Archive of Our Own

“So…I’m here to train my body…by hauling trash…?”

Izuku sat collapsed on the dirty sand of Takoba Beach after his first feeble effort to haul a heavy refrigerator from the mountains of trash that littered the seaside. It was too much for him right off the bat, made even more impossible by his hero, All Might, sitting atop it and adding his enormous, muscled mass to the weight of the large appliance.

“Yes!” All Might said, his loud voice booming with laughter. “But…that’s not all!”

All Might hopped off and leaned a hand on the large refrigerator that towered over Midoriya’s small form.

“I did some research on this beach. Apparently, it’s been in this sorry shape for years!”

Midoriya nodded along, confirming that the community had come to use it as an illegal dumping site since the ocean currents had pulled in drifting waste anyway.

All Might lightly patted his hand on the top of the fridge as he turned his head to survey the city of junk that surrounded them.

“The young heroes today only want fame and glory.” Midoriya could hear a hint of a sigh in the Symbol of Peace’s tone; not judgmental, but sad and disappointed. Then he continued speaking.

“But being a hero is all about volunteer work! No matter how unglamorous, never forget that!” All Might pressed down with a feather light touch, but under his massive might the giant fridge crumpled like a paper cup.

“Let’s bring back the beautiful ocean view! This is the first step on your path of becoming a hero!”

Midoriya’s eyes started to shine. All Might was incredible! With all of that power at his command, with his peerless position at the top of the hero world, he still valued something as humble as community service, cleaning up garbage from a beach everyone else had abandoned, as the core calling of a hero. It was unbelievable!

“It shouldn’t be unbelievable, Young Midoriya.” Izuku squeaked and blushed, embarrassed that he had, once again, spoken his thoughts aloud without realizing. All Might didn’t sneer at him like most people did, though; instead he chuckled a soft and kind laugh as he took a seat on the sand in front of him.

“It’s an unfortunate reality of the hero world, my boy. The rise of this profession has done so much good for society; heroes are able to keep the tides of darkness at bay and let people live their lives without the constant fear that gripped this nation in the past.”

Izuku straightened up and hung on All Might’s every word.

“But heroes are also celebrities now, bigger even than movie stars and pop idols! Our society has come to focus on the flashy stuff, the grandiose deeds that make for the most tantalizing stories on the news and gossip shows.”

All Might sighed again through his bright smile.

“But the little things are important, as well, Young Midoriya. It may not be as flashy as fighting a giant villain, but cleaning this beach can make a difference in people’s lives, too.”

All Might smiled as he saw his successor’s focused gaze and the sparkle in his green eyes as he took every word from his mouth to heart.

“You never know how much good can come from the little things.”

…

“Izu-Izu-Izuku! IZUKU! It’s here! The letter! It’s really here!”

Izuku turned to his mother, meeting her wild, frantic eyes with his own anxious gaze. His lip trembled as he sat down his dumbbell and slowly walked to take the envelope his mother was holding out to him. He stared at it for a moment before meeting his mother’s gaze again. She looked even more nervous than he did, fidgeting and eager to see his results. His mother wore her heart on her sleeve just as much as he did, if not moreso, and her anxiety was very apparent.

Still, Midoriya Inko saw the worry in her son’s eyes and knew she needed get her nerves under control to support him. With a deep, shuddering breath she clamped down on her fretfulness, as much as she could, and offered him a soft smile.

“Izuku,” she said, stepping forward and reaching her hand up to cup his freckled cheek in her palm. “No matter what, I’m so, so proud of you. Remember that, okay?”

Izuku’s eyes threatened to flood with tears, but he held them back with a sniffle and nodded as he leaned in to his mother’s touch.

“Yeah. Thanks, Mom.”

Inko smiled. Izuku had been so distraught since he came back from the UA Entrance Exams, staring blankly at his dinners or an empty television screen. He diligently kept up his exercises in a vain effort to distract himself as he awaited the results. All that time, waiting and anticipating, and now the moment of truth had finally come!

“Why don’t you go open it in your room, Izu? You don’t need your dear old Mom burdening you with her jitters, too.”

Izuku wrapped her up in a hug. “You’re never a burden, Mom. I love you.”

Inko teared up and returned the hug. “I love you, too, Izu.”

He pulled away and gave her his best smile, pitiful as it was. But he followed her advice and made his way to his room to open the letter alone.

…

A few moments later found Inko pacing in the hallway, fidgeting and worrying. She had held back her nerves in front of Izuku to keep herself from adding to his own worries, but now she couldn’t contain her feelings. The suspense was too much!

‘He’s been in there a long time,’ Inko thought. ‘What could that mean?’

Inko felt like she was going to explode; every inch of her body was so tense.

Then she heard it, the click of his doorknob. She froze then spun around and watched her son step out of his room with a small glass-and-plastic disk in his hands. His head was slumped down to his shoulders and his messy curls hid his eyes from her.

“I-Izuku…?” She reached out to him but her trembling hand didn’t quite make it to his shoulder.

“I…” he began in a quiet voice. “I got in…”

Inko’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, Izuku! That’s wonderfu—“

“…to General Studies.”

Inko froze. General Studies? That was truly impressive in Inko’s eyes; she had struggled to get decent grades in school when she was growing up and she had barely managed to graduate. But her son had just made it into the top school in the country! Thousands of students took the test to get into UA and only the best of the best passed. Her son was so special, so brilliant, to make it into nation’s most coveted school!

But as impressive as that was, General Studies wasn’t the Hero Course. Being a Hero had been Izuku’s dream since the first time he heard All Might’s booming laughter in the face of danger. It was Inko’s shame that she had never been strong enough to support her son’s dream, but seeing him working so hard, transforming his body through sheer willpower until he manifested a long-dormant quirk had been so inspiring! She was so proud of Izuku and nothing would take that away. But even she had come to believe that he would make it in, that he would make his dreams come true, and the reveal that he had not made it in after all hit like a sucker punch.

After all, her son’s dream wasn’t something selfish. He wanted, he needed, more than anything to help other people.

But apparently his dream wasn’t meant to be.

“Oh Izuku,” she said, stepping forward to wrap him in a hug. She may not be All Might, but she made sure to let him know that she was here for him.

“Mom…” Izuku choked out as he despondently dropped his head to rest on her shoulder. He didn’t say anything else; he couldn’t, because after that he broke into tears. Midoriyas were known for crying over everything, but these miserable tears were the worst. Inko’s heart broke as her son’s pain and sorrow soaked into the sleeve of her shirt.

…

Izuku had spent what seemed like hours crying into his mother’s shoulder and now that it was time for bed, he was exhausted. He stumbled into his room and collapsed face first into his mattress. He stayed like that, unable to bear the sight of his hero’s beaming smile mocking him from every corner of his merchandise-filled room.

