Chapter Text
“You’re...you’re a god?!”
“Yes. Honestly, I’m a minor god. But I was recognized by the major gods, so I have a status similar to gods such as Athena, Apollo, Hermes, and such.”
“All Might...a god...I mean, I suppose it makes sense, given how you’re the number one hero, and are incredibly strong. I was theorizing which god may have given you your quirk, but if you’re a god, then I guess you can…” Izuku muttered, going into his analytical state. Theories and observations passing through his mind.
“Hey, hey! That’s enough of that!” All Might said, bringing Izuku out of his thoughts.
“Sorry,” Izuku apologized, “it’s a habit…”
“Moving on, young man, I must tell you what my quirk is. My quirk is one that can be inherited; a quirk that is cultivated and passed down from generation to generation. A mass culmination of power from predecessors to the newest generation, like the passing of a torch. For it to even have existed, a god became mortal in order to share it with us. This power...is called One For All.”
Izuku could do nothing but stare in awe. He had never thought of a quirk that could be passed down. But for All Might to possess such a quirk in addition to his own…
“But...why would you pass down such an amazing quirk to someone like me?”
“Because, I’ve finally found someone I believe is worthy enough to inherit it. I’ve been searching for a successor for ages, and to see you: a quirkless mortal who is a fanboy of heroes, you acted when all pro heroes wouldn’t. You have the heart of a true hero! Not to mention, you still hold belief in the gods, can see through the mist, and even had a vision of my true form.”
Watery eyes threatened to release new tears, making Izuku wipe his eyes with his uniform sleeve.
“But still, young man, the choice to inherit my power or not is up to you.”
‘To think All Might would tell me his deepest secrets...about his quirk, and him being a god…for him to choose me as his successor… what other choice would I make?’
“Yes, I’ll do it!”
“An immediate reply. That’s what I expected!” All Might chuckled, “Alright, young man! We’ll start training in two days time. Meet me at Dagoba Municipal Beach Park bright and early, 6AM sharp.”
“Got it!”
“Then...what is your name, young man?”
“M-Midoriya! Midoriya Izuku!”
“Ok, young Midoriya, until we meet again!”
And just as suddenly he appeared, All Might was gone. Izuku stared at the spot that was occupied by All Might in a daze before moving his legs and walking home.
“I’m home,” he called out as he opened the door.
“Welcome home, Izuku! Did you hear about the shopping district incident? All Might appeared!” His mother called from the kitchen.
“I know,” Izuku replied as he walked to the kitchen where his mother was. “I was there.”
“Were you careful?”
“Yeah, mom.”
“Good, good. How was your day, sweetie?”
“It was ok…”
Hearing Izuku’s trailing words, Midoriya Inko looked up at her son.
“Izuku, did you have a hard time at school?”
“It’s not that. I mean-“
“Sweetheart…”
“I mean, it was pretty normal, you know? Um! I met All Might today!” Izuku stammered, desperate to change the conversation.
“...did you now?”
“Yeah! He even signed my notebook! He’s so cool, mom! The way he blew away that villain with a single punch, like, pow!” Izuku imitated the punch and added his own sound effect, “it was so cool!”
“So you were there at the shopping district?”
“Y-yeah… I was careful, I swear!”
“Alright, Izuku,” Inko smiled fondly at her son, “go wash up and we’ll have dinner.”
“Ok!”
Setting his backpack down in his room and washing up, Izuku enjoyed a calm dinner with his mom.
‘Two days until I start training with All Might. Mom is going to want to know why I’m taking up exercise all of a sudden…’
“Hey, mom?”
“Hm?”
“I’m thinking...about starting to work out.”
“Working out?”
“Yeah. I mean...I’m pretty scrawny, so...and having a set schedule is a good thing. Working out has a lot of positive benefits!”
Inko looked at her son and thought about his words.
“Why, dear?”
“Well...like I said, I’m scrawny...and I want to go to U.A., so there might be a physical fitness test.”
“Okay, sweetheart. When will you start?”
“Two days from now, at 6 in the morning.”
“So early? Well...just be careful, okay?”
