Chapter Text
When All Might saved Midoriya Izuku the day of the sludge villain incident the last thing he had expected was to not only have the kid clutch to his leg but to find a possible successor out of the boy. At first, the boy really did look as weak as Toshinori knew being quirkless was, like he was before he had been gifted One For All by Nana except without the muscles. On the rooftop the boy was heartbroken but he couldn't just lie to the boy and put him into danger knowing how weak a quirkless person was.
"I cannot lie to you, heroics is an extremely dangerous profession and if one of the strongest heroes can get an injury like this I must say no. Perhaps being a police officer or a doctor would be a safer profession where you can still work and save lives."
After that he had simply left the boy there, he had to get the villain to the police station so it could be safely contained. As he was heading down the stairs he felt for his pockets and realized that they were empty. Panicking he began to think when they might have dropped and he realized that it must have been when the kid grabbed onto his leg as he jumped that the bottles likely got jostled out of his pockets. Running down the stairs he heard the sound of a loud explosion and immediately started to try to run faster to get closer to the sound. As he got there he saw a large crowd and after weaseling into the crowd he saw the sludge villain with a new hostage now, a hostage with an explosion quirk that was creating fires in the surrounding area.
For what felt like a long time many of the heroes there didn't even try to save the boy, saying something about a bad quirk matchup. He wanted to help but every time he tried to muster up the strength he felt a sharp pain in his scar. When the boy he saved earlier arrived and suddenly ran out to save his friend Toshinori not only saw the courage but the meager plan the boy made by throwing his bag at the sludge villain's eyes to make it shrink back if for just a moment to pull his friend out. Of course, it didn't work but that was the moment he put himself past his time limit to save the two boys and finally finish off the villain.
By the time he had found the kid afterward, the kid looked tired if a little bit angry. At that moment he popped out and gave his proposal and the kid said yes, soon after he put the kid to work on cleaning Dagobah Beach. The community service was also essential to being a hero after all. With the cleaning and other exercises he had the boy doing, he watched as he grew over the months and grew close with Midoriya. It reminded him of when he was training his body with Nana and how hard he had worked to become her successor. In the time he also got into contact with Nezu and Nighteye about having a successor and the possibility of becoming a teacher at UA so he could also be there for his successor since Midoriya wanted to get into UA. While it wasn't until after high school that he could try to get in it wouldn't hurt to be ready.
Nezu messaged him first and wanted to meet with him to discuss his successor and the possibility of him becoming a teacher considering that he still had time as All Might for that now but he might not in the future. When Nighteye called him it was while he was watching Midoriya cleaning the beach and he coughed up blood in surprise at the sudden call from his former partner. To say Nighteye was unhappy with his decision was like saying that fire was simply just warm. Nighteye was seething with anger at his decision saying that he shouldn't have just picked some kid practically off the street and left heated comments about his decision saying that they need to meet because he had found a soon to be senior in high school who was going to enroll into UA once he graduated who he had taken interest in as a possible successor who was just like him if not a bit less dense.
By the time Toshinori had talked with both Nezu and Nighteye, he was starting to realize he needed to be a better mentor than what he had been doing, but with how his decision for a successor was going he was starting to doubt himself a lot. Mirio was looking like an amazing possible candidate compared to Midoriya and while Midoriya was doing amazing he felt as if he may have been too hasty with his decision and thought that Mirio might be able to do more with One For All. Midoriya was mostly done with the beach at 8 months and the boy had a few setbacks with his eagerness to do good. With such a young body perhaps it was too risky to try and give him One For All since even if he achieved good muscle tone it still might destroy his body. He didn't want to cripple the boy. So Toshinori settled on talking to the boy about the risks of receiving his quirk.
"Midoriya my boy I would like to discuss something regarding my quirk with you. Come sit by me here."
"What is it All Might?"
"The main reason why I'm having you gain so much muscle is so that you can safely receive my quirk, you see the sheer amount of power within my quirk could very well blow your limbs off if you are unprepared to receive the quirk."
As Toshinori looked over to Midoriya he could see him with his eyes wide open in surprise. Toshinori simply let him sit with that information for a minute before continuing.
"I know that sounds dangerous which is why we are training you to prevent that, just let me know if you are unsure about receiving the quirk. The quirk came to me naturally but it might not for you so I want you to be aware of the risk."
