"You are worthy to inherit my power." All Might announced.
Izumi stared at him for a few moments, face unmoving. Then, she tilted her head and said, "Huh?" What did he mean, inherit? Was he going to train her? "Inherit your power?"
All Might laughed. "Of course! Your Regeneration will only take you so far, you know. But, for now, that's just an idea." He walked up closer to Izumi, his blond hair waving slightly from an unseen breeze. "Listen, young lady. You need to decide whether or not you will accept my power!" He shouted. Blood spurted out of his mouth slightly, staining his white t-shirt a bit red.
"I... I don't understand," she admitted. "What do you mean, inherit your power? Do you mean train me?"
All Might wiped his mouth. "I'm talking about my power, young lady. I have no doubt that you've studied it extensively with how well you're able to predict my movements. Some people call it superhuman strength, or simple body augmentation. And, yes, it is both of those, but it is much more, too." His face grew serious. "I made sure to never say it outright. To deflect questions. This is because... The Symbol of Peace, All Might, had to be a natural-born hero. He had to be someone to look up to. A collective figure. But, young lady, I will tell you the truth..."
"Wait, are you saying...?" Izumi gasped.
"I was born Quirkless. My Quirk was passed on to me like a sacred torch! A power passed down from generation to generation, getting stronger and stronger as it goes," All Might admitted. "And now, it's your turn. As long as you accept."
Izumi thought about all the things that she wanted to say. To talk about the endless forums that focused on the number one hero's Quirk. But... those didn't matter. Not here. Not now. All that mattered was... "Yes. But... what do you mean, passing on a Quirk? I've never heard about anything like that before. Although, I suppose that there could be a Quirk like that..." Izumi started muttering, and All Might could swear that he could see the gears turning in the girl's brain. "If that were to happen... maybe if the Quirk was passed on to someone who already had a Quirk they could pass on both Quirks... can a person even have two Quirks...? What would happen if those two Quirks were then passed on again to someone with a Quirk? What would the limits be? Would there be limits?"
All Might cleared his throat. "That's enough of that," he said hurriedly, waving his arms in the air with a sweatdrop. 'To have gotten that close from a mere guess... Geez. It's a good thing that All For One is dead...'
"The power to transfer power... that is the Quirk I inherited!" With all the trouble he had gone through to keep it a secret, Izumi thought it was slightly weird how loud he was speaking. "One For All!" He yelled. A light started to coalesce in his hand, shining brightly.
"One For All..." Izumi repeated, transfixed by the brightness.
"That's right," All Might replied, closing his fist with a snap. "One person cultivates the power and passes it on to another person, who also cultivates it and passes it on, so on and so forth. I am the eighth wielder of One For All. It is the crystallization, the physical cry for power that spins together the voices of those who need help with a courageous heart! And that is why you... that is why you, Izumi Midoriya, can be a hero. Not because you were born with a good Quirk. But because you have lived with a great heart."
"Why are you giving me something so great?" Izumi asked, suddenly. Doubt shone like a spotlight on her face, and her usual smile was replaced with a frown. "I'm just a..." She bit her tongue before she said 'punching bag' to her childhood hero. "I'm just a nobody." All Might looked at her and shook his head.
"You may be nobody. But it was you, the nobody, who rushed at a creature that she knew the danger and power of, when there were half a dozen heroes at the scene, just to try and save her friend. I came to this town because I wanted to find a successor. And... I think it makes sense for you to be that successor. Because, despite just being a hero fangirl with no training, you were more heroic than anyone else in that alley!"
Izumi's eyes widened, and a tear slipped out as the situation finally started to hammer its way into her brain. "Well, it's all up to you, though," The hero reiterated. "What'll you do?"
Izumi clenched her fists. 'There's no reason for me to turn him down!' She thought, but doubts started to creep in. 'But... what if I'm not good enough or strong enough? What if I can't live up to his expectations?' While she was thinking, she saw All Might's smile dip into a frown. In that moment, she realized... She was never going to get another chance like this ever again. A chance... to be a hero. "Yes! I'll do it!"
