A dislocated shoulder.

When Izuku had escaped from the Metaverse with the others, he'd landed hard on his shoulder, hard enough to pop the ball out of the socket. Takemi-sensei easily put it back into place, but the muscles around his shoulder were still hurt.

When he told All Might, his mentor had forbid him from working on the beach until it was healed. No matter how much Izuku protested, begging, tried to convince All Might that he could still work with his non-dominate arm and that his legs weren't injured… nothing he said changed All Might's mind. Izuku even talked Akira into taking him to Mementos to get healed there, but apparently wounds obtained in the real world can't be healed in the Metaverse. He was stuck, and he hated it.

Futaba was still asleep. Boss claimed that she did this from time to time, like running out of batteries, but being asleep for four days is a coma! At least there was still around two weeks left until the Purge, but if Futaba was still in a coma by the end of the week, he was going to have words with Boss.

Izuku really wanted to talk to her. He wanted to know if she was alright, first of all, but… he could really use her advice too. She was his best friend, his first friend, and was probably the only friend he had who would be impartial about his… problem.

He'd loved saving Futaba. Not just that, but… Looting the Palace, fighting Shadows, using Seigiichi, being trusted and relied on in and out of battle; he loved it. He craved it. He was made for it. Despite what he said in Kaachan's Palace, he… wanted to join the Phantom Thieves.

But he couldn't.

Izuku trained to be a hero. He trained to be the next wielder of One for All. How could he betray All Might like that? And what if he got caught? He couldn't save people if he was in jail for vigilantism; he couldn't be a hero with a criminal record. He'd save infinitely more people as a hero than as a vigilante or as a Phantom Thief. How selfish was he, putting his wants over the needs of other people? He promised he'd quit, he needed to quit… even if he didn't want to.

Phone vibrating, Izuku checked his messages. All Might texted him, asking if he was alright and if his shoulder was better. Izuku texted back an affirmative, but hesitated. Before he overthought it, he asked All Might if they could talk.

All Might agreed and texted him an address and a time.

At two in the afternoon, Izuku walked into an old American-style diner. The floors were scuffed and the paint was chipped, but it was bright and cheery with a jukebox playing in the background. A quick scan around the restaurant revealed that All Might wasn't here yet, so Izuku picked a booth away from the door.

An older waitress, who's hair was a literal beehive including a few bees buzzing around her head, dropped off a menu. "Do you want anything to drink, hun?" she asked with a smile, crow's feet lining her eyes.

"Just water, please. And I don't want to order just yet; I'm waiting for my uncle," Izuku told her. He didn't want anyone to think anything inappropriate towards All Might, so whenever they were meeting in public and Izuku got there first, he said he was waiting for his uncle. He didn't think All Might minded, because whenever All Might got there first, other people mentioned that he 'must be that blond man's nephew.'

The first time it happened, his blush stayed for the rest of the day.

With nothing else to do, Izuku opened his phone, which was already on the Phantom Aficionado website. He scrolled through the posts. In between people discussing if the Phantom Thieves were vigilantes or villains, and teens proclaiming how cool the Phantom Thieves were, there were cries for help. Civilians who heroes couldn't help… or wouldn't help, if that one post mentioning Endeavor was even close to being right. Those were the ones Izuku read. Abusers, stalkers, creeps, all of their victims came here in hopes of changing their hearts. The admin of the site always replied on these posts, either asking for information or confirming that the Thieves have been informed.

Izuku had just read an anonymous post of a sister asking for a change of heart for her parents to save her little brother when a hand landed on his shoulder. Izuku jumped and squeaked.

All Might peered over his shoulder. "'The Phantom Aficionado Website'?" he read off the screen.

He shoved his phone in his pocket. "Yeah! It's… a forum about these vigilantes. Have you heard of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?"

Sitting down in the seat opposite to him, All Might said, "I have. But I wasn't aware that they were vigilantes. The Hero Commission has them classified as villains."

"I didn't see that announcement. When was that made?" At least Izuku didn't have to bring up the topic himself. Now he just had to keep them on topic until All Might told him his thoughts.

"When they first appeared, with their attack on that gym teacher. Although, I suppose if they're only making others reveal their own crimes, 'attack' is a harsh word to use. Are you interested in vigilantes, Young Midoriya?"

Yes! "K-Kind of," he said instead, picking at the menu. He hadn't even read it yet. "I studied them, before you… offered me a chance. What—" he swallowed. "What do you think of vigilantes?"

All Might laughed. "Oh, I quite like vigilantes! They're vital for heroes!" Wait, what!? "In my experience, vigilantes only appear because heroes have failed that area in some way. I've worked with many in my time as a hero, and never arrest them until they fall too much into villainy."

"Really? You like vigilantes too?" Izuku blurted out.

He leaned in conspiratorially, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Well, yes. I used to be one, after all."

Izuku blue screened. All Might… was a vigilante? But he debuted over thirty years ago, he had to be… "You were a teen vigilante!?"

"Not so loud!" All Might looked around the restaurant, but the waitress from before was busy lecturing the teen cook behind the counter and no one else was sitting close-by. "I'm embarrassed to admit it, but my vigilantism was what gained me the attention of my mentor… the seventh holder of One for All."

He'd never mentioned any of the other holders of One for All before, and Izuku really wanted to press him for answers, but something in All Might's face told him that he shouldn't. Instead, Izuku said. "I… I thought you would have hated vigilantes. Since they try to do hero work and make your job harder."

All Might snorted. "Hardly. Like I said, vigilantes appear in areas where the heroes are slacking off. In some ways, they're more trustworthy than other heroes. People have all sorts of reasons for becoming heroes—fame, money, respect—but you can't accuse a vigilante of being in it only in it for the fame. I still respect those heroes, since they still help people regardless of their reasons, but likewise, I can't blame vigilantes for trying to help people."

A huge weight lifted off Izuku's shoulders. He'd been so worried that All Might would hate him if he joined the Phantom Thieves, but…

All Might must have noticed his relief, because he asked, "What exactly brought all this on?"

He bit his lip. He shouldn't tell him, plausible deniability and all, but he didn't want to lie. These dueling desires made him say, "I just… want to help people. No matter what."

Izuku wasn't looking at All Might, so he was surprised when the hero ruffled his hair. "You will, Young Midoriya," he reassured him with a chuckle. "You're going to make a wonderful hero. But…" And that mischievous light returned— "If you get impatient and help someone before getting your hero license… well, I won't tell anyone."

He gasped. Did he really just say— "All Might!" he hissed, and All Might laughed. "You can't just say that!"

"And why not? I can hardly be mad if you do. I chose you for your willingness to help; I can hardly be mad if you keep helping, can I?"