Chapter 16: Superhero

Izuku didn't know how he managed to convince Kiho to go, but as soon as she left, he shut himself inside his room before his mom could ask him any questions. He took out his cell phone from his soggy pocket and plugged it in to charge while he showered. When he came back, however, Izuku started freaking out.

His phone was now on and aside from the typical email magazine subscription messages he always got, there was also a missed call from All Might himself.

Holy shit.

"All Might called me and I didn't answer," he breathed out, heart pounding in his chest as he fumbled for the phone and clicked on the call.

Izuku looked back at the clock too. Was 7 PM considered a late time to call a retired pro-hero? Should he even call him back or wait for him to call again? What if it was important? What if it was about his quirk?

Izuku's heart sped up as he thought about the events from earlier in the day. He looked down at his blistered feet and sighed, jumping on the bed and getting under the covers as he mindlessly scrolled through his phone. Suddenly, a new notification popped up on the screen. Izuku let out a tiny shriek. All Might had left him a voicemail.

He sat up quickly and placed the phone at the foot of his bed, holding his breath and counting to ten before he pressed play. It went something like this:

"Good evening, young Midoriya. I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner but one of my friends, you probably know him as Sir Nighteye, has been in the hospital and I went to make sure he was okay once I got back. But that's not what I'm calling to tell you–"

All Might seemed to take a pause to breathe and so did Izuku, inhaling sharply and squeezing the pillow to his chest.

"–While I was at I-island, David was able to run some extensive tests on your quirk and we found some really interesting stuff. I think it's best if we meet up and talk about it in person. I also have to ask you something really important so we should meet somewhere private. I know you're probably busy with your classes, Nezu told me you're doing your little hero course at UA. But please call me when you get the chance."

Izuku blinked as he heard the last part. Somewhere private?

"Anyways, stay out of trouble until we meet. I'm looking forward to talking with you again. Bye, bye!"

Izuku stared at the phone until there were two of them. There were now a million more thoughts running through his head. His quirk was at the top of his list, of course, followed closely by how he was going to explain the Kiho situation to his mom. And obviously, tomorrow's class activity which he hadn't finished planning, Izuku was also tired and his entire body ached.

But now, he was also freaking out over All Might's voicemail. With everything going on, he had forgotten all about the hair sample he sent to David. Or maybe Izuku just didn't want to get his hopes up and think about the possibility that he actually had a quirk, even though that had been answered earlier and it was pretty clear now. He just still didn't know what it was.

Izuku let his head fall forward and felt his phone fall on top of his head. Maybe he could try and figure out his quirk before calling All Might and impress him with the good news? Wait no, then he would know he had used it after he told him not to. Damn it. The more he thought about it, the more time ticked. It was now or never.

—

"I knew the kid had a quirk, I just knew it," Midnight smirked, running her tongue along her upper lip mischievously.

Thirteen sighed and shut the screen off. "Well, I think it was obvious when he sped past the fastest student in the building. Seriously, my monitors didn't even pick it up at first. But the question is, what do we do now?"

Present Mic shrugged and slammed his fist on the table. "I don't know man, but how many quirks does this dude have? I mean did you see him out there?! It was… it was so… so–"

"Stupid. A complete and utter disaster, how come we haven't brought him in to bring up his behavior?" Aizawa got up from his seat to refill his coffee mug.

"Because Nezu said not to," Thirteen sighed.

Midnight rolled her eyes. "I know. Totally unfair that we can't talk to him about it. I'd love to get the juicy deets about how he learned to do all that stuff. But if it's what the boss wants, then who are we to go against him."

Aizawa set his coffee mug down and frowned. "We're heroes, that's who. How do we know he isn't dangerous? What if he sets off his quirk in that room with all the kids? Huh? What do we do then? Do we just leave him be like Nezu wanted?"

"Oh, I don't want you to leave him be but I promised Toshinori I'd let him handle this one," Nezu smiled as he popped up out of nowhere, a fresh pot of coffee in his hands. "Sorry I'm late, I was brewing a special batch just for you, Eraser."

Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Of course you were. And of course, Toshinori is the one behind all this. You people are crazy if you think it's okay to just do nothing."

"Might I remind you, Eraserhead how you once had a protégé?" Nezu glanced up at him and then continued filling his mug.

