He watched the sky, haphazardly recording their quirks.

The people below, on the shore and in the water had cheered on the aerial game that had just been unveiled by the prefecture's event organizers. The crowd roared with excitement as they saw others among them take off for the skies. He smiled, watching the way they swooped through the clouds and soared above the land.

He was almost mesmerized.

Almost.

It was an odd feeling, observing everyone else use their quirks like this, knowing that he was only here as a spectator. It was a feeling he had been familiar with for over half his life but now it felt different somehow, more intense. Perhaps… perhaps he was just finally able to see the world in a new light now that he could experience it as they did.

That was a lie.

He would never experience it as they would.

He sighed softly, glancing around him at the other spectators watching as well before looking away, further down the beachfront. Some people were sitting back in their chairs on the beach while others were huddled together in the water; his eyes fell upon the latter. A number of them were under the water, and seemed content to stay there, only rarely breaching the surface of the ocean. One in particular caught his attention. He stared in curiosity, watching how the person moved. They seemed almost inhumanely graceful, the way they twisted and turned between the waves and the ocean currents far faster than any normal human could.

His eyes followed them for a short time longer before he turned away, gazing out into the distance again. Izuku resolved to watch them later, if they showed again the next time the prefecture hosted a public event. His eyes drifted, unfocused, back towards the sky.

There was a sort of peace about being able to leave everything behind, just for a little bit.

He hadn't been quite sure what he felt when walking out of his home today, but he knew he couldn't leave without saying goodbye to it at least one last time. And he had nothing else to do anyway. So why not? As long as Izuku told his mentor where he'd be, there would be no problem with it. In fact, he was even dropped off (literally) earlier this morning.

His mentor was in a rush today.

And so, when Izuku was done with his short visit, he'd made his way to one of their old training grounds afterward as requested. The symbolism wasn't lost on him.

After all, today was another new start.

Today, he'd be moving into the U.A. dormitories and leaving his small apartment. There wasn't anything wrong with that per se, but he had always preferred being somewhere he knew and could call his own, something where he didn't have to worry about being seen or recognized, like his mentor. Even if, he admitted, even if he rarely actually lived and slept in the building considering he was still a minor and couldn't live on his own.

His mentor was rather insistent on that, no matter what Izuku said.

And… besides it wasn't anything special, not really, nothing too special anyway; but that small place meant too much to him, especially after—…. the incident in the Kamino Reclamation Ward, among others. He wasn't sure he'd ever come to terms for that one in particular.

Maybe things would've turned out differently if Izuku had kept his mouth shut, if he hadn't been so obsessed with his idol and pleaded with his mother to stay and watch the fight. If he hadn't been such a fanboy, the guilt nagged at his conscious. He could've prevented it; prevented so many things that had gone horribly wrong—and right, another part of himself quietly thought.

It was a bittersweet feeling, he decided.

That same sense of peace he'd found moments ago was tainted, now tarnished by guilt and grief.

Izuku shook those thoughts from his mind as he put both pen and notebook down. He realized his train of thought had gotten too deep, and he'd zoned out. That was enough introspection for today.

He exhaled slowly once more as a breeze passed by him, lifting and pulling back at the hood of his loose sweater. Quickly tugging down on it, he covered his head once more, shivering slightly despite the relatively warm weather. He glanced across the sand, ensuring no one had seen his face before turning back to face the sky.

Privacy was rare nowadays, after Izuku had started going on patrols with his mentor. When his impromptu debut as a sidekick began, he wasn't quite as savvy to the stalker-like behavior of some journalist and had been caught unawares once or twice… okay, maybe a bit more than that. To say his mentor had been displeased was putting it lightly.

He winced. Toshinori had been livid when Izuku's face began showing up all over social media and the news one morning. Izuku, however, much less so: he could understand their reaction after all. It wasn't every day somebody was trained by and worked alongside the Symbol of Peace.

