Chapter Text
TOP SECRET. YOU MUST HAVE APPROVAL FROM AN AUTHORITY TO PROCEED.
Operation Paperclip.
Date of creation: 13/06/2175.
Funded by the Ministry of Defense.
Led by the Minister of Defense Norio Matsumura.
Description: The terrorist group known as the Meta Liberation Army has recently been defeated and its leader, Chikara “Destro” Yotsubashi, incarcerated. But the Meta Liberation Army’s rise and subsequent fall has opened many opportunities.
Japan is still in a state of anarchy. The emergence of meta abilities 161 years ago caused mass panic that shook the world and left almost every country lawless. We’ve tried to re-establish order but none of our attempts have been successful. What our country needs right now is people that they can rely on to help them when they need it.
The idea of a new profession, the hero, is currently being considered and has much support in the government. But on their own, they’re just glorified citizens. They need support, and the Meta Liberation Army has the support they need.
One of their greatest strengths was the effectiveness of their support gear. It could do nearly anything. If someone’s body couldn’t handle their meta ability well, they could make gear to account for that. If someone wielded a meta ability that had limited strength, they could make equipment to increase its power. The only limitation they had was that they were blinded by their worldview; they’d only make support gear if it made a person’s meta ability stronger.
But if we can recruit them and have them work to support the heroes, bringing society back under our control will be far more feasible. There is one issue larger than any others, however. Most of the knowledge they had about such items came from Yotsubashi, who recently committed suicide in prison.
There is a way around that, though. Yotsubashi had a child, named Rikiya Yotsubashi, currently aged 18 years. As far as we’re aware, he never had contact with his son. Whether he knows about his father’s technological genius remains to be seen. But he is our best chance at utilising the Meta Liberation Army’s technology to our advantage.
I am requesting permission to find Rikiya Yotsubashi and recruit him to work on support gear to strengthen heroes, as well as any other Liberation scientists or engineers we find.
Status: To be reviewed.
Updated 25/08/2175: Approved.
Updated 03/10/2175: Yotsubashi has been located. He has not yet accepted nor rejected our offer. We have given him the month to consider it.
Final Update 01/11/2175: Yotsubashi has accepted our offer.
Monday 5/4/2211.
Midoriya ran down the sidewalk with an enormous smile on his face. His time was limited; he couldn’t afford to be late, especially since he needed to get to class quickly after. Cars and buildings passed by as he rushed towards his destination.
It wasn’t long before he came upon the site he was hoping for: a large villain with a heteromorphic gigantification quirk wreaking havoc on the bridge. The sight only made his grin widen as he stopped.
There was a large audience to this spectacle and they were all tightly packed together. Most were taking photos and videos, while some just glanced at the commotion and continued with their daily commute. It wasn’t uncommon to see this. The police were having a hard time containing the crowd.
“That’s one huge villain!” Midoriya yelled out excitedly. The villain slammed his hand into a nearby electrical pole, breaking it in two and shocking most of the crowd. That shock quickly turned into fear as people realised that that electrical pole was falling right onto them.
The pro hero Death Arms dashed forwards, placing himself under the falling object, grabbing it, and holding it with his bare hands. He grunted from the pressure. He may be super strong, but he still feels weight.
Following that, the hero known as Backdraft used his water manipulation quirk to create a safeguard that prevented the crowd from getting too close.
“Everyone, stand back!” He ordered. “This area is dangerous for civilians.”
Midoriya kept trying to see over the crowd, but due to his short stature, it was less than easy.
“How desperate is this guy? He just went monster-mode in the middle of the city during rush hour!” One of the civilians commented. He turned to the person next to him. “Do you know what happened?”
“Eh, it’s just an amateur who doesn’t know how to be a criminal,” the other one replied. “Stole someone’s bag then got himself cornered.”
Midoriya started weaving his way through the crowd to get a closer look. Most of the people who were watching were either pretty casual, excited, or annoyed. One person complained to their boss over the phone that they would be late for work. Villain attacks were commonplace enough that they essentially became public exhibitions when they happened.
Suddenly, a figure flew by the crowd and a group of five teen girls were suddenly ecstatic and they squealed in excitement.