"That's what I thought you'd say," All Might smiled. "But, you know, it won't be easy. Your body will have to deal with the strain of the blows you deliver. For every action, there is an equal-"
"-and opposite reaction," Izumi finished. "I understand." All Might smiled. He had chosen well, indeed.
Two days later, Izumi arrived on the beach to start her training with All Might. She frowned, looking at the strip of sand. It was absolutely covered with trash. 'Well... it's true that nobody would expect All Might to be here. Maybe we're going to use it for cover?' She reasoned.
"Good, you're here!" A voice called out. Izumi saw All Might in his muscular form waving at her in the middle of the scrap. A tiny section had been cleared out, with a fridge and some ropes. Izumi immediately connected the dots. 'There's no way I can move that!'
Izumi quickly hopped down. "You know there's no way I can move that, right?" All Might laughed.
"Of course!" He opened up the fridge, which had an assortment of weights inside. "Muscle is gained when the muscle fibers split apart! So, we're going to make use of your Quirk, Regeneration, and have you lift weights to quickly supplement your growth! After all, if you're going to use One For All, your body must be able to withstand it!" He exclaimed.
Izumi nodded rapidly and started writing in her notebook. All Might got curious and took a look at it and sweatdropped. "No, no, no!" He shouted, causing a few seagulls to fly away, tearing the page out of her notebook, crumpling it up, and tossing it with great amounts of force into the water behind them, the words 'SELF-HARM?' in caps still visible as it sunk into the waves.
All Might cleared his throat. "It will be grueling. It will not be your only task, either." He snapped to regain Izumi's attention. "After a bit of researching on the internet last night, I found that this section of the beach has been covered in trash for many years." Izumi nodded.
"The current floats right up to the shore, carrying lots of trash from the ocean. People took advantage of that and started just dumping their trash here," She gestured slightly towards the fridge.
"Indeed. Your second task will be to clear this entire portion of the shoreline of debris!" Izumi looked at the hero in shock for a second.
"The... the entire portion of the shoreline?" She muttered. The shoreline was miles long!
All Might nodded. "The first heroes didn't always fight criminals, you know. That's what gets displayed online nowadays, but that's not all that heroes do. What about those with abilities not suited for combat?" He questioned rhetorically. "Originally, heroes did volunteer work. We should not forget those roots!" He raised a hand in the air. Izumi followed suit, smiling.
"So, when do I start?" She asked. She received her response in the form of a weight being tossed at her, which she dropped her notebook to catch. She let out an 'oomph' as the weight nearly took her to the ground. "This is so heavy! I can barely lift it!" She complained.
"The alternative is your body not being able to handle One For All," All Might reminded her. Izumi frowned and nodded.
"Doesn't make it any less heavy..." She muttered.
"If you can do five reps in a row with it by sunset, I'll buy you taiyaki with dinner!" All Might smiled, giving her a thumbs-up.
Izumi thought for a second... "Deal... if you make it ten reps." All Might smiled. Just how lucky had he gotten with finding this girl?
"Deal!"
The fish-shaped cake tasted delicious alongside their sashimi. All Might was no longer in his superhero form, instead choosing to make full use of his implanted stomach. "So, you have about ten months until the entrance exam for U.A's hero course." Izumi nodded. "U.A's is the most difficult course to get into, you know. It's not something you can do without a Quirk. It's unfortunate, but that's the fact of the matter." Izumi nodded again.
"So... I'll have to make sure my body can withstand One For All before I get to the exam, or else I'll have no chance?" She questioned aloud.
"You are correct, Young Midoriya," affirmed All Might. "And you'll need some time to get used to it before the exam." He ruffled around in his shirt before pulling out two pieces of paper. On them were schedules, one for weekdays and one for weekends. At a quick glance they looked like... hell. Izumi took them and read quickly, scrunching her nose in distaste at the times. "It will be difficult. If you want to lessen the load a bit, I under-"
Izumi caught her trainer off. "No." All Might raised an eyebrow.
"You say that now, but..." He trailed off and sighed. "You did well, today. However, you are not used to using your Regeneration constantly like that. You will be training that Quirk alongside your body, and maybe you can improve it as well as we go on."