‘All Might…’ he whimpered, as he thought about his mentor. After everything All Might had done for him, training him and teaching him and trusting him to carry the mantle of One For All, Izuku had failed.

He had let All Might down.

Izuku thought back to the message on the holodisk. All Might had announced his results; top marks on the written exams but zero points for the practical. The disastrous effect his new quirk had wrought on his body had been his doom; he was too much of a liability for the hero track.

In the message, All Might had explained that he was going to be teaching at UA. Midoriya felt awful learning that; it seemed like All Might had been planning to teach him personally at his dream school but Izuku had screwed that up, too, and wasted his hero’s time.

All Might had assured him that it would be okay, that they would figure out a plan when classes started, but even the Symbol of Peace’s assurances felt empty to him.

The message disk was the first time Izuku had heard from All Might in the two weeks since the exam. Midoriya had tried to reach out but had received no response to his text messages.

‘Now I know why,’ he moped. Of course All Might would blow him off; Izuku proved that he wasn’t worth the effort of calling back.

Until today. Izuku checked his phone and saw text messages from All Might. He had been so desperate to hear back from his hero before, but now that he knew he had failed him, Izuku was terrified of opening them.

He stared at his phone but never opened the messages. He couldn’t!

‘Besides,’ he thought. ‘I already know what they’ll say. He probably wants One For All back, since I showed I couldn’t be trusted with it.’

Izuku turned his phone off and tossed it on his nightstand, face down, before he buried his face into his pillow and cried himself to sleep.

…

Kayama Nemuri was excited! It was the first day of school and she was about to meet her brand new class of first-years.

She strutted down the halls with the same confidence and raw sex appeal that she always wore, but today there was an extra bit of giddiness and glee in her steps. Her smile shone with a genuine eagerness as she looked forward to meeting her new students; she even struggled to keep her seductive persona intact because she was so excited!

It was always fun to meet a new group of students. For all of her questionable antics, Nemuri really did love being a teacher. She was passionate about teaching kids and she was passionate about art; as the head of UA’s Art Department she taught Hero Art History to the hero courses and a variety of other art classes to her General Studies kids.

It was always a joy to share her passion with young minds, to introduce them to the world of art and help them to see how it affected their culture. But this year was extra special because Nezu had assigned her their new prodigy.

‘I can’t wait to meet him!’ She nearly squealed in the hallways thinking about the top scorer on the written exam.

Midoriya Izuku.

He had been the talk of the faculty. Sure, his disastrous display in the practical had garnered a lot of attention; the spectacle of destroying the Zero Pointer got everyone’s blood plumping and the train wreck that act had wreaked on his body afterwards had made everyone’s blood run cold.

Midoriya’s quirk was an enigma. His actions had been gutsy, for sure, but near suicidal. After a lot of debate they had all decided he wasn’t ready for the hero course; it was just too dangerous.

But after they had made the decision about his practical exam score, they moved on to discussing his written exam. He made a big splash there, too, as the top-scoring student!

The teachers had all been impressed at his wealth of knowledge, at the way he breezed through the exam, even the trickier questions that Nezu took his sadistic joy in writing.

But it was his essays that really shone. Nemuri didn’t know how he had time to write such thorough and thoughtful responses to the essay prompts, but it was the content of his mini-dissertations that really got her excited. He showed such rare insight and sensitivity and creative thinking in everything he wrote! She, and all the other teachers, could tell he had a brilliant, inquisitive mind, approaching ideas from angles even she had not expected that encouraged her to think about in new ways, too.

‘It’s going to be so fun having him in MY class!’ She and Hizashi had each fought to snatch him up for their General Studies classes. Cementoss was a calmer, more agreeable teacher than the two long-time friends were, but she could tell that he, too, was eager to score Midoriya for his homeroom, even if Ishiyama wouldn’t fight for it as openly as Kayama and Hizashi did.

‘But in the end, I won!’ This school year was already looking up and it had barely even started.

Nemuri finally made it to her classroom, 1-D, and stepped in. She smirked as the conversations of the early students stopped and their attention turned to her. She ate up the blushes on their cheeks as she put a little extra sway of her hips into each step while made her way to her teacher’s desk at the front of the room. After she sat her bag down and flipped through a manila folder of class syllabi, she looked up to see the kids were all still staring at her. So she gave them all a flirty wink and blew a playful kiss to the whole class.

Their flustered responses had her cackling loud enough to break the ice and the students resumed talking in their small groups.

‘Hmm, I don’t see my new Wonder Boy yet,’ she noticed as she glanced across the room. There were only a few more minutes before the bell rang and most of the class was already here.

She was a bit surprised to find that her new little genius was a straggler, but it wasn’t like he was late.

‘Not yet, anyway.’

As the clock turned to count down the last moment before the start of class, Midnight frowned because Midoriya still wasn’t here. He was the last one; the rest of the class was waiting in their seats.

Then the door finally creaked open. Nemuri leaned forward on her desk as she looked at the door but was shocked by what she saw.

It was Midoriya, but he wasn’t what she expected. She had not met him personally, but between seeing his anxious energy in the practical exam footage, and the cute, if nervous, smile on the photo in his student file, she pegged him as a shy but sunny cinnamon roll.

But the figure that ambled in was anything but. There was no life in his eyes; they were dull and listless. His hair was a mess; she knew it was curly but there were obvious tangles and one side sloppily clung matted to the side of his head.

Even his brand new UA uniform was a mess, with a wrinkled blazer and a red necktie that had obviously been crumpled up in frustration before it had been settled into a poorly-tied knot.

The class all stared at him as he walked in. He stood in the doorway a moment, slowly moving his eyes around the room until he found the last open seat at the front of the room. Nemuri was concerned that the stares of a class full of unfamiliar teenagers would be intimidating for such an anxious young man, but contrary to her expectations he was completely unbothered by them. It was as if he didn’t see them at all.

Before long he was sitting in his seat with his shoulders slumped and his face tilted down to stare at his desk.

Even with his eyes downcast, she could see the bags under his eyes and the redness ringing around them. She saw no sign of fresh tears but it was obvious he had been crying a lot lately.

The bell rang and Nemuri stood up to start class, to introduce herself and the class as a whole before they went to Nezu’s orientation. Nemuri was a professional and started class with the same enthusiasm and energy that she always did.

But in the back of her mind she wasn’t just disappointed; she was worried. What was going on with her Wonder Boy?

…

A couple weeks later found Midnight and Present Mic in the faculty lounge during one of their “free” periods. Free in that they weren’t actively teaching a class, but they still had work to do. Even so, the free periods allowed any teachers present to chat with each other as they worked on their class planning.

