Dabi, no last name given, was All Might's protege. The big blond lummox had picked Dabi up off the streets when his burns were still fresh, taken him to get medical attention, and then taken him into his household. All Might paid for Dabi to get help controlling his quirk, Cremation. He put Dabi through school. He was a mentor and 'fun uncle' – definitely not fatherhood material. He tried though. When All Might had been seriously injured in a fight that was, for reasons, kept from the public... and after a discussion with Sir Nighteye and Gran Torino, Dabi also became All Might's successor, known to only a few as the ninth holder of the quirk One For All, much more widely and publicly known as the pro-hero Exceed.

If anyone asked, Dabi chose the name Exceed because he wanted to go beyond (Plus Ultra! - yes, All Might got him into UA, and at Dabi's own request he was put into class B rather than A) what was expected as standard. He wanted to do his best and utmost to help everybody. Quietly, privately, Dabi maybe had also picked Exceed as a personal, unacknowledged little kick in the pants to Endeavour.

The publicity was a nightmare and a half, with All Might making a show of stepping back from active heroics to make way for his protege and now successor, Exceed. With Exceed making his debut as a pro-hero and proving to Japan that he was worthy of picking up what All Might had put down. It took a few years before Exceed could shine as his own person, rather than just as All Might's successor, but he got there.

Which brought him to today, and right now, having chased down a villain with a slimy, sludge-like mutation quirk. He'd finally caught up to him just as the villain was in the act of committing a murder – trying to force himself down some poor kid's throat.

Dabi, Exceed, blasted in and ripped the villain off the kid by his teeth (that is, the villain's teeth) with one hand, very carefully baked the sludge guy's exterior with the fire he conjured with his other hand, and then shoved the guy into a convenient bottle with a screw-top lid. It looked like it had probably fallen out of the kid's backpack, so it was in no way a permanent solution.

The kid had passed out though, and Exceed had chased this jerk through the sewers before he tried forcing himself down the kid's throat.

Exceed called the paramedics to his location. The villain was secured, the rescue accomplished, now came the after-care part. The part that All Might often forgot, and that Dabi had drilled into him by... his own experiences, actually. Though he'd give credit to Recovery Girl and his UA teachers if asked by a reporter. Certainly All Might, Sir Nighteye, and Gran Torino all sucked at the after-care part of heroics.

All Might, because he thought if you were conscious and not visibly injured (that is, no broken bones and not bleeding) then you were fine. Sir Nighteye, because his empathy broke a long time ago under the weight of his quirk. Gran Torino, because he was in the habit of speed-bouncing away from whatever and moving onto the next whatever. He only even gave reports to the police about any incidents several hours later when they tracked him down.

When the paramedics arrived and saw to the kid, and the police arrived with a better containment for the sludge villain than the kid's drink bottle, Dabi set about collecting up the other things that had fallen from the kid's backpack while he was being attacked.

Huh. Now why was this notebook wet with pond scum? The villain had been slime and sludge, not water and scum... Oh, and the cover was also singed, but that was definitely not because of him and his quirk... Dabi looked over at the kid. He was awake now, sat on the back of the ambulance while a paramedic checked him over.

There appeared to be a burn on the shoulder of the kid's uniform. Roughly the size and shape of a hand. It was hard to see, being charred black fabric, but Dabi was well used to looking for and at burns where there shouldn't be any. He knew what to look for. This wasn't quite the same kind of burn as he was... not used to. Not anymore. But he had been very well acquainted with the various different types of burns a quirk could produce.

Kid was being bullied by someone with some kind of incendiary quirk, and likely because of whatever was in the soggy notebook.

Curious, and with a bit of time to kill (after having given his statement and the villain to the cops, and while waiting for the paramedics to finish up with the kid) Dabi flipped the cover open to see what – if anything – had survived. A lot of the pages were fragile with how wet they were, but they were also, for now, also definitely still legible.