“I will. Thank you, mom.”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
_______________
Izuku found himself walking the halls of U.A. again.He still couldn’t believe he was here, even in his dreams. If he didn’t make it, Izuku would be content with his dreams of himself walking in its halls. That would be enough; it’d hurt that he couldn’t go there in reality, of course, but he was happy enough with his dreams of the school.
The school melted away. Izuku found himself facing robots similar to his previous dream. Bakugou was standing a few feet in front of him, breathing heavily with a wicked grin on his face, his hands smoking. Izuku backed up, slightly afraid that Bakugou would see him. Looking around, he saw various other students pass by him.
The boy with split colored hair ran past him, leaving a trail of frozen robots in his wake. Izuku stared after him in awe, but saw that the boy’s right side was beginning to freeze. His movements were slightly clipped, and his breaths came out in puffs. Izuku followed him, raising an arm out to stop the boy.
“Hey...are you alright?” Izuku asked, only for his arm to pass through the boy. Izuku sighed; he shouldn’t have expected to be able to do anything. This was another future dream, and he couldn’t interact with anything or anyone.
Oddly enough, the boy gripped the shoulder that Izuku had tried to grab. He looked around, eyes settling on where Izuku was standing.
“...who are you?” The boy asked.
“Huh? You...you can see me?” Izuku asked incredulously.
“Yes…? Why wouldn’t I? Who are you?”
“Um...I’m Midoriya! Midoriya Izuku!”
“Hm,” the boy hummed, his hand falling from his shoulder, “I don’t remember seeing you before I entered this area.”
“Area?”
“This is an obstacle course for the U.A. Sports Festival. I assumed you knew that, considering you’re here.”
Izuku looked down and saw that he was in a tracksuit of some kind. Thinking more about it, it made sense that besides the other kids, there were no adults nearby, and the kids were dressed in the same tracksuit he was in.
‘So...does this mean I got to take the test? I passed? But, how far am I in my dreams that this is the Sports Festival…I don’t think I’ve dreamt this far ahead before...’
“Move!”
Izuku flinched, moving out of the way of the boy, turning to see him freeze another robot that had snuck up behind Izuku.
“T-thanks…um, what’s your name?”
“You...you don’t know who I am?”
“Am I supposed to?”
“No, it’s just...thanks to my father, everyone pretty much knows who I am.”
“Your father?”
“Yes…” the boy’s face took on a dark look, “he’s...he’s Endeavor.”
“He is?!” Izuku exclaimed, shocked at the sudden revelation from the boy.
“I’m his son. Todoroki Shouto.”
—————————————
Izuku went about his day in a bit of a daze. He made contact with someone in a dream. He wasn’t sure why or how, but it had happened. The boy with split colored hair, the scar on his left side, who always looked so cold and lonely, was the son of Endeavor, the number two hero. Sitting at his desk, he flipped to a page he had on Endeavor and added notes.
‘Endeavor: Fire quirk. Has a son named Todoroki Shouto. Fire quirk = Hephaestus? Look into minor gods again for a type of fire connection, literal or symbolic.’
Humming contentedly to himself, Izuku turned the page and began to write.
‘Todoroki Shouto. Quirk: Ice. Ice seems to be connected to right side of body. Son of Endeavor. Ice = Khioné? A possibility that fire quirk was inherited but weaker compared to ice quirk. Or fire quirk not inherited at all. Overuse of ice leads to frost forming on body, complicating movement and temperature dropping as result. More information to be added in the future.’
Izuku started to sketch out Todoroki on the page, idly listening to the world around him in case of anything. He picked up Bakugou yelling about something; most likely about the incident yesterday at the shopping district. Bakugou hadn’t approached him all day, Izuku noted, not even to bully him. It didn’t stop Bakugou’s friends from picking up the blonde’s slack, but they were nothing compared to Bakugou himself. But Izuku wasn’t going to wonder much; he was grateful for the break in bullying from his former childhood friend.
The day flew alarmingly fast, and Izuku walked home, excited for his training with All Might tomorrow morning.
____________
Izuku woke up at five and was out of his house ten minutes later. He dressed in sweatpants, an old shirt and his favorite pair of red sneakers, with a jacket tied around his waist. Izuku arrived at Dagoba Municipal Beach Park at 5:30, taking in the mounds of garbage that he was able to see thanks to the streetlights.
