Green Tea Rescue

by ss3dj

When Midoriya Izuku was 4 his quirk finally manifested. The doctor named it psychokinesis, but his friend Bakugou Katsuki called it worthless. For the next 10 years, Izuku would grow up bullied and isolated. Then, when a new student named Uraraka Ochako transfers into his class the last year of jr high, everything changes. Rated M for eventual themes.

2. Starting Line

It was the weekend, and Izuku would be enjoying the very lovely day normally if he could stop himself from pacing around the park bench that he and Ochako had agreed to meet at, muttering to himself as he continued to walk in circles.

Over the last few days, he had come up with a list of gyms, registered quirk training grounds, and hero school entrance exam facilities for him and Ochako to go visit. And today was the day they were finally going to go check them out.

Except now there was a slight problem. He had originally thought his mother would be accompanying them as they walked around the city. He'd learned last night, however, that she was perfectly okay with them going by themselves while she took care of some shopping.

Which meant that he and Ochako would be alone.

That he would be alone with a girl. A very cool girl. A very pretty…

Izuku shook his head, trying to dislodge that thought. Ochako was his friend. And she wanted to be a hero. It would be wrong to think those things. Still, he was having a really hard time keeping his thoughts platonic as this was a completely new situation for him. And he had no idea what he should do.

At school, things were easy. It was practically a routine by this point. They had class, ate lunch and avoided Katsuki. Even when she came over for dinner, nothing really made him flustered, since having his mother around kept him calm. For the most part.

When she had brought out a photo album to share with Ochako, he did just about die of embarrassment. The 'aws' and 'that's so adorable' and general cooing sounds she made at how cute he was in his All Might onesie came pretty close to doing him in.

And of course his mother just had to bring up his All Might collection, which this time Ochako all but demanded to get to see. Izuku was indeed proud of it, but showing it off was something he had never thought he'd do.

Ochako, to her credit, didn't mock him or anything. In fact, she was genuinely impressed and a little excited by the collection. But getting called an otaku was still enough to get Izuku completely flustered. His mother patted his shoulder and comforted him, at least.

For at least the tenth time, Izuku checked his phone for any messages from Ochako. More out of a nervous twitch than anything else. It still sent a shiver of excitement that he and Ochako had shared numbers.

"Deku!"

Izuku jumped, startled out of his thoughts. When he looked up, he saw Ochako jogging toward him, a bright smile on her face, and waving at him. Which he returned with a slightly nervous smile and wave.

"Uraraka, good morning!"

"I hope you weren't waiting too long?" she asked as she reached the bench.

Izuku shook his head. "No, it's fine. I've only been here a few minutes."

"That's good. I was a bit worried since I left my place a little later than I planned."

"Oh? What kept you?"

Ochako gulped. "Oh, you know, just, um, prep and stuff…" I'm not telling him I went through five different outfits this morning.

Like Izuku, Ochako had been thrown for a bit of a loop after learning they would be by themselves for the day.

"So Deku, you got a list for us, huh."

"Yep, so want to go check out the first gym, then?"

Ochako nodded excitedly. "Sure, let's go!"

As they walked, Izuku pulled out some notes he flipped through. "So, our first stop is Yav-En Gym. It's rated pretty good, and they claim that several heroes have worked out there, too."

"Oh, who?"

"Um," Izuku flipped through his notes some more, "they don't actually say…"

There was an awkward pause, before both burst out into a fit of giggles. "What kind of place makes that kind of claim but doesn't back it up?"

"Well, it looked good in the photos they had on their site." Izuku showed her the pictures he had printed off, as well as the prices that the gym charged.

"Um, Deku, those prices seem a little high, don't you think?"

"Well actually, their prices are on the lower end, honestly."

Ochako almost tripped over herself as she skidded to a halt, shocked and a little horrified. "Wait, really!?"

Izuku nodded as he waited for Ochako to catch back up to him. "Yeah, unfortunately most of the gyms in our area really pander to the aspiring hero crowd, since they are so close to U.A. So they can get away with the higher prices."

Ochako groaned. "Great…"

"I did pick a range for us, and I do have some cheaper places, but most of the cheap places I looked up are further away, and not in the best areas, honestly."

As they continued on, Ochako was doing the math in her head on how she would need to break down her allowance to pay for the gyms if she could expect even higher prices. She was not liking the numbers. Soon though, Izuku came to a stop and pulled her from her thoughts. "Um, I think we're here…"

"Deku… can I see those pictures again, please…?"

Wordlessly, Izuku handed her the pictures and waited for Ochako to look over them. She sighed as she confirmed what she had thought. "Deku… these were taken back on their grand opening…"

"Well, I guess now we know why this place is so cheap."

While the photos of the gym showed bright white walls, pleasant green shrubbery and a small garden fountain, now the place was much more rundown. The white walls that were now an ugly, dirty gray, shrubs that had clearly not been pruned or watered in some time. The less said about the fountain, the better.

"What kind of place are you taking me to, Deku?" Ochako asked as she teased Izuku.

Izuku laughed nervously. "Well… maybe they spend all their money on their equipment?"

With a shrug, Ochako handed the pictures back to Izuku. "Well, I guess we won't know standing out here. Let's go see what they have."

"Yeah," Izuku agreed, sounding optimistic, "let's go."

However, their optimism was quickly crushed. Not just by the state of the interior, with peeling and moldy walls, leaky ceiling tiles, and a smell that almost turned Izuku a shade of green that matched his hair. But also by the members themselves. A single word came to both Izuku and Ochako's minds as soon as they saw them all.

Macho.

Every single person in the gym was large, with huge muscles, and were either lifting huge amounts of free weights, or chugging down some kind of drink in containers the size of gallon jugs. Still, they were here, might as well get a tour. Both walked up to the front desk and found a man, just as large as the members, looking down at them.

"Can I help you two?"

Izuku cleared his throat. "Um, yeah. I saw online that you have open memberships for your gym? I was wondering if we could get a tour?"

The man raised an eyebrow as he looked from Izuku to Ochako, before he stood up with an exaggerated groan. "Yeah, sure. The guys could use a laugh. Follow me."

Charming, Ochako thought dryly. Not like we are potential paying customers, you jerk.

Taking them into the main gym room, he pointed around, clearly not very interested in doing so. "Alright, so we got some stuff over there for your arms. Over there you can work your chests…" His eyes glanced over to Ochako briefly, sending a slight shiver of revulsion down her spine. "Abs are done in the corner, and that's about it."

QUICK! Both of them thought.

Ochako leaned over to Izuku and whispered to him, "Let's get out of here. This place… is not for us."

Izuku agreed, "Yeah, I don't think…"

"HEY! What's with the kids, man!?'

Both teens jumped as a huge bull of a man walked up to them, carrying a huge type of medicine ball. The man, while not tall enough for his head to scrap the ceiling, had huge horns that did. Sending small shards of moldy tile onto the ground. The bull quirk, which Izuku guessed that the man had, gave him the look of a spotted minotaur, complete with a bull face. He even had a large ring pierced through his nose. Izuku gulped when the man's eyes fell onto him.

"Easy there, Tank. Kids are just asking about memberships."

Tank chuckled, as did a few of the other gym members. "Really? Why is a shrimp like you looking at our place?"

Ochako frowned, but before she could cut in, Izuku answered. "We are looking for a place to help get ready for U.A."

This time the man threw his head back and laughed out loud. "Seriously!? Your little self is gonna try to be a hero? Ain't no thing as a skinny hero, kid. See, look at these." He moved the ball to one arm and flexed with the other, showing off his muscles. "You need these, kid. And I can tell you ain't got what it takes to get even half my size. Heck, catch."

Before Izuku was ready, the bull passed him the oversized ball with a heft, with Izuku quickly losing his balance and falling from the weight of it.

"HA HA HA HA"

Laughs filled the room while Ochako quickly crouched by Izuku's side, making sure he wasn't hurt.

"Can't even catch a small weight, that's just sad. Heroes are strong, kid. You want to even think about being one, maybe first figure out how to lift that?"

Ochako helped Izuku up, but once she saw the gloomy look that had fallen over him, she almost growled out in anger. This was not missed by Izuku though, who gulped at seeing her seethe.

"Uraraka?"

Ochako, however, had turned her attention back to the bull who was walking away. "So, to be a hero, you gotta be able to catch this thing, huh?!"

Tank glanced back. "That's right, little girl."

The bull's eyes widened slightly when Ochako reached down and, with one hand, lifted the ball up. Izuku blinked, looking from Ochako to the bull man, then back at her. "Um, Uraraka…?"

Ochako wasn't listening. "Catch." With scary ease, Ochako hurled the ball back into the chest of the bull, sending him tumbling into the nearest wall with a heavy crash. While everyone else either laughed at the display or stared wide-eyed at Ochako, she had already pulled Izuku away with her, leaving in a hurried huff.

Once they were a couple blocks away, Ochako had finally calmed down somewhat. That freaking jerk. What does he know, anyway? And poor Deku, he gets enough of that crap at school. He doesn't need to be getting it from adults too… Maybe I should say something.

When Ochako turned around however, she had to do a quick double take. Not only did Izuku seem unfazed by his encounter, but he had pulled out his hero notebook–from where, Ochako had no idea–and was scribbling away. Mumbling with each stroke of his pencil as he had his face buried in its pages.

"Deku, please tell me you aren't adding that jerk's quirk to your notes. That book is supposed to be for heroes and awesome quirks, right?"

Deku quickly peeked over the top of the notebook, and paused his mumbling just long enough to say, "I'm just adding to your pages. Your quirk negates gravity, but the objects still have mass… mumble, mumble… so many uses…" before going back to his work.

Ochako blinked a few times before she gave off a startled scream. "Wait, I'm in your book!? Let me see that!"

Izuku took a few steps back, holding the book to his chest and crossing his arms. "Wait, I'm not done with your entries yet! At least wait till I'm done!"

Ochako gave him an even glare before turning around and continuing on. "Fine, but you tell me the moment you're done… wait, you're not sketching me too, are you?"

Izuku hurried past Ochako. "Come on Uraraka, we still have more places to check out!"

Ochako didn't miss how Izuku had ignored her question, but caught up with him. The glare she gave him for the next block convinced Izuku to quickly scribble down one last note before he put his notebook away.

Do Not Make Angry.

Unfortunately for the two of them, the rest of the places they visited did not turn out much better for them. Prices were too high, they were too far out of the way for feasible travel, or they were already filled and had a waiting list for memberships. After stopping to grab a bite of lunch on the go, the two went for a walk.

Izuku scanned through his list, seemingly in the hope that a new name would appear that he might have missed. Sadly, this was not the case, and he folded the papers away. "I'm sorry, Uraraka. I thought that I had some good options for us…"

"It's okay, Deku. Honestly, I'm the one that's been saying no to everything. Maybe I need to stop being so… stingy."

As they continued to walk down the sidewalk, she looked around absently before her eyes fell on a large sign with different directions on it. "Oh, wow, I didn't know there was an open beach nearby."

Izuku looked at where Ochako was looking. "Oh, you're talking about Dagobah Beach? That's not a place you'd want to go for a swim."

"Hmm, is there something wrong with it?"

Izuku chuckled slightly. "Yeah, you could say that. Actually, we are pretty close, I'll show you."

Following Izuku, Ochako soon realized what he had meant. "Oh, wow, that's– that's a lot of garbage."

Ochako gazed, almost impressed by the amount and variety of trash that littered the whole coastline.

"Yeah, the tides wash a lot of stuff onto the shore, and since it's already a mess, people will just dump their trash here on top of it."

"And no one does anything?"

"You'd have to drag all the stuff up to the street for the cleaners to get to it. It's just too much work, I guess."

"Yeah, there's a lot of really big stuff mixed in with all of it. I think I see some fridges and… is that a truck?"

Izuku laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised. Hey, if we could get those big guys from that first gym down here, I bet they'd have a fun time lifting all this stuff. Most of it probably weighs more than all the weights they had."

Ochako laughed along with Izuku before a thought crossed her mind. She stopped laughing and looked back at the beach, scanning it much more closely. "You know, Deku… that might be a good idea. Follow me for a sec."

"Huh? Hey, wait a second, Uraraka!"

Walking down to the beach, Ochako began to weave around many of the mountains of piled up trash. Izuku followed close behind, not sure what he had said that was 'a good idea.' Or really what Ochako was thinking.

After a few minutes of wandering around, Ochako seemed to come to a conclusion. Yeah, this could work.

"Hey, Deku," she began, "pretty much everything here is a piece of furniture or an appliance of some kind. None of it is really garbage like you'd think it'd be from back on the sidewalk. It's all big heavy stuff."

"You mean more like a scrap yard? Yeah, I guess you're right. But what about it? What are you thinking of, Uraraka?"

Ochako turned to face him with a very satisfied grin on her face. "I say we do what you said. Let's train here."

"Huh?"

"It's like you said, lots of heavy stuff that would need to be lifted up and carried up to the street for trash pickup. I'm sure carrying a few desks and such will help us build up our strength. Plus, it'll be good community service too, don't you think? Doesn't All Might say when he does interviews sometimes that he wishes more people did this kind of thing? Help out around their community and such."

Izuku put his hand up to his chin as he thought about that. She has some great points.

"Also, it's out of the way enough, and I bet no one comes down here often enough that we couldn't practice our quirks too without getting in trouble," Ochako added with a smirk. "What do you think?"

"Practice my quirk, huh…"

Ochako intently watched Izuku as he continued to think everything over. She knew he was still touchy when it came to his quirk, but if they were going to train for the practical exam, they were going to need to not just train their bodies, but their quirks as well. She knew that he knew this. He just needed a little push to get going.

After a little more thought, Izuku finally responded, "Okay, Uraraka. Let's do it."

Ochako smiled brightly. "That's the spirit, Deku!"

With things decided, the two continued to plan, coming to the conclusion that by the next weekend, after making sure it would be safe, they should be ready to get started.

A couple days later, however, fate would set in motion events that would change their lives forever.

---

It was morning, and after meeting up at Izuku's place for breakfast, both were now heading for school, chatting happily over nothing really important. A normal, boring start to their day.

"Oh, by the way, I let your mom know I won't be coming over tonight."

"Oh, why's that, Uraraka?"

"I gotta grab some groceries for my place. Eating dinner with you both is great, but I still need to make sure I have some stuff in stock."