Aizawa almost spit the coffee out. He whipped his head around and glared down at Nezu. "This is nothing like that. Why would you even bring that up, right now?"

Midnight scoffed. "Yeah, just because things didn't work out with you and Shinso doesn't mean All Might shouldn't get to have his moment too. I for one think it's a great idea, the perfect way to wind down and end his career. I mean, I for one still think he needs to get laid more often but–"

The sound of Aizawa's coffee mug shattering on the table stopped her from finishing her sentence. Everyone turned around to look at him as he glared at the floor. His hand had turned red from the coffee that had spilled over it but he didn't move. He continued glaring at his shoes.

"I thought I told you to never mention his name?" Aizawa's hand curled into a fist and he looked up slowly.

Midnight rolled her eyes at him and stood up. "O-kay. That's my cue to leave. See you all tomorrow for karaoke. Remember, beers are 'buy one get one half off', so don't pregame too hard," she winked and then walked out before blowing them all a kiss.

Aizawa's frown deepened. He hadn't thought about Shinso in a while, not because he didn't want to, but because it made him mad. Mainly because it meant he had failed as a teacher, but also because he hadn't prevented Shinso from dropping out of the hero program before his second year.

"Look, you might've told All Might you wouldn't interfere, but he never asked me not to, so I'm not making any promises, got it?" Aizawa looked back at Nezu who simply shrugged.

"Whatever floats your boat, Eraser. Whatever floats your boat."

—

All Might didn't tell him much on the phone but they had agreed to meet at the little park by his house. Unless he wanted to go somewhere even more private, which Izuku would agree to without a problem. Was he that concerned over fangirls? Or maybe the paparazzi were still hounding him about his retirement. Whatever it was, Izuku figured he would soon find out.

Or not. Maybe it was private. Maybe All Might had a secret double life no one knew about. Izuku blinked as he handed the last student their worksheet.

"Midoriya-sensei!" Aoi giggled. "You spelled my name wrong again. It's A-O-I, not A-O-E."

The rest of the class joined in on the laughs and Izuku found himself blushing. "R-right, sorry Aoi," he sighed and quickly fixed her name with a pen. It was hard trying to teach a class of thirteen energetic students when he was still so tired after yesterday. Not to mention how he had barely gotten any sleep, staying up all night messaging Kiho about possible theories about his quirk. They had exchanged numbers before she left his house. He peered over at his phone once he made it back to his desk and found himself disappointed when he noticed Kiho hadn't called him.

Izuku was about to set the timer for them to start their worksheets when someone knocked at the door. He looked up and noticed Eraserhead was leaning on the doorway like one of the undead. Izuku wasn't sure if he had fallen back asleep the way he was standing, but he figured he must have been awake.

"Don't go home after class. I want to have a little chat with you."

Izuku felt his heart speed up a little as Eraserhead disappeared before he could answer him. First, All Might wanted to meet up with him later on today, and now pro-hero Eraserhead? He stared back at his desk and bit his lip. In a series of three weeks, his life had completely turned upside down. He had gone from living a fairly normal life to discovering he had a quirk and attracting the attention of not one, but many heroes.

He could only hope at least one of the two pro's wanted to tell him something positive. The last thing he wanted to do was hear something bad, especially after what happened to Nigthteye. Izuku had yet to go see him and made it a note to do so soon once Mirio gave him the 'okay' and called him.

"Mr. Midoriya? We're all done now!"

He looked up and smiled. But for now, his students needed him, because, above all, he would always be their sensei first.

—

"You, uh, you wanted to see me, Aizawa-sensei?" Izuku asked, surprised to see him standing outside his door. Had he been waiting there all afternoon? "Sorry I took a while, it gets kind of hectic the last few weeks of class–"

"Don't call me that. You're not one of my students." Aizawa looked up at him slowly, greasy strands of hair falling over his eyes.

Izuku gulped and held the straps of his yellow backpack tightly. "Of course. I'm sorry. What should I call you then?"

Aizawa rolled his eyes and took a step towards him. "I don't plan on talking to you ever again about this, so you better pay attention to what I'm about to say." Izuku could only nod as Aizawa continued. "That little stunt you pulled at the USJ the other day? It was idiotic and irresponsible."

