Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Seven minutes past midnight on a stormy Thursday morning, the course of Izuku Midoriya’s life was irrevocably changed forever.

Seven minutes earlier he was stumbling through sodden dirt, trampling over the orange and brown leaves of autumn in his favourite red shoes, in what, to many, would appear a perfectly ordinary forest. However, despite his young age, Izuku knew better than most. He knew that this was no normal woodland.

He was on a field trip with his elementary school to Kochi, Japan’s greenest prefecture, which had one of the biggest forests in the whole of the country!  When, much earlier in the day, the teacher had asked what made Kochi so special Izuku had shot his hand into the air and waved so enthusiastically his wrist had begun to ache, her eyes had skimmed over him; he used to hope this meant he had suddenly developed some type of invisibility quirk or maybe he was even lucky enough to have some form or mental quirk to make her ignore him, but he knew by now that this wasn’t the case. Ignoring his frantic waving she had explained the about the vast forests and wildlife to the class of 6 and 7-year-olds.

What the teacher hadn’t mentioned, to Izuku’s disbelief, was that just a week earlier All Might had defeated Toxic Chainsaw in these very woods! After months of the nature hating villain evading some of Kochi’s top heroes All Might had swooped in and defeated him in under 10 minutes! He couldn’t believe she would leave out something so important - although the purpose of this trip was to study forest wildlife, so maybe it wasn’t too relevant… 

…but it was All Might! 

How could it not be important? 

As Izuku thought about it more and more he realised being in Kochi gave him the perfect opportunity to check out the location of the fight. When would he ever get this opportunity again? Living in Musutafu, in such close proximity to UA, meant that he constantly had a chance to see Pros in action, but it also meant it was very unlikely that All Might would need to show up to save the day. Hence Izuku had never got to see where a rescue or fight involving All Might had taken place, let alone the real thing in action.

This led to Izuku squeezing himself out the ground story window of the room he and the other boys had been assigned to for the trip. Luckily he had been placed right next to it (no one wanted to be near the thing, it was so old that rain from outside was seeping through the edges and dripping down the wall onto the floor, which meant because his teacher knew he couldn’t wouldn’t complain - that would be his spot) and although that meant his sleeping bag got a little soggy, it allowed him to slip out easily without stirring his classmates.

Izuku couldn’t help grinning as he ran through the forest. This was the kind of sneaky thing that Kacchan would do. He never cared about getting in trouble and was always so cool, even when he was getting scolded. Izuku thought about getting told off by the teachers for this and just huffing shouting “SO WHAT?” just like Kacchan would. He smiled wider. 

Jumping over the leaves that paved the floor and hearing them crunch, squelch, crack with every step made him think of how amazing Kacchan’s quirk was. How cool Kacchan was. Even though Izuku didn’t have a quirk he still let him go on adventures with him; which was way nicer than what some other kids had been. Of course, the explosive blonde would also remind him about having to protect him, since he was ‘a weak Deku’ and how he would be easily destroyed by villains without him, but they were still friends!

… Even if it didn’t always feel like it.

During one of Kacchan’s rants about him being weak, Izuku had got angry and screamed “I know I have to work twice as hard if I want to be even half as good! But I will do it if it means I get to save people! Even just one person! I will be a Hero Kacchan!” His voice was got hoarse from yelling but he needed someone to understand that being a hero was what he was made to do.

Kacchan had looked stunned for a moment before scowling, obviously annoyed (at the words he had said or the fact he’d been interrupted, Izuku couldn’t tell) but he strangely hadn’t said much. He had sent him a fierce glare and grumbled uncharacteristically quiet “If you want to be as good as me then you’ll need to train, stupid Deku. Even though my quirk’s super awesome I still have to practice to be so good at blasting stuff…” he glanced at Izuku’s face and continued “Maybe if you actually train you could be my sidekick… or something… idiot!” with a blush he had then stomped off. Izuku had been elated, although to most people that would’ve sounded mean, from Kacchan that was practically a ‘You can do it’ speech! Kacchan actually thought he could do it! When Izuku had finally caught up to him, he started talking about a new hero game they could play and the incident was never brought up again. 

Izuku still hadn’t figured out if that meant Kacchan liked him or not though.

Despite the weariness he held in everyday life, he was enjoying this adventure, although to any onlooker his frantic running would seem just that, he knew exactly where he wanted to go. As soon as Izuku had realised his trip and All Might’s most recent hero fight coincided he knew he had to see the place it went down. So as the week preceding his trip came up, he scoured the footage of the aftermath like a boy possessed; even his Mum, who has seen him obsess over everything Hero and Quirk related since he could talk, asked him if he was feeling alright. But Izuku didn’t think he’d ever felt better in his life! He could finally see a real-life place that All Might had saved!

Recalling the route he needed to take, Izuku remembered how the footage from the press had only captured the aftermath of the fight and the quality had been grainy at best. Luckily for him, it also gave an aerial view of the woods, showing a large clearing. 

From what he could see in the video, the clearing had been the result of Toxic Chainsaw destroying the woodland before All Might had arrived; “…the stumps left behind were cut clean and low to the ground! If the destruction had been caused by fighting it would’ve been more jagged, slanted so he could destroy quickly or to counter All Might’s attacks…” he muttered. 

Breaking out of his mumbling analysis of what he’d seen a week prior, he realised he had slowed down. He needed to stop and find his bearings, which he did so by looking up and for a blinking red light displaying a digital clock. The footage, as well as being an interesting look at the aftermath of Toxic Chainsaw’s quirk, had also shown a radio tower/ station roughly 100 metres away from the clearing that stretched high in the sky sporting a neon sign at the top. Before he had even registered standing up, he was searching the web for radio station locations in Kochi… and he had hit the jackpot.

The inn they were staying at was just under 3 miles away!!

