Hey, hey, it's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Izuku barely worked out a day in his life before coming under All Might's tutelage. Sure, he tested his newfound work, but that was different from all the weightlifting, stamina, and muscle building he was now subjugated to on a daily basis. Then again, it's not like Izuku didn't ask for this taking on the Symbol of Peace as his personal trainer. It's just now the reality of the situation finally hit him.
Still, Izuku was glad about the progress the two made. Especially when school finally ended and Izuku had more time on his hands to train. The boy was definitely building up muscles, which was cool, he guessed.
On the subject of his mentor, All Might was a pretty good physical trainer. He even had a whole outline for Izuku's workout schedule, including dietary habits and sleeping time. Of course, Izuku would have trouble sticking to this, but that is another time.
Despite All Might being a great physical teacher, he was stumped on how to teach Izuku to control his own telekinesis. Even the Number One Hero had limits on his wisdom, and Izuku couldn't blame him for that. All Might was purely physical, relying on his Quirk's overwhelming strength and speed to stop Villains. Izuku's Quirk was purely mental, relying on his mind to do the heavy lifting.
Over the remaining months, Izuku trained nearly every day, both his body and his Quirk. Since All Might had rudimentary knowledge on telekinetics in general, it was up to Izuku to experiment with his own Quirk.
Sometimes, it was through the examples of other Heroes…
"So, what are you planning to do again," All Might asked, sitting on a junkpile in his skinny form.
Izuku stood a fair distance away. Most of the trash was already cleared out, leaving a wide berth for himself.
"I'm going to try to fly," Izuku explained. "Some of the Pro Heroes I've read up on said that if they extend their telekinetic field around themselves, they would be able to simulate flight."
"And you think you'll be able to pull off something similar?"
Izuku turned and shrugged. "I don't know yet, sir. That's why I'm trying it out."
"Well, good luck, my boy," All Might gave a thumbs up. "Plus Ultra."
Izuku turned and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in and then out. He opened his eyes and jumped with his telekinesis activated around him. To be fair, he jumped up higher than he would normally, but gravity caught up to him and Izuku fell face first into the sand.
"Young Midoriya, are you alright?!" All Might started to get up before Izuku's hand raised up, motioning the Pro Hero to stop.
"I'm alright," Izuku reassured, his voice muffled by the sand. After picking himself up and brushing the sand out of his face and clothes, Izuku decided to try again.
Izuku jumped and then activated his Quirk on himself. His thought process was that jumping and using his Quirk sort of cancelled each other out. Like pressing two buttons at once on a keypad or a controller. Maybe it was one after another: jump then Quirk.
The result was Izuku doing a backflip in midair before landing face first in the sand again. Toshinori got up and ran over to help Izuku up.
"Maybe we should take a small break," Toshinori advised.
"Maybe," Izuku once again brushed off the sand from his face. "Do you have any advice?"
Toshinori scratched the back of his head. "Well, I can't fly, but my jumping is the best I can compare with. Whenever I prepare to jump, I squat down, clench my butt-cheeks, and build up power in my legs before rocketing off."
Izuku looked up at his mentor, "That's…interesting, but I'm not looking to launch myself into the stratosphere. I'm trying to go at it small."
"Well, you know more about your Quirk then I do. I'll make sure you don't hurt yourself too bad."
And with that, Toshinori left to sit back on his junkpile again. Izuku dusted the rest of the sand off and closed his eyes. Izuku tried to analyze the problem. Activating his Quirk after he jumps only sends him flying into the ground. What could be different? Maybe Izuku could take it slow. He remembered when he first started to move things with his telekinesis: they were slow and planned out, only getting faster the more Izuku practiced with it. Maybe that was the answer: going slow.
Izuku took another deep breath in and focused. He put the palms of his hands facing the ground as he got into his stance. He envisioned a dome of energy around himself. He then willed it to go up. He felt the grains of sand slowly rise with him. Then, he felt his Quirk catching himself and slowly rise it upward. All the while, continue to keep up his rhythm of breathing.
"Young Midoriya! You're doing it," Toshinori cried out.
Izuku opened his eyes to see himself floating two feet off the ground. He let out a cry of joy as he started to lift himself higher and higher. Izuku let out shouts of excitement as he twirled and flipped in the air.
He read how some Heroes describe flying as one of the greatest things in the world, and they were right. Even just floating there, Izuku felt an amazing sensation he never did before. Even All Might caught the infectious joy.
It wasn't until several minutes later that Izuku noticed, as he was getting higher and higher, that he had one question that he didn't have the answer for. And it scared him.
