"Come on, Young Midoriya! One, two, one, two!" All Might's booming voice echoed as he sat in his muscular form, cross-legged atop an old refrigeration scrap being pulled by a young girl.
"R-Right, urrgghhhh," Shizuka grunted.
Scattered around them lay a multitude of trash and junk, ranging from a relatively small ruined bike frame to an entire car somehow finding its way here. The rhythmic sound of waves reverberated, crashing and sweeping across the sandy ground.
Katsuki stared at the scene, utterly baffled. He massaged his temple while letting out an exasperated sigh.
"It looks like you're bullying Shorty here, All Might," Katsuki remarked.
Shizuka attempted to reassure her best friend, her voice strained, "Uhhhh, I-I can do it, Kacchan. I can... urghhh, do it!" She strained harder, pulling the old refrigeration unit along with All Might.
"Sure you can, Shorty," Katsuki responded with heavy sarcasm, fixing her with a deadpan stare.
"Don't worry, Young Bakugo. Like i said before this training regimen is tailored to Young Midoriya's capabilities and limits," All Might reassured him. "Young Midoriya already has a strong foundation. Let me guess, you're already used to exercising your body, maybe at a gym?"
"N-Not exactly," Shizuka replied with a slightly quavering voice. "I-I just did normal exercises at home and some jogging."
"And now you're here, pulling metal scraps several times your size. Quite the drastic change, don't you think?" Katsuki snorted, clearly amused. He then turned to All Might. "When you said you would train us yourself, this wasn't quite what we had in mind."
All Might only responded with his signature smile.
Katsuki observed as Shizuka continued her so-called training—cleaning up trash and debris at a beach as he did his own training. It was undeniably an absurd way to train someone for inheriting the quirk of the number one hero.
..
Let's turn back the clock a bit. It was just after the second meeting of Shizuka and All Might. In a quiet cafe nestled in a corner of town, Shizuka and Katsuki sat side by side, each with a glass of iced coffee on the table in front of them. Across from them sat All Might, now in his skinny form.
"That's one hell of a bullshit story," Katsuki commented. "If I hadn't seen it myself, I'd have just laughed at you."
"Sadly, that's exactly what happened," All Might responded with a sad smile. He had just finished retelling his unfortunate situation to Katsuki, who didn't take it well.
"To think the strongest hero is dying," Katsuki muttered. "What a shitty situation we have."
"Dying, haha. While I'm weakened... by a lot, I don't have any plans to die yet, Young Bakugo."
"You're so rude, Kacchan," Shizuka scolded Katsuki. "All Might is still doing his best!" she huffed.
Katsuki clicked his tongue. "Yeah, I know. I at least respect that. But..." He turned his gaze to All Might. "You said that whoever reduced you to half a cripple is gone? Dead and gone?"
All Might clenched his fists. "Yes, I'm sure of it."
Katsuki briefly closed his eyes. "I'll take your word for it," he said.
"Hmm, why did you ask that, Kacchan?" Shizuka inquired, slurping her iced coffee.
"Can't figure it out on your own, Shorty?" Katsuki smirked.
Pinch.
"O-Owowowow, stop that!" Katsuki yelped as Shizuka pinched his side while pouting.
"Just tell me, you meanie."
"F-Fine!... Jeez," Katsuki conceded, rubbing the spot where Shizuka had pinched him. "All Might just told us there was someone strong enough to match him, someone who wounded him to this extent. Clearly, they weren't just your average purse thief. You following so far?"
Shizuka nodded.
Katsuki continued, "Now imagine if someone like that still exists out there—someone All Might had difficulty defeating. Given All Might's current condition, I doubt he could handle it. Isn't that right, All Might?"
"If we're talking about your hypothetical situation, then... unfortunately, yes. I'm much weaker than when I was in my prime. If I were to encounter someone like the one I fought back then, it would be tremendously difficult for me to defeat them," All Might confirmed.
"And that's why you're searching for someone to inherit your quirk, power, place, and..." Katsuki paused before adding, "...enemies."
All Might and Shizuka fell silent as Katsuki continued, "The other heroes aren't strong enough to handle a villain who could match you, All Might. That's why you're searching for your successor, the next person to inherit your place. The next All Might."
To be honest, he wasn't initially on board with the idea of his childhood friend risking her life to become a hero. Her quirk already put her at risk if she used it. However, he saw her determination and thought that maybe, just maybe, she could be a hero. She might not be at the top of the heroes' leaderboard, but she could still be a hero.
Then All Might came into the picture and changed everything.
To become a successor of All Might and inherit his responsibility, including potentially facing strong enemies, Shizuka needed to fully understand what she was getting into.
"A wonderful insight, Young Bakugo," All Might nodded. "I wish I could say otherwise, but yes, that's the risk of becoming the next... Symbol of Peace. So, how about it, Young Midoriya? Do you still want to take my offer?"