Midoriya seemed to stew over the information and mutter to himself before finally deciding on a response.
"As long as I am careful and do the training we should be able to prevent that from happening though, right?"
"That is correct my boy, are you unsure at all about it?"
"No, I am sure that I want to become your successor and receive your quirk."
Toshinori's eyes crinkled as he smiled sadly at Midoriya's determined expression. Perhaps he could help the boy into another career if he decided to choose Mirio as his successor.
With Nezu making him obtain a teacher license much of his time outside hero work was taken up and with Nighteye trying to convince him to pick Mirio he started seeing Midoriya at the beach less and less, giving the boy apologies and promises that he would try and see him when he could. That was how by the time Midoriya had cleaned the beach on his 10th month of cleaning the beach he realized just how distanced he was from the boy and how close he had grown to Mirio. He had even discussed with Mirio the idea of having him as his successor and he seemed to be thinking it over.
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The slime villain incident was the worst day in Izuku's life, it would be the first time Izuku was disillusioned with hero society, and the day he made a deal that would serve as the biggest betrayal he would ever feel. As Izuku tries to pack up his stuff Katuski grabs a notebook and for the first time in a long time, Izuku is worried he is going to blow up his analysis notebook. Instead, Katsuki tosses his notebook out of the window where it lands on the ground by the koi pond.
The final words Katsuki leaves him with at school that day are, "Just give up Deku, you would just get in the way and get hurt."
As Izuku walks home all he can think of is how he and Katsuki grew apart over the years. From being best friends to Katsuki just telling him to give up his dream before he gets killed. Of course, while he is lost in thought the slime villain catches him off guard as it slides out the sewers and is quick to try and take over his body. As he realizes his situation and starts struggling to try and get free the villain taunts him.
"A perfect meat suit to hide in, don't worry it'll be over soon kid. You're a real hero to me."
At that moment suddenly all Izuku can feel is white-hot anger course through his entire body. He can't feel the sludge trying to get inside him or the cold sludge surrounding his body and soaking his uniform with its sewer stench. The anger coursing through him is not just felt by him but by the sludge villain itself. Izuku's body suddenly goes into overdrive and causing his muscles to tense and his body to heat up as his heart rate increases tremendously, and within a movement, Izuku exhales with the carbon dioxide in his lungs and pushes all the slime going into his mouth and nose to fly out and land away from him and the sludge villain.
In shock, the villain reels back and pauses as it reacts to the sheer animosity radiating off of Izuku. Taking the opportunity while he can Izuku tries to claw his way out of the sludge and falls forward onto the path as he is suddenly hit with a wave of exhaustion. The sludge villain is hesitant to try and recapture its victim as the Izuku loses consciousness. That hesitation is all that was needed as All Might flew out from the sewer and would go on to quickly capture the villain.
Izuku woke up to All Might lightly slapping his face to try and get him to wake up. He sat up in shock realizing that All Might saved him from the villain.
"Thank you so much All Might, would you please sign my notebook, " Izuku started until he opened his notebook, "Oh wow you already signed my notebook thank you so much! It'll be a family treasure!"
"Well, I'm glad to see you are doing alright citizen, but now I need to bring this villain into the station! Please stand back I am going to take off."
"Wait All Might I have so many questions!"
"No time, take care citizen!"
Of course, Izuku could simply not take care. Instead, he would go on to latch onto All Might's leg and nearly be kicked off by a panicked All Might. Once they landed he got scolded for his recklessness and would go on to find out All Might's secret injury and his silence about it sworn to All Might.
"I cannot lie to you, heroics is an extremely dangerous profession and if one of the strongest heroes can get an injury like this I must say no. Perhaps being a police officer or a doctor would be a safer profession where you can still work and save lives."
He really shouldn't have expected a different answer, especially from the number 1 hero in Japan. Someone who couldn't possibly know what being quirkless was like. Izuku would go on to break down and cry on the now-empty rooftop as he picked up the pieces of himself. The anger he felt earlier was back, but now it was different, instead, it was a cold calculating anger, and nowhere near as powerful as it felt when he was captured by the sludge villain. Just the thought of the sludge villain was enough to make him empty his stomach contents in disgust. He really needed to get the sewer taste out of his mouth.
