Chapter 3

"Inherit your power?" Izuku asked with a bewildered look. This sent All Might into a small laughing fit.

"Hahahahahaha!" he laughed before answering, "What's with that face? It's just a suggestion. The real show starts after this."

Just a suggestion? Is he joking?! Adrian thought to himself.

What did he mean by Izuku inheriting his power? Haru contemplated.

"Listen, young man." All Might continued while pointing up then down at Izuku, "You need to decide whether or not you will accept my power!"

He exclaimed the last part while coughing up more blood. All three boys looked at All Might trying to understand what he meant.

"What are you saying, All Might?" Izuku asked. Wiping the blood away, All Might continue to speak.

"I'm talking about my power, young man." He said, "The tabloids called it 'superhuman strength' or 'boost,' and I constantly dodged the question during interviews with a funny joke. Because the Symbol of Peace, All Might, had to be a natural born hero. But young man, I will tell you and your friends the truth. My quirk was passed on to me like a sacred torch."

That took Izuku, Haru, and Adrian to a whole new level of surprise.

"WHAT?!" Haru and Adrian both yelled.

"It was passed on to you…?" Izuku asked.

"That's right." All Might answered, "And next, it is your turn."

"W-Wait! Wait a minute! It's true that your quirk is something hotly debated as one of the world's greatest mysteries. So much so that not a day goes by when I don't see someone talking about it online. But, well, I don't really understand what you mean by inheriting or passing on a quirk…I've never heard of anything like that before, and it's never been conjectured in the debate. Why is that? Is it because since the dawn of history, a quirk like that has never been confirmed? In the first place, it's…"

Izuku then went into a mumbling fest, a habit he picked up while studying heroes. All Might looked at him in bewilderment then at his friends.

"This is normal for us." Haru stated.

"It's something he does when he's figuring out something or trying to make sense of a situation." Adrian explained.

"So, he always starts with denial, huh?" All Might asked them.

"Yeah, pretty much." Adrian and Haru answered at the same time.

"NONSENSE!" That outburst from All Might pulled Izuku out of his little mumbling chant.

"Wh…!" he exclaimed.

"I may hide a lot of thing, but I don't lie! The power to transfer power…That is the quirk I inherited. I was crowned with 'One for All!'

"One for All." Izuku repeated.

[Play My Hero Academia Original Soundtrack-Plus Ultra]

"That's right." All Might began to explain, "One person cultivates the power and passes it on to another person, who also cultivates it and passes it on. It is the crystallization of power that spins together the voices of those who need help with a courageous heart."

"Why are you…" Izuku asked, "Why are you giving me something so great?"

"I have been looking for a successor. And then, I thought it would be alright for you to inherit it. You're just a quirkless hero fanboy, Stand User, but you were more heroic than anyone else back there!"

Izuku was on the verge of tears at hearing that declaration. Haru had a hand on his shoulder for support. Adrian was beaming with joy at hearing All Might call his green haired friend heroic.

"Never mind!" All Might said in a partial laugh, "Well, it's up to you, though. What'll you do?"

He said so much to encourage me, Izuku thought to himself, and even told me, along with my friends his secret…Is there…? Of course, there isn't…There's no reason for me to turn him down!

Walking forward, Izuku stopped a few inches in front of All Might, wiped away his tears and looked at the pro hero with determination.

"I'll do it!" Izuku declared.

"An immediate reply." All Might said smiling, "That's what I thought you'd say!"

"You're not alone in this, Izuku." Haru stated walking up next to him, "Adrian and I are with you all the way."

"You got that right!" Adrian exclaimed, "You can count on us to support you, no matter what!"

"Thanks guys." Izuku said with a smile on his face.

[End Track]

Dagoba Municipal Beach Park

Early the next morning, two days later, at a certain beach, you could hear groaning if you got close enough. It wasn't Haru because he was sitting on a piece of tire, observing the scene. Adrian was as quiet as a mouse, also watching the scene unfold with a neutral expression. The one groaning was Izuku, who had two ropes around his chest while trying to pull a fridge and failing. It was a lot harder with a buffed up All Might sitting on top of it.

