If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

-Emily Dickinson

To Izuku, the whales have always been a constant.

Most of them he doesn't even remember meeting- like Alice, because his mom has always loved him and loves him still, every moment of his life, so she is with him always, every step of the way, a wafting presence of glacial hums and watery roses. Like Thyme, because he couldn't remember the moment he started wanting to become a hero, and he dreamed and always dreamed. One of her dreamers, she fondly called him, little dreamer, little sprout.

Others, he slowly met, one after the other. Some he doesn't recall as clearly anymore. Like Mister Ruslan or Aegir, though he had faint memories of relaying a promise from the latter to his mother, and the former, bracing him for Kacchan's explosions as he tried to scream their existence to the world.

Then there are the ones he remembers much clearer. Some whose figure he often recalls, a glitching mess of something blue and orange, scent of the sea, torn at the seams by this nonexistence.

And finally there are the ones he cannot forget. Even if all he caught were just fleeting glimpses. Even if all he saw was the swift sway of a braid, and silence.

The concept of silence rang the loudest, first he heard it. It felt the loudest out of any of these concepts he's heard, and it is accompanied by tolling bells and whale songs. It's contradictory, and strange, and how Izuku knew that figure was not a villain but rather, a Cetacean.

Through the fires and rubble of a live footage of a villain attack, amidst silence- no screams, no sobbing, just the crackle of fire and stretchers on the ground, they stood. Tall, like the rest of them, cloaked in black, a scythe resting in their hand.

'Sezia.'

Alice murmurs from his side, gazing at the screen, something strange in her voice, almost fond. Izuku turns back towards the screen, at the figure, dark cloaked, bearing with her the concept of silence- Sezia Marena, that's her name.

That was the first time Izuku ever saw the Witness of Death.

It wouldn't be the last.

Omnipresence is a strange thing, as well as omniscience to humanity it seems unfathomable, but to Thyme, it is her existence. Or, it isn't, because Thyme isn't everywhere, she is where she is- where dreams are, born or growing or thriving or crushed. Every flickering flame, or blazing determination or embers quiet in their spluttering of sparks. The form that Izuku sees is small, too small despite towering over the boy as she trails along his side. And even so the form she now possesses is small- far too small compared to the colossal she was- one whose form she still sees in the stars above, some parts yet to even reach Earth and humanity's eyes.

Her presence is steady as she walks by Izuku's side, though her eyes are fixed on the skies above, painted with watercolour concepts and stars that no one but their boy sees. He shares this view with them, trailing along her side as he watches the skies with her. Quietly, she tugs him out of the way of a passerby, allowing the woman to brush past.

She knew her once, quiet and meek and with a heart of something fragile but beautiful, one of her dreamers- only not anymore. She knew everyone around them at some point and knows some of them, and some of them she will know someday. Quirks had brought about an age of dreams and dreamers, and in this world, everyone has dreamed at some point of their life. Izuku's eyes were bright as she told him about it, years prior when he was so much smaller, a little bean seated in her lap as she, Alice and Aegir pointed at the stars and told him of the sights they see- as his mother sat by his side when he happily relayed to her the words and sentiments. As Inko would look the direction of their eyes, and approximate, and tell them. Thank you.

Something brushes past her, a strand of something conceptual- rosemaries, and Thyme blinks. More so a habit born of watching humanity for far too long than of actual need.'All Might is close by,'she says, tilting her head, and Izuku perks up, his eyes brightening like stars,'Rosemary is with him. Do you want to go find him?'

"Rosemary?" Izuku blinks- ah, she might've said something she shouldn't have- she apologises to Rosemary, elsewhere, across the world where they stand by a child getting his first guitar from his father. Meanwhile, the look in Izuku's eyes shift like it always does when he's thinking bright, thoughts clicking around in his little head, fingers tapping a rhythm against the strap of his school bag. Thankfully, he doesn't ask anymore, and Thyme watches as his thoughts recede like tides, calmed but still running wild beneath the surface. "But, uh, no. I promised Aegir to do the dishes as soon as possible."

Ah. Thyme winces, and Izuku looks like it pained him to even say that, but you do not break a promise with Aegir, so she sighs,'understandable,'the cetacean says, sympathetic. So they're taking the shortcut under the bridge, it seems,'good luck.'