It didn't stop All Might from taking him aside after the fact and lecturing him about it though.

Izuku had been called to the office that day and given a rather stern talking to by his mentor before being dismissed for the day. Later in the afternoon, Yagi had sat him down, hands clasped tightly atop the desk, and gave him a very thorough rundown of how to handle the media and publicity as All Might's sidekick.

The next day, he went on a routine patrol with All Might and the second incident occurred.

That was when the media got a hold of his name. In his defense, Izuku hadn't meant to let it slip; he had just been a little too excited to run into the current number ten Pro Hero, Gang Orca! And well, he couldn't help but introduce himself as he asked for Gang Orca's autograph.

It would've been rude otherwise!

He hadn't been allowed to leave Might Tower for a full week after that.

Which Izuku understood, of course. He'd learned his lesson, or so he thought.

The reporters were relentless after that, asking a lot of questions about him and his heroics during his patrols. Most of it Izuku answered honestly, the heroics at least. He avoided commenting on anything too personal. Then the third incident occurred. Izuku had been running on fumes by then. Being forced to deal with reporters, journalists, and the paparazzi in general had exhausted him mentally and emotionally. And… he may have implied tha—Oh. He was doing it again.

Izuku groaned, sometimes he could get too caught up in his thoughts.

Maybe he should try and work on that. But for now, he decided to focus on the moment, enjoying the warmth of the sand that surrounded him. Eventually, his gaze shifted to the side, looking over the horizon. Izuku wondered if All Might was on his way yet, he was getting bor—GAH!

He was surprised to find someone standing there staring intently at him. They blinked. He blinked. She blinked. He blinked. Red eyes met green.

"… I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh." Izuku blinked, surprised, "Uh… you're…" He trailed off, unsure of what to say. A girl.He was talking to a girl! A very pretty one at that, his mind unhelpfully supplied. Izuku flushed and looked away, scratching the back of his neck shyly, embarrassed. "Sorry, I—" He cleared his throat awkwardly before trying again. "… sorry, but is there something I can help you with...?" He trailed off, waiting for a response.

"Can I get my ball back?" The stranger pointed to Izuku's side, "it landed by you few minutes ago but you seemed kinda out of it."

What?

Izuku glanced down and saw the ball was lying there. Right there beside him, near the edge of his foot.

"Y-yeah." He smiled nervously. "Ah, right! Um—sorry, yes, of course. I'll just grab it and you can go." He reached down to grab it as the girl nodded, holding out her hand. "Uh! N-not that I mean you have to… er, not t-that I'm trying to keep you here or anything," he quickly added, "I just—"

"It's fine," the girl interrupted, cutting off Izuku's rambling. "Don't worry about it." Her voice was soft, calm, and Izuku relaxed somewhat in relief. She was pleasant to listen to, he noted, before freezing at the thought. Izuku blushed. "Are you gonna give me my ball back, or…" She tilted her head to the side questioningly.

Oh god, why was it suddenly so hard to think straight? "R—right… uh…of c–course. " Izuku stammered as his cheeks began to turn red from embarrassment. She probably thought he was an idiot—

"… just… the ball, take it p-please." He took a deep breath before nodding to himself, grabbing the ball and handing it to her.

She gave him a confused look, before grabbing it. The two stood there awkwardly for a couple of minutes, neither one saying anything. Finally, the girl spoke up first, a strange look on her face. "Um… thanks. For… y'know." She raised her arm, waving, and stepped back. Her expression remained unchanged, however. Not quite a smile, not quite a scowl either. "I should probably… um… bye. Yeah." She looked back towards him, then turned around to head back the way she'd come without another word.

"G-g-goodbye!" He managed to squeak out before she was gone.

Izuku sighed loudly soon afterward, shaking his head. "Idiot, idiot, idiot." He muttered under his breath as he buried his face in his hands, his head dropping down in defeat. Why did he do that!?His mind raced, unable to decide on an answer. Izuku paused mid thought before he huffed exasperatedly, deciding it might be better for his sanity if he just forgot about it.