“So, Nem, it’s been a couple weeks. How’s your top-scoring listener doing?”

Nemuri’s shoulders dropped and she heaved a heavy sigh.

“I’m…not really sure.” Hizashi rose an eyebrow but kept uncharacteristically quiet to let her continue.

“He’s doing as well as I would expect on his schoolwork; he gets all the answers correct and everything. But he just…I don’t know. He just doesn’t have any passion in class!”

“Not everyone is as passionate as you are, Nem.”

“I know, but I was sure Midoriya would be!” Yagi broke out into one of his coughing fits just then. Midnight turned to offer him a concerned glance but, as she was learning, this was routine for him. He waved her off with a thankful smile as he covered his mouth with a handkerchief. The distraction ended, Midnight returned to her conversation with Hizashi.

“He just…When I read his essays for the entrance exam there was such a sense of WONDER about EVERYTHING; quirks, heroes, history, art. But I haven’t seen any of that from him since school started.”

Present Mic hummed in agreement before adding his own observations.

“I was wondering about that. He’s just about fluent in English already but he always seems so…defeated in my class, too. He seems so sad and hopeless.”

Midnight sighed again, blowing her spiky hair out of her face.

“Yeah…I’m worried about him. I know he has so much to offer to the world but all I can see is him hurting. It breaks my heart to see it but I’m not sure how to help him. He’s still doing great in class but he just…doesn’t seem to care about anything!”

Midnight was getting distressed and Mic could hear the concern in her voice. He had known Nemuri for a long time and she was a tough customer; for her to let her mask slip like this meant she really was worried. This was really bothering her.

So he rolled his desk chair over to her and rested his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. She smiled a sad smile and tilted her head to rest her cheek on his hand for a moment.

“Hey! How about we go get a coffee at that café you like so much? My treat!”

Midnight chuckled and shook her head.

“Yamada Hizashi, you should be ashamed of yourself. I have another free period after this but you have a class to teach! What kind of teacher plays hooky like that?”

Nemuri was right, of course; the kids needed to come first. But he was happy to at least get a chuckle out of her for his silly suggestion.

“Ahem, I could cover for you if you’d like, Young Yamada. I’m still pretty new to being a high school teacher and all, but I did earn my credentials to teach English back when I was in the States.”

That got Present Mic’s attention and he spun around his chair.

“Ha! No worries, big guy. But that is a very useful bit of info to know for whenever I really do need a pinch hitter to teach my class!”

Yagi smiled at him, always eager to help.

“Nemuri’s right; it wouldn’t be very responsible for me to bail out on my class just to get some fancy coffee with one of my besties.” He spun back around in his chair and playfully bumped his shoulder into hers.

“Still, we might not have time to run into town but there’s always the next best thing…raiding Shouta’s coffee stash!”

Midnight curled her lip in disgust. “Ugh, his cheapo 100-yen-store sludge. Yuck!” She slid back in her chair and stood up. “Still, beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose. It’s a date; let’s go Hizashi!” She offered him her arm and he stood up to join her, linking his arm in hers.

The two of them started making their way out of the room until Mic stopped at the doorway and turned back to Yagi.

“Oh, All Might! I almost forgot to tell you; the Old Lady wants you to swing by her office for a checkup. She said she was irked you were blowing her off so I wouldn’t put it off any longer or she’ll REALLY get mad.”

“Ah, thanks for the heads-up. I’ll head over there right now.”

Yamada waved and offered a quick “good luck” before he and Nemuri set off for Aizawa’s homeroom to steal some of his emergency coffee out of his desk.

All Might watched them walk out and the door sliding closed behind them. He was known for keeping up his eternal smile but once they left, and he was all alone, a tired frown overtook his features.

‘Young Midoriya…’

...

Toshinori Yagi felt weary as he walked to Recovery Girl’s office. Weariness had become a constant companion to him ever since his cataclysmic injury, but today he felt it more acutely than ever.

He had seen the change in his successor ever since UA sent out their entrance exam results. Or more accurately, he hadn’t seen it. He knew that Young Midoriya would be disappointed after failing to get into the Hero Course and he had tried to reach out. But ever since the results had been delivered, Midoriya had become a hard boy to get ahold of.

All Might remembered waiting at the newly pristine Takoba Beach and worrying when Young Midoriya never showed. He planned on explaining the Sports Festival path to getting into the Hero Course and vowing to redouble his efforts to train the boy with his new quirk.

But it was not to be.

Midoriya rarely answered his texts at all. All Might hoped that it would be easier to connect with him once classes started but his successor was just as elusive inside the walls of UA as he was outside of them.

It had been weighing on the Symbol of Peace; every day his heart twisted knowing his boy was hurting and it felt like there was nothing he could do to make things right.

‘I’m supposed to be the number one hero and I can’t even save one from his sorrows!’

All Might still felt shame at how he had nearly broken Midoriya’s spirit on that rooftop all those months ago. But the boy’s heroic heart burned bright and had inspired All Might to act, to offer Midoriya his quirk and train him to reach the potential that was overflowing underneath those green curls.

‘That boy wants nothing more than to be a hero, to help people, and everything keeps standing in his way.’

Hearing Midnight and Present Mic talk about his boy, about the despondent way he ambled through his days, hurt worse than the constant throbbing in his mutilated chest.

Midnight mentioned the passion in the boy’s essays, and All Might himself had seen that passion on display over those 10 months at the beach. That boy didn’t just want to be a hero; he needed it. He was desperate; not for fame or glory, but to help people. To make them feel safe. To help them smile in their darkest hour.

iI’m such a failure,’ All Might thought. ‘All the power in the world but what good is it if I can’t even save that boy’s spirit?’

All Might turned a corner and bumped into Midoriya. He was surprised; he’d barely seen the boy at all over the past few weeks and now fate finally saw fit to bring them together.

All Might stared at Izuku, seeing the tired, defeated look in his eyes before Midoriya lowered his gaze to hide them from him. It hurt so much seeing him like this; All Might was almost speechless. But this was a rare opportunity and he had to do his best to make the most of it.

“Young Midoriya! I’m so glad to see you!”

Even in his withered form, All Might’s voice boomed through the empty hallway. He hoped that the cheer in his tone would lift Young Midoriya’s spirits, but he was crestfallen to see the boy flinch at the sound of his voice.

“H-hi, All Might…”

His voice was so quiet, so…empty. It was a world apart from that fiery, triumphant roar the boy had belted out when he finished clearing the beach.

Yagi slowly, cautiously, reached out to rest his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Midoriya twitched a bit at the touch but didn’t move.