“It’s Kamui! We’re your biggest fans!” They yelled out in unison.
Kamui Woods jumped onto the bridge and the villain immediately attacked him. He quickly dodged and leapt into the air above him.
“Get away from me, or I’ll break you in two, you twig!” The villain bellowed in a deep, echoing voice.
Midoriya finally squeezed his way to the front. “Oh, this is going to be good!” He shouted excitedly with a large smile on his face.
The villain struck at Kamui, who was still midair. He dodged by wrapping his wooden arm around an intact electrical pole and swinging out of the way.
His quirk provides incredible mobility! Kamui Woods may be a rookie, but he’s already proven himself worthy!
The man next to him with peculiar spikes on his head chuckled. “What are you, a fanboy?” He half-joked.
Midoriya’s face flushed in embarrassment. “Uh… a little…”
Kamui Woods dashed across the train tracks on the bridge and dodged as the villain slammed his hand into the ground where he once stood. He landed on his arm and ran up it, jumping and tossing his wooden hand at the villain’s head. It was blocked by his other arm. The villain used that to toss Kamui Woods across the sky with a flick of the wrist.
Kamui disconnected himself from the villain, landing Spiderman-style on the entrance to the tunnel.
“Assault, robbery, and the illegal use of powers during rush hour traffic,” Kamui started. “You are the incarnation of evil!”
Midoriya would have thought that was a slight exaggeration if he weren’t so excited and engrossed. Kamui started to grow his right arm out into a labyrinth of branches.
“That’s his special move!” Midoriya yelled in elation, pointing at the hero.
“Pre-emptive Binding…” Kamui shot his arm towards the villain. “Lacquered Chain Prison!”
Before the move could reach him, though, another hero dropped onto the scene. A bleach blond woman with a more powerful gigantification quirk.
“Canyon Cannon!” She yelled as she kicked the villain in the face.
Midoriya’s jaw hit the floor. Kamui Woods just stood there, his move half-finished. The villain lay unconscious on the road below the bridge and she landed before him, crouching to pick him up in a clearly suggestive manner. Most of the crowd started taking photos of her.
“Piece of cake for the world’s next hottest hero,” the woman started. “Hi there, everyone. I’m Mount Lady. And you don’t have to worry about this bum anymore,” she said with an even more suggestive wink. The photos only increased. Midoriya, though, just started rummaging around in his school bag for something else.
“Wait, why is she getting all the credit?” Kamui Woods asked rhetorically in a very exasperated way. Mount Lady started waving as she shrunk back down to regular size, the villain was detained, and reporters tried desperately to get her words on the situation.
After most of the crowd had cleared, Midoriya stayed behind, writing something in his notebook.
“Gigantification…” he muttered. “She’s definitely got the looks and attitude needed to be mainstream and her quirk is very flashy. The issue comes with mobility; she needs to be careful around tightly-packed groups of bystanders.”
“What’s that, fanboy?” The man with the unusual head called out. “Ya taking notes? D’ya wanna be a hero too?”
Midoriya was pulled out of his analytical trance by his voice. He turned to the man and smiled from ear to ear. “Yes! More than anything!”
Ugh. School, am I right? It’s also a lot worse when you’re different from everyone else in the classroom in the worst way possible.
The teacher stood at the front of the classroom and most of the students stared up at him blankly, except for two. Midoriya stared down at the table as he finished off his notes, a frown upon his face. Another, a blond boy with spiked hair and red eyes, hung his head over the back of his chair with his feet kicked up on the desk. Katsuki “Kacchan” Bakugo.
“You’re all third-year students now,” the teacher started. “You need to start thinking seriously about your futures and what you want to do with your lives. I could give you all some career aptitude tests, but,” he swiped the papers off of his lectern, “why would I do that?” The teacher tossed the papers behind him. “I know you all want to go down the hero road!”
The students confirmed that by cheering and activating their quirks. One kid extended the fingers on his hand to about a foot in length. Another took a hold of his pseudo-prehensile eyeballs. Another puffed out his cheeks to the size of a beach ball. Midoriya just kept his head down and weakly held his hand in the air.
