I Will Never Be Your Hero

by Hok14

Most times when we act with the best of intentions we are still prone to making things worst. For Haru it meant everything that those he cared for were to be better off with everything he's done for them. After all is said and done can he justify everything that had come to pass?

2. Chapter 2

Guild Master here again, again.

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An office building rooftop with a well used floor was the destination of All Might as he came to a gentle descent for himself as well as Izuku. Izuku's bright red shoes touched the solid ground and gave out immediately from under him as he was desperately trying to get moisture back into his eyes and mouth. With his reputation on the line it was imperative for All Might to get himself away from any possible witnesses as of five minutes ago. The abominable pain was enough of a tell that he was just about out of time.

"Tell somebody downstairs that you're up here and they should be able to let you down."

"Ah! W-wait!"

"I cannot. I must be on my way."

Now the window for his opportunity to ask was just cracked open ever so slightly. He could hear the words of that awful doctor ringing in his head. About how he was better off giving up on his dreams of even becoming a hero. In contrast he remembered what Haru had said to him on that very same day. It was unfair that he was farther away than other people in fulfilling their dreams; and even if he was someone who worked himself to death, it probably still wouldn't add up to much. So far away, but not impossibly far away. He had his light still guiding him through all the things he endured to be here. If he could just get this last vote of confidence, it would have steeled his spirit and healed that part of him that was still doubting himself.

"Can I still become a hero, even without a quirk?"

All Might stopped in his tracks at the question. His previously dismissive behavior was gone as he processed what Midoriya had just said. It was far too much of a coincidence in his opinion. Somebody like him and All Might being here? Not probable… But… Maybe just…

His thoughts were violently derailed as the final symptom of extreme vertigo sent his head into a spiral. Cramps, stabbing pain, dizziness, all of these things told him that he was done for the day. Grabbing his midriff didn't help much as he was bent over and fighting to just keep the pain at bay; never mind the idea of keeping up appearances. His body was slowly steaming up and as he was completely engulfed in this cloud, Izuku failed to realize what had happened as he was reminiscing about his past to his idol.

"... No. Shit, shit, shit. Not now…"

"Maybe because of me being quirkless my whole life is the reason people have mostly kept their distance from me. Half the time they just talk behind my back and just make me out to be some sort of freak. But… Still…"

Looking down at his hands; Izuku clenched them into fists while speaking to All Might as he revealed his conviction and desire for his idol to respond to.

"... I still want to help people. To make them feel safe and inspire them… Like you do with your smile. You show us that there is hope when you fight for us. I wanna become something like you; the greatest hero in the wor-"

Now looking up after his long winded speech; Izuku saw the cloud fade away and stop him short halfway through the last word in his sentence. Substituting the mighty and bold All Might was an emaciated man who looked short of a light breeze to be tipped over. Hair that was dull and unkempt, A gaunt face that was more like a skeleton's bare skull, and a frame that looked even more fragile than it did with his clothes now just barely sitting on him. To say Izuku was thrown off wasn't enough of a descriptor for how he felt. A more comparable term would be like him getting gravity reversed and falling up to the sky. It was then that the more accurate depiction of Izuku's confusion as he screamed as though he were falling up as well.

Shopping Center Elsewhere

Down an alley there was a coke bottle containing the final few fluid ounces of the earlier slime creature that All Might had defeated in a single blow earlier. He was given enough time to recover from being knocked out cold from inside his plastic dungeon. For a moment he was confused about where he was to then connect the dots and remember his humiliating loss to All Might. What was an American hero doing out in Japan, anyways? Just out of earshot the sound of conversation could be heard from just outside the alley.

"He keeps asking you about it and you give him the same answer. Why don't you just give Izuku just five minutes and call it quits? It would be a lot easier for all of us."

"Shut up! I have my reasons… And they're damn good reasons."

Out of slight curiosity they probed for more information from Bakugou.

"And what are they?"

"Because they're my reasons; so leave it alone!"

The friends backed off the topic for now and let their head hombre stew over his own issues. Nobody else could figure out exactly what it was that made Katsuki so reluctant to even acknowledge Izuku. The others knew better and were aware that it was Bakugou who had helped out Izuku from behind the scenes. Being in the same few classes made it easier to see whoever it was that was making Izuku their bean bag of the week as he just passed by coincidence. He wasn't going out of his way to do so and it was often a whole week or two before he caught wind of the news. Most of his reputation was already centered around his violent nature so nobody suspected that it was Bakugou keeping the hard hitters away from him. This whole hot and cold thing was rather difficult to wrap their heads around the spiky blonde. Whatever was going on between the two of them was their issue to resolve; not that they didn't want Izuku to hang out with them like the old days.

"... Damnit, why can't Nakamura just leave well enough alone?"

For the past few years Haru had been a huge help in teaching Katsuki about certain things as a mentor. It was hard to justify his stubbornness to the nomadic chef as it was connected to a very complicated part of his life as it was right now. The waste bin in the alley was the closest receptacle for his soda can, so with a toss he hit the rim of the metal can and had to begrudgingly go pick it back up. It really did annoy him at times when something Haru had taught the boy was hard to ignore.

Being careless with trash was a hard lesson he learned first hand as the next week he and Haru had gotten his mother's permission to take her son out to the nearby streets and pick up all sorts of trash for an hour everyday all week. Since then it had become a response when he failed to throw something away. Feeling pressured by someone who he looked up to for most of his known life he was simultaneously irritated and apologetic all at once. Seeing a bottle on the floor he kicked it so hard that it flew down the alley and struck something metallic. That had been someone else's trash from the very beginning so it was easy to walk away from that at least.

