Recap: Izuku announced the truth of Hosu to the media sparking something of a revolution. Yuuei allowed him to stay only for All Might immediately after to reveal his identity after and offer Izuku One For All

As soon as Midoriya walks into the classroom and lays down on his desk, Shouto knows that something is wrong. It's unsurprising given what's happened the last few days but that doesn't mean he's forgotten the last conversation he'd had with Midoriya in the hospital. Shouto stands up and tries to walk over to his friend but finds his path is immediately blocked.

"Holy shit dude," Kaminari says, hovering over Midoriya's desk the second he sits down. The blond is wide-eyed and jittery, letting loose small sparks. "That was insane. You are a stone cold badass, Midoriya. I cannot believe you did all that shit and got away with it. Aizawa-sensei is totally gonna murder you; you should probably think about leaving the school, maybe even the country."

"You broke the internet, dude," Sero comments, holding up his phone. "You've been here, like, a week and you're already the most famous person in the class. Bakugou's super pissed about it, no surprise there."

"I thought it was inspiring," Aoyama says as he poses. "It was daring, it was bold, it made a statement. Of course, he learned from the best," he concludes with a wink.

"Deku! You scared me half to death!" Uraraka whines. "You guys weren't answering your phones and then Todoroki and Iida said you were sad and then the news was talking about you. You gotta stop doing this to me! You're gonna give me wrinkles!"

"I agree with Aoyama, I am so pumped. You've set such a high standard, Midoriya," Kirishima adds, throwing some mock punches into the air. "You gotta give me the play by play of what happened with the Hero Killer, I need to up my game! Next time we go, you can't hold back on me, ya here?"

"That was really reckless of you, Midoriya. You could have easily died; I'm surprised you weren't expelled." Asui says evenly. The class continues to gather around Midoriya's desk, talking louder and louder until it was hard to distinguish one voice from another. Midoriya continues lying on his desk, holding his hands over his head, looking like he wants to be anywhere but there.

It could be Midoriya's shyness which manifests at odd times or it could be a continuation of the situation in Hosu. Or it could be something else entirely.

"Deku, are you alright?" Uraraka asks gently during a lull in the shouting.

"Oh shoot that's right! Midoriya was upset!" Kirishima shouts, "I forgot about it with everything that happened this weekend. You okay man? You're not still thinking of leaving us are, you? You can always talk to us if you need to. As rad as your fight was, it was probably really scary too." He says in a softer voice, squating down to Midoriya's level.

"No, I'm fine. I wasn't expelled and I decided to stay in the hero course. Sorry for worrying you guys," Midoriya mutters from his desk before sitting up with an exhausted expression. "It's just been... a lot to take in."

"You shook the tenements of our society down to it's very core, it must be quite draining to be at the center of that swirling spiral of scrutiny. Fame is a fickle and unforgiving mistress." Tokoyami adds with a nod of his head.

"Yeah man, what he said," Kaminari says, jumping back in. "But for real, all that stuff about quirkless people got me thinking. I never really noticed we were treating you differently, I'm gonna do better on that. You are totally hero material, with or without a quirk." Midoriya winces before pasting on an awkward smile.

"Thanks I, uh, appreciate it," he inclines his head until he spots Shouto. "Todoroki, how are you doing? Where's Iida?"

"So you and Iida were the other ones invol-" Ashido shouts above the din before Asui covers gently her mouth.

"We don't want to get them in trouble, Mina-chan, unlike Midoriya, they're held accountable by quirk law." Asui continues.

"We appreciate your support and I am fine, Midoriya, thank you," Shouto nods, stepping closer. "Iida is still in the hospital, he should be out soon, they're going ahead with the surgery on his arm before scar tissue forms." He pauses, "are you sure you're alright?"

"I," Midoriya pauses, just for a second or two, "I'm conflicted. A lot's happened and I need to sort it all out but I'll get there eventually." There are a lot of things Shouto wants to say to that comment, though maybe not in front of the entire class when the door slides open. Aizawa-sensei stalks in and glares at them with such venom they all immediately race back to their seats.