“Yes, yes, your quirks are all very impressive. But no power usage is allowed at school! Get yourself under control!” The teacher announced.
“Hey, teach!” Bakugo started smugly. “Why are ya lumping me in with these extras? I’m gonna be the next number one, while these idiots’ll be lucky to be a sidekick for a D-lister.” His voice was laden with arrogance.
“Do you think you’re better than us, Katsuki?!” One of the other students yelled in irritation.
“Hah! Try me! I’ll beat all of you!” He shouted back.
The teacher went on to praise Bakugo for his terrific test scores and propose that he might actually make it into UA High, the most prestigious hero school in the world. Most of the class was shocked into silence. One remarked that UA only had a 0.2% acceptance rate, one of the lowest in the country.
“That’s why I won’t settle for any less,” Bakugo replied. He jumped out of his seat and onto his desk. “I aced every mock test! I’m the only person in this crappy school that even has a chance at getting in! I’ll get more popular than even All Might! And become the richest hero of all time! Everyone in the world will know my name. And UA is where it starts!”
It was a very pretentious statement.
“Oh yeah, Midoriya, you wanna go to UA, too, right?” The teacher asked.
Midoriya buried his face into his arms on the desk in both embarrassment and fear. The rest of the class just stared at him for a few seconds before they all burst into laughter. Midoriya looked around at them in shame as they mocked him.
Bakugo slammed his hand into Midoriya’s desk, blowing it up with his Explosion quirk. Midoriya fell backwards out of his seat.
“Listen up, you useless Deku! You’re even worse than every other one of these morons! You’ll only ever be a quirkless wannabe!”
Midoriya attempted to defend himself as he backed up against the wall. Bakugo didn’t give a shit and continued, his hands smoking. Midoriya didn’t try to defend himself again.
A woman screamed outside of a convenience store, a forcefield surrounding her body. The store manager rushed out in response.
“Hey! Get back here!” He yelled. “Someone stop that monster!”
The “monster” he was referring to was a man with a heteromorphic quirk that turned his body into a dark green sludge. His eyes were a sickly yellow and his mouth was grossly large. He had just robbed the store and held the stolen money in his liquid body, keeping all of his limbs available.
“Shout all you want, loser, this cash is mine!” The sludge villain yelled in a distorted voice.
No one came to stop him. Most of the bystanding civilians bickered amongst themselves as to why that may be. After all, most of the time, a hero would be on the scene in an instant. One even said that there was no stopping these villains.
A man with a scrawny, skeletal physique walked out from a grocery store with his bags. His hair was a messy yellow and his blue eyes seemed to stretch across his face. He overheard the conversation and decided to respond.
He transformed into an entirely different form. His hair was now well-kept and pristine. His muscles were enormous and he now stood at over seven feet tall.
But above all, his smile was dazzling.
“Yes, there is,” he said as he walked out of the shadows, his voice powerful and commanding. The others turned to see him and smiled in utter excitement. “You know why?”
The villain looked back and his eyes widened in fear.
“I am here!”
Ah, finally, class was over. As the students left, they discussed what they should do with their afternoon. Karaoke, shopping, gaming, and other activities. Midoriya, though, stayed behind for a bit longer, his hero notebook sitting on his desk and scrolling the news on his cellular messaging device.
That fight from this morning is topping the headlines. I’ve gotta finish off my notes before I forget.
Midoriya picked up his notebook but it was snatched out of his hands by Bakugo, who stood over him with a scowl on his face. He looked up at the blonde in slight fear as he waved it from side to side.
“I dunno what you wanted to do, but this ain’t over,” he said.
The two tag-alongs walked over to him. “What’s that? His diary?” One asked mockingly.
Bakugo flipped it over and showed them the title of the notebook. They proceeded to mock him for taking notes to become a hero.
Midoriya stood up and placed his hands onto his desk. “Yeah, that’s hilarious, guys. Now give it back,” he said slightly desperately.
Bakugo clapped his hands together, the notebook separating them, and created an explosion. The notebook was burnt badly as a result. Midoriya yelped in fear. Bakugo then threw it out of the window, landing in a pond a few floors down. Midoriya screamed that time.