"Hey, wanna go to the arcade? That'll cheer you up!"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Wanna try and pick them clean again?"

Being given shit for something years ago still it annoyed him enough to jab back at him.

"I dunno, do you wanna go sneak a peek at a girl through her window?"

They stared daggers at each other before Bakugou told them to knock it off. Unsurprisingly every time the boys were doing something rather illicit with their powers, a certain white haired man was usually the first to know. Like Katsuki they all had their share of disciplinary action at Haru's hand with their parents being completely willing to surrender their kids for an afternoon to teach them a harsh lesson in ethics. Wanting to split, Bakugou took a few steps out the alley when he realized that the two friends he was just talking to weren't moving out of his way enough for him to leave the alley without squeezing past them.

"Oi! Move, dumbass! Seriously."

Still they weren't hearing him. Now kinda ticked off he was gonna make good on his usual temper when he saw that the both of them were looking past him at something else in the alley. Their expressions were something akin to fear.

Well, well, well. So many options and so little time to try them all out…"

A deep and gurgling voice made itself known behind Bakugou. Turning to the newcomer he saw a massive glob of slime that looked and smelled like sewage. Two sickly lime green eyes with a large and twisted mouth filled with uneven teeth was enough to make this thing look like some sort of endrich horror crawling out of the darkness. Worst than that, it was rather vixated on the three boys.

"Hmmm, who to go with… Ah, I know! Eenie Minnie Minie…"

To them this was terrifying, for him it was nothing but a lottery.

Rooftop Elsewhere

"Haba… Ah… Wh… Who… Why… A fake?"

Either All Might was like houdini, or this emaciated man who looked no heavier than forty kilos was him. Izuku was about seventy percent sure it was the former. It was harder to make sense of this the more he tried to rationalize that this sickly person was a mighty hero just a few seconds ago.

"... I am All Mighhhh…"

A rather unhealthy amount of blood started to dribble out of his mouth like dog slobber. Now Izuku was twenty percent sure this wasn't All Might. He hoped to god it was the luckiest twenty percent he could get in his entire life.

"You know when you go to the pool and suck in your stomach? It kinda works like that."

"No, it doesn't!"

It doesn't. Such a shocking revelation was hard for Izuku who had a tendency to idealize and overthink things. The boy still couldn't accept it completely.

"No… It's not… He's powerful and fearless… Even his smile is…"

"... A fearless smile…"

Rather than trying to argue with just words, All Might was just over trying to converse and just decided to show him that it really was him.

"Listen here. I need you to promise me something. You cannot tell anyone about this; not online, not in conversation. Even if somebody asked about what happened today, you cannot speak of it… Okay?"

He could hardly believe that this was actually him; why would he tell anyone? He got his answer to his question after All Might lifted his baggy shirt above his stomach. A gnarled looking wound that was stitched shut with lingering bruises under most of the scars. The shape of it was even stomach churning. It looked as though something peeled and clawed the skin from the inside to get itself out.

"This is the result of a fight I had five years ago. I lost a lung and now require a gastric bypass as well. Reason I look like this now is due to the multiple surgeries and treatments I underwent. To this day I still require some treatment to be able to use my power for about three hours at most."

"... No… With Toxic Chainsaw?"

All Might thought that perhaps this kid wasn't just a fanboy after all.

"You're rather well informed. Yes, but in the end I still wasn't completely defeated. I couldn't let the public know what had happened, so I asked that all records of that fight be unreleased to the public…"

He looked Izuku right into his eyes and spoke purposefully with every word that came out of his mouth.

"I will continue to fight to protect this world with a smile. A symbol of peace is not permitted to fall at the heels of evil. My smile isn't just for the other heroes who look up to my work; I smile to combat the fear I have within myself."

A pregnant pause before he delivered his own judgments on Izuku's desires to become a hero himself.

"Professionals risk their lives every time they go to fight and protect the public. I cannot in good conscience say that you can become a hero without a quirk."

It just wasn't fair. There were good people who believed in Izuku that he was still able to become the hero he wished to be. If one of the greatest heroes in the world told him no, then what was the point. That light he was running towards looked so far away and he was running on empty at this point. His memory of that night felt more and more meaningless as he kept replaying those words that All Might had just given him.

"If you want to protect innocent people, become a police officer. You may even be able to get into the ESD if you're lucky enough."

Though it was calloused and straightforward, All Might would rather be hated than give a boy false advice that will only serve to kill him later in life. He reached for the roof access door and thankfully it was unlocked for him to leave. Crushing a boy's dream and being forced to spend more time with him afterwards was too much for this already soured day.

"... It's not a bad thing to dream; eventually we all have to face reality, young man…"

The door shut closed behind All Might and left Izuku with the turmoil of his life coming to a complete halt. He thought that hope that kept him on his feet was only going to get stronger after he asked the one man in the world who was his greatest inspiration if he was capable enough. He didn't know what to do. So much was going through his head that it made him dizzy. Meanwhile as All Might was going down the flights of stairs to the ground level, he suddenly remembered that he had to get the bottles filled with that villain from earlier to the proper authorities. He patted his pockets and felt nothing but the fabric of his pockets. Thinking he simply moved them to another pocket he frantically checked and double checked himself and the floor around him. His eyes caught the sight of a large cloud of smoke through the staircase window. It was in the same direction he flew in from. He felt his now nonexistent stomach drop with the realization that maybe he had been much more careless than he first thought.