"I'm sure you all heard what happened this weekend. Don't follow Midoriya's example. If any of you so much as thinks of doing something similar, I won't just expel you, I will break you." He lets the words sink in, "right, for homeroom we're going to go over the effects of Midoriya's reckless and unnecessary interference. I've already spoken to you about the need for silence so here's what you should say if you are cornered by a reporter."

Sensei drones on for the rest of homeroom but Shouto can't help but look at Midoriya who spends that period, and the following periods, staring blankly out the window as if the whole world is weighing him down.

XxX

"You know, when I encouraged you to fiix society I didn't mean you should go out and set it on fire," Taketsu says with a droll look as she sets her tray down at the lunch table.

Their table is actually pretty sparse considering that he's sort of famous now or something. Izuku is pretty sure the fierce glares from Uraraka, Taketsu and Shinsou are scaring away anyone who is thinking about coming over to talk to him. He's also certain those random ice pillars that have sprung up every now and again have not been "a mistake" as Todoroki claims. Still, he's thankful for the peace.

"Go big or go home," Izuku mouths off out of habit as he plays absentmindedly with his noodles. He's got too much to think about, too big a choice to make, to emotionally invest in a real conversation right now.

"You're insane, you know that," Korudo scolds lightly. "Quirkless or not, you shouldn't have gone up against the Hero Killer and you definitely shouldn't have leaked your involvement to the media. It doesn't feel very heroic, dragging out secrets out into the open like that from behind closed doors."

"Korudo, come on, give him a break," Taketsu warns lightly but Korudo continues on anyway.

"I understand you've had it harder than most but that doesn't give you an excuse to ruin lives, good people doing their job like Endeavor and the police. Change should be enacted peacefully, not like this."

"It's easy to demand slow progress when you aren't the one being affected by the way things are run," Shinsou defends sharply.

"I agree," Todoroki nods. "Your methods were unconventional and I don't agree with the way you handled it, but I acknowledge that it was your choice to use that information as you did." Izuku turns away and rubs at his face. Why does it always come down to choices for him? To be meek or be bold? To take One For All or stay quirkless? Why couldn't things just stay the same? Why couldn't he?

"Really? I thought you'd be mad for sure considering your dad got kind of caught up in it all," Uraraka comments, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "They've been accusing him of all sorts of things... they're not true, are they?

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Todoroki redirects quickly but Izuku knows what Endeavor is like, what Todoroki has to deal with at home. He probably hasn't taken this negative publicity well and there's a good chance he's taking out his frustration on his son. Izuku's fault, again, because he'd been stupid and angry and didn't think things through.

"Well, anyway, I think what Deku did was brave," Uraraka announces. "The whole reason this became an issue is because the laws don't affect him like they do people with quirks. Deku deserves to be a hero and he deserves to be treated like everyone else. I think it's great that he's trying to fix things. Heroes should have causes like this, I guess I still need to find mine. "

"The hero system is messed up and needs to be broken down and built back up again," Shinsou adds with a slight sneer. "If you ask me, you didn't go far enough, Midoriya."

"There's good and bad parts to change," Patrick says, uncharacteristically subdued. "I know you have only the best intentions at heart and these issues are long overdue to be addressed... but this has become something ugly." He purses his lips, "I watched the video the Hero Killer put out; given Midoriya's actions, people might think to connect the two."

"You take that back," Todoroki glares, "You don't know what you're saying. Midoriya is nothing like that murderer."

"Todoroki, it's fine, Patrick has a point," Izuku says dully, trying to reign in this situation before it gets more out of control than it already is. He's just so tired, he can't deal with this right now. "I hate him and what he did but I can understand his frustration. We both saw the flaws in the way things were done but he thought it could be solved with murder. I took a different approach but that doesn't mean there still aren't consequences." He mutters, wringing his hands.