“My boy, I’ve been hoping to speak with you for some time. How…how are you doing?”

All Might cringed inside; was that really the best way to start this conversation?

Silence hung between them for a moment, growing more awkward by the second, until finally Midoriya spoke.

“Are…are you ready to take back One For All?” he asked, his quiet words screaming with pain.

“What?”

That threw All Might for a loop. Was that really what he had been thinking? That he wanted his quirk back?

“I…I know I let you down. You did so much for me, you put so much faith into me and I couldn’t do it. I wasted your time and I couldn’t even make it into the Hero Course!” Izuku’s voice caught, choking back tears.

“I figured you were finally ready to take it back so you could make up for the time you wasted on me. So you can find a real successor.”

Those words broke All Might’s heart. Was this the hurt his boy had been carrying these past few weeks?

All Might kneeled down in front of Izuku to get closer to his level. His bones creaked in this form, dull aches and pains coming alive from such a simple motion. But he paid them no mind; the only pain he could focus on was the pain that was haunting his boy.

“Young Midoriya,” he began, in a voice so uncharacteristically soft that it shocked the morose boy into paying attention.

“You may be doubting yourself right now, but I have never once wavered in my decision. YOU are my successor, my boy; it’s your heroic heart that I deem worthy of One For All. I’m never going to ask for it back from you; it’s your quirk now.”

Midoriya sniffled and lowered his head again. All Might frowned; his words still weren’t getting through. The young man still didn’t believe him.

“My boy, don’t you remember what you did in the exam? You rushed out to save Young Uraraka when no one else gave her a second look! Just like that day with the Sludge Villain; your feet moved to act before your brain could realize what you were doing.”

“But I didn’t save her, All Might! She saved ME!”

All Might’s eyes went wide. That much was true. Midoriya made him so proud rushing into action when the others kept running away. But as heroic as his intentions were, it had been Young Uraraka who saved him, freeing herself and rescuing Midoriya after he broke his body in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the Zero Pointer.

All Might had been impressed with both of them; with the level head and determination Uraraka had shown pulling them both out of danger, and with his boy’s single-minded focus on saving someone in need.

Midoriya was putting all this pressure and blame on himself but All Might knew that he was really the one at fault. He had failed to train Midoriya on using his new quirk, so focused on building up the body he would need to wield it.

‘Plus,’ the hero thought. ‘I really got into the idea of community service, of the boy making a difference and clearing that whole beach.’ Maybe if he had set a less enormous goal, maybe if he had pulled him aside a couple weeks earlier and passed on the quirk then, they would have found a way to overcome the destructive effects of One For All.

There were so many things he could have done differently, but he had not, and now his boy was suffering.

“Young Midoriya, please don’t give up.” All Might took a deep breath. “I’m…not supposed to tell you this,” he whispered, eyeing the hallway around him in a vain effort to find Nezu’s hidden cameras. “But there is still a way to get you into the Hero Course.”

All Might had expected the explanation that followed those words to bring his dour successor back to life. He expected Young Midoriya to light up and cling to this new glimmer of hope as tightly as he had held to his dreams of being a hero his whole life. Not even the meat grinder training he had put the boy through had dulled that spark inside of him. He expected those words to help, to bring back the bright boy he had come to admire so much.

But none of that happened. He almost wondered if the boy had heard him at all; Young Midoriya didn’t so much as twitch as he told him of the opportunity to transfer based on his efforts in the Sports Festival.

‘C’mon, my boy! Don’t give stop fighting!’ All Might silently pleaded as he waited for Midoriya to respond, to react, to do anything to acknowledge his words. And after a tense silence, finally Izuku spoke.

“What’s the point?”

All Might was stunned. He never would have imagined hearing such hopelessness from Midoriya.

“I’ve already squandered the chance of a lifetime you gave me All Might. I blew it; I let you down. There’s no way I can fix it now.” Midoriya still wasn’t looking him in the eye but even so, All Might could see the self-loathing sneer on the boy’s lips as he spoke.

“It would be better if you just took the quirk back and try to recoup the time you wasted on me.”

All Might could only stand there frozen as Midoriya scrubbed his sleeve across his teary eyes and scurried off down the hall. It was a hit to the gut that put All For One’s heaviest haymaker to shame. Seeing his boy so defeated broke his heart.

‘Oh, Young Midoriya…I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.’

…

“Okay, we’re done with the exam, you big oaf. Put your shirt back on.”

Recovery Girl’s tone was rarely warm when she spoke to him but she sounded particularly steamed at him now.

“Ah, of course, Shuzenji-sensei. I always appreciate your concern for my well-being!”

“Yeah, right. It took you a week to show up for your scheduled checkup and once I finally got you here you were too lost in your empty head to listen to me gripe at you about it.”

All Might chuckled nervously, but she spoke the truth. He had been running his encounter with Midoriya over and over in his head; he would not have even known that she had been speaking to him throughout his checkup if she hadn’t just mentioned it now.

“Ha ha ha…”

“Oh please, I didn’t think your dopey act was cute when you were a student and I sure as heck don’t think so now.” The elderly nurse hopped up into the chair behind her desk and leveled her piercing glare at All Might’s frail form once again.

“So, out with it. What’s got you so preoccupied?”

All Might finished tucking in his shirt and adjusting his tie as turned back to face her.

‘Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to talk about it. I’m at a loss about what to do.’

“Ah, well, Sensei…perhaps I could trouble you for some advice?”

That got Recovery Girl’s attention. In all the years she had known him, he had never liked asking for help. After Nana died, he devoted himself to being the hero for everyone, always eager to lend a helping hand, but he almost never let anyone else return the favor.

“Go on. I’m very intrigued to see what problem is so big that even the Symbol of Peace needs help with it.”

All Might blushed at her barb but swallowed his pride and told her. He explained how Midoriya was the perfect example of a hero and his training before the exam. He explained how bright and determined he was and how, since the day the results were delivered, the boy’s light had been all but snuffed out. He explained how he had finally caught up with him just before he made his way to the infirmary, and told her of the brokenness, the hopelessness on the boy’s face as he had suggested giving his quirk back.

He explained how he was at a loss about how to fix this.

“What do you think, Sensei?”

Recovery Girl frowned at All Might and replied.

“I’m less worried about his moping and more concerned about how broken that boy was after his stunt at the exam. Nezu was right to keep him out of the Hero Course; it’s much too dangerous.”

All Might was stunned by her blunt words, but before he could respond, Recovery Girl continued.

“That quirk of yours nearly killed that boy, Toshinori. Maybe it’s better that he does give it back.”

All Might couldn’t stay quiet after hearing that.