Izuku was looking down at his hands like they were failures that let him down. The fingers wrapped into themselves and squeezed down onto his palms until they started to ache with the tension. His jaw was wrenched tight enough to crack the enamel in his teeth if he were able to bite down a few more ounces of force. With too much in his head he charged to the exit door and threw his fist into the metal. It hurt like nothing else, but it was better than feeling so angry and hopeless. Again and again he struck the door one punch after another while alternating his left and right fists. The memories he once looked to give him strength were now beginning to bring down a weight on his shoulders unlike anything he's felt in the past.

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! HOW DO YOU KNOW BETTER?! I LOOKED UP TO YOU! I WORSHIPED YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU DID! HOW CAN YOU SAY ANY OF THAT AND JUST WALK AWAY JUST LIKE THAT?! I WANTED-"

His punches had left a few splotches of red as he struck the hard surface of the metal to tear some skin off the tip of his knuckles. His fists were in too much pain to keep punching. He slammed his arms into the door and slid down the door till his knees touched the floor. He bit back the tears with everything he had; he was over crying about his own problems at this point. That didn't change the fact that this hurt so much.

"... I wanted to make them proud… They believed in me when nobody else would. They kept picking me back up and I kept running towards my goals. I can't give up…"

His tears were starting to gain momentum now as they trailed down his cheeks. He may have been called weak before by many others in the past; but it was just now he felt truly weak. Standing was difficult enough as he openly cried alone.

"... I… I'm… I'm sorry."

He could only imagine the disappointed faces of his mom. Of his friends. Of his better half. Worst of all, the man who was the one who never looked at him with anything else but as someone who was capable enough to conquer the world. No matter how much he strained to get back that strength that kept him moving it was nowhere even close enough to be seen. He finally lost hope. While this was happening the massive plume of smoke that had been visible in the distance was only growing as whatever was causing it was only growing in size.

A Few Blocks Away

After the surgeries and medication, All Might had gone from being an adonis of physical health to a withered husk after almost experiencing kidney failure and a metric fuck ton of antibiotics that could have cured all infections in a country for one minute. His lungs were not just his lungs. Extraneous blood flow was risking him vomiting more blood. It all was ignored as he kept trying to go as fast as he could through the city streets. He needed to see what it was he was negligent enough to allow in this city and its people.

Elsewhere

The van that had caused the temporary single lane traffic from earlier was not racing to another address as it's driver got another call on his cell. Haru was not one to ignore calls at this point since anything would mean more information as to what was happening.

"What is it?!"

Listening intently he heard something that made him swerve off the road and into an empty alley where he slammed the brakes once more. The skid marks in the asphalt were rather long since he had been going at an unreasonable speed for any other driver to go at. He needed to come to a complete halt as he just heard something that made his heart freeze ice cold.

"... What?"

The voice on the other side nervously repeated the information for Haru. Now being denied the simple excuse that he misheard the phone in his hand cracked right down the middle where his hand was gripping the mobile device. He didn't have the time to keep up appearances anymore. He leapt out of the driver side door while instructing the person on the other line.

"Send in all available ESD personnel to that location now! I don't give a fuck if they're taking a shit or dying; get them out there NOW!"

His left hand slapped a spot on his van which then revealed a sliding rack that seemingly had a motorcycle laying flat on it. He yanked the two wheeler out of it's compartment as well as the helmet just above it. The drawer closed by itself and sent out an automated GPS location for somebody to pick it up for him later. His helmet slid on easily and secured itself with expanding cushions built inside. Haru revved the engine and was off to the location being displayed in his helmet. The gloves were off now as this was now more than just a simple disaster in his eyes.

Shopping Center

All of the heroes who were in the area from the earlier overpass incident that day were there trying to contain the chaos of the destruction being wrought by the massive sludge glob that was terrorizing everyone as well as keeping a boy hostage. To be more precise he was utilizing the boy's ability to create explosions to set the entire street ablaze in an inferno. Death Arms arrived at the sight of a monster trying to suffocate a child and leapt into action now rather than later. He did his signature fist clash and began charging head first into the danger.

"You Coward!"

His fist struck the soft layers of slime and in an instant began to be sucked into its body with it being as hard as concrete now. Trying to yank the arm free did little to help him get loose as his fingers couldn't get any leverage. The now towering mucus blob whacked the hero into some security shutters and dented the metal plating with its strength alone. The others went to his aid to only be sent back with another massive tentacle crashing into the ground where they were. From inside of the villains wet layers of disgustingly rancid slime Bakugou had got his mouth free once more for another breath of fresh air as he kept yanking at the villain with little result being shown for his effort.

"Get the fuck off of me! I'll blast you to hell and back you sack of shit!"

Trying to burn through the slime gloving his hands he tried to set off another explosion that only served to get more of the street destroyed. The blast was enough to get the heroes to retreat as things were escalating far too quickly for them. The crowd was wondering who this was as the mass of the villain was seemingly growing to a level where it was now taller than the buildings. From the opposite direction of the grouped heroes another bystander cried out that Mt. Lady was at the scene to help with the effort. Although it was quickly realized that it was far too narrow for her to enter the scene to help in any meaningful way.