"How do I get down?!" Izuku yelled.
All Might had a brief look of worry before shifting towards his iconic smile.
"LET GO OF YOURSELF! I'll CATCH YOU!" All Might expanded into his muscular form.
Izuku fought through his fear and tried to remain on the fact that All Might will catch him. Izuku let out a breath as he let go of himself.
Izuku screamed as he fell, but not before getting caught in the strong arms of All Might. The Number One Hero gently put Izuku down on the ground, where the boy tried to regain the lost wind from his lungs.
All Might transformed back into his skinny form with a cough of blood.
"Next time we try that, let's be in somewhere with a ceiling, okay?" The Symbol of Peace advised.
"Yeah," Izuku shakily said, nodding his head.
Other times, it was by complete accident…
Izuku was out removing machinery from one of the largest piles. It was filled with old kitchen appliances all shoved in together. It reminded Izuku of a very old game called Jenga. It's basically what he was doing: removing pieces to make sure the whole tower doesn't fall.
He had already done this with several piles. After several weeks of doing this, he was getting the hand of it. All he had to do was rely on his intuition and muscle memory.
Izuku was having trouble with one stubborn cooler. He could have used his telekinesis, but he was currently on his physical training part of the day. Each tug brought the cooler closer and closer till it finally popped out.
Izuku, proud about finally getting it out, turned to walk back to the legions of dumpsters waiting for him. What he didn't know was that cooler was an integral part of the pile, and soon, it started to destabilize. What's worse was a refrigerator that was on top of the pile making its way to fall on Izuku.
Toshinori, looking on from a distance, noticed before his young protégé could.
"Midoriya, watch out behind you!" The Hero yelled. His student turned, seeing the fridge about to crush him. The boy froze, unable to move out of the way. All Might quickly got up and ran, but he was too far away in his normal form to catch up and already used up his time.
Toshinori could only watch in horror as Izuku brought up his arms in a futile means of defending himself, dropping the cooler in process. The fridge slammed into the boy with the tell-tale sound of metal bending.
Rather than the fridge continuing to fall down, it acted like it hit a sturdier material and rolled off to the side. Toshinori stopped in his tracks when saw Izuku, still standing and completely unharmed. The boy just looked around himself, in shock trying to find out what happened to him.
All Might rushed towards his student, patting him down to feel for any bruises.
"Young Midoryia, are you all right?! Does anything hurt?!" The Pro Hero feverishly asked his protégé.
Izuku shook his head no. "No, sir. I – nothing seems to be hurt at all. What happened?"
"I don't know, but" The hero pointed at the fridge. "Apparently, whatever you did made you tough enough to dent that refrigerator and come out unscathed. What was going on through your head when that happened?"
"I remember being scared and afraid. That I couldn't move. Then, I just tried to defend myself on my own. I felt it hit me, but I didn't feel any pain. Actually, I felt like I was activating my Quirk instinctually," Izuku started to mumble. "Could it be that I can activate my Quirk whenever I'm in danger? Is it always fully automatic or do I have to concentrate on it? Does it work for things I can see, or can I be surprised attack? The only way I could survive that is -"
"Young Midoriya, you're losing me with your mumbling," Toshinori reminded his student to slow down.
"Sorry," Izuku apologized. "I think what happened is that I summoned a telekinetic shield all over my body that stopped that refrigerator from crushing me."
"Is it automatic? Or do you to recognize the danger to block it?"
"That's what I was thinking as well."
Toshinori awkwardly coughed. "Do you want to test it?"
Izuku thought about for a moment then answered, "No. I really don't want to almost get hurt again."
"Good. I didn't want that to happen as well."
"Sometimes, Izuku's drive was his greatest strength…"
The sun was setting on a sweet Saturday evening. Nearly half of the beach had been cleared already and master and student were sitting, enjoying some cool refreshing drinks.
"You've made good progress, my boy," All Might complimented the boy.
"Thank you, sir," Izuku beamed. "It really means a lot coming from you."
"You've earned it."
The two sat in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company in silence.
"You ready to call it a day?" The Hero asked his student.
Normally, this is where Izuku would say yes, pack up his things and then leave for his home. Today, however, Izuku responded differently.
"Actually, sir," Izuku pointed to the distance. "I want to pick up that."