Maybe he'd see her agai—no!

No thinking about it. No thinking about it ever again. Forget it. He shook his head and pulled out his phone, checking to see if All Might had messaged him; Izuku was pretty sure they were late to their appointment with U.A.'s principal.

The screen lit up, displaying the same message they'd sent earlier. He stared at it blankly for a second, there was nothing new.

Huh. Weird.

Izuku shrugged and pocketed the phone, replacing it once more with his pencil and notebook. His eyes scanned his surroundings idly, observing the scenery and the people, writing down notes on any quirks of interest.

After what seemed like forever, Izuku felt his body begin to ache. He sighed softly in annoyance as he rubbed the back of his head, shifting his position.

He hummed quietly to himself as he started working his way back through the older notes he'd scribbled down on the pad today, occasionally tapping his pencil against the paper and drawing quick diagrams and sketches to go along with his analyses.

His mind was elsewhere as he worked, lost in thought. It was a habit he'd had for as long he could remember—and he could remember quite a bit—being able to write and maybe even before that. While he knew others might find it disturbing or weird… he found it soothing, or well, he liked to tell himself that it was calming, anyway.

That's what he always said whenever he was asked by anyone about it (mainly teachers, he'd admit).

So, naturally he'd always had his notebooks with him wherever he went as long as he wasn't on patrol—and it was a habit his mentor encouraged. As he sat there and listened to the sound of distant chatter and people walking in the sand past him, Izuku let his pencil drag across the paper in slow, rhythmic motions, his brow slightly furrowed. He frowned at the paper and continued with one particularly troublesome analysis as he thought over his own situation with… his quirk.

It was… odd, actually. The more he thought about it, the harder it became to understand. Sure, most quirks had some sort of backlash, but… to have such strength that you could break every bone in your body using only a fraction of it… it was unheard of. Izuku didn't know what made it happen exactly. It made no sense.

All Might hadn't had this problem.

In fact, he'd said he had been able to use it at its full potential from day one. Maybe it had something to do with the person using it? Or maybe it was whatever was being stockpiled; All Might hadn't been too clear on what was being stockpiled beyond saying it was 'power,' however nebulous of a concept that was.

Let alone the transference aspect of the quirk. How did it happen? What caused it? Could he divide the material in portions and split apart One for All? He had so many questions.

Did other quirks have the same problem? And if there were, what else was out there that Izuku didn't know about?

He frowned to himself, pulling his pencil closer to the page as he scribbled a quick note to himself.

There was something he was missing.

He sighed and leaned forward slightly, feeling frustrated with the fact he had no idea what the answers to those questions were. He closed his eyes, tilting his head backwards as his arms dropped to the ground, resting them loosely beneath the grains of sand underneath. Izuku breathed in slowly, letting his breathing deepen and steady as he focused in thought.

So engrossed was he, he almost missed his train of thought being interrupted by a loud whistling coming from afar, somewhere up and above to his rear. He jumped, startled as a heavy thump sounded out from behind him.

He partially turned his torso around, shifting in the sand and looking ahead to where he heard it come from.

Before he could manage a clear look through the cloud of kicked-up sand to make out what it was, a shadow passed over him suddenly. Izuku looked up, blinking owlishly at the figure that loomed above him. "Ah, I am at the beach..." a voice sounded out. "ENJOYING THE WARM WEATHER LIKE A NORMAL CITIZEN."

The person wiped some of the sand off of their face before glancing in the direction of the commotion ahead. they quickly frowned, then tilted their head up and smiled as the people on the beach began cheering excitedly at his sudden appearance.

Izuku blinked twice before he realized what he was seeing—vivid green eyes met with All Might's powerful gaze.

"Young Midoriya… I AM HERE!"

All Might grinned up at him, giving him a thumbs up as he spoke.

Izuku raised his hand and waved slightly in acknowledgment, sporting a small smile as All Might walked forward.

