Chapter 2
Izuku Midoriya spent the afternoon walking the way he had usually done - head down, shoulders on guard, arms close to the chest, and hands clutching both straps of his knapsack as hard as he could.
Spend enough days meeting the business end of Katsuki Bakugo's explosions at the slightest hint of defiance, and one would think to just keep a low profile.
Around this time of day, Izuku should have already recalled today's assignments, worrying about laundry in the evenings (if he had the unfortunate encounter with said business end - which happened a lot), and maybe grab the occasional sandwich from the konbini.
Of course, today's version of events was something Izuku hadn't necessarily expected to change his routine.
He tucked his knapsack with his hands and savored the memory: he was in high school, and inside his bag was the very Hero Journal he got All Might to sign! That All Might - the World's Number One Pro Hero!
The thought lingered in Izuku more than he could have imagined. He shuddered a bit because it was not the only thing that happened that day.
The events of the past hour just rushed into his head: he was a high-schooler, and yet he dashed straight into a crime scene, stared the face of death, and struggled in futility as he attempted to save his very bully from the clutches of a villain who would have certainly killed the both of them without a second thought.
No wonder the Pro Heroes at the scene gave quite the stern lecture. Had it not been for All Might arriving at the nick of time, both Kamui Woods and Death Arms would have presented him to his mother in a body bag.
"C'mon, don't give the kid a hard time!" Izuku recalled All Might telling the two just as they ended their speech about leaving everything to the Pro Heroes. Even as he recalled it, Izuku almost scoffed at the thought.
Had I not rushed in, Bakugo would be dead anyway.
Izuku simply smiled at the recollection. All Might actually stood up for him. "We heroes should practice what we preach," he told the two back then. "I told this youngster a while ago that we Pro Heroes spend every day knowing we'd risk our lives, and yet this one -" he patted Izuku, which made the youngster jolt up in surprise, "- was just a student when he tried saving this young lad here! We should cut him some slack!"
"That's not what we teach at U.A, All Might," Izuku remembered Death Arms telling the World's Number One Pro Hero. "Even Hero Program students are taught to assess the situation and call for backup when necessary. Not everyone can be like you."
The thought lingered even further. The embarrassment started to send shivers all over his body. That wasn't the only thing that happened today.
All this - encountering the Sludge Villain, All Might saving him, All Might signing his childhood journal, seeing the Sludge Villain again but this time holding Bakugo hostage, Izuku abandoning all reason as he rushed in to try and save his bully, All Might saving him again, and Pro Heroes lecturing him for being careless - in three hours.
No wonder he thought going to high school still felt surreal.
And with Izuku's idea of a "dream school" in the picture, he remembered that "surreal" might be a depressing understatement.
"U.A University?!"
You didn't have to emphasize every syllable.
"This little punk really wants to go to U.A. University?!"
Katsuki's voice boomed across the room and past the roaring laughter of their classmates. Even their teacher chuckled at the thought. Aldera Junior High was no elite school to nurture "surefire passers" to Japan's top universities, but Izuku could go to a prestigious prep school and still not make the cut.
"Now, now," their professor started, closing his marker and placing it in his bag, not minding the laughter that kept going as he spoke. "We shouldn't blame Izuku for dreaming. I suppose anyone can dream of going to U.A. University."
Izuku blushed at this point. He kept his hand raised just as much as he kept his body tucked close to his chair. He flinched a bit when he heard Bakugo's reaction, knowing how the youngster would feel hearing such a ridiculous proposition. Still, the teacher did ask who applied where. And while Izuku could have kept quiet, any Pro Hero who graduated from U.A would have been proud of their choice.
"Tch," was the only quiet word that had come from Bakugo before the loud cracking of explosions and the assorted clanging of school desks filled the room.
The professor could only sigh as Bakugo had practically propelled himself off his desk with his Explosion Quirk without so much as a care in the world, his feet dangling in the air as he hit one chuckling classmate after the next. It didn't matter if Bakugo's trajectory hit some books or put desks in disarray. Some began to mind their own business, others gazed at the angry teen in the same way they were looking at an everyday occurrence.
Whenever Bakugo releases his Explosion Quirk, he owned the classroom. It didn't matter if even the Principal was there.
Everyone looked at Bakugo's destination - an act of unison amid the chaos of scattered paperwork and desks just minutes before school ended for the day. Eyes were set on Izuku's unsuspecting green, and the teen let out a hearty chuckle as though this hasn't been happening for the past five years.
It didn't take a moment for Bakugo's face to be right in front of Izuku's. As if on cue, Izuku had the luxury of smelling Bakugo's breath at barely a finger's distance. Izuku could hear the subtle popping around Bakugo's hands that were now conveniently on both sides of his face.
"You are going to U.A?!" Bakugo said, practically screamed, at his face. The mockery was implied - the sweat and spit practically enhanced the flavor. Izuku couldn't even catch his breath at this distance, especially with Bakugo laughing directly at his face.
"Ha! Poor little De-ku wants go to U.A ?!"
"You okay there, kiddo?"
Izuku almost jumped. The sound of another voice when Bakugo's permeated his brain was a jolt back to reality he didn't expect. The encounter at school happened a couple of days ago, but Bakugo's voice echoed in him like a broken record.
That wasn't the part that surprised him, though. What made him jump was the fact that he was too deep in his thoughts that he forgot All Might - the World's Number One Pro Hero - walked beside him.
Except, All Might shouldn't be just a foot or two taller than Izuku. The thin and frail man who walked with him was Toshinori Yagi, the man formerly known as All Might.
Izuku distinctly remembered their conversation on the rooftop mere hours before their fated encounter with the Sludge Villain. According to Toshinori, he was only permitted a three-hour shift as the World's Number One Pro Hero before the physical toll would start getting the better of him.
A rather peculiar tidbit, for sure, but Izuku knew not to pry when he saw his childhood idol pluck one blood-filled tissue strip and replaced it with another. If Izuku went back in time to tell his snot-filled, crying younger self that he would eventually walk side by side with All Might, he wouldn't believe it for a second. And if a younger Bakugo caught wind of this news, he would've probably started bullying Izuku a few years too early.
Yet he walked the way home beside All Might's real identity, of all things. What surprised Izuku even more was that a thin Toshinori that gasped for breath as he chased after him as soon as he left the crime scene. Kamui Woods and Death Arms authorized him to leave as soon as he handed his version of events. Izuku wanted to include "the ineptitude of Pro Heroes" as part of the reason why he sprang to action in the first place, but All Might's presence made him think otherwise.
When Izuku asked why Toshinori followed him, the latter said he just wanted to walk with him before he went home. Izuku simply nodded, before eventually realizing -
Izuku, this crybaby that got bullied at school all the time, met All Might - perhaps the most remarkable creation of U.A. University.
As the two walked together, Izuku distinctly remembered what Death Arms told the Symbol of Peace.
"Not everyone can be like you."
That was funny, Izuku thought as he gazed at Toshinori beside him.
We all wanted to be like All Might.
When the younger versions of Izuku and Katsuki pledged to go to U.A when they'd finally grow up, it all came with the imagination of getting a physique as strong as All Might's and the power to defeat all the bad guys.
And now that Izuku had a chance to look at U.A's material - not just the brochure and the website, but even the climactic final fights of the yearly U.A. Sports Festival - he knew the school could offer the best education for anyone whose dreams ever involved becoming a Pro Hero.
U.A. University was the cream of the crop among Pro Hero training academies. When Quirks became more widespread, and superheroes became the norm, the world soon realized they needed educational institutions where young Quirk users with the most potential to be heroes were trained while getting their secondary education.
That way, they can go straight to doing superheroics under Hero Agencies, work government positions, or even become independent Pro Heroes as soon as they graduate.
And when All Might climbed to superhero stardom, so too did U.A. University's value skyrocket. Although Izuku had no way to explain it from a business perspective, he knew All Might's presence was enough to get U.A government sponsorships and all the branding deals to support whatever spending they needed probably.