Izumi slumped back in her chair. "It was difficult, but..." She smiled wistfully. "Hopefully, it will all be worth it."
There always comes a roadblock in training. For a while, All Might was hopeful that he wouldn't run into one with Izumi, and technically, he hadn't. There was nothing that she couldn't really overcome thanks to her Quirk. It was such a simple thing, something one could easily consider useless in a fight, but with a Pro Hero's insight... it could become lethal.
No, Izumi's roadblock wasn't physical. In fact, it wasn't even something to do with her. Instead, seven months in, All Might was finding a roadblock in Izumi's mental state. She was starting to enjoy everything less and less. She worked hard every single day. Her muscle mass had increased exponentially, along with her lung capacity. But... he found it harder and harder to make her smile with his comments and jokes.
It didn't take long to realize why. "Izumi, how often do you hang out with your friends?"
Izumi didn't even pause while carrying a tire on her back. "Huh? What do you mean?" All Might frowned.
"What do you do when you're not training?"
Izumi shrugged nonchalantly. "Study."
"No, no, no! For fun! What do you do for fun?" Izumi paused, her foot sinking into the ground slightly. When she spoke, her voice was slightly bitter.
"I don't have time for fun. I must work harder than everyone else, and I will, because..." She stopped for a moment. "Because this is my greatest chance to help people." In a moment, some of her doubts leaked through in her voice, and All Might heard them loud and clear.
"Young Midoriya… do you still not believe that you are worthy?" Izumi's head snapped towards him, and a single tear was flung onto the sandy beach. "You do not need to spend every single waking moment of your life on this. The schedule I gave you was difficult. Less sleep. More work. Constant exercise. But... you are still a teen. You still-"
"A hero makes sacrifices for others," Izumi said bluntly. "This is the first of mine." All Might grit his teeth, but did his best to smile and nod. Hopefully, he would be able to change her mind over the next few months.
"Overdoing your work will have the opposite effect than you intend, Izumi," the hero spoke softly. "I know you want to get into U.A. The American Dream Plan was adjusted with your body in mind. But you need to stick to it! If you tire out your body, all you'll be doing is stunting your growth."
Izumi dropped the tire. "I haven't stunted it yet, though, have I?" All Might sighed.
"Perhaps... Either way, I am going to adjust the plan for you... but you have to promise me you'll stop working out of hours!"
The green-haired girl paused for a moment. "Hmm..." A smile shone through on her face. "Deal."
Valentine's Day came and saw Izumi finish cleaning the entire beach. Not just the portion she had been assigned... all of it. Izumi laid on the clean, smooth sand as the sun set, the horizon finally restored. The reds and oranges mixed with the blues and purples of the sky, creating an image more contrasting than any artist could ever paint. Thin, wispy clouds covered the sky as the moon started to shine dimly on the waves.
"How does it feel?" All Might asked, sitting with her in his normal form. Izumi stared ahead at the setting sun slowly sinking beneath the waves, and took a moment to respond.
"... Wonderful." She murmured. "I've done something that I feel will actually have a lasting effect."
A couple slowly descended onto the beach and walked into the tiny pavilion out on the water. She could hear the girl laughing as her date started to dance with her. Izumi smiled. She had done well. Maybe... maybe she could catch a bit of rest. "I'm..." She fell asleep before she could finish the sentence.
All Might smiled softly at his sleeping student. 'Well done, Izumi. Well done.'
"Something that you receive because you're lucky and something that you are given because you are recognized are different in essence. Take that to heart. This is power that you earned because of your own effort," All Might told the teen after she woke up. The moon had come out fully now, and was shining brightly upon the surf. All Might plucked a hair from his head. "And now... perhaps the most difficult part..." He held out the hair to her. "Eat this."
"... huh?"
All Might laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Really, all you have to do is ingest my DNA in some form, and I have to want you to have the power." Izumi stared at the hero.
"I was expecting something more... grand," Izumi stated. "What's to stop you from just... walking into a gym and spitting in a bunch of people's water bottles and boom, a bunch of superpowered crime fighters?" All Might laughed.