Izuku froze. He had been so concerned about his quirk that he had failed to realize that the staff must have been watching them. Oh, of course, they were watching! How could he be so stupid? Ever since the attack that took place there, they must have beefed up security and were on the monitors 24/7.

"You know about that?" Izuku bit his bottom lip.

"What? You thought you'd get away with it? Is everything we do here just a joke for you?" Aizawa took another step until he was inches away from him. Izuku could smell the coffee from his breath.

His heart sped up a little and he quickly shook his head. "N-no! Of course not. I knew it was a bad idea from the start and it will never happen again, I promise."

"That's not enough. Give me the key."

Izuku furrowed his brows. "What?"

"The key you used to get in the USJ. The key Principal Nezu gave you. To make sure it doesn't happen again." Aizawa narrowed his eyes at him and glared.

Izuku fumbled for the ID card in his pocket but stopped to shake his head. "But Nezu gave this to me so I could take my students on a tour of the school. Without it–"

"Well, that's not what you used it for, right?"

They stared at each other for a while until Izuku blinked first, squeezing out a small tear from the strain. He heard Aizawa scoff. Despite the pro's tired-looking stare, there was no winning against him in a staring contest, that much Izuku knew.

"Give it to me," Aizawa frowned. "I won't ask again."

Izuku was about to reach out his hand when he heard him mumble something else under his breath. He paused. Despite not knowing what had been said, it still rubbed him the wrong way. "What did you just say?"

Aizawa rolled his eyes and pulled up the sleeves from his shirt. "Nothing. I just see why All Might likes you so much now. You're both stupid and reckless."

Izuku's eyes widened. All Might? He clenched his fists until the ID card was digging into his skin and stared up at Aizawa again. "You know, it's obvious you don't like me, but you don't have to be so nasty towards All Might. He has nothing to do with this."

Aizawa laughed and then grabbed his arm tightly, pulling him towards him to whisper in his ear. "Oh, but he does. And once again, he's gone off to take care of things that don't concern him. Like you. I don't know how your quirk works, Izuku Midoriya, but it's a liability and anyone with two eyes and a brain can see that."

Aizawa tightened his hold on Izuku's wrist until he was forced to drop the card from the pain. Izuku tried to grab it, but Aizawa was faster and stepped on his picture with his shoe. "I don't even know how you got this job. From the moment those kids were exposed to danger you should've stepped down, and yet you didn't."

Aizawa finally let him go and Izuku kept his eyes trained on the ground, biting his tongue to keep from crying. His whole body was shaking with rage. Why was Aizawa saying all of this to him now? It wasn't fair. He knew he shouldn't have gone into the USJ, but why was he coming for his job as a teacher? A part of him knew the pro was right, that he should've stepped down, but that's also why he was upset. How could he just drop the one thing, the one place he had been accepted?

"You know nothing," Izuku hissed through gritted teeth. He was a pro-hero, living in the world with a quirk that automatically got him accepted. He didn't have to suffer through the bullying and insults, didn't have to walk around with a false hope that everything was going to be alright. That one day his life would change for the better.

Aizawa bent down and picked up his card, staring at it with a bored expression on his face. "I wouldn't be surprised if you got fired after everything that's happened, tsk." He pocketed the card. "Get a grip, kid. You're—"

"Shota, that's enough."

Izuku looked up as All Might appeared at the other end of the hall. He felt the tears coming back again, this time more from embarrassment than anger. How long had he been standing there? What had he heard?

"Speak of the devil. Your mentor's here," Aizawa called over his shoulder and then walked away.

Izuku blinked and stared at Aizawa with a frown. Mentor?

"You retired for a reason, Toshinori. Don't push yourself with a lost cause."

"I won't," All Might answered steadily, glaring at the back of Aizawa's head. Izuku quickly looked away from him and angrily wiped at his eyes. "And he isn't a lost cause, Shota. I know that. You will too, one day."

Aizawa yawned and wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck. "Whatever you say, All Might. Just don't say I didn't warn you." And with that, he finished walking away.

Izuku fell to his knees, overwhelmed by the events that had just occurred and the quirk drawbacks he had experienced yesterday. He didn't understand why this was happening to him, why All Might had had to hear all of that too. Was he thinking the same thing as Aizawa had? Is that what he wanted to talk about?