"Thanks," Izuku looks grouchy, the beginning of a pout on his face, "I'll need that." Thyme only laughs, as faintly she feels Aegir brush by, something like the seas and old ink gliding into words. And Izuku, who certainly felt that, groans. "He didn't have to nag me."

'Oh he's just worried.'

"About the dishes, yeah."

Thyme chuckles, as they enter into the shade beneath the overpass. Izuku looks down to watch his shadow vanish into the shade beneath his feet. Thyme leaves no shadow, however, and her dress, brushing over the leaves, doesn't stir them in the slightest for they do not exist, and do not belong- nothing interacts with their being. But still she ducks a little so her form doesn't meld with the bridge atop them, Izuku never liked seeing them phase through things like a ghost. And though she never needed eyes to see, she much preferred not having her face in a slab of concrete.

Her hair brushes the ground, not something she could feel. And with it comes a tug.

'Thyme.'

It turns into something harsher, like urgency in a cry. A whale's call, then two. Something sharp, black and gunpowder wafts and Rosemary's presence grows like the swell of an orchestral climax, and Thyme doesn't think twice before grabbing onto Izuku's shoulder, and yanks.

Green bursts from where they stood.

Thyme would often sing him to sleep.

It's some of his earliest memories, outside of those of watching All Might's debut footage or adventures with Kacchan and his friends. Aegir would nag him about his little habits, like leaving dishes in the sink or forgetting to tidy up after himself. Alice would tell him stories and guide him through his many quirk or case analysis projects. And Ruslan teaches him how to protect himself, helping him avoid Kacchan, or guiding him to dodge.

They had been with him his whole life.

It's his quirk, that's what they told him, but Izuku had always had a faint feeling it wasn't the entire truth. Maybe he would grow another quirk, and it would show that this wasn't it. Then his fourth birthday came and went, and his mother went to get his quirk registered.

Alice's hand felt heavy as they received the quirkless diagnosis.

No toe joint, nothing. Just a doctor with eyes glazed over insisting over and over again on the fact. He didn't even look at him as he spoke to his mother. He said something professional, something he couldn't even recall, and insisted on his quirklessness. They tried to explain.

He sees them. They exist, they really do. He begged, but the doctor just looked at him with pitying eyes as Izuku turned back towards Alice, desperate, and then he grabbed-

Then a presence descended. Like how he would feel Alice or Aegir or any of the whales, he felt it approach- and he felt its malice. Something murmured, something sang. It brushed past them, and Izuku let go.

'Enough,'Alice murmured,'you made a deal with us, not the boy. Leave him alone.'

The presence he now knows to be Earth receded, and Izuku lived on with his quirkless diagnosis.

What could they do? What was there to be done? They tried. Both him and his mother- who burned with righteous anger at the hospital's apathy in the face of this misdiagnosis. But they were turned away. In the end Thyme begged her to stop, and only then did she relent.

It didn't matter who they tried to tell. It didn't matter what they did. That presence would return, and their eyes would glaze over. Deal maker. Earth. Will of a world. It didn't matter by which name they called it, who was Izuku in front of them? But slowly he learned. Bit by bit, step by step.

Mister Ruslan would guide along as he dodged Kacchan's explosions, nothing stops Aegir from correcting his handwriting and English homework. Thyme still sings him to sleep, and Alice tells him stories.

Quirklessness is a label he learned to live with. Like his slowly diminishing presence, like the glazing over of eyes as people meet him.

Like the empty apartment.

The scent of rosemaries assaulting his senses was the first thing that caught his attention, but it was the gunpowder which alerted him to the danger. Then Thyme grabs hold of his shoulder, and Izuku lets himself get yanked to the side, a thought clicking across his mind.

Rosemary is with All Might.

Ah. He hits his back first, and he can feel the corners of his books and stationeries digging awkwardly into his back through the cushion of his red backpack. He reaches out to brace himself, concrete dragging across the heel of his hand, scraping skin until it sees red. He can feel his backpack tear, it's quite old after all, and now it sits lopsided hanging off his shoulders. He hisses, peeling his hand away from the concrete, feeling the burn as the dirt and grime sticks to the damaged skin. Hands close around his shoulder, and cool mist settles around him, calming the irritated wound.

