Chapter Two:
Imagine that you're Izuku Midoriya. A supervillain just threatened to turn your mother into a living corpse and then send her to kill you if you don't pass the admission exam to the greatest—and most difficult—hero school in Japan. In your mind there are two options: You get into U.A. Or you burn down the school so a madman has no justification to kill your mother.
Izuku showed up at U.A. wearing his thickest winter coat. It clanked with what he'd sewn into the inside lining. His pockets were stuffed. More had been sewn into his pants. His scarf provided another hiding place. He clanked as he walked.
He also had a box of matches in his shoes. As a back-up.
"Hey, nerd!" a familiar voice shouted. Katsuki Bakugo ran forward and dragged Izuku into an affectionate headlock. "Where have you been the past couple weeks? I was starting to get worried that you chickened out and planned to skip the exam." Izuku knew Katsuki well enough to recognize the note of concern behind the caustic tone.
"Careful, Kacchan," Izuku said, squirming. His scarf made a ringing sound.
Katsuki let go with a frown. "Shit, what's with the coat? It's hot out, doofus. You'll overheat and pass out before the exam. Wait, are you sick? Is that why you dropped off the radar?"
"Yes, I'm sick." Izuku seized on the excuse to explain his pallor and the bags under his eyes. "But you know I couldn't miss the big U.A. Entrance Exam. We made a promise, after all."
"Dammit, you should have said something. The hag would have sent you chicken noodle soup or some other nourishing shit."
"I didn't want my mom to find out. She went to America to look after my dad after he fell seriously ill." That was the official story to explain Inko's disappearance. Izuku didn't know how All for One had arranged it. He didn't know what had actually happened to his father and didn't care.
Katsuki scowled. "You'd better not fail the exam. If you're not around, I won't have any competition. It will be boring if it's too easy for me to become number one."
This was Katsuki's very special way of saying that he cared. Izuku smiled, his first real smile since his mother had been kidnapped. "I'm feeling much better. I won't let all the training we did together go to waste."
"That's the fucking spirit!" Katsuki slapped Izuku on the back. "Ow. Do you have armor under there?"
"I'm not giving anything away to the competition, Kacchan."
"A goodie-two shoes like you wouldn't cheat." Katsuki's raised eyebrow doubted his own statement.
Izuku winked. "It's legal. I checked the rules carefully. I need an ace in the hole because of my…sickness."
Katsuki snorted. "I shouldn't have worried about you. I should be more worried about everyone else. I hope we're at the same test site. I want to see this." He slapped Izuku on the back again out of contrariness, then walked away.
Izuku had a strange friendship with Katsuki. They'd been childhood friends, but Katsuki had turned into a jerk after his powerful quirk first came in. Izuku had stood up to him when he'd bullied the other kids. At first, Izuku had lost, but he'd gradually gotten stronger. The first time Izuku had beaten Katsuki in a fight, the other boy had flipped out. He'd attacked Izuku like crazy at any excuse. After a largely even record of wins and losses, Katsuki had declared Izuku to be his rival. Since then, Izuku had been the only person who could calm Katsuki's temper. Katsuki would stick up for Izuku because he claimed no one else was allowed to defeat his rival. By middle school, Izuku had used quirk analysis to lure Katsuki into training together. Although Katsuki kept insisting on calling them rivals, Izuku knew he was the only one the blond boy respected enough to consider a real friend.
Izuku started to follow Katsuki into the building. A huge yawn stretched open his jaw. In his distraction, he tripped on a crack.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Scream cutting off, Izuku floated into the air. He felt dizzy.
"Are you okay?" A girl with a bob asked. She had a wide smile as she lowered him back to the ground. "Sorry for using my quirk on you without permission."
"No, no, you saved me!" Izuku did not like to think of how badly he could have been injured if he'd fallen on what he currently had hidden under his coat. The exam would have been all over. He had to be more careful. Since All for One had shown up, there was way more riding on this exam than his promise to Katsuki to get into U.A. together. "Thank you so much."
"Are you feeling unwell?" she asked. "You look flushed. You must be sweating inside that coat."
Izuku could have normally thought of a million explanations and excuses, but his exhausted mind blanked out. "Uh…" He lunged forward to stop something from slipping out of his scarf.
"I think it's brave of you to show up for the exam while sick. Good luck to both of us!" She left. Maybe she'd decided that he might be contagious or just criminally embarrassing.