“Future top-tier heroes show their strength early on. You can tell at a glance who’s destined for greatness,” Bakugo started. Midoriya was basically shaking. “I’ll be the only one from this trash junior high to get into UA and people’ll start talking about me like that. They’ll realise that I’m the next bigshot. That’s not ego talking, it’s just the truth, Deku.” Bakugo placed his hand on Midoriya’s shoulder and singed his school uniform. “Here’s a little advice, you nerd. Don’t even think of applying! Or else.”
Midoriya whimpered in fear, unable to form coherent words.
As Bakugo walked to the door, he stooped to the lowest point he ever had. “Y’know, if you really wanna be a hero that badly, there might actually be another way. Just pray that you’ll be born with a quirk in your next life. Then take a swan dive off the roof of the building!”
Midoriya didn’t respond. Bakugo and his tag-alongs walked out and left him alone.
Midoriya picked up his notebook from the pond, trying to curse Bakugo, but the closest he could bring himself to was just calling him an idiot in his head.
He stared at the front cover and reflected on his childhood.
He’d always been the biggest fan of All Might. He was the number one hero. The Symbol of Peace. The man who helped build this society from the ground up.
There was one video in particular that he’d watch over and over and over again. It was disaster footage from All Might’s debut. Hundreds of people were trapped in the debris of a burning building. But there wasn’t a single death.
“Fear not, citizens. Hope has arrived. Because I am here!”
Midoriya had said that once he got his quirk, he would be just like All Might.
And then all of that hope was crushed in an instant. A doctor with bulky glasses and a bushy moustache performed a quirk test on him.
“Sorry, kid, it’s not gonna happen.”
He had two joints in his pinky toe, which was a trait almost exclusive to quirkless people.
That night, he’d watched the video once again, the rain crashing down over the buildings and his room only illuminated by the computer screen’s light. Inko, his mother, was about to leave the room when she turned back to the chair, over the back of which she could not see her son.
“See that, Mom?” He started, his voice uneven. “It doesn’t matter how bad things get; he always smiles. He never gives up.” He turned back to his mother with tears in his eyes, which filled hers with her own. “Do you think… I can be a hero too?”
Inko started walking over to Midoriya, then started running. She embraced him in a tight hug. “I’m sorry, Izuku! I wish things were different.”
Those weren’t the words he needed. His world fell apart that day. While he was incredibly appreciative for everything his mother had done for him, he just couldn’t bear to hear that.
Midoriya was brought back to the present and he began walking home.
He wandered down a dark tunnel, trying to imitate All Might, when a pile of sludge rose out of the gutter behind him. He only noticed when it was already too late.
Midoriya gasped in horror as the sludge took on a humanoid form, his body trembling.
A villain?!
“Yeah, you’ll be a good body to hide in,” the villain said in a distorted voice.
Midoriya tried to run, but the villain jumped on him, his notebook clattering a meter or two away. It was open to his sketch of his hero costume. The villain started to force his liquified body into Midoriya’s mouth, unable to fight back. The villain was saying something, but Midoriya was too scared to figure out his words, not helped by the fact that he couldn’t breathe.
I think… I’m dying… Midoriya’s eyes pricked with tears. He stared down at the drawing in his scorched notebook as he closed his eyes. No! Please, someone! Help!
Suddenly, the villain made a yelp of surprise and fear as someone else entered the tunnel.
“Have no fear, you’re safe,” bellowed a powerful voice that Midoriya would recognise anywhere if it weren’t for the situation at hand. His foot stomped on the ground with a gust of wind. “For I am here!”
The villain attempted to attack the person with his liquid body, only for him to dodge the attack and respond with a clenched fist.
“Texas…” the person started, thrusting his fist forward. “Smash!”
The incredible gale winds that resulted tore the sludge apart, dispersing the villain’s body and freeing Midoriya.
He slowly opened his eyes to blurry vision but he still recognised the figure before him. It was… All Might! That was when he blacked out.
Midoriya awoke to being lightly slapped on the cheek many times over.