"Ah, wait! I need more than just this to get in!"

The chaos from earlier that day had landed her a few days of paperwork to finish, and that wasn't including the documentation her agency had to fill out on her behalf. Additional destruction was forbidden by her agency since all the work that came their way was slowing them down significantly. She couldn't even say damn the consequences since her agency also warned her that although she was a promising new hero; she was still just that. New. It put her in a position that was compromising her hero work in both a good and bad way. Right now it was preventing her from doing her job.

From inside one of the buildings, the infamous duo who followed Katsuki everywhere were stuck inside of an inferno and were unable to go either or direction with the fires piling up. A rather lucky moment of being spotted by the hero Kamui wood led them to being rescued by him.

"I can't deal with the inferno! I'm going to have to back off for now!"

Backdraft was using his hand spouts to try and contain the blaze with constant streams of water. Even with three sprays of water there was no way for him to contain the blazing fire that was consuming the area.

"I can't get this fire out by myself! Where is the fire department? Are you guys ok?"

"We can't get close! The slime has got us beat with close range and the blasts made by the kid are just too powerful! We can't do anything right now!"

Him and the other heroes were losing hope over whether or not they were able to save the boy in time before he suffocated to death. Was there really nothing they could do right now?

"All civilians! Please clear the area for the Emergency Security Department! All civilians! Please clear the area for the Emergency Security Department!"

A blaring automated announcement was coming down the street from both sides as massive armored vehicles came to a screeching halt with the crowd splitting apart to make room for the ESD to do their work. From out of these vehicles there were numerous operatives who came pouring out to help contain the situation. One of the first people to get out were the field leads who made sure that the operation was completed in a non chaotic fashion and was always working to its fullest capacity at all times.

"Get the perimeter set right now! Extraction, get to those buildings! Advancement, engagement set now!"

The crowd as well as the heroes were left impressed as all the officers did exactly what they needed without skipping a beat. There were officers getting the barrier they needed to clear, setting up these odd looking metal poles about a meter and a half long. When they set them down on their intended placement there were these long metal protrusions that came out and balanced them on a low height tripod. The poles then detected one another and shot a laser tape to one another to make the boundary obvious to the public. Those agents finished the barrier in seconds and were already standing to attention facing the crowd and ready to keep them from engaging the threat at all costs. Even though they looked as though they did nothing but stand; their actual training that was regularly practiced kept them on their toenails. If the entire crowd went berserk and decided to rush the line; the operatives must be prepared to combat that scenario. They were not soft or lazy by any means; they were ready for mass panic if necessary.

From there a specialized team of officers approached the buildings with some rather interesting equipment. There was what looked like a firing squad that had these backpacks with guns of some kind attached to their packs. On the nozzles of these guns was this rather odd looking ball of sorts that was about the size of a softball. They organized themselves into a uniform formation and awaited their call to do what they needed to do.

"Fire!"

They all used some sort of pressure to launch their curious looking orbs into very specific parts of the building all at once. Those orbs then were shot into windows and other entryways and began to release a specialized gas that combated the fires while not immediately poisoning or killing the people inside. For the longest time the only gas mostly able to remove oxygen from the air was believed to be carbon dioxide. For fire rescue purposes this was obviously rejected since carbon dioxide was lethal to humans at the volume they needed to put out the fires with. The EDS had a compound that was a combination of different compounds that not only put out fires, but was also mild enough to keep the average person who may have the off respiratory medical condition alive by not triggering the reaction to kill the human body immediately. The formula was still being perfected; so right now they only had ten minutes to scan and retrieve anybody and everybody from any fire related disaster.

The gas from all of the launched grenades began to spin with the gasses being released and within seconds the fires began to die out enough for the operatives to enter the buildings. They were commanded by a different chain of command as the amount of extraction team members were often measured out and divided by the size and lethality of the incident. For this moment this whole accident had about four separate teams working at full capacity to salvage what the heroes couldn't. The same team that launched the grenades were following their leaders as they were scanning and assessing for possible human life in the wreckage. In one of the teams there was something past a curtain of fire that the lead had picked up on.

"There! Get that debris out of the way now!"

The fires had died down to a cinder that was still powerful enough to emit heat, but the officers assigned to this task would not have been left defenseless for risking their lives. Their suits mirrored those of the tactical gear they were required to wear when not called on duty with some adjustments made. They had additional coverage to keep exposure to a minimum of none.

The unique materials and combination of such materials was essentially the first truly defined version of the word fireproof. The next set of officers possessed unique equipment that was capable of moving almost any sort of debris out of the way, short of having to move a skyscraper with its strength. Several pressure jacks were loaded with every set given to these assigned officers to help reach past impossibly perceived areas that would be far too dangerous for the average fire department. Fortunate to the general public that they were far more competent than that.

"Yes sir!"

Through their gas mask microphones they communicated their exact coordinated attempt to place their equipment to clear out whatever it is they needed out of the way. The equipment did exactly as they were intended for with efficiency that was commonly associated with the ESD. The collapsed piece of floor and ceiling was raised with little difficulty by the well placed and designed equipment. Next was the team members with the equipment that was used to launch the grenades.