As he finally got up to move there was a loud explosion and a large amount of smoke in the sky a couple of blocks down. Izuku as the fanboy he was still immediately followed the sounds of a possible hero fight. Running down the flights of stairs and eventually reaching the street with a large crowd Izuku pushed himself to the front where he found the sludge villain with a new victim. The shock of seeing the sludge villain free was followed by a new wave of anger, changing his cold festering anger into red hot anger at himself because this was his fault, he was the one who caused All Might to drop the bottles when he grabbed his leg to ask his selfish questions and taking more of the mans time.
Taking note of the current heroes Backdraft was handling the fires and Mount Lady was holding back the crowd on the other side. Death Arms seemed to be at a loss on what to do with the villain with his quirk not being effective against it. Kamui Woods was trying to reach the hostage but was having trouble due to the fires. As he looked on he took note of how long it had been and remembered how if he had not somehow blown the slime out of his lungs and throat he would have suffocated. As Izuku fretted over what could be done the hostage got turned in his direction and he locked eyes with Katsuki, and at that moment the anger Izuku was feeling inside grew to even larger amounts and his body moved just as he began to think.
The sludge must have some sort of weakness. Fire is too dangerous to try along with blunt force due to possibly injuring Katsuki in the process. Any body parts? Slime, more slime, teeth, ah there we are, Eyes! Perfect!
While running he grabs his backpack and throws it at the sludge villain's eyes. When it hits the villain yells out in surprise and pain at the sudden projectile and loses some of the holds it has on Katsuki. This allows Katsuki a moment to breathe and Izuku finally reaches him and grabs him by his arms and starts to pull him out bit by bit. The heroes are yelling at Izuku but all he can think is how angry he is at the sludge villain and how much he needs to save Katsuki from it since nobody else is trying. By the time Katsuki is halfway out the villain has recovered and is starting to move back on the boys and at that moment is when All Might showed up to save them and blow apart the villain with his super-powered punch. When it's all done Izuku and Katsuki are sitting in the back of an ambulance while all might handles with the press and the other heroes on the scene are yelling at Izuku.
"That was seriously reckless of you! You could have gotten hurt kid!"
"Never do that again you could have made that worse and then we would've had to try and save two hostages!"
"I can't even imagine what the news would've said about this if All might didn't handle the villain, that would totally ruin my PR!"
Izuku simply sat there and took it as they yelled because for once in his life he didn't care about heroes, especially the ones yelling at him right now. The paramedics had checked out Katsuki first as he was the one who had just almost suffocated but once they called Izuku over he finally got some reprieve from being yelled at. Instead, he suddenly heard Katsuki yelling at the heroes despite the rasp in his voice.
"Don't you start praising me you pieces of shit! You all stood there and did nothing while I almost fucking died, Deku had to step in just for you fucks to finally do anything and at that point, he had done more than any of you! At least All Might showed up to pick up the slack because I'd be fucking dead if neither one of them had stepped in."
Katsuki stood there panting and out of breath before he went to the paramedic and was handed a water bottle to help his throat. Once Izuku was cleared and he had given his statement and he just left before anybody else could try to talk to him, he could still taste it in his mouth despite how much water he had drunk. As he headed home he wondered how he would explain what happened to his mom and if he could even fully clean the unform.
"Deku! Don't run you little shit I need to talk to you!"
Katsuki was running at him and so he just stopped and waited for Katsuki to catch his breath. He understood how awful it felt to breathe after being attacked by that sludge.
"If you are here to tell me more about how I can't be a hero I'm not hearing it. I'm going to be a hero with or without your support Katsuki. I literally just helped save you from a villain and did more than most of the other heroes there."
"No you dipshit! Fuck no I was coming to say that I- damn it why is this so hard. Look Deku, Izuku I'm sorry that I treated you like shit. I just didn't want you to get hurt. I didn't believe that you could do it and I'm still not one hundred percent sure now but if you can become a hero then I'd rather you do that with support and with me there to watch your back! After what just happened I can't lie to myself and say that you have zero chance of becoming a hero!"
Izuku felt like he was dreaming. Katsuki not only called him by his actual name but also apologized for being an asshole. Of course, Katsuki didn't fully support him but at least now he knew why Katsuki put that rift between them and wanted to support him now. Izuku still felt angry about how he got treated but for once someone was coming to his side to support him.