He looks up, pushing onto a more balanced position as he gazes across the short distance between him and whatever is behind them, and watches as a flowing, green shape rises through the manhole he was just about to step on. Large, googly eyes roll around, almost missing him, before the gaze catches, and a mouth splits the liquid into a grin.

"...Oh? A medium sized invisibility cloak..."

Izuku pulls himself back, feet skidding across the ground, now wet with sewer water, barely getting onto his feet as Thyme pulls him back in balance. He almost falls as the slime closes around his ankle, tripping and almost falling onto his face. He manages to brace himself however, this time rolling across the floor so he could get back onto his feet. The abrasions on his palm stings still, but Izuku ignores it. Behind him, the slime tugs, and Izuku opts to kick his shoe off so the slime would lose grip.

The not-scent of rosemaries wafts, and then there comes gunpowder. A hand grazes his shoulder, while faintly from another side he sees blue.

'Pen in your pocket,'Mister Ruslan murmurs, and Izuku swallows.

Rosemary is with All Might, it wouldn't take long. His hand closes around the cylinder in his pocket, just as the slime catches up on him, and yanks.

"Don't worry, kid, I'm just going to take over your body!"

The villain's voice sounds more like a gargle, and the gunk soaks into his socks. Izuku hisses a little, but the sewer-soaked floor reduces the friction, and this time there are no abrasions on his skin as he darts up from where he's been dragged. His arm pulls back, and he flicks the cap off.

Izuku doesn't hesitate as he jams it into his assailant's eye. He howls, and a shudder runs through his liquid body. The whales take that as an opportunity, and their hands guide him, ushering him away from the villain. Izuku gets back onto his feet as his back bumps into Mister Ruslan, and he steadies him by his shoulders.

'He's here,'someone murmurs, and its not human, Thyme's braid sways into view,'brace yourself.'

The not-scent of rosemaries rushes him, and All Might bursts out of the sewers.

Toshinori bursts out of the sewers.

Or rather, All Might does, and there is grime and dirt caked on his shoes. He probably smells hideous, but spending so long stuck in the sewers trying to track down the villain had dulled his senses. Perhaps if he had thoughts to spare he'd lament the amount of laundry this is going to turn into, but that is for Toshinori to worry about, not All Might, and right now he has a villain to catch.

He accesses the situation- the villain hadn't gone too far from the manhole, despite having escaped through it a little longer ago than All Might would've liked. In fact his liquid body is trembling, surged back as the mouth splits open in a yowl, pained. All Might looks around, searching the surrounding for the source, and almost misses the boy standing lopsided, leaning against a wall.

How did he miss him at first? All Might is pretty sure he looked over there once as he got out of the manhole. A stealth quirk, perhaps? His signature grin doesn't falter, however, and he smiles at the young man's sparkling eyes. "It's alright now, young man!"

"I am here!"

A controlled Texas smash does the trick, the air pressure rushes the sludge villain, bursting it apart into splatters in the air. And the young man, having seen the punch coming, grabbed hold of the side of a pipe and held on. It blows over his form, and as it settles, he clambers onto his feet.

He was about to step forward, to confirm the teen's wellbeing, but he beat him to it- the teen snatches up a large plastic bottle from the sidewalk, and swallows before he approaches. "A- All Might!" He stumbles over his words a little. "Here, to, uh, contain the villain. I mean, uh. Trap it."

That's actually not too bad of an idea. "Wonderful suggestion, young man! But first, are you alright?"

"Y-yes, sir! I am." The teen pats himself down, nervously brushing off his uniform, some parts of it matted with sewer water now. He raises his hand, glancing down at the abrasions on it, "just some scratches. They aren't too bad."

And they aren't, just rugburns are most, it has basically stopped bleeding. All Might took a closer look at it, before nodding, "Ah, but do remember to disinfect once you return home, or stop by a clinic! Don't underestimate infections and bacteria!"

"I will! I mean, I won't underestimate germs!" He squawks. It seems he's got a fan here, the teen stands in front of him nervously, shifting from one foot to another, and doing something a little like trying to look up discreetly, but failing. He has a pen in his other hand- ah. So that's how he got the villain first. Meanwhile the boy swats at the side of his head, like waving away a bug or something.

