I'm just gonna be brutally honest and say that I hate this chapter. I tried my best to write something.. worthy, for you guys to read, but this is all I could come up with. So, I'm going to apologize in advance and promise that it'll be better next week. Hopefully you'll still enjoy it.

When Katsuki looked back up, the huge muscled body of All Might had disappeared and had been replaced by someone that seemed the complete opposite of that, drowning in the yellow suit he was wearing, eyes hollow and weak. Katsuki's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he decided not to question it now, more pressing matters at the back of his mind.

'Why do you know that that is a suicide note?' Toshinori asked as he reached out to take the letter from Katsuki's hands. He turned away, his eyes scanning the rest of the content.

'I recognize the handwriting,' he mutters, eyes cast at the paper. 'And the name.' The letter was signed with Izuku Midoriya. It was unmistakably his.

'Did you know this person?' Toshinori asks. Katsuki nods. 'He was my best friend.' All Might gulps. It was months ago since he had received this letter. It was tucked in with the rest of his fan mail, almost indistinguishable from the normal letters he received daily, but for some reason it had stood out to him.

There had been only one civilian Toshinori had ever shared his secret with, a boy so intoxicated by the idea of becoming a hero, so fascinated by meeting his idol face to face, that he had clung on to Toshinori's leg for dear life to try to ask more about his life as All Might.

Having reached his time limit, All Might's form had disappeared and changed into Toshinori, shocking the boy into oblivion, but still he stood his ground. The boy was wearing a black gakuran, not very uncommon for many middle school students in this prefect, his hair a bush of green curls and a nervous smile on his lips.

Can somebody without a Quirk become a hero?

That's what the boy had asked him. He had looked back at the boy, shaking with anxiety, but also a determination that he couldn't place. He had said no.

The boy had looked defeated; being told by his biggest inspiration that he could not become a hero must've crushed his heart. Toshinori had left the boy standing on that rooftop.

After trudging through the city in his weaker form for a while, he had heard a commotion down one of the alleyways and had gone to check on them, seeing a blonde middle school boy being caught up in the sludge of the villain he had captured, before losing him mid-flight while trying not to let the green-haired boy fall to his death. He had reached his time limit way before, so he was unable to act on it.

Toshinori had thought the situation was hopeless, until he saw someone rushing forward. Yellow bag across his shoulders, red sneakers under his black gakuran. Even though the boy had been told minutes prior that he could not be a hero, he had done what no Pro had tried, and rushed to the scene to save his friend.

'You were the young boy caught in the sludge accident,' Toshinori says, sudden realization dawning in on him. Katsuki nods. Toshinori could beat himself over the head for not realizing that before today.

'Why?' Katsuki asked. Toshinori looked up. 'Why what?' he asked in surprise. 'Why would he send you this letter? Why does he blame you?'

Toshinori looked away. He hadn't told anyone about the encounter, thought that this one incident wouldn't matter this much, but in fact it had been eating away at him ever since. That heartbroken stinging feeling in his chest that he felt ever since reading that letter… it had never gone away.

Dear All Might,

First of all I'd like to thank you for making my world so much brighter
Since the first time I saw you, I adored you
You were my biggest inspiration, my beacon of hope when I felt down
Even though everybody always told me I could never be a hero, I believed I could
Because of you
But after you talked to me, I realized I could never be a hero
If you didn't believe in me, then who was I to try to prove you wrong?
Because of that I'd like to thank you
Thank you for making me realize that this life isn't meant for me
You have always been my hero, and always will
But after today, I'll no longer be there for you
Maybe in my next life, I will have a Quirk, and I can become a hero
Until then

Izuku Midoriya

Even though not said in those words, Toshinori had known that this was a suicide note, and knew exactly who it was from. Only once in his entire life had he told somebody they couldn't become a hero, and he regretted it immensely.

'I told him he couldn't be a hero,' Toshinori admits. Katsuki looks up, expression oddly mellow for the situation. 'Why would you tell someone that?' Katsuki asks in disbelief. 'If you have ever met him, you would know how much that meant to him!'

Toshinori looks down, guilt washing over him. He did know how much that meant to the boy, Midoriya, it was easy to see in his eyes. 'I..,' Toshinori starts. 'I wanted to tell him he could be a hero. After that sludge incident.' Katsuki is staring at him, nostrils flared. What kind of idiot idol would tell his fans that they couldn't become something!?

'I wanted to..' Toshinori thinks about his words for a moment, sighs, and then decides it's no use anyways to keep this hidden. 'I wanted to give him a second chance.'

