"Did you ever think about being a hero, Midoriya-san?"

He seemed to smile fondly as he thought back to what must have been some nice memories. "Of course. I always wanted to be one when I was little - just like All Might. I'm still obsessed with heroes, and villains, I-I even keep journals for Quirk study, eheh…" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly with his hand as he looked back to Shouto. "Of course, when I was diagnosed Quirkless, it all felt… Well. I know deep down I can't be a hero. But I'm still studying, still pursuing this hobby. It's pathetic, isn't it?"

Shouto took some time to respond, but after a minute or so of awkward silence, he turned to his Quirk's new holder. "Not at all." He looked back down to his hands, which were starting to feel quite cold from the wind. His Quirk used to regulate his temperature, but now he had no way to keep himself warm except with warmer clothes. "But you have a Quirk now, don't you?"

Izuku was still puzzled by his statement. He couldn't possibly mean that he was free to use someone else's Quirk as he pleased? Let alone Endeavor's son's Quirk?

No, this needed to be solved as soon as possible to have things go back to normal. Especially since it was very likely Shouto was planning to be a hero himself, and presumably going into Yuuei High. There was no way he could use a Quirk that wasn't his own. He had stolen it unwillingly, and so, Izuku made a promise to not use it whatsoever.

Which was difficult, considering how much the Quirk flared up. When he first met eyes with Shouto, before he could even recognize who he was, he noticed sparks flying off his fingers. He didn't necessarily feel warm or cold from the Quirk, but more than often did he feel moisture from melted ice that had appeared in frosty patches along his skin.

As awful and unfamiliar as it was, who could blame him from losing control? The Quirk was likely incredibly strong, and he's never had the feeling of having one before. He's just glad that it's only been small-scale apparitions and nothing… Crazy. Izuku hoped it stayed that way.

Shouto easily picked up on his troubles controlling his new Quirk, and provided him with some tips and tricks - namely, to gain control over the two elements flaring up, he would need to practice and use the Quirk more, get used to how it felt, and be sure to expel any built up energy so he's never overflowing with unused fire and ice. Izuku disagreed with him, stating that he couldn't even imagine using a power that didn't belong to him, but Shouto didn't comment and sounded almost displeased. As if he wanted Izuku to make good use of it.

He was just being polite. Maybe some people would take advantage of the opportunity when presented with it, but not Izuku.

They had talked for an hour or so, mainly about the Quirk swap, but he felt quite disappointed that was all. Shouto seemed very kind, a bit cold and maybe a little awkward with social interaction, but, well - so was Izuku. He did get the other boy's number after all, Shouto insisting just in case anything came up with the Quirk. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to reach out in more of a casual sense?

Maybe at a different time.

He received a text from his mother during his meeting with his peer, and knew that she was finally awake. Hopefully the staff would actually let him visit her this time - previously, he could only observe her through glass.

He still couldn't wrap his head around how her Quirk had seemingly "lost control", and had apparently destroyed a portion of their apartment… His mom's Quirk was only a simple magnetation ability, letting her move objects closer to herself. Nothing so crazy that it could 'render her a danger to herself and others', he overheard from a nurse leaving her room.

As he checked in with the specialty receptionists on one of the upper floors of the building, he was pleased to be allowed entry to her isolated room, and instantly ran over into her arms which had opened up as soon as she saw the pile of messy green hair much like her own enter the room. Izuku had difficulty holding back tears as he looked up at his mom, a deep frown on his face. He was in no rush to demand her for answers, but his worry and curiosity must have shown on his face, so Inko let her son go and gestured for him to sit in the seat next to her bed.

It was then that he noticed Detective Tsukauchi and Toshinori on the other side of the room, and his eyes widened. They seemed to be quite involved with the Quirk swap- Oh.

Oh no.

"They have me on Quirk suppressants, Izuku." Inko explained, her eyes tired but full of joy at seeing her beloved son. "Tsukauchi-san explained a little to me about what had happened to you, and… Well, it seems that whatever caused this had somehow targeted the two of us, sweetie."

Izuku went to speak, but cut himself off as his thoughts ran through his mind too quickly to process. "B-but… What kind of Quirk could have… Could have made this happen?" He found himself unable to describe the situation, knowing from a doctor how scary the entire situation must have been for her.

Toshinori's expression was solemn as he stood up suddenly, then bowed to the Midoriya family. "It was mine. Your mother received my Quirk, and I received hers."

Izuku looked on in surprise, looking between the blonde man and his mother. "And w-what is your Quirk, Yagi-san?" At that, the older man's expression darkened as he glanced at the detective, who nodded in approval to him. He seemed reluctant to speak, but reassured himself that they both deserve to know the full truth. After all, for such a responsibility to lie on Inko's shoulders… They could never go into this blindly.

