Author's Note

Well well well, this is perfect timing. For anyone who hasn't paid very close attention, the website has been down and malfunctioning for the creators side for over three weeks now, and only this morning came back online. Now that it's back, I can post the next chapter.

Uploaded

03/14/2023

Legend below

"Hey there hun!" = Speech.

''And he's one to talk apparently?'' = Thought.

"Never fear, for I am here!" = All Might

Rated-M for language and blood and Zombie nudity.

Chapter 4

A surprise reunion

The girl's death was just another mail in the coffin of the topic relating to his rapidly aging ability as the number one hero. He knew he was getting weak, he knew he only had continued to grow weaker after his deadly confrontation with the man he called his nemesis.

This was something he knew, something he'd continued to dwell on day in and day out.

And yet, he kept playing it off, pushing off the creeping fear that his time as a hero was quickly coming to an end. He'd tried to push off the idea, even though he knew it to be true.

The others around him, the ones that knew of his weakening health had continued to push him towards finding a successor, a new hero that would step forward and take his place. They would be the one he'd pass his powers onto, and he'd train them to harness the unrivaled prowess of One For All to the best of his abilities.

But he had yet to find a suitable successor, someone he could place his full faith in, someone that he knew would turn into a beautiful hero. All the heroes nowadays were singleminded, focused on fame and pleasure instead of doing the right thing no matter the situation.

Then she came along. He met her in a back alley, where she had single-handedly defeated a villain he'd been struggling to catch and capture for over an hour. This untrained citizen had taken it upon herself to stop him long enough for him to arrive and arrest him.

And she had the gall to do so while claiming to be quirkless.

He regretted what he'd said atop that building that day, about how one that was quirkless could not become a hero. He had told her that without knowing that she had not been asking for a friend, but she'd been asking for herself. And he'd gone ahead and told her that her dreams were never to become a reality, that fate had decided what she was to be before she was born.

Knowing that she was supposedly quirkless now, he may have tried better to lighten the blow of his words. Yet he had at that moment still entirely believed what he had said.

Someone who was born without special powers and abilities could not, and should not become a hero. It wasn't safe for them, and they would be against considerable odds at all times, outclassed by those around them.

However, despite him, the number one hero in the world, someone she claimed to have looked up to telling her off, she didn't seem to lose her determination and desire at all. He could see it now in his minds eye, that burning passion and wholehearted determination in her gaze that spoke of a true hero.

He could see it, that energy she had about her that told him without words that she'd do everything it took when the time came, and she'd have no regrets and no fear.

Then she said so with her own words, that being a hero did not mean she needed recognition. Being a hero was not about how the world saw her, and legal rights, but it was about someone doing the right thing, even when it meant that you saving them would ultimately mean you would die in the end.

Very few heroes today had that understanding, that drive to do what was right despite the consequences that would follow. So many heroes claimed to be willing to put their lives on the line in the battles that would come, but when the time came, would lose that will to go forward with their words.

He'd seen it happen, far, far too often. That's why he'd yet to choose a successor.

But then she came around, and her words had touched him like no one else had before her. He could tell with just a glance that she would be a wonderful hero, and she would be the one he was looking forward to training every day.

However, before he could offer her the chance to become his successor, she went ahead and did exactly what she'd been saying she would do.

The time came for a hero to step up to save the day, lest lives become lost. And when no one else would step up, when no other hero around did their job at the risk of their own lives, this nameless quirkless girl took one look at the situation that was taking place, and had no regrets.

She ran into that battlefield with full knowledge that her time on this earth was likely about to end, right here, right now. Yet that didn't give her even a moment of hesitation, and single-handedly she took down the villain that had threatened her very best friend.

She sacrificed herself to save the one she loved, because it was the right thing to do. She gave what no other hero would, just so the one she cared for could go on living in her stead.

Even as he stood there watching her breathe her last breath, and take her last words in front of the many people watching, she had a smile on her face. She knew her time had come, and yet she didn't want her friend to cry over her as she passed, but she wanted him to know that she'd done this for his sake. Her last words to him was that he train him to become the best hero around, and it pained his heart like nothing else that she couldn't even confess her love to the boy before she passed, getting cut off right at that pivotal moment in the end.

The man that was called the number one was struck with a realization that day, something that would stick with him for the rest of his life.

He'd been preaching about the will of a hero, the strength of the number one and how nothing would stop him from saving lives, even at the cost of his own.

And yet, when it came down to it, when that pivotal moment came for him to live up to his own words and his own self made promises, he froze. He couldn't bring himself to step up and save the day, and as a result, this no name girl gave of herself something even he seemed incapable of doing in the heat of the moment.

The guilt of that death was on his hands, and he knew it to be true despite what the other hero in the top said to him.