"It's not quite as simple as that, I admit. There are a few more requirements, but you don't need to worry as we've already met them." Izumi accepted the answer and then took another look at the hair. Her nose twitched, and she blinked a few times, then she took a heaving sigh.
"Alright, then..." She popped the hair in her mouth and immediately swallowed, only gagging slightly at the sensation.
"Good job. I wash my hair daily, you know!" He gave the girl a thumbs-up, which she half-heartedly returned.
Izumi held her stomach. "I don't suppose I'm allowed to throw up?" All Might paused.
"Probably not?"
Izumi stood in front of the exam location twelve days later. She hadn't had much time to test out her power. Mostly, she was just resting up after all of that exertion. It felt nice to finally have a few days off. She knew she had the power, but... it was still difficult to control, even at lower denominations. And there was no way she could control it at max power. Definitely not after only ten months of training.
She walked into the auditorium to see the Pro Hero Present Mic standing on stage. For a second, it was hard to control herself. 'It's Present Mic! His Quirk allows him to control the pitch of his voice and the strength!' She had to remind herself to keep moving forward as there were people behind her. She quickly fell into a random seat... that somehow ended up being right next to Kaachan. In all of her training, she had almost forgotten he was going to be here.
Present Mic did a bit of showmanship that she didn't pay attention to. Something felt... off, with the man. But she couldn't put a finger on what. Maybe it was the aura of a Professional Hero? She only started to pay closer attention when he began to explain the exam. There were four different types of machines that they would have to fight, all giving different amounts of points. One of them gave none!
'So... it's a point game, huh? No way it's that straightforward...' Izumi thought. 'There's nothing to separate the strong from the noble. The jocks from the jokes.'
"Finally, I'll give you listeners a present-our school motto!" Present Mic yelled. "The hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: "A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes". Go beyond. Plus Ultra!"
The exam location was amazingly big. There was a miniature city inside, presumably multiple since there were multiple testing groups. Izumi looked around in awe. U.A was amazing! If this was just what their testing location looked like... She shivered. There were dozens of people around her, but she knew it wouldn't stay like that for long.
She didn't know what she was going to do with so many opponents. She could barely control One For All, and after each use, she had to wait a little bit for her Regeneration to kick in before she could use that limb again. She had been practicing for the past ten days to minimize the amount of power she used each time, but it was still quite like driving an old car. She could either reliably use about 5% by lightly tapping the gas, or she could slam her foot down and use 100%. Controlling it was much more difficult than she had expected, and since her Regeneration was an entirely passive Quirk, she didn't have experience with moderation.
The people around her all looked very confident. 'They've all had over a decade to train with their Quirks... Can I really compare to them?' Doubts started to pool into her mind. She shook her head rapidly to dispel them. 'No! I can't think like that! All Might gave me this power so I could become a hero. The greatest Quirk of them all... One For All!'
"Okay, start!" A voice called out from atop an observation tower. Izumi flung her head around wildly trying to find the source, her waist-length hair billowing around like a blanket. "What's wrong? There are no countdowns in real fights!" Izumi's eyes widened and she started rushing towards the gates to the city that were silently opening. Behind her, she could hear Present Mic still shouting, "Run, run! The die has been cast, you know!"
Feet started to stamp behind her as the other competitors starting running. Izumi started planning. 'Well, I have to recover after each use, so it'll probably be best if I just go for as many 3-pointers as possible!' She quickly encountered the first one and charged up One For All in her right arm and released a punch. The wind force changed drastically as she punched a hole clean through the machine. She winced, but grit her teeth and grinned slightly. 'Three points!' Her right arm was now covered in bruises, but nothing was broken. It would be a few minutes until she could use it again. In the meantime... she still had another arm.
She ran down a side alleyway, tucking her right arm to her chest so she didn't slam it into anything. She travelled closer to the city center, taking side routes and alleyways, dodging lower-point robots along the way. But then... She came into an alleyway, and realized she was trapped. Two two-robots closed in on either side of the alley, and she grit her teeth. Her right arm was still healing... she would still have to fight her way out. That would mean sacrificing her left arm, too.
