I guess I could leave it in…" Izuku mumbled.

"I love you Izuku."

Izuku hugged back, "I love you too."

They stayed like that for a couple minutes. Tohru didn't want to let go, and Izuku wanted to let her get it out of her system. After a while they let go and enjoyed each other's company while looking at the night sky.

Izuku said, "By the way… Is this the forest where I found you?"

"Oh yeah, I came here often the last time I was on earth. This is also the place where I first met Miss Kobayashi." Tohru responded.

"Where… even is this place?"

"Like, the other side of Japan from where you live."

Jeez, how badly sleep deprived was he that night that he ended up on the other side of Japan?

After a while Toshinori stepped through the portal. "I'm not interrupting anything am I? I figured I checked up on you two."

Tohru scowled, "Tch! I meant to close that portal once Izuku followed me." Tohru got up and walked towards Toshinori. "Listen here All Might, if that even is your real name!"

"It's not."

"I may not like you, but we both have the same goal of helping Izuku achieve the number one spot. Meaning we both have to work together to make this work. Whatever you have planned for Izuku, I'll be there too, helping in any way I can."

Izuku chimed in, "If that's okay with you, of course."

Toshinori nodded, "Of course, you know the boy better than I do. I suppose I could take all the help I can get to get him ready for the exams. I just want you to know that the training will be intense, I'll have him working everyday."

"Then I guess we have ourselves a deal!" Tohru said.

Toshinori nodded, "I hope we get along well, young Kobayashi."

"I am much older than you!"

"Err… Kobayashi-san."

Tohru nodded approvingly.

"I guess I really won't have time to train with Kacchan and Himiko, I wonder if they'll have any trouble without me." Izuku mumbled.

Tohru responded, "Oh, don't worry about them. I think I can make an arrangement…"

Katsuki and Himiko were standing on the training field they had been using for almost two years.

"How long are we supposed to wait again?" Himiko asked.

Katsuki checked the time, "I think they're supposed to come any minute now."

Just then, a figure fell from the sky, making a crater and kicking up dust. From the crater the figure started speaking.

"Fufu, greetings humans, you have been lucky enough to be chosen by me to oversee your training. Now bask in the glory that is- Oh my god! It's two teenagers!" Elma screamed, then backed away, whimpering.

Himiko turned to Katsuki, "Do you know her?"

Katsuki shrugged, "I think Deku mentioned her before."

Authors note: Oh right, I forgot to mention about the Leslie. I don't know what constitutes as an 'OC' but that character was created for a one shot idea I have. It's really her pet lizard that was going to steal the show. She was only used in the last chapter as a foil for Katsuki's and Himiko's friendship. That's really her only contribution to this story, she'll probably be mentioned but that's really it, she's served her purpose.

The only reason I didn't mention this was because I got distracted by tv show theme lyrics.

I am a very easily distractible person.

Omake

Rooftop meeting

Toshinori: My boy, you are taking this form rather well…

Izuku: Don't get me wrong, this is pretty traumatizing. But both my maid and my girlfriend like to eat raw steaks, so this isn't the first time I've seen someone cough up blood. Between that, and the sludge villain from earlier, this is still only the third most disturbing thing I've seen today. You'd have to show me something really disgusting to get a reaction out of me, like a huge 'organs are missing' scar or something.

Toshinori: Get a load of this…

Figurine

Himiko: Aww! You have figures of Tohru in your room? That's adorable!

Izuku: There was also a body pillow, but Tohru got rid of it without saying anything. I wonder what made her change her mind about it…

Grocery run

Katsuki: Dammit, you old hag! I just showed up! Why are you already giving me a grocery list?!

Mitsuki: I don't want to hear any complaints from you brat! Now get a move on already!

Katsuki: (Leaves)

Mitsuki: Oh darling, it's four pm! You know what that means.

Masaru: (Chuckles) I'm in danger.

TV: We're live at the scene of a villain attack! As you can see the sludge villain has captured a dumb spiky haired kid!

Mitsuki: For the love of…

Oh~Teenagers scare! The living-

Elma: Tohru! Why didn't you tell me they were both teenagers?!

Tohru: I did, I said they were the same age as Izuku.

Elma: But he's twelve!

Tohru: That was two years ago! He's fourteen now!

Elma: Izuku is a teenager now! Why do humans grow up so fast?!

Author's note: This chapter was less 'Izuku and Toshinori' and more 'Tohru puts Izuku on the spot.'

So in Kobayashi canon Tohru looks like a sixteen year old, I guess?

When I started this story the original idea I had was that she now looked like a grown up. That's why she's referred to as a woman rather than a girl.

Let's just forget that idea. Just imagine she looks the same as canon but people assume she's Izuku's mother for some reason.