"Remember, Shorty, with All Might's power comes a huge responsibility. And if your status as All Might's successor is revealed, all the villains who hate him will be coming after you," Katsuki reminded her.
Shizuka slurped the last of her iced coffee before setting the glass on the table.
"Obviously, I'm in," she declared, determination shining in her eyes. "You should know by now that I won't give up on my dream, Kacchan."
Katsuki smirked. "That's the Shorty I know—kind of idiot..."
"Hey!"
"But one who doesn't give up easily. Fine, I guess. I need my sidekick to be right beside me when I claim the number one spot."
"Hmm? Number two? Who said I'll settle for number two?" Shizuka playfully smiled. "I'm the soon-to-be All Might's successor, you know."
Katsuki scoffed and returned her banter. "As if you'll get that with me around. Even with All Might's quirk, I can still beat your ass. I'm just that good."
"Oho, wanna bet, Kacchan? The one who claims the number one hero spot in the future wins."
"You're on, Shorty. So, what do I get when I win?"
"Hoo, confident, aren't you, Kacchan? How about the loser has to do whatever the winner says?"
Katsuki grinned. "Deal."
The two aspiring heroes laughed together. All Might watched their banter with a smile. Maybe there was hope for the future generations after all.
All Might cleared his throat. "Young Midoriya, take this." He handed Shizuka a piece of paper with a phone number on it. "That's my phone number. I'll contact you later for your training."
"Training?" Shizuka tilted her head.
"Yes, as of now, your body isn't ready to receive the raw power of my quirk. If we were to transfer it now, your limbs would go... poof, explode!" All Might made an exploding gesture.
Shizuka nodded slowly "...right"
All Might turned to Katsuki. "Young Bakugo, if you'd like, you can join us too."
Katsuki raised an eyebrow. "Training with the number one hero? Sure, I won't miss it. Maybe I can even spar with Shorty once or twice to remind her of her place." He tossed a teasing smirk toward Shizuka, who responded by blowing a raspberry.
...
It was the next day when Shizuka and Katsuki found out how All Might would train them. After they got home from school, they went to the place All Might said he would meet them. It was a beach, a very trashy and dirty beach with piles and piles of trash and junk lying around everywhere.
"...Are we sure this is the place?" Katsuki asked.
Shizuka checked her phone, and the GPS coordinates that All Might gave them were pointing to this beach. She nodded, "Apparently, it is the right place."
"Weird place to train someone," Katsuki commented.
"Yes, this is not exactly what I expected," Shizuka added.
"Hahahaha, you've come, Young Midoriya, Young Bakugo!" All Might's voice boomed, jolting the two teens.
They turned towards where his voice came from and saw him in his muscular form, standing on top of a pile of metal scraps. He then jumped and landed not far from them.
"Here, take this," All Might gave both Shizuka and Katsuki stacks of papers. "This will be the training plan for the two of you. Of course, Young Midoriya will have slightly more exercises than Young Bakugo."
Shizuka nodded as she noticed her training plan papers were bulkier than Katsuki's. They checked the contents on the papers.
"This is a very detailed plan," Katsuki said. "It even includes the needed diet."
"Daily schedule for weekdays, weekends, and even a sleep schedule too," Shizuka added.
"Yes! These are tailor-made plans for the two of you to make it into the UA entrance exam and be the top scorers!" All Might exclaimed, striking a pose.
"The Aim to Pass American Dream Plan!"
Shizuka's eyes sparkled.
Katsuki, on the other hand, raised a brow in confusion, "Why American?"
"Why not?" All Might shrugged.
"...Fair enough," Katsuki replied. "So I guess this part that says cleaning the trash means we will...clean all of this?"
"Yes, you two will clean this beach during the set scheduled period. This will also train your body strength as you two will do many push, pull, and lift exercises," All Might explained.
Shizuka mused, nodding, "Well, community service is a part of a hero's job."
All Might raised his thumb, "You got it right, Young Midoriya. Community service is indeed part of a hero's job. Sadly, not many do it these days. Let's not waste any more time. Let's get started!"
"Oh!" Shizuka raised her hand.
And so, Shizuka and Katsuki began their training. Shizuka obviously struggled more than Katsuki along the way. It wasn't that she wasn't fit, but her usual exercises rarely involved any weight lifting. Yet she didn't utter a single word of complaint and kept going.
Time passed, and the training for the day was done. Katsuki and Shizuka were resting on the sandy beach ground as the sun set on the horizon.
"Good job, you two. Here's a drink," All Might said, handing them a bag filled with two medium-sized bottles. "It's protein shakes, my personal blend. Come on, try it."
"This is quite good," Shizuka said after trying the shakes.