"Midoriya."

Maybe that's why he had requested for them to go somewhere private because he didn't want everyone to see how much of a baby he was. Because he knew that whatever he was going to say would make him break down in tears. Because no matter how hard Izuku Midoriya tried, he was never going to stop thinking he wasn't good enough, and to hear it from his idol…

"Young Midoriya, please stop. You're scaring me."

Izuku blinked and peeked up at All Might slowly.

"You were, uh, muttering again," All Might scratched the back of his head and looked away.

Izuku felt his face go red and he quickly got to his feet. "I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting… all that." He turned and watched as Aizawa's body got smaller and smaller until he disappeared. Izuku didn't realize it until now, but his heart was thumping loudly in his chest, almost as intensely as when he had activated his quirk yesterday. He also realized that if All Might hadn't interrupted, he had been planning to punch Aizawa in the face.

Izuku let go of his clenched fists and tried to relax his body. All Might must have noticed this because he put his arm on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You look tired. Maybe we should talk another time?"

Izuku shook his head. "No, we can do it now."

Whatever All Might had to say to him, whatever important news about the quirk he had, Izuku needed to find out today. Not just because he was curious, but because now he couldn't wait to prove Aizawa wrong.

—

When Toshinori had heard Nighteye had been attacked by a villain and lost his quirk, he couldn't believe it. He had meant to stay at I-island longer but ended up leaving a couple of days early to go see him. Aside from that, he was anxious to meet up with Midoriya and let him know what David had discovered.

Apparently, Izuku's quirk was a form of rare genetic mutation from his mother's side of the family. It could be classified as an attraction quirk, but on the molecular level, or rather, the hormonal, it was an accumulation power instead.

"It's a form of hysterical strength on steroids," Toshi explained as they sat under a large tree outside the boy's apartment. He was glad Midoriya lived in the Musutafu area, it was quiet and peaceful during this time of year. And all the trees provided just enough shade for them to cool off. That's just what the boy needed after his encounter with Eraserhead. Toshi knew how frustrating Shota could be.

Izuku stopped ripping at the grass around his feet and looked up suddenly. "On steroids?"

"I'm sure you've heard the stories. Although they were much more common in the days before quirks manifested themselves onto society. But people would talk about them all the time. How moms would suddenly acquire super strength to lift cars and protect their babies from danger."

Or at least, that's how David had explained it to him. It was really interesting actually, but that's not why All Might was excited.

Before he had decided that he was going to give Izuku Midoriya One For All, he had met up with Sir Nighteye. At first, when Mirai had brought up his quirk, Toshi expected him to mention Mirio again but was surprised when he didn't. But Toshi was even more shocked when Nigtheye suggested he give it to Midoriya instead.

"Young Midoriya? How do you know him?"

And so Mirai had proceeded to tell him all about what had happened. About the investigation, how Midoriya had run into Chisaki himself and the little girl they were trying to save, and even how he had used his quirk to predict Izuku Midoriya's death.

"But you've never been wrong," Toshinori had leaned forward in his seat, watching as Mirai stared out the window. He had never seen him so calm before. Toshi knew that if he himself had ever unwillingly lost his quirk forever, he would be going ballistic, but Mirai looked at peace.

A few seconds passed and Mirai had only laughed, giving Toshinori a strange smile. "Who could've predicted this, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Toshi asked.

"That he would end up having a quirk, and I would be left without one," Mirai seemed to sigh sadly, but he continued looking at Toshinori with that weird smile.

"Mirai… are you sure they didn't give you too much morphine? I can ask them to cut it down if you're, er, not feeling yourself–"

Mirai quickly shook his head and sat up slowly. "Toshinori. He wants to help with the investigation but I simply can't allow it. Even with a quirk, it's too dangerous for someone like him to join our team. You understand me, right?"

Toshinori had only nodded. He had yet to explain Midoriya's quirk to him but figured Mirai was already aware of the limits it possessed. Even if he wasn't, it wasn't difficult to say that he lacked experience. Even without going to school, he hadn't grown up using it. There were too many issues with letting him go out into the hero world so fast.

"He reminds me of you, you know."

Toshinori raised an eyebrow. "Really, how so?"