But, he knew how to make it up to the girl. He wasn't allowed to choose anymore, as he gave her the choice.

He had chosen her to be his successor, but she died before he could give her the chance. In her last moments, she begged him to train Katsuki to become the next big hero. She had no idea that he was going to train her instead, but with her death approaching, she asked him to help the boy instead.

And that's just what he promised her he'd do. It wasn't his choice to decide if this Katsuki Bakugo was worthy of One For All, because the girl had decided it so when she gave herself for him. He'd just hoped her faith in him wasn't misplaced.

So, weeks after her death, when he got the call from the explosive blond teenager, he knew it was time to train him. He was worried that the young man would let the prospect of having the number one go to his head, that the idea of having his legendary power for his own would skew his thinking like many of the rest in this power hungry world.

Yet when Katsuki Bakugo stepped into that beachside oceanfront and approached him, he could see it in his eyes and in the expression on his face. The girl's death had changed him, and now, he had that same look of blazing determination she had just before she gave her life for him.

There was, however, one difference he noted within the young man's eyes. Where the girl was determined to give her all for the benefit of others, Katsuki had a darkness about him. He was sure he'd train the man to become a powerful and strong hero and public figure that the people could rely on for support. And looking at him, he knew the young man would become that new pillar for the world, someone to look up to in times of distress.

But he was sure there would be many difficulties along that road to the top, with his heart so full of hatred, so full of misery and darkness. It would be all too easy to pull him to the other side if he was convinced that it would better help others.

But he couldn't dwell on that. All he could do was offer his support and do his best to keep the young man on the right path.

It was the least he could do for the girl that gave the world for him.

Speaking of training, it had been a little over two months since he began training the blond haired explosion user. To his surprise, the young man already had a body that could make use of his quirk right away, albeit at a lower level of course.

Things had been going well for his training, he was sure the young man would be a shoe in for the exam at Yuuei.

However, when he went to call said hero in training about his next training session, he was greeted with a rather chilling surprise.

When the young man finally picked up the phone, the last thing he was expecting to hear was the sound of feminine moaning in the background. He supposed he shouldn't be one to judge, but he was surprised to hear such sounds from the young man's room, especially since he was still so bent over the loss of his best friend.

He supposed that he shouldn't be one to judge, the man was in that young stage in his life where emotions were at their peak so to speak.

Which was his first thought, but that was before he heard the girl on the other side speak. And suddenly, he felt the world slow down to a crawl.

He'd quickly enabled video chat to speak with the young Bakugo, but was met with the surprised and scarred and stitched together face of the dead girl he'd originally planned on giving his quirk to.

Her face has rough stitching crisscrossing across the bridge of her nose, same with what little he could see poking out from the collar of the shirt she was wearing. More than that, she looked pale, unhealthily so, more akin to a corpse than a living breathing human.

Speaking of breathing, she only seemed to take in oxygen when she needed to speak, exclaiming things excitedly as she did.

He was barely giving a chance to look her over and dwell on what he saw before the blond abruptly ended the call.

But even then, his mind was reeling.

She was alive, the girl that had sacrificed herself for his successor.

Or, maybe she wasn't even that anymore. But that aside, she was still around the land of the living.

He wanted to sigh in relief, a warn sensation gracing his old wounded heart. But he didn't.

He sat there for awhile on the beach, thinking and dwelling on what he saw.

Despite what other heroes may think of him, he wasn't just some big old brute with crazy super strength. He was smart in his own right as well, and after a long hour of thought, he realized the danger of the reality of the girl's powers getting out.

If there was a quirk that could raise someone from the dead, even just once, especially after having been dead for months, the person who owned the quirk would be hunted down and captured. If her quirk fell into the wrong hands, he didn't even want to think of the implications.

But that was going on what little information he had available to him at the moment. Before he could make any decisions, he needed to have both young Bakugo and the girl meet and speak with his good friend in the police station. From there, he could decide what the best course of action was.

That and, they would need to inform the poor girl's mother that she was still…

Well…

Alive, he supposed.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Everything had just gone from complicated to confusingly complicated…

"We have to tell your mom…" Katsuki had awoken roughly an hour ago, leaving the bed that his zombie seemed to want to call her own. After getting dressed and getting something to eat he came back upstairs to find Izuku sitting on top of his bed, dressed in one of his shirts that just so happened to be a little small on her, and a pair of his shorts. Upon seeing her awake he felt like he had to say something.

"My mom? I have a mom?" The zombie yawned out, rubbing at her eyes tiredly. Katsuki almost tripped over himself at her words, turning a glance at her. But one look in her eyes told him that she wasn't messing with him.

"Forget that.. We need to get you to a hospital so they can find out what's wrong with your brain…" Katsuki sighed, pulling at his hair.

