Even after the tournament Izuku tried to squeeze in one or two meetings a week at the Demon's Den. With all the new students he had Mr. Oguro couldn't give Izuku as much attention as he used to, but Kouichi had enough free time on Friday's to spar with him. Now that he could use a fraction of One for All pinning Kouichi down wasn't the Herculean feat it used to be.

But today his heart wasn't in it.

Kouichi dashed around him like he had the first time and knocked him down time and time again. Something was bugging him and had been bugging him for a few days now. It never left him alone for long and stole his concentration at all the wrong moments.

Finally, Kouichi stopped flying around and looked at him worried.

"Something wrong?"

"I… think so, but… I don't know what." Izuku said.

"Okay. You probably just need time to think about it. Same time next week?"

"… sounds good."

Izuku started his jog home and let his feet carry him. While he was lost in thought he didn't notice his legs weren't interested in going home. When he bothered to look around he realized he had ran to Himiko's apartment complex. After a moment of hesitation, he pressed Himiko's doorbell.

"Don't know what they told ya, but ya pigs will never take me alive." Himiko said through the intercom.

"… Himiko? It's me."

"Izuku-Izuku!" Himiko squealed: "And here I thought the jig was up. Come on in."

The door buzzed to mark that it was unlocked. Izuku stepped in and the elevator started descending to the ground floor. He stepped in and picked Himiko's floor. When the doors opened again Himiko was waiting for him in the hallway wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants. Why that was so exciting he didn't know.

"Just stole a new Switch. Wanna play it?" Himiko said.

"… can I use your shower first?"

"I only have the one, so we have to share." Himiko said.

After a cold shower Izuku sat on the sofa next to Himiko who handed him a controller. Himiko had more experience than him with fighting games and started feeding Izuku his own teeth the moment the countdown started. If he could only concentrate, but that feeling he hadn't noticed something obvious didn't leave him alone.

Something clicked and Izuku felt stupid. More then usual.

Mom's new diet and exercising habits. All those long calls. It had been staring him right in the face all this time and he hadn't noticed.

"Oh God. Mom's… back in the dating game."

"I know." Himiko said and finished the match with a roundhouse kick: "Yeah! In yer adorable face!"

"… what? How?"

"Ya would be surprised what ya notice when ya don't stare at yer shoes all day."

Izuku rubbed his face.

"… what am I going to do?"

Himiko patted him in the back.

"Yer not dating yer mom's new beau so ya don't have to do anything. Except move out and fast. My pad is big enough for two if yer wondering."

Izuku's phone started humming to let him know that there was a new text waiting for him. He opened his phone and read it. Himiko kept staring him with a grin on her face.

"What does it say? Ya gonna be a big bro?"

"… mom… said were going to have dinner tomorrow… and she's bringing a… friend."

"Cool. Can I come?" Himiko asked.

"… do… do you enjoy seeing me suffer?"

"I think ya know the answer to that one, Izuku-Izuku." Himiko said.

Izuku sighed and stared at the ceiling.

"… can I stay here tonight?" Izuku said.

"Ya just made this kidnapping a whole lot easier, Izuku-Izuku."

Izuku was barely able to sleep and spent most of the night listening to Himiko's breathing. Why was everyone else so much more comfortable in their skin than him? Had there been a class for that and no one had told him? When morning finally came he procrastinated around Himiko's flat for as long as he could before Himiko dragged him out. When they got to his apartment, Izuku tried to turn tail and run.

"… I can't do this."

"Grow a pair Izuku-Izuku, and go say hi to yer new dad."

When Izuku opened the door, he smelled coffee and heard talking. It was the easy chatter between friends... and he recognized both voices.

"No fucking way." Himiko whispered.

Mom was sitting in the living room with All Might who was using his real form. Both seemed to be under a spell that made them blind and deaf to everything else. When Izuku coughed the spell was broken and both turned awkward when they noticed them.

"Midoriya my boy. Good to see you and you must be Toga. I'm Toshinori Yagi. Young Midoriya has told me so much about you." All Might said.

Himiko smiled.

"Yer a sweet liar."

"I was just about to finish the dinner preparations. Can you give me a hand, Toga?" Mom said.

"Sure. I'm a killer with a knife."

All Might and Izuku were left alone and they took turns staring around embarrassed.

"Izuku? Could we talk? On the balcony." All Might said.

"… sure."

On the bright side now he could fling himself off the balcony if things got too embarrassing. After All Might had closed the balcony door, he scratched his head.

"Look… I know how this must look, but… were just friends. I'm here as a friend… and a proud teacher. Nothing more. A friend. Got it?"

Izuku peeked over the railing. Would the fall kill him immediately? Even if it didn't, nothing could be more painful than this.

"… sure."

"Good. Glad we got that out of the way. That Inko and I are just friends."

"… you're using her first name?"

All Might chose to ignore him.

"We… I convinced Endeavor to let young Todoroki do his field training elsewhere."

"… that's good, but… how? He… didn't seem like a reasonable guy." Izuku said.

"I stroked his ego. We have a major operation coming up and I told him young Todoroki would be a great help."

All Might looked at the view for a while before giving a pained smile.

"I've done some digging and… I wonder how I could have been so blind? All the signs were there and… I should have noticed sooner. I knew that Endeavor could be abrasive, but…"

"… you were busy." Izuku said and shrugged: "And Endeavor didn't ask you to break Todoroki's hand."

"I suppose. Izuku my boy, I trust you, but remember. You can't talk to anyone about this. Not even Toga or your mother."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now… have you thought about your own field training?"