He scooted aside, allowing All Might room to walk slightly past him before he took place on the sandy beach beside him. All Might took a seat, pulling himself forward onto the ground before leaning back and stretching his legs out. Izuku followed suit, laying back as he watched the sky. After a few moments passed, his mentor rose, coming to tower above Izuku.

A hand clasped down on his shoulder. He closed his eyes, relishing in the moment.

"Are you ready?"

Izuku nodded quietly, assuaging his mentor's quiet concern and rising to his feet. "Yeah, I am. Let's do this."

All Might smiled warmly at him, shifting his large hand to rest atop his head. "Good, we don't want to get held up, do we?"

The pair began walking down the boardwalk leading toward the stairs along the seawall. They stepped past the sign announcing their location: Dagobah Municipal Beach Park.

"No, not really. But it's not like we aren't late already."

"Well…" All Might grinned cheekily. "JUSTICE WAITS FOR NO MAN… er, dog, bear… mouse… thing…" he finished lamely, coughing at the end.

"Right." Izuku rolled his eyes and lightly pushed at All Might's side—he didn't budge an inch!as they made their way down the boardwalk. He chuckled softly at the man's response, taking a moment to stash away his notebook and pencil before taking hold of his backpack straps once more. "Still, we better hurry, I guess. We still have to unpack our rooms too and I'd rather not spend all night doing that."

All Might laughed heartily. "YES, THAT'S THE SPIRIT YOUNG MIDORIYA! LETS. GET. GOOOOING!" All Might leapt forward in a blur of red, white, blue and gold. Izuku followed in his wake, jumping onto the sand and running alongside him, attempting to catch up. With one last wave goodbye to his fans, his mentor took off, leaping beyond the sea wall with ease. Izuku followed closely behind, jumping easily across to land next to All Might.

The Symbol of Peace glanced down at him. "Ready?"

Izuku nodded firmly.

"AND NOW AWAY WE GO!"All Might shouted, taking off with a sudden burst of extreme speed, blowing the wind around where he once stood and causing a large boom to echo throughout the area as he launched himself away through the air, followed by his quickly fading shout of "PLUS ULTRAAAAAAAA!"

Izuku let his smile slip as the wind blew in his face before he began chasing after him. He followed closely behind, keeping pace and watching as All Might leapt from building to building with practiced grace and agility, studying him. Analyzing him carefully. Observing his movements. Watching everything.

His thoughts shifted and swirled as he ran with All Might, a question on the tip of his tongue that he bit back. Instead, he continued to observe—his focus never faltering. His eyes remained trained on All Might as he soared through the sky, flying higher and faster with each leap he made. The distance between the two was steadily increasing as All Might pushed Izuku to further heights, challenging him to keep up.

So many things about All Might made it hard to accept how different his childhood idol really was from the real thing.

But he kept those thoughts to himself as well.

For now, it would be enough to observe. It was better to watch from the sidelines, wait until you knew enough to not make a complete fool of yourself, or so his dad had once told him.

So Izuku would watch. Wait. Gather his courage and refine his knowledge.

Only then could he become the greatest hero the world had ever seen.

One worthy of living up to the title of "All Might's Successor."


Hello!

IT IS I, THE AUTHOR!

Be sure to review; thoughts, concerns, critique, questions? I'll read and appreciate them all!

To be honest, there were a number of updates and other stories supposed to be released before this one, but I couldn't say no to the sudden need to write this. Inspiration comes and goes, and you must use it while you have a hold of it. Now, to reassure some of you: THIS IS AN A.U., keep that in mind as we go forward with the story; things may not make sense at the moment as we're still only in the beginning. You may see familiar faces in different places, or even not at all. Keep your eyes sharp and your head on a swivel!

Also, unfortunately FFN broke some of the formatting for the story, so let me know if you spot anything odd. Thanks in advance!

Beta'd by: Ilikewaffles