‘Is the training going to involve the garbage? I mean, that would make sense...he’s probably going to build up my physical ability first.’
Izuku made his way through the garbage, settling on an old mini-fridge to sit on. Thanks to the springtime weather, the early morning wasn’t too chilly that Izuku had to worry about wearing his jacket. He decided to kill time by browsing hero forums, skimming through the All Might Quirk Discussion forum briefly.
‘It’s still surreal...All Might, a literal god among men. So does this mean other heroes are demigods? It makes sense, given the strength of their quirks and how smart they are in combat, but could there be actual gods like All Might among them? Would they be major gods or minor?’
The early morning sun rose somewhere behind the mountains of garbage.
“Young Midoriya, are you here?” All Might’s voice called out.
“Y-yes! I’ll be right there!”
Izuku raced through the garbage in the direction he heard All Might call out to him. Tripping over a few pieces of trash, Izuku meets All Might in a small clearing amidst the sea of garbage.
“There you are! Are you ready to start?”
“Yes!”
All Might had Izuku start with basic warm-up exercises for the first hour. Afterwards, All Might pulled out some rope and tied it to a stray fridge that was nearby.
“Here,” All Might said, tossing the end of the rope to Izuku, “tie that around your shoulders and torso.”
Tying the rope around his upper body, Izuku started to pull against the weight of the old fridge. He could feel the slight movement of the fridge behind him, his feet digging into the sand from effort. Izuku felt that he had moved the fridge a few inches forward, before the fridge had stopped. He kept pulling, trying to move forward, only to be met with a now unmovable weight behind him.
“Hey, hey! This fridge is really comfortable! I’m glad you haven’t been able to move it yet!”
Looking back, Izuku saw All Might in his hero form sitting atop the fridge. Izuku took the chance to collapse on the sand and take in gulps of air. His muscles screamed at him, body now aching and on fire.
“C-come on, All Might,” Izuku asked between heaving breaths, “this isn’t fair. Aren’t you 277 kilos?”
“Nope! I lost some weight, so now I’m 255.”
“But, why are we here hauling trash?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You aren’t a vessel yet!”
“T-That’s the exact opposite of what you said to me!” Izuku yelled, feeling tears prick the corner of his eyes.
“You’re not understanding! At your current state, you’re physically unable to handle my quirk. If you were to inherit my quirk now, your body would explode, literally! Your limbs would fly off too!”
“It’ll what?!” Izuku nearly screamed. “Then, I’m picking up trash, in order to train my body?”
“That’s part of it. But,” All Might said as he jumped down from his seat on top of the fridge, “I found this park a few days ago on the net, and read how it was basically left to rot with trash it collects from currents. Hero work started out as community service before it became an actual profession and heroes started to be compensated for their work. Young heroes are all about doing what’s flashy these days, but I say we need to revisit the fundamentals!”
All Might put a hand on the fridge before crushing it under his hand as if it were cardboard. As his hand came down and slammed the ground, the force from it alone blew a small clearing, exposing a blooming sunrise along the horizon.
“Mark this day, Young Midoriya! Today is your first day of becoming a hero!”
“My first task...is to clean up…” Izuku trailed off, looking at the intimidating piles of garbage around him, “all of this?!”
“Young Midoriya, you’re planning on attending U.A., are you not?”
“Huh? O-oh, yeah! Because that’s where you went!” Izuku exclaimed. “I’m going to go...so I thought, it had to be U.A.”
All Might nodded, “And I’ve told you, you can’t do it without a quirk. It’s upsetting, but that’s the way it is. U.A is the hardest hero course to get into.”
“And there’s only ten months left until the entrance exams...so I need to become a vessel by then!”
“Right! So, that’s where this comes in!” All Might produced a small stack of papers from his jacket, “I came up with this: ‘Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan’! It’s a training plan to help you finish cleaning up the beach. I’ll have you following this plan in every aspect of your life!” All Might said as he passed the training plan to Izuku to look over.
“You even accounted for when I sleep…” Izuku muttered as he looked through the papers, “Every aspect of my life is pretty much planned here…” he chuckled nervously.