"Oh come on now, Toshinori. I think you're well aware of that. Stubborn, selfless, stupid," he smirked at that last part and Toshi just rolled his eyes, trying to hide the small smile that had started forming on his face.

"Hey…" Toshi mumbled, playfully shoving at his arm.

"I mean it though," Mirai continued, "which is why I think you should give it to him."

Toshi stopped smiling all of a sudden and frowned.

"What?"

Mirai shifted in his seat and removed the blanket from his legs. Toshi held back a gasp as he saw all the scars and torn up skin that covered his limbs.

"Oh, Mirai… look what they did to you…"

"When I saw that I was going to lose Foresight, I felt scared. I hesitated, a lot. Maybe that's why I got so wrecked. I mean I was fighting a freaking teenager!" Mira laughed and shook his head before continuing. "When you've lived all your life being able to predict the next move you make, life becomes predictable and boring. But when you lose that, you also lose your sense of direction. Where should I go next? What move should I make? Even if I was going to die, I wanted to see that, and not being able to predict the outcome of each punch and kick… it was terrifying."

Toshinori nodded slowly.

"Then I found myself thinking about Midoriya. How even though he didn't know what was going to happen to him because I didn't tell him, he still saved that kid. Even with all the uncertainties surrounding him, not having a quirk, lacking experience, and knowing he could make so many mistakes, he still tried."

"And he succeeded," Mirai gripped the sheets tightly. He looked up at Toshi. "When I realized that, all I could think about was you. How you would've done the same thing. There's not a doubt in my mind that he deserves it. Not because he's nice or powerful, but because in that moment, he was more of a hero than I could ever be."

Toshinori sat up in shock. "Mirai… I see your point but you don't have to be so hard on yourself."

Mirai shook his head. "Maybe this is life's cruel way of punishing me after I didn't tell him his future. But I'm happy it happened because now I get to say that my best prediction happened even when I wasn't using my quirk. And that this is the right choice you should make."

Toshinori frowned. "I don't know what to say. This is… all so sudden. And he barely found out about his quirk just last month. I don't know if I'd want to put him through this." He bit his bottom lip, feeling Mirai's gaze on him. He was lying to himself if he said he hadn't thought about it. Ever since David told him about Midoriya's quirk limitation.

Normal eyes stared back at him as he stared at Mirai, reflective of a quirk he no longer had. The first time he had gotten the phone call he had immediately thought about All for One. Could he have been behind this? But then Mirai had told him he had been shot with a gun and Toshinori's theories had dissipated. If anything this made him more anxious to find a successor, but he also didn't want to act rashly either just because he was frustrated.

"Plus," Toshi continued, "given the limitations of his quirk–"

Mirai burst out laughing until he doubled over and started coughing out blood. Toshinori rushed over to his side, patting his back worriedly, ready to call the nurse until Mirai sat up as if nothing had happened and grinned wildly. "Oh, Toshinori. If he did it when he thought he was quirkless, what's stopping him now? Limitations can become weapons if you play your cards right, you know."

Toshi had only been able to nod. He had left shortly after their conversation ended and had thought about Mirai's proposition all night. Even now as he was staring back at Midoriya, he wasn't sure about it, but the more he stared into the younger boy's eyes, the more confident he felt with his choice.

"I think I get it," Izuku began, as he placed his hand on his chin and started mumbling things to himself. "I mean it makes sense that my quirk only activates when I save someone. But, what does that have to do with my mom?" he squinted.

"Well, I have to be true to my word and let David take it from here," Toshinori smiled as he pulled out his cellphone and clicked on the file David had recorded for him.

—

"Hello, Izuku Midoriya! I'm here to tell you more about your quirk, which I've dubbed, 'Superhero' for now."

Izuku stared back at the screen in awe. David was standing in front of a whiteboard where someone had animated a broccoli wearing a cape that fluttered with an imaginary breeze.

Is that supposed to be me? He blinked and continued watching as David pulled out a pointer stick.

"I had a lot of trouble accessing a cell that had traces of Superhero, first of all. Oh, that's your quirk's name, by the way, I hope you like it! Anyway, that told me two things: one, your quirk was dormant, and two, you didn't have a lot of it in your system in the first place."

When David tapped the screen, the broccoli's cape disappeared and it started crying. "This is you right now, probably at the time you're watching this video."

