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Izuku Midoriya was, to put it simply, not having a good day. From the usual circus of close minded harassment at Aldera, capped off by the wonderful suggestion from his now decidedly former friend Bakugo, to his normal route closed due to road damage from a Villain attack.
And so, Izuku found himself trudging down a tunnel while checking the progress of a package of home weights he had recently ordered. It looked interesting from outside the gym but he didn't get the chance to try them for himself.
Suddenly, Izuku was broken from his thoughts when he heard the slow, rattling scrapping of metal on concrete. Turning around, he gagged as his nose was viscously assaulted by the collective stench of a thousand Smash Bros Tournaments. There, oozing up from the sewers was a misshapen, almost amorphous blob of dark green slime.
"Just in time kid, you're just what I need!" the Blob's voice was scratchy and gruff, as if he gargled asphalt as a hobby as he slid forward at a frightening speed. Thinking quickly, Izuku threw himself backwards, away from the grasping limbs of slime that smeared across his clothes like a paste, stinking of unnamed refuse and grime. Izuku grimaced somewhat, only to quickly, and sloppily, dodge another lunge, and then another, backing away all the while.
And then his back hit a cold, cruel wall of unforgiving brick and mortar. Slowly, he turned to look towards the villain approaching him, a cold gleam in his dark eye was the last thing he saw, before the villain rushed him.
Immediately, Izuku began to struggle and thrash, holding his lips together so hard he was surprised to not taste the coppery tang of his own blood. Ropes of slime slithered around the young man's limbs as the two began a strange, stilted grappling match. The match was short-lived however, as with a growl of frustrated impatience, the slime villain swelled in size, drowning Izuku in a murky abyss of cold, clawing darkness. Distantly, he could hear the Villain cackling as his lungs began to burn. His vision began to waver and blur until the manhole cover shot upwards, embedding itself into the roof of the tunnel.
And from that hole, like a blessing, rose the towering, herculean form of All Might, who wore his signature fearless, almost cocky, grin. A grin he quickly dropped as he took in the sight before him.
"You get the hell from him!" All Might demanded as he hurled himself forward, hand outstretched.
With a decidedly high pitched scream, the Slime Villain began desperately sliding away, trying to drag Izuku with him. Thankfully, the young man's nearly unconscious body was just heavy enough to stay leaned against the wall as All Might's other hand, drawn back and balled into a fist, shot forward. The Slime Villain screamed as the wall of wind, condensed and aimed by the confines of the tunnel, slammed into his gelatinous from, which rippled as he flew away.
All Might took a short moment to calm himself before quickly turning to the, now prone, from of the green haired child. Laying him onto his back, All Might was about to start chest compressions before the boy let out a weak, watery gasp. All Might turned him onto his side, and began to gently pat his back. Soon enough, his eyes flew open as he began to cough violently before he coughed up a foul smelling wad of viscous slime.
Gently, All Might brought him up to a sitting position before once more patting him on the back in firm, rhythmic beats.
"Just a bit more, young man. I want to make sure there's nothing more in your lungs."
Izuku groaned weakly as he began to cough once again. Once the small puddle of slime between his feet was of sufficient size, he took a moment to catch his breath.
"Here." Izuku looked up and blinked as he saw a bottle of soda held in a massive hand. Following that hand, he went up past the arm and...
"A...ALL MIGHT?!" Izuku's voice was scratchy and raw, but still filled with wonder and glee as he began to rattle of his thanks and praise for the man. His stream of thought was broken when he saw All Might cringe, turn, and leave the tunnel. Confused, Izuku followed him and when he saw All Might getting ready to jump, so did he.
Before he knew it, Izuku found himself hurtling through the air, his only lifeline being his death grip around All Might's belt. The Hero must have noticed the extra weight as he looked down. Seeing Izuku, he gasped a bit before looking around.
"Hold on tight, kid!" All Might shouted as he directed himself towards the nearest rooftop.