As Izuku entered U.A. for the first time, he felt a pang of grief that he was coming here as a traitor, not a future hero. Of course, the thought had crossed Izuku's mind to go to the principal and tell him everything. He didn't doubt heroes would want to save his mother—but he doubted their capability to do so. Furthermore, if All for One had agents among the police then he certainly had been telling the truth about having heroes in his pocket, too. Izuku couldn't risk it. If he did betray All for One, it would need to be after he'd found someone completely trustworthy to tell and with a rescue plan in place.
Also, the simple reality was that Izuku couldn't count on the heroes to care about his mother's life as much as he did. They'd care. But would they care enough to value Inko's life more than the greater good?
Izuku carefully listened to Present Mic's speech on the exam. Every last detail might be important. He wouldn't put it past U.A. to have a secret hidden in the exam.
A boy with glasses stood up and shouted, "You with the curly hair! You've been muttering this whole time. It's distracting. If this is some sort of game to you, then please leave immediately."
Izuku hadn't been able to sleep last night from stress and terror. He'd known that if he didn't sleep, he might be so tired he'd fail the exam, and then his mother would die. But that fear had only made it harder to fall asleep. He'd spent hours staring at the clock watching the red numbers change. His head throbbed and his eyes felt grimy. He was exhausted, terrified, and on his absolute last nerve.
Glaring with a force of hatred that truly was more directed at All for One, Izuku said, "If you want to become a hero, start with trying to be less of a dick."
The glasses boy flushed bright red. He opened his mouth, but Katsuki interrupted with a caustic laugh. "He's got you there, tight-ass!"
"If we may return to the exam," Present Mic said loudly, regaining control of the room.
Izuku tried to concentrate, despite his migraine. He still lost part of the lecture. God, he had to pull himself together. There was a hell of a lot more at stake here than his dream high school. His mother's teary face flashed across his mind. It nearly sent him to tears himself. If he failed, then Inko Midoriya would die, slowly and painfully and alone, with the knowledge that her corpse would be sent to kill her own son.
Oh, yeah, and his dad would die too. That would be sad…for someone, probably. Maybe Hisashi's coworkers would be upset about picking up his work. His side chick in America might mourn him.
Time passed in a blur. Izuku looked around the testing site without quite knowing how he'd gotten here. Impressive, that U.A. could provide a replica of an entire city. What was he doing? This place was far out of reach of an ordinary person with a mediocre quirk like him. He'd never be able to pass this exam. If he did, how long would he last as a spy at the legendary U.A.? What guarantee did he have that his mother would survive even if he did follow orders? He'd tried not to think about this before, but he didn't know what to do after getting into U.A. to ensure that Inko Midoriya lived. His breathing came more rapidly. His chest tightened. Oh, god, was this what it felt like to have a panic attack?
Everyone took off without Izuku even noticing. He looked around. His fellow test candidates were engaged in loud battle with the robots.
Izuku slapped his cheeks. He had no time to cry. His mother's life depended on him. Follow the plan.
The sun beating down on him, Izuku took off his swelteringly hot coat to remove the mirrors inside. Mumbling under his breath and scribbling calculations in his notebook, he found a high building and placed several mirrors below. Luckily the robots were all taller than the students—that made getting the angles right easier. His arms burned and his head ached, but he forced himself to climb up the building. The robots were being taken down. He had limited time. Even so, Izuku carefully did not rush until he'd set up mirrors all around him at just the right angles.
Izuku whipped up his coat and fired his laser at the largest mirror.
Even after years of training and a support belt that his mother had sold her jewelry to buy for him, Izuku could still only fire his naval laser for one second. His body, unsuited for the foreign quirk, suffered severe pain from even such a short use. But one second was all he needed.
The laser bounced off the array of mirrors and fired in fifty different directions at once. The combined light blazed like a supernova, blinding everyone on the battlefield below. For a brief moment, there was confused silence. Then the robots burned and fell.
Noise hit like the thunderclap after lightning. The robots made the largest crashing sounds as they fell, with a lot of high-pitched squeaking from the students getting out of the way. When the dust settled, confused students stared at the piles of scrap metal. Almost every single robot had been vanquished in the space of one second.
Izuku collapsed to his knees, spent. His stomach ached and burned. He'd used up his one shot, and now his body was rejecting his quirk. Moaning, he clutched his midsection. That had to be enough. Surely he must be safely past the minimum number of points. He didn't think anyone at his testing site had gotten as many robots as him.