Toshinori followed his student's finger to a rusted, beat-up old pick-up truck. It was the center of a large pile until Izuku removed most of it with his telekinesis. Both teacher and student were surprised to find a truck on the beach. It was an antique, as well. Normally, if this was a sponsored clean-up job, All-Might or someone with a strength Quirk, would be able to pick it up and move it out onto the street. Since this was training for Izuku, they decided to wait till Izuku's telekinesis was strong enough for it.
"You sure you can lift something like that now?" All Might asked.
Izuku had been training his telekinesis often, even outside of practice. Izuku was getting good at lifting heavier objects as well as dealing with multiple objects at once. Izuku once mentioned moving the furniture in his room multiple times, and that his strongest object was his own bed.
Izuku returned All Might's gaze with a determined look of his own.
"I'm sure of it." The boy answered confidently.
The Symbol of Peace nodded his approval. Izuku got up and walked till he was thirty feet in front of the truck. He took a deep breath in and out. He got into his stance, this time without his hands guiding the truck. He focused.
The truck skidded on the sand, the metal shrieking in protest to Izuku's power. Then, it got lifted off of the sand and over the road. It landed moderately gentle on the ground next to the dumpsters.
Izuku excitedly turned to his mentor, who had a face of awe at Izuku's Quirk. Izuku wore a big smile and shouted, "I did it!"
Toshinori was about to say it as well but noticed that Izuku's nose started to bleed.
"Midoyria, your nose!"
Izuku's fingers went up and touched the blood freely flowing down his nose.
"Oh!" Izuku didn't even realize he was bleeding.
All Might was quick with the tissues as Izuku used them to plug his nostrils and clean up the blood. Even if he overused his Quirk, it was still progress for Izuku.
"Sometimes, it was his own worst enemy…"
The garbage bags suddenly hit the sand far sooner than expected. Toshinori could see Izuku was exhausted, even if he couldn't see the boy's face. His body language spoke all the silent words he needed.
The Symbol of Peace approached his young student.
"Midoriya, are you okay?"
Izuku turned, slightly surprised. "What?" It was like he didn't hear the question at first. "I'm fine, sir. I just lost my grip that's all."
Even with his eyesight not being as good as it once was, Toshinori could see the bags under Izuku's eyes.
"Are you getting enough sleep?" The Number One Hero gently asked.
"I am, I am," Izuku answered too quickly. "I just need to focus up."
"Izuku," All Might used Midoryia's first name to show how serious he was. "Are you following the guidelines? Do you not get enough sleep?"
"I do," Izuku snapped. His frustrated look gave way to a guilty expression. "I just…do some extra exercises before bed."
"What kind of exercises?"
Turns out Izuku does some extra exercises before bed. And these reps would last longer than he was supposed to be up.
All Might sighed in disappointment. "Izuku, the All-American Dream plan is tailored with your body in mind. Following it would reach you exactly where you need to be. These late-night workouts are only hurting you in the long run. You don't need the extra exercises."
"I do need them!" Izuku snapped. "I'm going against kids who've had their Quirks for years. They've been training to be Heroes for years. If I have any chance against them, then I need go beyond what's required! Isn't that your motto? 'Plus Ultra'? Go beyond?"
Toshinori pinched his eyes. He hated when people used his words against.
"There's a difference between going Plus Ultra and going beyond what is healthy," Toshinori explained. "Your body needs rest to rebuild your muscles. The more you work out without proper rest time is going to hurt you in the long run, and I'm not just talking about your body. Your Quirk also needs rest. Do you understand?"
Izuku looked down in embarrassment over getting scolded, but he knew there were truth in All Might's words.
"I understand," Izuku answered. "I'll take a break then get back on this pile."
"No."
Izuku turned to look his mentor in the face.
"You need a lot more than a break. Head home and relax. Watch some videos, read a book, take a nap, whatever. Just give your body some rest for the night. I'll have to rework your schedule, but tomorrow, we'll be back making progress."
Izuku wanted to protest, to say he didn't need to go home now, but he knew he was lying to himself. The more tired he was, the weaker his telekinesis was, and it showed with those garbage bags.
His head hung low, Izuku followed back to the road where his stuff was before he heard his mentor called out.
"Hey," Izuku turned to face the sunken-eyed man. "You've been making good progress. Don't burn yourself out just to prove to someone that you're enough."
Izuku stood there, trying to take it in. Was he trying to prove himself? To who? To All Might? To Kacchan? To…himself?
Izuku nodded and left to go home.
"But, in the end, the boy was able to overcome himself and accomplish his labor."
Izuku sat on the edge of the road overlooking the beach. He was beat, sweat staining his shirt. He chugged his water bottle ravenously. Wiping his lips, Izuku smiled proudly over his hard work.