Dabi carefully paged through the kid's notes. He was, in all honesty, very impressed with what he was looking at. Sure, the kid's art skills weren't anything to put in a gallery, but it was still clear what he'd drawn, and it was all so carefully labelled that it didn't matter that some of it was smeared into a mess by the water damage. The really impressive stuff was the writing, what had survived the damage done to the notebook. Kid had sharp eyes to notice some of this stuff, and a sharp mind to put together what he was seeing to come to the conclusions he had.

"The kid okay?" Dabi asked the paramedic when they stepped back from the kid.

"We've removed the sludge that got into his lungs, and given him a broad-spectrum antibiotic, as well as a prescription for more, to be taken over the next week, just in case," the paramedic answered with a grim smile. "No brain damage from the suffocation, and the bump on the head from where he fell when he passed out was easily treated. You got to him in time. It's mostly just shock at this point, and only time and comfort will really help with that."

Dabi nodded in understanding.

"Well, the cops have the villain, so if the kid's good to go, I'll escort him home," Dabi suggested. "I should let his parents know he was caught up in a villain attack anyway."

The grimness faded from the paramedic's face, leaving just the smile.

"You're one of the good ones, Exceed," they complimented.

"Thanks," Dabi said with a quick bow, then turned towards the kid. He walked over to where he was sitting and squatted down so he was closer to eye-level with the kid. "The paramedics say you'll be okay," he started, "but you'll be feeling shocky for a while, so I'm gonna escort you home, if that's okay with you, kid?"

"Ye-yes!" the kid answered, green eyes lighting up in awe. "Wow! You're Exceed!"

"I am," Dabi confirmed, and before he could even ask the kid his name, the kid was rattling off facts and statistics and observations and inferences about Dabi, his hero career, and his relationships with All Might, Sir Nighteye, and Gran Torino. It was like everything that was in the ruined notebook Dabi still held in his hand, but spoken rather than scribbled down.

That was one heck of a brain the kid hand under his green curls, and Dabi made sure to say so the first time the kid paused to take a breath, and he could actually get a word in edgewise.

"I'm impressed," he said, "you sure know a lot kiddo. What's your name, anyway?"

"Midoriya," the kid answered, a blush creeping into his cheeks. "Midoriya Izuku."

"Well, Midoriya-kun, you already know a lot, and judging by this -" Dabi held up the ruined notebook, "- you've got the makings of an excellent Quirk Analyst, Quirk Counsellor, or even Hero Analyst if that's what you want to do."

"Really?!" Midoriya asked, green eyes wide. "But... but it's just my hobby! Everyone I know calls it creepy!"

"More fools them," Dabi shrugged easily. "The heroes who are really good heroes, and I don't just mean the ones high up in the ranks, but the actually good heroes, they take the time to study this stuff, or employ people to do it for them if they don't have the head for it themselves. Take my mentor -"

"All Might?!" Midoriya squeaked.

"Yeah. The big lunk isn't the sharpest in the brains department, but he knows that about himself, so he made sure to employ other people who could keep an eye out for that sort of thing for him. Like Sir Nighteye," Dabi explained.

"Wow," the kid breathed. Then he hesitated, and seemed to screw up his courage. "Do you... do you think... can a quirkless person be a hero?"

"That depends on what kind of hero you want to be," Dabi answered seriously, "and how hard you're willing to work at it." Dabi's had the whole 'perfect quirk' talk back when he was still Touya, living under Endeavour's thumb. He called bullshit then, and even after he'd been given One For All, he still called bullshit. How useful a quirk was depended on how creative you were with it. How strong a person was depended on how hard they worked at it.

And unlike his lovable-but-thick-headed mentor, Dabi also remembered daily that there was more to heroics than smiling at the civilians and yelling SMASH! at the villains.

"Either way though, if you want to be a hero of any kind, you're going to have to do something about those noodle-arms," Dabi teased the kid lightly, and considered him again. There was so much potential hidden behind those green curls, and so much unspoken of with those burns on his uniform... and he'd already committed himself to walking the kid home and talking to his parents anyway. "Want some help with that?" he offered.