A giant robot bellowed through the city. Izuku raised his aching head. Wasn't that thing the zero-pointer? Izuku needed to run. He'd already secured his entrance to U.A. There was no point in further fighting. He couldn't afford to become so badly injured that he couldn't attend school. Ignoring the pain in his stomach, he scrambled down the building. All around him, kids were fleeing from the monstrosity.
A soft voice whispered, "Ow."
Izuku made the mistake of looking behind him.
The girl who'd saved him from falling (and breaking all of his mirrors against his soft, vulnerable flesh) lay on the ground with her leg trapped under the rubble. The robot bore down on her.
Izuku did not think. He simply moved.
Leaping forward, he shoved the rock off her leg. Izuku was under no illusion that he could defeat the massive zero-pointer. He'd used all his mirrors. His throbbing stomach told him that summoning his laser again was no longer an option. He only wanted to grab the girl and run.
Izuku lifted the girl up and slung her arm around his shoulder. Then the robot's foot smashed down next to them, shaking the ground and sending them both falling. A stray rock struck Izuku's forehead, drawing blood. His vision blurred.
"Montjoie Saint Denis!" A blond boy shot forward in a blur. He raised his right hand and fired a rocket from the launcher strapped to his arm.
The explosive struck. The zero-pointer reeled. A grappling hook shot from the boy's belt. He ran around the robot, tangling its legs. The zero-pointer fell to the ground. In his stunned shock, Izuku could barely process that he'd been saved.
The blond boy ran over. "Let me help," he said. "You're bleeding."
"Thank you," Izuku said as the blond boy pressed a handkerchief to his forehead. "She's…injured too…"
"I'm fine," the girl said, wide-eyed. "You saved me. You both saved me. Thank you so much."
"De rein," the boy said. "I hope to see you both again at U.A. My name is Yuga Aoyama, and I'm going to become the first quirkless hero." His smile was blindingly bright.
A…quirkless hero? Izuku felt a strange stirring under his chest. Longing, jealousy, and self-hatred blurred together.
If only Izuku had made a different choice when he'd been a kindergartner, could that have been him?
Someone was running forward with a stretcher. The pain in Izuku's stomach and his head finally overtook him. He collapsed.
In the teacher's lounge, the U.A. staff watched the exam. Everyone stared in rapt silence as a green-haired kid wiped nearly every remaining robot out of the city with one laser.
Yamada whistled. "I have to admire his style, but is that legal?"
Nezu said, "The boy asked in advance if mirrors were allowed on the testing site. I thought he meant a single handheld mirror! How fun, that I can still be surprised after so many years teaching." The principal smiled widely. "Given that some of the prospective students from hero families brought their own support gear, I don't think anyone can possibly complain about that boy being allowed his mirrors. Though they will complain anyway. And I will reject their complaints."
"What an ingenious use of a quirk," Aizawa muttered, his fingers playing with his scarf. "I want that kid in my class."
Jokingly, Vlad said, "What a greedy would-be hero! He stole all the robots for himself!"
"The boy clearly has a good heart," Toshinori Yagi insisted. "He risked himself to save that girl." Blue eyes gleamed. "I see something special in both young Midoriya and young Aoyama." The significant glance he exchanged with Nezu went largely unnoticed by the other staff.
Nezu looked over a paper. "The problem will be figuring out how to grade the exam when so few students got any points at all."
Aizawa grumbled, "I'd be fine with a smaller class. Jeez, there's no need for all of you to be so loud when I'm trying to sleep." He zipped up his sleeping bag.
Vlad said, "We're here to examine candidates, not sleep."
"It looks like this year, any candidate who took down even one robot will make the cut." Nezu glanced down at the file of Hitoshi Shinsou. "A few unusual students will get in as a result. Perhaps that will be a good thing. It will be interesting to see what they do with their chance."
At home, Izuku curled up in his bed and pulled the blankets over his head. His phone had a dozen texts from Katsuki, but he couldn't bring himself to look at them. His stomach churned. Recovery Girl had cured his head injury, but he still felt dizzy and ill. For once, he did not think the side-effects of his quirk were the only thing eating into his stomach.
Over and over again, Izuku saw the same smile and heard the same words: I'm going to become the first quirkless hero. If only. If only he'd been able to ever imagine such an option. If only Izuku had taken that path, instead of selling his soul to the devil.