The sound of footsteps brough Izuku to a stunned Toshinori. Before he arrived, Izuku spent the early morning cleaning the last remains of trash on the beach. Now Dagobah Beach was absolutely spotless, a state it hasn't been in for years. Izuku couldn't help but admire not only it's natural beauty, but the fact that it was his doing that restored the beach. It couldn't be so bad for Izuku to be prideful of his achievements every once and a while.
"My boy," Toshinori finally spoke up. "This is…this is…"
All Might expanded into his Hero form and shouted.
"THIS IS INCREDIBLE!"
Izuku felt a genuine smile break across his face.
"Yeah, I, uh, wanted to surprise you today. I was already nearly done." Izuku noted.
"INDEED, YOU WERE," All Might acknowledged. "AND A WHOLE WEEK BEFORE THE ENTERANCE EXAM!"
Honestly, if he didn't overwork himself so much, Izuku might have done it earlier with the help of his Quirk.
Izuku nodded as both teacher and student watched the rising sun together.
All Might clears his throat.
"IZUKU, I WANT TO BE OPEN WITH YOU. I HAVEN'T BEEN FULLY TRUTHFUL ABOUT MY INTENTIONS."
Izuku looked at the Symbol of Peace in surprise.
"DON'T GET ME WRONG, I FULLY INTENDED TO TRAIN YOU AFTER SEEING YOU START OUT HERE. I WAS WILLING TO HELP YOU OUT, PLUS IT WOULD BE EXPERIENCE FOR MY UPCOMING TEACHING CAREER AT UA."
Oh right, Izuku remembered that All Might mentioned he would be teaching at UA this semester. Normally, he'd be ecstatic to learn his idol would be teaching at the same school he went too. But after months of working with and learning from the man, Izuku got used to the presence of the Number One Hero of Japan.
"SECRETLY, I'VE BEEN OBERSVING AND TESTING YOU, YOUNG MIDORYIA," All Might admitted. "THE TRUTH IS I WAS WONDERING IF YOU WOULD BE A WORTHY SUCESSOR TO ME."
That snapped Izuku's attention in an instant. Him?! As the successor to All Might?!
"All Might, sir, I'm not sure I understand what you're saying," Izuku pleaded the Hero to explain.
"THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MY QUIRK YOU SHOULD KNOW," The Symbol of Peace drew in a breath. "NOT ONLY DOES MY QUIRK GIVE ME TREMENDOUS STRENGTH AND POWER, IT CAN ALSO BE PASSED ON."
Izuku didn't say nothing. How could he at such a monumental reveal like that.
"NOT IN A FAMIAL SENSE, BUT IN A LITERAL SENSE," All Might explained. "MY QUIRK CAN BE TRANSFERRED TO WHOEVER I CHOOSE. IN FACT, IT'S WHY MY QUIRK IS NAMED THE WAY IT IS: ONE FOR ALL. ONE QUIRK FOR ALL PEOPLE.
All Might gained a nostalgic tint in his eyes. "MY MASTER PASSED THIS QUIRK DOWN TO ME WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE. AND HER MASTER DID THE SAME TO HER. AND SO ON AND SO ON. GENERATIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN HAVE USED THIS QUIRK TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT AND FIGHT EVIL."
"NOT JUST ANYONE IS CHOOSEN TO WIELD SUCH POWER," All Might shook his head for emphasis. "ONLY THOSE WHO SHOW STRONG HEROIC QUALITIES ARE DESERVING OF SUCH POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY.
"AND YOU, IZUKU MIDOYRIA!" All Might dramatically pointed at his student. "I BELIEVE YOU HOLD SUCH QUALITIES! I KNOW YOU'VE EARNED IT THROUGH ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND TRAINING. AND IF MY MASTER WERE STILL HERE, I BELIEVE SHE WOULD SAY THE SAME AS WELL!"
"IZUKU MIDORYIA, WILL YOU ACCEPT MY QUIRK?! TO CARRY ON THE LEAGCY OF ONE FOR ALL AND BECOME A TRUE HERO?!" All Might finished.
Izuku sat there, flabbergasted, if that was the right word. So many thoughts were racing in his head. All Might's Quirk was handed down to him? And he could hand it down to Izuku?! All Might thought him, nervous, shy, mumbling, formerly Quirkless Izuku was a worthy successor?! It was unreal! This felt like a lucid dream!
"I-I-I don't know what to say," Izuku stammered out.