"Hey, hey, hey! This is such a comfy fridge to sit on!" All Might exclaimed as Izuku collapsed, "If you could move it even a little, it would be a little easier."

Maybe, if you got off, he might be able to. Adrian exclaimed in his head as he walked up to Izuku and gave him some water to drink. The green haired boy drank some, handed it back and looked up at All Might.

"Well yeah," Izuku said, "I mean, you weigh 274 kilograms, right?"

"No," All Might answered, "I lost weight, so I'm only 255 kilograms now, in this form."

"That's not a big difference." Haru stated.

"Anyway, why am I dragging trash at the beach park?" Izuku asked while looking around.

All Might laughed a bit while taking pictures before answering.

"It's cause, you know," he said, "you're not a proper vessel."

"What you're saying now is the opposite of what you said before!" Izuku exclaimed in panic mode, screaming in the process. Haru just rolled his eyes before explaining.

"He's talking about your body, doofus." He said to Izuku, who stopped screaming at hearing that.

"Thank you, Young Watanabe." All Might said before explaining, "My quirk, One for All, is the fullest physical ability of many people gathered into one. An unprepared body cannot inherit it fully. The limbs will come off and the body will explode."

"The limbs will WHAT?!" Izuku screamed at hearing that. He hugged himself out of shock at imagining it happening to him. Even Haru and Adrian shivered at the thought. Izuku shook himself to get a grip before speaking again. "Then…I'm picking up trash in order to train my body…?"

"Yes!" All Might said giving him a thumbs up, "But that's not all. After some research on the internet yesterday, I discovered that part of this beach park's coast has been like this for many years."

"Yeah…" Izuku said while standing up and looking around, "For some reason, because of the currents, objects drift here a lot, and people take advantage of that to hide their illegal dumping…The local residents don't come here, either."

"Let's find the litterers and teach them a lesson." Adrian said with an evil smirk, "Clogging up a beach with trash is just wrong."

"You been watching way too much of Blue Bloods." Haru said with a mocking smile.

"THAT IS A GREAT SHOW! HOW DARE YOU INSULT IT!" Adrian shouted pointing his finger at Haru with a scowl on his face.

"Argument aside," All Might interrupted, getting their attention, "heroes these days are all after the showy stuff. Originally, being a hero meant doing volunteer service. Even if people called that boring or whatever. You can't waver from those roots."

While he was speaking, the number one hero was crushing the fridge flat with one hand. All three boys watched in amazement at All Might did the feat with little effort. Once the fridge was as flat as paper, a small shockwave shook the area. It sent some of the trash flying away, revealing the sunrise towards the waters. It was a spectacular sight to see.

"You will restore the horizon for this whole section! That is your first step toward becoming a hero!"

"My first step…?" Izuku said while looking around again, "Clean…this…All of it?!"

He's got to be kidding! Adrian thought to himself.

He's not kidding! Haru exclaimed in his head.

"Young Midoriya," All Might called, "you and your friends want to go to U.A., right?"

"Yes…Yes!" Izuku answered, "Because, for me, it's where you went! So, if I'm going to go…I thought…it would definitely have to be U.A…"

"You're a go-getter fanboy! But I've told you this before. Stands aren't quirks, so it's going to be a lot harder for you and your friends to get in. It's sad, but that is what the reality is. And U.A.'s is the hardest hero course to get into. In other words…"

"In the ten months until the U.A.'s entrance exam, I have to complete becoming a worth vessel!" Izuku summed up.

"That's where this comes in!" All Might said, holding some sheets of paper in his left hand, "I came up with this: 'Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan'! It's a training plan to help you finish cleaning up the beach. I'll have you follow this in every aspect of your life!"

"Even sleep time is included." Izuku said while looking through the plan. All Might then came up next to him with his hand covering the side of his mouth. Seeing this was going to be a private conversation, Haru and Adrian backed off.

