Izuku let out everything he had felt inside him as a cry through early morning hours. His back arched back with the force of his yell. All these months. The struggles, the pain, the ache of his body as he pushed past his limits and beyond.

It all amounted to this moment, standing above the trash piled several feet high so that Izuku could see the far expanse of the beautiful clean beach, restored by his efforts.

Izuku felt the build-up in his chest again as he sucked in every last bit of air his lungs could take and let out another cry that echoes through the otherwise peaceful scenery.

The cold air chilled the skin of his bare torso as the soft curls of green hair clung in sweaty clumps to his neck, but this Izuku didn't notice as the last of his cries faded through his lips and fatigue set in, making the corners of his vision go hazy. He pitched forward over the edge of the pile headed straight into the soft sand when his mentor came to the rescue catching him mid-fall in his hero form.

"Excellent work." All Might smiled down at him, and Izuku did his best to smile back at his mentor, proud that he could prove himself to his number one hero.

"I finished everything...All Might, I did it." His voice was weak and shaky, but All Might didn't seem bothered. "Do you think I'm ready now?"

"Yeah, you did good, kid." All Might inspected him as he slowly set him down onto his own feet. "I gotta say I'm impressed. I knew you had it in you, but this is beyond."

Izuku clenched his eyes so focused on staying upright that he did not quite hear what All Might was saying at that moment, but there was a soft glow he could see through his shut eyes, and he opened them to see the blurry image of his old scared self staring back at him.

"Ummm..." He stared at the image, too tired to process what was in front of him.

"It's you crying ten months ago." All Might pulled the phone away, inspecting Izuku's shirtless form. He glanced down at himself, taking note of the toned muscle of his arms and the firm six-pack he had worked so hard to achieve. "Look how far you've come, such improvement!"

All Might clench his fists in excitement as he continued, "There's still a long road ahead of you before you can inherit my full power set, but it's starting to look like you can do it!" There was the heroic tint to his voice that raised Izuku's spirits every time.

He raised his hand, staring at the new callouses on his palms, all proof of his long months of training. But even in this proud moment, a small part of him whispered doubts in his ear.

"All Might, do I deserve this?" He looked up to his mentor, wanting to convey the gratitude he felt for him at that moment, but he needed more for his mentor to ensure the doubts that were mounting. "Are you sure?"

All Might had a look of confusion as he waited for Izuku to explain himself. "You put so much time and energy into helping me; how did I end up so lucky?"

All Might laughed, brushing off Izuku's worries with a pat on the back. "It was your hard work that did this, not mine."

Izuku tried to keep the tears back, but a few sniffles escaped him as he tried to hold back his tendencies to cry when overwhelmed. All Might thankfully didn't comment.

"Now for your reward Izuku Midoriya."

Izuku wiped the tears from his face smiling with pure joy at what was to come next. "Yes, Sir!"

All Might lifted a hand to his hair, and Izuku watched, wondering how this would happen when the older man paused in his actions. Izuku's brows pinched in confusion, unsure if he was expected to do anything when suddenly his mentor grabbed him from the waist, shooting them off to the side before a loud blast crashed where they once stood.

"All Might!" Izuku held onto his mentor, confused and alarmed as sand sprayed over their forms, getting stuck on his skin as he did his best to get his baring at the sudden turn of events.

His mentor's face was no longer smiling but was tainted in a deep scowl as he stared at the new intruder. His voice came out in a heavy rasp of what sounded like both anger and shock, making the back of Izuku's hair stand on end.

"All For One."

The black metal head casing he wore reminded Izuku of a gas mask. The stranger straightened his stand as he dusted some of the sand off his tailored suit.

"I do hate to have interrupted such an important moment, but I couldn't have you passing One For All before I had the honors of taking it from you." He put his hands behind his back unbothered by All Might, who had set Izuku down behind him. His stand was ready though his shoulders were tense. "I'm surprised you found any worth in such a weak child."

All Might didn't respond but instead looked back to Izuku, who caught his eye. "When I tell you to run, run young Midoriya."

"But All Might..." His mentors' brows pinched together, and he opened his mouth as if getting ready to yell back at him when All for One shot forward. All Might took the blow to the face before grabbing AFO's arm and twisting around to push the other man back and away from Izuku.

"Run Midoriya!"

Izuku hesitated, even as his knees shook with terror; some part of him couldn't bring himself to leave All Might to fight this Villain alone, but he was still quirkless, and he knew there was nothing he could do against someone like him. So he turned and began to run away like he was told.

"Not so fast young man..."

Izuku felt the heat of some blast headed his way, and he wondered if he would survive such a thing when All Might appeared once more, taking the blunt the attack.

As he protected Izuku from the line of fire, everything happened so fast as they rolled several yards away, more sand flying all around them, making Izuku's eyes sting in irritation. Izuku tried to look up through his watering eyes to the image of his mentor leaning over him.

"A..All MMight." Izuku could see the corners of his mouth tilt up into his usual heroic smile even as blood leaked from the edges and dripped down onto Izuku's cheek.

"Everything will be okay young Midoriya. I am Here" He felt his mentor's palm close over his mouth, and Izuku tried to ask what was happening when the copper taste of All Might's blood forced its way past his lips. He tried to pull away, but All Might kept him still until all he could do was swallow the fluid down, making him want to gag in disgust.