Which meant realistically, if he snuck away, he could definitely get there and back within about 4 hours! This time even accounted for 1.5 hours of investigation and although the walk (run) would take him an hour one way, he could make it back before anyone had even realised he had gone! It was a good thing he went at night too, the dark made the sign stand out much more, although it was obscured slightly by the rain. Turning his head back down to forest he smiled and adjusted the hood of his coat to further cover his face, it was 00:06am and he was about half an hour away from his destination. Wiping the raindrops from his nose he turned slightly to get back on track to where the clearing should be according to the footage.

“I can probably make it back before 4am, which means I’ll get about 3 hours sleep before Nobara Sensei wakes us up. That should be enough for me to-“ Izuku was cut off stumbling over the ground beneath him in, almost face planting right into the mud in his stupor.

“…W-What?” he squeaked.

Had he miscalculated? He had been sure it would take him roughly an hour to trek the 3 miles but… the clearing was about 10 metres ahead of him. He had only gone roughly 1.5 miles, he was sure of it and yet - the clearing was right in front of him. Looking up at the station again it looked like it was still the distance away he had expected for travelling halfway there- had the clearing grown?

“This could be a side effect of Toxic Chainsaw’s Quirk maybe the chemicals he secretes from his blades spread and infect the ecosystem!” he muttered with bravado that he didn’t quite feel. It was an interesting theory, but that would mean the clearing was dangerous to be around… he wanted to turn back, but maybe this meant someone was in danger! How could he call himself a hero if he saw this and turned away? “P-Plus Ultra.” he whispered encouragingly.

Knees wobbling, he ambled forward. As he came to the clearing, he realised trees had toppled outwards as if blown over by some great force. The devastation here was immense, what had been relatively flat ground was now caved in as if hit by a meteor. His eyes grew wide in shock “But to create this kind of affect over an area so large you’d need to have power comparable to-“ lightning flashed illuminating the devastated forest for a moment, and something crumpled in the middle of it all.

“ALL MIGHT!” the scream tore so painfully through his throat it was as if he hadn’t had a drink in months. Lurching forward from where he had been trembling moments before, he sprinted towards a lump of blue, yellow and red lying at the epicentre of the crater. The ground was soddened and slippery, angled downwards towards the figure in the centre but he didn’t allow himself to slow down, every time he slipped he was instantly back to his feet running as fast as his legs could take him. A couple of metres away from the centre he felt the blood drain from his face, wondering hysterically if he’d fallen and hit his head and was now trapped in some sort of horrific nightmare. 

In front of him lay a scene no 7-year-old should ever have to witness. Bathed in the red light from the radio tower was the Symbol of Peace, lying on his back with half his torso gouged out, his insides ripped out and strewn across the floor like some sick form of piñata. In pure shock Izuku looked to his face and felt a chill jolt its way down his spine. He saw a deep frown marring his features, a brow so twisted and creased and so unlike his characteristic smile it almost frightened him more than the mangled body. The Hero was hard to make out from the ground of the clearing, he was covered in a red so dark he almost blended in with the mud surrounding him; but every time the lighting struck the scarlet was highlighted, shining in the light. 

It almost looked like blood. 

Izuku blinked.  

No, that was blood. 

The realisation hit him and that horrible icy grip that had halted his steps loosened enough for him to stagger forward.

“All Might?” he whimpered, though he had meant it to come out as a question. He could barely hear himself through the blood rushing past his ears anyway, so he supposed his tone probably wasn’t that important right now. He tried to recall all those first aid videos he’d watched, but none of them accounted for anything like this. He knew that applying pressure to stop the bleeding was the first step, but the wound was so big, where did he start? He could hear his own breathing hitch and grow heavier, but he didn’t have time for that right now. He had to act quickly. Wrenching off his coat and falling unsteadily to his knees he laid it as carefully as he could over the mangled torso and pressed down on the wound. All he could see was his own hands trembling, his face and legs felt wet, but he didn’t have the presence of mind to deduce why that was.

“Please, A-All Might…” his body shook with sobs as he tried to help his hero “Wake-wAKE UP!” the blood was beginning to soak through his coat, but he could hardly see it through the sudden cloudiness of his vision. He pressed down harder. To his right he heard an abrupt intake of breath, and he snapped his head to the side so fast it clicked. “ALL MIGHT!” Izuku was stunned momentarily but managed to gasp out ”Don’t- Don’t worry, you’re going to be okay!” he pulled his mouth upwards into a wobbly smile “I’m gunna save you, so… so just keep breathing!” hope renewed he pushed down harder onto the wound.

“You-ng m-an… w-what-” he was interrupted by a cough and Izuku couldn’t help but jolt. Not at the timidness of the usually booming voice but because of the blood the cough brought up with it.

“Stop! Don’t try to move All Might, you - you’re too hurt- but don’t worry, everything’s fine now!” Izuku chuckled trying to imitate the video that had inspired him to want to be a hero just a few years ago.

“Y-You’re very brave young man… I don’t how you found me, but you’re… kind.” he kept pausing to take in rasping breaths every few words and he was much quieter than what Izuku was accustomed to seeing on TV and HeroTube. The old hero smiled at him, but it was softer than normal and mirrored much of the wobbliness of Izuku’s own. “But you should get away from here now, it’s not s-afe for you to be here. Goodbye young man.” he lifted a hand and patted Izuku’s shoulder gently. 

Izuku shrugged the hand away “What? No! What if Toxic Chainsaw comes back? He could hurt you again and I won’t let that happen!” he shouted, staying resolutely at the older man’s side and staring defiantly into the dull blue eyes “I-I won’t leave you All Might!”. His voice was breaking on every word and he could feel himself trembling (whether from the cold of the rain or the fear of not being able to do anything, he wasn’t sure) yet he’d never been so sure about anything in his life. All Might’s eyes widened, and he seemed to hesitate before he lowered his hand to the boys shoulder once again.

“This… villain was far worse than Toxic Chainsaw.” He said darkly. To Izuku he sounded defeated and resigned “Now, go.” he muttered with a squeeze of his shoulder.

