The ever increasingly stressful times, his declining quirk limit, the uncertain saftey of his beloved students, and this very day made All Might feel as though he had aged twenty years as soon as his foot crossed the threshold. His life and career, once certain, now seemed to be far from in his own hands.

He observed the wide room. Littered with small objects and boxes, it seemed as an analogy of his own life to his literate mind. He (like the room,) was meant to be grand, but was sparse, filled with little substance. A pedestal, in accordance with his own secrets, stood shrouded by a veil at the center of the floor. Hints at grandeur and well use stained the walls, a mere illusion to purpose and magnificence.

Once amazing, now history.

And so (mind cluttered with thoughts of his life,) when the shadow passed just in the corner of his vision, his past flashed before his eyes.

He swung his hand around and behind himself, the figure barely dodging underneath. Stain's Apprentice leapt backwards and clung to the walls, his beloved long knife in his hand. He barely made any sound.

All Might straightened, facing the rouge teen fully. The Apprentice cocked his head to the side slightly in turn. "Quick movement." All Might praised, "But not quick enough for me."

Izuku dropped to the floor silently. "Oh, I don't hold any delusions of being stronger than you." He slowly started to circle around, All Might continually moving to face him. "I am aware of my own limits."

"Then why face me if you know I am far superior physically?"

Izuku sighed, his shoulders slumping forward fractionally. He had to quickly dodge and propel himself away as All Might rushed him, taking the momentary lapse in concentration. "Weren't you listening earlier?" Toshinori ducked a flying crate as Izuku landed nimbly on the other side of the room. "I want to prove myself." Izuku slowly lifted his head to stare Toshinori in the eyes behind his own reflective goggles. "And I know how to get what I want."

All Might lowered into a fighting stance, his foot brushing against a small air vent in the floor. "Young boy," he said grimly "I am sorry."

Izuku had barely any time to start. "Sorry? For wh-"

Toshinori sped forward, as fast as his old mentor Gran Torino, and reached for Izuku. It was all the boy could do to duck. Even Stain's immensely rigourious endurance and combat training coupled with Izuku's own techniques, couldn't stand against the true power of All Might, regardless of his weakness. Izuku rolled, ran, and dodged. He sped across the room with his grappling hook, barely missing the hero's clutches. As of yet, neither combatant had laid a finger on the other. The closest they had come was the repeated boxes thrown at each other, or small amounts of sleeping gas Izuku released.

At last, the two were standing apart again, Izuku breathing heavily. Even All Might was panting, but he still stood tall. His young opponent was rooted to the spot in front of the veiled pedestal. Toshinori stayed at a distance, giving the boy a chance to recuperate.

"I don't want to hurt you young man." He spoke gently, as if to a wounded animal. "I want to bring you home. You have people still who love you."

Izuku's head was bowed and he choked. With a start, All Might realized the child was crying and it struck him just how far the boy's depression had spiraled out of control. "You think I don't know that?" He reached up, wiping his eyes behind his goggles. "I know they'd take me back. Assuming I'm not thrown in a padded cell for the rest of my life that is." His hands fell by his sides and he stared out of a window longingly, trapped in a daydream of his past. "I could go home. Auntie would surely protect me above all else. I could be happy, if I am still capable, which I might not be." He slowly turned his head to All Might. "Do you know how hard it is to lose both parental figures? To have to live near on your own?" His head bowed once again, his voice, sounding from all around, was quavering as he gestured brokenly towards his own beating heart. "No one can fill this hole."

All Might's plus Ultra sized heart softened, and he stepped forward tentatively. Izuku made no move to stop the larger man as he reached forward to place a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry my boy. Your master told me about your mother."

To his utter shock however, his hand slid right through Izuku's strong shoulder. The child's image flickered, revealing a mere hologram. The Apprentice's voice sounded from all sides of the room as Toshinori realized he had been duped.

"I'm sorry too, Toshinori." The boy's voice was almost gravelly, sounding distant. "I'm afraid I needed some data on how you fight hand to hand, as you usually end fights so quickly that there isn't much reliable data, and also, to run the timer down." All Might thrust his hand forward as the hologram dissolved and tore away the veil the shrouded the pedestal before him.

It was, indeed, a timer. And it just clicked to zero.

"Hope you understand." Izuku's voice rang out one last time before the building collapsed.

- outside -

Izuku himself stood outside in the large clearing, the wind from the collapsing building tugging at his coat and hood. He lowered his arm, throwing the now useless remote detonator away. He breathed slowly, purposely, counting the seconds since he had set off the explosives.

'And here's the actually rough part'

Finally, just when Izuku had estimated, All Might exploded out of the building. He flew into the air, coughing dust from his throat, and looked down to see the figure of his opponent standing far below him. As quickly as he had soared, he plummeted, one fist pulled back to land a hard blow on the boy. Izuku pulled his own arms up just in time to block the mighty blow.