Izuku would have dabbled deep into the economics of superheroics of their time, but he often lost himself in the fantasies of people cheering for him as he saved lives - the same way All Might had done.
The same way All Might just saved him today.
Izuku recalled his idol asking him a question. He could only nod in response.
"Y-yeah," he told his idol.
Izuku thought Toshinori Yagi probably wondered why this was their only exchange for the past half-hour.
In truth, Toshinori Yagi probably had no idea what kind of privilege he's given Izuku. Any bystander who knew what was happening would have likely scolded Izuku for not asking all the details about All Might's adventures.
Izuku could only imagine the things he could get to ask: How does being Number One feel? Does Endeavor have a shot at actually beating you? Who's gonna be the next All Might?
Anyone who knew All Might - and that's the whole world - would probably have traded their lives with Izuku if that meant being next to the world greatest like Izuku currently was.
Izuku almost sighed at the thought.
Would I wish that to another person?
Would I really want someone to bear years of hearing Bakugo call them -
De-ku. Deku.
Bakugo spat the nickname - the name he picked for Izuku - with disgust.
Fool. Useless. Good for nothing.
Izuku let out the quietest chuckle that he could.
You don't have to stress the word every time you say it.
He flinched at the sight of Bakugo's eyes as they looked straight at him, especially now that they were barely inches apart. Bakugo responded with a snort.
"What are you gonna do at U.A? Sharpen their pencils?"
The class laughed at the chide. Izuku only let out another chuckle. Bakugo's jokes could use some work, for sure.
"I asked you a question," he said amid the laughter of their fellow classmates.
This was the banter between Izuku and Bakugo every day. Whenever Izuku caught a professor's attention - be it a correct answer, a decent presentation, or anything in between - it's as though Bakugo made it his personal mission to put a foot down and give Izuku an intimate exchange with the floor.
Izuku initially wondered why Bakugo seemed so hell-bent on ruining his life until it became second nature. When Izuku went to school, he anticipated Bakugo becoming angry at something he'd do.
Izuku would constantly flinch the first few years this had happened. A countless ruined lunches, dirtied uniforms, vandalized lockers, and beatdowns by the gate later and Izuku had just accepted this as part of his daily life.
He never bothered telling his mother this; she would just worry. He also didn't tell her he actually put in an application to U.A. She'd probably think it was a joke. And as Izuku predicted, even his classmates thought he was doing this as a gag.
The way Bakugo's eyes met Izuku's told him he wasn't joking, though.
"I said - "
Bakugo slammed an open fist on Izuku's table, the crackling expanding into a much louder boom that had begun catching everyone's attention. By the time the smoke cleared, even those who had just begun packing their bags were tuned in on the two. Izuku could see Bakugo's red eyes flash amid the curtain of what smoke remained, his teeth grit a fatal shine in a growing darkness of fear that had begun filling Izuku.
Katsuki's free hand grabbed Izuku by the collar and lifted him up his chair. The youngster lost grip of his pencil and notebook, and both clattered on his desk. Izuku had already felt weak with the constant ridicule, but when he noticed his thin body was lifted by Bakugo with ease, it added a different level of humiliation within him.
Bakugo continued.
" - I asked you a question."
"You walk this way home, huh?" Toshinori asked, again after a few minutes.
Izuku nodded weakly.
"Y-yeah," he simply said.
Izuku used to answer a question on demand, never the one to start a conversation. Anytime he tried to talk, Bakugo answered with a fist or a foot. It's probably why he immediately flinched when he saw All Might raise an arm. To stretch, not to hit him.
Toshinori noticed this. It didn't take for him to realize.
Anyone who's experienced this will know.
The stunned silence, being conditioned to only answer when talked to - often done by someone else. Toshinori recognized the slight tinge of torment that made Izuku's green eyes lose their shimmer.
"People probably told you never to talk until asked, huh?"
Izuku blinked, widening his eyes in surprise. The question caught him off guard.
"Wh-what?"
"I know that reaction," Toshinori said, almost quietly. He smiled a weak smile. "You don't have to do that with me, kiddo. You can talk freely."
For some reason, Izuku couldn't help but just attempt to smile. Water wanted to form around his eyes, but his body resisted on instinct. He touched his stomach unconsciously like he would meet a fist if he let his guard down.
Toshinori looked at Izuku, and then at the horizon. He munched on his sandwich. Izuku tried to interpret this - maybe he tried to make him feel comfortable. Perhaps he was just hungry. He continued.
"At U.A. thet teach students that humans evolved as social creatures." He paused, like he picked the words he had to say. "We had to spend thousands of years learning that we can't live alone because the outside world is so dangerous."
Toshinori took another bite. He continued as he munched his food.
"We learned that, by living with each other, we can feel safe because we're in the presence of other people. We can be comfortable to grow and be ourselves. We became the society we know today because of that."
Toshinori munched some more before he continued. "As Pro Heroes, we teach students to always appeal to everyone's good side. Not to coddle them - but to make sure they feel safe, validated, and most importantly, reassured that evil won't harm them."
Izuku just nodded. Where was he getting at?
Toshinori sensed Izuku was waiting for a point, so he continued.
"We normally have no reason not to open up because we're hard-wired to be curious and explore the world around us," Toshinori said. "Which means if your body is all curled up like a ball and you get worked up with what I said, something -"
He saw Izuku look on the ground.
"-or someone-"
He saw Izuku flinch, like he recognized something out of that language.
"- is making us want to protect ourselves. It's a defense mechanism."
Something curled inside Izuku's stomach. The slightest tinge circled his head like he was anticipating blame.
He knew just with the way I acted? Was I too obvious?
It's as though Toshinori noticed what he thought because his following statement was -
"Don't take this the wrong way," he said, raising a free hand as the other held the few bites remaining in his sandwich, "I didn't mean to imply that someone was hurting you or something."
Izuku didn't respond.
Toshinori's voice dropped down to a hush. "But someone was, yeah?"
Izuku didn't know why he balled his fists. He only stopped when he realized his sandwich was about to pop out of its wrapping. He just nodded.
Toshinori almost stopped on his tracks. "Do you want me to call someone?"
Izuku shook his head. "High school is about to end, almost a year is left. There's no point."
Toshinori fell silent. He took the last bite of his sandwich. He was trying to think of what to tell the youngster beside him. What should he say? What would he want someone to tell him back then?
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Toshinori knew Izuku would shake his head, but he also knew the least he could offer was an ear. This was probably why he was surprised Izuku didn't shake his head. He noticed Izuku cleared his throat, opened his mouth, and then closed it again - like he hesitated at the last second. Toshinori understood that, too.
"What can you even say about it?" Izuku asked quietly, almost in a whisper. He had also eaten the rest of his sandwich. He folded the wrapping and put it in his pocket before he wiped the breadcrumbs on his uniform. "You're the World's Number One Pro Hero. You stop crimes, not things like this."
"I am not All Might now, though," Toshinori said with a smile. "So don't worry. You can tell me anything, young Midoriya. What's on your mind?"
"I asked you a question, De-ku."
The repetition stung, and the insistence a blatant insult. Izuku noticed water forming around his eyes but resisted the tears.
"St-study to become a hero, o-obviously," Izuku said, swallowing between words to retract the water in his eyes. He's not about to start crying again now.
Bakugo stared at him for a moment, as though trying to comprehend if the words that had come from his mouth were serious or not. It's only when Izuku didn't continue that he understood the youngster was, indeed, intent on getting into U.A. High.
"You," Bakugo said, eyeing Izuku from head to whatever his face could see at this distance. He practically spat. "You really applied?"
Izuku let out a weak nod. Truth be told, Izuku had no clue why Bakugo would make this a big deal. There's a huge chance he'd fail. Even Izuku knew this at the back of his head. But if applications were free and there were no real repercussions to them, why not apply?
Truth be told, Izuku considered this the best gift he'd given himself for his 18th birthday - pursue his dream, for once. He should ignore if people said no. He's heard that all his life. At this point, what's the worst that could happen?
The wall at the end of the classroom meeting Izuku's back was the worst thing that could happen.