He's proud of what he'd done, of what he'd started, but the more time passes the more he sees all the bad that came with the good. Korudo opens his mouth to say something but Taketsu overrides him.

"Just because they have similar ideals does not mean their actions are comparable," Taketsu says. "We all can agree society needs to be reformed but actions and intent have a lot of weight." She gives him a look, "but could you maybe slow down a bit? I know you want things to get better but you can't rush this sort of thing. The way people have been talking about you, I'm just worried is all."

"I know, I'm not trying to rush, I'm-" What was he trying to do? Be a hero, obviously, that's always been his goal, the thing pushing him forward. But he never wanted to be this, the quirkless hero, the boy who has to be vicious and spit vitriol just to be heard. He'd never had a choice before and he'd accepted it, accepted that he'd never be the smiling hero like All Might, but now...

"Hey, you're doing fine," Patrick says soothingly. "I didn't mean to get you riled up, we just want you to be careful and to put that big brain of yours to some use. We all know you're strong as hell but you stirred the pot big time; people might not like it and try to take it out on you."

"I'll be careful," Izuku mutters.

"You decided that beating a bunch of crazy powerful quirks in the Sports Festival wasn't enough so you decided to tackle the whole hero system. I don't think you know the meaning of careful," Shinsou says with a raised eyebrow. "You're gonna need a classroom full of hero students just to keep you in line." He points his chopsticks at Izuku, "speaking of which, when are you going to help me train. I've got a lot to catch up on if I'm going to get into Heroics; you owe me since Eraserhead is too busy dealing with your bullshit to work with me."

"Soon?" Izuku shrugs, rubbing at his eyes. "I'm sorry Shinsou, it's just been crazy. Also I fought a serial killer last week and I technically just got out of the hospital and... I just don't think I'm up for it now."

"Take your time, Shinsou can work through some things on his own," Taketsu says, glaring heartily their friend. Izuku tunes out the resulting discussion completely. Time. All Might gave him time to think about his decision but he feels like he'll never have enough time. He hates this situation, he almost hates All Might for putting him in it but he can't quite bring himself to.

Izuku is proud of how far he's come, of the things he's accomplished since he first decided to pursue his dreams. Taking a quirk now... that would make everything he's suffered up until now completely pointless, right? But it also would make him a better hero, he'd been too slow in Hosu, too slow and too weak.

One For All would change that, it would change everything.

His friends continue to chat and debate around him, bouncing from serious to neutral topics but Izuku is too tense and exhausted to really engage. He feels like the weight of the choice he has to make is wearing him down, sapping his strength.

What should he choose? Is One For All the easy way or the right way? Can he really turn his back on someone, on All Might, when he essentially reached out to Izuku for help? Would he change with a quirk? Would he want to be that person? Would he want to be the person who refused? Izuku buries his hands in his hair, he just wants to be good enough for once.

These questions swirl endlessly in his head all through lunch and the rest of the day. He walks home and goes straight to bed but sleep doesn't come. Instead he lies awake, staring at the insane amount of All Might merchandise in his room. Izuku knows he has to make a decision, he just doesn't know if it's going to be the right one. Sleep doesn't come to him that night. Or the next.

XxX

Katsuki bounces a basketball outside his house, angrily looking down the street every few minutes. Where the fuck was the little creep? Ever since the Hosu thing exploded, Deku has been acting like even more of a loser than usual. He's been quiet and mopey and barely talking to any of the stupid extras he hangs out with. The morons who insist on sitting with Katsuki at lunch are worried too and it's impossible to avoid all the whispers going around the classroom.

It could be worse, he thinks darkly, someone could have remembered that he lived just a few doors down from Deku and asked him to talk to the little shit or something. Which he most certainly isn't trying to do. He growls. The sun has almost set; where the fuck did Deku go when he's got half the country ready to tear him apart?