"Nah! I'm fine! See!" Izuku shook her head, standing up with a large sharp toothed grin.

"No you're not." The blond argued. "And don't argue with me. I already called All Might over to… do something…" He sighed, turning away. He missed Izuku's eyes widening.

"You have All Might's number?!" She squealed, eyes glowing in excitement.

"I-, you… You spoke with him last night! Of course I have his damn number!" He barked.

"Gimme gimme!" She bounded over to him, reaching for the phone in his hand.

"Damnit Izuku! This is serious!" Katsuki barked, holding the phone out from her reach. Unfortunately for him, she was stronger then she looked.

As hectic as life had been since she died, and had subsequently reappeared by his side as a living corpse, Katsuki knew he needed to speak with All Might about her condition.

As far as the world knew, Izuku Midoria was dead, the blunt and open tomboy having publicly sacrificed her life to save the one she loved. Simply announcing to the world that she was alive now would be stupid, so he planned to tell the number one Hero about the situation and see what he planned on doing.

There was many quirks that filled the world, but the ability to return from death was not one of them. At least, not before now. The blonde grit his teeth at the thought of some villainous bastard getting his hands on her, just for her powers. This had to be kept secret, as least as much as possible…

But those were his feelings, and he knew he wasn't always the one with the brightest ideas, nor the wittiest guy out there. The whole idea of keeping her quirk a secret was really just out of his need to protect her, especially after having lost her once before.

He'd let the Hero decide what the hell to do from here on out…

"Kacchan! I'm stealing your shirt." His attention was brought back to reality as Izuku bounded over to him, having dawned one of his white tees. His eyes bugged out, noting that due to her height over him, that his shirt wasn't long enough to cover her and left her belly exposed.

Forget the fact that it clung tightly to her unusually large bosom.

"Damnit Izuku!" He cursed, turning away. "Go borrow one of my moms shirts!" He snapped.

"Why?"

"Because I said so!"

The house was dead quiet, only the sound of the heater running in the background serving to add any sort of noise. A light could be seen in the quaint living room, the only light on in the entire house.

As quietly as a mouse, the young looking green haired woman could be seen sitting on her couch, alone. In her hands was a book, while beside her on a coffee table was a steaming cup of tea. It was green tea.

She didn't know how long she'd been there, sitting alone in the dimly lit room, eyes glued to the same page of her book. She was trying to relax, take her mind off of the events that had happened recently, focusing on the good things she had left in life.

But it was hard.

It was so god damned hard!

She knew her daughter wouldn't have wanted her to greave so much over her death, she'd come to terms with the idea of her little girl becoming a hero long ago. She had to have been, with how often she spoke of it, the reality that she was quirkless doing nothing to slow down her progress towards becoming a hero.

She knew as her mother she was supposed to support her only child, and that's exactly what she did. She never tired to convince her girl that she should try to change her career preferences, she never had the heart to.

In fact, she felt so deeply proud when her little girl who'd only been eight at the time had told her with the most determination she'd ever seen on her face, that if the time came where her best friend Kaachan was in trouble, she'd do all she could to save him even if she got hurt in the end.

To hear her little girl say something so profound at such a young age made her feel like she'd done right as her mother. Sure, she never wanted a situation such as that to arise, but she knew one of them would eventually get into trouble.

She just never considered that that day would come at such a young age, before she even got into hero training.

She'd been watching the news that day, eagerly awaiting her daughter's return from school. She had overheard of multiple villain attacks in the area nearby Izuku's school, and couldn't stop herself from nervously watching the news, hoping that the attack never got near her school.

Unfortunately, there had been an attack that day, and she knew the moment she saw the slime man with a hostage who was firing off explosions that it was her daughter's best friend, and secret love interest.

It was like she'd been shot in her house, watching as the blond haired young man was tortured on live television by the villain, watching as the life slowly left his eyes as the villain tried to choke him to death. She knew the moment her daughter learned of the situation, she'd be rushing in to save her friend, no matter what it meant for her.

And like the grim reaper herself was agreeing with her, it wasn't long before the news camera caught sight of her own green haired tomboy as she threw her bag to the side, running into the battle despite the warnings from the pro heroes.

She'd watched with bated breath as her daughter ran right in, knowing that there was nothing she could do in that moment to stop her.

Her daughter had made up her mind.

Even then, she'd ran out of the house in a blind panic, tears pouring down her face as she hopped into her car, driving as fast as she could manage to where the attack was taking place.

When she had finally arrived, she'd pushed her way through the crowd to find the large bulking form of the number one hero, bent down beside a familiar head of blond hair.

And, in Katsuki's lap, covered in blood, was her daughter. She was smiling, a signature grin plastered over her face that was so convincing and bright and full of love that for a brief moment she was sure she was still alive.

The three bars of steal sticking out of her heart was the hand of reality slapping her across the face.

