Izuku raced home as fast as he could. How could he have been so careless? His heart beat fast enough for it to echo in his ears, but not from the physical strain. How would he explain this to mom? What would he say to Toga the next time they saw? Why didn't school ever teach him actually useful things instead of harping endlessly about math?

He noticed the police car in front of their apartment complex and Izuku's heart skipped a beat. Had something happened? Was mom…? Izuku picked up the pace and jumped over the fence. He ran up the stairs two or three at a time. Please let everything be all right! Please! He almost tore the door off the hinges.

"Mom?!"

Mom's eyes were red and her cheeks puffy from crying.

"Izuku…" Mom said.

"Izuku Midoriya?"

A tall man who looked like he'd stepped out of a Film noir movie with his trench coat and fedora walked out of the living room.

"… yes." Izuku said.

"Sorry if I scared you. I'm officer Tsukauchi. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Mom fiddled her hands nervously and shifted her glance from Izuku to Tsukauchi.

"… why?"

"There was an incident at school and one of your classmates got hurt." Tsukauchi said.

"I tried to call you, but you wouldn't pick up. I… I thought something had happened to you." Mom said.

"… I ran out of power. What… who got hurt?" Izuku said.

"Katsuki Bakugou. He got a nasty blow in the head and needed emergency surgery." Tsukauchi said.

Mom's voice gained a steely edge.

"That boy has been picking on Izuku for years."

"I'm not here to point any fingers." Tsukauchi said.

"But you think my Izuku had something to do with it."

"Young Bakugou thought so. So, Izuku. Can you talk me through your day?" Tsukauchi said.

"… I… I stayed the night with… a friend. I got to school but didn't feel so good, so I went back there to rest."

"And you stayed there all day? What did you do? Can your friend verify this?" Tsukauchi asked.

Izuku's face turned bright red and Tsukauchi cocked his eyebrows. Tsukauchi cleared his throat and tried hard not to look Izuku in the eyes.

"You know what? Never mind. I don't need my Quirk to see your telling the truth." Tsukauchi said.

"… your Quirk?"

"Mild telepathy. I'm sorry for taking your time. Thanks for the coffee Mrs. Midoriya."

Mom managed a slight smile.

"You're welcome."

Tsukauchi patted Izuku on the shoulder.

"You're a good kid. Send my regards to our mutual friend at the beach."

"… you know…"

Tsukauchi winked and got ready to leave.

"… Mr. Tsukauchi?" Izuku said.

"Yes?"

"… Bakugou… will he be all right?"

Tsukauchi smiled.

"He'll take some time off school, but he'll be fine. Remember to work hard."

Mom started bawling the moment Tsukauchi closed the door behind him.

It was strange how much easier school was without Bakugou in it. His other classmates still passed the time by picking on him, but they were easy to tune out. Bakugou had always been the worst of the bunch and no one could get under his skin the way Bakugou had.

Unfortunately, All Might was there to pick up the slack.

The training became even more intense as the entrance exam to U.A veered closer and closer. Finally, his body couldn't handle it anymore and Izuku collapsed while jogging. All Might stopped his Vespa and looked at him critically.

"What's this? Giving up already? I thought you had more guts than…"

All Might fell silent when he noticed the way his hands were shaking.

"You're overworked which means you haven't been following the plan. I told you overdoing it is just counterproductive."

All Might's words stung more than he knew. Izuku wished it had been secret training, but the truth was infinitely more embarrassing. All Might worked him half to death, but that didn't stop Toga from taking him back to her place two or three times a week and coming close to finishing the job. He'd had to learn to drink coffee just to have enough energy in the morning to get going.

"… I have a dream, but I… also have other duties. I can't just leave my friends hanging when they need me. What kind of a hero would I otherwise be?"

It was scary how easily the lie fell from his lips and drove nails to his stomach.

All Might laughed.

"That's a heavy load on your shoulders, young Midoriya, but I don't dislike it. Very well. I'll adjust the plan and get you back on track."

The encouragement just made Izuku feel worse. All Might trusted him and he repaid it with lies. The only consolation was that the guilt made him work even harder.