"I KNOW IT'S A LOT, BUT TAKE YOUR TIME," All Might reassured him. "IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAVE THE ENTERANCE EXAM TODAY. THAT WOULD BE SO MUCH WORSE ON YOUR DECESION MAKING."
Izuku thought hard about it. Being someone like All Might was his dream, and how could it be better with All Might's Quirk. The power to save everyone with a confident smile on his face. Showing the world that they were safe because Izuku was there. But there was something else in there along with those thoughts. Something that made him doubt.
"Well, first, I want to say I'm honored you even considered making me your successor," Izuku said rapid fire. "I mean, even training under you has been a dream, and-and-and this is some major news."
"YOU DO UNDERSTAND YOU WILL HAVE TO KEEP ALL OF WHAT I JUST SAID A SECRET, RIGHT?" All Might sweat-dropped. "THIS IS SOME BIG STUFF I JUST SHARED WITH YOU."
"I know. I promise not to tell a soul," Izuku crossed his arms and then spread them out. "It's just – I'm thinking –" Izuku let out a sigh. "I'm going to have to decline."
All Might faltered. "ARE-ARE YOU SURE?"
"Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely humbled by you making me your successor, I'm serious," Izuku explained. "It's just, well, -"
Izuku let out another sigh. "Ten months ago, I didn't even have my own Quirk. I was told by mostly everyone that I couldn't be a hero without a Quirk. Then, I got one. Sure, it was from some thing underground, but it was mine, you know?"
Izuku looked at his hands, which directed his power. "All these months of training gave me more appreciation for my Quirk. Not only was it mine, I was good with it. I know how to use it. I feel good about myself."
Izuku turned to look at his mentor. "I guess it's a matter of pride, but I don't see it that way. This is the way I can go for myself. Something I can achieve for with my own power. Be the Hero I always wanted to be. Once again, I'm sorry for saying no, but this is something I want to do for myself."
Izuku bowed to All Might, like student does to a master. "I cannot thank you enough for all you help. I don't think I can ever repay for this, except for one thing,"
Izuku stood up, strong and determined. "By being the Hero that can stand alongside you! That can bring hope and safety to the people just like you!"
All Might's eternal smile began to wane. "THAT IS A VERY INSPIRING SPPECH, YOUNG MIDORYIA, BUT ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO RECONSIDER YOU DECESION?"
"No thank you, I'm good." Izuku bent down to get the rest of his stuff. "I hope you'll find a successor with all the qualities you see in me. And I hope we'll meet each other again at UA. Good luck!"
With that, Izuku turned and started to leave, only facing back to wave goodbye at the Number One Hero.
"AND TO YOU AS WELL, YOUNG MIDOYRIA," All Might waved back as Izuku walked into the early morning light. As he was sure Izuku couldn't hear him, All Might shrank back down with blood ejecting from his mouth.
"Awwww, shiiiit," Toshinori cursed as he scratched his head in panic.
"Damnit! How could I've let this happen?!"
The Symbol of Peace began to pace around and argued with himself.
"I had him right there! Why didn't I stop him?"
"What would I do? Shove a piece of hair down his throat and hope he won't choke?"
"You just stood there like a dumbass while he did his big speech! You could have interrupted him, make counterarguments, anything!"
"'Of course, Nezu, I'll be able to find a successor before the semester starts. It won't be that hard!' You're an idiot, Toshi! An idoit!"
"ARGH!" Toshinori plopped down on the group and sighed. He cupped his head in his hands in defeat. "Well, there goes my plan."
He sighed again and lowered his hands. "Maybe I should give Nighteye a call and see if this Mirio kid lives up to the hype."
With that, Toshinori got up and walked in the opposite direction of Izuku.
Ta-da! It's done! Now, I think some of you aren't going to like that Izuku isn't getting One for All. I get that. I find stories boring where it's "Izuku with a different power and also One for All". I just feel like it limits One for All into a power booster at times. Plus, the fun with different powers is how you can let Izuku experiment and apply his powers to canon situations.
I also know that some people aren't going to like me giving Mirio a death clock. Well, I'd like to think of it as a tragedy. Mirio was always seen as All Might 2.0, someone who could keep up the appearance of a smiling invincible hero. Giving him a limited timeframe to be a Hero can drive Mirio in interesting ways. Of course, that can be explored by other authors. I'm nowhere near that part of the story yet.
This chapter was supposed to segway into the beginning of the Entrance Exam, right before the City trail was supposed to begin. Guess that means you'll get the whole Entrance Exam package, my friends!
Anyway, that's all I've got for now. See ya next time!