"Frankly, this is a super hard schedule." All Might whispered, "Can you follow it?"

"Of course…" Izuku said with determination, "I have to work many times harder than anyone else, or else I can't do it!"

"Hahahaha! I like your attitude! One other thing…you're not allowed to use your Stand."

That statement shocked all three boys. Then again, it made sense to them. If Izuku used his Stand, he wouldn't be training his body and he wouldn't get anywhere.

"I understand. No pun intended." Izuku said then turned to Haru and Adrian, "I want you two to make sure I never summon Agile Emerald on purpose or accident."

"Consider it done." Adrian agreed.

"You got it." Haru added.

"By the way, Young Midoriya," All Might called, "who taught you how to use your Stand?"

"Oh, right. I never told you." Izuku answered with a smile, "My sensei, Jotaro Kujo."

"WHAT?!" All Might screamed, transforming back into his skinny form, "JOTARO KUJO?! THE STAND USER OF STAR PLATINUM?!"

"Yeah…Have you two met?"

"We have...he became my worst nightmare."

"You're scared of Jotaro Sensei? Why?"

"Trust me. You don't want to know."

For the next few months, Izuku cleaned up the beach with what little muscle he had. Jotaro didn't train to build muscle, but to control his Stand. Izuku had to do the muscle building on his own. Haru and Adrian kept their promises and made sure he didn't summon his Stand. Slowly, he started to restore the beach to its former glory. He even showed his mom the schedule and what he needed to eat.

On his off time though, even during school, Izuku exercised to increase his strength and stamina. He did push-ups, pull ups and lifted weights. He jogged at least a mile on the weekends. He swam laps in the ocean. He even carried All Might on certain occasions. Some other muscle and stamina activities he did, though, without telling either his friends or All Might. Sooner or later, they were going to find out.

Seven months later, in the season of fall, All Might was riding a two wheeled gyro down the park. Behind was Izuku, who was carrying a miniature safe on his shoulder. Behind him were Haru and Adrian, making sure that he didn't use his Stand for any reason. The day was going fairly normal, with the schedule All Might had given Izuku. Halfway through the park, though, Izuku collapsed, faced first on the ground.

"All Mi-I mean Mr. Yagi!" Haru called, "Izuku is down!"

Toshinori Yagi, All Might's true name, stopped the vehicle and looked behind him. He saw Adrian and Haru leaning over a panting Izuku, whose face was still in the dirt. Stepping off the gyro, he addressed the green haired Stand User.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" he asked, "There are only three months left! You won't make it! Wanna give up? Wanna take it easy and rest today?"

Izuku answered Toshinori by trying to get up. It was proving difficult because of exhaustion. The pro hero took a closer look and was shocked to see something different in Izuku's behavior. He wasn't tired because he was doing the work little by little…he was tired because he was overdoing it.

"Overwork…?" he said quietly before speaking up, "The 'Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan' was adjusted with your body in mind to make sure you'd make it in time for the exam…You haven't been sticking to the plan, have you? Overdoing it will have the opposite effect! Don't you want to get in?"

"I do…But I can't just get in…" Izuku answered while trying to lift his face out of the dirt, "I have to work a lot more than other people…or I won't be able to catch up…I want to be like you. I want to become the greatest hero, like you! Saving people with a fearless smile, like you!"

Izuku said that last part looking up at Toshinori, surprising the number one hero. Haru had a smile on his face, seeing his friend wanting to become a hero as great as All Might. Adrian was also smiling, while pulling out a water bottle for Izuku to drink from.

He's looking far into the future, huh? Toshinori thought to himself before turning into All Might. Picking up Izuku, he spoke to him. "You go-getter fanboy! I like that! But if that's the case, then you really can't rush things now. But I understand your feelings. Leave it to this old guy to adjust your plan!"

"You're not old…All Might…"

That comment from Izuku caused All Might, Haru and Adrian to laugh together.

