Izuku smiled to himself as he and Katsuki headed back towards home. With All Might showing up to help the clean up, neither of them were needed to stick around as the heroes and police on the scene figured out how to report what had happened. That was alright with him. He had been a Hero again, and All Might had been pleased with him. This was a good day.

Halfway to home, however, he was startled as Katsuki placed his hand on his shoulder, gripping firmly as his arm shook. "...Izuku..." he managed to get out quietly. "H...how...?"

Izuku turned to his friend in confusion. "Kaachan?" he asked curiously. "What's wrong?"

"I...I killed you..."

Izuku blinked in surprise at that assertion. "The explosion?" he asked uncertainly. "But I recovered. I'm uninjured. I'm not dead-"

"Not today!" Katsuki interrupted intensely, his voice somehow forceful despite sounding like he was choking on his words. "Back...back before your Quirk...I..."

Izuku's smile faded. Katsuki remembered. They weren't supposed to remember. That would distress everyone, and that was not Being a Good Boy For Mom. At the same time, he couldn't simply act to fix this. That would involve using his Quirk on Kaachan, and doing that without permission was not the path of Being a Great Hero Like All Might. His thoughts were stalled, shifting back and forth between the two hardcoded aspects of his being.

"I set off an explosion in your face...and you were dead..." Katsuki gasped out, his eyes closed as he struggled to hold back...something. "Bits of your head scattered all over...and you were still smiling...but you were dead...I killed you..."

Emerald and Scarlet lines of light shot back and forth through Izuku's eyes as his mind - and more than his mind - sought to determine how to handle this situation outside what he was meant to do. Eventually, only one conclusion was left: being true to himself. "...yes," he stated finally, his voice completely neutral. "You did."

Katsuki's hand jerked back as his eyes opened wide, staring at Izuku in a mix of horror and despair. "But then...how...?" He gestured towards Izuku.

"I got better," Izuku allowed simply. "I got my Quirk. And now I am Very Fine."

Katsuki brought his hands to his head, plainly struggling to handle this. "And...that's it?" he demanded, a bit of anger giving strength to his voice. "You forgive me for killing you...just like that?"

"You didn't mean to," Izuku pointed out plainly. "And you are my friend."

"And why didn't I remember?" Katsuki demanded angrily. "Why doesn't anyone remember?"

"Dad did something," Izuku offered uncertainly. "After he did, no one else remembered. Remembering would have distressed Mom, so I pretended not to."

Katsuki stared at Izuku in disbelief for a time before sighing and letting his arms hang. "Yeah...that's you all over..." he allowed ruefully. "Gods, how am I supposed to live with this now?"

"...you don't have to."

Katsuki's head jerked up as he narrowed his eyes at Izuku. "The hell is that supposed to mean?" he demanded, his tone between angry and defensive.

"Mother of Invention," Izuku pointed out, reminding Katsuki of what they'd discussed of his own Quirk. "Any one power that can deal with a given situation. I could make you forget completely...not even have the vague recollection that caused your Hikite."

Katsuki blinked in surprise. "...just like that?" he asked in surprise. "You'd just...wave your hand and I'd live like it had never happened?"

Izuku tilted his head in thought. "I think it'll involve more than waving my hand...but yes."

"And...you'd be okay with that?" Katsuki asked quietly. "Being the only one that remembered that you died...because of me?"

Izuku shrugged. "I've been living like that for nearly a decade. The only change would you being yourself from before."

Katsuki frowned at that assertion...and eventually shook his head. "No," he stated firmly.

"No?" Izuku asked in surprise.

"No, I don't want to forget," Katsuki asserted, clenching his fists. "I...I need this. That hesitation I've had...it's the only thing that's been holding me back from using my Quirk on other people to get my way, the only thing curbing my aggression! Without that...I don't even want to think about the kind of person I would have wound up becoming...or how I would have treated you." He straightened up, looking Izuku right in the eye. "It's gonna be rough living with this...but I need that reality check of just how dangerous, how lethal I can be...so it doesn't happen again." He glanced down at his hands, then looked up at Izuku with a sardonic smirk and a rueful chuckle. "Heh, at least this way the lesson comes without permanent consequences, right? Just like always...you're keeping me on track."

Izuku smiled widely. "Yes!" he agreed wholeheartedly. "You want to be Number One like All Might, after all, not like Endeavor."