"Do you want help?"

Ochako waved him off. "No, no, it's nothing too bad. Just enough to make some lunches for myself. I'll be fine."

They continued to walk on, before suddenly, a roar from a villain across the street grabbed both of their attentions. As did the small crowd of people around them. But it was seeing several heroes rushing past that pulled Izuku away, as he ran off to see what the commotion was all about.

Ochako gasped for breath as she chased after Izuku. "Deku, wait a sec! We should be getting to school!"

It's too early in the morning for running, Ochako thought with a groan. By the time she caught up, pushing through the crowd so she could get beside Izuku, she couldn't help but snicker somewhat as she watched her friend gaze up at the fight in wonder.

"Uraraka, look up there on the rails! It's Kamui Woods! He's going after that giant villain! So COOL!"

With a teasing grin, she nudged Izuku with her elbow. "Deku, with that cheesy grin on your face, you're not even trying to hide the fact you are a huge fan boy. But please don't go running off like that, huh? I don't want to be all sweaty when I get to class cause I had to catch up to you."

Izuku rubbed the back of his head lightly in embarrassment. "Sorry Uraraka, but getting to see a fight like this so close is really cool. And it's Kamui Woods, too. He's so new that I don't have many notes on him. This is a great chance to see how an up-and-coming hero works in the field."

"I guess so." Uraraka looked back up at the train rails above them and gave off a low whistle as she watched the fight. "Wow, he's doing a great job dodging around like that. That giant can't lay a hand on him."

"OH, LOOK! He's getting ready to use his super move!"

"Wait, you can tell that already? You're sure you're an All Might fanboy and not a Woods fanboy instead?"

Izuku balked slightly. "All Might is the greatest hero there is, Uraraka! But I study as many heroes as I can."

Ochako bowed slightly in mock apology, giggling as she said, "Please forgive me, oh great studier of heroes."

Izuku smiled and gave her a small push before returning his attention to the fight. "I was right, look, he's already started his move!"

As Izuku said, Kamui Woods' arm began to grow, large tree branches growing out to ensnare the raging villain. Izuku cheered on, calling out the move in his excitement. "It's the preemptive binding lacquered chains prison!"

Before the hero's attack reached the villain however, a new scream echoed out, cutting everyone off.

"CANYON CANNON!" A giant woman drop-kicked the villain off the railing and into the street below. As she stood and introduced herself as Mt Lady, Ochako couldn't help but notice how she was posing herself in her very tight costume. Practically flashing the crowd. She groaned as she became very aware that the men around her were taking many pictures now. A few mumbling about some great 'money shots.'

Great, cause that's what girls need to see in their heroes. You lower that bar, lady…

"Well, it looks like that's that, then. The police are moving in to arrest him, so Deku, why don't we…" Ochako turned and stared dully as she found Izuku scribbling away in his notebook, mumbling to himself as he did.

"…Gigantification… showy quirk… hard to get around…"

And, he's gone.

"...she definitely has the looks…"

Wait, what? Ochako blinked as she heard that. She then noticed that Izuku was gleaning from his notebook to Mt. Lady as she waved to the crowd of people. He's writing about her? Well, I guess that makes sense, she's a new hero, so he'd want to take notes… just hero notes…

"Deku," Ochako said calmly, getting Izuku's attention. Izuku looked up from his notes and gave a small gulp. The look on Ochako's face did not match the calmness of her voice. She had a friendly smile, but her brow was twitching. "Deku, could I see what you were writing about that hero?"

With the event over, and after convincing Ochako she could see his book after he was done, the two made it to school and took their seats in class. Izuku glanced over at Ochako nervously as she continued to give him a cold stare. He tried to wave her off. "Come on, Uraraka, I'd never put something bad into my notes."

"I heard you mention her looks, Deku."

Izuku blushed, which did not help his case as far as Ochako was concerned. "Well, some heroes also have brand deals and will act as models. Like Uwabami and Midnight."

Before Ochako could point out that using those two as examples, especially Midnight, as reasons why she shouldn't want to see what he had written down was a horrible reason, she stopped as their teacher entered the room and took his seat at his desk.

The teacher pulled out a stack of papers before addressing the class. "Now, since you all are now in your third year, it's time for you all to start thinking about your futures."

He held up the papers that he had taken out. "I should be going over with you what you should be doing to get ready. I even had these career aptitude tests ready for you." He made a show of throwing the papers up in the air. "But you all are going to go and be heroes, so why waste our time?!"

Everyone cheered and started showing off their quirks. Ochako giggled at the obvious laziness of their teacher even as she joined in, floating her notebook. Beside her, Izuku sheepishly levitated his pencil around his outreached hand. Ochako nudged him slightly, encouraging him to show off as much as everyone else. His smile broadened and raised his hand up higher as he straightened in his chair.

Katsuki was leaning back, his feet up on his desk, barely giving his fellow students a second glance. After all, their quirks were nothing to take note of.

Their teacher waved them down. "Yes! Yes, yes, you all have wonderful quirks! But using your powers at school is against the rules! So tone it down!"

As everyone got back under control, including Izuku and Ochako who were grinning at each other and enjoying the rare light-hearted moment they got to share in the class, Katsuki scoffed loudly from his chair. "Teach! Don't lump us all in the same group. Unlike them, I'm the real deal, while everyone else would be lucky to be a sidekick to some washed up D-Lister. I'm not gonna be stuck at the bottom with the rest of these rejects!"

Around him, the class exploded in complaints and indignation.

"What the hell, man!?"

"Don't look down on us!"

"You think you're better than us?"

Katsuki smirked, letting the students' comments bounce off him without a care. "You all should just shut up like the extras you are. Go ahead and step up, I'll take you all on!"

Behind him, Ochako rolled her eyes. "How do you fit through the door with an ego that big?"

Katsuki leaned back and glared at Ochako. "It's not ego. I just know I'm that good."

The teacher flipped through some of his notes. "Hmm, well, you do have impressive test results. Maybe you will get into U.A."

Ochako grit her teeth at that statement, while Izuku shrunk down into his chair with a groan.

"He's gonna try for the national school?!"

"It has a 0.2% acceptance rate!"

"It's impossible to get into!"

Katsuki's smirk grew as the students' anger from before quickly turned to shock. "That's why it's the only place worthy of me."

Katsuki leapt onto his desk and stood proudly over everyone else. "I aced all of the mock tests. I'm the only one here that stands a chance of getting in." His smirk became almost manic as he continued, "I'll become the richest hero of all time and even surpass All Might! Then everyone around the world will know who I am, and it all starts at U.A.!"

Ochako snapped and slammed her hands down on her desk. "That's complete garbage! Someone like you could never be a hero! You'd be rejected on the spot!"

"Ha, get real. Like you know what you're talking about, Round Face. You're just jealous you belong with the extras too. And not with me at the top. And only the top gets into U.A."

"Actually," their teacher cut in, "Miss Uraraka is applying to U.A. as well. Isn't that why you moved to the area? If I recall, you transferred from a ways away and with very short notice."

Katsuki's smirk faded, while everyone else shifted their attention from Katsuki to her.

"No way, even she's trying to get in?"

"That's crazy."

"Wait, she moved just to apply? That's nuts."

Ochako, while not exactly pleased that her teacher was okay with sharing her plans so openly with the class, rolled with it, and followed Katsuki's example and stepped up onto her desk. Trying not to blush and show how flustered she was at drawing everyone's attention. Standing straight, she pointed her thumb to herself."That's right! I'm going to get into U.A! I'm going to become a great hero and rescue everyone I find. Just like Thirteen!" She then leveled her gaze towards Katsuki, who returned it in kind.

"Oh yeah, Midoriya wanted to go to U.A. too, right?" their teacher added offhandedly.

Katsuki froze on the spot, which Ochako found more than a little unnerving. He was still facing her direction, but was clearly not looking at her anymore. Or anything else for that matter as he processed what he'd just heard. Izuku buried himself under his arms and shrank into his desk as far as he could go. A few seconds passed before the class erupted into laughter, causing Izuku to flinch, taken aback and visibly shaken.

Ochako felt her blood boil. "What's so funny!?" Her classmates were quick to answer her.

"Midoriya? Huh, are you nuts?"

"He's got the weakest quirk out of all of us."

"No way! Not gonna happen!"

"You may be a huge nerd but, you can't get into the hero course just by studying! You gotta be able to do something, too!"

As his classmates laughed, and Ochako tried to tell them all off, Izuku stood up, even while looking clearly upset, and began to defend himself. Trying to emulate both Katsuki and Ochako before him, but stopping short of getting on top of his desk as they had. "I know I'm not ready yet. But I'm going to study and train. I'm going to get into U.A.!"

The class just laughed louder. Ochako watched as Izuku's shoulders sagged from the weight of their cruelty. She turned towards their teacher, about to plead with him to get everyone to stop, but before she could, Katsuki snapped out of his stupor and charged Izuku, screaming. His hand slammed into Izuku's desk as he unleashed an explosion that boomed over everyone's laughter. With his desk now cracked in half, Izuku was sent sprawling onto the ground. He looked up and found Katsuki looking down on him, an enraged and almost manic look on his face.

"HEY, DEKU!"

Izuku scampered back as Katsuki stood over him. "Don't forget your place, you shit! You're below the rest of these rejects and extras! Your quirk is the worst one in this whole class! What can you even do with it? Huh? How can you even think you can stand on the same level as me?!"

Ochako stood in shock at the sheer violence that Katsuki had just displayed while in class. And in front of the teacher no less.

Izuku was in a panic, and frantically waved his arms in front of himself as he backed away from Katsuki. "No, wait, Kacchan! I'm not… not trying to compete with you or anything! Believe me! Please!"

His back hit the far wall and he slumped against it. "It's just that, this has been my goal ever since I was little." He looked up at Katsuki and tried to harden his resolve, even though he had quite literally been backed into a corner. "And well, I won't know unless I try. I have to try!"

Katsuki's hands started to smoke, his sneer hardening, practically becoming monstrous. "TRY!? Whaddaya mean, unless you try?! Are you taking the test for fun? Do you think this is a game? What can you even do with a quirk like yours, huh? You will die during the exam and embarrass our whole class!"

The teacher sighed and clapped his hands to get the class's attention. "Alright, alright, that's enough roughhousing. Points have been made, so let's get back on track."

Katsuki frowned, and turned to go and sit down. Ochako rushed past him, shoving him out of her way as she moved over to Izuku to help him. Knowing the teacher was watching him, he let it slide, only giving Ochako a murderous glare, which she returned to him in kind, before sitting back down. Ochako turned her attention back to Izuku. "Are you okay?"

"I… I think so."

Taking her hand, Izuku stood up and joined her as they both took their seats. As the teacher told one of the students to run along and go get a new desk, Ochako leaned over and put a hand on Izuku's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. "Don't you listen to any of them. We're getting into U.A."

Izuku, while still flustered from Katsuki's attack and the class's immediate dismissal of his dream, did his best to return Ochako's smile with one of his own. "Thank you, Uraraka."

The rest of the day passed without incident and soon after the final bell of the day rang, the students got up and began to filter out of the class. Izuku scrolled through the news on his phone, scanning to see if the fight from this morning had made any headlines. His smile grew as he saw several articles pop up on his search. "Man, the villain incident from this morning is all over the headlines! I wanna hurry up and go home so I can write it down in my notebook."

Ochako laughed. "I figured that'd be the first thing you'd do today." Ochako then gave him a sideways look. "I still wanna see what you wrote down about Mt Lady."

Izuku blushed and raised his hands to defend himself. "Come on, Uraraka. I'm not like those guys before. I'm only interested in her as a hero."

"Uh huh." Ochako did not sound convinced. "I'm checking it tomorrow. First thing in the morning. And I want to see my entry, too. No more waiting."

Izuku sighed in defeat as he started to pack his things. However, as he went to put his notebook away, it was suddenly snatched out of his hand.

"We're not done talking yet, Deku." Katsuki growled as he held the notebook out of Izuku's reach.

Ochako frowned as she stood up from her desk. "Give it back, Bakugou."

Katsuki ignored her as two of his stooges walked over. "Hey, what do you got there? Is it his diary?"

Katsuki held up the notebook so that they could see its cover. Both started to laugh. "Seriously? Are you actually taking notes on how to be a hero? That's so freaking lame."

"Man, are you delusional or what, Midoriya?l

Izuku stood up nervously, hands reaching out in a hopeful gesture to get his book back. "Real funny guys, but please just give it back."

When Katsuki showed no sign he was going to give Izuku his notebook back, Ochako lunged for it. However, Katsuki had been expecting some kind of reaction from her and pulled back, out of her reach. He took a few more steps back till his back was against the wall and he leaned on the frames of the open windows. Katsuki glanced down at the book, flipping through a few pages.

"Most top first-string heroes have stories about them from their school days. How even then, people knew they were destined for greatness. That's what people are going to say about me after I become the only student from this crap school to make it to U.A."

Katsuki finished flipping through the pages of the notebook and looked up, his eyes boring a hole right through Izuku. "That's not ego talking. I just know I'm that good. And I don't need you two screwing up my shining moment. So don't either of you two think about applying."

Ochako glared daggers at Katsuki, but the boys' full attention was on Izuku, who kept his head down and said nothing. Behind them, they could hear the stooges whispering to themselves.

"Man, this is just sad."

"Yeah, he's pretty pathetic, huh."

"Maybe he's finally facing reality."

When Ochako turned, about to give them a piece of her mind, Izuku surprised everyone by lifting his head, trying to meet Katsuki's stare, even if he was trembling head to toe. "You're wrong, Kacchan. You aren't the only one here that can be a hero."

Ochako beamed proudly, while Katsuki glowered at Izuku. He took a breath. "Fine then hero, catch." Katsuki slapped his hands together and, with the notebook in between, scorched it in a puff of smoke. Then, with a casual flick of the wrist, tossed the book out the open window.

Izuku gave a startled yelp as he watched the book tumble out the window. On instinct he reached out, but he was too far away to even hope to run and catch the notebook before it passed below the bottom of the window frame and out of view.

Ochako felt herself tense up, hands balled up into fists. She was unsure exactly what she could do, but some primal part of her was screaming to punch the smug bully right in his face. Before she could act on this urge though, a bright glow from her side got her attention.