Izuku didn't realize Bakugo could have such strength. Even their other classmates were surprised. The professor noticed the escalation.
"Oi!" he yelled as he walked towards them, with a few students making way as the rest gathered around the commotion. The professor would have already asked Izuku how he was had Bakugo not pointed an open palm in front of his face. When Bakugo turned his head towards the professor, to describe his glare as "fierce" is an understatement. Their teacher felt a chill run down his spine and froze where he stood.
He gazed worryingly at Izuku, who struggled to stand, and especially more so when Bakugo turned and kicked him on the stomach.
At this point, heads peered from the small glass panel on their locked door. The noise evidently caught the attention of the other classes. Bakugo paid no mind.
"You're a Quirkless!" Bakugo screamed, hitting Izuku again with his foot.
Toshinori felt his heart crushed by what he'd just heard.
He at first wondered if Izuku had already crossed his own line when he talked about his experience with Bakugo. Normally, someone would not entrust anyone else with such a heavy struggle. And yet Izuku seemed not to have a hard time sharing it with him.
When Toshinori looked at Izuku's sad but somehow lively eyes, he realized All Might was probably Izuku's only bastion of peace when he got home after a rough day. That invitation of his earlier, of urging Izuku to share, was probably the first time someone has ever done that to the kid. "Trauma dumping" was the term kids used these days, and this was something Toshinori and his fellow teachers were taught at school.
And from what he saw in Izuku's eyes, the trauma ran deep.
Toshinori could only nod slowly. He understood. He knew.
He could only imagine the kind of pain Izuku has experienced. No, it's because he can imagine - no, lived - that the weight felt all too real. He was thrust back into the past, in even more chaotic times when one's Quirk dictated one's social status. The very times he swore to change by becoming a hero, even with nothing to show for.
Toshinori's response to people looking down on him was to strive to become even better. To never let his lacking define himself. He couldn't exactly preach this to a teenager who just told him he spent the good five years of his life being kicked every day for the tiniest of slights. By a person he considered his friend, no less.
All because he was Quirkless.
It was that term again, even as they talked on the rooftop at lunch.
Quirkless.
"He said I can't go to U.A. High because I'm a Quirkless," he remembered the kid say back then.
But Toshinori also remembered the way the teenager's green eyes switched to red when he rushed to save his bully from the Sludge Villain.
Quirkless.
Toshinori pondered as he remembered how the term was also used to define him before he became All Might.
And yet, Toshinori repeated the word in his mind, specifically in the way Izuku said it. And he replayed the events that led to their walk now - Izuku rushed to help Bakugo with red eyes, not the green he saw today.
That's a Quirk, right?
Toshinori realized there's a slight chance Izuku might be oblivious to his Quirk, but couldn't find an opening to ask. At that time, Toshinori wasn't so sure this would affect his assessment of the youth. Would being "truly" Quirkless matter after he received the mantle? Would already having a Quirk erase the meaning of what the mantle represented?
Izuku groaned lightly, placing a hand on his stomach. He resumed his story.
The youngster groaned in pain as his foot made contact with his torso.
This was routine to them, but Izuku couldn't fathom the animosity that had arisen in Bakugo this time around. He was just applying to U.A. High, what's the big deal?
Izuku looked down as he mustered his strength to get up. Bakugo obliged. He grabbed him by the hair and lifted him before he slammed him against the wall.
"What's gotten in your head, De-ku?" Bakugo asked.
Whether rhetorically or not, Izuku couldn't identify with the pain.
"You're expecting me to believe there is some possibility I will see myself in the same high school as you? A Quirkless? Dream on, loser!"
Izuku couldn't exactly reply with a counterargument - Bakugo had a point.
Most Pro Heroes in Japan were U.A alumni, including his - and technically Bakugo's - idol, All Might. And for a doting fan like Izuku, what better way to honor his idol than to go to the actual university where he went? If it's for the chance to apply to U.A, Izuku was more than willing to endure a few more years' worth of Bakugo insults.
Izuku knew Bakugo was fully intent on going to U.A. This was practically their dream as children - at least, until Bakugo discovered Izuku didn't actually have a Quirk.
While Bakugo distanced himself from an outcast like Izuku, the latter thought the former wouldn't seriously think Izuku would give up on their dream so easily.
Izuku knew he would likely bomb the application. He might pass the test but never the practicals - everyone had to have a Quirk to participate effectively. Izuku wasn't stupid, he knew there's eventually going to be a wall he was never going to cross.
Truth be told, Izuku prepared himself to get a rejection letter as soon as he submitted his application. Years of being called Deku would make someone always anticipate for the worst. Izuku just applied for the hell of it.
So Izuku didn't expect Bakugo's words to sting. It pierced something in his core.
I cannot dream?
Bakugo backed off.
"You better drop that application, Midoriya," he said as he fixed his clothes. It was the first time in a while Izuku had heard him use his last name.
"Th-there are a million reasons they can reject me," Izuku said as he smiled weakly. "A-applying there is like asking for an instant rejection," he just added.
Bakugo's eyebrows met. "And I am saying drop it. Jump off a building while you're at it."
The classroom remained silent, save for a few who chuckled. The attempt died as soon as no one else followed through. No one could determine whether Bakugo was serious or not this time around.
This was the first time he was extra violent toward Izuku. And by the way Izuku made momentary glances towards his classmates, it seemed none of them had any idea why Bakugo got so riled up at the mere idea of Izuku going to the prestigious Pro Hero training school.
In the end, Izuku chuckled a bit of light laughter. "C'mon, Kacchan, that seems a bit intense!"
Wrong move.
It was probably the Kacchan that ticked him off. With every "Deku" that came from Bakugo's mouth equalled a "Kacchan" from Izuku's.
"Kacchan" was an even older nickname that existed even before Bakugo christened Izuku with a reminder of his inadequacies. Today, Izuku just spat "Kacchan" as a friendly retort. Although a part within him also thought…
I ought to remind everyone we used to be friends before you reduced me to a nickname.
Bakugo had Izuku by his collars again before the latter got to "intense," either Bakugo got the hint or got annoyed Izuku even tried dignifying his threat with a response.
"You seem to be defiant today, De-ku," Bakugo said, and again he emphasized the words. For some reason he grinned, as though he finally let loose. "Now, why is that? Did applying to U.A. get you a spine? What are you so proud of? You really think All Might would pay attention to you?"
Izuku felt Bakugo's loosened grip as the blond teenager had actually backed off. The former was actually stunned in sheer surprise. That is, until Bakugo caught wind of something on Izuku's desk. It glared with the sunlight, as though begging to be noticed.
Izuku felt weight crushing down as soon as Bakugo had a notebook in his hand. It was his Hero Journal.
"Oh god, you actually kept this?" Bakugo asked, both rhetorically and hysterically. He looked at the crowd before him and he raised the notebook like it was some sort of trophy.
"This here," Bakugo said, he raised his hand higher as Izuku desperately tried to reach it, "is De-ku's precious Hero Journal."
"A Hero Journal?" Toshinori asked. He repeated what Izuku had just said. "What's a Hero Journal?"
Toshinori noticed Izuku had smiled. A real one, with the way his eyes glowed.
The youngster quickly swung the knapsack to the front of his body. Nevermind that his shoulder and arm screamed in pain as he had done so. Toshinori noticed the way Izuku's eyes beamed after he asked the question, the way he rummaged through his things before he showed him the same rugged notebook he signed.
"This one," Izuku said with evident pride. He turned a page and showed his signature. "The one with your autograph!"
Toshinori remembered.
When he saved Izuku from the Sludge Villain that morning, this was the first thing Izuku showed when he asked if the youngster had anything he wanted signed. It was standard superhero routine when encountering a fan, and All Might always delighted in seeing the populace so at peace whenever he was around.
He was surprised that Izuku called this a "Hero Journal."
Or perhaps he wasn't. The way Izuku flipped through the pages and showed him everything - the crude drawings, the notes, some random scribblings - made him seem like a child so eager to show something to his parents. Somehow, Toshinori wondered if Izuku had showed this to anyone else.