Izuku pouted, "Why did he draw me crying?"

All Might simply shrugged but Izuku could tell he was holding back laughter.

"And this," when David tapped the screen again, it zoomed into the broccoli's stem until a bunch of cells with various facial expressions filled the screen. "This is what's going on inside you. Currently, your body is in a resting state. This is technically part of your quirk, but it's more like a physiological necessity. Without it, you would die a pretty painful death."

Izuku gulped.

"That explains why your quirk doesn't seem active right now. In basic terms, it's sleeping. But what wakes it up, Mr. Shield? Well, I'm here to tell you. Let's head on over to the adrenal glands," he tapped the screen two times and a picture of his kidneys appeared. David drew two circles on top of each kidney with the stick.

"This is where the magic happens. You see, normally when people face a fight-or-flight situation, a normal amount of adrenaline is released from the adrenals and sent up to the brain. This in turn makes you react quickly to external stimuli, maybe run a little faster, get a little stronger. But nothing too intense. At least, for everybody else."

When he said this, the broccoli returned and started running on the screen, the adrenals lighting up. A crowd of vegetables appeared behind him and started cheering. "Your quirk makes it so that your body becomes attracted to the release of adrenaline. Just like your mother who can pull small objects to her, your body works in a similar way. When you saw your student about to be crushed to death, your fight-or-flight response was activated and the adrenaline was released. But because it was so much, it passed the threshold of adrenaline your body is used to handling and activated your quirk. The increase of adrenaline attracted even more adrenaline and this repeated itself until your powers manifested. Oh, and this threshold is there so that whenever you are, I don't know, watching a scary movie or something, you don't accidentally activate Superhero and kill yourself because of the overload."

David tapped the screen again and the broccoli suddenly zoomed across the screen and disappeared. "This activation made it so that you would experience all the symptoms of an adrenal rush, or rather, what society has dubbed as hysterical strength. Super speed, heightened senses, ultra strength, and a lack of pain are all possibilities. Essentially, all of the powers you see in those cool superhero movies, you know before everyone had quirks and stuff."

"However, I suspect since this was the first time you ever activated Superhero, it went crazy and unleashed every kind of power within your quirk. I also suspect that once you can control it, you will be able to activate and shut off different abilities with no problem. However, the more abilities you activate while using Superhero, the more drawbacks it will leave your body to deal with."

The broccoli suddenly stopped running and collapsed before two x's appeared in its eyes. The crowd gasped and thunder boomed making everyone run away. Izuku didn't realize he was chewing so hard on his lip until he tasted blood.

"Just like an adrenaline rush, you should be able to use your power for about an hour. But once that hour is up, any bones you might've broken that the pain masked, or any overexertion on your part because your body was not ready to I don't know, say, punch through a wall while moving quickly and being immune to pain, it will all come back and bite you in the–"

David cleared his throat. "Well, you get the idea, kid. With that being said, it's a really interesting quirk and it would be perfect for hero work if you somehow figured out how to control it. I have a couple of ideas but I need some more time to investigate. I'd love to meet you in person and see how it works. Maybe when you're all done with school you and All Might can come by and see me again. I have a daughter your age and I'm sure you'd get along swell!" David beamed and shut off the screen behind him.

"Other than that, I wasn't able to find out much. I guess you'll have to do some experimenting on your own, although I don't recommend you try to without a hospital nearby because… ouch," David laughed a little and then leaned in towards the camera. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you any more information on it, and feel free to change the name up too. Hopefully, I can see you here soon. Take care!"

Even when the screen went blank, Izuku continued staring at it with his mouth slightly open. He could've sworn he stopped breathing halfway through the presentation.

Superhero?

He stared down at his hands and blinked. When he looked back up, All Might was watching him.

"So, what do you think?" he asked with a small smile.

"What do I think?" He shook his head and laughed out loud, his heart skipping a beat. "This is… this is amazing. I mean, it's scary and obviously dangerous but I have a quirk… I have a quirk." He finished quietly. This meant he could go and save Eri. With his super speed, he could run around Tokyo for an hour and find her fast. Then, he'd just have to be one punch K.O. Chisaki and then–

"I know what you're thinking."

Izuku stopped smiling and looked at All Might.