She turned and found Izuku, hands outreached and face so scrunched in concentration that his eyes were screwed shut, glowing from head to toe. She knew it was a side effect of his quirk. And that the brighter it was, the harder he was concentrating on using it. And he was glowing very bright. Izuku slowly forced his eyes open and gave a surprised little cheer. "I got it!"

Ochako looked out the window and sure enough, the notebook was floating up in the air, the same bright green glow surrounding it as well. Ecstatic, Ochako forgot about Katsuki and hurried over to Izuku's side. "Great job, Deku!" she said, encouraging him.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and walked away to gather his bag.

Ochako looked from Izuku to the floating notebook, noticing that it was still being held in place, and that the light around it was starting to flicker. "Deku? Can you bring it in?"

Izuku's voice was strained as he shook his head. "I– I don't think so. I've never tried to hold anything this far away before."

One of the stooges snickered. "Then move closer, dumbass."

Izuku started to take a tentative step forward, but as he did, the glow flickered again, and the book dropped slightly. Deku cried out and scrunched up his face in concentration.

"Lame."

"Seriously lame."

Ochako glared at the two before hurrying to the open window. "Don't worry, Deku, I'll get it. Just keep holding on!"

Ochako reached the window but the notebook was just out of her reach. She reached out and leaned out of the window, the tips of her shoes only just scraping the classroom floor. "Deku, you have to bring it in some more. I can't reach it."

"I don't think I can!" Deku was trembling now, sweat starting to form on his brow.

"Yes, you can, Deku. I know it."

Ochako, still reaching out, watched as the notebook slowly, ever so slowly, began to move closer to her.

"You're doing it, Deku! Keep it up!"

It was so close now. The tips of her fingers could just about brush it.

"You know," Katsuki began, his voice almost sounding kind, "if you really want to be a hero that badly, there's actually another way."

Ochako felt a chill run up her spine, and Izuku, despite concentrating so hard on using his quirk, found himself listening intently.

"Just pray that you'll be born with a better quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building."

Ochako felt something inside her snap. She whirled around, ready to give Katsuki more than just a piece of her mind. A punch to the face was only going to be the start of what she was going to do.

Katsuki sneered and raised a hand up, small sparks and explosions popping in his palm. "Got something to say, Round Face?" He was practically begging for her to act. He'd take any reason to put her in her place too.

Ochako however had already come to a screeching halt, but not from Katsuki's intimidation. The green glow from Izuku's quirk had vanished as his hands hung limply to his side. His head was lowered to the point Ochako couldn't see his face. She could see the tears falling down his cheeks, though.

Katsuki, not getting any more reactions, gave a bored shrug and left the classroom. His two stooges followed close behind him, whispering to themselves over how pathetic Izuku was.

Izuku stood rooted in place. It took him a few moments to collect himself enough to notice the hand that lay on his shoulder. It was trembling.

Gathering his strength, he finally looked up and found Ochako right beside him, waiting patiently, her face a mask of worry and compassion. "Hey, don't take what that jerk said seriously, okay? He doesn't know what he's talking about. So, so don't… don't think about what he said. Okay?"

He took a breath, and a second one, before he finally spoke. "I dropped it."

Ochako tilted her head slightly, not sure what Izuku meant. "Dropped?"

"My notebook. I couldn't hold onto it…"

Ochako blinked, then cast a glance towards the window. In truth, she had completely forgotten about Izuku's notebook, too worried about how Izuku was dealing with Katsuki's latest and, in her opinion, cruelest attack.

It took her a few more seconds to get her own emotions under control. One part of her wanting to make sure Izuku was okay, to stay and make sure nothing else happens to him, the other part of her wanting to go chasing after Katsuki and finally deal with the bully. She just wasn't sure how she'd do it.

Or at least, do it in a way that wouldn't land her in jail and ruin her chances of getting into U.A. After all, she doubted having 'throwed weightless student into traffic' would look very good on her transcripts.

"Then, let's go find your notebook. It shouldn't have landed far from the building."

They collected their belongings and left the classroom. As they walked down the hall, Izuku slightly ahead of Ochako, he felt the uneasy silence between the two of them had gone on for too long and said, "I've never thought about doing something like that. I– I want you to know that. No matter how bad things were for me, it never crossed my mind to kill… to do that."

Izuku came to a stop at the exit door, hand raised to push it open, but before he did, he added, "And now that I've met you, and made such a great friend… I don't want you to worry about me." He turned to try and give Ochako a smile. All Might always smiled, even when things got bad. "Besides," Izuku added, trying to lighten the mood, "I don't think I could live with myself if you got sad that I was dead."

There was an awkward pause before Ochako raised an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"

"Yes?"

Ochako snorted as she tried to hold back a small laugh. "It was terrible, Deku." The cloud of unease that had hung over the pair lifted somewhat. The two of them then exited the school and made their way to the courtyard under the window of their classroom, where they separated to look around.

As Izuku combed through some of the bushes, he heard Ochako give a sudden, "Ah ha! Found it!"

As he straightened, Ochako hurried over to him, and handed him his notebook back. With some trepidation, he looked over the scorched cover before flipping through the pages. To his relief, while the outer borders of the pages were charred, the inner portions with all his notes and sketches had escaped with minimal damage.

"I found it by the koi tank. If you hadn't used your quirk, it probably would have landed in the water."

Izuku instinctively held the book close to his chest. "That– that would have been bad. I guess my quirk was good for something after all…"

"Deku!" Ochako scolded him, "don't say that about yourself." Ochako reached up and put her hands on Izuku's shoulders and looked him right in the eye- "You have to believe in yourself. You have an incredible quirk. But more importantly, you are an incredible person. And after we get ourselves ready and get into U.A., you'll show everyone, including that as–" She paused, catching herself, and took a steadying breath. "Including that jerk Bakugou, just what you can do."

Izuku smiled back determinately. "You're right, Uraraka. Thank you."

With a nod Ochako pulled her hands back and the two left the school.

---

After some reassurances from Izuku, Ochako went on her way to do her errands, leaving Izuku to walk home alone. However, despite Ochako's determination and his reassurances, doubt soon began to creep back into Izuku's mind with every step he took.

You've got the weakest quirk in class.

No way! Not gonna happen.

You're below the rest of these rejects and extras! Your quirk is the worst one in this whole class!

Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building.

Izuku shut his eyes as he came to a stop, Katsuki's words still echoing inside his head. Izuku tried to force these thoughts down. That idiot, you can't just go and tell people to kill themselves. What if I really jumped? What would he do then?

Izuku sighed as he kept walking. I just need to think about something positive. Maybe the heroes from this morning. I still need to write down everything I saw.

Izuku thought back to Katsuki casually throwing out his notebook, like it was trash. Looking down at his book, he casually ran his fingers over the scorched cover. He was lucky that it had only gotten some burns. If it had fallen into the koi tank? The idea that his dreams could have become fish food was not a pleasant thought.

Still, it's like Uraraka said, we are going to get into U.A. and prove to everyone we have what it takes to be heroes. Uraraka will make sure of it. Even if she has to drag me across the finish line…

Izuku wasn't paying attention to his surroundings as he entered a short tunnel. He didn't hear the manhole cover behind him rumble, or notice the muck and slime slithering out.

…But what if she gets so distracted with helping me, she loses her chance? I couldn't even pull a small notebook back inside. How can I do anything but drag her down with me?

Izuku reached up his hands and smacked his cheeks. "Stop thinking like that. Believe in yourself. Just… just smile and be like All Might!"Izuku raised his fists up and laughed, his declaration echoing through the tunnel.

"Well, would you look at that?"

Izuku stopped laughing and turned, surprised at hearing someone else with him. He looked up in horror as a collection of green sludge reformed into a huge mass and a sickening face looked down at him. "A villain!?"

"Looks like I found the perfect skinsuit for hiding!"

Izuku turned to run, but he didn't even make it a few feet before the sludge villain launched himself and slammed down onto him. Izuku opened his mouth to scream for help, and the sludge took that opportunity to force a tendril of itself down Izuku's throat.

What's he doing!? I can't breathe!

The monster held Izuku tight, looking down on him, his crooked teeth widening into a twisted smile. "Don't worry kid, I'm just taking over your body. It'll be easier for both of us if you don't fight back. It will only hurt for a little bit. After that, you'll feel better soon. Cause you won't be feeling anything at all."

No, this can't be happening!

In desperation, Izuku clawed at his mouth, trying to do anything to give himself a chance to breathe.

"Grab all you want kid, it's not gonna do you a bit of good. My body's made out of fluid."

Get out! Get out!

"I gotta say, you're helping me out a lot here, kid."

Get out, get out, get out…

It was getting harder for Izuku to think. His vision was going dark. But even still, he kept clawing at the villain, even as his struggling was getting weaker. He couldn't give up.

"There you go, kid. Just go to– wait, what's blocking–!?"

GET OUT!

There was a flash of bright light, and suddenly, Izuku felt his throat clear up and he fell to the ground, coughing and desperately sucking air into his burning lungs. His head hurt so much, leaving him dazed, and he could taste something metallic on his upper lip which left him very confused.

Izuku looked around and was surprised to find that the sludge villain was no longer near him, but splattered along the walls around him. However any glimmer of relief he might have had was quickly quashed as the eyes of the villain reformed and glared right at him, full of hatred and rage. "You little brat! I don't know what that was, and I don't care! Be a good boy and DIE ALREADY!"

Izuku was too weak to try and crawl away as the villain fell upon him again with such force that he was ground into the concrete, and all the air he had grasped just a few moments ago was driven out of him. As everything went black, Izuku could only think of one thing.

Someone please, save me.

Behind them, the manhole cover launched into the air before coming back down with a loud clang. The sludge villain turned in alarm, his eyes going wide. "No, not you!"

Emerging from the uncovered hole, stood the hero of heroes. None other than All Might himself. "It's alright now, young man. I am here!"

The villain gave a startled cry before lashing out with a tendril, but All Might simply ducked out of the way, letting the swing go wide and harmlessly smash away part of the concrete wall. A second tendril shot out, but All Might was ready for it. Pulling his fist back, every muscle in his arm tensed before he screamed out, "TEXAS SMASH!" and punched at the air between the two of them.

The shockwave from the punch smashed through the tendril, ripping it apart, and kept going till it hit the villain, who gave out one last startled cry, "Wind pressure!?" before he too was scattered by the attack and ripped away from Izuku, who fell to the ground, losing consciousness.

Is that… All Might?

Slowly, Izuku began to regain his bearings. He found he could breathe easily again, which was nice. His chest wasn't burning anymore from lack of air, and even his throat felt like it was back to normal. His head still hurt a little though, pounding in rhythm with his heartbeat.

Maybe he had hit his head when that villain had attacked him, though that didn't seem completely right. He also still had that funny taste in his mouth, which was even more odd, considering it tasted completely different than the sludge that had been jammed in before. Also… someone was slapping him? Groggily, Izuku opened his eyes to see what was going on.

All Might stood over Izuku, lightly tapping him multiple times on the cheek, a slightly worried expression on his normally smiling face. "Hey, young man. Hey, come on now, time to wake up. Oh! There we go." All Might pulled back and let his smile return in full. "Thought I had lost you there for a second."

Izuku's eyes went wide as he gave off a surprised scream. "ALL MIGHT!?" He sat up quickly, but a strong hand kept him from getting up too fast. "Easy there, young man. Here, take this."

All Might handed Izuku a folded up handkerchief, which Izuku took but gave a confused look. "Um, thank you?"

"Your nose is bleeding. Sorry about that. I didn't mean for you to get you caught up in my villain fighting."

Izuku blinked and lifted his hand up to his nose, which felt wet. When he pulled his hand back, sure enough, his fingers were red. I guess that explains the taste in my mouth. He then pressed the handkerchief to his nose. As Izuku dabbed at his nose, All Might continued speaking, still apologetic. "Usually, I pay more attention to keeping bystanders safe. But it turns out the city sewer system is pretty difficult to navigate, HAHAHA!"

It suddenly dawned on Izuku the situation he was in. The number one hero in the entire world… All Might, the real thing, in the flesh, standing right in front of me. He looks so much cooler in person.

"Well, you were a big help keeping that villain, um, distracted! Thanks to you, I've captured the dastardly monster!"

All Might held up a small shopping bag, which had plastic bottles, filled with the green sludge of the villain from earlier. Izuku tilted his head slightly. How did he get all of that guy into those small soda bottles? …Wait, why am I worrying about that!?

"Wait, wait, I need to get an autograph please! I know I have a pen here somewhere!" Izuku looked over and found his notebook lying next to him. "Here, please sign my notebook!" As Izuku flipped to find an open page, however… "AHHHH! You already did!? Thank you! Thank you! I can't wait to show this to my mom! Though, maybe I'll leave out the part about me getting attacked."

All Might laughed at that. "Well, it looks like you are going to be okay. So, it's time for me to be off. I gotta take this guy to the police so they can get him taken care of." He gave Izuku a slight wave. "You stay out of trouble, now. See you around, young man."

"Huh? Wait, are you leaving already?"

All Might gave his legs a stretch before he crouched down. "Heroes are constantly fighting time, as well as villains. Now stand back! I'm taking off. Thank you for your continued support!"

Wait, you can't go yet. They're still so many questions I have to ask you. If anyone can tell me if I can be a hero, it's you!All Might kicked off the ground and launched himself skyward, however almost immediately, he felt something was off. One of his legs felt unusually heavy. Looking down, he was alarmed to find that Izuku had grabbed onto his leg, and was hanging on for dear life.

"Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing? I love my fans, but this is too much. Personal space is important, you know! You need to let me go!"

In a panic, Izuku shook his head as All Might pushed him down. "No, I can't! We're too high up. If I let go, I'll die for sure!"

All Might blinked and looked around as he remembered that he was indeed many, many stories above the ground. "Oh yeah. Good point."

"Please, All Might!" Izuku begged. "You're my favorite hero, and I have something I have to ask you!"

All Might sighed and put a hand on Izuku's back, helping him by holding him in place so he didn't fall. "OK, OK, young man, I get it. Just keep your head down while I find a spot to land."

As All Might scanned the city to find a clear landing spot, he felt a tightening in his chest. He covered his mouth as he gave out a few coughs. He could taste blood in his mouth after he was done.

Well, shit.