The kid's smile was brighter than Endeavour's fire had ever been.

~oOo~

"Okaa-san, this is the pro-hero Exceed!" Izuku said once they were through his front door.

"Oh my," Midoriya-san said softly. "Well, welcome, Exceed-san," she greeted politely.

"Sorry to intrude," Dabi replied, and gave a polite bow of his own. "Go shower and change kid," he advised Izuku. "Get that gunk off you. I'll explain to your mother."

"Okay," Izuku said, and hurried through the apartment and disappeared around a corner.

"Midoriya-san, I'm here because your son was attacked by a villain earlier today," Dabi explained, careful to keep his tone measured and calm. No need to make the woman panic when her son was safely returned to her already, after all. "The villain has been apprehended, and your son already seen to by paramedics called to the scene. He's been proscribed a short course of antibiotics to make sure nothing from the villain's attack lingers or causes him harm, but has been declared otherwise in good health."

"Oh... oh my..." Midoriya-san said, and reached out for a bit of furniture to brace herself on.

Dabi intruded further into the Midoriya home to help the mother over to the couch so that she could sit down.

"Deep breaths, Midoriya-san. Your son is fine. He's here in your home now and showering off the last bits of sludge from the villain that attacked him. When he comes out you'll be able to hug him and check him over yourself," Dabi reassured her gently as he held one of her hands in one of his, and rubbed soothing circles on her back with the other.

It took a while for Midoriya-san to come back from the nasty shock Dabi had just delivered, but she did, and before her son returned from showering and changing out of his school uniform.

"Thank you for bringing my son back to me, Exceed-san," she said.

"Of course," Dabi agreed. "But I also have other concerns, Midoriya-san. I noticed that Izuku-san had a hand-shaped burn on the shoulder of his uniform, and that some of his property had been damaged in ways inconsistent with the villain that attacked him. Are you aware of who might be bullying your son?"

Midoriya-san flinched.

"He won't tell me," she whispered. "He always hides it from me... but, if you say it was a hand-shaped burn... it was probably Katsuki-kun."

Dabi blinked at the familiar-sounding address.

"They used to be best friends, before Katsuki-kun's quirk came in," Midoriya-san explained with a sad sort of smile. The words and Izuku's didn't remained unspoken. "They used to say they'd be the ultimate hero team when they grew up."

Used to. That was twice Midoriya-san had referred to the relationship between Izuku and this Katsuki person in the past tense. They definitely weren't friends or saying that any more.

"With your permission, Midoriya-san, I'd like to help Izuku-san train in preparation for entering the hero course at whatever is his high school of choice."

"UA," Midoriya-san said at once. "He wants to go to UA. But, pardon me, Exceed-san, why do you want to help my son?"

"Because he asked if it was possible for a quirkless person to be a hero," Dabi answered, "and I very much want the answer to be 'yes'. I want that so much that I want to help your son make that dream a reality. He's already smarter than a lot of heroes I know, judging by what's still legible in this," he continued, and held up the ruined notebook he still hadn't yet returned to its rightful owner.

Midoriya smiled tremulously at the sight of the notebook.

"He's got a shelf full of those," she admitted ruefully.

"Maybe invest in a safe to keep them in," Dabi suggested, wry but also completely serious. "He's figured out some things that, if villains found out, would be very dangerous for certain heroes."

Midoriya-san's eyes grew wide, but she nodded slowly all the same, so Dabi would take it.

"Unfortunately, your very smart son has noodle-arms," Dabi continued, getting a wet giggle from the mother. "If he can't at least drag a person to safety, then he's not going to be very effective as a hero."

"And you want to help fix that," Midoriya-san said, finally having got the picture.

"And I want to help fix that," Dabi affirmed with a solemn nod.

"...Alright," Midoriya-san agreed.