It didn't take long to gather the villain into the soda bottles– still out cold and form having shrunk down– so All Might offers him one of the bottles of water he had in his groceries to wash off his wounds for now. By the time he's done, All Might could feel his limit slowly approaching. He glances at the time on his phone. Ah, he's running late to Nighteye's. He shakes his head, and straightens, approaching the teen, half leaning against the side of a wall.

He's a bit hard to spot, somehow blending into the environment, but most heroes are trained to notice what civilians don't. He claps the teen on the back, startling him slightly. "I must say, the idea of using the soda bottles wasn't half bad!" At his compliment, the teen grins up towards him, then hurriedly starts to dig through his bag. Ah, an autograph. He signs on the inside of a novel's blank page, a book about the pre quirk era, he thinks, and the boy bows, stuttering through a thanks. Flustered fans aren't uncommon with his position, but their passion (and sometimes awkwardness) have always been such a joy. The boy grins wobbly up at him, and All Might flashes him his signature smile.

"Now, young man. It was nice meeting such a resourceful and dedicated fan!" The teen startles, looking back up towards him. "But I simply must go!"

"Hold on, you're leaving?" The boy perks up, a look of slight confusion on his face? "Already?" He glances around, and his expression changes, something All Might can't quite read. He doesn't pay it too much attention however, he's already running late.

"Well, villains don't just turn themselves into the police on their own, do they?" He gives a final, hearty clap on the shoulder, before he turns, walking out the alley where he crouches down, calls upon One for All into his veins-

"Wait!"

Living with quirklessness was difficult. At first. Labels of being useless, Kacchan and his friends' bullying, and his classmates' jeering laughter still rings in his ears from time to time. He gets used to it, used to the burns he comes home with, used to the bruises and the tears.

But he wasn't alone. Mist and azaleas soothed his burns and bruises. Alice would hold him, always, as he cried into his pillow, a hand petting his hair, comforting, quiet, with whale songs and glacial hums. His mother, always there at the door, always there to be angry for him, to weep for him, to hold him and love him no matter what and he knows so, in the way Alice is always with him, because his mother always loves him so.

And perhaps something that stung more were the accusations of being delusional. When he screamed their existence to the world. When he spoke of the whale songs and stars and a watercolour-touched world. When he talked about his friends and companions who were everywhere and everything, all at once. Jeering laughter of 'craziness', of being so desperate for a quirk that he started hallucinating. And he could do nothing but grip onto Aegir's hand and lower his head.

And when that Presence came and jeering laughter turned into empty, glazed over gazes, and their eyes started to sweep past him without stopping, Izuku felt only anger.

What was he angry at? He didn't know. But he burned with it. If cruelty had a form it must be this. The whales asked him to not be angry, to not speak about them. 'It takes, and it will take again and again in a way you cannot fathom nor escape until you have nothing left to give.' Alice said, her not-voice quiet as he cradled him. Do not cross it, they asked him. Do not cross it.

Then came the day when tires screeched, and two cars collided. Then came the day he learned what Alice meant. It took, in a sudden rainstorm and Izuku watched helpless and frozen in a carcass of collapsed steel, blood running down his face as the skies wept, as Sezia Marena descended. A swish of a blue braid, clink of a scythe on the ground. They haunt him, even though she was not there for him or his mother.

Do not cross it, Izuku repeated, and now he knows. Because death brushed him by, and his mother now lies in a hospital bed for it, and there's nothing he could do. And thus Izuku lived with his quirklessness.

Izuku lived with his uselessness.

Seeing All Might brings a swell of something child-like into Izuku. Of course- his admiration for the hero has mellowed out over the years under Alice's guidance. He's long since learned that even All Might isn't invincible, and is aware of his slowly declining health and appearances. But if anything that just brings to him a new kind of respect for the hero.

He still has a feeling that the cetaceans aren't telling him everything about All Might at all, but honestly asking feels a little wrong. Izuku steals a glance towards his idol, it feels like a childhood dream come true- or rather not so childhood, since meeting All Might to some degree has been a bit of a dream of his for a long time. The scent of thymes waft around him like an embrace, and rosemaries tickle his senses in strands.