Three Months Later

6 A.M., on the day of the entrance exam. Toshinori exited his truck to see how Izuku was doing. He didn't wait for Haru or Adrian because they were probably already with Izuku. Winter was coming to a close, but the cold was still around, so Toshinori dressed in something warm. Walking to the beach, he was expecting Izuku to be finished with what he was assigned. The number one hero was in for a surprise.

Hearing a yell, Toshinori looked up to see a pile of trash with Izuku standing on top of it. He was yelling at the top of his lungs in a victory cry. Adrian and Haru were watching in both amusement and pride.

"Told you he would go beyond." Haru said while holding out his hand.

"I know. Should've known better than to bet against you." Adrian said in defeat but still smiling. Reaching into his pocket, he handed Haru some money, who gladly accepted it.

"Go beyond, what?" Yagi asked, running up to the boys.

"Take a look at the view Mr. Yagi." Haru said without looking at him.

"It's a sight to behold." Adrian added.

"What- "he didn't get to finish as he looked at the beach, "Hey, hey, hey…He even cleaned outside where I told him to? Seriously? There's not even a speck of dust! Seriously?!"

It was true about everything he said. Izuku had cleaned up the entire beach, not just where Yagi had told him to. There wasn't a single bit of trash in the sand. Even the small dock on the beach didn't have any garbage in it. It truly was a sight to behold as the sun rose from the east.

He finished at the last minute! More than perfectly! Toshinori thought.

"Oh my…Oh my…goodness!" Toshinori exclaimed, shouting the last part as he turned into All Might. He noticed that Izuku looked tired. Right as the Stand User started to fall, the number one hero caught him with ease. "Good work."

"All Might…I did it…I did it!" Izuku said in a tired tone.

"Yeah, you surprised me, you entertainer!" All Might replied, while setting him down on his feet, "Teenagers are amazing! Take a look."

Izuku looked up to see All Might holding his phone with a picture on it. It was him, back when he was skinny and crying.

"This is…" Izuku didn't finish.

"It's you, ten months ago." All Might said smiling, "You did good. You really did! The mirage of it is finally just barely visible, but you have certainly become a suitable vessel!"

Adrian and Haru came down to the beach to see the difference. Izuku Midoriya, who used to be skinny to most kids, now had muscle. He wasn't bulky like All Might but lean like Bruce Lee with his own six pack. The green haired Stand User looked down at his hand.

"I feel like I'm cheating…" he said with tears in his eyes, "You did of this for me…I'm too blessed…"

"What are you? Retarded?" Adrian asked in an amusing tone, "You got this far because of your own hard work. You didn't even pull out Agile Emerald to help with the work."

"Izuku," Haru interjected, "everything that Adrian said was true. Now is not the time to doubt yourself."

Izuku looked at both of his friends and enveloped them in a hug.

"Thanks guys." He said as they hugged back. They let go so that Izuku could look at All Might.

I couldn't have said it better myself. All Might thought before speaking, "You are very lucky to have good friends, Young Midoriya. Never let them down and they'll do the same for you. Aside from those leaky eyes of yours that we'll have to fix and friendship bonding, it is time for the award ceremony, Young Midoriya!"

"Yes sir!" Izuku replied excitedly. All Might then pulled out a strand of his hair from his head and held it between his fingers.

"This is something I was once told:" All Might started, "'Something that you receive because you're lucky and something that you are given because you are recognized are different in essence.' Take that to heart. This is power that you earned because of your own effort."

Izuku gave him a nod with a look of determination on his face. He then proceeded to watch as All Might handed the strand of hair closer to him. What the number one hero said next surprised all three of the Stand Users.

"Eat this."

"Wait…what?!" Adrian exclaimed.

"Huh?" Izuku and Haru said at the same time.

"It doesn't matter what it is as long as you take in my DNA." All Might explained.

"It's too different from what I imagined!" Izuku exclaimed.

"Now, there's no time! You'll be late for the exam! Come, come, come!"

If anyone was passing the beach, they could hear Izuku scream.

8:00 A.M.

"We made it." Izuku said as he and his friends arrived at the U.A. entrance. It was flocking with kids heading in who wanted to pass the exam. Walking towards the doors Izuku thought back to what happened at the beach.