Their backpacks were not just glorified air cannons. There was another function that let them utilize a proprietary compound that was beyond invaluable to public use the ESD have yet to reveal in fear of compromising the compound to villains with more nefarious purposes. Just making space was clearly not enough for emergency rescue since structural compromise and other random elements made it difficult to predict additional disasters. The moist but slightly dense mixture that was spewed from their spray guns was not only used to reinforce the lifted debris, but supported it long enough for extraction to get the civilians out with ease. With their efficiency they not only tamed the fire; they made the body count zero within the time limit they arrived at.

Outside the buildings there were other operatives that also possessed similar equipment as those who entered the buildings to help the rescue efforts. The leads who were still commanding the advancement teams set their men into identical formations on both sides as the situation called for such tactics. They all had their equipment primed and ready to use as the fires that were dying out confused the villain who was trying to deliver as much public chaos as possible to make his escape.

"Advancement, fire!"

With sprays of some sort of white liquid out of their guns the chemicals were barely a shower for the slimy gunk pile that was still flaunting around the burnt shopping district.

"That's it?! I would have thought…"

He couldn't even throw out a taunt as the parts that interacted with his body began to immediately harden to some sort of plaster like material. Most of the outer sides of his overgrown body were hardened before he realized what was happening. He was far from the days where he felt such sensations as pain, but it was not far enough to find his sensations of fear. He didn't know how to react since it was the first time he had faced such a resistance such as this.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!"

The surfaces that were being hardened were spreading far too quickly for the slime monster to keep up with. He had no choice but to break off the chunks that were being hardened and use them as shields against such aggressive opponents. Not only was the destruction he had brought to this neighborhood being mitigated; they were suppressing him in just as efficient of a fashion.

"Secondary Advancement. Fire!"

The shields that he was using to block the chemical assault he was trying to escape were suddenly lanced by two or three barbed harpoons on both sides that were then pulling each other from him in opposite directions. It took all of his effort to just keep these shields from the ESD as he had expended a significant effort to get his quirk to get himself to the size he was at currently. As much as he wanted to slither away on the rooftops; there was a significant chance that the ESD was going to hunt him down with far greater consequences in comparison if he were to just surrender. He kept up his efforts to just try and get this boy weak enough to take over his body and possibly escape with the corpse without too much trouble.

Just then the unrecognizable All Might came up to one of the street lights and while leaning on the solid structure tried to catch his breath with the little air he was actually able to breathe in. From the sight of things they had everything under control; for a professional hero as well as the professionals working to contain the situation, the whole thing was like a careful balancing act to keep the villain's attention on them and not on the hostage. Bakugou for the most part was able to try and keep up his efforts to escape the massive slime that was trying to hold him as a captive. Every bit of effort was just as powerful as the last with his temper driving him to do anything and everything to get out of the situation that was keeping him prisoner.

All Might was certain that the ESD was more than capable of ending the disaster that took place here by themselves; but it was his fault that something so destructive and excessive was allowed to happen in the first place. His power was more than capable of just ending things with one punch. In his throes of excruciating medical pain he was aware that anything else past his time limit was just going to reduce what good he could do for the public. He was still at obligation to find a progenitor; and risking his health would not just risk him, he would risk the power within himself that was in need of his selection. He clutched the scar that was causing the pain that was rendering him mute enough that he was unable to speak. In his mind the word was loud and clear like someone was trying to render him deaf with just their voice.

God damn it.

Nearby

It was a mind numbing experience to walk home after being told by one hero that their dreams were nothing but an invitation for death without the one thing he needed; a quirk. The teen was loaded with problems that exceeded him as an individual as he kept repeating the events in his head. Nobody with a goal to just help people was deserving to be told that they were incapable of just that. Izuku was aware that circumstances dictated differently; but even that was too simple of an explanation for what was going on in his head. He felt as though he could have lived out his whole life without interacting with his hero; All Might. His knuckles still hurt from his reckless release of emotions from the rooftop earlier. It was a dull ache at this point and he was beyond caring about such a minor thing in comparison to such a minor pain in comparison to what he felt.

He knew better and he ignored that part of himself in favor of acting out stupidly. It was like everything he was blissfully ignorant of was finally bearing down on the young Midoriya. The notebook he was flipping through was like garbage that was better off in the trash. The boy did just that as he simply dropped the notebook as he kept walking home. He crossed the street at the appropriate light and walked across the entrance of the shopping center that had a villain going wild inside of it. He could see that the ESD was already on the scene to help contain the situation and just kept walking without much thought. The vehicles that had come in to drop off the officers of this prestigious department were splitting the public crown in half as they maintained the barrier that they were known for. For Izuku it was not a usual day to simply let things happen as they were.

In the chaos and perpetual destruction the villain knew he was cornered without an escape plan. He had gone from convenience store robberies, to facing off with the world's number one hero, to the world's number one villain containment department. He was fucked without a get out of jail free card. He wasn't sure if he could take over this kid's body before his defenses failed; right now there was little else he could do to just survive. Inside this kid he might be able to negotiate his release. That was a moot point since everyone he possessed by force had died from some sort of medical condition brought on by his quirk.

With a widened window to look into the combative environment, it was easy to see Bakugou's blonde hair flail around as the slime creature was failing to contain the situation for himself. Izuku saw the sickly green from earlier that almost got him to choke to death. He was by no means stupid, so it was easy for him to instantly realize that this gargantuan mass of destruction was from all might and the bottles he lost due to Izuku's interference. As much as Katsuki ignored him when the class or anybody else took part in teasing or picking on him; he would always make sure he never took part in such acts. Deep down there was a part of him that saw through the veil of ignorance that one of his childhood friends had put up to create distance between them. This wasn't fair that a friend who had reason to still be his friend was suffering because of his rash actions.