“How can you say that?!” His voice rose and filled with anger and indignation. All Might had always respected Recovery Girl, from as far back as his time as a student at UA when he had a silly little puppy crush on the then-actually-Youthful Heroine. But in all his years of knowing her he had never felt so furious with her as he did now.

“I’m trying to save that boy’s spirit, not crush it even more!”

Recovery Girl had never been one to put up with sass, least of all from a meathead like All Might. She straightened up in her chair and met his angry glare with one of her own.

“I’m a doctor, Toshniori! I’m ALWAYS going to be more concerned with that boy’s well-being than I am with some high-falutin’ dreams of burning out in a blaze of glory!”

The two stared each other down, neither conceding their positions, until finally Recovery Girl rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat.

“But if you’re really serious about it, you should talk to Torino.” She was immediately unimpressed by the way All Might’s face went white as a sheet from fear. “Oh, get over it. Nana was my best friend but Torino was hers. Apart from you, that old fart understands One For All better than anyone.”

All Might was still silent, still too spooked by the idea of reaching out to his most grueling instructor.

“Don’t forget, he’s the one who trained you.” How COULD he forget?! “If you’re really so hellbent on turning that Midoriya boy into the next ‘you,’ you need to reach out to him.”

It seemed like her words were starting to sink in, but Toshinori was still being a baby.

“Or don’t. Take my advice and find someone else for One For All. But either way get out of my office, Toshinori. You have a class to teach.”

All Might stepped out of the infirmary and jumped as the door slammed shut behind him. He chewed his lip, mulling over Recovery Girl’s advice. He was still haunted by memories of the brutal boot camp Gran Torino had run him through; the idea of subjecting Young Midoriya to that made him sick.

But Recovery Girl was right; the man’s methods had borne results with. Maybe this was the path forward.

‘I’m failing as that boy’s teacher on my own; maybe Torino-Sensei can help. If it’s just my pride in the way, I owe it to Midoriya to get over it if it means training him to use One For All and restore his confidence.’

Flashes of the marathon beatdowns the jet-soled hero called “training” filled his thoughts and All Might shivered. Memories of the taunts and jeers the man used to “encourage” him to keep giving it his all followed soon after.

‘Sensei can probably help him with the quirk, but is he really the right choice to build the boy’s confidence back up?’

The last thing he wanted to do was make things even worse.

...

All Might sat at the front of the 1-A’s classroom. He was too large to fit behind Aizawa’s desk, so he merely sat perched in a chair that seemed comically tiny in comparison to his hulking form.

Today’s Heroics class was devoted to the students writing after-action reports about yesterday’s training exercise. UA was all about putting the students through the ringer to teach them the nuts and bolts of getting out there and making a difference, but knowing how to write reports about their deeds was a necessity in their modern hero society, too.

All Might didn’t feel particularly helpful here. Most of the students had a good handle on this, and the ones who didn’t preferred to ask Young Yaoyorozu for help with their reports rather than coming to him for help.

That meant that today the Symbol of Peace was basically serving as a glorified babysitter. Nezu had warned him that teaching Heroics wouldn’t always be as exciting as the battle trials during the first week and today the Principal’s words were certainly ringing true.

All Might’s hands trembled as he looked back down at his phone. He had been staring at his old teacher’s contact for a while now and even just the sight of the man’s name filled him with terror.

‘Is this really the right thing to do? Will it truly help Young Midoriya to throw him to Gran Torino like this?’

All Might’s thumb scrolled across the screen until it rested on the listing for Young Midoriya. His shoulders slumped as he considered, once again, the sad state his failures had left his successor in. Whether he asked Gran Torino or not, he had to do something for the boy.

‘I just wish I knew what the right thing to do was!’

With a heavy sigh, All Might tucked his phone back into his pocket. He raised his head to survey the classroom. It was just a paperwork assignment, but he had quickly come to learn that Aizawa wasn’t exactly exaggerating when he called 1-A his “Problem Children.” He had to keep an eye on them.

His eyes fell on a particular pair of his students, Young Uraraka and Young Asui. He smiled; they didn’t stand out as much as some of the others but All Might constantly found himself impressed with them. They were kind and eager to help but they took their studies very seriously, too.

All Might had not forgotten what Uraraka had done for her boy at the Entrance Exam; from that moment he knew she was someone to pay attention to. And Asui had shown herself to be quite diligent and observant, both in tackling her assignments and looking out for her classmates.

He watched as the frog girl asked her friend a question and the groan Young Uraraka made in response as her head dropped to her desk.

‘I wonder what that’s about…’

…

“It’s alright, Ochaco-chan. It’s just one English test; you can bounce back.”

“Ugh, I don’t think you understand just how badly I bombed it, Tsu-chan!

It wasn’t terribly apparent from her somewhat unreadable expression, but Asui Tsuyu sympathized with Ochaco. Tsuyu didn’t have a problem making friends with her classmates, for the most part, but she had easily fit in with the bubbly brunette from the first day of class. It would not be an exaggeration to say Ochaco was her best friend at UA already, and seeing her look so frustrated after failing a test made her eager to help.

“Maybe we can study together for the next one, Ochaco-chan. English isn’t my best subject but if we work together I bet we can find a way to bring your grades back up.”

The other girl’s head shot back up and her gravity-defying bob of hair bounced wildly around her head. Ochaco was crying exaggerated tears and her eyes shone with gratefulness as she leaned forward toward Tsuyu.

“Really, Tsu-chan? Oh, that’d be great! You’re the best!”

Tsuyu croaked “kero” in response and her large eyes crinkled warmly. It was better when Ochaco-chan was happy and full of life and she would do anything she could to help out her best friend.

It was as Ochaco’s grateful expression turned to a fiery, determined look that would fit on a hot-blooded shonen protagonist that Tsuyu noticed something hanging around her collar. A necklace with what looked like a small…seashell?

“Ochaco-chan,” she said.

“Hmm?”

“What’s that necklace you’re wearing?” Tsuyu wasn’t one to mince words; she asked her question bluntly and stared unabashed as she waiting for an answer.

Ochaco’s eyes widened for an instant before her expression softened. Her hand reached up to gently touch the seashell and Tsuyu watched as a warm smile stretched across her round cheeks.

“Oh, this is my good luck charm.”

Tsuyu blinked. “Really?”

Ochaco nodded her head.

“Yeah. It helps me remember my parents now that I’m living so far away from home.”

Tsuyu thought it was sweet. She knew Ochaco was still struggling with living alone. Tsuyu couldn’t blame her; she couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to be so far apart from her parents and her younger siblings. Tsuyu smiled as she saw the loving way Ochaco held the seashell; clearly it helped her keep her parents close to her heart.