~oOo~

Dabi had to get his patrol schedule changed up, but once that was sorted, he started Izuku on a basic after-school boot camp. That it meant he was personally picking the kid up from Aldera Junior High when classes let out meant that the school knew the kid had a pro hero's eye on him. Which meant that they had to curb the destructive behaviour of their other students.

Just because the teachers and principle hadn't been reporting illegal quirk use by the students didn't make what they were doing okay. In fact, it made it worse. Because if a pro caught them at being that kind of permissive of illegal behaviour, then said pro could potentially get the school shut down for grooming future villains.

Dabi had made sure that Izuku had known that. Known that what his classmates did to him wasn't just morally objectionable and a bit mean, but was in fact illegal. An offence he could – should – have all of them up on charges for. So many students at Aldera should be shipped off to juvenile detention while their teachers were sent to prison.

Izuku had an entirely unreasonable attachment to his chief bully and abuser though, so Dabi mostly left the issue of the kids alone. For now. Exceed absolutely paid a visit to the principle though, Detective Tsukauchi at his side, and with a warrant for their security footage in hand.

The school itself would be permitted to stay open – it was a vital establishment of the local community, and currently being watched very closely by a pro hero. The staff, however, were getting replaced one by one as each of them was brought before a judge. Starting at the top with the principle himself.

Midoriya didn't have to worry about that though. What he had to worry about was being escorted from Aldera to Exceed's agency, where he followed the pro past offices and into a very well equipped gym. Some days, Dabi strapped weights to Izuku's wrists and ankles and then had him do cardio exercises. Other days, he stuffed the kid into a weighted vest and had him do exercises that would chiefly work his core but would also help build muscle in his arms and legs. Once a week, Izuku swam laps in Dabi's pool – alternating between freestyle, for speed, breast-stroke, for endurance, and side-stroke, for rescues.

During the cool-off stretches, Dabi quizzed Izuku on first aid knowledge, as well as hypothetical scenarios Izuku might find himself in one day, once he was actually a hero. Dabi emphasised to the kid the importance of all the other professions that heroes worked with as well – some of which, the kid now also had first had experiences with: paramedics to check the health of victims, police to get statements of witnesses, the fire department if either a villain or hero with a fire quirk got a bit overzealous and didn't mind their property damage. (Dabi was always very careful about that. He didn't want anybody comparing him to Endeavour ever, unless to say Dabi was better in every way, thank you.)

Once the scholastic year was done, Dabi stepped up Izuku's training, and introduced his little protege to his boyfriend. The one that All Might absolutely did not approve of, Sir Nighteye respected but didn't like much, and Gran Torino did like but also pretended to not even recognise from one meeting to the next. Because he was an ass as well as an old fossil and enjoyed pranking everybody by pretending to be even more decrepit than he actually was.

"Birdie, meet Midoriya. Izuku, I'm sure you've got a page on Hawks somewhere in your amazing and terrifying note books?"

And Dabi had made sure the kid kept up with those too. Even if he did also get a safe installed in the Midoriya home to keep them in. One that required a fingerprint, retinal scan, and a code to open.

Izuku nodded enthusiastically.

Hawks smiled at the kid.

"I'm going to be teaching you how to fight," Hawks told the kid. "Dabi's good, don't get me wrong, but he also uses his fire all the time when he fights. I, on the other hand, was trained to use all kinds of weapons, as well as in a couple different kinds of martial arts."

"Which means he can guide you through all of that," Dabi picked up, "we'll see what you're most comfortable with, and then get to work on making you really good at whatever that turns out to be."

"With a few back ups," Hawks added firmly.

Dabi nodded in solemn agreement.

"We're also going to start you on free-running," Dabi said with a grin. "So you can scale buildings, jump across the gaps, and drop down from a roof to the pavement safely. We'll start on that here in the gym of course, but once we deem you good enough to hit the streets with it, I'll watch you from below and Hawks will watch you from above. Alright?"