---

All Might found a close enough building and landed on its roof. Once on solid ground, Izuku detached himself from All Might and crouched over, holding his heart, and shaking head to toe as the fear of what he had just done hit him with full force. "Th-that, that was too scary…"

All Might shook his head in disbelief. True, he had met his fair share of fanboys in his time, but no one had done something that crazy before. "Young man, do you realize how incredibly dangerous that was?"

Izuku could only nod. All Might thought about scolding him a little more, but he knew he was reaching the end of his time limit. At the very least,All Might thought, this young man won't throw himself into any more dangerous situations.

"Good grief. Look, I'm sure if you talk to the people downstairs, they'll help you on your way. Now I really must be going. I am seriously outta time here."

Izuku's head snapped up in alarm. "No, please wait!"

All Might was already walking away and gave a curt response. "No! I will not."

Izuku watched as All Might walked away. He could hear in his mind everything that had been said to him that day, and from days past. How worthless he was. How worthless his quirk is. How nothing he did would matter. How he could never become a hero.

Mixed in with these voices however, he could hear Uraraka's voice cutting through the negatives. Telling him that he can do it. That he will become a hero. Her words gave him strength. Izuku clenched his fists. Sometimes I do feel like nothing I do will change that I'm a failure. But I have to try. Because there are people who believe in me. I can't give up.

Izuku took a deep breath and screamed, "Is it possible to become a hero even if I don't have a powerful quirk?!"

All Might stopped walking.

"I'm a normal kid. And my quirk… I can't really use it to do anything since it's so– so weak. But even still, could I ever hope to be someone like you? To become a great hero?"

All Might turned back to look at Izuku. His head was bowed, and he looked desperate and almost scared to hear any kind of answer. A worthless quirk, huh?Before he could respond however, All Might felt a jolt of pain as his body began to let off great plumes of steam. It was a pain he knew all too well. Holy shit, come on. Not here. Not now!

Izuku however failed to notice any of this as he continued to speak. "You see, people think I don't have a chance because my quirk is so weak compared to everyone else's. My classmates even really like to make fun of me because of it."

He paused, now looking at his hands as he absently fiddled his thumbs together nervously. "But you know what, that makes me want to prove them wrong. To show them that I can do it. Ever since I was a kid, I would watch videos of you saving so many people and I thought it was the coolest thing. And now I want to do that too. I want people to see my fearless smile and know that everything will be okay. That's the kind of hero I want to be. Just like…"

Izuku finally looked up, just in time to watch as the steam surrounding All Might cleared away, leaving in his place, a skinny and emaciated man.

"...HUH!?"

---

Elsewhere in the city, Katsuki and his stooges were walking down an alleyway. With a bored grunt, Katsuki kicked a bottle out of his way as he finished his drink.

"I gotta say man, you might have been a little harsh earlier."

"Yeah, weren't you and Midoriya friends when you were kids? I mean, yeah, he's pretty worthless, but still, you really gave it to him."

Katsuki just shrugged. "It's his own fault for trying to get in my way. Thinking he can be a hero like that? It just pisses me off. Besides, it's about time that he learns how the world really works."

One of the stooges snickered. "I thought for sure that Uraraka was gonna come after you, though. She looked so mad."

The other stooge clearly disagreed as he shuddered slightly. "Dude, don't joke like that. She was scary, man."

"Pft, really? You're scared of her?"

"Are you kidding, that quirk is nuts. All she has to do is touch you and you're done."

The stooge gave a fake shake of terror. "Oh no, I'm floating in the air. The horror is too much. Please, someone save me."

"Dude, are you nuts? She doesn't have to float you that high up before you're dead."

"Huh?"

"Dude, the drop. Up you go, then she just touches her fingers together and then SPLAT!"

There was an audible gulp. "Okay that's…"

The stooge then pointed at Katsuki. "She was even able to get Bakugou, and there was nothing he could do–!"

Katsuki exploded the can in his hand. "Watch it."

"Okay, okay, sorry man."

Thankfully for the stooges, Katsuki let that comment go.

"Hey, why don't we go hit up an arcade today? You wanna go, Bakugou?"

Katsuki just shrugged. "Fine."

"Hey, why don't we sneak into the bar at the station. Pick up some nice chicks?"

"Now that's a great idea."

The two stooges snickered to each other. Katsuki, though, was not on board with that. "You idiots. If we got caught they'd put it on our records. U.A. would never let me in if they saw that!" Katsuki frowned when he noticed both of them weren't paying him any attention anymore. They were too scared to.

"Hey, what's that?"

Katsuki turned around just in time as a wall of sludge filled his vision.

"You got a lot of fire in you, skinsuit. You're perfect!"

---

Back on the rooftop, Izuku was in the middle of a complete freak out. He had just been talking to his hero All Might, a giant of a man. A larger than life hero for the whole world. But he had taken his eyes off the hero for only a few moments, and now, an emaciated man stood in his place.

"Wait– who– what happened? You deflated? Where did All Might go? You– you're not him. You're a fake, an imposter–"

All Might stood up straight. "I assure you, I am All Mig–" He was cut off as blood poured out of his mouth. While he wiped it away with little care, Izuku gave a horrified scream. All Might sighed. "Listen kid, you know how guys at the pool are always sucking in and flexing to try and look all buff? I'm like that."

Izuku was having a crisis as he tried to wrap his mind over everything that was happening in front of him. "THIS CAN'T BE REAL! All Might is, um, you are, you are a giant who saves everyone, you overcome all obstacles and win the day with a fearless smile."

All Might sighed sadly as he sat down. "Young man, there's plenty of fear behind that smile." He paused for a second, considering a few options in front of him. This boy wanted to be a hero, but by his own admission, his quirk was very weak. Perhaps he could at least use this opportunity for something.

"Listen, I'm going to show you something, but I'm counting on you to keep your mouth shut. Don't go talking about this online or telling your friends. Do you understand?"

Izuku gulped, but still nodded. That was good enough for All Might as he lifted the side of his shirt up, exposing a huge and disfiguring scar on his side. Izuku covered his mouth in shock, taking a sudden breath through clenched teeth.

All Might nodded in understanding as he glanced down at his scar. "Yeah, it's pretty gross, huh. I got this from a big fight about five years back. I lost a lung so my respiratory system is basically shot to hell. I also lost my whole stomach. All that on top of all the surgeries I had to go through have reduced me down to this. Nothing can be done to fix it, either. Right now, I can only do hero work for about three hours a day. The rest of the time, this is what I look like. This here, kid, this is the price heroes have to be willing to pay."

Five years ago? Izuku, who prided himself on knowing everything there was to know about All Might, thought back on all the big fights he knew All Might had back then. Only one came to mind that could have left his hero in such a state. "So, does that mean it was the fight with Toxic Chainsaw? I remember you looked kinda beat up on the news…"

That actually got a small chuckle out of All Might as he lowered his shirt back down. "Wow, you really are quite the fanboy huh, kid. Nah, it wasn't that fight. That punk may have landed some hits back then, but he wasn't anywhere near good enough to take me down. The fact is kid, I did everything I could to make sure the world never heard of this fight. Only a few people did, and each one has sworn to never tell another soul." All Might paused and looked Izuku in the eye, to make sure he understood what he meant. Izuku nodded back, showing he understood completely.

Satisfied, All Might continued. "You know how I'm supposed to be the guy who always smiles, right? Be the symbol of peace and all that? I do it so people everywhere think that I'm never afraid. But honestly, I smile to hide the fear inside. It's just a brave face I put on when the pressure is high. Because the truth is kid, this job isn't easy. If you aren't up to it, either you die, or worse, you'll let someone else die."

Izuku shuddered at the thought, color draining from his face.

All Might let that sink in for a while before he stood up. He had taken his time to get to his point, but he felt it was needed. A part of him felt bad for what he was about to say next, but sometimes the hard truth was what people needed. If he had to crush his dreams to save him from a path that he couldn't walk, it was the right thing to do…

"The world is filled with villains who just can't be beaten without strong quirks. So I'm sorry, but no, I honestly don't think you can be a hero."

Izuku suddenly felt empty. Looking at the ground, he muttered out a soft, "I… I see…" He heard All Might begin to walk away, but does nothing to try and stop him.

As All Might reached the rooftop exit,he stopped in the doorway, feeling he should at least give Izuku some kind of hope or something."Listen… If you want to help people, there's still plenty of other ways to do it. You could become a police officer. They get crap because the heroes capture most of the villains, but it's a fine profession and they are always there for the heroes when things get rough."

He turned away, "It's not bad to have a dream, young man, just…" All Might paused before adding, almost sadly, "…make sure your dreams are something that you can actually obtain."

With those parting words, All Might let the door close behind him, leaving Izuku alone. Not a pleasant talk, but I think that boy needed to hear it, All Might thought to himself. Still, he could not help but feel troubled. A single word kept popping into his head no matter how he tried to rationalize it away.

Hypocrite.

All Might coughed as he walked down the stairs. "What's done is done. Right now, I have other things I need to take care of. So, what do you say, villain? Let's get you to the station– huh?" As All Might reached into his pocket, he was shocked to find that the bottle containing the sludge villain was missing. In a panic, he checked his other pockets and around himself. Wait, where is he?

A loud explosion echoed into the stairway. Alarmed, All Might turned to a window and saw, not too far away, a large pillar of smoke reaching into the sky. Dread filled him as he took off down the stairs and out of the building, gasping for breath as he was forced to run in his shrunken form. "Not good. This is really not good."

When he finally made it to the site of the explosion, he leaned against a street lamp to catch his breath, just outside of the forming crowd. He could hear other heroes working to clear the area, but by the sound of things, they were having a difficult time with the villain. Peeking through the crowd, his fears were realized. It was the sludge villain from earlier.

It must have been from back when the kid grabbed onto me. I was so preoccupied with my time limit I wasn't paying attention. After admonishing that kid, I go and make such a mistake. Pathetic. It's pathetic.

---

Izuku, back on the roof, didn't know what to do. For so long, he had held onto the glimmer of hope, that despite everything, he could be a hero. And when Uraraka had come to his school and befriended him, that glimmer had started to shine so much more brightly. Even as everyone else around him doubted or made fun of him, the light of his dream had endured. But now? Now that light was as good as gone. After all, when your hero tells you it's impossible, what can you do?

An explosion jolted him from his thoughts. Looking up in alarm, Izuku scanned the city and was shocked to see smoke billowing up not too far from where he was. Immediately, he started sprinting for the door. "A villain, I wonder which hero will show–"

He came to a sudden stop as All Might's words echoed in his head. Before, he was always excited to go watch heroes work, it gave him a chance to study them. To learn from their example on how to be a hero. But now… What's the point?

Slowly, he made his way down to the streets below, no longer wanting to go to the scene. It would be too painful after everything. Sadly, he took out his notebook and scanned through the pages of all the different heroes, before coming to the pages with All Might's signature.

It's the reality I've been trying to avoid for so long. I suppose I always knew. I mean, everyone at school knew it. Even a pro hero said it, too.

His thoughts then drifted to his friend. Her smile, and all the encouraging words she had given him. Uraraka, I'm sorry, but I can't become a hero with you. I'll have to tell her to go on without me. I can't let her put her dream, her future, in jeopardy trying to help me achieve the impossible.

Another explosion echoed down the street. Izuku was surprised at how close this one was. Looking around, he was startled to find that he had somehow walked over to the scene without knowing it.

This is where that explosion from earlier was from? I guess I came here out of habit…

He could feel himself start to walk over to the crowd, but he still wondered why he was bothering, after all, it was meaningless now. But then he saw it. Through the people, he saw the sludge villain from before, in the middle of the burning street, and gasped in horror.

Why is that guy here!? Did– did he somehow get away from All Might? But how is that possible? I saw– saw him in those bottles from before!

Dread filled Izuku as he tried to recall what could have happened. He remembered seeing them in All Might's pockets before he had leapt into the air. But as he thought back to the roof, and All Might's deflated form, he couldn't remember seeing them.

Did… did he drop him when… when I grabbed onto him!?

"Then… then this is all my fault…"

Around him, Izuku could hear other onlookers talking. That none of the heroes here could do anything and they just had to hope a hero with a better quirk would show up soon. But when someone said that a junior high student had been taken hostage, Izuku felt the dread in his stomach twist into a horrible sickness. He covered his mouth with his hands, afraid that at any moment, he would throw up.

If someone was caught around that first explosion… How can they bear that? I thought I'd die just after only a few seconds… I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. But I'm sure someone will come soon…

"Hey, isn't that the villain All Might was chasing earlier!?"

"Oh, yeah! He was here! I saw him earlier!"

"But where is he now? He'd be perfect to save that kid!"

No, Izuku thought, he used up his time for the day. He won't be able to do anything now. Please, I'm sure a hero is on their way. So please, just endure it just a little while longer… I'm so sorry… Please forgive me, this is all my fault. But I'm sure, a hero will come soon…

It was then a few people in the crowd shifted to the side, and Izuku got a clear look at the sludge villain, and his hostage. Katsuki's eyes, pleading for help, ripped through Izuku. And suddenly, the world around him just stopped.

---

Ochako gasped as she heard a loud explosion from down the street that interrupted her shopping. Almost immediately, the area around was flooded with people either heading towards the blast, or moving away. Ochako was about to join the group moving away, when she spotted Kamui Woods swinging overhead. She stood transfixed as more heroes rushed by her on their way to the source of the explosion.

It must be pretty serious if that many heroes are all going to the same place. Deku will be so disappointed he missed a chance to see them in action. I'm sure there would be plenty of chances for him to jot down some more notes.

For a little while longer, Ochako stayed in her spot. Still not doing what would have been the safest option and finishing her shopping away from the action.

I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a quick peek. Plus, I could tell Deku about it. I'm sure he'd enjoy that, at least.

Having made up her mind, Ochako walked off, and soon found a crowd of people bunched together at the mouth of a street. From her vantage point, she could make out the large form of some kind of giant mass of sludge. Around it, several heroes were clearly having a hard time figuring out how to deal with it. Then, she overheard someone yell about a student being held hostage.

Oh no, that's awful!

Despite herself, Ochako continued to move around the crowd, trying to get a better view. As she did, she was shocked when she ran into someone she had thought had gone home.

"Deku? Deku, what are you doing here? I thought…"

She trailed off when it became clear Izuku wasn't paying attention to her. Or even knew she was there at all.

Must be in note-taking mode. He really needs to pay more attention to what's… going… on?