The way the notebook was constructed made him feel this was the only place Izuku had felt free with all the things happening in his life at the time.
When Izuku handed Toshinori the Hero Journal, the World's Number One Pro Hero didn't even have to read through everything intently to understand what the notebook meant for the youngster. A different pang constricted in his chest - a suffocating feeling overwhelmed his senses.
The Izuku who filled the pages of this notebook was vastly different from the Izuku he's walking with right now. Every spread was dedicated to a Pro Hero. The lack of real identities and crude drawings aside, Izuku nailed almost every detail the public would have seen or heard.
He gave some Quirks their own names, some of which scribbled out as their registered Quirk names were written beside them - probably after he researched them or encountered them from somewhere more official.
There were dates beside some anecdotes, small notes about how Pro Heroes used them and some questions on whether certain Quirks could be used in certain ways. For a guy who's just turned 18, this single Hero Journal was possibly the most practical source of handwritten Pro Hero information Toshinori has ever seen.
Truth be told, Toshinori had already thought of Izuku as someone he could trust, the same way with how Nana trusted him. To see how this youngster had paid so close attention to superheroes seemed like plus points to his mental resume.
Toshinori was still looking at the notebook while they walked.
"This is impressive," he said. "You have a website of it or something?"
Izuku was caught off-guard. He shook his head, his hands following.
"Oh, no no!" he said, followed by a weak laughter. "This is more of my private journal. Just stuff I liked about Pro Heroes. My notebook doesn't have much - the internet is filled with more theories and stuff. I'll leave it to the professionals. It's just a childish keepsake."
A childish keepsake he's kept in his bag all the time, Toshinori thought. He didn't show it in his face, but in his thoughts he smiled.
"And besides, no one will believe a Quirkless like me," Izuku continued just as fast.
That word again.
Toshinori nodded slowly, more for acknowledgement than approval. He stopped at a particular page.
"All Might," it read. "Quirk - Unnowhn. The World's Numbbr One Pro Hero. He's super strong, super fast, and super tough!"
The writing looked much older than the rest of Izuku's notes. The spelling mistakes weren't erased. The page dedicated to All Might was the center sprawl, and the drawing included here was what appeared - at least, after Toshinori rotated the notebook a couple of times - his outfit during the Golden Age. There were other stick outfits drawn beside it, too, and a wave of nostalgia just hit him.
All Might's page was probably the first one, he thought. The one he drew first as a kid.
And then the realization sunk. This was probably the only reason Izuku was able to move forward all these years. He remembered how the youngster said U.A was an aspiration he knew he'd never reach because he was content with what he was able to write in this Hero Journal. Whatever he's written here were probably during the times the world told him he was useless for seemingly being "Quirkless."
He looked at Izuku. This boy probably didn't even care. As long as he had that notebook, he was safe. He takes a step forward knowing he can go into that Hero Journal anytime and spend as much time as he wanted to with his favorite heroes. The smile showed it all.
Izuku giggled like a kid as if he hadn't been in a life-threatening situation mere hours before. His torso contorted slightly when he did, and while he tried to laugh harder to mask the pain, Toshinori saw it.
"Keep this safe, yeah?" he just said, handing the notebook back to Izuku. The kid slowly took the notebook off the Pro Hero's hands, taking care to touch the whole parts while not hitting the blackened edges. He wanted to ask why Izuku chose a half-burnt notebook but dismissed it as probably a stylistic choice.
"I'd probably ask for that when I retire to read and reminisce," he continued with a smile. Toshinori didn't know why he said that. Or perhaps he already did.
Izuku was practically grinning.
"Really? Wow."
Toshinori looked at Izuku, his eyes glowing with the brightest emerald sheen he's ever seen.
Where Toshinori decided never to let the world define him for what he lacked, Izuku resigned to not caring. Toshinori understood. It's difficult to fight a world that keeps on saying no - and for Izuku, between just wanting a normal life and a doting mother, fighting was something he probably couldn't afford. He wouldn't blame Izuku for wanting a day to breathe without constantly watching his back.
These innocent eyes will forget every pain for even a second of bliss…
Toshinori remembered the pair of crimson he's seen on that same face just an hour ago. The sight burned into his eyes.
… but those raging eyes will remember.
Bakugo remembered.
Izuku couldn't keep his head straight. All he wanted was to get the journal back, but Bakugo's elbow was on the way. He groaned in pain and couldn't raise his arm as high as he wanted. Sweat started to pour from his forehead. Izuku knew the direction where this was going.
Bakugo gave Izuku's shin a kick so the youngster would kneel down. This was the opening he needed to actually open it, scanning its pages in front of the class.
"Oh man, this actually had his sketches when he was a twerp," Bakugo chided, his laughter almost hysteria at this point. None of their classmates knew if it was their cue to laugh with him. They just left Bakugo alone as he scanned Izuku's Hero Journal.
Izuku's eyes pained at the sight. Bakugo held his most precious possession.
No, it wasn't why it was painful.
He remembered.
Bakugo was one of the only people Izuku showed his Hero Journal to. This was the mark of Izuku's shame - the one thing he couldn't have but obsessed about. He didn't have Quirks, but he recorded the Quirks of everyone he admired. All Might, Pro Heroes, almost everyone he encountered that held some form of significance. Anytime they used their Quirk in a new way, it goes straight to Izuku's Hero Journal.
Izuku knew his Hero Journal from cover to cover. He knew exactly where every drawing was, which page had whose Quirk, and how many pages were still blank. So when Bakugo paused reading, Izuku knew he had just reached the page named "Kacchan."
And when Bakugo glared back at him, the hand holding the Hero Journal practically balled into a fist and starting to crumple the pages, Izuku knew he had crossed the line.
"You recorded me?" Bakugo asked, almost nonchalantly. "You actually had the nerve to write about my Quirk?"
Izuku mustered the courage to stand up. He had to.
"Please," was the only thing he could get out of his mouth. The pain in his leg put him on his knees. He had clung both hands on Bakugo's pants. He pleaded.
"You think you know my Quirk so much, huh?" Bakugo asked as he tilted his head to the side as though a screw had just went loose. He thrust the Hero Journal in front of Izuku, pages still facing him.
"Explosion," Bakugo read. "His sweat can make explosions he releases when he opens his palms. He can use this to propel himself around the battlefield."
When he was done, Bakugo's voice went from mockery to somewhat amusement.
"I'm impressed," Bakugo said, nodding as though he's just read something insightful. "You're not as stupid as you look."
Izuku stood there. He didn't exactly know how to react. He simply let out a weak smile. Maybe Bakugo would just hand the Hero Journal back if he's happy?
"Except…"
The hand that held the journal erupted in a crackling that released the harshest popping sounds Izuku had heard in his life. Smoke burst from his hand, evidently from the impact of his Explosion Quirk.
Izuku's eyes widened at the sight his Hero Journal engulfed in smoke. Bakugo's smile went from ear to ear.
"...you didn't know I could activate my Quirk that way, huh?"
Izuku's mind went blank, and then screamed with the loudest ringing. What normally would have been a migraine skipped straight into despair. Something in him just snapped.
Bakugo bullying him, he can take. This friend - no, former friend - insulting him, he can take. This person somehow spending every day of the past five years telling him he was worthless trash, he can take. As long as Bakugo didn't touch the Hero Journal, everything was free real estate. This was the pact Izuku made with himself, to bear as long as it took.
Except this.
"Why you - !"
Izuku already met the ground before he was able to extend a fist. Bakugo simply shoved him. It wasn't even a hard push, just a reaction. Bakugo started laughing the same way he used to laugh everyday, but no one followed him.
All eyes were on Izuku. Everyone was asking the same question.
Did he try to punch Bakugo? Did he actually fight back?
Izuku felt the notebook hit him before it clattered on the ground. He reached for it but let out a yelp when Bakugo slammed a heel on the top of his palm. Izuku groaned, but desperately tried getting his hand off his classmate's shoe anyway. It took Bakugo a few good stomps before he let go, and a foot to the chest had pushed Izuku on the ground before he could tend to his reddened hand.