Despite this effort, Izuku was thrown backwards into a wall, nearly breaking through the barricade altogether. The pockets hidden along his arms burst from the force of the punch, small devices scattering where Izuku had previously stood.

The air was knocked from Izuku's lungs, and it was only due to his protective coat that he hadn't become subject to a broken spine. He clung weakly to the wall, glancing up at his opponent and former idol. His enemy looked shocked that he had preformed such an attack on the boy. It was as if he had been half expecting another hologram.

Izuku coughed, lurching forward and firmly planting his feet amongst the rubble. He extended a bo staff in his left hand, his short sword unsheathed in the other. He moved to his right, All Might mirroring his movements as the two circled each other.

Just as Toshinori had an epiphany about the previous combat area, Izuku experienced one of his own concerning the zone he paced in currently. Once homely, lovely, he, like the rubble surrounding him, had been reduced to a barely recognizable wreckage. But both, unlike All Might, would be rebuilt into something grand. He would stand tall and imposing.

Another camera drone slid out of Izuku's pocket, taking flight and hanging above the two. Tension filled the air, Izuku's creations slowly coming to life around All Might's feet. The Apprentice swallowed. 'Now's the time to distract him.' However, All Might began before The Apprentice could speak.

"You're very clever with that building trap young man. Your Master taught you well I see." He begrudgingly praised his opponent, recognising the unending wit and intelligence the boy held. Izuku chuckled at the compliment.

"Why thank you. He has taught me a great many things." He twirled his sword in his right hand, making a flawless circle in the air. All Might's eyes followed the blade, a strange look in his eyes.

"Are you intending to kill me?"

Izuku jerked his head back as they paced, as if shocked by the suggestion. "Kill you? No, don't be obvious. I may want to bring you down, but I would never kill you."

'Wasn't his master always saying that I am the only true hero? Perhaps this child isn't as totally conformed to Stain's ideology as we believe.' All Might mused. "I don't want to have to fight you child. It doesn't have to be like this. You have good in you still, your master hasn't tainted that away yet! You have people waiting over here for you."

Izuku growled, his grip tightening around his weapons. "I've said this before, yet no one listens, do they? I CHOSE to become this. Master never CORRUPTED me. And I see by your expression you do not believe me. Shall I elaborate?" Izuku spat, still walking along his wide circle of a path.

All Might's face slowly turned to a scowl as the boy spoke his words with venom. "Please do."

Complying, Izuku collapsed the baton in his left hand and pocketed it, gesturing as he spoke. "I've known master for over a year now. I met him earlier the same day before I met you. He had mercy and rescued me from a villain I had been caught by. We both walked away from that event as if it was the end of it." Here, Izuku's voice grew darker, and he pointed a long, gloved finger towards Toshinori as he spoke. "That is, until I met you."

All Might swallowed, afraid of the hatred that tainted the young boy's voice. "And just what happened between you and I?"

"Oh, you really still don't remember me yet, do you. Did I make so little an impression? No matter I suppose. You'll remember even if I have to reveal it to the whole world for you to finally put the pieces together." Izuku spoke quietly, as if talking to himself, or to a scared animal. "Since you've so helpfully forgotten, I suppose I'll have to fill you in again. I used to love heroes, you above all others. In the aftermath of another villain attack you found me, and I asked you, so desperately, if I could become a hero regardless of my quirk standing. And what did you do? You, the last person I looked up to, who hadn't yet already crushed my dreams? WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Izuku started yelling again, filled with rage. "YOU TOLD ME TO GIVE UP! JUST AS EVRRYONE ELSE HAD!"

Izuku swung his torso around to point his sword at All Might, stopping in his tracks. "And THAT is when Master found me. Weak. Broken. Originally, all he had wanted was to teach me self defense and what he believed in, and I accepted, but soon, we each learned something special about the other. I had been the first person to look at him, and understand what he was talking about. I had experienced what he had tried to warn the world about first hand. And he, why he was the first to not just look at me like an actual human being, but to look me in the eyes to tell me he believed I could have been."

Stain's Apprentice's voice now shook with new tears, his sword point quivering. "I COULD have been! He believed that I had the heart of a true hero. He BELIVED in me when no one else ever had before. My former best friend, my useless father, the doctor, the teachers, even my own mother." He let his sword drop back to his side, his voice growing stable once more. "In the face of these revelations I knew, I couldn't stand by anymore. I wanted to make a difference with my saviour. Master never corrupted me. I chose to fall so low."

All Might was speechless at Izuku's tale, his heart breaking. But he still found he couldn't place the boy, and it was tearing him apart. All he wanted to to help the child he had apparently broken. He wanted so desperately to fix his horrible mistake.

"And now, it's time you and I settle our grievances All Might." Izuku lowered into a fighting stance, ready to dash forward. His baton was back in his left hand again, fully extended. He was ready for combat. "Neither of us will grow until we're done here!"

The two flew into combat, and the battle began anew.