“No!” with tears crawling down his face he dug his knees further into the ground below him. “I won’t leave you here alone All Might! Even if something bad happens to me, I won’t let you be alone. So don’t sound so defeated! I will save you!” he hung his head gripping the blood-soaked coat beneath him.

As he hung his head the symbol of peace’s eyes flashed with sudden hope and realisation.

After a moment silence All Might took a deep breath, resolutely ignoring that he could see from the corner of his eye one of his lungs pathetically trying to inflate… from outside his ribcage. He had one last thing to do before he would let the horror of his body steal his thoughts. “What’s your name young man?” he asked.

“I-I’m Midoriya Izuku” he stuttered confused at the change in tone and subject.

“It’s nice to meet you young Midoriya, m-my name is Yagi Toshinori.” Izuku squeaked at this, All Might’s name was definitely not public knowledge, why would he tell him this? His fanboying took him momentarily from the terror he felt. All Might’s smile grew a little wider with his reaction “From what you’ve said my boy, I hope I’m not wro-wrong in assuming you want to be a hero?” he inquired.

“Um, yes! I- I mean no! I’m going to be a Hero! I’m Q-Quirkless, so I know it will be harder for me, but I just want to help people, you know? Even if I can only save a few people… I know it will be worth it.” embarrassed, Izuku looked up at the hero through his tear-soaked lashes and was surprised to see a small smile on his face. His cheeks heated up and he began to backtrack but was stopped by another squeeze to his shoulder.

“Young Midoriya, I don’t know how I have been lucky enough to have met someone with a hero’s heart at a time like this, but I won’t waste this opportunity.” Izuku smiled despite the situation, All Might just said he had a hero’s heart! More importantly his voice was sounding better, Izuku was sure he was going to be okay! “I don’t know how much time I have my boy, but let me tell you about my Quirk as well as I can.” he held Izuku’s shoulder tight and the young boy’s eyes shone; what did he mean by ‘how much time he had left’, what did he mean ‘about his Quirk’?

Izuku wasn’t confused about the latter for long though. All Might told him (a very a-bridged and brief) tale of two brothers, which culminated in one thing: One For All. 

A Quirk that could be passed on to others like a scared touch. 

Izuku had never heard of anything like it, but he knew from the look on his Hero’s face, that every word was true. “…and so, you see my boy, the villain I battled earlier was no normal villain, he was that man from all those years ago that caused all that unrest and travesty. His name is All For One… and- and he has defeated me.” All Might’s voice grew more sombre as he went on and it was nothing but a whisper by the end. “I managed to seriously maim him too, but considering that you and I are the only people here… it seems he’s managed to escape. Although he may be injured… he’ll likely survive.”  was added as almost an afterthought and it didn’t seem like he was speaking to Izuku anymore.

“He-he hasn’t defeated you All Might! You’re still here and- and when you get better you can take him down for good, I believe in you!” he was still processing everything he had been told but he couldn’t let All Might sound so down! Izuku wasn’t sure why All Might was telling him all his secrets, but he would cling to every word as if it was gospel for as long as his Hero was breathing.

The older man let out a startled chuckle “You’re very kind my boy.” he seemed to brace himself before continuing “… but I won’t be surviving this-“ Izuku went to cut him off but he continued steadily “I know, I know, I’m grateful for your words but these injuries are too severe. Perhaps if I had told Mirai or Sorahiko where I would be going before, things could be different…” he looked regretful at the thought. Izuku wanted to tell him they wouldn’t blame him, and he couldn’t possibly have known but All Might powered on “I had come here to ensure briefly that Toxic Chainsaw had done no long-term damage, and I hadn’t thought to inform my friends of my detour. I… I have paid dearly for that. I was ambushed by that coward of a man and with no one knowing my location, I will lose my battle to time.” he sighed. 

Izuku wanted to scream and shout and rage that no, All Might would survive this, he was the greatest Hero, and no stupid villain could defeat him, but he looked down at the steadily growing puddle of blood around him. There was so much it seemed to be outpacing the rain with the quantity of it, and although the elder’s voice had steadied it was growing quieter with every breath. “All Might… y-you’ve saved hundreds-of-thousands of people, th-that doesn’t even include the millions you’ve saved just by smiling fearlessly…  you’re the greatest hero in the world and I- we couldn’t ask for more, so…“ Izuku couldn’t help but sob as he tried to tell his hero, his idle that- “so if you need to rest now, it’s okay, I’ll be h-here with you, so just rest o-okay?” he cried. 

All Might couldn’t believe so much maturity and bravery were contained in a body so young. He hated that he had to burden such a bright boy with a responsibility that would at the very least dim (but most likely curse) his future… but with All For One still alive, he couldn’t let the only hope of defeating him die after all this time.

With tears brimming in his eyes All Might chuckled “Thank you, my boy.” he pulled the broccoli-headed boys’ hands from his wound, Izuku hesitating for a moment before the hero encouraged him closer to his face so he could see the younger better. “But don’t rush an old man now, I believe I have something you must take before I depart.” he smiled shakily.

Still crying but trying his best to be strong for All Might, Izuku nodded, gently putting his hand to the hero’s shoulder and giving the best smile he could manage. “To pass on One For All the current holder must willingly give some of their DNA to whoever it is they desire the Quirk to go to…” All Might looked at him searchingly, but Izuku wasn’t sure what he was trying to say. Letting out an exasperated but happy smile All Might continued “Young Midoriya, you must take One For All.” he said in a morose voice.

“…What.. you- you can’t be serious- I- me?” he exclaimed but All Might just continued his strained smile.