In the end, I didn't have time to test out the power I received from All Might.

Izuku then stopped in his tracks deep in thought. Haru and Adrian noticed, stopping next to him.

"What's wrong Izuku?" Haru asked.

"Please don't tell me your getting cold feet." Adrian said, "You've come so far."

"It's not that Adrian." Izuku answered with a disgusted look, "I swallowed the hair, but did I really receive his power…?"

"Out of my way, Deku!" shouted a familiar, annoying voice. All three boys turned to see Katsuki Bakugo walking towards them.

"Morning Bakugo." Izuku said politely without a hint of fear in his voice.

"Don't stand in front of me. I'll kill you, short stuff and Goldilocks."

"Sheesh. Would it kill you to say please and do I look like a girl to you?!" Adrian said in an angry tone as he and the others moved. Katsuki just continued to walk by without responding to the remark, surprising the Stand Users.

"Hey, isn't that Bakugo? The one with the sludge villain?" a student asked.

"Yeah. The Stand Users saved him. Talk about awesome teamwork." Another said.

"Look at him." Adrian said with a smirk, "Being ridiculed, even before the exam starts."

"Cut him some slack." Izuku replied, "Ever since that day, Bakugo hasn't tried to do anything to me. He never even challenged me, not once. Let's just leave him alone for a while."

"Fine," Adrian replied in an annoyed tone, "but the minute we get accepted, I'm back to putting him in his place. At the receiving end of Golden Knight's blade."

"That's never going to happen." Haru said in a commanding tone.

"Well, come on guys." Izuku said while running ahead. He was so focused on reaching his destination, he tripped on his own foot.

Are you kidding me?! I'm this close to U.A. and I'm getting a one-way trip to the hospital?! Izuku yelled in his mind as he fell face first to the ground. He was surprised though when he didn't make contact with the pavement. What surprised him even more was that his Stand didn't activate. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a voice.

"Are you all right?" it asked. The voice sounded feminine, a girl, probably his age. Izuku felt himself get righted onto his feet and looked to the one helped him. A short girl (5'1") of petite build, with fair skin. She had little pink marks on each of her cheeks, like a permanent blush. Her eyes were large and round, their irises a warm brown, with rather thick upper eyelashes, two longer and more prominent ones protruding outwards on either side, and fewer but more individually pronounced lower eyelashes.

Shoulder-length and about the same color as her eyes, her hair was bobbed and curved inwards at the ends, two longer clumps taking the same shape on either side of her face, and short bangs that reach roughly a quarter of the way down her forehead. She had a smile that could brighten up anyone's day, anyone but Katsuki Bakugo. Izuku also noticed that on the top inner segment of each of her fingers, she had a small pink pad, somewhat resembling the toe of a cat or a dog's paw.

"It's my quirk." She continued, "Sorry for using it without asking first. But it'd be bad luck if you fell, right? Aren't you nervous?"

That caused Izuku to start stuttering. "Uh, uh, uh, yeah! I mean-uh, uh…"

Haru was trying not to laugh while Adrian had an amused look on his face.

"Let's do our best. See ya!" the girl finished and walked into the building. Izuku watched with a look of astonishment mixed with shock on his face.

"I just talked to a girl!" he said with excitement.

"More like stuttered instead of talking." Adrian said walking next to him.

"I must've looked like an idiot."

"Don't worry. She had the right idea thinking you were nervous." Haru interjected, "I mean, we're all nervous. We just know how to deal under pressure. Come on. Let's head inside."

U.A. High School Hero Course Exam Orientation

"For all of you examinee listeners tuning in," said an adult voice addressing all the teenagers sitting in their seats, "welcome to my show today! Everybody say 'hey!'"

He was answered with silence.

"What a refined response." He continued, "Then I'll quickly present to you the rundown of the practical exam. Are you ready? Yeah!"

He was once again met with silence.

"Who is this guy?" Adrian asked.

