Katsuki's mind raced as he trailed behind the massive figure of All Might, ignoring the students that were still stopping to gawk despite the fact that the man had been teaching at Yueii for about two months already. He had barely made it into the building on his way to class when All Might had pulled him aside and asked to speak with him in private. He hadn't even been told what they would be speaking about.
His first thought was that he was in trouble, that maybe he'd broken some rule or another, but he was almost certain that he hadn't. Nothing came to mind, and even if he had, it was more likely that Aizawa or Nezu would be the one to bring it up. Maybe All Might wanted to talk about Katsuki's performance during the heroics classes? Or maybe it was about his internship with Endeavor?
Thankfully, Katsuki didn't have to dwell on it for long, because soon enough he was being led into the teacher's lounge, and then into a connected conference room.
"Have a seat." All Might said, pulling out the seat closest to the door.
Katsuki did as directed, taking a seat in the proffered chair as All Might did the same in the chair at the head of the table. The man laced his fingers together, working a thumb over the other, as if he was nervous about something. It was an odd sight to behold, and one that clashed both with the man's size and with the feeling of strength and confidence he always seemed to give off. His trademark smile had almost faded entirely. That alone had Katsuki's mind racing even more.
The room was silent for a few long moments as he waited for All Might to speak. But when he didn't, and when Katsuki could no longer stand his own anxiety about the situation, he took the initiative.
"So… What did you want to talk about?"
All Might looked up at him. After a moment, he shook his head, seeming to be snapping himself out of something, before shifting around in his seat and clearing his throat. His smile was still missing, but his confidence had returned.
"Right. Young Bakugou. I wanted to have a conversation with you, about, well, you."
"About me?"
All Might nodded. "Indeed."
Some of Katsuki's confusion and anxiety must've shown on his face, because the man quickly added on. "Ah, not to worry. It's nothing too serious. You certainly aren't in any trouble or anything, I just wanted to ask you a few questions."
Katsuki relaxed a bit at that, though he still wondered what All Might would want to ask him. Even if he said it wasn't very important, it was obviously still important enough to warrant asking them in private.
"Alright then. What did you want to ask?"
All Might nodded again. "Once you've finished up your time here at Yueii, once you've graduated and have been released into the world, what sort of hero are you looking to become?"
Katsuki tilted his head. "You mean like do I want to be a spotlight hero or go underground?"
"Not exactly. Spotlight heroes, underground heroes, rescue heroes, those are all types of heroes, yes, but they pertain more to the functions that a hero might perform. What I mean is, when you're a hero, what do you intend to stand for? What is it that you wish to represent?"
When Katsuki remained silent, head still tilted, he continued.
"Whether it's conscious or not, almost every Pro Hero, and almost everyone who, at any point, tries to become a hero, has something specific driving them, a reason for becoming a hero. For some, it may be something as simple as obtaining money or fame or wanting to protect those that cannot protect themselves. For others it may go deeper than that."
"Take me for example." He said, gesturing at himself. "I want to protect people, but I also want to be the sort of hero to inspire hope with nothing more than my presence. I wanted to become someone that, no matter how bleak a situation might be, as soon as someone sees me, they think that everything will be okay."
"Myself aside, I know that Aizawa has similar motivations, albeit a bit less grandiose. He simply wants to be the sort of hero that does everything he can to help. Present Mic, through his popularity, both as a hero and as a radio host, has become someone who tries to inspire those whose quirks are destructive or difficult to control. Midnight has done something similar. I know that she seeks to inspire those whose quirks might not be as visibly heroic, or that might even be called villainous."
"Everyone has something, but no one goal is any better or worse than another. I know plenty of heroes whose only motivations is the money and recognition, yet who work just as hard as anyone else."
"So, Young Bakugou. What kind of hero do you wish to be? What motivates you?"
Katsuki looked down at the table as he considered the question. What kind of here did he want to be?
He knew exactly what motivated him. That wasn't even a question by this point.
A picture from his father's photo album, now framed and sitting on Katsuki's desk, flashed across his mind. It showed him and Izuku, at Izuku's fourth birthday party, side by side with an arm slung across each other's shoulders, and with a small explosion blooming from Katsuki's free hand.
The shock that he'd felt when his parents told him that Izuku was missing. The anger he'd felt when the police officer had come to his house, and he overheard the man tell his parents that it was decided that Izuku had run away. The frustration and helplessness when nobody would listen to him, because of course Izuku, a four-year-old wouldn't have fucking run away, and when everyone, even Izuku's own mother, just gave up far too soon.
Had All Might's question only been that, what motivated him to become a hero, he could've answered without hesitation.
Even now, nearly fifteen years after it happened, it still had Katsuki's fists clenching, his palms sizzling.
But despite his concrete motivation, and the determination that always followed those thoughts, determination to become the best, to become the strongest, for Izuku's sake, he'd never put much thought into what specifically he wanted to become a hero to do.