“Frankly, this is an extremely tough schedule to follow. Can you follow it?”
“Of course… I have to work much harder than anyone else, or else I can’t do it!”
“That’s the spirit! Now, let’s get back to work!”
__________________________
‘I’m almost there...it’s almost over…’
Izuku repeated this in his mind like a mantra. Training with All Might had basically been hell. He trained in the sweltering summer heat, humid rain, and added more to his regimen outside the training plan. Izuku had to account for the need to have a body capable of adapting to any situation, so he had included more into All Might’s training plan. So far, seven months had passed. Fall had come, and the lower temperature was a welcome change.
Izuku was running carrying an old mini-fridge as All Might went ahead of him on a segway scooter. Izuku felt the world spin and blur into a myriad of colors before his legs gave out. The fridge he was carrying clattered to the ground as landed face down onto the pavement.
“Hey, hey, what’s the matter?! There’s only three months left until the entrance exam! At this rate, you won’t be able to finish on time! You wanna take it easy today?!” All Might called out.
Izuku could barely manage to make his mouth move in response. He was exhausted to hell and back. His limbs felt numb and Izuku felt his face warm up from his breath he was panting out.
“The ‘Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan’ was made with your body type in mind, and to fully have you reach your goal within ten months’ time… You haven’t been following the plan, have you, Young Midoriya? Overworking yourself is only going to have negative effects on you! You want to pass, don’t you?!”
“I...I do…! But…” Izuku grit out, clenching his fists and raising his head to look up at All Might, “It’s not enough to just pass the exam. I need to work hard...a dozen times harder than anyone else…! If I don’t, I’ll stumble and fail, and waste all your hard work… I want to be a hero like you…” Izuku felt hot tears run down his cheeks, “I want to be as strong as the strongest hero!”
Through his tears, Izuku watched All Might stare at him for a minute or so before he transformed into his muscular hero form and lifted Izuku up from the ground with one hand.
“You go-getter! I’d be lying if I say I don’t like your commitment to this! But regardless of your intentions, it’s no good to try and rush something like this along. So don’t worry, this old man will revise the plan to accommodate your extra work!”
“Y-you’re not old…”
“My boy, I am a god. I’m certain I’m older than you realize!” The hero laughed, lowering Izuku so the boy could stand on his own again, “Now, let’s finish up your morning run!”
________________
It was the day of the entrance exam. Well, not entirely, it was only a little past midnight.
Izuku was at the beach park, working tirelessly to finish cleaning up the remaining trash. He was nearly done with the assigned area All Might instructed him to clean, but that didn’t feel like enough for Izuku. He had to work harder, and that meant going beyond what he was told to do. He had to prove himself that he was worthy of inheriting All Might’s quirk.
‘Please, Gods, let me make it on time…’
Izuku felt his shirt become damp from sweating so much, even spreading to his jacket. He ditched the two soiled tops and continued working bare-chested, determination and desperation in tandem fueling him to clean.
Hours that felt like years passed, and Izuku looked out over the now clear beach from the top of the trash pile he created. The sun was barely rising, slowly dying the pitch black night sky with soft blues and pinks. Izuku took out his phone and checked the time.
5:59 AM.
‘I did it...I finished… I really finished…!’
Izuku felt the cold morning air against his skin, watching the sun rise inch by inch from beyond the horizon. The water was reflecting the little light from the sun, glittering like stars in front of Izuku. He was so overwhelmed by the sight, his exhaustion, the fact that his training was finally over, and that he had managed to finish on time. There was a force that bubbled in his stomach, then spread its way into his heart. His body tensed as he looked up at the sky.
He opened his mouth and screamed at the top of his lungs. He screamed to the heavens until he couldn’t scream anymore. Breathing heavily, Izuku felt himself sway and fell towards the sand, too relieved and tired to care about if he broke something from the fall. He felt strong arms catch him, looking to see All Might in his hero form holding him.
“Good work,” the hero said, smiling at him.
“All Might...I did it…” Izuku responded, giving him a tired smile, “I did it!”
“Yeah, you surprised me, you little go-getter!” All Might said as he lowered Izuku down enough for the teen to stand on his own, “Here, take a look at this.”