Izuku, understandably, couldn't respond, as he was currently experiencing G-forces normally reserved for roller coasters.
With a grunt, and a well hidden stagger, All Might landed. Izuku, again understandably, landed on the concrete in a groaning him. When he sat up his face was a concerningly> similar to his hair. Then, with nothing left in his lungs, Izuku promptly emptied his stomach onto the ground beneath him. Once he was done, he looked up into the face of a stern, but seemingly concerned All Might.
"Young Man... Do you have idea how dangerous that was?"
"I-I am!" Izuku insisted weakly, "I needed to... To ask you something."
"Young man, I assure you, no question is important enough to risk your life like that."
"But this one it! It is to me!"
"Then tell me. What's so important to you that you'd risk your life so recklessly?"
Izuku was silent for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts. When he spoke again, his words were quiet and meek, as if he was unsure if he was even allowed to speak them.
"All Might... Can I be a Hero even without a Quirk?"
All Might stares down at the young man teen in front of him Taking a moment, All Might spoke again. "Well, that depends, really."
Izuku simply looked on in slight confusion. "What do you mean?"
"How much have you prepared beforehand? What kind of training have you been doing? What's your diet like? Even outside of Heroics, a basic level of athleticism is a valuable thing to have."
Izuku hung his head and began to fidget with his hands
"I mean, I've been eating pretty well but.." he muttered something too quiet for Toshinori to hear.
"Speak up young man. I can't help you if I'm going in bli-"
"None of the Gyms let Quirkless people use them. They said the machines are 'too powerful' for a Quirkless kid like me!"
Izuku's words were loud and rushed, as if he was trying to say as much as he could as quickly as he could.
Toshinori was concerningly still for a moment, before he let out a Ling, slow sigh as his entire frame seemed to slump downwards.
"I see... well that will be an issue, but I'm sure I can- HRK!" Toshinori gasped, clutched his side, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
When the smoke blew away, carried by the wind, in All Might's place stood a tall but painfully thin man with a familiar head of blond hair and a pair of powerful blue eyes.
"Wh...What the hell is this?" Izuku's voice, while not a shout, still held the tone of one.
With a groan, the skeletal man sat down, his back against the railing.
"This is the price of being a Hero. A stubborn one at that." His voice wasn't as deep or resounding, instead it held a quiet confidence; one that didn't need to be actively asserted. He lifted his shirt, revealing a sickly, discolored web of tangled, jagged scar tissue. "I fought a Villain a few years ago, in my prime even, and I made the mistake of underestimating him. This is my reminder of that mistake." He dropped the shirt and met Midoriya's eyes. Serious, firm blue met wide, shuddering green.
"I won't lie, young man, Heroics is a very dangerous profession, even with a Quirk like mine or Endeavor's. If you're certain that you want to be a Hero, you must be willing to not only accept that fact, but not let it shackle you to inaction."
Izuku was... Horrified. All he could see was himself, broken, twisted and lifeless. He shuddered as the world around him darkened, his ears began to ring as All Might's voice became muffled and distant.
And then, all he could see was the cold, broken concrete, pressing against him like a coffin. He could head voices, so many voices. They were calling out. They needed help.
But Izuku knew that nobody was coming. His limbs burned as he pulled them tighter against himself. Gritting his teeth, he hurled his limbs outward again.
The world snapped back into focus without a sound. Izuku blinked Skele Might- Should Izuku ask his name?- stood closer now, one hand resting on his back and a look of concern in his eyes.
Izuku met All Might's eyes, twin pairs of lights gleaming towards one another.
"I'm not changing my mind."
All Might smiled as he straightened. Clapping a hand on Izuku's shoulder and opened his mouth to speak.
And then, as if to test Izuku's honesty, a loud explosion echoed from the street below.
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Okay, so I'm not sure if I'm gonna continue this or keep it as a one shot. Depends on whether or not more is wanted. Also, note to self, use Rich Text. so much easier to edit.