“I’m serious my boy, now listen to what I say very carefully. While I’m grateful a good person like you was here for me in this moment, this responsibility is not a light one. I… I’m almost certain All For One has survived this battle.” he inhaled sharply “A-Although he may be injured, he could return at some point and, to put it bluntly, I fear without my presence as a s-symbol society will already be weakened. It will be far too easy for that bastard to re-emerge and take control of all that uncertainty.” his anger seemed to choke him for a moment, before he continued “When you take this Quirk, there will come a day where it is up to you to defeat him.” he paused and brought and shaking hand to point at Izuku’s heart. “It will be up to you to save not only the lives but the hearts of the people that All For One will try desperately to destroy. Are you prepared for that?” he winced, and it looked as if it pained him to say it, but he continued “I know this is a lot but you… you must accept my power young Midoriya. O-One For All is the only thing strong enough to defeat him and I can’t let this power go extinct before he’s defeated for sure.” Tears began to fall from his eyes as his breathe shook “I-I know it’s cruel to place a burden on one so young but- but please young man… you must…” he let his hand drop and tried to take in the boys expression in the dim light. 

Izuku couldn’t believe everything he was hearing. All Might was the strongest Hero, the Number One Hero, and yet he sounded so afraid. Was it of All For One? No, Izuku thought. Every time the hero had said that name there had been nothing but vitriol behind it; so, what was he afraid of? As Izuku thought about it, he realised that rather than asking Izuku to take his Quirk it more sounded like he was… begging. All Might was begging him to take his Quirk. It struck him that, obviously, All Might was afraid of One For All being lost. If that happened, then there would be no one to fight against All For One in the future. 

It made perfect sense and so Izuku rushed to agree that he would take the Quirk… but his vocal cords were lost to him as he opened his mouth. 

This was so much. All Might was about to die, and in the future Izuku would have to be the one to defeat the person who had killed the world’s Number One Hero… when no one believed he could even become a Hero in the first place; not even his Mum! He was a Quirkless, useless, Deku.

Except that wasn’t quite true.

Although his relationship with Kacchan was rocky, he had said he could be a sidekick with lots of training, and that was without a Quirk! When he told All Might he was Quirkless he had smiled, he’d even told Izuku that he had a Hero’s heart! Izuku was being ridiculous! He had desperately wanted nothing more than a Quirk, any Quirk, for the past four years so why was he so choked up now that it was right in front of him? This was his chance to help people and if what All Might had said about All For One was true… this was his chance to help more people than he ever dreamed possible.

He felt his stomach twisting into knots and the situation hit him like a brick wall. This was really happening. In the most horrific way possible, he was about to gain everything he ever wanted, at the cost of the world’s Greatest Hero.

How could he ever be worthy of this. How could he ever repent for taking the Symbol of Peace away from the World?

Looking into All Might’s eyes he could see desperation pooled at all edges, but also hope. Izuku was All Might’s only hope. As soon as the realisation hit him, despite how unsettled he felt, he knew this was the right thing to do. After all, if he couldn’t physically save All Might, the least he could do was save his heart and dreams.

This was something Izuku had been dreaming for his entire life (although never in a scenario anything like this), a Quirk! A chance to be a hero that could make a real difference! A chance to save people! Why was he hesitating so much? He steeled himself and said “I have wanted to be a H-Hero since before I can remember… and if this Villain wants to hurt the whole world, of course I’ll take your Quirk to stop him! I don’t want him to hurt anyone else like… like how he’s h-hurt you so- so how could I say no?” he smiled so wide he felt as if his face would split but he couldn’t help the anguish that creeped into his expression despite his best efforts. The smile All Might returned him was grateful but sullen.

“Thank you, my boy…” he sloppily moved his hand towards his torso and scraped his fingers across the remnants of his stomach.

“ALL MIGHT! S-stop- you’ll hurt yourself! you need to be more caref-“ before he could continue All Might brought his hand back away from his stomach and it out in front of Izuku. “W-What are you doing, All Might?” he stuttered nervously.

“…DNA” the first part of his sentence was lost to his heaving breaths, but Izuku got the message.

“Ah, yes, sorry I- I forgot!” he apologised. Not giving himself a chance to hesitate he swiped the blood from All Might’s fingers into his own hand (not realising his own were already coated in it) and quickly shoved his fingers into his mouth. His eyes bulged and he gagged as the metallic liquid hit his tongue. Repressing his urge to throw up he managed to swallow the copper and removed his fingers to take in a distorted breath. His gaze grew hazy and his fingernails dug so harshly into to his legs he felt like he might rip through the fabric. It didn’t feel real… he just ingested his idols blood, because he was about to… to…

He felt tears rush forward again. “I’m truly sorry my boy… you had to ingest my DNA for the transfer to work and well… this is how it has been passed on through every other holder… I had hoped I’d be the one to change things, to be able pass it on peacefully and not in defeat…” All Might heaved in a deep breath as he began to sob. “I didn’t want to pass it on like this but- but you understand, I have no choice, d-don’t you, my boy?! I’m sorry I’ve not been able to give you much of a choice… but- but you wanted t-the Quirk, didn’t you?” All Might also looked sick at his own words, but the dying man had no time for regrets now.

“Of course All Might, don’t w-worry!” he spluttered, because of course he had wanted the Quirk, he just wished it hadn’t been like this. (anything but this)

But that wasn’t important right now. With a shake of the head he banished his thoughts. Reaching out a shaking hand he took the Hero’s hand in his own. “Um, am I supposed to feel something?” he asked meekly, squeezing his eyes shut to force his tears back. It didn’t work very well.

Croakily All Might answered “No, it will take a few hours before you can use it. However, no matter what, you mustn’t use this power until you are physically strong enough.” Izuku’s brow furrowed in contemplation as the Hero continued “With each holder the energy stored up becomes more powerful. With me it became so strong I was able to become the Number One Hero… a Symbol of Peace.” All Might paused, seemingly reminiscing before taking in a large breath. Izuku squeezed his hand tightly and the Hero gave him a small smile “Whilst I don’t know much about how it works, I do know it gets stronger with each holder; so it’s not unlikely that, for you, it’ll be even more powerful that what it currently is with me my- my boy. It would tear you apart to use it. Even if the energy stays at its current level… you’re so… young and s-small it is simply far too risky to wield. You must train your body to become strong before you try. It may take a few years- but I believe you can do it.” his voice was strained as if each gasping word was a struggle. “You must promise me y-you won’t use it before you’re certain your body can handle it, prom-promise me that young Midoriya.” he said a little frantically squeezing Izuku’s hand like a lifeline.