Though, she never would have expected the girl’s good luck charm to be a seashell. Didn’t she come from out in the country in Mie?

“Is there a story behind that, Ochaco-chan? Why is your good luck charm a seashell?”

Ochaco’s eyes brightened up and the girl came to life once more.

“Oh, there is! It’s a great story, too!” 

…

Ochaco turned her chair to face Tsuyu as her new friend settled in her own seat to listen. They had finished their assignment already and, with All Might in charge, the rest of the class was basically a study hall so she was free to chat with Tsu-chan.

Tsuyu-chan asked about her necklace and the story behind it and Ochaco was all too glad to share. It really was a great story!

“Well, it all started the day I got my acceptance letter to UA. I was so nervous after the exam! I wasn’t sure I was going to make it in; I got into a bad situation at the end and, apart from this one really nice boy, no one else even tried to help!” She pouted briefly before she continued on.

“For two weeks I was a nervous wreck but then the letter finally arrived. My mom and I opened it together and cried when we heard All Might announce that I got in!”

Ochaco turned to look at her larger-than-life teacher, giggling when he flashed back his iconic grin and a dorky thumbs-up. Still, she returned the gesture with one of her own before she turned back to Tsuyu.

“So after I was accepted, we had to come back to register for classes, right? My parents needed to sign the paperwork, both for the school and for the lease on my apartment. It’s not easy for them to take a day off from the business, but they worked really hard to clear up a day so they could both come with me to see me off!”

Tsuyu nodded. She didn’t know all the details, but she could tell Ochaco’s parents’ business was struggling. Clearly it was a no small feat that they had taken a day off for her.

“We’ve…never really been able to take a family vacation before, y’know?” Ochaco’s voice quieted a little, as if she were hiding some embarrassing secret. “This was going to be our last chance, so we decided to try to do something while we were all here, like a picnic in a pretty spot, after we wrapped up with registration. One last hurrah to spend together as a family before I went off to school!

“So Mom spent a bunch of time looking and found out about Takoba Beach. I’d never seen the ocean up close like that before and we figured that’d be really fun! After we finished up at UA we’d go pick up lunch at a conbini and have a picnic and spend the day together at the beach. We were so excited!”

Tsuyu didn’t let it show on her face, but when Ochaco mentioned Takoba Beach she frowned.

“Once we finished up at the school, we started walking back. We almost got lost; Musutafu’s a big city for a little country girl like me!” Tsuyu smiled when Ochaco laughed at herself.

“Then we stopped at a conbini like we planned, picking up some onigiri and curry bread and fried chicken, and Dad even splurged to get me some mochi from the shop next door!” Ochaco’s eyes glazed over for a moment as she salivated at the memory of all the tasty snacks.

“Naturally, I was excited. All the food looked so good and I was finally going to visit the beach! The cashier noticed and asked what we were up to so we explained we were on our way to Takoba Municipal Park.

“The cashier gave us this sad look and asked, ‘You folks aren’t from around here, are you?’” Ochaco’s smile turned sad for a moment. “They told us that the place was a dump; that the city gave up on it and basically let it turn into a landfill.

“They said, ‘It’s so disgusting that I’ve been taking the long way to work for years to avoid it!’” Ochaco mimicked the cashier’s deep voice as she recited their words. “‘Unless some miracle worker came through and magically cleaned up literal TONS of trash, you folks are out of luck!’”

Tsuyu felt sad hearing that. It was true; she occasionally passed by the trashed beach and had seen it for herself. She thought it was awful that Ochaco and her family had been looking forward to it so much only to be disappointed.

“We were heartbroken to hear that. Mom tried to put on a happy face but I could tell she wanted to cry. This was it, our one day, our one chance to do something special together and it was ruined!

“We didn’t know what else to do, so we gave up and decided to go eat lunch back at the motel. The beach was on our way back and, as upset as we were, we had to see it for ourselves.”

Ochaco took a breath before she continued her story. Tsuyu was feeling worse and worse for her friend as she listened on. She hoped the story would have a happy ending but it seemed pretty sad at this point.

“We all felt so defeated as we walked back. But then we turned a corner and saw the sign for Takoba Beach. I couldn’t believe it!”

Ochaco came alive, nearly bouncing in her seat with a giddy glint in her eyes. Tsuyu was confused.

“The beach wasn’t dirty at all! Someone really HAD come and cleaned it because it looked pristine! It was beautiful!”

“Wait, really?”

Ochaco nodded. “Yeah! I was speechless; the sight of the ocean up close took my breath away!”

Ochaco fished out her flip-phone to show Tsuyu some low-res pictures she took. Even though she had to squint to make it out on the tiny screen, the frog-girl was surprised to find Ochaco was right. The beach really was clean.

“We were SO happy! Dad even jumped up and cheered, the big goof! Then we laid down our picnic blanket,” Ochaco pointed to the worn out old bed sheet her family was sitting on in the photo. “And then we ate lunch! After that we made sandcastles…though it kind of wasn’t fair. Mine looked really bad but apparently Mom and Dad’s construction skills translate even to sandcastles!” Ochaco showed another photo of each of them standing next to their creations and Tsuyu chuckled at the sad, shapeless pile of sand next to her friend.

“We splashed around in the water and at the end of the day we found some seashells!” Ochaco fingered her necklace again, smiling at the memory.

“We had so much fun that day and I was able to say goodbye to my parents without any regrets. I promised I would make them proud and that I loved them, and that when I became a big-shot hero I would take them to a beach in Hawaii so we could have just as much fun together as we had that day!”

Tsuyu smiled, warm and genuine. It really was a nice story and she was glad for Ochaco that she got to spend that last special day with her parents.

“I wonder who did it,” she mused. Ochaco tilted her head in confusion so Tsuyu clarified. “Cleaned the beach, I mean. I passed by a little over a year ago, I think, and it was still a disaster even then. Whoever cleaned it up must have done it in the past year, which is pretty impressive. That place was like a city of junk, Ochaco-chan; even if the whole sanitation department was on the job, it’s hard to imagine it getting turned around so fast.”

“I don’t know, but I’d like to meet them! I’d like to thank them and tell them how much it meant to me and my parents. Whoever cleaned that beach is my hero!”

…

All Might overheard the story and couldn’t stop smiling.

‘I told you, Young Midoriya! The little things can have a big impact in people’s lives! Even without being in 1-A, your hard work and determination have already made you a hero in Young Uraraka’s eyes!’

The bell rang and the students started collecting their things to head home for the day. Ochaco waved to Tsuyu as she finished zipping up her backpack. But when she stood up a shadow loomed over her.

All Might.

“Sensei?” she asked.