All Might held firm to Izuku's jaw, his face unreadable as he seemed to keep Izuku's more diminutive form hidden from AFO. When he finally let go of Izuku with a nod, he pulled away while Izuku did his best to clean his face from the bitter red fluid

"All Might, I won't allow either of you to escape. The boys' fate was sealed the moment you chose him as your successor."

He didn't seem to respond to AFO as he pulled himself and Izuku back to their feet. The beginning of a bloody stain started to spread through his cloak.

Izuku knew this was bad, but before he could do or say anything, All Might grabbed him from either shoulder and threw him across the sand and over towards the open street.

The hard impact of his bare skin on concrete made Izuku cry out in pain, but he ignored it as he lifted himself to look back at his mentor in surprise.

"All Might!?"

"Get out of here Midoriya!"

All for One lifted his arm towards Izuku, sending black tendrils towards him, but Al Might got in the way, taking full impact as they pierced through his front.

Izuku shouted in alarm, and without realizing his arm raised out towards All Might as he got up to his feet and ran forward without thought, but All Might shouted at Izuku, blood spraying from his mouth as he struggled to grab onto the black tendrils that had pierced straight through.

"I said go! You're just going to keep getting in the way!"

All Might broke through the black tendrils before he charged forward, slamming his entire body into All for One, pinning the other man into the sand.

Izuku flinched at his words; he knew All Might was right, but his words still cut deep. He tried telling himself that even if he had a quirk, there was no way he was any match against this Villain.

"I'll go find help, All Might, just hold on!"

Izuku took one last glance at All Might, who smashed down into All for One's mask, while the other slammed his fist into the hero's injured side. Even at that moment, he looks like a hero that could take on anyone.

So, Izuku let that fuel him as he turned and ran, he ran until his legs felt like they would give out and his lungs burned with every inhale of breath, but he didn't stop, not until he could no longer see the beach at his back or until the violent crashes of two overpower beings fought.

He slowed down only then as he leaned against a concrete wall trying to catch his breath, but then there were hew sounds that reached his ears of screams and explosions.

At first, Izuku thought AFO had followed him, but he took notice of the area around him and the utter destruction of the buildings and houses, smoke building from a few as different fires had begun a few miles away.

He looked above him only to see Heroes and Villains were battling high above him with no concern for the damage that was happening of the houses or nor overly concerned of the civilians that screamed and ran away trying to find cover.

It was utter chaos around him, and Izuku wondered if he could even find All Might help at this point.

He jogged at a slower pace, but the farther he went, the worst it seemed to be as more ad more villains and heroes came into view in a locked struggle for power.

He did his best to move out of the way of any fight that got too close. Better to stay unseen, but he was at a loss of what to do now. He reached into his pocket for his phone, and although it cracked, he was relieved to find it still worked.

Izuku tried to call the police, but at this point, the busy signal he received was unsurprising. He looked around him, finding a group of scared civilians hiding in one of the small shops as a Villain with what looked like a water quirked broke the fire hydrants around him, turning them into giant tentacles against two smaller time heroes.

He wasn't familiar with either hero as one flew up into the sky to avoid the watery arms while the other flipped over a car to hide behind.

Izuku moved closer to the shop and tried to get the man's attention standing closest to him watching the fight.

"What's happening?" he asked, and the man gave him a look of utter disbelief.

"Where have you been? Villains in the thousands are attacking the Hero agencies all over Japan, it's total anarchy!"

Izuku paled; if all heroes were busy defending the city, then All Might was on his own against All for One.

A sudden cry from one of the heroes caught his attention, and he turned to see the one with the flying quirk get blasted into the side of a nearby building with enough force to crack the brick wall on impact.

A thought of his smiling mom waving him goodbye as he headed out this morning came to mind, and Izuku's shoulders tensed.

'Mom should be hiding at home right?'

Izuku dialed her number to make sure, but the call wouldn't go through. The monotone beep of his phone with the message that her phone was out of service area made his thoughts race with why that would be the case.

He wanted to help All Might, but his mother became a priority at this moment, or Izuku reasoned just long enough for him to confirm that she was okay.

He thanked the man who gave him a worried look. Izuku knew he must look a sight, blood smeared across his face, body injured and bruised, but he didn't have time to explain as he left the area heading straight for home.

His apartment wasn't thought of as far for most; it still took twice the time it usually would have taken as he had to stick to back roads continuously and empty streets to avoid the occasional Villain or stray blast.

Izuku couldn't say if they were just villains as some looked like the average worker or student. Still, they seemed to have taken advantage of the chaos as civilians raided the shops and homes in the area, the heroes too busy defending themselves from the real threats to stop any of them.

As Izukureached the end of his street, he could see the ominous spread of smoke before he saw the building, and his stomach dropped at crumbled remains of their apartment.

He fell to his knees; nothing but dust and debris stacked hazardously against each other. If his mother was inside, could she have really survived this?

Or worst, was she still trapped inside, pinned by the beams and concrete that was left?

He was stuck in place, eyes wide in disbelief of what used to be his home. The eerie silence of the moment weighed down on Izuku as his heart pounded in his ears, growing louder and louder until he could hear nothing else. Only one thought came to mind like a broken record.

'The Villains Won, the villains won.'

'They Won.'