Izuku looked and saw All Might’s hand holding a cell phone towards him. Izuku briefly thought of how the phone looked so comically small in his hand, but focused on the image on the screen. It was him, scrawny and crying.
“This is…”
“This is you, from ten months ago,” All Might stated, “You did well. You really did!”
Izuku agreed to an extent. He built up so much muscle that his old baggy shirts were now filled out thanks to his new muscular frame. His body was new and defined, a body of a fledgling hero. Izuku could only wonder how he could improve in the future to better himself.
“We’ve only just reached the faintest mirage of the path that lies ahead for you, but I can surely say, you’ve become a true vessel!”
“I…” Izuku raised a hand and looked down at it, feeling tears build in his eyes, clouding his vision, “I feel like I’ve cheated, somehow. You went so far for me, All Might…” Izuku wiped away tears in a futile attempt to stop crying, “I feel truly blessed…!”
Izuku felt All Might ruffle his hair, “Don’t cry, Young Midoriya. Be proud! There’s one last thing we need to do. Come on,” All Might said as he started walking towards the truck he rented for taking away trash.
“Y-yes sir!” Izuku quickly followed behind the hero.
The two sat in the truck, with All Might driving them away from the beach. The radio played at a low volume, with Izuku making out a random station that was playing some pop song. He was...really rusty when it came to current non-hero related trends. But he had never felt a need to know them anyways; he didn’t have friends to talk to about it, and he was content with his hero notebooks and keeping up with hero news.
The truck stopped and Izuku looked out the window. He recognized the U.A. building in the distance, but the small forest was new.
“All Might, where are we?” Izuku asked as he undid his seatbelt.
“Young Midoriya, do you remember what I said about the mist being able to obscure regular people’s sight?”
“Yes…?”
“We’re in an area that’s only accessible to gods,” All Might explained as he got out of the truck, “There’s an old shrine here. To regular people, this area looks like an ordinary building.”
“Seriously?” Izuku questioned as he stepped out of the truck, taking in the trees that loomed over him. Staring closely, he could see the tops of the trees shimmer, windows of an office building replacing where the trees stood.
“Follow me.”
Izuku followed behind All Might in relative quiet, save for the rustling leaves and their footsteps.
After some time, the two stopped in front of a shrine. It was a humble shrine, looking as if someone had built it themselves from the wood of the forest they were in. It was quiet, giving off an air of calm and gentleness. Izuku couldn’t understand, but he felt safe.
“This is the shrine that the original holder of One for All built. Since then, each holder has come to pay respects to them. And when they’ve found their new successor, this is where the inheritance of the quirk happens.”
“Wow…” Izuku breathed in awe, “Wait, do other heroes know this place?” Izuku asked.
“They do, but they pay it no mind. They think this is an old shrine of a long forgotten god, so we’ll be fine.”
Izuku felt a strange twang in his heart. He took a step towards the shrine, then another, and then another. He stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah...I’m fine. I just...I don’t know…”
All Might gave him a look before mild realization crossed his features, “We should hurry. You need to be on your way to U.A. for your exam!”
“O-Oh! Right!”
“Right. Young Midoriya, please kneel here in front of the shrine.”
Izuku did as he was told, kneeling on the ground. He watched as All Might knelt as well, bringing his hands together in prayer.
“Oh, God, who has blessed us with your gift, I thank you for your blessing and protection. But the time has come where I have found the next successor to your gift.” All Might said, resting a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, “I present to you, Izuku Midoriya, my successor. He is kind, insightful, hard-working, and intelligent. I believe he will carry on your continued legacy, and be a truly amazing hero. So I ask that you bless him, protect him, and guide him. May he flourish and grow under your power.”
Izuku felt a strange sensation throughout his body. He shivered from it, looking from All Might to the shrine. It stood above them, quiet; it made Izuku briefly recall a memory of his mother looking over him in bed at night, a gentle and warm smile on her face as she ran her hand over his head, singing a lullaby until he fell asleep.
“Now that I’ve presented you to them, I can officially pass on my quirk to you.”
Izuku turned to see All Might hold out a strand of hair.
“Eat this.”
“...huh?”