It's not often that he sees Miss Rosemary. She seldom has anything to do with him, and sometimes he's glad. There is no legacy from him to bear yet, because his mother isn't going to die, she's going to wake up again. But each time he sees her she dresses differently, unlike those who he encounters more often. Today she is dressed in a jumpsuit, with a pale cape wrapped around her shoulder like a scarf. She has hair in box braids, and like her sisters her eyes are green.

All Might is now busy with gathering the slime villain into the soda bottle he's given him- but granted he's doing it in a way Izuku couldn't see what's actually happening or how. Meanwhile, the three whales are conversing among themselves.

'He's running low now,'Miss Rosemary sighs,'big lug never stop pushing himself, Azalea threw a fit last time she spoke to me about him.'She scatters into stars, and again forms by All Might's side, peering into the soda bottle.'Oh dear, Chinsa's mother won't be happy with him,'she glances up towards Ruslan,'I guess you'll be seeing him when she gets there?'

Something in Izuku's heart clenches, frowning. Mister Ruslan shakes his head,'likely.'He pauses, then grimaces,'she's in another bar fight now.'

'Oh, dear.'Thyme sighs, she sounds sad. He doesn't doubt that she knew this villain- this man, Chinsa, once. Who was he? He finds curiosity rise in him, and tries his best to signal at the cetacean to catch her attention. She tilts her head slightly to meet his eyes, and smiles.'I'll tell you tonight,'she offers. And Izuku nods, once he's sure he's out of All Might's line of sight.

Izuku became painfully aware of the complexity of the people around him from a very young age, under the cetacean's influence. Alice tells a lot of stories- and she's excellent at it. He recalls vividly the moment he realised, watching another footage of a disaster, as he saw the dark-cloaked witness of death descend onto the rubbles like a reaper, as he watched All Might arrive on the scene, and the cetacean vanished into something he cannot see.

One is too many, he remembers thinking vehemently, watching as on the other side, Thyme and Alice stood by the side of the deceased. One is too many.

It was something that brought him a new appreciation for his idol, All Might, who now stands in front of him. One is too many, and All Might's arrival always means safety. Sezia Marena does not appear where All Might is, and even though he cannot do everything, he can always do something about anything. And that matters to him.

Izuku is a little tired of not being able to do something about anything. Maybe when he becomes a hero, he can do something about them.

All Might, having finished up containing the villain, straightens. He approaches Izuku, and he startles as the man claps him on the back. "I must say, the idea of using the soda bottles wasn't half bad!" He compliments, and Izuku smiles, looking back up towards the hero, before he realises rather belatedly that he hadn't in fact, asked him for an autograph yet, and hurriedly digs through his backpack for something to sign on.

All Might ends up signing on the inside of a pre-quirk era book on true crime, it's a blank page, and he can cut it off later and frame it. Maybe. He can see out of the corner of his eye Miss Rosemary, chuckling into her hand and Thyme giving him a nice pat on the shoulder. Mister Ruslan, however, is already gone.

"Now, young man. It was nice meeting such a resourceful and dedicated fan!" All Might's sudden declaration startles him, and Izuku looks back up towards the man. "But, I simply must go!"

"Hold on, you're leaving?" Izuku frowns, that's quick. He still had questions he wanted to ask. "Already?" Glancing around he can see Rosemary and Thyme averting their gazes. Rosemary's expression turning slightly grim. He purses his lips. They're doing the hiding something thing again. All Might just gives a cheerful quip.

"Well, villains don't just turn themselves into the police on their own, do they?" He laughs, and gives a hearty clap on his shoulder before turning and walking out from beneath the overpass. He crouches down, and calls upon his quirk. "Now, then-"

He's going to leave.

"Wait!"

'Oh well.'Rosemary squints at the skies, where All Might had taken off with Izuku clinging onto his leg, and Thyme vehemently agrees.'We should, go after them.'

Technically, they already are going after them, it's just the constructed physical form that is lagging behind. Meanwhile they are watching as Toshinori yelps and tries to get Izuku off of his leg, but then realises the boy would drop to his death if he let go. The woman sighs, shaking her head,'that big lug, I sometimes wonder how he got where he is.'