That was three months ago now, and now she was trying to continue life on her own.

But, it was just so difficult, so painful.

She felt numb, living life blankly, going through the strokes as one would.

She was sure, thinking about it now, that if she didn't have her best friend there for her to support her after her daughter's death, she was sure her life would be so much worse. Even then, there was only so much Mitsuki could do to comfort her.

Because now, she was without a husband, and was forever without her only daughter. Life had gone from meaningful and fulfilling, to empty within the span of a hour. And on days like this, she found her mind wandering dangerously down the path of wishing things had been different. But, even then she could never wish that.

That would be the same as saying she wished that Izuku had lived while Katsuki had died instead. Distraught and heartbroken as she was, she couldn't ever allow herself to think so selfishly, especially when revolving around the life of her best friend's only son…

-bang bang bang-

The knocking on her door was so abrupt and out of the blue that it scared her half to death. Her head snapped to the doorway leading to the front door, her book, which she hadn't been reading anyways, forgotten on the floor.

She got up nervously, her long green hair splayed down her backside messily, the woman having obviously struggled to keep herself nice looking.

She was only glad that she'd broken her nervous eating habits back when Izuku was younger, otherwise she was sure she'd have been a short fat woman right about now.

She approached her front door, nervously pressing her face up to the peephole.

Her eyes widened in immense surprise when she was greeted with the face of the number one hero, All Might, the man dressed in an oddly colored yellow business suit.

Deciding not to keep the big man waiting, she quickly opened the door, staring nervously up at the man. She couldn't help but notice that he was lacking his always smiling face.

"O-O-Oh, hello th-there sir!" Inko bowed nervously, more than surprised to see such a legendary figure at her doorstep. It wasn't the first time she'd met him, in fact, he'd stopped by after the disaster back then once to offer his sincere condolences to her. That and, she'd seen him on multiple occasions visiting the Bakugo residence just down her street.

She was surprised to see him arrive unannounced, however.

"Good morning miss Midorya! I hope I'm not interrupting something important." The mountain of a man greeted, sure to keep his voice down, lest he alert the whole neighborhood to his presence.

He wasn't feeling up to dodging a news crew this morning, especially with how busy his day was about to become.

"O-Oh no! I'm n-not busy at all!" She hurriedly responded, quick to make sure she didn't waste the man's time.

"Well then, that's good to hear." He said lightly, sounding more than a little off for the big man. "I know this is sudden, but I'd like for you to come down to the Bakugo residence for a little while, if you have the time. It's very important, especially for you." He said slowly.

"O-Oh, w-well if you say so!" Inko said nervously, bowing to the tall man. Seeing as she was already dressed, she only had to grab her purse before joining the hero. A short walk later saw her entering the building of her best friend, who just so happened to be the mother of her late daughters best friend.

However, what surprised her even more was the presence of an important looking officer, likely a detective of the police department in the area.

The man addressed her with a serious eye, letting her know it was serious. "Good morning miss Midoriya. My name is Naomasa Tsukauchi, a friend of All Might's. I see you've already been informed of your daughter's… well, condition." The man said gruffly, turning to face the green haired mother.

"…W-What…?" She whispered harshly, eyes narrowing as a hurt expression crossed her face. "Is this what y-you dragged me here for, to bring up my d-dead daughter again?" She asked sharply, on the verge of tears.

All Might straightened suddenly, a cold sweat suddenly trailing down his back. The detective turned to him.

"You didn't tell her… did you?" The gruff man asked lowly, facing the suddenly nervous hero.

"Tell m-me what?" The woman asked nervously, a look of uncertainty flashing across her face.

"Yeah, tell her what?" Izuku asked from somewhere behind the number one hero.

"-holy crap! Would you stop sneaking up on me, little lady!" The number one screamed like a girl, having jumped so suddenly he shook the entire house.

"I'm not little! Also, who's this? Woah, she's kinda hot, looks like me, is she my sister?" The spiky toothed tomboy asked excitedly. "Wow, my sister's super hot! Why didn't anyone tell me- gah?!" The girl was cut off from her rant as Katsuki appeared from behind her, pulling her ear to get her attention.

"Would you stop running away! What happened to breaking the news lightly?!" The explosive blond shouted, having devolved to shaking the green haired girl.

"W-Whaaaa!? D-Don't shake meeeee!" Izuku whined, eyes spinning as he shook her, hoping to force some sense into the zombie.

The sound of Inko fainting was what it took for the zombie to focus, bringing some clarity to her brain. "Oh no! Mom!" She cried out in surprise, somehow breaking away from Katsuki to run to the downed woman's side.

Only, once she got there did she realize that she somehow knew that this woman was actually her mother all along.

Katsuki facepalmed…

Chapter

4

End