"I'll pretend you didn't actually try that," Bakugo said. Izuku noticed the hint of surprise in his face.
Izuku endured the pain and clutched the notebook with both arms.
He took a bloodied right hand and scanned what remained of his damaged Hero Journal. Bakugo had actually went light on him, only burning a bit of the front and the edges. Most of the pages were intact, save for some with scribbles now covered in the black of burnt paper.
Izuku finally started tearing up.
"He almost destroyed it?"
Toshinori was aghast. He had just seen the kind of dedication Izuku had poured into this Hero Journal. It must've taken years to fill it with this many scribblings. And he probably started since they were kids, too. Perhaps the thing that bothered Toshinori the most was that Bakugo knew how much this meant to Izuku.
"It's as though he deliberately wanted to destroy it," he whispered out loud.
Izuku nodded as he smiled weakly. "I first wondered why he was so mad I wanted to go to U.A but -" he groaned, touching his stomach that twisted ever so slightly in pain "- I guess at some point you just accept it."
Toshinori shook his head. "Th-that's wrong. That's unfair."
Izuku could only shrug. "What could I do, All Might? It's not like I have a Quirk."
That again.
Izuku continued, smile as weak as ever.
"If you don't have a Quirk, you can't dream."
The notebook was safe. That's what's most important.
Izuku would have breathed relief had his stomach not contorted in pain. A reddened hand held the notebook ever so slightly to his chest. He curled up like a ball on the floor, water now flowing in his eyes.
The notebook was safe. It's all that matters. He might not have a Quirk, but he can at least dream of his adventures with heroes.
At least he had the decency to leave me with a dream.
And like a harbinger of nightmares, Bakugo's silhouette felt as though he's telling Izuku he will always dictate what he is - and especially isn't - allowed to dream.
This time, Bakugo loomed over Izuku like a gigantic wave about to hit the shore. At this vantage point, the ceiling light glared across Bakugo's back that he practically cast a shadow over Izuku below him.
He only said the words this time. Izuku vividly remembered the absence of his comedic cracking, the lack of papers falling, and his peers laughing. Silence had filled the air as though Bakugo had put the universe on mute to ensure Izuku would remember his words.
Izuku gazed upon Bakugo's red eyes amid the silence. To describe it as filled with bloodlust is an understatement.
"You set foot in that school, and I will kill you."
Toshinori wasn't so sure how he should react.
Izuku had told this - that a former friend threatened to kill him - matter-of-factly like it was an everyday occurrence.
And the insistence on the Quirk thing, too.
Toshinori figured now was as good a time to ask as any. That was his answer.
"I guess it's a slap in the face that you tried to save him, then, Young Midoriya" Toshinori simply said.
He tried to smile, even though the statement caught Izuku off-guard. The youngster blushed, giggled, and had an arm hold the back of his head in embarrassment. Hearing no reply, Toshinori continued.
"And all while you possessed a simple Quirk, too -"
Toshinori caught Izuku's giggling stop, but his words came out faster than he could react.
"- it's not like you could fight with it conventionally."
It took him two steps before he realized Izuku stopped on his tracks.
He looked back, noticing the youngster's face as though hit with water from a bucket. The shimmer in his eyes was gone, replaced with the blankness of disbelief. Izuku spoke before he could ask, his words filled with stunned coldness.
"What did you just say?"
"Y-your Quirk," Toshinori wasn't quite sure why he stammered. In between breaths, he tried figuring out what he had said had changed the boy's mood. "I didn't mean to say it was weak or anything. Just unconventionally non-combative. I thought you'd understand with your notes."
Izuku's eyebrows were probably contorted the same way his stomach had.
"I don't have a Quirk," he said, almost quietly. "What are you talking about?"
"That time when you saved Bakugo," Toshinori simply answered. "Y-you used your Quirk, right? To change your eye color?"
"Eye color?" Izuku replied, although it felt more like a statement than a question.
He wasn't sure for who - to himself, to All Might.
"Is that a joke?" was his mere follow-up.
A familiar ringing found its way around his head.
It sounded like a bell but echoed like a thunderclap, like a push that became an earthquake before he could even blink.
He was quite sure Toshinori said no, but the ringing masked any semblance of sound in his head. His eyes saw Toshinori move his lips, and for a second even his brain somehow recognized the words that came out of his mouth, but a shooting pain - from the ridiculosity of it all - just gave everything a reddish hue.
Why would he joke about something like this?
The pieces hit him like shards of glass desperate for him to gather. Each thought stung as he began to put them together, like a knife that cut through flesh. The throbbing ran deeper the more he tried to stop thinking, and only abated whenever he tried to make sense of why his idol would even think he had a Quirk.
Unless he's in on it.
That's when the ringing turned silent. Izuku looked Toshinori - no, All Might - dead in the eye. Transposed across his rather long face was Bakugo's own deathly red stare.
"You really think All Might would notice you?"
What chill ran down his spine transformed into a warmth that twisted his insides. It's as though he heard the food that he just ate churn from within, and the acid rose to his throat. His chest started beating faster, the redness reaching his face.
Izuku muddled over what just happened. He just poured everything to All Might, his idol, who said he could share anything. Everything that's happened for the past five years, the recent horrible thing Bakugo had done, the beating he's got - all of it, this person knew and somehow he joked about him having a Quirk.
The one thing people insulted him with.
Izuku didn't need anyone else to drive the point. He already knew the point. He wasn't so sure where he'd be insulted - that All Might straight up just joked he had a Quirk, or the Quirk he came up with was related to changing his eye color. Of all the mundane Quirks.
It didn't matter that the pain was practically squishing his head together. Everything reeked of Bakugo.
Of course Bakugo would somehow get the World's Number One Pro Hero to pull off this prank.
The pain shot up his head. It was sudden. Izuku groaned and put a hand on his temple.
He knew All Might saw this. The expression in Toshinori's face changed. He approached.
"H-hey."
"Step back!" Izuku flailed an arm as he almost fell to the ground had it not been for the feet he had planted together. He shook his head in disbelief. He wanted to laugh but the headache was too unbearable. Izuku opened his eyes. Tried to, anyway, but the pain made him feel like he wanted to collapse.
He held his ground - he needed All Might to hear this.
"Fine," Izuku said as he waved his arm aimlessly, almost drunkedly. "You can tell Bakugo I give up. I'll waive my application."
Toshinori raised an eyebrow, the confounding in his voice evident. "What?"
Izuku stammered the syllables, the headaches growing more intense.
"I don't know h-how w-we can hire Pro Heroes to d-do pranks, but I get it," Izuku just said. This time he crouched on the ground, both hands on his temples, the throbbing just raging at this point. Everything was starting to make sense. He wanted to scream the words to make the pain go away, but he could only slur them.
"I'll w-waive my application. G-give it up," he said, simplifying, as though he couldn't think of the proper ways to say it. He just had to say it.
"Th-this is not a prank…" Toshinori said slowly, his eyes drifting to the ground, as though in deep thought.
Izuku didn't care, he could use the silence. He noticed Toshinori looking straight at him, his eyes widening, and then somehow started rummaging through his pockets.
Izuku wasn't so sure what he said that left Toshinori standing there for a few seconds.
Was this not part of their script?
The next thing he knew, Toshinori took something out of his pocket. A mobile phone. In a few clicks, he showed its screen to Izuku. It was the front camera. In it was his face too red in both embarrassment and anger. His hair was disheveled, his eyes almost wet with tears. Just a typical day where Izuku leaves the house and comes back as poor De-ku.
"You can post my face," Izuku said - he almost slurred his words, waving his hand. "Proof of the prank. Something or other. Whatever."
Toshinori shook his head. "No, your eyes. Look."
Izuku wanted to lie down on the floor due to the pain, but Toshinori held his arm. "Look!" he whispered, almost pleading.
Izuku gazed upon his sorry reflection on the smartphone. He observed himself again. The disheveled hair, the dirt all over his uniform, the wetness of tears in his red eyes. What's there to see?