The officers of the security tape were beyond well trained. So for the center officers responsible to just avert their gaze at the moment that Midoriya Izuku sprinted in was a coincidence that was a million to one. The boy's lack of thinking had somehow led him to this very specific reality that lent him the luck to advance past one of the worlds greatest security teams in a time window that should have never existed.

Beyond this these officers were trained to keep the public out in case of breakthroughs. The officers that were able to catch the boy had not only failed to see him sprint past them; he evaded one officer by abandoning the backpack he wore, he shucked his outer wear to keep moving towards his friend who needed his help. The officers were left in the dust as Izuku sprinted like a madman towards the large calcified barriers that the slime villain was using to protect himself from further assault. Just like before the massive plates of defensive armor the villain was still using were raised and lowered in just the perfect timing to let him through the bottom. The sudden sight of Izuku was enough to get Katsuki to question his presence in such a chaotic environment.

"What the fuck are you doing here! Get the fuck out! Are you insane, you piece of shit?!"

Rather than a sane answer; as Izuku clawed at the slime that had Bakugou trapped inside the slime monster behind it's defensive shell, he only said one thing.

"How can I just leave you here?"

At that moment it was like a cascade of pure chaos inside Bakugou. The rationality he was worth saving unconditionally. An embrace that was squeezing the air out of his lungs. The smell and sudden sounds of a massive explosion…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

In an instant the center of the creature was starting to go off like it was a pool of liquid iron being splashed around. An insane amount of explosive blasts and fire spewed from the center of the hardened shells that the ESD had created. From inside; although it was rather violent and loud; Izuku could still hear Katsuki scream as he tried to use his quirk to escape.

"I'M STRONG ENOUGH! GET ME OUT! I CAN SAVE YOU! JUST LET ME OUT!"

In the years he had seen his friend be in pain over his loss; this was the first time he had seen him break down over it. It didn't scare him; it made him sadder than anything that had come before this moment. So much pain and he was unable to help him. The heat was so intense and without another option he used the slime itself as a shield against the heat.

"What are you doing?! You're gonna kill us both!"

There was no reasoning going through Bakugou's head. He was a wounded animal who was gnashing it's teeth at whatever he could. The slime hadn't been bluffing; in the enclosed space there was enough insulation to render everyone in the makeshift shelter into molten slag. Somebody needed to stop Bakugou's rampage before anybody could move in.

Less Than a Minute Ago

The motorbike that Haru had arrived in was screeching around the corner and jumped off to catch himself in a sprint towards the secondary group of ESD officers opposite to where the other heroes were on the street. Civilians were cleared out enough, but the officers who made up the group of officers there had already dismissed the civilians there to make room for Haru's arrival. Making it out as an excuse for the public to evacuate the higher risk areas; the spectators were reluctant but willing enough to make the journey to the other side of the street without much fuss. Those who wanted to be resistant were simply met with a threat of obstructing justice to move them along. It was seconds before the last civilian was cleared before Haru's arrival to the scene. He came in screeching and the bike was left to skid down the road where the other officers retrieved it for Haru. He ran into the group where they cleared the way to the second commanding officer of the hostage situation.

"What the fuck is this?"

The second lead officer gave Haru his tablet with every bit of documentation of the incident. Haru kept the helmet on as the teams of officers were containing the situation. A single voyeur who had a good enough angle was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now.

"RIght now we have the situation contained. But it may be possible that subject A has-"

A scream from the middle of the villains impromptu barricade against the ESD alerted everyone the situation had changed. For only one person there it was much worse as what he suspected to happen had just happened. The amount of incendiary action had multiplied and it was like the villain was being baked in an oven hot enough to melt iron. Everyone thought it was just the boy trying to break free of his captor. Haru knew better as he heard the cries and screams of Bakugou. Katsuki had relapsed into a traumatizing memory and it was making him panic without restraint. With no hesitation, Haru sprinted with speed nobody expected to retrieve a rifle from one of the trucks with a single tranquilizer round being loaded into the bolt. Using the armored vehicle to hide himself from prying eyes he saw enough of a window to clear the round straight into Bakugou's neck. No matter how much pain it brought him to see the boy like this; he knew better as he had sworn to somebody that their boy was well cared for in his hands. This was far from ideal and even brought Haru enough grief to look away from the sights as he made the shot.

The round of chemical immobilizer sailed through the air and went right through the smallest of openings in the slime's improvised barriers. The needle sank into his neck and injected the boy with a fast acting muscle relaxer that was already getting the blonde lightheaded and dizzy within just a few seconds. The explosions had suddenly stopped as Bakugou went limp and unconscious.. This was just like before; it was exactly like it was before he was told the news. As Bakugou blacked out with the chemical restrictor rendering him unconscious he cursed all of his luck that led him to relive such a terrible moment in his life.

"I… I'm, I'm st… I wan… I want t…"

Izuku had not stopped in his mission to save his friend and just got back up to claw at the slime holding him in place. Right when the slime was thinking about crushing Izuku under a massive wrecking ball of slime; a force unlike anything had cracked one of the shells the slime villain had tried to use as defense unsuccessfully against the ESD.