"Look we both need to get home because between the hag and auntie Inko we're both in for it so let's talk later alright."
With that Izuku was now alone to walk home as Katsuki ran back to his house. At least Izuku thought he was alone until All Might came out of nowhere offering him an impossible deal that he took without hesitation. It was only until he met with All Might at Dagobah Beach and was Instructed to clean the beach that he began to realize just what he was missing with his thought process about things. The deal he took he wouldn't truly realize how stupid he was until later. For now other than the sheer bodily ache that came from working with All Might and Katsuki filling in the gaps of the training plan with flexibility training and teaching him the basics of self-defense and how to do basic combat such as throwing a punch and falling correctly would be some of the worst pain physical pain he would ever undergo while training his body.
Sooner than he thought he was seeing physical results from astounding muscle growth and even his flexibility after two months was amazing to see the sheer progression. By the time he was halfway done with clearing the beach, he had rebuilt his friendship with Katsuki and even if it wasn't quite the same it was alright. Izuku never found himself growing terribly close with All Might. He never was able to truly connect with the man as he had a very black and white view of the world and so while he was his mentor Izuku always seemed to doubt his ability to actually be a proper mentor with how dense he could be at times. Whenever Izuku was with Katsuki he kept All Might's Identity a secret but Katsuki always seemed to help him poke more holes in the trust he had in his mentor and his mentor's plan. Katsuki wouldn't press too hard on why exactly Izuku's focus with his mentor was building tons of muscle and so instead Katsuki would always mention things that his mentor was neglecting.
"If he wants you stacked with muscle the least he could do is make sure you didn't pull every single fucking one of them the moment you started moving! Seriously what the hell is this! You'll be stacked with muscle and won't be able to do basic fucking movements or stretches with how much muscle will be there!"
"He isn't the most experienced with mentoring yet but-"
"Then why are you mentoring with this moron! Oh never mind, you won't fucking tell me anything about this mysterious braindead mentor of yours! He isn't even considering that you need to learn how to defend yourself or even be able to throw a punch without breaking your damn hand."
Izuku would still fight with Katsuki with things but it was a way to release some of the anger that would simmer within him sometimes and not go away unless he physically released by yelling or putting it into his exercise or fighting.
At the seven and a half month mark he made a new friend so to speak, it was all really a blur of manic pink, and words were spoken about training to become a hero and support gear and material and he had officially met Hatsume Mei. It had happened when he was cleaning a portion of the beach and he had come across Hatsume looking over the scrap metal to see what she could salvage to build what she called her babies. Izuku had truly been freaked out then before he eventually realized that she meant her inventions.
Even with the new dynamic, it seemed their new friendship was solid and it truly showed when Izuku finally finished Dagobah Beach. After 10 months of absolute hell, it finally seemed done and now all he had to do was obtain a quirk and he would be a successor to a legacy. All that he really had to do was not blow his limbs off, not that hard if he just used his head. Sitting on the now clean beach by the final small pile of trash that was ready to be driven off to the dump.
Surprisingly All Might had actually shown up late, quite late, incredibly late even. Izuku knew All Might had been busy lately, apparently trying to obtain a teaching license so he could teach at UA and also spending lots of time with his former sidekick Sir Nighteye. Still, that didn't justify Izuku having to call All Might hours later asking where he was only to hear his mentor choke on blood and give half-assed apologies about why he was late. Izuku was really annoyed, the anger simmering inside him as he sat and waited until All Might finally arrived and had a sorry look on his face before he realized he had been seen and schooled his expression into a proud one.
Izuku went on to hear more half-assed apologies and tried to focus on the praise for completing cleaning up the beach. After living a life of being quirkless you start to identify when people are about to tell you something bad and as much as he wanted to deny his gut feeling he knew that he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. All the signs were pointing to it really, why would All Might spend so much time trying to get a teaching license at UA when if Izuku was right his mentor would barely be able to hold his form for 3 hours to teach by Izuku's freshman year in UA. Why would All Might be spending so much time with Sir Nighteye instead of him other than Sir Nighteye finding a candidate that All Might would've decided is better than some quirkless kid who is only just starting high school soon.