“I promise you All Might! I’ll s-save everyone okay? You won’t be disappointed!” he sobbed desperately reassuring his idle. With that promise the hero finally relaxed, losing the last of his adrenaline.

“I know you wo-won’t disappoint me young Iz-Izuku… I’m glad it w-was y…ou here my-my….” blue eyes grew unfocused and his grip on the smaller hand grew slack.

“All Might? All Might! Please answer me, it- it’s not funny!” he sobbed gripping the Hero’s hand so hard he expected the man to complain. But he said nothing. Uncomprehending of the lifeless eyes and blood that coated his hands Izuku brought a hand to his chin mumbling frantically trying to recall how to check someone’s pulse, unaware of the blood he was smearing over his face. “Think!” he bawled as his mind failed him, why couldn’t he remember such a simple thing? He moved his hands to pull at his hair as he let out a scream, squeezing his shut eyes so hard he felt as if they might fall out of his head. 

How cowardly could he be? All Might needed his help and here he was freaking out like a baby; he needed to calm down and now.

Concentrating on the rain he can feel pelting his face he draws in sharp breaths taking in the coppery smell around him. Untangling his shaking hands from his curls he slowly brings them to the hero’s wrists and holds his breath as presses down on the pulse point. “No- no it can’t be… please.” he sobs but despite his verbal denial he can knows that it’s true. 

The Symbol of Peace was dead.

Chapter Text

He’s not sure how long he’s been sat there sobbing by All Might’s side, when he’s snapped from his revere by the clash of thunder starting up once again from above. He tilts his head up on reflex and is startled to see that the sky has gotten much lighter. How long has he been here? He’ll be in so much trouble if they find out he snuck out, but he can’t just leave All Might like this!

“What do I do All Might?” he questions quietly, but of course, he gets no response. Now that Izuku looks at him again he can see his skin has gone sallow, bruising in places that had looked fine hours ago, his eyes simply stare up into the nothingness above. Choking down another sob he reaches out a hand and closes his hero’s eyelids, seeing the lightning crash down again as he does so.

As the thunder passes (the storm must be close) and the light around him goes dull once again Izuku looks up and lets out a startled squeal. Across from him standing imposingly above All Might’s body are seven shadowy silhouettes each encompassed by a different colour that flickers around them like flames. He’s not sure what’s going on, the power they expel is so potent it almost knocks him back and away from the hero, but he won’t let anyone hurt All Might anymore, whoever they are. Doing the first thing he can think to do he grabs onto the body and half covers it with his own. “W-Who are you!!” he screams “Get away from A-All Might!!” he gives his best glare despite his fear.

The menacing figures say nothing and Izuku tightens his fist in the fabric of All Might’s suit beneath him. He opens his mouth to yell at them again but is interrupted by a tingle that zips up the back of his spine all the way to his head and is overwhelmed by a sense of danger. His body is buzzing all over, and he feels suddenly too hot despite the icy rain hammering down, as if there’s fire right under his skin. It makes him feel so on edge it’s as if his bones are rattling. Is this one of their Quirks? Through his panic he didn’t notice the slight slow of everything around him as the fire under his skin grew stronger. He yelps through gritted teeth “If you’re trying to scare me, it won’t work!” and he doesn’t have to put effort into building up a glare this time.

The figures all seem to move their heads to look at the figure shrouded in blue - from what Izuku can tell, they’re faceless after all - before they turn to the one encapsulated by white, who tilts their head.

Izuku tenses at the movement but before he can do anything else the figure speaks “You… go… not safe here. All Fo-… must…sorr-… Ninth.” the voice sounds distorted like a scratched record; it reverberates and sounds like several voices layered on top of one another, and it’s almost as if it’s directly inside his head, rather than from the people in front of him. Before he can analyse the voice much further, he suddenly feels terror drain the blood from his face. Did the voice/voices just try to say ‘All For One’? Before he can register the movement, he rips himself away from All Might and sprints up and out of the crater faster than he’s ever moved before.

His fists are still clenched tightly but he hardly notices through his blind panic as he scrambles out of the clearing back into the drenched forest. He whips his head around to look back but doesn’t pause even when he notes hysterically that the figures are gone. Can one of them teleport? Go invisible? Where are they?

He frantically tries to think of what they could possibly be doing whilst tracing back his own muddied footprints that had been left behind on his way here, as quickly as he possibly can. “If those people work with All For One then I can’t let them get me, especially after All Might trusted me to take One For All!” he mumbles hysterically as he runs, desperately trying to calm his racing heart. ”If those people catch me, will they kill me right away? To get rid of One For All? Or maybe they will take me to the Villian for him to sort out himself? Maybe they don’t even know I have One For All, and want to check? After all they only saw me with All Might hours after he had died. It’s possible they aren’t coming after me then and just wanted to scare me off… but maybe I made them suspicious by not running off straight away?” he felt bile make its way up his throat at the thought of everything All Might had done being for nothing, just because he was too upset to leave the Hero behind sooner.

Izuku runs and runs even as lactic acid begins to flood through his legs, only able to move through the pure adrenaline pumping all through his body by his racing heart. As he choked down the bile in his throat, he finally saw a break in the trees, artificial light streaming through from lamps on the building. “Yes! I-I’m back!” he cried as he scrambled his way through the trees. He comes out right next to the building he’d been ‘sleeping’ in only hours before. He felt like he’d been gone for decades. The relief doesn’t last for long, and he jumps as he remembers the whole reason he’d run back.

Frenziedly, he looks around for the figures. He presses his back into the brick of the building and takes a deep breath. There was no sign of the mysterious group. “I’ve run almost a mile and a half… and I didn’t even see them once…” he muttered under his breath, still heaving from the panic and distance he just sprinted. If they really thought he had One For All, there was no way they’d let him get back here, let alone escape in the first place really. “That must be it then, they just wanted to scare me off… were they even real? Maybe I just got scared and i-imagined it?” they had certainly felt real but if they were there and knew about All For One, what were they trying to accomplish?

