Izuku let out a sigh of exhaustion as he finished filling yet another page with notes. Three more notebooks sat beside him, all labeled "ENGLISH NOTES". Two months had passed since Izuku had been accepted into the Phoenix Institute, and he'd been indescribably busy ever since.

All Might had spent all of March helping him practice with One For All, before he had to go teach at U.A (He'd told Izuku he didn't really want to anymore, since he had no successor to train there, but his contract required him to teach for at least a year). After he'd graduated from Aldera, most of his day was spent exercising and training, while most of his night was spent cramming as much knowledge of English into his skull as he could.

Fortunately, he did have a bit of a head start, having picked up a few English words while studying videos of All Might's early career in America, but he still had a lot to learn, and only a few months left to do it. Fortunately, his mother was more than happy to pitch in where she could, quizzing him once a week and making sure he didn't overwork himself.

As he finished copying another sentence in his notes, he heard a notification go off on his phone. Grabbing it and turning the screen on, he saw a headline for a news article: "U.A. Attacked!". Immediately forgetting his studies, he hurriedly opened up his phone to the news site.

"Earlier today, U.A. High School's prestigious reputation was called into question when the school's Unforseen Simulation Joint, a facility designed to simulate various rescue conditions, was assaulted by a horde of villains who managed to infiltrate the school through the use of a teleportation Quirk. Various Heroes were on the scene, and managed to quell the invasion with minimal student casualties, although the same could not be said for faculty…"

Not needing to read any more, Izuku quickly went to his contacts and called All Might. He was biting his lips the entire time it was ringing. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he heard his mentor's voice. "Hello?"

"All Might! Are you alright?! I just read the article! What happened?!" Izuku was talking a mile a minute, though keeping his voice low so his mom wouldn't hear.

"Easy, young Midoriya. I'm fine. I just got a little bit banged up in that fight. Nothing I haven't powered through before." the number one replied with a small chuckle at the end. Midoriya relaxed somewhat at this, before letting out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, if only you had your full power, this-"

"Stop." The boy was interrupted by the voice on his phone. "I know what you're about to say, and let me stop you right there. You're right, that fight probably would have been easier if I had my full power. But there's no point in worrying about what could have been. We beat the villain, the students are alright, and our injuries are treatable. That's all that matters."

"But, All Might,..." Izuku began before he was cut off once again.

"Listen to me. I trained you for an entire year, young Midoriya. I had all that time to consider if giving you One For All was the right choice. Not once did those thoughts cross my mind. I'll admit that I'm far from the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I know for a fact that giving you that Quirk was the right choice. Not just for you, but for me as well."

"Even if I still had my Quirk, my time in the spotlight is waning. I'm not immortal, young Midoriya. Sooner or later, it'll be time for the next generation of heroes to step up to the plate. That's why I gave you One For All, so you could be there for the people when I won't be able to."

Izuku couldn't help but bite his lips as he listened to what All Might was saying. The thought of a world without the Symbol of Peace was enough to send his stomach spiraling. "Don't worry about me, young Midoriya. I know that might sound hard for you, but it's what's best for you. One For All is your chisel now, and it's time for you to carve your OWN statue. Alright?"

Midoriya took a moment to compose himself, allowing his mentor's words to sink in. He knew he was right, but still… "Alright." he said with a sigh. His breathing was still a bit shaky, but he did feel somewhat better.

"Alright, kid. Listen, I gotta go. Got a lot of stuff to take care of. We'll talk more later, ok?"

"Alright. Bye, All Might."

"Bye, Young Midoriya." And with that, the line disconnected. Izuku set his phone down and his head fell into his hands. He knew that this would happen at some point, but it was still a bit much to take in. He steeled himself quickly, however. If All Might didn't have much time left, then that just meant he had to master One For All as quickly as possible. With that, he returned to his studies.

(NARITA AIRPORT, AUGUST 2ND)

The rest of the months after that flew by in a flash. The last couple of weeks were spent gathering necessities for the trip, and supplies for school (most of which ended up being more living supplies than school supplies). Finally, it was time for Izuku to leave for America. Toshinori offered to drive them all to the airport.

"Are you sure you're gonna be alright, Izuku? I know we've done a lot of preparation, but…" Inko groaned as the trio stood at the entrance. Izuku flashed her his trademark smile with a chuckle.

"I'll be fine, Mom, I promise. Like you said, we've already done everything we can. I've got everything I could possibly need." he assured her.

"Oh, I know. I just hope we didn't forget anything." Inko said, biting her lips as Toshinori placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure whatever it is, young Midoriya will find a way to work around. After all, he certainly didn't have any trouble working around my training regiment." the man half-joked, glaring at Izuku at that last part. Izuku, for his part, simply chuckled with a slight blush on his face. The Midoriyas stood silently for a few moments, before embracing in a warm hug.

"Good luck, Izuku. I know you'll do great." Inko whispered as tears started to form in her eyes. As if on instinct, Izuku started tearing up as well. The two cried together for what felt like several minutes, though it probably wasn't anywhere near that long. Even Toshinori was starting to feel tears in his eyes.

The man balled his fists up in an attempt to control himself. Finally, Izuku pulled himself away from his mother, both of their eyes still flowing. "It's time for me to go, Mom. I'll be back by Christmas. I promise."

Inko let out a sniffle as she wiped her tears. "I know you will, sweetie. Um, before you do go, there is one more thing I wanna give you." she said as she rummaged around in her purse, pulling out a folded piece to give to Izuku. "It's my special katsudon recipe. I was planning to give this to you at your wedding, like my mom did to me. But, I figured it would be something nice you could make for your friends at school."

Izuku tucked the paper away in his pants pocket, giving the two adults a nod. "Alright, kid. Go knock 'em dead." said Toshinori as the two boys hugged. Izuku then proceeded to give his mother one last hug.

"Go get 'em, sweetie. Show them what you're made of." With a nod and a smile, Izuku grabbed his suitcase, and departed into the airport, his mother and mentor watching him go. As Toshinori watched his successor leave, however, a sour expression slowly formed on his face. "I wonder if I should have told him. He needs to know, right?" He shook his head in denial. "No. He needs to be able to focus on his training without a shadow looming over him." Toshinori and Inko left the airport after that.