Izuku might as well have been a novelty bobble-head, with how wide his grin was and how fast he was nodding.

~oOo~

"Well, you're no expert, but I didn't expect you to be after only a few weeks training," Hawks said with a smile.

Izuku's weapon of choice was a staff.

"You're coming along quickly though. Good form, good control, nice solid blocks," Hawks praised.

Izuku beamed as he continued to defend himself against Hawks and his – controlled – attacks.

"Now, I'm going to defend while you strike. Ready? Three, two, one, change!" Hawks barked, and swung his chosen weapon – one of his larger flight feathers that he was using as a sword – around to block the over-head strike from Izuku. "Good! Middle, low, high, middle, high, low -" Hawks ordered.

"Flourish to get behind him," Dabi instructed from the sidelines.

Izuku whipped the staff between his hands and around as he dodged beneath Hawks's arm, past his wing, and for a half-second before Hawks turned around was behind the hero. His attempt to bring his staff down on Hawks's shoulder was blocked, of course it was, but it was close, and Izuku was quick to pull back and redirect the strike after the initial block.

"Good!" Hawks praised again, grinning, never stopping. "High right, left, centre, middle right, left, centre, low right, left, centre. Good! Defend. Good! Try to trip or disarm me."

Izuku gave a one-handed swipe with the length of the staff, caught it up in both when Hawks hopped over the swipe, and twirled it around to go at the hero's hands and where he held his flight feather/sword.

It didn't work, but it was a solid try. Hawks was just better. That was never going to stop Izuku from trying though, and that was all that the two pros who were training him wanted.

"Break!" Dabi called, and lobbed a couple of water bottles at the pair. "So kiddo, have you decided how you want to take UA by storm? I'd be happy to put your name in for the special recommendation exam, or you could take the regular heroics entrance exam, or you could go GenEd and storm through the sports festival and get in that way."

"As much as I would love to follow in the footsteps of the man you both have a mile-wide crush on," Izuku teased his mentors lightly, "I'll keep that as a last resort. If you're really okay with putting my name in for the recommendation exam, then I'd like to do that, please."

Hawks and Dabi both blushed furiously at the call-out, but ever since Izuku had introduced them to Eraserhead – not physically, actually, in person introduced them, but told them about him and shown them a few saved, grainy video clips – both of them had admitted that what was known of the older pro made him seem very much their type.

~oOo~

What Dabi had neglected to mention was that UA's special recommendation exam was the very next day. It was a deliberate omission. By not saying anything until so late, Izuku didn't have time to panic about his performance.

"Just do your best," Dabi reassured him with a kind smile and a hand on his shoulder as they walked together through the gates of UA. "In the unlikely event that you don't make it today, then there's the regular entrance exam in two weeks. Breathe."

"Breathe, right," Izuku agreed, and started immediately working through the calming breathing techniques that he'd actually learned to help panicking civilians. He was, after all, still technically a civilian himself.

Together, they crossed the grounds to the main building, got Izuku's registration for the special entrance exam processed, and then walked down the halls to where the first part of the exam would take place.

They came to a stop outside the large door, and turned to face each other.

"You got this," Dabi promised him with a proud smile. "You are the smartest person I know, and I know a couple of people with intelligence quirks. I grant I haven't met Nezu yet, but if you were smarter than him I'd be terrified."

Izuku giggled at that.

"I can keep singing your praises if you need that right now," Dabi offered. "As well as your amazing brain, you're a natural at free-running. Your arms aren't noodles any more and even Miruko is impressed with your leg strength. Your first aid skills are top-notch. You're coming along well with the staff fighting, and when you use the segmented staff and have two sticks instead of one, you're downright mean in a fight."

Izuku blushed.

"And you've got the heart," Dabi added, and poked the kid right over the named vital organ, "which isn't something that can be taught. Now, get in there and make history, kid."

Izuku nodded, bowed to his mentor, and hurried inside.

~The End~