Many images and regrets flashed across Izuku's mind. His mother's teary face as she wept and told him that he could leave her to die, but couldn't quite bring herself to say it when Izuku's own life was at stake. That moment when Izuku had run forward to save the girl with the gravity quirk. What had he been thinking? He hadn't been thinking at all. His body had moved on its own. That was the whole problem. If he'd killed himself saving a stranger, then All for One would have turned his mother into spare parts for his twisted experiments. Izuku had been sent to U.A. in order to betray everyone. He couldn't afford to care about his classmates.
Izuku still did not believe that mindlessly obeying All for One would save his mother in the long run, but in the short run, he had no other way to keep her alive. The police had betrayed him to All for One. He didn't know who he could trust. He had no plan. Until he could come up with a way to save his mother, he would need to act as All for One's spy. He couldn't afford to be a hero who rushed in to save people without thinking. One wrong move would end his mother's life.
From now on, he was no hero. That meant no more saving people. His heroism had nearly gotten his mother killed. Never again.
Izuku's letter from U.A. arrived. Predictably, he'd gotten in. In a fit of insane rage, he ripped the letter to shreds. Ever since he'd been a young child, U.A. had been his dream school. Now he couldn't even be happy, because he'd been sent to spy for a villain.
Izuku staggered to the bathroom and threw up. He kept vomiting until nothing else would come up, then he dry-heaved.
His phone rang. The number was listed as "Uncle."
Izuku wiped his mouth clean, then answered the video call from All for One.
The maimed villain sat in an absurdly throne-like chair. Inko Midoriya stood flanked by two Nomu. She was pale, and she'd clearly lost weight. All for One gestured at her. "Alive and unharmed, as you can see."
Izuku had insisted that he be allowed to call his mother at least once a week. This had been his only bottom line. Without that, All for One could turn Inko into a Nomu and then keep Izuku working for him without him ever knowing.
"Mom? Is he treating you well?" Izuku asked.
Inko raised her eyes off the ground. They were puffy and red. "I'm fine, baby. Don't worry about me."
Izuku did not believe her, but what could he say? "I won't let you die, Mom. I promise."
"Your son has got good chances. He has the scholarly record to keep up at U.A. and a less exciting quirk will help him pass under the radar." All for One spoke distantly, as if grading the performance of someone completely uninvolved with him. "And he had the wits to insist on these calls. I noticed he wasn't interested in calling his father, though."
Inko murmured, "You don't need to worry about Hisashi." Her eyes sought out her son's, trying to pass along a message.
Izuku understood without her saying anything. Since Inko had been willing to tell him to leave her to die, of course his father was an even lower priority. Both of them had let go of any love for that abusive deadbeat a long time ago. Izuku blamed his father a great deal for his current situation.
All for One said, "Your favoritism for your mother is duly noted."
Izuku's jaw clenched. He did not like that All for One had noticed this, but he did not see how he could have avoided it. His father had been less than subtle about ditching his family.
All for One said, "I have your first task. A small one. It will barely require anything of you."
Of course, that was how it would start. All for One would ask Izuku to do small, harmless things. Then, when Izuku was in too deep, he would be asked to hurt people. Even though Izuku saw through the manipulation, he didn't see any way out of it. "What, Sensei?"
All for One smiled. "There's a rumor that All Might will be teaching at U.A. this year." Dark, deadly hatred filled All for One's voice when he spoke the hero's name. Even safely on the other side of a screen, Izuku shivered. He had no doubt that this villain wanted All Might dead. All for One continued, "Confirm or deny the rumor by tomorrow."
Even with the deadline, it was an easy task. The rumor was probably bogus. All Might was far too busy to teach at a high school. Izuku wondered when his tasks would reach the point when he might have to decide between his mother's life or someone else's. He felt sick again. "Understood."
The call ended without Izuku being allowed even one more word with his mother.
Izuku had barely slept before his first day at school. He'd tried to eat breakfast, but his stomach hurt too much. He knew he'd vomit it up if he forced himself.
Katsuki ran to greet Izuku as soon as he entered the door. "It's my favorite nerd!" Another backslap was delivered. "You beat my score by one point." Katsuki's eyes sparkled. "You're a crazy bastard like always. Your trick with the mirrors was fucking awesome. That's why you're my rival." He dragged Izuku's hand up for a high five. "Cheer up! We both got into U.A.! Are your nerves acting up again? You've got nothing to worry about. The two of us are going to dominate this school."