It was then she finally got a good look at his face. And how it was contorted into a look of absolute horror as he watched the scene before him.

"Deku?" She had never seen him look like that before, and it stopped her dead in her tracks. She turned to see what could be causing this. She knew he'd watched hero fights before. Was this the first time he'd seen a hostage situation? At least from here she had a much better view.

What is he seeing that's so terrible?

The villain was terrifying and the hostage looked like he was getting smothered. She could only just make out his form as he tried to escape. Hands reaching out in desperation. Pops and explosions ripping through the air before being silenced.

Wait?

WAIT?!

IS THAT!?

Finally she saw Katsuki's face, just as more of the villain's form covered up his mouth and dragged him deeper into itself.

"Oh my god."

She felt suddenly numb while she stood and watched as Katsuki was slowly consumed by the villain. She watched as every hero around did nothing but stand back and wait to see if anyone else would be able to save her classmate. Everything happening before her led to only one conclusion.

He's going to die. The heroes can't save him, and he's going to die. Oh my god, he's going to die.

Ochako turned away, not able to watch anymore. It was too much. Too horrible.

I should get Deku away from this.

Holding back tears, Ochako turned to pull her friend away, just in time to experience a new kind of horror as the next few seconds slowed to a crawl.

She watched as Izuku's notebook hit the ground where he had once been standing. She turned in alarm as Izuku broke through the crowd of people and past the heroes who had fallen back. And then ran into the fire-filled street and right towards the villain.

No no no no no no no no!

"NO!" Ochako screamed as she chased after Izuku in a panic.

"DEKU, NO!" Before she could break through the crowd, several onlookers yanked her back, screaming at her.

"Are you crazy!?"

"Stop, you'll get yourself killed too!"

Ochako fought back. She bit, and kicked and screamed. "Let me go! Let me GO! I can't let him die! DEKU! DEKU, COME BACK!"

More people piled on top of her till she landed face first onto the ground. Still she fought. And was able to move enough to free her head. But this only gave her enough freedom to watch the events unfold before her.

---

Izuku ran wide-eyed down the street, not caring about all the people behind him screaming at him to stop. It was all just white noise. The only voice he heard now was his own, screaming at himself inside his head.

What am I doing? This is completely insane. There's nothing I can do but– but I can't stop running forward. I can't stop!

As he ran, he didn't notice his body beginning to glow, nor that so many pieces of shattered rubble he ran past also began to glow as well, a few skipping and skidding along the road to follow him.

The sludge villain blinked, surprised to see someone brave enough to charge him head on. His surprise quickly turned to annoyance as he sneered. "This brat again? I don't need you anymore! I got the perfect body now! So get lost!" The villain reached out to swat Izuku away.

Izuku didn't have time to panic at the oncoming attack. His mind raced as he thought of any idea to give himself an opening to reach Katsuki. He thought back to his notes and remembered the newest entry he had written on Ochako from the day before. How she could use her quirk to throw heavy objects with ease. How she had thrown that heavy medicine ball at that jock jerk, knocking him down.

Yanking his backpack off, after deciding he had no better options, he flung it like a ball and chain towards the villain. The sludge villain swatted the bag away but the multiple shards of glowing brick and glass from behind Izuku then slammed into the villain's face, who snapped back stunned as the debris got stuck in him. He clawed at his face, rubbing his eyes as he was temporarily blinded. Izuku didn't notice any of this however, focused solely on reaching Katsuki. Izuku screamed as he flung himself into the sludge and began to desperately dig through it.

"Kacchan!"

"Deku?" Katsuki, exhausted from struggling for so long, was surprised to find Izuku clawing his way towards him. Or at least trying too. After getting hit, the sludge around him had loosened enough that he could at least breathe again, and gave him a chance to scream at Izuku.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!? Get out of here, you damned nerd!"

Izuku shook his head as he kept digging. "I can't do that!"

Katsuki, despite his situation, despite how close to dying he knew he was, couldn't accept that. "Why are you here? I didn't ask you for your help! What are you trying to prove? That you're a big hero all of the sudden? Fuck off and get out of here!"

"I can't do that, Kacchan!"

Katsuki finally got a look at Izuku's face and was shocked. There was fear, plenty of fear, but it's what was there besides that, that made him clamp his mouth shut.

Izuku was smiling.

It was a bloody smile as his nose had started bleeding again. But it was a smile nonetheless. Katsuki knew immediately who Izuku was trying to copy. Then Izuku screamed, "I can't just do nothing Kacchan! You looked like you needed help!"

Izuku's voice echoed back towards the crowd of onlookers. Behind them all, All Might, who before had felt himself anchored down and powerless, felt a surge of emotions rip through him.

After everything I told that young man. After I told him he couldn't follow his dream. He's the one doing everything he can to save that boy. Not the other heroes. Not me.

Pathetic.

All Might's grip on the light pole he had been leaning against tightened. The metal creaked under his fingers as steam began to rise from his body.

Pathetic.

All Might's teeth grit together as he dug deep into himself to find his power. As the steam increased, his body began to grow.

Katsuki wanted to continue to tell Izuku off, but the sludge around him tightened suddenly as the villain regained his senses and dragged him deeper within his body. Izuku watched in horror as slowly, what was left of Katsuki disappeared from view. Izuku could hear the villain laughing above him, probably over how Katsuki was his, but Izuku didn't care. If he didn't do something, Katsuki would be lost.

No no no! I can't let him go!

Izuku's mind races. He didn't have a plan. He hadn't had one when he had run out here to begin with, he'd just acted without thinking.

I have to do something.

Once again, he felt his body move on its own. This time he leapt up and dove into the sludge after Katsuki, reaching desperately for him. Once again, he felt the weight of the monster around him, crushing him as he burrowed after the disappearing form of Katsuki. In no time, Izuku was only aware of the crushing weight and black darkness around him. His feet had left the ground, so now he wasn't even sure what way was up or down.

It was a black suffocating hell. But still, he clawed his way deeper.

Deeper.

Deeper.

Then he felt it. On the tips of his fingers, he could feel the cloth of Katsukis school uniform jacket. With one final push, he was able to grab hold of it, gripping the fabric in a tight fist with his hand. He had him. But now what? What would he do next? Izuku didn't know, only one thought kept repeating itself through his now pain-filled head.

Let Kacchan go!

Let Kacchan go!

LET KACCHAN GO!

---

Ochako had gone through so many different emotions in the short time she had been tackled to the ground, preventing her from following after Izuku. Firstly was horror, at seeing her friend disregard his own safety as he ran right at the villain in some vain attempt to save their classmate.

Next was shock. As Izuku ran, the fire-filled street behind him glowed with a bright green light. Ochako immediately recognized it as the light from his quirk. She didn't know how he was doing it, but he had picked up the rubble he passed and just launched it at the villain's face.

Around her, a few of the people holding her down had given surprised yelps at this display of Izuku's quirk. A sliver of pride flowed through her, hearing people be so impressed with Izuku. Even in this horrible situation, he was proving all those jerks in class wrong after all.

But then that feeling of pride was crushed when she watched Izuku leap up, and dive into the sludge villain's body to try and rescue Katsuki.

"Deku, NO! Dek–!"

Her scream died in her throat as a bright flash of green light ripped through the harsh red and orange of the fire, and the sludge villain's form exploded outward and away from both Izuku and Katsuki.

---

Izuku gasped for air as he suddenly fell to the ground, pulling Katsuki down with him. Katsuki lay on his side, coughing up the remains of the sludge that had been pushed down his throat. Izuku tried to sit up, but the pain in his head kept him down. He didn't have to reach up to check to know his nose was bleeding again. Perhaps even more than before.

He was crushing me so hard, though. Guess it isn't a surprise my nose got so smashed.

Groggily, he looked over at Katsuki, a relieved smile now forming. "Kacchan… I think you," Izuku groaned slightly from the pain, "I think you got him…"

Katsuki twisted his head to the side and shot Izuku a look that Izuku had never seen from the boy. It wasn't his normal angry scowl. It had something else mixed in with it. Indignation? Confusion? Before Izuku could question this, a scream of rage from above him brought him out of his thoughts.

"You little BASTARD!"

The sludge villain's body had been spread out, but multiple tendrils had anchored themselves onto the street and buildings around the boys.

"I swear I'm going to kill you. I'll rip you limb from limb. DO YOU HEAR ME!"

Izuku didn't have time to react. Didn't have time to push Katsuki out of the way of the incoming attack. Nor wonder why the villain was coming towards him and not Katsuki, who's blasts had freed them. But at least, if the villain was busy with him, Katsuki could make a break for it. Izuku shut his eyes and turned away.

At least Kacchan should be able to escape.

There was a rush of air at Izuku's side, followed by a loud impact. But no pain. When Izuku opened his eyes, he found Katsuki was no longer beside him. Looking back, he saw that the boy had been thrown back into the arms of the heroes back with the crowd. Daring to look forward, he gasped, "All Might!?"

Between him and the villain stood All Might, his arm and side wrapped up in parts of the villain. In the split second Izuku had closed his eyes, All Might had not only thrown Katsuki to safety but had also blocked the attack meant for him. All Might, while glaring up at the villain, spoke down to Izuku. "I owe you an apology, young man. After everything I said to you, I had the gall to not even be willing to follow my own words!"

With a flex All Might ripped himself free of the sludge. "Pro's are always risking their lives!" He reached down and picked Izuku up and held him in one arm, cradling him safely away from his coming attack, while he reared back with his other arm. "DETROIT SMASH!"

The force behind the punch scattered the villain and easily put out the fires around the street. The heroes were able to protect the onlookers from the rest of the wind and shock wave. When the wind finally died down, there was a silence that fell over everyone.

Then the first raindrops fell. Slowly, people began to regain their senses, with a few people looking up. The very sky had darkened with clouds from the force of All Mights attack. Soon though, a cheer erupted from the crowd as they celebrated All Might's victory.

"He made it rain!? That's incredible!"

"All Might is the best!"

"He saved them! Incredible!"

---

With the villain defeated and collected by the police, it wasn't long till reporters crowded around All Might for a statement or interview. Katsuki and Izuku were moved to a less busy section of the street. Several of the heroes stood around Katsuki, praising him for his bravery and the power he had displayed. A couple were even offering to take him as a sidekick when he got into a hero school. Izuku was not so lucky. Two heroes, Death Arms and Kamui Woods, stood over him, berating him for his actions.

"Do you have any idea how stupid what you just did was?"

"There was absolutely no reason for you to risk your life like that."

"Your actions not only risked your own life, but the life of the hostage and any hero who tried to save you. Do you understand?"

Izuku kept his head down as he tentatively dabbed at his nose with the handkerchief he had been given earlier that day. He didn't have anything to say in his defense. He deserved every harsh word.

Kamui Woods crossed his arms. "Your actions were the height of foolishness. Even if you think your quir–"

"STOP IT ALREADY!"

Before either hero could react, Ochako burst past them and wrapped her arms protectively around Izuku, putting herself between him and the heroes. She practically snarled back at them, "None of you were doing ANYTHING! You were just standing there, waiting for someone else to do your job. So just leave him alone already. He doesn't deserve this."

Izuku blinked, surprised not only that Ochako was here, and how tightly she was squeezing him, but by how she seemed to have no problem telling off two pro heroes. If his head still wasn't pounding, Izuku would have made a mental note to add a slight change to her entry in his notebook.

Do not ever make angry.

Death Arms frowned and started to say something else, but was stopped when Kamui Woods put a hand on his shoulder and motioned over to where all the reporters were. His message was clear to the other pro. Best not to make a scene when the media was so close. It wouldn't look good for either of them.

Ochako watched as both heroes retreated away, before turning her full attention back to Izuku. She unwrapped her arms and sat down next to him, her eyes scanning him, head to toe, looking for any obvious injury that he would need to get taken care of. Besides his bloody nose, he seemed to be in good health, all things considered.

"Uraraka?"

Hearing Izuku's voice snapped her back to her senses, and every emotion she had bottled up came flooding back. She wrapped her arms back around Izuku, buried her face into his shoulder and started to cry.

Izuku froze, unsure what he could do to console Ochako. Slowly, tentatively, he wrapped his arms around her too. Softly patting her back as she cried into him.

"It's okay. I'm okay. See, nothing to cry over, Uraraka."

For several long minutes the two held onto each other, before Ochako was able to gather herself enough to pull back and go back to just sitting next to Izuku. "I was right next to you, did you know that? I was right next to you. I looked away for a second, and when I looked back, you were gone. Deku I can't… I can't even begin…"

Ochako paused briefly, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I tried to chase after you, but all the people in the crowd stopped me. So, I had to watch as you ran right into that monster… I thought I was going to watch you die. And there was nothing I could do."

Izuku slumped down as guilt ate away at him. He tried to hold back his own tears now, and he could feel his nose start to run. "Uraraka, I'm sorry. I never meant–"

"Deku," Ochako interrupted him. There was a firmness in her voice that made Izuku clamp his mouth shut. "Deku, I'm not asking for you to apologize. You did what you did to save Bakugou's life. I meant what I said to those heroes. You acted, while they did nothing."

Ochako turned and looked Izuku right in the eyes. "So I won't ask you to apologize. But I want you to promise me something instead. Will you do that?"

Nodding his head quickly, Izuku agreed to Ochako's request.

"I want you to promise me that you will never, never, do something like this again. I want you to promise me you will never leave me behind while you rush into a situation where you could get killed."

"Uraraka–"

"Promise me."

She sat there, her eyes never leaving his, as she waited. Finally, Izuku said, "I promise. Uraraka, I promise." Ochako relaxed visibly after hearing this, and let out a long sigh, satisfied.

"Good… that's good…" Ochako reached out and pulled the handkerchief out of Izuku's hands. Reaching up with it, she began to carefully wipe away the blood that still stained his nose, lips and chin. "Of course, once we get into U.A., we'll learn how to rush into dangerous situations… safely. Together. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there, okay?"

Izuku felt a pit form in his stomach. She still thinks we're both going to U.A., Izuku thought to himself sadly. Should I tell her? I should tell her, I've decided to be realistic… Izuku didn't want to say it. But it would be wrong not to, right?

"Uraraka, I–" As Izuku started to say something to Ochako, a low growl interrupted him. "DEKU!" Izuku felt himself tense up, almost jumping to his feet. He missed that Ochako had immediately clamped a hand on his wrist, and was now glaring daggers at Katsuki as the boy stomped over to the two of them.

