Chapter Text
Toshinori was always a reckless kid.
He had been reckless when he stared down Bakugou at the playground.
He had been reckless when he refused to back down to his bullies.
He had been reckless for refusing to abandon his dream of being a hero even after his quirkless diagnosis.
But latching onto the symbol of peace right as he was about to jump?
That was a new level of stupidity for Toshinori.
"Kid! I appreciate my fans, but this is a little much!"
It was like his body moved on his own.
"There we go, back on the ground again! I have to go but just leave through that door and get home safe."
He just had to know...
"Please! Wait! I have a question for you!"
Dekiru, the greatest hero who ever lived, turned around to looked Toshinori in the eye.
"Can a quirkless kid with nothing but a dream be a hero? Can I even hope to be somebody like you?"
Toshinori continued, "I've got nothing, no family, no support equipment, and no quirk. But I know you won't be a hero forever and the world needs a symbol of peace like you. For people like me, to give them hope..."
Toshinori looked up and was met with a horrifying sight.
The man before him was not the overly buff, smiling man with bouncy green curls known to the world as Dekiru.
In his place, surrounded by steam, was a gaunt, freckled man with sunken eyes and a green mop that fell in his face.
Toshinori screamed at an embarrassingly high pitch and pointed a finger at the man. "Who-Who are you!? Where did Dekiru go? What did you do to him!?"
Dekiru smiled at the boy's protectiveness. "I can assure you, I am Deki-BLEGH!" His sentence was interrupted by a stream of blood coming out of his mouth.
Toshinori screamed again, "NO! IMPOSSIBLE! You're an imposter!"
The scrawny man sat down and sighed.
He asked Toshinori, "Do you remember the press conference I gave 5 years ago? The one where I admitted to killing a powerful villain?"
Toshinori dutifully recalled the event, "Of course! It was so inspiring to see Dekiru's humility. Not only were you willing to take accountability for your actions, but you directly went against the HPSC's wishes in doing so. It was terrifying to know that there had been a secret supervillain you had been chasing for years, but of course you were able to defeat him in the end! You were back on your feat so quickly after the battle too! You only taking a month to recover!
All of your fans were so excited to hear that you would be making public appearances from now on. You had always kept to yourself, but you were still so popular and had so much merch! I got as much of it as I could get my hands on. Admittedly... I did... steal... a few pieces... But I promise I'll pay you back when I get the money!"
Dekiru chuckled at the fanboy, "Don't worry my boy, I have more money than I know what to do with. I don't fault someone down on their luck for resorting to such measures. But more to the point, I hid just how grievously I was injured during that fight."
Dekiru lifted his shirt to reveal a spider-web of scars on his abdomen. Toshinori had to hold a hand over his mouth at the sight of the deformed flesh.
"He managed to destroy half of my stomach and most of my left lung. The resulting surgeries and years of malnourishment have left me looking like this. The form your familiar with is the result of me activating my quirk, which I can only do for about three hours a day now."
Toshinori's face fell, "But-But we need you! We need a symbol of peace or else crime will only get worse! Your presence alone does so much to decrease the crime rate!"
Dekiru smiled softly, "What's your name young man?"
"Yagi Toshinori!" 'OMG Dekiru knows my name!'
"Yagi-kun, you don't need to worry about that, I have a plan in place. But as for your original question, you want to know whether a quirkless person can become a hero like me?"
Toshinori nodded, "No one believes in me, but you've always fought back against quirk-based discrimination. It was one of the few topics you spoke about before you moved further into the public eye."
"Unfortunately, without a strong quirk, it would simply be foolhardy to face villains of the caliber that I face. Without a quirk at all, I would urge you not to pursue such a path, Yagi-kun."
Toshinori's face fell once again. He had known, deep down, that his dream was impossible. But what was the point of living if he didn't dream big and do everything in his power to achieve his goals?
"I-I understand..."
"But that doesn't mean you can't be a hero in your own way."
Toshinori perked up at Dekiru's elaboration.
"I've always loved and admired heroes, even as I sit at the top of their ranks. Each one has their own unique quirk and fighting style. Each suited to a different environment. With the right support equipment, you could become your own brand of hero, even if you have to stick largely to petty crime. I would also encourage you to look into police work or the medical field. Those professionals are heroes in their own right."