Katsuki snorted in amusement. "To think I used to think that guy was impressive. Hell, if not for you, I'd have probably wound up just like him..." Katsuki's eyes suddenly widened. "Fuck! With how you idolize All Might to the exclusion of all else, you'd have probably followed his example in Pro-Heroics, and I'd have wound up forever Number Two to your Number One just like Endeavor is to All Might! That would have seriously fucked me up mentally!"

Izuku laughed gaily. "You're the one who wants to be Number One, Kaachan!"

"Then lets make sure I'm the right sort for the job, huh?"

While the issue wasn't fixed, it was resolved, and the two friends made their way home filled with thoughts of the future.


Nezu looked over his desk thoughtfully, staring at a shirtless Toshinori Yagi in curiosity. "Toshinori," he began thoughtfully, "do you think you can explain this?"

"Uh...what, exactly?" Toshinori asked uncertainly, idly rubbing at his now unblemished side.

"Well, the most pertinent explanation I need is why Chiyo dragged you in here shirtless, babbled nonsensically for several minutes, hyperventilated, and then fainted," Nezu pointed out, looking down at where Recovery Girl was in - hopefully blissful - unconsciousness. "Her Quirk doesn't work on herself, after all, and at her age I'm somewhat concerned for her cardiac health."

"Well, I came in for my checkup after doing Hero work today, and she told me to stop flexing so she could look me over," Toshinori explained awkwardly. "I told her I wasn't, and had to take off my shirt to convince her, and..."

"And she saw that your wound was gone, you were fully healed, and somehow gained greater than 100 pounds in muscle and a healthy fat layer on your 'small' form since your checkup this morning?" Nezu pressed with a lifted eyebrow. "Is that why she dragged you here shirtless and passed out?"

"I guess so," Toshinori allowed, rubbing the back of his head.

"So how did it happen?" Nezu asked curiously. "I must admit, it is quite reassuring to see you in such fine health." He chuckled softly. "I imagine if Nemuri were here, she'd comment that you were looking very fine inde-"

"No!" Toshinori suddenly insisted. "I am not Very Fine. Just...Fine." He blinked in surprise before rubbing his chin. "Huh, guess I picked that up from Young Midoriya...but given what he said about his Quirk, it's an important distinction to stick to..." His voice trailed off as he noticed an unusual silence in the office. "...Principal Nezu?"

Nezu was staring at him, his smile somewhat dropped...but his eyes were unseeing. "Fine...not Very Fine..." he mumbled under his breath before shaking his head. "Sorry about that," he allowed, his smile returned but not quite reaching his eyes. "Some...unsettling memories that brought back. So it was a Midoriya that treated you?" He glanced at some nearby paperwork. "That wouldn't happen to be Izuku Midoriya, Quirk 'God Have Mercy', who is applying to our school the coming term?"

Toshinori perked up in surprise. "Yes, that's him! Quite the impressive Quirk, I must admit...and yet not nearly as impressive as the young man who has it. He's already managed to be quite Heroic without breaking any Quirk laws, and yet he was still concerned if he had it in him to be a Great Pro-Hero like me." He chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed his nose with one finger. "He really looks up to me. I'm genuinely looking forward to teaching him, and seeing what happens once he meets others who can keep up with him."

"Assuming they can," Nezu mumbled under his breath thoughtfully. "So how did he manage to heal you with his Quirk?" Looking further in the file, he chuckled. "He seems to have deduced quite a bit about his Quirk so far. He sent an entire book in on his application form almost."

"Oh, he included what he put in his journal?" All Might asked in surprise. "Then you should look under the section he titled 'Some Assembly Required'. Based on how that part of his Quirk works, he made me Fine."

Nezu's smile faded somewhat at that assertion...and vanished completely as he saw the page in question. "...I see..." he murmured thoughtfully. "...do you wonder how Fine he could have made you before you were Very Fine?"

All Might actually shuddered. "I really don't want to think about that. He was pretty insistent that using that part of his Quirk to make someone or something 'Very Fine' could be exceptionally dangerous. He seemed confused about how he was still himself...despite being Very Fine..."

Nezu's eyebrow rose. "Is that so...?" he mused thoughtfully. "I admit...it's not something I need to wonder..." He idly rubbed at his arms with his paw-like hands. "So Izuku will be joining us this term...I wonder what sort of attention that will draw..." He chuckled softly. "I'm sure it will catch the eye of a certain...Bright individual." He rubbed his hands together. "I'd love having the excuse to...renew that acquaintance..." His laugh briefly shifted towards the more maniacal as Toshinori backed up nervously.