"Kacchan?"

Katsuki sneered as he pointed right at Izuku. "How long, Deku?"

"Huh?"

"How long have you been fucking lying to everyone!?"

Izuku was stunned, mouth slightly agape. Lying? What does he mean?

Katsuki however didn't give Izuku a chance to answer. "You know what, it doesn't matter. Don't think this changes anything. I'm still above you. So don't even think about looking down on me. No matter what you do, you will never be better than me. This, this means nothing. So you keep your act. I don't give a shit. But don't you ever forget, it was All Might that saved me. Not you. So, I don't owe you. You understand me!?" His rant done, Katsuki turned on his heel and stomped away, leaving a confused Izuku and an enraged Ochako.

"That– jerk," Ochako seethed, "after everything you did, he's still going to treat you like that?"

"Kacchan has… always been prideful. So, I guess that's just his toughness showing through… Still, I wonder what he meant when he said I had been lying?"

"Just ignore him, Deku. If he can't accept that you saved him, then that just shows how… pathetic and petty he really is."

Izuku looked over at Ochako and was surprised to see so much contempt and rage emanating from her.

Does she realize just how much she looks like Kacchan right now?

Composing herself, Ochako stood up and reached down for Izuku. "Come on, you've already talked to everyone you needed to, right? Let's get you home."

Absently, Izuku glanced over toward All Might, but he was still surrounded by a horde of reporters. I don't think he'll be free for a while now. And I don't want to be more of a nuisance… Izuku took Ochako's hand. "Yeah, I think I'd like to go home now."

---

The two walked back most of the way to Izuku's apartment, before Izuku was able to convince Ochako he'd be able to manage the rest of the walk. It had taken some solid minutes of reassuring her, and reminding her that she needed to take her groceries home before they spoiled, to make her agree to be on her way.

Before parting however, Ochako smiled brightly at Izuku and raised her fist in encouraging determination. "Oh, Deku, make sure you're ready for this weekend. Our U.A. dream is about to really get going!"

Izuku faltered, but the huge smile Ochako had stopped him from telling her the truth. Putting on his best smile, he returned her fist bump. "Ye–yeah. Let's do our best!"

Ochako took a small step back, but stopped short of turning around. Then, after a second's hesitation, she walked up to Izuku and gave him a quick hug. It was different from before in the market. This wasn't an act of giving protection. This was a much softer embrace. But just as quickly as Ochako had given Izuku the hug, she quickly stepped back and after one last flustered goodbye, hurried on her way. Neither teen noticed how flushed the other was, though. They were too busy dealing with their own blushes and fluttering stomachs.

Now alone, slowly Izuku let his thoughts drift back to what he would do. I have to tell her before the weekend. I will tell her. It's the right thing to do… Before Izuku could make it further down the road however…

"I AM HERE!"

All Might came skidding to a stop right in front of Izuku. Izuku, to his credit, only screamed a little bit in surprise. "All Might? You're here? Why are you here!? But you were surrounded by reporters when I left. They can't have been done asking you questions already."

All Might just laughed. "Please, young man, ditching the press is easy for me. Why, you ask? Because, I AM ALL MIGH–!"

In the middle of his monologue, All Might's form suddenly reverted back to its shriveled state in a puff of steam. He was also spitting out blood for good measure, too. This time, even after seeing this transformation before, Izuku still cried out in alarm. It took a few moments for All Might to recover himself, wiping the blood with his hand and getting his cough under control.

"Young man. I've come here to offer you my thanks, to ask you a question, and make you an offer. You see, if it hadn't been for you, if you hadn't shown me that bravery, even after what I had said to you after you told me about your weak quirk and your dream, I would have never been faced with the reality that I was not living up to my own ideals and standards. I would have become a fraud. A coward in an oversized muscle suit. For that, you have my thanks."

Izuku was stunned. "No wait, please don't say things like that. You're the greatest hero in the world. I'm sure you would have saved Kacchan regardless of anything. All I did was mess things up in the first place. If I hadn't been so selfish and got in the way of you taking that villain to the police, none of this would have happened to begin with. I even got in the way of all those other heroes, even when I knew there was nothing I could do."

"Nothing you could do, huh? Even with your quirk?"

Izuku shook his head sadly. "Not a chance. My quirk is just too weak…"

All Might arced an eyebrow at that. During his run to meet up with Izuku, he'd had some time to go over the events from the attack, and he had a guess as to what had happened now back with the villain, but he needed to make sure. So, time to ask my question. "Tell me, what is your quirk?"

"Psychokinesis," Izuku answered after a pause.

A mental emitter-based quirk. Just as I suspected. "That's a versatile quirk. I know many heroes that would love to have a quirk like that."

Izuku actually scoffed. "No one would want mine. Just today before– before everything that happened, I tried to use it to catch my notebook. It was only a few feet away, and it took everything I had just to hold it. No, ever since I was, you know, little and learned what my quirk was, and my… my friend…s saw it… they knew that it was useless. That's when I learned it too…" Izuku trailed off. It wasn't like this was something new for Izuku to think about, but giving these memories a voice, especially in front of his hero, just hurt.

"Your friends told you this? When you were still just a little child?"

Izuku nodded. "I've been classmates with hi– them ever since. So, sooner rather than later, my classmates learned about it, too. I suppose it's a way to make sure I remember my place…"

Bingo, All Might thought. "When you use your quirk, it has a tell, doesn't it?"

"Tell?"

"Something visual that would indicate you're using your quirk. Such as, perhaps, a glow around yourself and the object you are holding with your quirk?"

Izuku blinked, surprised that All Might guessed that from out of nowhere. He must have run into other heroes with quirks like mine. Izuku gave an affirmative nod. "Yes, yes, that's right. It's a green glow. The harder I concentrate, the brighter it gets."

"And when you overuse your quirk? A headache, or a nosebleed?"

"That's amazing, All Might! The headaches are first, then my nose bleeds… a lot, actually. How'd you guess?"

It took a large amount of effort for All Might not to let out a huge sigh. It's worse than I thought. He hasn't connected the dots from today at all. Time to change tactics. Walk him through it perhaps. "So you, even knowing your limits, ran out there anyway. Tell me, what happened back in that street?"

Izuku felt his grip on his backpack tighten as he thought back to the street. "When… when I saw Kacchan, he looked so… so desperate. The next thing I knew, I was just running. I still have no idea why I did it. I just knew I had to help."

"Your body moved without you thinking about it, huh?"

Izuku nodded. "I got about half way before I realized that the villain was about to attack me. So I tried to throw my backpack at him, but he just swatted it away. But I got lucky, I guess that the explosions from before loosened some debris that fell into the villain's face."

All Might nodded. "I see. That's how you saw that…" He noticed Izuku had stopped and gave him an inquisitive look. All Might waved him on, "Forgive me. Please continue."

"Right… Well, I tried digging Kacchan out, but it was just like when I was caught. His form was too fluid, so I couldn't make any progress. After a bit, he recovered and started dragging Kacchan deeper into himself. So I, um… I dove in after him."

It suddenly struck Izuku as he replayed the events, that he was very lucky that he was still alive.

"Then, after that… um, it gets a little hazy. I dug my way to Kacchan. I think I actually was able to grab onto his school jacket. After that… sorry, but after that I think Kacchan used his quirk to free us both. He has an explosion quirk, so when he got dragged into the center of the villain, he must have used it to rip himself and me free. I must have gotten caught in the blast a bit since that's when I got hurt. The paramedics said I got my bell rung when they checked us out. But yeah, after we got free, the villain got really mad and attacked, but then you stepped in and saved us. That's about it really…"

"Young man… would you like to know what I saw, out in that street?"

"What you saw, All Might?"

"I saw a young man act in a way some of the greatest heroes had said they had acted when they saved someone their first time. Their bodies just acted when they saw someone in danger."

Izuku felt his heart clench in his chest.

"I saw this young man glow so brightly as he ripped rubble and debris from the street around him as he ran and hurled it at a villain so that he could save a fellow student."

Izuku's legs wobbled somewhat as his mind raced. I… I was glowing? But…

"And when that monster tried to drag that student away, this heroic young man dove into it, and ripped him wide open to pull his classmate to safety."

When All Might used the word heroic, Izuku's legs gave out and he fell to his knees as a rush of emotions overcame him.

"Young man, what I told you before, on that roof, was wrong. Everything you showed me today lets me say this with 100% certainty. You can be a hero."

Izuku cried. He cried as years of self-doubt were finally washed away. He cried for never truly listening to all the times his mother had encouraged him, too afraid to have all the things his classmates had said to be proven right. He cried for thinking that he would have to abandon Ochako, to leave her to try and achieve her dream while she was so ready to share it with him.

It took him some time, but soon his tears dried and he could finally sit up. "I… I still don't understand how, though. You said I did all those things but, I've never been able to do something like that. When I tried to use my quirk at school… I couldn't do anything…"

All Might moved and sat down on the curb of the street and invited Izuku to sit next to him. "Two reasons, young man." All Might held up his hand, pointer finger raised. "One, mind over matter. The human mind is an incredible thing. Something many people don't realize, is that being a hero takes a great deal of mental fortitude. To push yourself beyond your limits, to go plus ultra, takes more than just a strong body.

"If you think you can do something, if you know you can keep going, your mind can help push your body forward. But, the opposite is just as true. You grew up being told your quirk was weak, that you couldn't succeed. And it's obvious that you listened to those students. Then, you started to believe them. Finally, it got to the point that you were telling yourself that you were weak. All of that added together, made one heck of a mental block."

Izuku lowered his head, starting to feel ashamed of himself, but before he could fall too deep into these thoughts, All Might continued. "And yet, your subconscious, that part of you that held onto that dream of becoming a hero, was still able to dig deep to give you what you needed, when you needed it most. You should feel proud about that."

All Might then raised a second finger. "The second reason I can see is much more simple, but just as important. Many people forget this, but quirks are still a physical part of ourselves. Think of them like a muscle. People who are bedridden still have people come to work their legs. If they don't, the muscle will atrophy. It comes down to, if you don't use it, you lose it. And you, young man, don't use your quirk very often, do you?"

Izuku shook his head. "Well, we aren't supposed to use our quirks at school to begin with…"

"But what about when you would go out and play as a child? Or even more recently, just simple things you could do around the house? Maybe lifting a plate from your table to the sink? Pulling a shirt from the closet?"

"No, I never saw the point."

"So, now when the time comes when you want to use your quirk, it's hard. You are affected by your quirk's side-effect of giving you headaches and such much easier, as we've both seen. Even simple things, as you've told me, takes great effort for you."

"So I've really put myself into a hole, I guess…"

"Fortunately, I believe solving these issues will come naturally once we start your training."

"You're right, I just… have… wait… we…" Izuku trailed off before looking up at All Might in shock. His eyes widened as he suddenly felt his throat tighten, keeping him from finishing what he had been saying.

"This is why I've come to find you, in fact. I've chosen you to be my successor."

There was a pause before Izuku leapt up in shock. "YOUR SUCCESSOR!?"

All Might nodded and pointed right at Izuku. "That's right. What you showed me today are all the traits I needed to see. I deem you worthy to become my successor. My quirk is yours to inherit."

Izuku's jaw dropped slightly and his head tilted to the side. What did he just say? Inherit his quirk?

"Hey, hey, what's with that look, kid? I told you I had an offer for you. So you need to decide what you want to do."

"All Might, I don't understand. What are you saying? That's impossible."

"Impossible, huh? Do you even know what my quirk is?"

That stopped Izuku's rant. "Your quirk? No. I don't think anyone does. There are a bunch of theories out there, but no one knows for sure. I know stuff like super strength and invulnerability are the two top runners. And whenever you get asked about it during interviews, you always find a way to dodge the question."

"I do that so people will keep thinking I'm just like them. A regular person with a quirk, who became a hero. But the truth is, there's nothing regular about me or my quirk. I wasn't born with this power, it was passed to me."

"Passed to you?"

"That's right. My quirk is like a sacred torch. It was passed to me a long time ago. And now I want to pass it on to you."

Izuku's mind raced as he listened to All Might, barely grasping what he was hearing. Out of habit he started to mumble to himself as he analyzed this new information. "This, this doesn't make any sense. It's true that there are methods to try and ensure a person is born with a certain kind of quirk, like those marriages people used to do, but even then, the child's power would be their own and it's still a completely random result. To just be able to give someone a quirk just isn't possible. It defies our society's understanding of quirks and…"

As Izuku spiraled into a mumbleing mess, All Might scratched the back of his head. "Um, kid, I think you might be overthinking this a bit… kid?" When it became obvious that Izuku wasn't listening any more, All Might leaned forward and clapped his hands together in front of Izuku's face, shocking the boy enough to get him to stop talking to himself.

Izuku looked around before sheepishly apologizing. "I'm sorry, I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around this. It just doesn't seem possible."

"But it is possible. I can transfer my power to someone else. You are going to need to accept this fact before we move on to the next secret of my power."

Izuku took a breath before he calmed himself down and returned his complete attention to All Might. Satisfied, All Might continued to explain his quirk. "The name of my quirk is called, One for All."

One for All, Izuku repeated in his head, not daring to interrupt All Might now.

"This quirk goes back generations. One person takes the power, and improves it, before they then pass it onto the next person. They too will improve the power before they pass it on. As the quirk is passed from torch bearer to torch bearer, the power increases and grows, each person adding themselves to it. It is with this power of generations that I can save people who so desperately need a hero. This, young man, is the truth behind my power. I have been searching for someone worthy to pass this power to, and today you proved that you are that person."

He's completely serious. He chased me down and told me so much to encourage me. And even told me his greatest secret. The greatest hero in the world just asked me to take up his torch and become a hero. What I've always dreamed of becoming. After all that, there's no way I can turn him down.

All Might watched as Izuku's face went from one of shocked wonder, to one of determination. Izuku stood up straight and looked right at All Might. "I'll do it."

A large, impressed, smirk split All Might's face. "Absolutely no hesitation at all. I knew I chose the right person." All Might stood up and extended his hand towards Izuku. "Then let's make it official, then. My name is Yagi Toshinori, but you can just keep calling me All Might if you want. It's a pleasure to meet you, young man."