Toshinori fell to his knees and couldn't resist the outpouring of tears from his eyes. Dekiru had said it so simply and logically, but it still was the happiest moment of the boy's 14 years of life.
"Woah! Hey kid, cool it with the waterworks. I didn't say something wrong did I?"
"N-No, I'm just so h-happy... you have n-no idea what your words mean to me Dekiru..."
Toshinori wiped his face furiously with his forearm and stood up.
"I promise to cherish your words in my heart until the day I die Dekiru! I'll be the hero you've told me I can be!"
Dekiru smiled brightly, with the same intensity as his usual grin, but more genuine. He reached out and bumped Toshinori's outstretched fist with his own.
"I look forward to seeing that, Yagi-kun! Now, I must be off, you can follow me outside the building, but after that is where we part ways."
"Of course, thank you so much for your time!" Toshinori said with a polite bow.
Dekiru ruffled his hair (Toshinori was never washing it again) and took off down the stairs.
They said a quick goodbye outside the building and went their separate ways.
Toshinori was grinning widely as he walked through the streets after waving goodbye to his idol.
The words were on repeat in his head. He could be "his own brand of hero".
He had seen what Dekiru had done and wanted to be just like him. He had modeled his hero costume on Dekiru's green jumpsuit. He took kickboxing to mimic Dekiru's "shoot style".
God, he was such a fanboy.
And apparently reckless enough to nearly walk into the middle of a villain fight without even noticing.
Toshinori glanced at the scene, taking in the form of the sludge villain that had attacked him earlier, holding off Death Arms, Kamui Woods, and Backdraft.
He must have gotten loose when Toshinori latched onto Dekiru. How could he hope to be a hero when he was responsible for letting a dangerous villain escape?
Toshinori even saw Dekiru's weakened form standing off to the sidelines with a sorrowful look on his face.
If he hadn't gotten in the way... if he hadn't taken up the last of the number one hero's precious time...
Then he saw Bakugou's face.
And Toshinori moved
Izuku had been searching for a successor for a while now.
Sir Nighteye had suggested a second year from UA, but Izuku was hesitant to give even more power to someone already so naturally talented.
He had always liked children, and was excitedly preparing to teach at U.A. next year. That would probably be where he found his successor.
It was a little weird being a student again, but he was soaking up the information needed to gain his teaching certification.
That quirkless boy from the rooftop, Yagi, might make a good successor, bright, determined, with big dreams.
Izuku would love to see a quirkless hero on the scene. Melissa was already on the way to being a dual support engineer and hero, she would inevitably change the landscape of American heroism.
The boy probably wouldn't make it into U.A., but Izuku would try to keep an eye on him.
Then Yagi ran straight into a danger that Izuku had been avoiding.
Welp, at least his search for his successor was over.
Time to go save the day.
Pushing his limits, Izuku leapt into action. Grabbing the two boys and scattering the villain all over the walls of the alley with a "SENDAI SMASH!"
Izuku internally sighed as he was immediately hounded by the media.
His private nature at the beginning of his career provided him the time to gain the confidence necessary to deal with the media as the symbol of peace.
But apparently, keeping to himself was "mysterious" and "iconic among a world of heroes craving media attention"
So, when he did step into the spotlight, the media hounded him relentlessly. He had both an established presence and the potential for new content.
Anyways, it looked like the other heroes were giving little Yagi-kun a hard time. Time to put a stop to that.
"Excuse me I just wanted to express my gratitude to this young man for acting so heroically! Although I hope I can trust you not to go running into danger unprepared like that again! HA HA HA!"
Yagi nodded dumbly, and Izuku took that as his queue to leave.
"I'll leave the rest of the cleanup in the hands of these capable heroes. DEKIRU OUT!"
Now, he just had to wait and intercept Yagi on his way home.
Soon enough, he spotted the young man standing tall even when the boy he saved insulted him.
Well, he certainly seemed like a firecracker.
Time to make an entrance.
"Young man, tell me..."
"Wha- who's there!?"
Izuku stepped into the light with a grin. "How would you like to have a quirk?"
One for All was... a lot to take in.
Toshinori accepted of course. He would be a fool not to.