Katsuki bounces the ball roughly as he stews over the situation. His whole internship had been a waste of time; Best Jeanist did nothing but humiliate him. All he wanted to do Friday night was to scream and get away from it all. And then the news hit that Deku of all people fought off the Hero Killer, beat the asshole into a coma and then blew the whole ordeal up through the media.

Deku's only been in his stupid class a week and he's already more famous than most heroes these days. Meanwhile, Katsuki has faded to the background and become just the useless kid who got caught by the sludge monster last year. He growls with frustration and throws the ball against the side of his house before it bounces into the street.

It's not fair, nothing is fucking fair anymore.

"Kacchan, you dropped your ball," Katsuki looks up at the annoyingly familiar voice and there's Deku, holding out the basketball with a dull expression on his face. Idiot looks like he hasn't slept in a week, his bandages are off revealing a cut to the side of his throat and some scars on his wrist but he's still limping. "You okay? I don't think your mom would appreciate you damaging the siding."

"No, I'm not okay!" Katsuki shouts as he stomps forward and smacks the ball out of the nerd's hand. In the past, Katsuki could have expected Deku to stumble and cower. But this new Deku falls back into a solid defensive stance and looks ready to throw down right there. It's tempting but his mom would murder him if she found out he was fighting Deku so soon after he was released from the hospital. "I'm pissed as hell at you!"

"What? For stealing your spotlight? You can have it, I don't want it!" Deku snaps back, still not relaxing his stance.

"It's not that!" Katsuki yells, taking a step into Deku's space but the nerd holds his ground. "It pisses me off that you're in my goddamn class pretending to be a hero. I'm mad that a piece of shit like you was able to stand up to me in the Sports Festival." He grabs a fistful of Deku's shirt and pulls him close. "But I can handle all that, what really gets me is that you finally fucking do something heroic and all you can do is mope about it!"

"I-I'm not," Deku stutters, looking away for a second before meeting his eyes again. "A lot has happened, I'm just trying to make sense of it all."

"You're so full of it, everyone in the goddamn class can see you whining over how hard your stupid little life is. I'm fucking sick of it." Katsuki hisses, pushing the idiot away.

"I," Deku begins before looking down at the ground. "Why do you even care? I'm a nobody, remember? A Deku. You haven't cared about me since your quirk came and mine didn't."

"I don't give a fuck about you!" Katsuki shouts, "I can't stand to see your fucking face everyday but at least that's better than you being a goddamn coward." Now that gets Deku's attention. "So you caught the Hero Killer? You should be owning that shit instead of acting like a fucking wimp."

"People died, Kacchan," Deku says sternly. "I may have given someone permanent brain damage, that isn't... that's not something I want to be proud of. This isn't a game."

"Of course not, that's real life. What do you think heroes do? Hold villains' hands? That's what always fucking annoys me about you Deku. You talk big but when it comes down to it, all you do is run away. You didn't stand up for yourself as a kid and you sure as hell aren't doing it now."

"Well you never gave me the chance back then!" Deku shouts, pushing Katsuki back a few steps. "You've been telling me ever since I was diagnosed that I was trash. What if I maybe started to believe you? There's a lot on my shoulders and what if I'm not enough? What if stupid, quirkless Deku just doesn't have what it takes to be a hero?"

"Because that's not what a hero does!" Katsuki roars, so frustrated that he has to lay this out. "When the going gets tough, you don't fucking just give up! You get stronger, you fight back, you push and you push and you push until you fucking win! That's what All Might does and he's Number One!" Deku looks at him with a stunned expression.

"Maybe you aren't fucking cut out for this business because they don't let fucking whiners be heroes. You need to give this every fucking bit of your strength. If you're not going to do everything you can to win, then just leave. Go fuck off back to Gen Ed, I don't give a shit." Katsuki says, shoving his hands into his pockets and glares at the ground.