"I… would Sir Nighteye be a problem?" Izuku said.

All Might flinched.

"Why would he be a problem?"

"He was your side-kick… and the rumor is you broke up on bad terms."

All Might snorted.

"Sometimes I wish you were less of a fanboy." All Might said and stared at the view for a while: "You know… I hate that word. Side-kick. We were a team. Both took the same risks and yet Sir Nighteye was somehow… less important. Such nonsense."

All Might turned to look at him.

"You're not thinking about going to his agency just because we worked together? There is nothing wrong with admiration, but you shouldn't hesitate to follow your own path."

"… is there a reason I shouldn't go there?" Izuku said.

All Might sighed and then smiled.

"Sir Nighteye is a fine hero. It's just a bit awkward for me. You're right. We didn't part on good terms."

"… okay. By the way… does mom know about you?"

There was a knock on the balcony door. How did Himiko move so quietly? Even All Might jumped a bit.

"Dinner's ready." Himiko said.

"Thank you, my girl." All Might said and then had a bloody coughing fit.

Himiko pulled out a handkerchief in one smooth motion and handed it to All Might. All Might took it gratefully and wiped his mouth. Then he stopped. He looked at the handkerchief and then Himiko with the uneasy feeling of déjà vu.

"Something wrong?" Himiko said.

"No. I just… It's nothing." All Might said and handed Himiko back the bloodied tissue.

Mom had pulled out all the stops with the meal. Along the curry, they had miso soup and dumplings. There was even a pie in the oven for dessert.

"So, Toga. Where do you go to school?" All Might asked.

"I quit school. I'm a private entrepreneur these days."

"Then what about the uniforms?" All Might said.

"Izuku-Izuku likes it." Himiko said.

All Might and mom gave Izuku… The Look. Izuku squirmed in his chair.

"Why did you quit school?" Mom said.

"Didn't really work for me. Plus, I found something I like to do."

"And what do you do?" All Might said.

Please don't say Izuku-Izuku. Please don't say Izuku-Izuku. Please don't say Izuku-Izuku, he thought desperately.

Himiko smiled like she could hear his thoughts.

"Well… I have a certain set of skills. Skills that make me a living nightmare for people like ya." Himiko said and laughed: "I help looking after this old guy who got into an accident a few years ago. I also do some acting."

"Really?" Mom said with delight.

"Yup, but enough about me. How did ya two meet?"

Mom and All Might threw each other awkward smiles and Izuku suppressed a groan.

"After the incident with the villains, heroes started guarding our house." Mom said.

"I came to apologize for what happened. We should have never been careless enough to let villains infiltrate the school." All Might said.

"Good thing All Might was there." Himiko said.

Izuku wasn't sure how, but somehow, he managed to make it through the meal alive. After a while he actually started to enjoy himself. All Might's good cheer was contagious. Did All Might get to do… this? Just enjoy a meal? Being the number one hero was busy work. When you weren't fighting villains, there were always interviews and guest appearances in talk shows. Having any time for yourself had to be a rare luxury. All Might actually looked hesitant to leave.

"Thank you for the lovely meal." All Might said.

"Let me know when you're free and we can do this again." Mom said.

"Will do." All Might said and turned to Himiko: "If you want a ride home, I'm more than happy to…"

"Thanks, but Izuku-Izuku will walk me home."

They walked All Might to his car and he waved them goodbye as he drove away.

"Yer dad's nice." Himiko said.

"He's not my… he was there as a friend."

"Yeah, yeah. As a friend. Totally just a friend. In short, a friend. I'm starting to wonder if yer a bit dense." Himiko said and started to giggle: "Try not to think less of yer All Might when ya hear him porking yer mom or taking a dump."

"Himiko…"

"Everyone shits and fucks, Izuku-Izuku. It's unhealthy to pretend no one does either. We need to train ya out of it. Ya are buying the condoms from now on."

When they got back to Himiko's apartment Izuku cleared his throat.

"… I was thinking… do you want to…"

"Marry ya? Sure."

"What?! No!"

"Ouch. That's harsh, Izuku-Izuku."

"I mean… I was going to hang around with… my friends tomorrow. Do you… want to come?" Izuku said.

"Sure. Would love to meet the competition." Himiko said.

Izuku told her to meet them at the mall. When he got home, mom was sipping tea.

"Did you have fun today, Izuku-honey?" Mom said.

"It… wasn't terrible. At least you didn't show him my baby pictures." Izuku said.

"Oh those? I showed them to him ages ago. His favorites were the ones of you dressed as All Might. I even told him about the hero names you came up with when you were four. Might Boy. All Might Junior. Little Might. All Might Boy. You were so proud of them back then."

Izuku took a deep breath and counted to ten.

"Good night, mom."

"It's only five o'clock." Mom said.

"I know."

"Suit yourself. Oh, one more thing. When Toshinori tells us he's All Might remember to act surprised."

Izuku stopped mid-step and turned slowly to face mom.

"… you knew?"

"I'm not an idiot, Izuku."

The next day Izuku showed up to the mall half an hour early. He'd never done this. Just hanging around with friends. Having friends was… nice. Being Quirkless had cost him so much. Not just his dreams, but also all the small pleasures that most people took for granted. He'd have to make the most of this. To make up for all the years he had lost.

Izuku didn't notice the tall, spindly man whose long hair was sticking out from under his hood until strong fingers curled around his throat and cut his breathing.

"Hello, Izuku." Stain whispered in his ear.