On the day of the U.A entrance exam the beach was clean. Izuku stood on the last pile of trash and screamed out all of his frustration and anxiety. He'd done it! He managed to meet All Might's expectations! There was nothing he couldn't do! The world could throw whatever it wanted at him! He… he…

The scream took out the last of Izuku's strength.

Was this how he died? Falling off a pile of trash? On the verge of his greatest victory?

Strong arms took a hold of him.

"Holy super crap, young Midoriya. You even cleaned the parts I didn't specify." All Might said and helped him back on his feet.

"… so that means…"

"Yes. The twig has grown into a tree. It is time for you to inherit my Quirk."

Izuku held his breath. What would it be like? Some kind of an energy transfer or…

All Might pulled out a hair.

"Eat this."

"… huh…"

When Izuku stood in front of U. A's gates he swore no one would ever find out how All Might's Quirk was passed on. If someone ever tried to torture the answer out of him, he'd make something up. Still, it was a petty complaint. This was a dream come true. This moment was all he'd ever wanted, and no one could take it from…

Someone bumped into his shoulder. Hard.

Bakugou walked past him without saying a word and his silence was infinitely more terrifying than all the taunts he had thrown at Izuku over the years. The eye-patch couldn't completely hide the scar in his face and the look in his remaining eye was… full of murderous hate.

"… Bakugou?" Izuku managed.

Bakugou just bared his teeth and stepped through the gates.

After a while Izuku felt brave enough to follow.

The exam had been a total bust. He'd spent all of the practical exam avoiding Bakugou out of fear what he would do to him if he got the chance. The look in his eye told that Bakugou was way past regular bullying. During the robot hunt the only robot Izuku had managed to destroy was one of the worthless ones to help a fellow participant.

Who wasn't even in danger!

In retrospect it was obvious that U.A would never endanger any of the examinees. All Izuku had to show for his day was a broken arm and legs. Even after all that training he couldn't handle All Might's power. It was only thanks to Recovery Girl he hadn't been left maimed.

Izuku looked at the All Might poster on his wall.

All Might had been wrong. He wasn't a worthy successor. People didn't change that easily. A shitty nerd with the number one hero's power was still just a shitty nerd. He'd let All Might down.

Izuku fell on his bed and turned off the lights. He just wanted to sleep and fade away. The darkness was a blessing.

"Oh my God! He's so adorable! He even has the little outfit!"

"He begged me to buy it. Said it would be his birthday and Christmas present." Mom said.

Izuku jolted awake. Was that… Toga? What was she… Oh no! No, no, no! This couldn't be happening! Anything, but that!

Even after everything Recovery Girl had done Izuku's legs were still sore when he ran to the living room. Mom and Toga were sitting on the couch going through his baby pictures. Mom was giving special attention to her favorites. The one's where Izuku was three and dressed like All Might.

Toga looked up from the pictures and grinned.

"Izuku-Izuku. Ya are up."

"She came to see you and I couldn't just turn her away." Mom said.

Izuku grabbed the photo album and gave mom a pleading look. Why did she have to betray him like this?

"Heard ya blew up a giant robot. Ya must be as good as in." Toga said.

"They… they were worth zero points." Izuku said.

"Oh." Toga said.

Mom cleared her throat.

"I was about to get dinner ready. You'll naturally stay and eat with us." Mom said.

Toga grinned.

"Naturally."

Izuku didn't know what made the dinner more awkward. Mom's knowing smile, or the way Toga was rubbing him with her foot under the table.

"How did you two meet?" Mom said.

"A happy accident. I heard someone crying and there was Izuku-Izuku." Toga said.

Why did she have to use the nickname in front of mom? Every time she did, mom's smile grew a few inches wider.

"Bakugou… had destroyed my notes." Izuku said.

Mom shook her head.

"He's such a nasty boy."

"Nastiness has nasty habit of coming around." Toga said.

"He… lost an eye." Izuku said.

Mom looked uncomfortable. Toga just rolled her eyes.

"Sorry if I don't feel too bad for him." Toga said and sifted her foot between Izuku's legs: "So, how does a Quirkless kid bust a giant robot? Have ya been lying to me, Izuku-Izuku?"