"You held your own against me at the Sports Festival and you showed those fuckers in Hosu. You proved me wrong, okay Deku? So don't you be wimping out on me now before I get the chance to beat you down and climb all the way to the top. I'm not gonna let a loser like you show me up for long." He leans down and snatches up his ball before stalking back to his house.

"Kacchan," Katsuki turns back and Deku is looking at him with a dumb smile, "I think I understand now, thanks." The smile shifts until it's sharp and challenging. "I accept your challenge but I'm going to be the next Number One Hero, try to keep up."

"Like hell you are, I'm going to wipe the floor with your stupid ass." Katsuki says as he kicks open the door, "You better get your shit together, Deku. Won't be fucking much of a victory if I beat your ass when you're being such a crybaby."

"You can try and don't worry, I'll be ready," he hears Deku shout back before Katsuki slams the door shut. He fights down the grin that tugs on his face, finally, a proper challenge. There's no way Deku will ever beat him but Katsuki will enjoy watching him try. He ain't half bad, for a quirkless piece of shit, it will be a pleasure beating him.

Maybe he can convince that annoying teacher of his to let him spar with Deku sometime soon now that he's been cleared for fighting. He's still got a score to settle and a challenge to win.

XxX

Thursday morning arrives just like any other day but it feels like the week has dragged by with painful slowness. Toshinori walks into Yuuei full of nerves over seeing Young Midoriya again; the boy has clearly been avoiding him this past week and it's putting him on edge. Gran Torino and Nedzu are convinced that the young man will accept his offer but the more time passes, the more Toshinori disagrees.

What had he been thinking offering Young Midoriya One For All? There's no doubt that the boy would be an excellent successor who would use the quirk honorably but that's beside the point.

Midoriya Izuku is not him; the boy didn't let his quirklessness define him and had grasped heroism with his own two hands regardless of what people said. Trying to give the boy a quirk now, after everything he's been through, might seem insulting. He hadn't meant it that way, of course, but he has a way of bungling up everything he does.

He walks into the school quietly, not drawing any attention since he's in his true form. In his briefcase, he has his normal supplies but also the various files Nighteye has been giving him. As much as he's become stuck on Young Midoriya, he needs to be prepared for the very real possibility of being rejected. The best thing he can do right now is respect the young man's desire for space and prepare himself for whatever choice the boy makes.

But fate has a way of defying him when he turns around a corner and nearly smacks right into the young man currently on his mind. He's got on a large All Might sweatshirt and matching hat over his uniform, presumably to avoid being swarmed by reporters and students alike.

"Ah! Alllllllllll-" Young Midoriya's eyes go comically wide, "Right! All right! Hi uh how are you doing?" The boy babbles, looking around to make sure no one noticed his near slip.

"I'm doing quite well, Young Midoriya," Toshinori chuckles fondly. "I trust you're feeling better? I er hope those reporters haven't been giving you too much trouble. I like the sweatshirt, it's a nice touch," he adds on with a cheeky smile. Young Midoriya looks down at his sweatshirt suddenly as he remembers who he's talking to.

"It's comfy," he says quietly as an excuse. "And I am doing better thanks. Everyone's just been a little clingy but it's nothing I didn't bring upon myself," the boy sighs. With the normal pleasantries out of the way, the atmosphere becomes heavy and awkward with the unresolved business between them.

"Well, I uh guess I'll be on my way then. Have a good day, my boy, I um hope to hear from you soon. Whenever you're ready is fine," Toshinori says in an uncomfortable jumble. Good grief, what sort of mentor does he expect to be if he can't even talk normally to his potential student? Had Nana ever felt this nervous around him? He starts to slink away, before he can make an even bigger fool of himself.

"Oh uh, I was actually trying to find you. I've uh made my decision," Young Midoriya mutters, biting his lip with an unsure expression.

"Really?" Toshinori questions gently. "If you need more time, my boy..." Toshinori says even as his body is telling him that he really can't wait much longer.