His head was spinning, and his eyes were watering again. Bringing up a hand to scrub at the leaky feature, he felt fabric poke at his cheek and brought his hands back down to see what it was. Lying in his left hand was his coat, soaked in blood and mud and looking ripped along one side, where he guesses it had been dragging on the floor as he ran. Although he’d brought it accidentally (he must have been grabbing it as he protected All Might from the figures) he supposed it was probably a good thing. “When they find All Might’s… b-bo-body it would definitely look suspicious and it might make them try and look for whoever was there. I can’t let them find me, All Might said this Quirk was a long kept secret, so I shouldn’t let anyone know I have it… not that they’d believe me anyway.” he sniffed resolving to keep the fact he’d got his Quirk from All Might a secret. Mind made up he moved towards the dumpster next to the window he’d climbed out of.

He needed to throw this coat away; not only was it soaked in blood, which definitely would not look good to his teacher, but Izuku’s pretty sure he’d be sick if he ever tried to put it on again, so in the bin it goes.

He jumped onto a crate in front of the bin and used his right hand to lift open the lid. As he opened his hand, he noticed another piece of fabric fall out and fall into the mud below. Quickly shoving the coat in, he dragged another bag in the bin over the ruined clothing to hide it and reached down to grab the fabric he’d dropped. As he bent and grabbed the muddy cloth he felt tears spring back into his eyes at the yellow, white, blue and red colours it was adorned with. This was a piece of All Might’s costume; he must have accidentally ripped it off as he ran. He felt himself begin to sob clutching the fabric like it was made of gold. “A-l-l Mig-Might!” he blubbered. “H-How could this-“

“Oi, Deku!” a harsh whisper pierced the air, cutting him off. With his nerves still frayed, Izuku whipped his head around so fast he could’ve got whiplash. Staring back at him from the window he’d escaped from hours earlier, was Bakugou Katsuki.

His red eyes blew wide as he took in Izuku’s state, his eyes were bloodshot, and he had little scratches all over his face and arms. Not to mention the dirt that covered his face, hair and limbs. “What-“ he cut himself off with a gasp as he realised that it was in fact blood that he was covered in, with it completed soaked into the legs of his trousers. “Holy fuck, Deku! What happened? Are you okay?” Bakugou whispered frantically reaching his hand out to pull the other boy through. Stuffing the fabric into his back pocket Izuku hesitatingly reached his, now only slightly bloody, hand out and let Bakugou pull him through. Landing on the other side with an “Oomf!” Izuku fell into a heap, almost pulling Bakugou down with him.

Bakugou was the first to recover, pulling Izuku up with a slightly less harsh tug than usual. With a quick look around the room to confirm no one had woken up, he grabbed the younger by the arm and quickly dragged him to the bathroom, picking up the others backpack on the way.

After, quietly, slamming the door behind them Bakugou manoeuvred him, so he was sitting on a stool and waved his hand in front of Izuku’s face. “Wh-What are you d-doing Kacchan?” he stuttered.

“I’m seeing if you’re still alive, you- you damn nerd! What the hell happened Deku? Why are you covered in blood!” he demanded but it was clear by the way his eyes darted around to check the freckled face and arms for injuries he was off kilter. Izuku began to cry again, overwhelmed by images of All Might’s twisted and mangled body. “What- what’s wrong you idiot? How the fuck can I help if you don’t speak up?” Bakugou whispered harshly.

“I’m sorry.” he blinked deliriously, so many things he’d thought were impossible had happened tonight and it was getting harder by the minute to believe this was all real. But it had to be, there was just no way his mind would be able to create a scene so sickening as the sight of All Might-

“-uku? Deku! Are you going crazy from blood loss? We need to stop the bleeding and if you don’t stop acting weird, I’m gunna have to get Sensei, okay!? Please stop messing around!” his voice cracked and Izuku could see tears in his eyes as he grew more concerned by the minute. That snapped Izuku out of it, he was making Kacchan cry! But he couldn’t let his friend see that the blood wasn’t his; although he could feel bruises and many scratches on his legs, he knew it wouldn’t be enough to explain his bloodied state. Kacchan was smart and would realise that something else was going on. “Okay Izuku, just- just fucking stay there okay, I’m going to get Sensei just, breathe, okay you idiot?” With placating arms Kacchan was backing away from him, Izuku realised he hadn’t responded. He couldn’t let him get Sensei! There’d be too many questions and he had to keep All Might’s secret. He needed to come up with something, and quick!

“Wait! Kacchan, I will tell you what happened! Just don’t get Sensei please!” he begged. Bakugou paused, and after a slight hesitation he stomped back over in his typical fashion.

Huffing Bakugou gritted out “Tell me what happened Deku, I’ll make any idiot who hurt you pay, so stop being weird!” he crossed his arms grumpily, but Izuku could see the minute shake in hands that usually moved so intricately. There was no way he could get away with a stupid excuse, Kacchan was not going to accept that. He wasn’t very good at lying, so maybe he just needed to… re-shape… the truth.

“I… I got my Quirk.” He looked up and stared Bakugou in the eye. He had to make sure this was air-tight. If he made a mistake here, once people learn about All Might’s death, he might be under suspicion, and even if a 7-year-old wouldn’t be suspected of murder, if they think he was there, and All For One finds out… he shuddered resolving to not let it get to that.

“What? But you’re Quirkless? Don’t make stupid lies Deku! You need to tell the truth so we can catch the Villains!” Kacchan scowled and made a move to punch his arm, hesitating at the last second and just poking Izuku’s shoulder, touch feather-light, as if he was afraid he could break him. He looked earnest and it was weird to see Kacchan looks so upset (in a non-angry way anyway).