The pain ceased. For a moment, even the ringing in his mind vanished.
Red eyes?
Izuku blinked one, two, then three times. He yanked Toshinori's phone away from him, fiddling with the brightness and sent it to the maximum. At one point, he got the screen almost inches away from his nose.
Toshinori started scratching his head. He seemed just as confused as Izuku was.
Izuku was even more perplexed.
"I have red eyes?" he asked, loudly, not sure if to himself or Toshinori.
"Wait," Toshinori answered just as quick, "You don't know?"
Izuku flicked a finger to switch into video mode. He turned it on before staring at himself. This was no trickery with the light. His green eyes were truly red.
It was a deep crimson, with a black comma floating on top at a size as large as his pupil.
"What the hell?" Izuku just whispered. He looked at All Might.
"But I don't have a Quirk. Th-the doctors, they -"
Toshinori nodded, almost blankly. He probably recognized what Izuku was talking about. When children up to the age of eight have yet to demonstrate any Quirks, they're taken to a Quirk Specialist to get checked. They provide an assessment whether a child would have any chance of developing a Quirk later as a "late bloomer" or none at all.
Izuku's diagnosis was the latter. He was Quirkless.
Izuku stared at his red eyes. The black comma receded into the red, and the crimson washed out into green. They were normal again. Izuku stopped the video. He looked at Toshinori.
All Might's alter ego just nodded.
"Apparently you're not Quirkless. Congratulations."
Izuku's eyes widened at the realization.
Oh god what have I done?
He looked at Toshinori - no, All Might. He cupped his mouth.
"Oh god," was the only thing he said.
Toshinori could only give out a hearty laugh. Izuku was as red as his… eyes. He shook his head.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry I shouted at you," Izuku started, stammered, struggled to find his bearings. "I re-really thought this was all a pr-prank, and th-that it's all a - "
"It's alright, kid!" he told Izuku as he patted him on the shoulder. "We all had that reaction when we first got our Quirks."
Izuku paused at the realization. He put fingers on both his eyelids. The camera wasn't in front of him anymore, but the imagery was too vivid to forget.
My eyes turned red.
Izuku shook his head. No, more specific.
I can turn my eyes red.
No, the thing he always wanted to hear.
I have a Quirk.
For the first time in a long time, Izuku felt calm. He smiled. It was the first genuine smile he's given since the doctors reported he was Quirkless. The first time in a long time since he's smiled without fear of being accused of something, of being hit, of being ridiculed.
He wasn't the powerless De-ku anymore.
For the first time, he belonged.
But why now?
"W-why the late awakening?" was the only thing Izuku could say. "H-how do I even activate it?"
Toshinori shrugged. "I dunno."
Izuku almost fell to the ground, like a weight had fallen on his head.
"S-surely you have a better answer than that!"
Toshinori chuckled. "C'mon, you're taking it too seriously! You should celebrate," he said. "You have a Quirk! Your dream!"
Izuku paused.
That's right. That was my dream.
Izuku raised his eyebrows. No, he said. That wasn't the dream.
Izuku didn't know what had gone on in his head. He put both palms beside his face and slapped his cheeks, sensing if he was dreaming. Realizing this was all real, he turned to face All Might.
"I have a Quirk," he told him. He told his idol, the World's Number One Pro Hero. He told him almost declaratively, like an announcement.
Toshinori couldn't help but nod with what seemed to be pride. Izuku continued.
"Does that mean I have a shot at being a hero now?"
Toshinori spent the next few seconds in silence.
Truth be told, Izuku didn't care about All Might's answer. He was determined.
Nevermind telling his mother, or bragging about it to Bakugo. He couldn't care less if Bakugo would beat him up when he learned little powerless De-ku actually had a Quirk. A Quirk that, even if it can't harm the Sludge Villain, was still used to save him.
There he was, having discovered a Quirk after years of perhaps practically begging the universe for him to be a late bloomer. Izuku knew the kind of devastation a child would've felt once the doctors told him he couldn't get any Quirk that would make him similar to his heroes, or the kind of denial Izuku had taken up as he grew older, knowing the kids he used to play with will eventually become superheroes while he stayed firmly rooted on the ground.
Usually, a person who discovers they have something that makes them unique will want to make it known to the rest of the world. Everyone deserves to be proud of something they have or have done.
"I want to make sure no one else will get hurt the same way I have," Izuku said.
He looked at All Might, but his mind's eye showed him the back of a child left behind by his peers as they ran towards the horizon. He can finally nudge his younger self to run with them.
Toshinori simply smiled.
"Do you know the reason why I transformed earlier and saved you and your friend?" he asked, somewhat rhetorically. "Even though I told you I can only be All Might for a few hours every day?"
Izuku slowly shook his head. Toshinori took this as a sign to continue.
"I saw you go in there and rush to save Bakugo - mind you, a former friend who used to torment you -" he added. The emphasis didn't sting as much when Izuku heard it now. "- even if it meant you could die."
Izuku almost managed to open his mouth to answer, but Toshinori interrupted him.
"This was before you knew you even had a Quirk," he said. "You could have died if I hadn't arrived. Humans are not predisposed to bring themselves in danger. Only a few people have the courage to do that."
Izuku paused at the thought. All Might was right. He never really has given much thought, even during their walk together. Shops have already transitioned into houses and orange skies transformed into an even warmer hue, and yet Izuku hadn't even remembered the kind of danger he put himself in a while ago.
Toshinori continued, interrupting Izuku's train of thought.
"That should've been my job, keeping you safe," Toshinori said. "I shouldn't have cared about my life. That was the risk I knew I had to take when I started doing this."
He paused.
"You reminded me of that," Toshinori - no, All Might - said. "In my eyes, quirk or no quirk, you're already a hero."
The words went from one ear and straight out of the next.
It took Izuku a few seconds to interpret what the World's Number One Pro Hero had said, although it only took an instant for the water to start surging from his eyes.
"Quirk or no quirk, You're already a hero."
Izuku didn't realize how the words, in that order, had forced his eyes to water on command. Maybe it's because he's spent the entirety of his childhood being told that having no quirk meant he couldn't fight villains. That he couldn't make a difference. That he couldn't be a hero.
He could still see how vivid the silhouette of Bakugo - ever the figure on a pedestal - was looking down on him all this time. "You can't be a hero," was something he heard almost everyday that it had practically been the only version of the sentence that existed in his head.
And here is All Might in front of him, his most vulnerable form now a blur with all the tears flowing from Izuku's face, telling him - from the World's Number One Pro Hero to basically nobody - that he can.
It's no surprise Izuku had begun clutching his chest as he fell on his knees. The sentence wasn't absolute.
The words were released into the world.
At first, Toshinori wondered what he'd done to cause the scene.
Toshinori almost panicked at the sight, but he realized he was exactly like the teenager before him when Nana had affirmed his own potential.
Before he became her apprentice.
Before he inherited it.
Toshinori looked at Izuku and saw himself. He's the one.
He thought about it during their entire journey, the entire time Izuku narrated his experiences. Izuku might not have said it, but Toshinori knew the youngster had tried his damnest not to snap and hurt Bakugo the same he had done to him. That was admirable - truly a mark of someone who had the makings of a hero.
Then again, not everyone is perfect. Toshinori heard from Izuku's voice the pent up rage and frustration from all the years of pain he experienced. He couldn't exactly blame the youngster - kids as bright and kind as him often carried the burden of understanding.
A burden that would make the likes of Izuku "let it go" simply because they "understand," while others "lash out" in ways they know they can. An injustice in Toshinori's eyes, and even more perhaps from the perspective of Izuku. Should he receive this gift, this responsibility, this burden - would he be able to maintain this burden of understanding? Would this child not use this for revenge, especially when he finally realizes he can have the power to change everything?
Toshinori braced himself. Now comes the hard part.
Izuku cried when he noticed the thin figure now knelt in front of him. For someone he thought was frail and skeleton-like, Toshinori's hands were firm when he held him. He propped him up. Izuku still wiped his tears with his arms.