"No, I think I've dragged this out long enough. Is there somewhere more private we can go?" The boy asks at the same time the warning bell goes off. They stare dumbfounded at each other for a moment.

"I should get to class." "You should head to class."

Toshinori coughs into his fist while Young Midoriya chuckles awkwardly and, miraculously, the tense atmosphere lightens up a little bit.

"You go to class, we can talk after school when there's more time. Come to the room we met in earlier this week for our discussion," Toshinori says, almost going for a shoulder pat but deciding against it halfway through, leaving his arm hanging awkwardly in the air.

"Alright, I'll see you then," Young Midoriya says with a tired smile before racing in the direction of his classroom before he's late.

Toshinori smiles as he watches the boy sprint out of sight, feeling in better spirits than when he'd arrived. Things would work out regardless of whether or not the Young Midoriya took One For All, he'd go on to be a marvelous hero either way. And Toshinori hopes that he and the young man will continue their relationship even if the boy chooses to remain quirkless. No matter what, he considers himself lucky to have met Midoriya Izuku.

Despite his buoyed spirits, the day seems to pass by agonizingly slow since he's had to cut down on the number of classes he teaches. Toshinori flips lazily through some of Nighteye's files but he knows that he can't seriously consider any of them so long as there's still a slight chance that Young Midoriya will accept his offer.

Toshinori clenches and unclenches his fists as he glances at the clock; he hasn't felt this nervous since he was a boy trying to live up to an impossible legacy. He wonders if Young Midoriya feels the same way. Unable to wait any longer, he makes his way down to the unmarked room 20 minutes before classes let out and forces himself to relax. He's brewed some tea and is finishing his second cup when there's a rapid knock at the door.

"Come in," Toshinori calls and Young Midoriya quickly enters before shutting the door behind him, leaning up against it.

"I'm sorry I'm late," the boy says with a sigh. "It's been almost a week and I still have a hard time maneuvering through the halls, don't people have better things to do than gawk at me?"

"Hmm not every student is plastered on every newspaper and television screen. If you want to be a pro you'll have to learn to deal with that kind of attention." Toshinori smiles as the young man deposits his bag and settles himself in the chair adjacent to him. "Would you like some tea? There's enough here for two."

"Um not right now," Young Midoriya says nervously. "I need to get this out of me before I explode." He takes a long, deep breath and looks him square in the eye. "I will accept your power, All Might." Some of his bravado leaves him as he ducks his eyes.

"I've given this a lot of thought and your quirk will give me opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise. I wasn't strong enough to Hosu and people suffered because of it. I... wasn't sure this is what I wanted but someone told me that being a hero means never stopping, never giving up a chance to be better. I can do that now, with uh your help."

"Are you sure? This is a big decision and I don't want you to regret it." Toshinori asks, fighting down the hope building in his mangled chest. He thought he'd be turned down for sure, never could he have expected-

"I am. I've wanted to be a hero since I was little, because I wanted to be the kind of person who helped people, who made them feel safe. That's not the type of hero I'm starting to become and it's scaring me. I know I can be a hero as I am but-but with One For All, I can afford to be a better hero and a better person." He sighs, "no matter my misgivings, if I say no I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

"My boy," Toshinori beams with delight, setting down his cup as he finally allowed himself to bask in the joy and relief he's feeling. His search was over and he couldn't have found a better student. "You're going to make an excellent successor. It would be my honor to teach you."

"So what do I need to do?" The boy asks resolutely, unaware of the trials he was about to endure. But he's strong, he'll be able to handle the strain.

"Now we need to prepare your mind and body to accept the quirk." Toshinori grins, "here's what you can expect."

Finally, the question everyone's been asking since the beginning of the story has been answered. I'd like to hope it is both satisfying and disappointing at the same point. It's a difficult issues with pros and cons for each choice and, believe me, it was a tough choice to make. Thank you everyone, we're almost to the finish line, I hope you'll stick with me until the end.