Izuku did his best to keep his inner, and outer, fanboy antics in check as he returned All Might's handshake. "Midoriya Izuku. It's an honor, All Might."

---

It was soon after this that the two parted ways, with All Might promising to contact him again soon, once he had put together a plan on how to begin the process to make Izuku ready for his quirk. Until then, he made sure to have Izuku promise not to mention anything that had been said between them.

Izuku was on cloud nine the rest of the way back to his home. So distracted that he never saw his mother running at him the moment he walked through the front door and all but tackling him in a panicked worry, confirming that she must have been contacted by the officers or paramedics who had been on the scene.

Izuku had a sinking feeling he was going to be in for a rough next couple of days. And he was right. His mother had insisted he must recover from such a horrible experience, so she called the school to let them know Izuku would be staying home the last two days of the school week.

She would also be taking him to the doctor to make sure he was completely healthy. The fact that his shirt collar had been stained from his nosebleed had not gone over very well, and made sure any attempt to talk her out of doctors was ignored.

He was also grounded, so he wasn't able to talk with Ochako, which had really, really sucked. Though perhaps it might be for the best. When he thought about her, his mind would wander back to the hug she had given him, and he would feel his face flush up like a bright red tomato. And he'd really rather not let her see that.

It wouldn't be until friday that he would finally get a chance to speak with her.

---

Ochako scanned over the message she had received from Inko, informing her that after supper tonight, Izuku's punishment would be over and he would be getting his phone back. So she would be able to call him to plan for their weekend.

She was also more than welcome to start coming over for dinner again. Inko had asked if she would be okay with waiting a couple of days before coming back over since she wanted to make sure her punishment for Izuku stuck. Ochako felt a little guilty thinking about how excited she was getting, thinking about eating at the Midoriya's. She had missed a well put together home-cooked meal. She was not the greatest cook, so these last couple of days had been very hard on her poor stomach.

The school day had ended a little while ago, but Ochako had decided to spend a little extra time staying in class, so she could finish the extra notes she had made for Izuku for everything he had missed while recovering from the villain attack. As she finished the last few lines however she overheard some voices coming from the hall, one of which she instantly recognized as Katsuki's.

Much to her annoyance, Katsuki had returned to class much earlier than she had hoped. She hadn't wished that Katsuki had been hurt or anything like that, but being able to have a peaceful class had been a nice change of pace.

And of course the class had immediately started asking questions about what had happened to him. Katsuki though, instead of taking the opportunity to brag about himself, didn't seem to want to talk about the villain. Ochako did find some amusement in that, for once, the class seemed slow to back down at Katsuki's demands that they drop it and kept badgering him throughout the day.

"Will you fuckers leave me alone, already! I'm not answering your damned questions!"

Ochako snickered and went back to jotting down the last of her notes.

"Come on dude, give us something. Is it true you blew up the whole street?"

"Wait, really? That was you?"

"Dude, the villain had a sludge quirk or something. Bakugou is the one that blows shit up."

"That's still crazy. Man, Bakugou is strong."

There was a pause from the other side of the door, giving Ochako a chance to groan at the last comment. Great, just what Bakugou needs. Getting his ego pampered even more.

"Of course I'm strong. Did you think I was weak or something!?"

Shaking her head, Ochako decided to power through the last few lines of her work and just leave. No reason to let herself get upset over this.

"Hey, the news said that there was another student involved in the attack, right?"

"Involved? I thought the news said the student rushed in or something?"

Ochako's pencil slowed slightly as her attention was again brought back to the loud conversation happening outside the classroom.

"Yeah, you'll never guess who it was! It was Midoriya!"

"Wait, what?"

"You're kidding!"

"Wait, is that why he's been out the past couple days?"

"Why didn't the teacher say anything!?"

"Wait, so did Midoriya save you Bakug–!"

"DEKU DIDN'T DO SHIT! He's a worthless waste of space. All he did was get in the way of the real heroes!"

Snap.

Ochako's pencil snapped in her hand. She took in one long, shuddering breath before she bolted from her chair and rushed to the door and slammed it open, causing a few of the students to jump in surprise. She scanned the group before she quickly found her target. "Bakugou, we need to talk. Get in here."

The students looked from Ochako to Katsuki, who was scowling at Ochako himself, arms crossed. "You don't tell me what to do, Round Face."

Ochako however didn't back down and motioned to the group around them. "You wanna talk in front of everyone, then? That's fine by me. I'm more than happy to talk about what I saw happen during that villain attack."

Katsuki's scowl deepened, but he also glanced around at the students.

"Wait, you were there too, Uraraka?" someone asked. Before Ochako could respond however, Katsuki walked past everyone and into the empty classroom. When a couple of students moved to join him, a quick glare from both Ochako and Katsuki sent the group scurrying, with the excuse that it was late and they should be getting home.

Ochako closed the door behind her while Katsuki leaned against the nearest wall, his scowl set firm as he glared at Ochako. "This had better be good, Round Face."

Ochako planted herself right in front of Katsuki before harshly stating, "If Deku hadn't jumped in after you, you would be dead."

Katsuki growled and started to say something, but Ochako cut him off. "No, you shut your mouth! Deku saved your life. I don't care if you don't want to go and admit that to everyone. If that somehow protects that pride or ego or whatever you want to call it, fine. You do what you want. But I swear, Bakugou, I will not let you drag Deku's name through the mud just so you can save face."

"He. Didn't. Save. Me."

With every word, Bakugou stomped closer to Ochako till they were face to face. Ochako didn't even blink. "I was in the crowd, you idiot. I could hear what was going on. The heroes had no idea what to do to save you. They were waiting for someone else to show up."

"And someone did. All Might."

Ochako threw her hands up in frustration. "AFTER Deku rushed in!" Ochako took a breath, trying to calm herself before continuing, "Look, like I said, I'm not asking you to go around praising Deku, even though that's what you should be doing, but," she poked a finger into Katsuki's chest, "I am telling you that you will not talk about Deku like you just did to anyone else. Deku deserves… no, he's earned that much from you at least."

Katsuki roughly swatted Ochako's hand away. "I'm not going to do a damned thing for that liar."

"Liar? Deku isn't a liar."

"All of a sudden I'm supposed to believe that worthless shit Deku is able to throw shit around like he did? Hmm? Or how about this? When we fell out of the villain, he tried to pass it off that I had done something. I know when I use my quirk. Explain that."

Ochako frowned, but couldn't answer right away. It was true that she had watched Izuku do things back then that she hadn't thought were possible for him to do. She had wanted to ask him about it, but was so relieved he hadn't been killed that she had forgotten to ask.

"I can't. But it's like you said back then. Doesn't matter. He did what he did to save you. You've known him since you were little, right? Do you really think he's capable of putting on an act just to spite you? He's too earnest a person to even try something like that."

Katsuki glared down at Ochako before breaking the silence. "Are you done?"

Katsuki turned to leave, but before he reached the door, Ochako said one last thing. "Tell me I'm wrong."

Katsuki paused, then was gone, slamming the door behind him. Left alone, Ochako collected her things and left as well. As she left the school, she could once again hear a small group of students talking about the villain incident. However, their voices were soon cut off.

"I TOLD YOU GUYS I'M DONE TALKING ABOUT THAT SHIT! DROP IT! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT ANYMORE! I'M NOT ANSWERING ANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT SHIT VILLAIN OR DEKU!"

Ochako continued on her way, not happy with the current situation, but also not angry like she had just been. It's not much, but I guess I'll take what I can get.

---

Later that night, Izuku bit his lip lightly to stop himself from giving out a happy cheer as his mother handed him back his phone and let him know he was no longer grounded. The past few days, when he wasn't getting checked up on by doctors, he was either cleaning the apartment or studying. At least now it was over.

He turned his phone on and scanned through his messages. He gulped as he saw a missed call from the contact 'Toshi'. Thankfully, he'd had a chance to record a new voicemail message stating he was grounded before handing his phone over to his mother. So at least All Might wouldn't think he was ignoring him… he hoped.

Good thing I thought to turn my phone off before I gave it to her, too. I can't even imagine what would happen if mom answered his call.

As he hurried to his room, his mother called out behind him, "You should give Uraraka a call. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear from you."

"I will, mom!"

Once safely in his room, and making sure his door was closed, he quickly tapped the Toshi contact. After only a couple of rings, All Might answered in a bemused tone. "Ah, Young Midoriya. Is your incarceration over?"

"I'm so sorry about this, All Might. Mom was so worried about me even when I told her I was fine, then she grounded me and I didn't have a chance to call you, she was watching me everywhere I went just in case I collapsed or something…" Izuku rambled on as he bowed his head, only to remember All Might was not actually in the room with him.

"Don't worry about it, Young Midoriya," All Might chuckled. "You should be thankful to have such a doting mother to look after you."

"I, I am. I was just worried that I was missing out on my chance to train."

"Don't you worry about that. In fact, your timing for calling is perfect. I have just finished my training regimen for you."

"You have!?"

"I call it 'Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan.' We will go into it in more detail when we start your training. Speaking of which, are you now free to leave your home unsupervised?"

"Yes. I'm ready to go!"

"Excellent, then we will get you started right away. I will come to pick you up first thing tomorrow morning!"

After setting some plans, and Izuku almost swallowing his tongue at how early he was going to be getting up tomorrow, he hung up and sat down at his desk, his excitement threatening to bubble out of him.

I can't believe it. This is really happening! I should probably get to bed early. Don't want to start my day all groggy.

Izuku got up and started to get ready for an early night when he suddenly remembered. Oh yeah, I should give Uraraka a call like mom said.

A few phone taps later, "DEKU!" Izuku gulped as he heard Ochako's voice. Her voice sounds so close!

"Hi, Uraraka. Sorry for taking so long to call you. I got grounded when I got home."

There was a giggle on the other end, and Izuku felt his cheeks heat up. "Yeah, your mom actually gave me a heads up. You know only being grounded for two days is light, right? I'd have locked you away for a week."

Izuku groaned in good humor, "I'm so sorry, mom."

"Well, just so you know, I took some notes of what we covered in class while you were out."

"Really? Thank you so much, Uraraka!" Izuku was so touched by this. He had planned on asking the teacher for some notes when he got back to class. "Uraraka, really, thank you. You're always looking out for me. I couldn't have asked for a better friend."

Izuku couldn't tell over the phone, but Ochako's cheeks had taken a rosy hue. She took a couple of seconds to regain her composure before she spoke. "It… it's no big deal, Deku. I was happy to do it. I'll bring you the notes when we meet up tomorrow morning to start our training."

Izuku blinked. "Hm?"

"Oh, I guess we should set a time to meet up at the beach. What time works for you?"

Oh… oh no, oh no! Izuku felt his legs give out as he collapsed onto his bed, his hand covering his mouth just in case he suddenly screamed out in horror. I forgot about our plan. HOW COULD I FORGET!

"Deku, you still there?"

I can't believe I forgot. No, no, no! What do I do? What can I even say!?

"Ye… yeah, I'm here…"

There was a pause. "Deku, you okay?"

No, no I'm not. I just completely stabbed you in the back. Izuku felt his chest tighten up as he spoke, "Uraraka, I… about… about our plan…" I can't tell her All Might is going to start training me. What do I do?

There was a soft gasp on the other end of the phone. "Oh wait, I never asked if you were even okay enough to start tomorrow! I'm sorry, Deku. I shouldn't have assumed like that."

"Yeah, I think… I think I still need the weekend, to… to recover a little more…" Liar.

"Of course! I should have asked you! Oh, and you know what, it wouldn't be a good idea for us to start our training while you have two days of school to catch up on. So how about this, then? I'll make sure everything will be ready for us when we start next week. You know, check for anything that might be dangerous. Then afterwards when I come over for dinner, I'll bring those notes and we can work on them together. That way, you won't be behind on monday. Sounds good?"

With great effort, Izuku replied, "Thank you, Uraraka. I… I don't… I don't deserve a friend like you." I really don't.

"Oh, don't be like that, Deku. Now, I think I'm gonna turn in a little early tonight. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, okay? Have a good night!"

"Good night, Uraraka…" With a click, Izuku heard Ochako hang up, and let his hand fall to his side, holding his phone. It took several tries before Izuku was able to stand and get dressed for bed.

I'm a horrible friend...

---

The next morning, Izuku made sure his mother was still asleep before hurrying out the door. He had left a note saying he would be going out for a bit. He hoped that would be enough so that she wouldn't worry. Once he had made it down to the street, a small truck pulled up to him. He instantly recognized the skinny form of the world's greatest hero and hurried to get in.

"Did you have any issues, Young Midoriya?" All Might asked as they drove off.

Izuku shook his head, but All Might could see the young man was troubled. Nerves, he supposed. Truthfully, it reminded him of himself when he first started training back when he was a young man.

"I can see you are troubled, but do not worry. While it's true the start of a journey can be daunting, I have every bit of faith you are up to the task."

Izuku was startled by the sudden reassurance and smiled up at the hero. "Thank you."

The drive went by quickly, but as All Might got closer to their destination, a sinking feeling began to form in the pit of Izuku's stomach as he started to recognize the area they were in.

Dagobah Municipal Beach Park

When All Might pulled into a parking lot and got out, Izuku followed close behind. He stopped a few paces behind All Might as they reached the edge of the beach, overlooking the cluttered and dirty shoreline.

All Might surveyed the coast in front of him before asking, "I bet you are wondering why we are here? Well, let me tell you. This will be the site where I will mold you into a vessel for One for All. Do you want to guess how?"

Guilt ate away at Izuku as he answered. "Moving all the heavy debris and garbage will help build and strengthen my muscles. And it'll be good community service, too."

All Might smirked. "Exactly! You'll get more out of this than just lifting some weights at a gym. Real world muscle growth. And community service is important, too. So many heroes only care about getting seen stopping villains and the like. It's good to go back to basics, like how it was in the old days."

He turned around. "I'm impressed you were able to guess my plan so quickly…" He stopped when he saw that Izuku had his head down, and was on the verge of tears. "Young man? What's wrong?"

Is he overcome with emotion, All Might thought. He knew just from the past couple of meetings that the boy wore his emotions on his sleeve. But just this shouldn't be enough to trigger this kind of reaction.

When Izuku finally spoke, his voice was quiet and shaky. "I'm a terrible friend."

"Huh?"