“Forgive me, Young Uraraka, but I couldn’t help but overhear the delightful story you were sharing with Young Asui.”

Ochaco looked a little embarrassed but smiled at her teacher.

“The thing is, if you would really like to meet the person responsible and let them know how much of an impact their efforts had, I might be able to help. You see, I know exactly who cleaned the beach, Young Uraraka.

“And it turns out, so do you.”

…

Night had fallen and Takoba Beach was quiet apart from the sounds of the sea. Izuku had heard that people were starting to visit again, but right now he was here alone.

After his run-in in the hallway earlier, Izuku had texted All Might and asked him to meet him here so he could return One For All. His hero had confirmed the meeting time with a thumbs-up emoji and that had been that.

‘That’s all it needs to be,’ Izuku thought. ‘Just a little longer and he can get back to work finding a new successor.’

Izuku was a disheveled mess, as he had been for the past few weeks. The dark circles under his eyes had grown and despite his newly-muscular physique, he looked sickly and frail.

His mother had noticed, too. She was worried for him. It would normally have taken some convincing to get her to let him go out this late at night and it was out of the question now when she was so concerned about his distressing, hopeless attitude.

So he didn’t ask. For the first time in his life, Midoriya Izuku snuck out of the house.

‘I’m sorry, Mom,’ he thought. ‘There won’t be a need for any more secrets soon enough. This will be the last time I need to sneak out.’

At that moment the memory of Kacchan’s harsh words to take a swan dive off the roof of Aldera Middle School flashed into his mind. For a moment he let them linger and gave them time to take root in a way they never had before.

‘Well, maybe this is almost the last time…’

All Might still wasn’t here. Izuku wished he would hurry, wished he could get this over with and go back to his empty, miserable life where fate denied him the chance to help people. He stared out listlessly at the sea, but even with so clear a view he could not see the beauty in the moonlight reflecting off of the gentle waves. He couldn’t see the beauty in anything anymore; his dream was dead and, as far as he was concerned, his life was over.

“U-um, hello?”

Izuku’s ears perked up but didn’t move, choosing to ignore the voice that was far too soft to belong to the Symbol of Peace.

“Um…are you Midoriya?”

That got his attention. Who would be looking for him out here?

Izuku turned his head and was shocked to see who it was.

“Y-you! You’re that…nice person…”

She smiled when he finally met her eyes. “Oh, it is you! I remember those freckles!” She giggled and, in spite of his dour self, Izuku blushed.

‘C-cute…’

When Midoriya didn’t say anything else, Uraraka introduced herself.

“Hello again! I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself at the exam. My name is Uraraka Ochaco!”

Izuku could only stare. It was terribly rude, but he wasn’t prepared to see her again. Luckily, Uraraka seemed to be very upbeat and didn’t take offense from his poor manners.

“So…whatcha doing out here this late at night?”

Izuku blinked and looked back out at the sea. He wasn’t really up for a conversation but he couldn’t leave until All Might got here to take back his quirk. So he decided to humor her. He turned back around, fully this time, to face her.

“Um…I’m waiting for someone.”

Uraraka smiled at him; her smile was so bright!

They stood there quietly for a moment until Izuku spoke again.

“Congratulations, by the way.”

“What?”

He nervously scratched at his arm and lowered his eyes away from her.

“I heard that you made it into the Hero Course. I’m…” he took a deep breath. “I’m happy for you.” He wished he could really mean it when he said those words. He wanted to be happy for her; she deserved it! She proved she would be a great hero when she rescued him, both from the Zero Pointer and from embarrassing himself when he tripped before the exam even began. But just thinking about the exams hurt; thinking about how he had failed. He wanted to be happy for her, but he didn’t have it in him to be happy about anything anymore.

If she doubted his sincerity she was kind enough to ignore it and took his words at face-value.

“Thanks!” she chirped before she took a more serious tone. “And…thank you for coming to help me during the test.”

‘No, please don’t say that!’

He frantically shook his head. “No, no! I should be thanking you! I…I didn’t manage to help at all; you’re the one who saved me!”

She sighed and kept smiling at him, even though her smile turned sad.

“I was so scared when I got stuck. That Zero Pointer was about to run me over and no one stopped to help! Except for you, Midoriya-kun. It meant so much to see someone jump in to help, no matter how it turned out. I couldn’t get out from under that rubble on my own; it wasn’t until I saw you giving it your all that I was able to power through and free myself enough to catch you. Don’t sell yourself short; you did something amazing when everyone else just ran away!”

Her words were encouraging; embarrassingly so. She was throwing him a lifeline as he was sinking in his despair.

But he had sunk far too deep to be pulled out. It wasn’t enough. The good manners his mother had trained into him kept him from lashing out, kept him from throwing her kind words back in her face. But he couldn’t accept them, either. He saw the caring look in her eyes, the anticipation of his response and the hope she had to try and cheer him up.

But his hopes had been crushed. He couldn’t react the way she wanted him to. He didn’t feel better, and knowing that he couldn’t even give her that satisfaction hurt him, too.

All he could say was, “Oh.”

…

Ochaco frowned. She was disappointed that she had failed to make him feel better. She really meant everything she said; what he did for her at the entrance exam was so heroic!

But he hadn’t made it into the Hero Course like she had. Apparently that was weighing on him even harder than she would have imagined. He had seemed so nice that day; awkward and nervous, sure, but a far cry from the empty shell that stood before her.

‘It isn’t fair!’ She thought. Aizawa reminded her that the world was rarely fair during his first-day Quirk Assessment, but it was a truth Ochaco was all too aware of already. Her family always struggled just to get by, and they weren’t the only less fortunate family back home in Mie. This wasn’t the first time she had seen such despair in someone’s eyes, but even so it hit so hard! Midoriya really was amazing and it wasn’t fair that he had fallen into such darkness.

‘I barely know you but I’ve seen how heroic you already are!’ She hoped that she could find a way to help him see it, too.

Another awkward silence fell between them and Ochaco took a moment to look around. The beach was just as beautiful as she remembered. She touched the seashell on her necklace and thought about her parents and how special that day was.

“Midoriya?”

He didn’t reply but she trusted that he was still listening.

“All Might told me that you were the one who cleared the beach. That’s true, right?”

She watched him cringe but he nodded.

“That’s so incredible!”

She didn’t expect him to agree, but it still hurt to see the frustrated look on his face.

“Not really,” he replied. “It didn’t help me pass the test, after all.”

“Huh? How would cleaning the beach help you pass the test?”

“It was training. I spent 10 months clearing the beach to build my muscles so I could have a chance. I was even punier and more pathetic than I am now; I had to do something to toughen up. Hauling junk was an efficient way to work all my muscles.”