"Not bad, a bit too sweet though," Katsuki commented. "Anyway, All Might, I want to ask something. What exactly is your quirk?"
"Hm? I didn't tell you two yet?"
"No," Shizuka shook her head.
"Nope," Katsuki confirmed.
"I see, I must have forgotten about it," All Might said, clenching his fist. "You two must at least know that there's no further information about my quirk, right? Even when I was asked in an interview, I always joked about it to change the topic."
Both Shizuka and Katsuki nodded.
"Then let me tell you about my quirk, One for All. It's a stockpiling quirk that can be transferred to another person. One cultivates the quirk before passing it to the next person, and the next person also cultivates it before passing it to the person after them. Like a passing torch that shines brighter as it's passed on, this is my quirk. One for All, the culmination of several generations' strengths, hopes, and dreams."
"Whoa, that's so cool," Shizuka was amazed and started taking notes. Where she got the notebook and pen to write? Nobody knows except her.
Katsuki hummed, "No wonder, you're the best damn hero in Japan, if not the world. A new game plus kind of quirk, huh."
"New game plus?" Shizuka repeated Katsuki's words before giggling. "That's one way to describe it."
"How about your quirk, Young Midoriya? You told me it's a self-harming quirk," All Might asked Shizuka.
Katsuki glanced at Shizuka, "Self-harming? Really, that's the best explanation you have?"
Shizuka pouted, "I didn't exactly have time to explain it properly." She then turned to All Might, "I called my quirk Lion's Heart, as my mom named it."
"It's a quirk that allows me to take on the burdens of someone I have an emotional connection with. Whether it's physical burdens like fatigue or pain, or mental burdens like anxiety, panic attacks, and sadness," Shizuka explained.
"Sounds like a support-oriented quirk, Young Midoriya," All Might remarked.
Shizuka nodded, "Yes, when I use my quirk on someone, they never feel tired and their mind stays calm and composed. That's because all the burdens are transferred to me, leaving them always at their peak condition as long as I maintain my connection to them."
"I see where the self-harm part comes from," All Might nodded in understanding. "Young Midoriya, does that mean you can also heal people with your quirk? As wounds or illnesses count as physical burdens."
Shizuka hummed for a while, "Yes and no, I guess. It's a bit more complicated than that. You see, if I use my quirk on someone who's already hurt, the only thing I can do is relieve them of their pain and transfer it over to me. But if they're about to get hurt after I connect to them, then the wound or illness would be transferred to me."
All Might winced a bit, "That's... I'm sorry to say this, a bit disturbing."
Katsuki scoffed, "Disturbing, more like messed up. The fact that Shorty has a severe case of being a selfless idiot doesn't help."
"Mou, Kacchan, you called me an idiot again!"
"I'm only stating the fact here."
Shizuka cutely glared at Katsuki, "I'm gonna tell Aunt Mitsuki."
Katsuki's eyes widened, "Don't you dare, Shorty."
"Hmph," Shizuka averted her face from Katsuki.
"Fine, fine, you win," Katsuki sighed.
"Ehem," All Might cleared his throat. "Young Midoriya, I really hope you won't ever... overuse your quirk."
"Hmm? Don't worry, All Might. As long as I'm strong enough to endure my quirk, everything should be fine," Shizuka reassured him.
"Also, I'm wondering, Lion's Heart is a unique name for that kind of quirk," All Might said.
"Well, that's because it's not the officially registered name," Katsuki groaned. "She and her family already tried to change the name, right, Shorty?"
Shizuka nodded slowly, "It's been years since we requested the name change. It still somehow hasn't been approved."
"I know you've heard me say this, Shorty, but the doctor who named your quirk is an asshole," Katsuki spat.
"W-Well, technically... they weren't wrong? Hahaha," Shizuka tried to laugh it off.
All Might furrowed his brows, "So what's the registered name then?"
Katsuki stared at All Might right in the eyes, "Martyr," he answered. "Tch, like I said, the doctor is an asshole."
"That's... quite a sad name for a quirk," All Might admitted. "I understand why you changed it to Lion's Heart, Young Midoriya."
Shizuka smiled, "Yes, I like the new name too. My mom gave it to me. She said that Lion's Heart represents strength and bravery in the face of adversity."
The one who was brave enough to stare danger in the face and confront it head-on. The one who was strong enough to endure anything. The one with the courage to help others.
That was Lion's Heart.
Name : Midoriya Shizuka
Quirk Name : Lion's Heart
Quirk Ability : Shizuka has the ability to take on the physical and mental burdens of others with whom she shares an emotional connection. When the burdens of others are given to Shizuka, they always feel refreshed, at their peak strength, and even can't take any damage, as everything is instantly transferred to Shizuka. The only limit to Lion's Heart's capability is Shizuka's own body and mental fortitude to endure the burdens.