"My Izuku was a late bloomer." Mom said.

"No. I… always had a Quirk. It was just suppressed. By doubt and… anxiety. My mentor noticed and helped me to… believe in myself." Izuku said.

When had lying become so easy for him?

"That's our Izuku-Izuku for ya." Toga said.

Mom's face lit up like she had just found the friend she had been looking for her entire life. Or accomplice.

"I hope you keep looking after our Izuku." Mom said.

Our Izuku? Izuku managed to suppress a groan. What he wouldn't give for someone to put an end to his suffering. The agonizingly long dinner finally came to a merciful close.

"Izuku. You should really walk Toga home. At least part of the way." Mom said.

"He really should." Toga said and clung to Izuku's arm: "Ya never know what kind of a villain might jump ya."

Getting out of the house was a relief, but it just made the third-degree interrogation to come all the scarier.

"Yer mom's nice." Toga said when they were walking under the streetlamps.

"She… can be a real witch… with a capital B sometimes." Izuku said.

"Oh? How so?"

"It's… embarrassing." Izuku said.

"Come on. Ya can tell yer pal Toga. Has it something to do with yer porn?"

Izuku blushed and averted his eyes.

"I knew it! Let me guess. She found yer porno mags and threw them away. Or gave ya the talk." Toga said.

"… worse." Izuku said.

"Come on. Don't leave me hanging." Toga said.

Izuku sighed. What was the point in fighting?

"I… last year I went to visit my granny for the summer, and I hid… my magazines…"

"Yer porn." Toga said.

"My magazines! I hid them under my comics. While I was away… mom cleaned my room. She even tidied up my comics. It's just… any normal person would have just made a mess of them again and pretended not to have seen anything, but she… she left the magazines all right. But she also put my comics in alphabetical order, so I'd know she'd seen them. For the rest of the week, she had this… smirk."

Toga started laughing.

"It's… not that funny." Izuku said.

"Ya should see yer face."

"What about your family? You never talk about them." Izuku said.

"Not much to say. Six feet under the lot of 'em."

Izuku stopped in his tracks.

"I'm sorry. I… I didn't mean…"

Toga shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. Can't miss what ya don't remember. I get by fine on my own."

Izuku swallowed and took hold of Toga's hand.

"… I'm here." Izuku said.

Toga looked at him in a way she had never before. It didn't last long, but Izuku saw it. This time it was Toga who looked away.

"Ya shouldn't worry about the exam. Ya got All Might in yer corner."

"I don't want to get in because of All Might. I want to get in because I'm good enough." Izuku said.

"Ya will. Yer my archenemy. Ya have survived worse. Ya'll survive this too."

Izuku was stunned silent. He had been thinking about this all wrong. Even if he didn't get in this year, there was always next year. Just because he had stumbled once didn't mean his journey was over. Even if he had to crawl, he'd move forward.

"Thanks Toga."

"Ya wanna thank me, show me that new Quirk of yers when ya come over next time."

Izuku felt his cheeks redden.

"I'm… pretty sure it would kill you."

"Then learn to control it. And hurry. I'm impatient."

Toga gave him a kiss that left scratches. Izuku stared after her for a long time. When he finally started walking home, he couldn't help himself and started singing.

"Look at that girl with the sad eyes and the beautiful blonde hair. I'm immediately in love! She spent a life all alone…"

When Izuku got home, mom was waiting for him with a smirk on her face.

"What?" Izuku said.

"Nothing. She's a very nice girl, but… I don't know. There was… something."

"Yeah. I know. I think… she's lonely." Izuku said.

A letter from U.A arrived a few days later in the form of a hologram. All Might's face filled Izuku's room. It was as he'd feared. He'd done fine in the written exam, but in the practical part he'd failed miserably. Even if it was just a recording, facing All Might was painful.

If U.A was grading just the robot busting he would failed, but then the girl he'd tried to help appeared on camera.

"He saved my life. Can I share some of my points with him?"

All Might's recording roared in laughter.

"Did you think that U.A would turn down a student for doing the right thing? Perish the thought! Welcome to U.A Izuku Midoriya."

Izuku cried harder than ever before.