"All Might, I…"

Izuku took a breath before he tried again. "A while ago, I met the first friend that I've had in years. She… she reached out to me and stood up for me when everyone around me either didn't care, or were the ones causing me all my troubles. She saw that I was in trouble, and she was there for me." Izuku paused as he collected his thoughts. As he spoke, his voice lost its stutter, becoming more clear. All Might said nothing, allowing Izuku all the time he needed.

"When we met, she was the first person I felt I could tell my dream to. That even with my weak quirk, I still was going to become a hero. She didn't laugh, or tell me that it was impossible. She actually told me that it was her dream to become a hero too. She'd actually moved away from her parents, all so she could be closer to U.A. On that day, we decided that we would work together to help each other get ready for the entrance exam. We'd work on mock exams, study pro heroes, and start looking up places where we could start working out."

All Might raised an eyebrow, beginning to understand the situation a little better.

"We had trouble finding a good place to train. They were either too expensive or the people around were a little too intense for comfort. Then, a few days before you saved me, we decided to go for a walk after visiting our last gym. And we walked by here. We talked about how sad it was that the beach was in such a sorry state. How it'd take a lot of work to get it cleaned up."

Izuku didn't notice All Might's gaze wander up slightly, looking past the young man. Someone had entered the parking lot on the other side and was looking over at them.

"That's when we had an idea. That we could train here. We could run up and down the coast. Work on our strength by moving all the garbage to where it could get taken away. We were even coming up with ideas on training our quirks here, too."

All Might's eyes widened slightly before he tried to motion at Izuku to get his attention. The person he had spotted was making their way over. At a rather hurried pace, in fact.

Uh oh.

"All Might."

Hearing his name, the shriveled hero looked back down to see Izuku looking up at him. A mixture of different emotions all fighting to burst from the young boy.

Guilt.

Remorse.

Determination.

Hope.

Fear.

"All Might, last night, after I had called you and you let me know you were going to be picking me up this morning, I called my friend and I had to lie to her. Today was going to be our first day here. But I lied to her, telling her I was still a little shaken up from the villain and was going to need a few more days."

"So not only have I lied to my best friend. I'm even making her worry that I'm still not fully recovered from that sludge villain. She also said that she would use the extra time to get stuff ready for us. Instead of starting on her own, she is going to waste time she could be using to make herself ready to wait for me instead. How can I be worthy of being the next symbol of peace, if the first thing I do is hurt those around me?"

All Might wasn't sure what to say. The situation was apparently much more complicated than he had thought. What he had thought were just nerves, was a storm of different emotions that had to be squared away before any kind of training could be started. Unfortunately, before All Might could even begin to think up a proper response to Izuku, one more complication made herself known.

"Deku?"

Izuku's eyes went wide, and he quickly whipped around. "Uraraka!?"

Ochako slowed her pace as she finally made it to the two of them. She wore a faded tracksuit, and was carrying a small duffel bag over her shoulder. While she was surprised to find Izuku here after their talk last night, she was more worried by how alarmed Izuku was that she had walked up to him, and the skinny man he'd been talking to.

"Uraraka? What are you doing here?" Izuku tried to steady his voice and keep his panic from being too obvious. At least All Might was unrecognizable in his current state, so his secret was safe. However, he was now going to have to deal with being caught in his lie.

Ochako frowned, tilting her head slightly. "I told you last night, remember? I was going to make sure we would be ready to hit the ground running when you got better. We had discussed that we'd need to make sure there wasn't anything dangerous mixed in with all the trash." Ochako's frown deepened and her eyes narrowed a little. Deku's eyes are all red. Has… has he been crying?

"Th-that's what you meant? Oh…" Izuku gulped as Ochako eyed him. Think. Think of something.

"Deku?"

I just need to… lie again.

"Deku, what are you doing here?"

Izuku opened his mouth, but his voice withered and died before he could think of anything. Ochako's gaze never wavered. "And who is this that you are with?"

Izuku quickly glanced behind him to look back at All Might, before snapping back to Ochako. "He's, um. You see…" Izuku, however, could not think of anything to say. He was trapped.

All Might looked from his chosen successor to the new arrival. Soon, realization dawned on him on why the girl seemed so familiar to him. Back during the sludge villain incident, when he had watched Young Midoriya run in to save the boy from that monster, he had watched as a girl chased after him but had been stopped by the crowd.

He remembered how much she fought to get free. If the crowd hadn't stopped her, she very well could have followed Izuku right up to the villain. The same friend Izuku had spoken so highly of and the brave girl from the crowd were one and the same.

They both want to be heroes. And they were already working together to achieve their goal.

For a split moment the scene before All Might changed as a thought crossed his mind.

Instead of a young boy, stammering in a panic to come up with a believable lie, he saw his old master.

Nana Shimura.

She stood proud and strong. Ready to face whatever the world threw at her.

Instead of a young girl, face scrunched in worry as she became more and more upset as to why her friend was so panicked, he saw his old teacher.

Gran Torino.

He stood confident and headstrong. Ready to leap into his next fight.

He saw before him his master and teacher. Both had been the greatest heroes he knew growing up. And both had been close friends, right up till the end. Both had helped mold him into the symbol of peace he was today. Perhaps it was some kind of poetic irony or maybe it was fate that brought the young girl here at the same time that he and Izuku had arrived.

The scene changed back for All Might as he thought of something else. Those two helped mold me into who I am today. Who's to say I couldn't do the same for these two?

Maybe.

All Might cleared his throat, loud enough to get the attention of both Izuku and Ochako. "Perhaps I should explain things, Young Midoriya." Before either teen could respond to this, All Might bulked up. Ochako's eyes went wide and she stumbled back almost tripping on her own feet if Izuku didn't reach out and steady her.

"All Might?!"

He smiled down at her. "Indeed I am, young lady."

Ochako couldn't believe what she was seeing. Why is All Might here? Why was he so skinny before? Why is he here with Deku? Wait? Did Deku even realize that he had been standing beside his favorite hero? She looked over at her friend and while he did seem shocked, he clearly wasn't as much as he should be.

"All Might, what about your secret?" Izuku asked.

Secret? Wait… He knew!?

"Deku, what is going on?"

Izuku looked back at Ochako, and she was surprised to see such a look of shame spread across his face. She was even more surprised when he took a step back and bowed his head till he was almost parallel with the ground. "I'm so sorry, Uraraka. I lied to you. You've been such a great friend and I lied to you! I'm a horrible friend… I'm just… I'm just the worst…"

Ochako looked from Izuku to All Might, who looked slightly uncomfortable as he rubbed the back of his neck, then back at Izuku. "Deku, wait, please hold on. I don't even know what's going on. So please don't, don't say that about yourself."

All Might nodded in agreement. "She is right, Young Midoriya. Hold your head up. I was the one that put you in this situation to begin with. So please let me explain things to young, um…"

Ochako blinked before she hurried out, "Oh, um, Uraraka Ochako, sir."

"Young Uraraka, thank you. Now, I suppose the best place to start would be at the beginning. I think when I saved Young Midoriya from that dastardly sludge villain the first time should be a good place to start."

There was a pause before Ochako screamed, "First time!?"

All Might gave a small nod before he told the story of his first meeting with Izuku. Of Izuku latching onto his leg, which Ochako scolded Izuku for. Of their talk on the roof. All Might did have to pause briefly as he wilted somewhat under the suddenly harsh look that overcame Ochako when he mentioned how he had told Izuku that he couldn't be a hero.

Young Uraraka does not lack spirit.

When he covered the attack back in the shopping district, Ochako suppressed a shudder thinking back on that day. All Might covered how after watching Izuku rush in to save Katsuki, he began to wonder about Izuku's quirk. So he ditched the press and chased after him.

"Wait, you did? But I was with Deku after that."

"Um, you did leave when I was about a block away from my home, actually."

Ochako groaned. "Seriously…"

This brought a chuckle to All Might and a sheepish grin to Izuku, though not for long, Ochako noticed, as he soon went back to the guilty and ashamed look he had before. But it was what followed that left Ochako speechless. Wide eyed, Ochako learned All Might's greatest secret.

One for All.

And that he had chosen Izuku to be the next inheritor of the powerful quirk. "So you see, I brought Young Midoriya here to train so that he would be able to inherit One for All and become my successor."

Ochako turned to Izuku, ready to congratulate him; however, All Might continued on, "But now, well, I don't think that is going to work like I had originally planned."

Izuku flinched, and while he didn't say anything, he didn't seem all that surprised. Which Ochako could not understand. She looked from him to All Might. "Wait, why?"

"When we arrived this morning, Young Midoriya here became racked with guilt. He felt he was betraying his greatest friend by striking out on his own after promising her that they would follow their dreams and become heroes together. He even had to lie to her just to be able to meet this morning. In order to get ready for U.A. and to receive my power, he would need to be able to focus on his training for the next ten months. And I'm afraid that would be impossible if he is always thinking of the friend he is leaving behind."

Ochako was stunned. When she looked back at Izuku, he gave her a tiny nod in agreement. "He's right, Uraraka. When he brought me here, I felt so sick. All Might deserves someone who will be able to give their all. That's not me."

"No! Deku, this is a chance of a lifetime. All Might is your hero. And he wants to train you!" Ochako was near panicking. While she was very touched by Izuku holding their promise in such high regard, she could not let him pass this opportunity by.

She quickly rushed over to All Might and, gripping the large hero's sweatshirt, looked up, pleading, "Please, please reconsider. I'm okay, really."

All Might looked down at Ochako and put his hands on her shoulders and just shook his head. "I am sorry, but my mind is made up. My original plan is simply impossible."

Ochako's arms fell to her side as she let go of All Might, tears rolling down her cheeks. This is my fault.

Izuku didn't know what to say as he walked to stand beside her. Ochako, his best friend, was in so much pain because of him and he had no idea what to do to make it stop. This is my fault.

"So, I'll just have to train the both of you."

There was a pause as what All Might had just said began to sink in. Both snapped their heads up to look up at All Might and saw his trademark grin now spread across his face.

Ochako felt her knees give out as she collapsed backward into Izuku, who lowered both her and himself to the ground. Izuku, who was still looking up at All Might, asked, "Were you, were you planning this when you told Uraraka everything?"

"That's correct," All Might confirmed.

"Then why make us think– make her think that she was responsible for you not training me?"

"It was a test. Just now she had learned that a powerful quirk that had been promised to another was suddenly back 'on the market', so to speak. There are many, many people who would do anything and everything in their power to try and find a way to make it theirs. She could have easily tried to say or do something that might make herself a more appealing candidate. But what did Young Uraraka do instead?"

"She, um, she asked…"

"I begged you to take him back." Ochako finished for Izuku as he trailed off as realization dawned on him.

All Might nodded. "That's correct. Putting others above yourselves is a key part of being a hero. And I don't think you even considered trying to see if you could take his place. Did you?"

Ochako just shook her head. "No, sir."

"And let's not forget your actions from before, as well."

"Huh?"

All Might knelt down next to Izuku and Ochako. "While Young Midoriya's action back then was what led me to choose him as my successor, I do remember something else that happened that day as well. You, Young Uraraka. I saw you doing everything you could to chase after this young man."

"I… I was so scared I wasn't really thinking…"

All Might glanced over at Izuku- "Both of you that day exhibited something that all the greatest heroes talk about when they speak of their youth. At some point in their lives, their bodies moved without them realizing it."

Ochako shook her head, her mind racing as she came to terms with what was happening. The more she did, the more excited she became. I'm going to get trained by All Might. I never dreamed something like this could happen. I have no excuses now. Mom, Dad, just wait a bit longer, soon you'll never have to worry about money ever again. You'll be living the easy life. Ochako glanced over at Izuku expecting him to be just as excited as she was, but was surprised to see that the same gloom from before had not disappeared from his eyes.

"Deku? This is great, right?"

Izuku smiled, though it wasn't as bright as she was used to. "Of course, Uraraka. I can't even begin to say how happy I am… but," he lowered his head again, "this still doesn't change the fact I lied to you, Uraraka."

"Deku… you know I don't blame you for that. I'm not angry with you, so please stop worrying."

"But–" Izuku began, but Ochako cut him off."And it's not like you could tell me the truth if I had asked you. All Might trusted you with an incredible secret. So you couldn't just say to me, 'oh, sorry, but I'm going to go train with All Might instead', now could you."

Izuku was quiet as he thought about that. It's true, he had been so caught up in what he had done, and not the why.

"We both know the secret now, but I'm sure All Might doesn't want us going around telling people about this. Either about his quirk, or that he's going to be training us. That means we are gonna have to come up with some cover stories. So, you really didn't do anything wrong, Deku. So please, don't look so sad."

"I will say though, Young Midoriya. The way you hold your friendship with Young Uraraka in such high regards, tells me I have made the right choice in picking you. Your character is without question, truly heroic."

While most of the gloom had left Izuku, she could see a few specs left, so Ochako added, "If it's still bothering you though… then make it up to me. While we train, I want you to give it everything you have, just like I will. Do that, and we are even. Deal?"

She reached out her hand for Izuku to take. She watched as the last bits of gloom and doubt evaporated away, and a large smile, a real and bright smile, crossed his face. He reached out and took Ochako's hand firmly. "Deal."

All Might looked between the two, and knowing he had done the right thing, stood up and clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Excellent! You two are going to be the heroes people remember for generations. But first, we need to get started! Now then, stand up, you two. We only have ten months before U.A.'s entrance exam. We don't have time to waste!

Authors Notes:

Chapter has been given a 2.0 update.

Sorry this chapter ended up taking so long but I got really busy at work and since most of this is typed on my phone during breaks and such, there wasn't a lot of time to work on it. Also this is the longest thing I have ever written by itself. Including my old college papers. I hope you all enjoyed it.
So yeah, things are going to get a little interesting for out two heroes. Next chapter will cover their next ten months of training. Not sure if I'm gonna do all 10 months in one go, or break it down some. Let me know what you'd all prefer actually. That will help me decide. One big chapter or five some odd shorter chapters.
Side note, I don't hate Katsuki. But in jr high, he was a pretty harsh bully. But like the manga, I have plans for him later on :D
*cough* rivals are great *cough*
Big thanks to those anons that beta read for me! And if anyone see's anything grammar wise that stands out or there's something you just don't like, please let me know in your review. I want to make sure I do everything I can to make this story a good read.
PS
Thank you to everyone that left a review. Love you all!