“Thought we lost you there!” All Might said, leaning over Midoriya’s newly-awakened body.
Midoriya screamed and crawled backwards quickly. All Might was rambling about safety and justice, but Midoriya was too distracted by meeting the Symbol of Peace to listen to his words. But something he did notice was All Might showing him that he had captured the villain in two plastic bottles.
“I’ve gotta get an autograph!” Midoriya thought out loud. “I’ve got a pen somewhere around here. Please sign my notebook!” Midoriya picked up and opened said notebook to find that he had already done so. Midoriya squealed and bowed repeatedly, saying that it would be an heirloom of some sort.
All Might sent him a thumbs up. “Anyways, I’ve gotta take this guy to the police. Take care! See you ‘round!” He said slightly desperately as he crouched and prepared to jump into the air.
“Wait, you’re leaving already?” Midoriya asked, defeated.
“Pro heroes must constantly fight not only criminals, but time!”
He can’t go yet. I need to ask him so many more questions.
“Now stand back! I’m taking off!” All Might announced, jumping into the air with incredible force. “Thanks for your continued support!”
Midoriya, though, had other plans. He clung onto one of All Might legs as he went flying. All Might attempted to get him to let go, but Midoriya countered by saying that he would die from the fall, which he absolutely would. Midoriya closed his eyes so he couldn’t look down, which stopped him from seeing All Might cough a few drops of blood.
By the time they’d landed on a rooftop, Midoriya had looked like he’d aged fifty years in the span of half a minute.
“My whole life just flashed before my eyes,” he said shakily.
“That was not a great idea,” All Might started. “Knock on the door for a while; I’m sure someone will let you in soon. But I must leave. See you later!”
“Wait! Don’t go yet!” Midoriya said as his face changed back to its normal appearance.
“No! I have no time!”
“I have to know!” Midoriya yelled as he reached out to the very nearly god that stood before him. But he stopped and retracted, pulling his hand back down to his side. He looked down and clenched his fists, his body shaking. All Might walked out towards the building’s railing.
“Is it possible to become a hero, even if I don’t have a quirk?” The words came tumbling out of Midoriya’s mouth. “I’m a normal kid without any powers. Could I ever hope to be someone like you?”
The silence that followed felt like an eternity. Midoriya stood still, trembling. All Might suddenly grunted and groaned, his body emitting smoke. Midoriya, though, didn’t notice. He continued to fidget and avoid eye contact while explaining why he wanted this.
“All I want is for people to see my smile have their fears melt away. I want to be a hero that everyone can rely on. Just like you!” He finally made eye contact with All Might and… didn’t find what he expected.
He had essentially deflated into a skeletal form. It was more than just surprising. Midoriya recoiled in slight disgust.“I- Wait, who…? What happened? You shrunk!” Midoriya looked from side-to-side. “Where’d All Might go? You’re not him! You’re an impersonator!” He accused.
“I assure you, I am All Might,” the possible number one hero replied. Midoriya continued to deny what lay before his eyes. All Might just sat down against the railing, resting. “You wanna know the truth, kid?” All Might asked. Midoriya slowly nodded. “Don’t tell anyone about this. Not your friends, your family, or anyone online.”
“Okay,” he said hesitantly.
All Might lifted his shirt and Midoriya flinched at what he saw. All Might had an enormous scar on the left side of his torso. A puncture wound. “Looks pretty repulsive. This is from a fight five years ago. Had to say goodbye to one of my lungs and my stomach. The surgeries took a lot outta me. Now, I’m the All Might you know for only about three hours a day. And I’m forced to take this form for the rest of the time,” All Might explained.
“No way…”
Five years ago…
“Does that mean you got hurt in the fight with Toxic Chainsaw?”
“Impressive. This fight has been kept under wraps for most of the world. It was the first and only one where I was forced to kill.” Midoriya gasped. “His body was cremated in secret. I didn’t want people to know about it because it’d make them scared.” All Might sighed. “I’m the guy that always smiles, right? The Symbol of Peace. People all over the world think I’m never afraid.” All Might looked Midoriya dead in the eye. “But since I’m already telling you the truth, I wear that smile to hide the fear below. Villains don’t play the same game we do. So that smile spreads across my face when the pressure is about to get me.” Midoriya couldn’t believe his eyes nor his ears. “Heroism is a dangerous field. Some villains are just too strong to beat without a power of your own. So I don’t think becoming a hero without a quirk is possible.”