Her being is tinged with exasperation, and Thyme side eyes her,'well, he is a passionate one, isn't he?'She notes.'You like him.'Rosemary has always been fond of the One for All line, her clothes today reflect that in its resemblance to Nana Shimura's hero costume. The woman gives her a dirty look, and scoffs.

'You talk like you don't.'

'I never denied that,'Thyme laughs. Yagi Toshinori is one of her dreamers, and she treasures all of her dreamers. Ah, dreams, beautiful things. People do impossible things for them, achieve and burn yet so little remembered. The brightest passions seldom live in history. It is such a key part of humanity which she loves so. Pushing people to do unthinkable things.

'Yes,'Rosemary deadpans,'like grabbing onto All Might's leg as he takes off like a rocket.'She shakes her head, and sweeps her braids over her shoulders as the pair previously flying in the skies (technically Hawks is also on duty, but) lands on top of a run down office building... oh dear there goes Chinsa, falling out of All Might's pocket.'Shall we?'

Thyme chuckles, and their forms, lingering on the ground where they once were, scatter into stars. They do not reform, since they already had another form standing silent on the roof, Rosemary with a raised brow staring down at Izuku's crouched form, as Thyme herself is gently patting his back. The boy coughs, breaths coming in heavy pants.

"I thought I was going to die..." he wheezes, and Thyme smiles wryly.

'That was reckless,'Rosemary raises a brow,'Aegir would like to have a word once you get home.'

Oh, no. Izuku gives Rosemary a look of, please, spare me, and the woman ignores it. No one crosses Aegir. And he'd probably just chide him a little before relenting. They're all too soft on Izuku.

Well, Reginleib is an exception. She scoffs.

"That was dangerous, my boy!" All Might scolds, and Rosemary nods along, though elsewhere she mutters hypocrite under her breath. Oh, well.

"I- I know," Izuku wheezes, lifting his head, "t-that was scary..."

One for All is slipping from All Might's grip, Thyme can tell as Rosemary's being begins to shift in nervousness. The man waves as he passes between Thyme and Izuku, waving behind his back. "Well, if you talk to the people down stairs, I'm sure they'll help you down." The hero sighs, and Izuku's eyes widen with slight panic. Thyme can feel his thoughts rush her like faint echoes of mantras and concepts and songs. "I'm really out of time, so I'll have to go. See you, young man!"

"Wait," Izuku clambers onto his feet, he's a little wobbly, so Thyme steadies him. "There's still something-"

"No! I will not wait!" All Might doesn't even turn around.

Bit harsh, that.

More of Izuku's thoughts rush her. They run through her mind, fast but never too fast for them. Marena's form flickers through them, glazed eyes and the diagnosis. Thyme lowers her eyes. The boy has never quite liked her, has he? She understands. The scenes that happen whenever Thyme and Marena meet are never pretty and they are, right now, several places in the world. Nozzle and knot, a chair tips over, and snap. The float of drugs, waters of the tub and darkening peripherals. Crushed dreams, crushed world.

Thyme recedes from them as the Witness of Death begins her lullaby.

Izuku's thoughts rush her still, tendrils and woven lines that she inspect, his memories. His feelings. And oh.

Thyme closes her eyes. Their boy has always had sucha bleeding heart. He wants to do so much, and he can know so much. He's already doing much more than the people around him, yet- he still wants to do more. His thoughts ring in her ears, and Thyme feels every nerve and every throb and every pound of Izuku's heart as he speaks.

"Even if I am quirkless, can I become a hero?"

All Might halts, and more thoughts fill the space. Thoughts that make Thyme's heart sink, thoughts that turn her away. She understands the answer, and she understands that it's not what Izuku is asking.

"The world sucks sometimes, and I want to be able to do something about it," Izuku looks up, meeting his idol's halted back, "even without a quirk, can I become someone like you?"

A/N:

The Sludge Villain's name Chinsa came from the hiragana used for 'sediments' in Japanese. With different Kanji it can mean a variety of different things. Just thought it would make more sense for the whales to address people by actual names than impressions of their appearance, especially since they're omniscient and are supposed to remember everyone's stories as is.

Cetaceans introduced:

Sezia Marena: Witness of Death

She's the one on the cover.