But, she quickly realized it was a blessing. She stood still for a moment as both robots slowly wheeled towards her. "Target acquired. I'll kill you!" The screeched in unison, and the tires that provided for their movement starting screeching as well. 'Wait...' She thought. They started closing in on her. 'Wait...' They got within ten feet of her. 'Now!' She screamed mentally, and punched the ground with her left hand, launching herself into the air almost forty feet while simultaneously destroying both robots. She landed on the rooftop of one of the buildings that had made up the alley, softening her landing by crouching as she hit the ground and using her right hand. She winced slightly. It was still healing. 'Seven points... I need more!'
She took off along the rooftops. There were more robots the closer she got to the city center, but they were all one and two-pointers. 'There!' She leapt off the rooftop and fell to the ground, slamming down her right fist onto the head of an unsuspecting three-pointer. All around her, robots were being destroyed. Some quicker than others. But it was clear... her ten points would not be enough. There were four minutes left. She had to do something... bigger.
But... both of her arms were currently out of commission, and she was starting to get tired from using her Quirks so much. Izumi wished she had had the foresight to bring some chocolate, or anything with calories. Instead, her tummy was rumbling, and she was starting to pant. She made an effort to stand up straight. She had gotten this far, hadn't she? It wouldn't do anything to give up now.
She cracked her neck as she started to regain strength in her left arm, and she quickly wound and unwound her shoulder to loosen it up. 'Maybe...' She started looking around. 'There!' She spotted a group of robots close together and dashed towards them, quickly pulling back her fist. However, on her last step... she slipped. Her fatigue was getting to her. She made an effort to catch herself, but landed on her hurt right arm in the process. She winced and choked back a sob, but tears still started to stream down her eyes.
Looking up, she found herself surrounded by a three-pointer, a two-pointer, and two-one point robots. Her eyes widened, and, in a moment of panic, she activated 100% of her power and let loose a devastating punch that not only destroyed the robots, but also all of the buildings in a row behind them. Dust and tiny bits of clay were strewn around the area. As for Izumi... her arm was most definitely broken. Since she hadn't actually hit any of the robots, and had only hit air, the shockwaves hadn't been distributed among the rest of her body, and her left arm took the full force of the recoil. Tears were streaming down her face, and she was hastily wiping them away with her still-bruised right arm.
But... you aren't given time to lick your wounds in a real fight. The ground started to rumble. Izumi looked up, still drying her face, only to see a massive robot. It was easily bigger than all of the other robots combined, and it was rolling straight towards her from the center of the city. Most of the occupants were gathered near her, she realized, and they were all in shock.
Eventually, one of them started to move, and it set-off a chain reaction like a stampede. Izumi belatedly realized that none of them were trying to take down the robot because... in bright yellow paint on the side, she read a single number... '0'. 'This is the zero pointer? What the hell?' She shakily got to her feet. Her arms were no good at the moment, which meant that there was nothing she could do against this robot. The most logical thing to do would be to retreat and try to increase her 17 points.
But then... A girl was stuck, and directly in the path of the robot. The girl might've been dazed, woozy, nauseated, or even unconscious... and Izumi knew what she needed to do. Faster than anyone could blink, faster than anyone could react... She charged up 5% in her left leg, and sprung. She hadn't really tried using One For All in her legs yet, but it wasn't too different from her arms. She quickly gained altitude until she was face to face the robot, and with her right leg...
She kicked.
The 100% kick demolished the robot's head, and sent the body careening backwards until it fell over with a loud thud. The shockwave was shared by her whole body, including her still injured limbs, the left leg being freshly bruised, and she was shot backwards at a great speed.
She kept gaining speed, and her limbs started to flap. Both her right leg and left arm were most definitely broken, and her other two limbs ached with heavy pain. All of the sudden, her pained breaths turned into an "oomph" as her momentum was instantly stopped as her body was tucked into cradled arms. Her vision started to blur, the corners going black, but before she passed out, she saw a flash of yellow, and a murmur of...
"Well done, Izumi."