Katsuki balls his hands up to stop them from exploding. 'What the fuck does that mean?'

'My Quirk is transferrable. My power is dwindling quickly, hence why I have this form, and I needed a successor. I didn't think Midoriya was strong enough to withstand it, so I told him he wasn't fit to become a hero, but after seeing how he reacted towards you and that sludge villain, I deemed him worthy enough.'

Katsuki grits his teeth. 'But then it was already too late.' Toshinori looks at his hands. 'I didn't think my words would have such an impact on him.'

'You're his fucking favorite idol in the entire fucking world and you think it wouldn't have such an impact on him!? You just told me that you knew how much it meant to him! If you had told him earlier he would've been alive!'

'Please calm down,' Toshinori says. 'You must understand that I feel awful about all of this.'

'Oh yeah, of course you feel fucking awful. I was his best friend for years and I lost him because of a mistake you made!' Katsuki knew that wasn't true, but his anger was overtaking him. He had been carrying all the blame for the past freaking year and now he discovered something like this? It filled him with an inexplicable despair.

Toshinori did in fact feel terrible about the fact one of his fans had committed suicide because of something he had said. It's the reason he kept the letter on his desk, as a reminder of the past. Those who do not learn from their mistakes, are doomed to repeat them.

Truth is, on that rooftop, he had seen such determination that it had scared him. It is why he had said no. It filled him with regret thinking about it, knowing that such a great treasure of their generation had been lost.

Toshinori got to his feet, and then bowed down, startling Katsuki. 'There is nothing I can say to express my condolences and regret for this situation, but I hope you can understand that I share your pain.'

Katsuki clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, whatever.'

Toshinori stood back up as Katsuki handed the letter back to him. He would never be able to experience the same pain as Katsuki, and it annoyed Katsuki that he had tried to make it sound that he did.

Too agitated to talk about this further for now, Katsuki turned around and started to walk away. Before closing the door behind him, he looked back. 'You once said that you always save those within reach. He was within reach, and you didn't save him. I'll never forget that.'

As Katsuki slammed the door shut, Toshinori was left with a stone in his gut and a lifetime supply of guilt and regret.

'Hey, Katsuki!' Ejiro beamed as Katsuki left the school building. 'That took quite a while,' he chuckles. Katsuki glares at him, and then, having the decency to not unnecessarily divert his anger, he stared ahead again.

'Katsuki?' Ejiro asks, worry filling his voice. He slowly reaches out, but one glance at his friend told him that touching was a dangerous territory. 'Everything okay? What did you talk about with him?'

Katsuki's strides are becoming larger and Ejiro practically has to jog to keep up. 'Katsuki?' Panic flares in Ejiro's chest.

'Katsuki, talk to me,' he demands, lurching out for Katsuki's wrist even though he can see his tensed up shoulders. When turning him around, he can see that Katsuki is biting down on his lip and his eyes are misty as he frowns. His hands are trembling as they produce tiny sparks, a sign that Katsuki has become so angry he can't even control his Quirk anymore.

'Katsuki, what the hell did you two talk about in there?' Katsuki shakes his head. He doesn't want to talk about it. Not now. Maybe not ever. He's too overwhelmed at the moment. Ejiro notices a vein on the side of Katsuki's head that's pulsing and decides to let go of his friend's wrist for self-preservation.

In the spur of the moment, Katsuki lurches forward, his arms around Ejiro's body, gripping into his uniform. He nuzzles his head into Ejiro's shoulder as he awkwardly wraps his arms around Katsuki as well.

It doesn't take long before Ejiro can feel Katsuki shaking underneath his grip, but he doesn't make a sound. Ejiro tightens his grip a little, rubbing Katsuki's back soothingly as he lets his friend have this moment.

After a moment Katsuki pulls back, wiping away the tears with such force that to Ejiro it looks like he wants to erase every trace of them ever having existed. Katsuki starts walking. It takes a moment for Ejiro's brain to kick in gear and follow.

'Are you okay?' he dares to ask. Katsuki looks at him, brow furrowed, but his eyes are still red and puffy, so they don't carry the same rough expression as before. 'No. I'm not.'

'Do you want to talk about it?' Ejiro expects a "no", but instead, Katsuki nods.

'Go to your place?' Ejiro asks. Katsuki nods again.

They turn the corner towards the train station. They remain silent for the rest of the trip. Even though Ejiro feels the urge to talk already, he knows that Katsuki needs to wait. So he'll wait, as long as he needs, until Katsuki feels comfortable enough to tell him.