"Th-thank you," Izuku said, still in between breaths. "I-I didn't know I would c-cry. Th-this just means so much. Y-you have no idea."
"Actually, I do," Toshinori said. Firmly, which is what caught Izuku's attention. The tears started to stop, and Izuku started to zone in back on the conversation.
"W-what do you mean?"
"I have to be honest, I don't know where to start," Toshinori said as he scratched his head in embarrassment. He pondered for a moment as though finding his words. He shook his head. If he wanted to ask Izuku to do this, he had to come from a place of complete honesty. Toshinori braced himself.
Here goes…
"I'm actually Quirkless."
Izuku almost groaned. Not in pain, but in frustration. "Oh come on," the youngster almost whispered. "Not this again."
Toshinori smiled, but he also chuckled a bit. "No, I am not pranking you. I truly am Quirkless."
Izuku snorted in derision but fell silent when Toshinori didn't talk any further.
"You're not joking."
Toshinori nodded. He had some time to think where to start. He figured this might be the best direction:
"The world called All Might the Symbol of Peace because he represented a light that saved the world from darkness, and all those things the news liked to say about him," Toshinori said. He probably wondered if Izuku was noticing the way he chose his words. The youngster nodded, so he paid no heed to his thoughts. "Well, there is some modicum of truth to that," he added.
"I mean, you really are a light in the dark," Izuku said, finally handing the phone to him. "You're an inspiration!"
"No, no," Toshinori said, now pocketing it - and remembering where he put it - and then nudging at Izuku to continue walking. And as a traffic light stopped them close to the highway, Toshinori continued.
"You ever wondered why All Might never asked the media to change the Symbol of Peace into something, I dunno, less overwhelming?" Toshinori asked as they crossed the road. Izuku was silent for a good half-minute as they passed bystanders and other groups of students walking and biking by. He finally shook his head. "I never thought about it. I thought you'd - I mean, he just liked it."
Toshinori almost laughed. Izuku understood the kind of wordplay he wanted with his identity in public. All Might was a completely different entity for people who knew who he was. He continued.
"All Might could always ask to be called the World's Mightiest Hero, the Light Knight, Your Friendly Neighborhood Avenger, and all sorts of fancier titles," Toshinori said. "He chose the Symbol of Peace because it's true."
Izuku's eyes widened, like he finally understood. Toshinori nodded in affirmation.
"The Symbol of Peace is a mantle."
Izuku nodded slowly, as though trying to follow the train of thought. "Yeah, whosoever holds the title of All Might is the Symbol of Peace, kinda thing? But what's that got to do with being Quirkless?"
Toshinori shook his head slowly.
"No, Young Midoriya," he said, chuckling lightning. "I'm not the Symbol of Peace because I'm All Might, and I'm not All Might because I'm the Symbol of Peace."
Izuku scratched his head.
"You're just mixing things up!"
Toshinori sighed. "Okay, let's put it this way. The Symbol of Peace is just a title," he finally said. "All Might became the Symbol because the world needed him to be."
"Okay…" Izuku said, as though with acknowledgment that words were said, but not that he understood. "But how can you be Quirkless if you can do a Detroit Smash? Are you wearing armor or something?"
Toshinori shook his head. "If you know All Might well - and I know you do - you know he doesn't want to wear armor." He then reduced himself to a whisper. "And don't mention him like we're the same person!"
Izuku skipped the part where was supposed to apologize, as though he's chasing a train of thought. "Okay, but no human can physically do what you do. No one can just get a hulking physique in a snap."
Toshinori smiled. He's getting there. "Alright, so how do you surmise I can transform?"
Izuku put his fingers on his chin, an arm over the other, and started thinking. It took a few seconds before his eyes widened like an owl's. He whispered.
"Quirk Transfer?"
Toshinori nodded. The kid was indeed smart.
"Th-that's possible? That's only a theory!"
Toshinori nodded, still. "It's very possible. Mine has been happening for a long time."
Izuku could only blink.
"Whoa. So you're just like me, then. No, no, I'm just like you."
Toshinori looked around him as they started walking on a relatively quiet street. There was no one around him. Within the next instant, Toshinori exploded into a puff of smoke, surprising even Izuku.
Toshinori was no more. Beside Izuku was now the hulking All Might, with a physique that almost popped out of Toshinori's previously baggy clothing.
"What you're looking at is the manifestation of my Quirk - One For All," All Might, deep as his voice was, told Izuku. It was not a booming voice of a hero's, but rather a deep one of a teacher to a student. "This is a culmination of the energy left behind the Quirks of many other users before me."
Izuku could only reply with, "Cool."
All Might noticed the way Izuku looked at him with awe. Sometimes, he forgets he's the World's Number One Pro Hero. He shouldn't do this often. He felt the pain starting to curl up from his stomach, but for this youngster - for this demonstration - he had to endure.
"I chose to be the Symbol of Peace not because this Quirk has made me strong," All Might continued as he stayed in place. The pain started to spread around his body. Toshinori could feel his heart wanting to give out, but he ignored it. "But because I owe it to those before me to do what they couldn't in their lifetime: save lives."
Izuku nodded.
"Being All Might doesn't mean being the Symbol of Peace," All Might said. "Becoming the Symbol of Peace means fulfilling a promise, not just to my predecessors, but to the world."
Izuku nodded. Much slower. It's like the point is slowly being lost. All Might understood this. He had to stop with the metaphors. His time was running out anyway.
"Which is why there is no light way to say this," All Might started, before a puff of smoke had transformed his hulking physique into that of the thin Toshinori.
This moment felt like it took forever to finish. Inside Toshinori's head remained a man in conflict.
Things were already set in stone - Nighteye already assigned Togata-kun to the role, would Izuku really measure up to U.A's best?
Truth be told, this was not the part where Toshinori was most concerned. The kid had just learned about having a Quirk all this time. Was now really the time to spoil the festivities with such a responsibility? And yet, Toshinori remembered that each day passed without a successor to properly train is a day that more evil can spread in the world.
A child like Izuku will make it. He felt it. Nana-senpai probably felt it when she saw him, too.
A part of Izuku felt this wasn't for theatrics, especially when he saw Toshinori coughing blood.
He looked at Izuku matter-of-factly, like it's precisely because of this - the blood he had just wiped from his mouth - that they were having this conversation.
"I want you to be my successor."
Izuku's head almost tilted to the side at the question.
Wait, what?
"Y-you're kidding, right?" Izuku said, almost with a chuckle.
Again, Toshinori stared at him.
"C'mon, you're…" he reduced himself to a whisper "…All Might," and then returned to his normal register. "Surely there are more qualified Pro Heroes out there!"
Toshinori was quick to shake his head. "Not with your kind of heart," he said. He raises his shirt, revealing what remained of his side torso from the brutal outcome of the mission years ago that left him with his debilitating condition.
"I don't have a lot of time, Izuku," Toshinori said as he coughed. "What happened to my body can't be repaired with modern medicine. I will have to retire soon."
Izuku didn't expect the word to instill a sense of dread.
"Retire?" he repeated. "As in, stop at all?" It's that bad?"
Toshinori could only nod. "I only have years, at best."
"Y-you have to search for someone strong then!" Izuku said. He almost screamed until he willed himself to pipe down. Anyone would panic. "Is Endeavor strong enough? Maybe Hawks can help! We need to find someone fast. The world can't lose their inspiration."
Toshinori nodded in the affirmative, faster this time. "Yes. That's why it has to be you. It has to be young, someone who can inspire the next generation."
Izuku shuddered at the thought.
Someone weak like me can't become a Symbol of Peace. Maybe Bakugo -
Izuku felt the pain of the thought physically. He couldn't bear completing it, even though a part of him knew this was a more practical step. He looked at Toshinori.
"You said Pro Heroes need to risk their lives all the time, so they need power to do it," he said. "My eyes turn green to red. I literally just learned I could do that minutes ago. Now you spring me with the invitation to become your replacement? You do realize how crazy that sounds."