"Listen, my boy, you've surpassed all my expectations of you and I am amazed by your heroic spirit and drive. Seeing this beach clean has been a dream of mine since I first saw it in such a disastrous state. I must admit something to you though. I am now certified to be a teacher at UA and so I will be teaching there in the upcoming semester and since I have reconnected with Sir Nighteye I have come to realize that by the time you will be in UA I'll be nearing the end of my career and I won't be able to truly mentor you. I don't want to just leave you halfway and Sir Nighteye has shown me another possible candidate for One For All.
"Is that all you have to say All Might? That you are sorry when it's your decision, your fault that you lied to me and I could be a hero too! Let me guess now that I'm not going to be your successor you are going to tell me to give up again, crush my dream again and take a piss on what's left you, damn liar!"
All Might was surprised at the sudden outburst from Izuku as if he had never considered what the consequences of his actions would be. The sheer anger on his former successor's face made him hastily try to fix the situation without even thinking.
"Listen my boy-"
"I. Am. Not. Your. Damn. Boy."
"Midoriya look I just think it's best if I have a successor who I can fully be able to mentor."
Let me guess All Might, this new successor has a quirk as well, and now that I'm not your successor you'll cast me to the side and tell me I can't even try to be a hero!"
"You are right I cannot support you becoming a hero anymore but there are other professions that you can try to go into that involves saving people. Being quirkless is too dangerous in heroics and that is final."
"No, it's not final, I'm done with you All Might. Just like you are now done with me. Get away from me, never speak to me again, never get near me again All Might I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN YOU FILTHY LIAR!"
In Izuku's rage, he becomes blind to the world around him with all of his anger and indignation and he begins to break down on the sand letting the anger and sadness of betrayal take over. By the time he comes to he is laying on an overly large towel with Hatsume and the sun is setting. She notices his movement and helps him sit up, after he is settled she hands him a bottle of cold water. He didn't realize how dry his throat was till now, he slowly drinks the water feeling it hydrate his dry mouth and he shakes the sand out of his hair the best he can when he finishes drinking.
"So Green, what the hell exactly happened."
"What do you mean Mei?"
"I mean why the fuck did you have a fight with All Might about something and then turn this beach into a damn warzone with the quirk you apparently have that you didn't tell me about."
Izuku paused at that. Taking a look around the beach really did look like a warzone, not one of dumped trash but sand blown around and holes where the sand was blasted from. Did he do that, but he didn't have a quirk.
"Mei why do you know about me and All Might and how much do you know?"
"Okay first off mister secrets I was coming over to take whatever final scrap I could before it all rotted in a dump and I come to you shouting at all might that he is 'filthy liar' and that you never want to see him again. Then I see you turn fucking feral and just about make a crater out of the beach after All Might left when you said that and started crying."
"I'm sorry, Mei I just... don't know anymore. I was betrayed by him and I just had all this anger. I didn't even know I had a quirk! Did you get a video of it?"
"Of course, I did once you started wrecking the beach! You are gonna be a terrifying hero and I'm going to make sure of that quirk or no quirk! The quirk definitely at least greatly enhances your speed and strength and I think it's probably some emotional trigger that either causes it, amplifies it, or possibly both of those possibilities. Either way Green, it was cool as fuck!"
"I have a quirk then! We totally got to figure it out! I must have manifested it at some point because I was definitely quirkless before. I have a quirk oh my god."
"I know Green it's fucking cool! It just means we might have to change some of the stuff we were planning to outfit you with when you become a hero."
"Oh crap! Mei, it's almost dark out I need to get home. Thanks for staying with me though, you should probably get home too."
"Alright then see you green! Next time we hang out we are totally figuring out that quirk of yours!"
As Izuku waved and said his goodbyes to mei he found himself feeling better even though he still carried much of the anger from the betrayal from All Might with him. He would have to have Mei send him the video, just from looking at the state the beach was in he was kind of scared to see what had happened when he lost himself to his anger. He would need to tell Katsuki too, perhaps tell him the whole truth as well, even Katsuki would know that he wouldn't be lying about the All Might situation and he would also have to tell Katsuki about him having a quirk. Even after All Might tried to dissuade him again, Izuku refused to back down. He would become a hero, even if he had a quirk now that didn't change that he could've done it quirkless. He would make All Might eat his words if it's the last thing he does.