“I’m not lying Kacchan. It manifested just a few hours ago, the Doctors must’ve made a mistake. I’m just a rare case where certain conditions need to be met before it can manifest… I g-guess anyway…” He looked to the side sheepishly and gave a small smile.

“Are… you’re serious Deku? Then why were you crying outside, and why are you covered in blood?” Kacchan demanded as unrelenting and observant as always. What reason could he give? He needed something that would make sense with when he could use the Quirk in the future… wait that was it! All Might had said the Quirk was so powerful to use it as he was now would destroy him, so he should say…

“Its… I think my Quirk damaged me and-“ he was cut off

“What?? Your own Quirk damaged you? How is that even possible?” Kacchan pressed leaning forward eyebrows scrunched together in scrutiny.

“Uhm.. you see uh… I heard loud banging outside, so I went out to investigate-“

“Why didn’t you wake me up? We could’ve investigated together!”

“Kacchan! Will you just let me explain?”

“Hmph, fine. Hurry up Deku!”

“Okay, okay.” He sighed, calming slightly at the familiarity of bickering “So I snuck out the window, and it sounded like the noise was very far away, so I started to go into the forest.” He paused to sniffle, trying to figure out what to say “I was probably out there quite a while and I- I got lost! I was so s-scared!” He could feel the tears welling up again, but not quite for the reason he was leading Bakugou to believe. “So, I started running but I couldn’t remember where I’d come from. And suddenly I began to feel a… an energy! I felt like it was a ball inside of me and it started to spread all over, but it was too… too much!” Despite his obvious reservation and an attempt to look unimpressed as usual, Kacchan looked hooked on every word he was saying “It hurt so I was trying to stop it and- and I think I reduced it but I felt like a spike of pain all over and then I was covered in blood and I- I think I passed out. Uhm then I woke up and the sky was a bit lighter and I- uh – tried to think back to those old A- All-All M-Might cartoons that had survival tutorial for being lost.” He took a breath and steeled himself, struggling too choke out his heroes name, knowing what had befallen him, “I- I realised I could see my footprints! So I traced them back and found the building! And- uh- then you saw me, but I was just upset about getting lost and everything so…” Izuku looked up, trying to gage Bakugou’s expression. He was silent for a few moments eyes darting back and forth between Izuku’s own eyes, before his posture relaxed, seemingly having seen what he needed.

“Well, this is good news you idiot! We can finally be heroes together, I don’t know what you’re getting so upset about. Even if your Quirk is a bit stupid, I can help you tame it, like I did for my Quirk!” Kacchan grinned at him, leaning down with his hands on his hips, the most genuine Izuku had seen for a long time. He looked down at his feet feeling tears well up in his eyes. This was everything he had wanted, yet his hero had to die just so Izuku could be happy? He felt selfish, like he shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy this.

Despite his overwhelming self-loathing, he thought over seriously what Kacchan had said. “What do you mean tame it? You mastered your Quirk from the start.” He questioned in surprise. Kacchan had seemed to have perfect control from the very beginning, he couldn’t imagine his friend ever being anything less than perfect when it came to the matter of strength. He felt as if he was always lagging behind, chasing after a forever unattainable goal, that no one believed he could achieve, not even his Mum.

Until All Might.

The thought made him jump slightly, a little re-emblazoned, he looked back up at his friend. Kacchan looked wide-eyed for a moment and then blurted “What? Of course I had to learn to control it you damn nerd! My explosions are super powerful, so to use it properly without hurting my shoulders and arms I have to make my arms stronger. I also had to learn to control the output, turning it up and down and stuff.” He puffed up his chest and mimicked holding his hand out as if to make an explosion in demonstration.

Oblivious to Bakugou’s current re-appraisal of everything he knew about him Izuku missed his friends contemplative expression, as he considered his own predicament. Becoming lost in thought he brought his hand to his chin. This Quirk is too powerful for me now, but if I really want to make use of it to help people and defeat All For One I can’t just wait to get older for it to be useable, I’ll have to train, to be strong naturally myself so that my body can handle the backlash of the Quirk!. Just as he began to descend further into mumbling he was broken out of his trance by a flick to the forehead.

“Don’t ignore me nerd! I said you need to clean up and get some rest, we need to tell the teacher about you getting your Quirk tomorrow, and then we have to start training!” Kacchan hmphed, crossing his arms akimbo. Izuku was too shocked to be annoyed by his friends bossiness.

“You… you really want to train with me Kacchan?” He couldn’t believe it, whenever they played heroes Kacchan would never let him join the team, but now, they would be training for the same goal, together?

“You damn nerd, who else do you know that is good enough to teach you about this stuff? Of course I have to train you!” He turned away annoyed at something Izuku couldn’t determine.

Excited to finally be accepted by his friend, but jaded by
the circumstances he managed a quiet “…Thank you, Kacchan” the seriousness of his voice odd coming from someone so young. His head was down looking at his bloodied and slightly shaky hands. Bakugou turned to look at him, dropping his arms to hang awkwardly by his side, hesitating in his reply.

“Yeah… whatever, I needed training partner anyway.” Still getting no response he scuffs his sock against the tiles of the floor “You should get cleaned up, I brought your bag so you can get into your pyjamas… I’ll… I’ll go wait on my futon” he hovers for a fraction of a second more before huffing and walking out, only slightly slamming the door behind him (compared to usual).

Letting out a relieved sigh he looks up at the closed door, pausing for just a moment before jumping off the stool to his feet. Slowly he reaches to his pocket, pulling out the ripped piece of All Might’s costume delicately, as if one wrong move would cause the fabric to disintegrate. Cradling it he carefully brings it to the sink, rinsing off the blood that tarnishes it the best he can. His thoughts feel distant and he concentrates single mindly on his self subscribed task. In his dissociation he doesn’t notice the shadowy figures that linger within his peripheral.