"It's written all over your face."

Izuku swallowed nervously. "What are you talking about? Can't I be excited that David figured it out?"

All Might sighed. "Young man, you and I both know what I mean. I talked to Mirai the other day, er, you know him as Sir Nighteye."

Izuku's eyes widened and he stood up. "Really? How is he doing? I've wanted to go see him but Mirio said I couldn't yet and– wait, what did he tell you?"

Had they talked about him?

"Lots of things. How he predicted your death and then you didn't die and how much of a fanboy he's become of you. Well, he didn't tell me that, but it was obvious," All Might chuckled and stood up too.

Izuku furrowed his brows. He didn't understand. "A fan- what?"

"He also told me about the little girl."

Izuku froze. He felt a light breeze blow past them and watched as a couple of leaves fell from the tree, landing all around his feet. "Eri."

All Might nodded. "And how you wanted to save her."

One of the leaves landed on Izuku's shoulder and he stared at it to keep from looking at All Might. "Oh, I see."

It was obvious now. Why All Might had wanted to talk to him. Izuku grabbed the leaf and clenched his fists until it cracked in his hands.

"So that's what it was."

"What?" All Might frowned.

"You came here to tell me I should give up. I'm sure Sir Nighteye told you about how I wanted to join his team and all too."

All Might nodded slowly. "Well, yes but I also–"

"Because I mean, what else would you want to tell me after hearing David say all that?"

All Might frowned.

"I mean," Izuku continued slowly, "it's obvious that I'm still useless. I can't activate Superhero unless someone around me faces a life-threatening situation, right? And even then, I can't control it. Maybe Eraserhead was right. I am a walking liability for everyone around me if I can't even take care of myself."

Another small breeze passed and Izuku clenched his fists until they were shaking. It wasn't fair. And he wasn't ready to hear it. He didn't want to hear it. Not from All Might, not from his idol.

You can't become a hero. You can't save her. Give up.

When he looked up, he noticed All Might was frowning at him, but he didn't look disappointed. In fact, he was smiling. It was a look he had never seen before, at least not in person, but one he recognized from that day, that video he used to watch until his eyes were red.

When he had saved a bunch of people, the day Izuku had wanted to be just like him. The moment that had changed everything for him and set him on this path towards heroes in the first place. He hadn't watched that video in a while but was surprised at how well he recognized the expression.

"Everything Eraserhead said was true. That I can't deny," All Might began sternly.

Izuku lowered his head and averted his eyes.

"But,"

Izuku inhaled sharply.

"If there's anything I've learned while watching you and hearing others talk about you, it's that you can become a hero."

Izuku felt his knees wobble. Was he dreaming? He looked up at All Might through teary-eyes. "Y-you're joking. Even after all that..?"

All Might nodded and held out his hand. "I have something that can help you control it. It won't be easy and you will have to train hard, but it will put you one step closer to saving that little girl."

Izuku wiped at his eyes and grabbed All Might's hand to steady himself.

"Izuku Midoriya, can you keep a secret?"

—

Quirk Recap

Name: Izuku Midoriya

Quirk Name: Superhero

Quirk Description: When facing an intense emotion or life-threatening situation, Izuku's body is able to adjust according to the situation. He has a natural ability to harness the benefits of hysterical strength and it can make him super strong, fast, have amazing reflexes, and feel less pain, giving him the superpowers he's always dreamed of. Since it mimics a typical adrenal rush, the effects of his quirk last for about an hour. So far he cannot use his quirk unless either of the two conditions above are met. His quirk also remains dormant when he is not using it, his body's subconscious way of preserving energy and keeping him safe. It is a form of hysterical strength on steroids.

—

Ta-da! Izuku's quirk is finally revealed! What do you think? I hope it didn't disappoint :D Trust me when I say OFA is not going to make his quirk OP at all. As for how it works in this story, well you're just going to have to wait and see, hehe. I plan on taking things in a different direction and focusing more on Izuku's quirk itself. I am also officially done with finals, yay! Can't wait to continue this story and thank you so much for all the positive feedback and reviews. I love reading everything and it makes me want to keep writing. Even constructive criticism, everything is very useful. I will post the next chapter maybe this weekend and also release my second MHA fanfic ;) see you soon! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season.