To All Might who had allowed two children to fall victim to his mistake; this was well worth the risk that came with exceeding his time limit on his quirk. He broke through the barrier of his hesitation that had plagued him for years through this boy who risked everything for just one other person. A child was better able in practicing his words of risking one's life as he was so selfishly scared as he stepped on this boy's dreams. He hoped that at least this was enough to get his forgiveness.

"Pros are always risking their lives!"

All of the resentment and anger he had for all might and his insensitive answer to Izuku's question had disappeared in just that instance. The blood spewing from his mouth as he crashed through the hardened shell of this villain's design was the example Izuku needed to see with the power and consideration he showed Bakugou as he grasped the limp body of the boy as he delivered the final blow.

"DETROIT… SMASH!"

The wave of pure force through the air warranted even Mt. Lady to shield the civilians from the force of such an attack. Even without her help the ESD had deployable shields they were ready to deploy in the event of lethal force being exercised. In this case it wasn't lethal, so they allowed her the opportunity to protect the public through her own means.

From the amount of force created to end the fight decisively, there was a slight amount of rainfall with the vacuum of air made by All Might with the higher and lower atmospheres. All civilians were silent as Haru snapped loud enough for his officers to realize what he wanted and both got him inside a vehicle before anybody saw him and let things play out naturally before they did their share of the clean up.

In the rain the public figure that was All Might was allowed full visibility as he raised his right arm in victory as the rain kept coming down on him and the two boys who were now unconscious beside him.

Thirty Minutes Later

The ESD had demonstrated extreme competence as the news crew had just arrived as the department was just about gone with all the bits and pieces of the villain that had caused such a chaotic event to occur. The heroes were the next best subjects to interview as the ESD had once again cleared the scene and marked off the area with advanced security technology to prevent those who wanted to tamper with evidence to do just that. Heroes being heroes they were ideal for the public as they spoke about the event as not being as serious as it actually was had it just been the heroes. Even the supposedly leaked footage never saw the light of day once they went up; even on the deep web.

Izuku was disciplined and yelled at by the other heroes while Bakugou was being praised by the other heroes. The one to distract the press was an officer who had the press's attention with a footage reel of events playing out from an angle which would satisfy the public enough to keep intrusive questions from flooding the internet. This was without the efforts of the press that had a hand in assisting such an effort to help the teens involved to keep their ambiguity.

Some Time Later

In a more rural part of the city; Izuku was just plodding along with his internal conflict over what had occured. It was such a chore to think about for anybody else who didn't think of the issue like Midoriya did. As much guidance he had in his life, he was prone to other's opinions despite the opinion of those who had a significant part of his life so far. While in his own thoughts to decide on a form of apology; there were footsteps chasing him where he was walking. Turning to the source of the noise, it was Bakugou who was sprinting up to Izuku.

"Ka-chan?! What are you doing here?"

After years of silence and ignoring Izuku; the boy who had treated the young Midoriya as if he was invisible spoke to him for a second time that day.

"... If… If you ever… Do something like that… I will end you! Don't you dare try shit like that, ya hear?!"

With just that the youngest Bakugou left Izuku to figure out exactly what it was that set off Katsuki to say something like that to him. Izuku figured that maybe he had bruised Bakugou's ego since it was how he was trying to get Bakugou out of the grasp of that villain. Turning back around to keep walking home there was a shocking moment of randomness as the public version of All Might had come around the corner announcing his presence.

"I am here!"

The last bit of life he had for the rest of the day would have certainly left him had he not already met the true version of the persona already.

"Wha… Bu… How?! You were swarmed by reporters!"

"Ha ha ha! Again, you underestimate me! For I am, All Mi-"

That very second he reverted to the sickly skeletal version of his body. The blood spewing from his lips did little to instill Izuku with the certainty that All Might was indeed ok.

"... Listen. I came here with three things I need to say to you. An apology, a correction, and a suggestion."

There was quite a bit of weight to this conversation now since the hero who told him to just think about living was now redacting his previous advice.

"... Had you not been there to tell me about your life; about how hard it was… I would have lived my life as some sort of image of myself instead of who I truly wanted to be from the very beginning."

In Izuku's mind it was still hard to accept that this was coming from his idol. He sputtered and was in his usual habit of downplaying his role when he remembered His mentor telling him to let the other party explain themselves before speaking. Often their perspectives are different from his own and required a few moments of patience rather than to jump to conclusions and alienate those who wanted to give him credit. He silenced himself and just allowed All MIght to elaborate.

"... What I wanted to be was far from what I am now. Without you it was possible I would have been hopelessly lost in my own head finding something that I completely forgot."

The fragile moment of his life where nobody could find the possibility of being something more than quirkless was replaying itself in his head. The night that should have been nothing but despair that became a beacon of hope for the boy once more. It wasn't a waste. He didn't let them down. It wasn't a lie to believe that he was able to become a hero.

" Every pro hero has a moment in their younger years where they react without thinking. A single instinct that drives them forward and become who they were always meant to be…"

The relief and disbelief that his hero had gone through all this effort to recognize him as the one thing he never thought himself to be after All Might had told him otherwise.

"...You can be a hero."

It pierced through his heart and made him feel so painfully complete as he heard those words. His tears stung and the pain in his knuckles were irrelevant. It was him being who he was meant to be that has made him as he was in front of All Might. It was not Izuku's train of thought that was leading to this logic, but someone nearby who had a few things to say upon such a rather one sided message. As much as it brought hope to the boy; it brought pain to the listener of the conversation occurring.