Izuku tried to smile. It felt more like a grimace. "Thanks, Kacchan. I feel better." He didn't. What if All for One asked him to betray secrets that might harm his brightly smiling childhood friend? His dream of attending U.A. with Katsuki had turned to ashes in his mouth. Izuku wished Katsuki had gone to Shiketsu, a school which to his knowledge had yet to fall under the attention of a supervillain.
"Move," a cold voice said. A purple-haired boy stood in the doorway.
"Huh?" Katsuki glared. "Are you talking to me?"
"We're sorry." Izuku shuffled Katsuki out of the way.
"My name is Hitoshi Shinsou. I only got into the hero class because you destroyed so many robots." Hitoshi did not sound grateful. He sounded resentful.
Izuku rubbed his neck. "Sorry?"
Hitoshi grunted as he walked past.
"Ignore him, he's jealous that you have an awesome quirk," Katsuki said rather loudly. "You don't need to let weaklings get close to you."
Izuku could care less about the strange purple-haired boy's problem. He was too busy trying not to throw up the few bites of food he'd forced down in the last twenty-four hours. Katsuki was right about one thing—Izuku couldn't afford to care about other people right now. He went to his desk and put his head down.
"Excuse me." A tall boy stood over him. "My name is Tenya Iida. I commend you for figuring out the secret behind the exam. I hate to admit it, but I misjudged you. You were the superior candidate."
For some reason, these words made Izuku irrationally angry. Not because he'd been offended by what Tenya had said to him on the day of the exam—he had already forgotten compared to all the other stress of that awful day. But because Izuku didn't want to like Tenya. His entire class was full of nothing but people who he would have to decide if he was willing to sacrifice. He already had a risky attachment to Katsuki. Izuku couldn't make friends with anyone else in his class. Not when he knew himself well enough to know they'd quickly become weaknesses.
Coldly, Izuku said, "I don't think I was particularly smart. Maybe you're just an idiot." Then he put his head back down on his desk while Tenya sputtered.
Izuku's heart raced. That hadn't been like him. A part of him wanted to immediately take it back. He needed to kill that part of himself. If he couldn't even bring himself to drive someone away with cold words, then he wouldn't last long as a spy.
Maybe he'd been intimidating enough to make everyone else leave him alone. No one else bothered him. Until…
"Hi," said a familiar female voice. The bob-haired girl from the exam stood over him. "I never had a chance to introduce myself. I'm Ochaco Uraraka. Thank you so much for saving me."
Izuku steeled his heart. Then he said, "I'm disappointed that U.A. let you in. Someone who can't even protect herself won't make much of a hero." Izuku let his head fall back to the desk, but not before he saw the hurt look on her face.
She definitely hated him now. His stomach acid rolled. He couldn't afford to care. He couldn't afford to make friends. If he smiled at the other students and played nice, it would only hurt more later when they found out why he'd come to U.A. Izuku intended to do the bare minimum as a spy. The more the other students trusted him, the more useful he would be to All for One. Better for everyone to know him as a selfish ass so no one would trust their backs to him.
When a strange teacher in a sleeping bag rolled into class, Izuku almost didn't notice. He was still lying face down on his desk, mourning that he'd been a jerk to the first girl to ever talk to him. Katsuki had to shake Izuku back to consciousness and tell him to change into his gym uniform.
Aizawa was speaking. Izuku barely listened, until his teacher got to the point where the student with the lowest score across all eight events would be expelled.
Izuku screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Everyone stared at him. Izuku's face flushed. His stomach uttered a humiliating whine. He couldn't believe this. He might be expelled on the first day? After all his hard work and planning? He hadn't made any preparations this time, because he'd never anticipated this nonsense. His mother might die because this teacher was completely insane!
Katsuki hissed, "Don't make me embarrassed to be your rival, fucking nerd. You know you've got this."
The familiar insult calmed Izuku down. It was true. He'd been training with his quirk all his life. He could do this.
Izuku knew he didn't have much throwing strength. He needed to make it up during the race and the long jump. He relentlessly fired his naval laser in order to shoot himself forward.
His stomach screamed in agony. He was in bad shape due to his nerves filling his stomach with acid. It hadn't been his best performance. But at least he wasn't in last place.
Aoyama raised his hand. "I've been granted permission from the school to use my support equipment in all school activities."
Aizawa grunted. "Your parents threatened to sue us for discrimination if we didn't allow it." The teacher sounded reluctantly impressed. "You're attempting a difficult path…but I'll allow you a shot."
Katsuki sneered. In a voice meant to be overheard, he said, "I hope being in a school with a weakling who can't do anything without support gear doesn't slow me down."