Ochaco was floored. All Might had told her he had cleaned the beach by himself, but he did it all by hand? To work out?

‘What the heck?!’

“It was just a big waste of time. I ground myself into the dirt and I let Al– I let my mentor down. All the time and effort he put into me, into my training, and I couldn’t do the one thing I needed to do. It was all for nothing! It was worthless! I’M WORTHLESS!”

“NO YOU’RE NOT!”

She was crying now, her tears hot with anger as much as with sadness. How could he say that?

“You’re NOT worthless, Midoriya. You’re SO important!”

“No, I’m–”

“Nuh-uh. Listen! You’re a good person, Midoriya. You’re already a hero and you don’t even know it!”

He looked at her with an irritated, skeptical look but she was undeterred.

“My parents live all the way back in Mie. For me to go to UA, I had to move here all by myself. My parents sacrificed so much for me to be here and it hurts so much to be apart from them.

“But the last day I saw them, we came here and spent a day together. It was the closest we’ve ever had to a family vacation, the first and maybe the last chance we’ll ever have. I’ve never seen my parents so happy!

“And none of that would have been possible without you. You were responsible for that, Midoriya. You’re the reason my parents and I got to say goodbye with smiles on our faces!

“It might have been nothing but training to you. You may think you wasted your time. But you didn’t. Your cleaning this beach meant everything to my family. It means everything to me.

“You might not be in the Hero Course yet, Midoriya Izuku. But I mean it from the bottom of my heart when I say you are already my hero.”

She looked at him, daring him to deny it. If that speech didn’t do it she was going to go over there and kick him until he believed her! Luckily she wouldn’t need to.

Tears were falling from his eyes like waterfalls. His whole body was trembling until he collapsed and buried his knees in the sand. Then he started bawling.

Ochaco rushed and slid down to her own knees and wrapped him up in a hug. He buried his face in her shoulder and cried while she gently rubbed circles into his back.

“Do you–,” he sniffled, his voice raw with emotion. “Do you really mean that?”

“I really do,” she said, her voice unwavering and full of conviction.

Slowly his arms reached to return her hug. His grip was gentle but desperate, as if he was clinging to her for dear life.

“T-thank you, Uraraka-san. I–just, thank you.”

“You can call me Ochaco,” she said.

He pulled back and stared at her in horror. She giggled because she saw his silly, nervous face she remembered from the exam, instead of the empty, lifeless stare she’d been fighting against tonight.

“I-I-I couldn’t do that!”

“Why not?” She smiled. “We’re friends now so it’s okay!”

“W-we’re friends…?”

“Yep! You’ve done so much for me, Midoriya. There’s no way you’re getting out of being my friend now!”

He stared at her until more tears began to fall. Happy ones this time!

“O-okay, Ochaco-san. I…you’ve done a lot for me, too.” He remembered Kacchan’s cruel words again and how he had begun to consider them. But as he thought about them now, he couldn’t imagine going through it. He had too much to work for to give up now!

“You’ve done more for me than you know.”

…

All Might watched from a ways back. His gleaming smile hadn’t felt so real in a long time.

‘I’m so glad I asked Young Uraraka to speak with him. She really is incredible! She saved my boy where even the Symbol of Peace failed.’

This was just the first step; clearly Midoriya needed more than this going forward to get past his demons. This was pivotal in helping Midoriya recover, in helping him grow, but now it was up to All Might to make sure this second chance didn’t go to waste.

‘There’s a lot of hard work to do from here on out,’ he thought, as he reached into his pocket and dialed the contact he had been avoiding all day.

“Toshinori? Is that you?”

“Hi, Torino-sensei. It’s been a long time.”

…

The big day was finally here!

Izuku sat in the waiting area with the rest of the students of Class 1-D, waiting to be called out to the stadium for their first appearance at the UA Sports Festival. There was a murmur of chatter throughout the room but the atmosphere was thick and anxious. This was a big opportunity for everyone, and especially for him. This was his second chance to make it into the Hero Course!

‘I can do it,’ he told himself. ‘I’ll make everyone proud! Mom, All Might, and–’

“Hey, Zygote! Come out here for a minute!”

His classmates went silent, staring confused at the small, elderly hero that shouted from the hallway. Midoriya shyly walked around them to meet his newest mentor, All Might’s old teacher, Gran Torino.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make this short. Can’t have you being late for your big show.”

“...We?”

Gran Torino led Izuku down the hall until they met up with All Might.

“All Might!”

“Ha ha, just wanted to wish you luck out there, my boy!”

“I’ll do my best! I won’t let you down again this time!”

Gran Torino rolled his eyes when All Might started to get fired up by Midoriya’s enthusiasm and wacked the number one hero with his cane.

“Ah, I’m glad to hear you’re so enthusiastic. But remember what we’ve talked about, and what you and Hound Dog have been talking about, too, okay?”

They had talked about a lot of things these last few weeks. All Might had brought Gran Torino in to help him with One For All and he finally felt like he had a handle on his quirk, like he could really put it to good use without self-destructing in the process.

But the help didn’t stop there. They brought his mother into the conversation, at least a little bit, and that led to him seeing the school counselor, Hound Dog. He was starting to work through his issues, through the feelings of inadequacy he struggled with and everything else. It was a slow process but one day he’d shore up the fragile corners of his heart so he wouldn’t fall apart again.

“Go out there and do your best, Young Midoriya. Whatever happens, remember I will be here for you, always. However things turn out, we’ll find a way to make it work. Don’t give up! Because you are important, my boy. The world needs heroes like you!

Midoriya started to tear up; he took All Might’s words to heart. Even Gran Torino gave him an encouraging smirk before he sent him back to his waiting room.

A few moments later the classes were called to the field, one by one, and before he knew it he was there before the huge crowd. It was incredibly loud but, somehow, he heard a single voice calling out to him.

“Izuku!”

He spun around to see Ochaco waving at him with a beaming smile on her face.

“Good luck! You can do it!”

He blushed but managed to wave back, blinding everyone around him with his brightness of his smile and his blush alike.

Meanwhile, Ochaco was quickly surrounded by Mina, Tsu-chan and Hagakure.

“Ohh, is that him, Ochaco?”

“Aww, he’s a cute little cinnamon roll!”

“He sure is!” Ochaco replied, unaware of the trap she had just been snared in. “And when the Sports Festival is done, he’s gonna make it in to the Hero Course with us!”

Mina’s smirk turned very mischievous and Hagakure started giggling. Both girls were eager to tease their lovestruck friend, but Tsuyu beat them to it.

“Awfully nice of you to cheer on your boyfriend, kero.”

“B-boyfriend?!”