His wildest dreams just got dropped directly in his lap.
He just lay in bed at the orphanage in disbelief, double checking his phone to remind himself that today wasn't some weird fever dream.
Sure enough, there was a "Midoriya Izuku" in his contacts. He was pretty sure that was Dekiru's real name.
And tomorrow, he would be training with the symbol of peace.
A wide smile spread across Toshinori's face. He was so excited.
He was considerably less excited at 5:30 in the morning when he stared at the mountains of trash covering Dagobah beach.
"Go on my boy! Community service is an important part of heroism. Plus, this should be pretty good weight training, I got a schedule all laid out for you!"
Toshinori looked over the exercise and meal plan. "Dekiru, this is really generous. But um, I'm kind of a dirt-poor orphan who can't afford anything more than instant Ramen."
"Oh..." Dekiru's already deflated form sagged as he pondered Toshinori's predicament.
"Well, how would like to be adopted?"
Toshinori was pretty sure he would be the one vomiting blood if the symbol of peace kept surprising him like this.
As it turns out Dekiru (Izuku, or Dad if he was comfortable with it. Midoriya was out because he was now Midoriya Toshinori and Dekiru was way to recognizable.) was not lying.
The orphanage was happy to be rid of their quirkless outcast, and if Midoriya Izuku was trusted enough to be Dekiru's secretary, he could be trusted enough to take care of a teenager.
This was a blessing for Toshinori in every way but two.
First, he was constantly incredibly flustered. Izuku really took a liking to him and his odd American eccentricities. He made sure to give Toshinori plenty of his own merch.
It was almost like they were each other's biggest fans. Wait, that was probably true. At least for Toshinori, it wasn't like he had many fans in the first place.
Second, Izuku had every opportunity to push Toshinori in his training.
He would have been plenty determined on his own, but Izuku always made sure he had a grip strengthener in his hand during mealtimes.
Toshinori was not a fan of random objects being thrown at him when he was relaxing around the house either. He hoped he never met the "Gran Torino" who taught Izuku that particular teaching method.
They both lived fairly solitary lives. Toshinori wasn't bullied much at school anymore, with Bakugou being rather silent since the sludge villain incident.
He was no longer an orphan, and he was certainly bulking up quite a bit. Those two factors combined with their ringleader taking a leave of absence meant Toshinori was simply left alone by everyone.
Six months into his training/adoption, Izuku congratulated him on cleaning up the first of the many vehicles left on the beach. Toshinori responded with "Thanks Dad!"
Izuku's jaw dropped, and then his eyes started to mist up. Toshinori went beet red and waved his hands in denial.
Izuku buffed up and lifted Toshinori into the air, "I LOVE YOU SON!"
Toshinori buried his face in his hero's shoulder and mumbled, "I love you too."
Toshinori remembered that moment as he stood with his father on the same beach after he inherited One for All by ingesting some pudding with Izuku's blood in it for breakfast.
It was a month before the U.A. entrance exam, and Toshinori was excited to test out his new quirk on the beach he personally cleaned.
"Now, don't go rushing into things Toshi-kun." Dad buffed up into his hero form, "Let the power flow through your whole body. Tell me how it feels. For me, it was kind of like Taiyaki in the microwave."
Toshinori nodded at his father's sage advice and promptly ignored it.
He powered up, yellow lightning flashing around his form at he launched into a series of punches and kicks.
"Detroit SMASH!"
"Delaware SMASH!"
"Texas SMASH!"
"Woah woah! Slow down there, son!" Izuku gripped his arm and showed him the bruises that were starting to form. "You're taking to the quirk quite well, but your body's still not able to fully hold it. You need to learn control first before you start coming up with fancy moves. I do quite like the American names though!"
Toshinori nodded, and they continued to practice regulating how much of One for All he was using at one point. Toshinori was truly a natural at the quirk, but really made the difference was his father's advice and analysis. With that, he was confident as he entered the gates of U.A. for his practical examination.
He passed with 70 villain points and 70 rescue points, a new record in the history of U.A.
He even took down a zero pointer to save a girl trapped under the rubble, although that stunt got him in trouble with his father and Recovery Girl after breaking some of his bones.
With that lesson learned, he excitedly walked into U.A. for his first day in class 1-A.