That was it. There were so many thoughts in Midoriya’s head after he heard those words. And none made any sense.
“Got it…” he stumbled out, staring at the concrete floor.
All Might stood up. “You really wanna help people, right? You can do that in a lot of other ways. Become a nurse or police officer, for example.” All Might started to walk towards the door. “They don’t get as much attention as heroes, but both are still honourable pursuits.” He stopped in the open doorway. “Having a dream is a good thing, young man. But make sure it’s realistic and attainable.” He closed the door behind him.
All Might coughed in the absence of the teen. “We should get you to the station now.” He patted the pockets that he had put the bottled villain into and found… nothing. A rumbling sound was heard in the distance and far away outside the window was a rising plume of smoke. “Oh, shit…” he whispered.
Midoriya was left in a trance by All Might’s words, which he was broken out of by an explosion off in the distance, accompanied by a lot of smoke.
“A villain! Which hero will respond?” He said as he ran towards the door. He suddenly stopped when he remembered what he had just been told. He hunched over and slowly continued his walk back to the door.
He slowly wandered down the dark, quiet street, looking at his various analyses of top heroes. And then the signature from the Symbol of Peace. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.
Even All Might said it… Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. Don’t cry, Izuku. You know that was the truth deep down. You’ve just been living in denial.
Midoriya exited the darkened street and found himself in a three-way intersection. Behind a banner that showed the start of an event gathered a large group of people, with smoke floating up from in front of them. The street crossing light was red, so he stopped there.
That’s unusual. I guess the fight from before is still going on? Why am I here? Did I just walk over here on instinct?
The light turned green and he walked over to check the situation out. He gasped at what he saw: the same villain that attacked him earlier, made of green sludge, yellow eyes, and a sickeningly wide mouth. The heroes there (Death Arms, Kamui Woods, Backdraft, and Mount Lady) were completely outmatched and the surrounding area was covered in fire.
No, All Might captured him in those bottles. But if he dropped them… “It’s my fault…” He trembled in shame and fear.
He overheard two other people wondering why the heroes weren’t doing anything, and they mentioned that the villain had captured a kid. Midoriya gasped, covered his mouth, and tried to get a closer look.
Some of the others realised that this was the villain that All Might was chasing earlier that day and wondered why he hadn’t shown up to help the heroes here.
Midoriya whimpered. It’s my fault. He used his energy on me. He can’t power up yet and these other heroes don’t have the quirks needed to help here. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.
The kid that the villain was attacking was still struggling. He opened his eyes to reveal… desperation in the red of his irises. Midoriya finally recognised that he was Katsuki Bakugo. But that wasn’t what did it for him. He looked like… he was asking for help. And Midoriya would never ignore anyone’s distress.
He dropped his notebook and rushed through the crowd, a fearful expression taking over his face.
“No! Stop, you idiot! You’ll die!” Death Arms shouted as he reached out for the teen.
What’s going on?! Why am I running?! I can’t stop!
The villain prepared an attack and Midoriya didn’t slow down.
Okay, what can I do? What would a hero do right now?
Midoriya remembered some of the more specific notes he had written down and tossed his bag at the villain. The bag opened and the contents flew all over the place, his All Might lunch box poking right in the villain’s eye. The villain grunted in pain and recoiled. Bakugo got his nose and mouth free from the sludge and took a deep breath, full of the air he was lacking.
“Kacchan!” Midoriya yelled as he started to grasp at the liquid body that had imprisoned Bakugo.
“Why the hell are you here, Deku?!” Bakugo yelled back.
“I dunno! My legs just moved!” Midoriya paused as tears formed in his eyes once again. “Kacchan… I couldn’t just stand there and watch you die!”
Back in the crowd, a seemingly regular old man grew, muscles forming on his entire body.