Suddenly finding his hand turning off the tap his mind registers the buzz of the lights above and the low hum of crickets from outside as the sun begins to rise. Blinking back into himself, he looks up in the mirror and steels his expression. All Might had always been his number one inspiration to become a hero, his fearless smile kept the hearts and hope of people alive, knowing they would always be safe. But he’s gone. And Izuku has been trusted by that man, to do the same. No – he thinks – not just trusted, but bestowed with the responsibility and power to do the same.

He can become a Hero.

Clenching the wet piece of fabric in his hand he resolves to honour All Might’s wish. He will become the greatest hero, save the hearts of people and avenge his hero by defeating All For One, no matter what it takes.

________________________________________

After stuffing the piece of All Might’s costume in his bag, wrapped in one of his dirty socks (for protection), Izuku quickly cleaned up and got into his pyjama’s. They were soft and felt nice against his skin, although the though of him being cosy whilst All Might lied dead in a crater quickly removed the fleeting comfort he had drawn from them.

Grabbing his bag he tip-toed back into the bedroom, back over to his futon where he placed his bag down quietly. He looked over to Kacchan’s futon, where the boy was sat up watching him. He had expected him to fall asleep by the time he got back in, but Kacchan must’ve been more concerned than he thought. Izuku gave him a small smile and a thumbs up, and after a moment Kacchan gave a small quick nod and abruptly turned around to lie down. Izuku shook his head as he got under his blanket to lie down. He didn’t think he would ever understand his friend. Although he felt more confident in that word than he had for quite some years, so maybe things weren’t so bad. As he settled his head on the pillow he felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion hit him and he was soon gone to the world.

________________________________________

Jolting up abruptly Izuku was struck in the face by a beam of sunlight, momentarily forcing him to clench his eyes shut. He had a vague impression of dreams about tides of blood and an impression of suffocating, which then abruptly cut to an empty void filled only with whispers he could never quite make out, but it was snatched from his mind when the noise of his classmates finally registered. Opening his eyes again he saw his classmates getting ready for the day and running around playing tag. It felt odd after everything he’d seen last night, for the world to continue as normal. For as much he wanted to delude himself into thinking last night was a dream, he couldn’t deny it, it was too vivid, too real and he could feel the evidence of it in the heaviness of his limbs and the sting of scratches littering his body.

“Rise and shine everyone, it’s time for you to get ready, remember we will be getting the bus back home today!” announced their teacher poking her head through the sliding door. Izuku didn’t know how he would tell her about his Quirk “awakening” as she never seemed to listen to what he had to say much. However, before he could even begin to think about approaching her, he saw Bakugou run up to her tugging at her hand, trying to lead her further into the room.

“Nobara Sensi, Izuku got his Quirk!” Bakugou shouted, smiling as he tried dragging her forward. All air seemed to be sucked out of the room as everyone fell silent, Izuku gulped nervously. Many heads turned to look at him, before some of his classmates began to laugh. He waited for the familiar ball of humiliation to settle itself in his stomach, but instead it felt like a well of something cold had just been disturbed, leaving no room for petty emotions like shame. He didn’t know what to make of it, but he wouldn’t waste this unfamiliar indifference on his classmates opinions; he needed to make sure this went well, he couldn’t let people suspect there was anything unnatural about his Quirk. Nobara Sensi was staring down at Bakugou quizzically as he glared at the people who had laughed, probably taking it as a personal offense, as he continued trying to drag her into the room.

Izuku pushed his blanket down and stood up, taking a deep breathe he said “It’s true Sensei, I got my Quirk last night. I know-“ before he could start on his explanation he had given Bakugou last night he was cut off by his Sensei.

“Now Midoriya, I know it’s tough for you not having a Quirk, but lying is not acceptable, truthfulness is one of our key values. I don’t know how you convinced Bakugou, but you need to apologise to him for lying.” She extracted her hand from Bakugou’s grip and crossed her arms, staring Izuku down lightly.

Before Izuku could start to protest Bakugou stomped his foot and shouted “But it’s true! Last night I saw Izuku outside and he was covered in blood, it came from his Quirk hurting him, how could that be a lie idiot?!”. His teacher’s eyes widened and she snapped her head up to look at Izuku quickly, she looked horrified.

She brought a hand up to her mouth “Oh my god!” it was breathy and probably meant to be said under her breathe, not for the ears of children. Little did she know Izuku had seen something infinitely worse for a human to see, let alone a child, last night. She quickly gathered herself walking over to Izuku swiftly and taking his hand. “Okay everyone, please continue getting ready.” She looked down at him and said more quietly “Its okay sweetie, just come with me, you’re going to be okay” and began walking before Izuku could get a word in edgeways. Izuku was a bit confused but figured this would be easier than explaining in front of everyone, so went along with her.

As she takes him out of the room and straight to the nurse’s office, he quickly realises that his teacher had not miraculously believed him, and just thought he’d been attacked. Upon entering the room his teacher explained he’d been outside last night and may have been injured by someone, the nurse quickly picked him up placing him on the bed and began looking him over. She was concerned about all his scratches and bruises, but after listening to his explanation of his Quirk, she looked to his teacher who shook her head and whispered into the nurse’s ear. After that she sighed and just put his injuries up to running about in the forest, and due to Bakugou’s tendency to embellish stories, figured he’d been exaggerating the ‘covered in blood’. Even when he’d tried to explain he really did get his Quirk (although technically they were correct about the origin of his injuries) they’d scolded him for lying and made him apologise to Bakugou. At least his friend had screamed at the teachers for being dumb, but he'd just scolded as well, and they were made to sit in the front next to the teachers on the way back.

As the bus pulled out of the parking lot next to the building Izuku looked out the window towards Kochi Forest. Making the decision to go into that forest last night had changed the trajectory of his life forever. He wasn’t sure if it was the right decision or not, but the one thing he’s certain of is that he’s glad he was there to comfort All Might in his final moments. He gives a small wave to the forest, whether he’s waving goodbye to All Might or his old life, he doesn’t know. A singular tear slips out of his eye; he doesn’t know that it will be the last one he sheds in sadness, for a long time.