He almost wanted to continue with, a weakling like me can't become the world's greatest hero! That's the biggest insult I have ever heard!
"Not true," Toshinori said as he coughed once more.
"I initially said Pro Heroes always risk their lives, so they need power to make sure they can save others. I didn't say they needed powers that can defeat villains."
Izuku wanted to nod, but something in his head itched. Like something was amiss.
"Yeah, but logically speaking, changing eye colors can't really save people from, like, earthquakes and such."
Toshinori chuckled. "You're the one not using logic, Young Midoriya."
Izuku almost pouted. He felt just the tiniest bit of insult there. But before he could do anything, Toshinori continued.
"Who said it's got to be your power?"
Toshinori waited for a few seconds before Izuku started shaking his head.
Surely he doesn't mean…
"I want to make you my apprentice," Toshinori said. "I want you to take my Quirk at the right time."
Again, words in a particular order Izuku didn't exactly expect to come together and directed at him. Again, Izuku scratched his head.
"Did you forget the part a few seconds ago where we said I could only change my eye color? You saw how I did not defeat the Sludge Villain, right?"
Something tickled inside Izuku. Somehow, after he learned Toshinori wanted him to get his powers made something deep inside Izuku warm up with… joy.
He replayed the scene in his head - Bakugo kicking him on the stomach, Bakugo kicking his hand as he reached for his Hero Journal. He imagined catching his foot with a gesture. Or, hell, Bakugo following through but Izuku not moving an inch. How exactly does All Might feel when he's punched but he isn't hurt, anyway?
Something - someone - inside Izuku smiled.
Oh boy, the expression in Bakugo face's if that happens.
And somehow, Izuku lifted himself from the depths of these thoughts and resurfaced in their conversation.
"It's easy for anyone with a Quirk to dash straight into battle to fight another Quirk user," Toshinori said. "You'll be on equal ground, so the stakes aren't as high. You on the other hand," he paused, evidently for effect, "Spent most your life Quirkless. And yet you saved your bully. You could've left him for dead, yet you didn't."
Izuku almost felt the shame filling his body. Oh, the temptation was there, was his only thought, and the relief that he hadn't followed this instinct. For a moment, Izuku was dumbfounded to have these thoughts. They were his, but also weren't.
"My point is," Toshinori continued, "I'm not looking for the most powerful person. I'm looking for someone who knows exactly what it means to be weak, to be powerless. Someone who know how I felt."
Izuku couldn't deny the way the words stung when he'd heard them. He may have had a Quirk, but having his eye color changed doesn't exactly scream superhero. Who would he be, Eye-Boy?
But, somehow he understood. He and All Might - no, Toshinori - were Quirkless. Izuku spent years enduring the pain, the hate, for what he was. And somehow, no matter how tempting it would be to fight, a part of him held back.
It's easy to isolate someone when they're misunderstood. It was probably easy for Bakugo and his peers to pick on him because, well, he's different. He's probably a walking target.
If the next All Might did have a powerful Quirk, would they even know the difference?
"I need my successor to understand why they can't stop at nothing to save lives," Toshinori said. "I need someone to go above and beyond."
All Might's catchphrase echoed in Izuku's head.
Plus Ultra.
"I met that person today."
Truth be told, Izuku couldn't comprehend how wild this day had become. He just wanted All Might to tell him he could be a hero if he wanted, not if he could be a hero now.
Anyone would be ecstatic at the prospect of receiving All Might's powers. To be the greatest - to lift cars, endure powerful hits, to run at incredible speeds, to leap past buildings. Izuku could feel his younger self tugging at his uniform, jumping and telling him to say yes.
They can go to places they've never been before. People will want to take pictures with him, ask for autographs, name babies after him. Hell, maybe Bakugo will even kneel and beg for forgiveness. A part of Izuku - something deep inside - snickered at the thought.
Then again, Izuku also wondered… he might not be as inspiring as All Might, but he could probably stop other kids like him from suffering at the hands of other kids like Bakugo.
Izuku sighed. That should be enough.
"So, what do you say? Are you with me?"
Izuku's eyes fixated on All Might's - no, Toshinori's - grin, something that hasn't practically changed even if his idol's "true" form had turned out much skinnier than he had actually thought. The youngster stared at Toshinori, still in disbelief that he had actually seen the hidden identity of the World's Number One Pro Hero more times than… well, anyone… could have.
If this was a dream, now's a pretty good time to wake him up.
"Young Midoriya!" Toshinori exclaimed, catching Izuku's attention.
Toshinori was now extending an arm. "I said, are you with me?"
"Sorry!" Izuku scratched his head in embarrassment before taking All Might's hand. His grip was firm, but warm enough to convince Izuku this wasn't a dream. It was all real. He's actually more awake than he's ever been in his life.
All Might didn't just affirm to Izuku that he could be a hero. He practically wanted him to be a successor.
Izuku simply nodded.
He took in everything around him - the chirping of birds as they flew to the horizon, the orange of the skies about to send the sun to its final goodbyes, the subtle cold of the night breeze, even the honking of traffic across the horizon. He took the details of the road he used to walk alone after school, the houses he passed, the way people left their cars outside their homes after returning from work. He took note of his uniform, the way his backpack brushed against his shoulder, All Might's white shirt and jeans, their very exchange of hands.
Every detail.
All of this will be the last thing he sees before he changes his life forever.
Toshinori left the child deep in thought.
It's not like he asked him an easy question. Izuku moved his eyes around him, as though thinking intently. As he should.
And when Izuku's eyes moved, he probably didn't realize All Might was following with a gaze of his own. When Toshinori dropped the question, Izuku's eyes had immediately gone from green to red, as though he sent the kid into an adrenaline rush.
There it is again, the red eyes, Toshinori thought. This time, Izuku hadn't clutched his head in pain. It activated on instinct.
He wouldn't be surprised if the Quirk had manifested at a moment like this - if Izuku had begun hyperfocusing as soon as he started to realize the gravity of what he just asked. He was probably thinking of what this implied, of all the possibilities this would produce, of all the things that would change when he responded.
Toshinori didn't have a similar Quirk, but his mind probably raced just as fast as Izuku's. Whatever the kid decides can never be changed. He cannot give up and quit when they're in too deep - especially when he takes the Quirk. Toshinori was unsure the kid could even make it that far, but this was a risk he had to take.
This was a risk the youngster should realize he had to take.
"Pro Heroes need to risk their lives all the time," was something Toshinori said to the youngster. If Izuku really wanted to be a Pro Hero, now was the time to prove it.
And even then, there was the matter of making sure Izuku will use the Quirk for the right reasons. Toshinori felt the pang of spite and rage inside Izuku when he described Bakugo. He could only hope to still be there to ensure Izuku is guided to channel this rage appropriately, because a part of him felt Izuku was always at the tipping point.
Izuku was no mere child whose hopes and dreams were always to save others. He was not always liked, not always respected, and not always treated fairly. To attain One For All means slingshotting one's way into the pinnacle of powers - was this something Izuku will be able to truly use for good?
Toshinori was glad Izuku hadn't had his eyes on him, because a split-second would be long enough to see the doubt that formed in the Pro Hero's eyes. Am I making the right choice? was something Toshinori asked the entire time.
Was it unfair to assume the worst, if the world was at stake? Was it unfair to assume the worst in Izuku, when he should deservedly be in a position to beat the ever-loving crap out of Bakugo for everything he's done? Would Izuku truly be the "bigger person" if he doesn't teach Bakugo a lesson, to ensure others would no longer be harmed the same way he has?
All of these were interesting ethical discussions for sure. Unfortunately for Izuku, all of these were questions he will have to answer when he's taken the new mantle.
This was no mere responsibility. He was asking a youngster, with a Quirk that somehow only changes his eye color, to replace him as the Symbol of Peace - and everything that entailed.
To eventually carry on a Quirk burdened to protect the world.
Izuku took a deep breath, as though about to leap for a swim.
"Yes," the youngster simply said.
And he thrust himself into the pool. If only Toshinori could tell him its depth.