The power that inhabited All Might. How it was something that wasn't a quirk in of itself, but something to be a legacy of different powers that was passed down the generations… It had always been with his heart that Izuku reacted with. He agreed to the terms and began his journey then and there towards becoming the hero he was meant to be..

With his words spoken and intentions made clear; All Might left as a girl who was pink skinned and had eyes shaded black where white should have been as well as possessing gold in her irises sprinted around the corner and tackled Izuku to the floor as she cradled the back of his head with his back hitting the floor and knocking the breath out of him. In her distressed state she began to slap the young boy with her open palms as she got weaker with every strike she attempted.

"Mina! Please! I'm sorry! I…"

He was at a loss for words as he couldn't justify his behavior to her. He knew that he had risked his life today; a life that she had considered invaluable. Tears were openly coming down her cheeks and it hurt to imagine losing her like she almost did him. He hadn't thought things through and he unintentionally hurt her. So with her hand going open palm back and forth across his face he was unable to do anything else but take it as she took out her frustrations on him. It was roughly three or four to each side of the face before she just buried her face into the crook of his neck as she just felt him lying there underneath her.

"... Mina… I-"

"Shut up… You can't talk right now…"

In her usual mood after he had upset her; Izuku wrapped his arms around her hip and just squeezed her closer to make it up to the pink girl who felt rather vulnerable at the moment. It was more than him who was dragged into this mess. Everyone he cared about had a part in bearing his burden just as he had a burden in bearing theirs. It hurt him to even think that someone like Mina was someone who would bear a fraction of his burden. He held her close as he gently spoke to the girl whom he felt connected to more than anybody else in the past. It just left him to think things over as he was lying there with the pink girl sniffling against his school uniform.

"... I'm so sorry. I didn't think that you-"

"No! You didn't!"

She pushed on Midoriya's shoulders to look her better half in his eyes. The dark sclera and gold irises he was unable to keep himself lost from. She was sweeter than sin and it hurt to think what life would have been like had she lost him. The sunset illuminated their reunion as All Might rounded the corner of the street and approached the man who had brought him here in the first place.

In his experience; All Might was always combating journalists and other such vultures to preserve the public image of himself. With this man who seemed to be far closer to the young Midoriya than he could have imagined; there was a rather reluctant attitude about him as he requested they go and see Izuku before he reached home. He eventually introduced himself as Nakamura Haru to All Might as his presence dispersed the crowd of reporters without a word being spoken. Next to the Volkswagen bus, Haru was leaning up on the passenger door and smoking a cigarette. There was nothing else to say between them and it was clear All Might was unwelcome in Haru's presence. Passing by him the white haired man stopped the hero cold in his tracks.

"... That slime monster you've been following since this morning… I heard it landed itself right next to Midoriya as he was going home. It was a good distance away as well; I wonder how it managed to pop up there…"

That was a rather loaded accusation as he was sure nobody else was there to see that.

"And then it suddenly teleports itself several blocks away and rampages through the city streets while using Bakugou Katsuki as its own personal mortar? Such a coincidence, don't you think?"

As much as he appreciated the ride here and the ease of effort to escape the news outlets; this felt rather intrusive for someone he met just today.

"Listen, it-"

All Might turned to face Haru and explain that it was his fault and that these boys suffered from a mistake he allowed. He had no desire to deflect the responsibility and wanted to make amends for today. Instead, when All Might turned around he was face to face with Haru who had managed to appear right next to him without making any sort of sound or indication when and how he did that. There was a cold lifelessness in his pupils as he stared down the ragged version of the world's greatest hero.

"I know it was you who let it happen. Personally I would love to break your arms and legs right now… But this isn't about me. Those two don't need you making shit worse than it already is. They've both had their fair share of pain and misery for one lifetime…"

Haru took a moment to just stare down the hero with hostility in his heart.

"So if you ever get these boys mixed up in something that'll get them killed again…"

It wasn't often that All Might felt intimidated or vulnerable for the sake of heroism. Feeling a sharp and cold tip of some sort of edged weapon touching something rather private on your body would change anybody's tune. On his balls there was a sensation of pressure with a pointy tip digging into his undercarriage. Looking down he saw that there was a curved knife ready to slash him up the center of his genitals all the way to his throat. That wasn't what made him break out in a cold sweat. His expression told him that he was holding himself back from doing just that. The hero realized that this man was crazy enough to disembowel him in broad daylight. He was familiar with villains and all sorts of evil throughout the years… Looking into Haru's eyes; there was nothing but restrained anger towards him.

"... I will slit you up the middle starting from your asshole. Understand?"

With no other option, the hero nodded yes and was relieved to feel the tip of his rather unique knife retreat away from a rather intimate part of his body. Whoever Izuku was wasn't of major concern to All Might. The boy had clearly proven himself worthy of the power of One for All through his own character and actions. It was this other man who was rather protective of these children that made him nervous. There was no hostile intention of any sort when it came to the boys, but he had known about the fight in the tunnel and the reason for the quirk user who had been on a rampage earlier. On top of everything, he didn't hesitate to threaten him with violence that he was clearly not afraid to follow through on. He knew why he was threatened; it was how this man who owned a food truck knew that he had a reason to be mad at him. Last he checked, a van like that couldn't have followed events around the city as they happened. He was wary as it was just now he felt like things weren't as straightforward as he first thought they were.