"It's the Voice Hero, Present Mic!" Izuku exclaimed, "Wow…! I listen to him every week on the radio. I'm so moved! All the teachers at U.A. are pro heroes!"

"It was a rhetorical question."

"As it says in the requirements," Present Mic continued, "you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this!"

The screen showed a single room labeled 'You are here' for the students. Lines then showed up, connected to seven different rooms. Each one was labeled with a letter of the alphabet A-G.

"You can bring whatever you want with you. After the presentation, you'll head to the specified battle center, okay?"

Silence.

"Okay?!"

"In other words," Haru explained, "they won't let you work with your friends, huh?"

Izuku looked to his card then at Haru's, Adrian's and Katsuki's. His read 2234 while the others were 2235, 2232, and 2233. It even gave the location for which battle center they were going to. Izuku and Adrian were going to site B while Katsuki and Haru were going to site A.

"You're right." Izuku agreed, "Even though our examinee numbers are consecutive, two of us are assigned to different battle centers."

"Please look at your own card." Haru said.

"Sorry." Izuku apologized while looking away.

"Drat, now I can't crush you Deku." Katsuki complained.

"Like you ever could." Adrian added. The screen then changed to show the diagram of a small city. Silhouettes of robots then showed up with the numbers 1, 2 and 3 on a different on each.

"Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle center." Present Mic explained, "You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty. Your goal, dear listeners, is to use your Quirks or Stands to earn points immobilizing the faux villains. Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited."

"May I ask a question?" one of the students asked while raising their hand.

"Okay." Present Mic replied while pointing towards the student. A spotlight turned on revealing the one who raised their hand. It was a young man who was relatively tall and muscular young man with a wide frame. He had short dark blue hair, flattened neatly down and parted on the left of his head, a small patch completely shaved near the base of his head, and rather square blue eyes which match the notably pointed shape of his jaw. He was wearing a serious expression, and his eyebrows seemed to be permanently pointed inwards, quite thin and long in length, the far ends sharply hooked inwards, and he wore glasses with rectangular lenses. He was holding up a piece of paper for everyone to see.

Whose Clark Kent? Adrian thought to himself.

"On the printout, there are four types of villains." He said, "If that is a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake. We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be modeled into exemplary heroes."

Speak for yourself. Haru thought at listening to the guy. He was surprised though when the examinee turned around and pointed at Izuku.

"In addition," he continued, "you over there with the curly hair!"

Izuku pointed to himself with a puzzled look.

"You and your friends have been muttering this whole time. It's distracting! If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"

"I'm sorry…" Izuku apologized.

"Mind your own business!" Adrian retorted to the boy.

"Okay, okay, examinee numbers 7111 and 2232. Calm down." Present Mic said, "As for examinee 7111, thanks for the great message. The fourth type of villain is worth zero points. That guy's an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle center. An obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no reason to defeat it, either. I recommend that you listeners try to avoid it."

"Thank you very much! Please excuse the interruption!" examinee 7111 said before sitting down and the spotlight turned off. Some of the students started to whisper.

"I see…It's like the obstacles in a video game, huh?"

"The whole thin is like a video game."

"That's all from me!" Present Mic concluded, "Finally, I'll give you listeners a present—our school motto! The hero Napoleon Bonaparte once said: 'A true hero is someone who over comes life's misfortunes.' Go beyond. PLUS ULTRA! Now, everyone, good luck suffering!"

A bus took the examinees to their assigned locations. Izuku and Adrian went to B while Haru, who was stuck with Katsuki, went to site A. They both and other examinees, stood in front of a giant door that led to the mock city.

How much did it cost to build this?! Adrian asked himself.

It's time to do it. Izuku thought to himself, It's time to give everything I got from my training with All Might for the past ten months. Also, to give my all for the training Jotaro sensei put me through. I will become…the hero I always dreamed of being!

AN: The credit for Haru Watanabe goes to a friend of mine of was the actual creator of the character. Don't know his pen name, but thank you for your help. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Sentinel Prime, out!