The villain attempted to attack Midoriya, resulting in an enormous smoke cloud. Midoriya closed his eyes and braced for impact… but it never came. Midoriya slowly opened his eyes.
“I really am pathetic,” the thunderous voice of All Might announced, smoke coming off of his body.
“All Might! But…” Midoriya trailed off.
“I may have told you the traits of a champion, but it turns out I wasn’t even living up to my own words!” All Might prepared a punch and grabbed the two children with his other hand. “Heroism is dangerous and we’re always risking our lives, but that’s what makes us heroes!”
“Damn you, All Might!” The villain tried to attack the number one hero.
“Detroit…” His fist made contact with the sludge that comprised the villain’s body. “Smash!” Mount Lady had to protect the crowd from the incredible wind pressure. It formed a small tornado that swirled up to the clouds, filling the sky with grey clouds. No one knew what to say for a few seconds.
Until it started to rain.
“He… he changed the weather with a punch…” Death Arms muttered.
All Might wiped the blood that he had coughed up from his chin and stood tall, his smile as large as ever. The crowd began cheering and praising All Might for saving the day yet again. He slightly stumbled backwards because he was having trouble holding his muscle form. But he caught himself and raised his right fist into the air. Midoriya simply lay on the ground, dazed.
The police gathered every scattered piece of sludge and brought the villain into custody. All Might and the other heroes had some interviews and stuff as they usually did. Midoriya was given a stern tongue-lashing by Kamui Woods and Death Arms. Bakugo, on the other hand, was praised for his bravery. Midoriya didn’t notice, but Bakugo glared at him angrily.
At least he was safe.
The evening was a peaceful one. A yellow light hung over the landscape, and Midoriya slowly walked down the quiet residential street to his apartment.
He wanted to apologise to All Might for the trouble, but he was being interviewed by reporters and he didn’t want to interrupt.
“Deku!” Called an aggressive voice from behind him. Midoriya inaudibly gasped and turned around, finding Bakugo running towards him.
“Kacchan?” He said.
Bakugo came to a halt and panted for a few seconds. “Listen,” he said, breathless. “I never wanted your help, let alone needed it! Don’t you look down on me! I was fine on my own! You’re just some quirkless loser that can’t do anything! You didn’t help me, you did nothing! Don’t you dare forget that.”
Bakugo turned around and angrily walked away. Midoriya was confused.
What was that? Kacchan’s mean, but I’ve never really seen him get so defensive.
He’s right, though. I didn’t actually help anyone today. But… At least I tried. I should get back to giving up on my dreams.
Midoriya continued his walk, only to be immediately interrupted by All Might dashing in and stopping right in front of him.
“I am here!” He yelled.
Midoriya screamed in surprise. “All Might?! Why are you here?!” He shouted. “Uh, how did you escape all the reporters?”
All Might laughed and did a pseudo-saluting motion. “I stand for justice! Not soundbites!” He flexed his muscles. “Because I am All Mi-” He suddenly reverted to his true form, coughing up blood. Midoriya screamed in both shock and fear.
All Might coughed and wiped the blood from his chin. “Young man, I came here to thank you.” All Might started. “And also because I wanted to discuss your question from earlier.”
“Huh…?”
“If you hadn’t told me about your life, if you hadn’t ran in to save another person, I would be nothing more than a worthless bystander. So thanks.”
“Oh, no! It was my fault that the villain was there at all,” Midoriya countered. “I got the way of your work. And I wasted your strength. And your time, too.”
“I’m not done. You told me that you don’t have a power. But you still ran in there to save a life, and that inspired me to act, too.” Midoriya gasped. He stared at the Symbol of Peace in awe. “Every hero has their story. How they became great. And most started the same way: their bodies moved before their minds did.”
Midoriya’s mouth and eyes widened, glistening with hope. Before they suddenly narrowed and tears welled up. He remembered his mother’s words.
“I’m sorry, Izuku! I wish things were different.”
He bent down, crying.
“And that’s what happened to you today,” All Might continued.
Midoriya knelt down on his knees, sobbing harder than he was before. That was when All Might spoke the words he needed.
“Young man, you, too, can become a hero.”