"My Quirk is named One for All. It is a culmination of power passed down from user to user. A normally transferable Quirk that is… Very powerful, but dangerous in the wrong hands." Toshinori spoke grimly as he stared down at his shoes, then up to Inko's bed rails. "Typically, it can only be passed on willingly to a new user. But because of this entire swapping business, your mother inherited it out of the blue. I… I needed to train for years to be able to accommodate such a Quirk. Thus resulting in your mother not being able to control it. I'm sure you have plenty of questions, and I promise, I'll answer them to the best of my ability." He took in a deep breath and his body relaxed a little as the truth was out. "You as well, Inko-san, our conversation was cut short, so feel free to ask anything you need to know - I'm at your disposal."

Inko nodded slowly, still smiling despite the circumstance. She looked down to her son however, knowing that he must have been overflowing with question after question to ask the man.

"...Do you know my mom?"

He didn't seem to be expecting the question and coughed suddenly, and Izuku noted with fear that blood appeared to come onto his sleeve with it. "No, I'm afraid we haven't met before." Izuku nodded at this, beginning to speculate out loud. "I read the news article explaining that this gravitated towards married people, or very close friends, but also somehow people who have never met, like me and Shouto-san. With that logic, you'd assume it would happen to just about any pair of people, but it seems to be either people who are very close or who have never met, not really any people in between, and the population seems to be split almost halfway, with the pairs being of similar ages, so maybe it's just compatible people - and the strangers just haven't met each other quite yet? But by that thought you would assume their Quirks would be compatible as well, but clearly that's not the case, since Mom got a Quirk like yours that she can't control, and Shouto ended up with no Quirk at all, so maybe-"

He continued to ramble on as Inko watched him fondly, then turned towards the other two men, laughing lightheartedly. "He does this sometimes." But she didn't seem annoyed at all. "Izuku goes through so much info in his head sometimes, he can't help but just… Ramble it all out." At that explanation, Izuku stopped suddenly and began apologizing.

"But… What's next? How long do you need to stay, Mom? And how are you going to handle…" He trailed off, expression twisted up in thought yet again but he kept his speculations to himself.

"They actually cleared me to leave tomorrow, but I need to stay on the Quirk suppressants until Yagi-san can start helping me train to handle the Quirk better. I certainly won't be trying to use it, but we can't have any excess power take me over like it had before… My arm and a few ribs ended up broken, but they were healed quickly." She looked at her arm, which had previously been completely bruised purple. Inko shuddered at the thought, but then looked back to her son. "This hopefully isn't permanent. Detective Tsukauchi-san said they were working on a resolution." At hearing his name, the man in question perked up from slouching down into his notepad, and nodded in agreement.

"But as for our living situation, Yagi-san and the police force have kindly agreed to provide us with a hotel room in All Might Tower! You always used to imagine being a victim of some sort of event, Izuku, just so you could end up staying there and even meeting All Might himself!" She giggled at that, and Izuku seemed embarrassed, his face flushing a bit at that. Both were too distracted to see the wary yet amused expressions of the two men on the other side of the room.

Recovering, Izuku's face scrunched up in confusion. "Hold on. Yagi-san, didn't you say your Quirk could be passed on willingly to someone else? I've never heard of a Quirk like that before, but… Can't Mom just pass it back to you?"

Toshinori shook his head. "We had thought of that, and tried it…" He coughed yet again, embarrassed, and Inko looked amused. Izuku decided that perhaps the method of actually passing on the Quirk was pretty unorthodox to warrant that response. "But it didn't work. It seems like whatever caused this Quirk exchange is stubborn, because I've never heard of anything like it. She should be able to pass it on, that's the main function of the Quirk, but… No. It didn't work." Toshinori crossed his arms at that, feeling frustrated at not having a solid answer to provide. Never did he imagine they'd be in this sort of predicament.

"And you said this was a Quirk passed on, so you obviously received it from someone else… In that case, what Quirk did you have before, Yagi-san? Does Mom have that too?" Izuku asked, genuinely curious - but also a little worried at the thought of more pressure on his mom.

He was, yet again, surprised by the boy's thoughts, not expecting these kinds of questions to be asked. "...No, Midoriya-shounen. I was Quirkless before I received One for All."

Izuku seemed stunned into silence as he took in the weight of the words, and even Inko looked over to the blonde man with a shocked expression. Of course, being Quirkless wasn't exceptionally rare, but still quite uncommon. For him to have not have one, then to be given a Quirk with such an amount of power… She couldn't help looking to her other side, down at her son, who used to be Quirkless as well.

She didn't know whether to be relieved or worried at the fact that Izuku had received a Quirk from Endeavor's son.

Despite the consequence of the other boy losing his Quirk, Inko couldn't complain that fate had somehow given her son a chance at having a Quirk, a chance to aim for the dream he's had since he was a toddler, if only for a little while.

A/N: Thank you for all the support thus far! I hope you guys are enjoying the series so far.

All reviews are greatly appreciated!

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