Izuku elbowed his childhood friend. "Hey. Aoyama saved me during the exam. Don't be quirkest."
"Ugh, fine. I'm sorry." Katsuki groaned.
"Pouah, apology accepted." Aoyama's smile never flattered. "I would like to lend my support equipment to Hitoshi Shinsou during his turn. I believe it only fair. Otherwise I would be receiving an unfair advantage because of my wealth."
"Oh?" Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "I like your guts. Fine."
Hitoshi startled. "You'd do that for me? Even though we're competitors?"
Aoyama said, "Those of us traditionally disadvantaged in the world of heroics need to stick together, mon ami."
A very small smile formed on Hitoshi's lips. "Thank you."
In a whisper, Katsuki said to Izuku, "You're the only one who calls me out when I'm a jerk. Thank you."
Izuku nudged his friend back. "You're welcome."
Despite the support equipment, Hitoshi came in last. His lack of familiarity had prevented him from using the gear effectively. When Aizawa revealed that he'd been bluffing about the lowest ranking student being expelled, Izuku didn't know if he believed it or if Aizawa had changed his mind because of Aoyama's touching display of friendship. Either way, Izuku was filled with an annoyance bordering on rage. Why did his teacher have to screw with him? It was only the first day at U.A., and Izuku was barely keeping the contents of his stomach down. He wouldn't last long at this rate. He wasn't cut out to be a spy, and he knew it.
The remaining classes passed in a blur. Izuku was too focused on trying not to pass out to pay much attention. At least no more crazy teachers threatened to expel him.
As Izuku sat in basic hero training, a loud voice boomed, "I have come through the door, like normal!"
Izuku's head shot up. He'd watched enough videos to recognize that voice like his own mother's. All Might stood in the doorway, beaming in full costume.
Falling out of his desk chair, Izuku dropped to his knees and vomited. Around him, he heard cries of surprise. Katsuki's shout was the loudest. His childhood friend put a hand on his back. Izuku barely felt it. His mind spun, unable to think through the horror.
All Might was teaching at U.A. And Izuku would be ordered to betray his hero to his death.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: If Izuku Didn't Destroy Any Robots
Izuku: Time to burn down U.A.
All Might: My boy, stop! There are hero points!
#
Omake: If Izuku Came in Last on the Quirk Apprehension Test
Izuku: Give me a moment to light my matches.
Aizawa: Stop! I changed my mind! I'm not expelling anyone!
Author's Note: Izuku's relationship with Katsuki was not immediately fixed because Izuku got a quirk. Katsuki initially saw Izuku as a potential sidekick due to his supposedly weak quirk. Then when Izuku stood up to Katsuki's bullying of other children, this hit Katsuki right in his superiority-inferiority complex. The two of them kept fighting all through elementary school before Katsuki developed a grudging respect for Izuku as the only one able to fight on even terms with him. Basically, Katsuki had character development early. He's still an angry Pomeranian though.
The Sludge Villain incident never happened in this AU. Izuku and Katsuki used to walk home from middle school together every day. All Might easily captured the Sludge Villain before he attacked anyone, and without Izuku's interference the villain never escaped to target Katsuki. Izuku and All Might have never met before.
I have great plans for the naval laser quirk. Nearly every single quirk in Class 1-A is underutilized. The staff doesn't seem able to teach the kids to do anything except smash stuff. There are so many better ways to use lasers then just blasting stuff for one second. But god forbid that the staff of U.A. teach their students anything besides super flashy smash attacks because those are the only kind valued in shounen manga cough Hero Society. Izuku is only getting started showing what a laser can do.
All Might is currently still seeking successors among the U.A. students. I was very, very torn about what to do with One for All in this AU. Mirio would seem like the logical person to receive it, but if we go by canon, that would kill him. I nearly did a role swap and gave One for All to Aoyama, but then the idea of Aoyama as a quirkless hero seized me and refused to let go. I wish we'd had at least one quirkless hero student in canon. It would have been so interesting to see Izuku react to someone trying to become a hero without a quirk. It also would have added an extra dimension to Izuku's question about if someone quirkless could become a hero.
Meeting a quirkless would-be hero hits Izuku especially hard in a fic where he got entrapped by All for One to get a quirk. Naturally that meant I had to do it. Aoyama makes a great quirkless hero because he comes from a wealthy family that could supply him with support gear. As for who will inherit One for All in this AU, you'll have to wait to find out.