There were the obvious things of course. Not necessarily things that he would become a hero to do, but that would simply come as perks to the title: The ability to protect the things and people he cared about, being able to act with near impunity when it came to protecting them, not to mention the ability to scare off any potential threats through his reputation alone. Beyond that though…
Whenever he thought about Izuku, and about why he wanted to be a hero, the thought that always came first was that if he were to become a hero, then he'd be able to make sure that whatever happened to Izuku wouldn't happen to anyone else. Or that at the very least, he would have the freedom to investigate it and find out what happened, and hopefully put a stop to it.
So then… putting that into the context of All Might's question…
"I want… to keep people safe." He finally said, considering his words carefully. "I want people to know that they're safe when I'm around. I want them to feel that way because the villains are too scared to do anything. I want to make sure that the villains and criminals know that they won't get away with hurting people. And if they do, I want to make sure that people don't give up on finding them and making things right."
When Katsuki finished speaking, he looked back up at All Might to see that he had a small smile on his face.
"A symbol of safety." He whispered, almost to himself. Then, louder, "That is quite the admirable goal to strive towards, and quite the tall order. One, I feel, that has some specific reasoning behind it. Do you mind if I ask what has led you to this?"
"An old friend." Katsuki answered immediately. "He disappeared when we were both very young, under mysterious circumstances. No one would listen to me when I told them that he didn't just run away. No one would do anything about it. Obviously, I couldn't have done much else about it with how young I was, but if I become a hero, then there will be very little that anyone could do to stop me from asking questions and pushing further."
"I see…" All Might said, smile gone once more. "I'm sorry to hear that such a thing happened. It's truly a black mark on both heroes and the police that your friend was never found. Though, it is nice to see that not only do you hold such admirable goals for yourself, but that they also come from such a sincere place. Oftentimes, experiencing tragedy early on in life can push one to greater heights than what would've been possible otherwise."
All Might paused, letting something of a somber silence fill the room, as he seemed to consider something. Then, after a short few seconds, his smile was back.
"I've no doubt that you'll be able to reach your goals someday, Young Bakugou. Though, if you're willing to listen to me ramble on a bit more, I may have something that would help you reach them sooner."
Katsuki scrunched his eyebrows at the man. "What do you mean?"
"Before I say anything else, I need you to promise that nothing you're about to see and nothing that we discuss will ever leave this room. Can you do that?"
"I-. Sure?" He responded, still confused.
"Right then." All Might said with a small sigh. "First things first."
Before Katsuki could even begin to wonder what was about to happen, All Might exploded, disappearing in a cloud of steam.
He blinked at the spot where All Might had been sitting, at a complete loss for words. He had no idea what had just happened, or if he was supposed to do something. Was All Might okay? Was he even still here? Should he go find another teacher?
By the time Katsuki was starting to get over his shock, and was about to get up to at least be sure of whether or not All Might was even still in the room, the steam had begun to clear away. As it did, it revealed something that had Katsuki bluescreening again.
In the chair that All Might, the number one hero, who could probably snap Katsuki in half with a single hand, and who weighed so much that it was a minor shock that any chair could even support his weight, had just occupied a few moments ago, now sat a twig of a man.
Everything about him practically screamed 'frail and sickly,' from his sunken eyes and gaunt face, to his stick-like limbs, to the way his breath rattled in his chest. He looked as if a stiff breeze would take him out of commission. In just about every way imaginable, this new figure was the polar opposite of the imposing figure of All Might.
Except for the hero costume hanging off his thin frame, which was the exact same one that All Might had been wearing.
"What the fuck?" Katsuki asked, still not quite over his shock as he stared, wide eyed at the man. "What the fuck is this?"
"This," the man said, gesturing down at himself, "is the real me, Young Bakugou."
Somehow, Katsuki's eyes managed to widen even further. "All Might? You- but you're-. What? Why is this-?" His mouth snapped shut, and he took a breath, before trying again. "What exactly is happening?"
Instead of speaking, the skeleton claiming to be All Might simply lifted the top half of the much-too-large hero costume, exposing his torso. Or at least, what was left of it. A massive, jagged scar marred a significant portion of his left side.
Katsuki found that he couldn't form any words as he stared at the remnants of what had to have been a horrific injury.
"Years ago, I was involved in a fight against an incredibly dangerous villain." All Might(?) said. "I managed to injure him, enough to incapacitate him, but in return he gave me this."
He lowered his shirt, hiding the injury, something that Katsuki found himself grateful for.
"My left lung, my stomach, and parts of my digestive tract were all critically injured that day, to the point where a significant portion of each needed to be removed entirely. Between that, and the aftereffects of the surgeries and treatments that saved me, I've been slowly wasting away ever since. I've been reduced to this, and I have to put in effort just to look like my old self."
As if to accentuate that fact, the man suddenly went into a coughing fit, flecks of red flying from his mouth before his hand came up to cover it. By the time it subsided, and he was struggling to get his breathing under control, his palm was coated in blood, and he had pulled a handkerchief from somewhere to clean it up.
Katsuki was glad that he was sitting down, because between seeing the injury, hearing All Might explain what had happened to him, and then seeing the number one hero cough up blood, he felt a sense of vertigo, like the world beneath his feet had been thrown off its axis. Had he been standing when All Might showed him, he definitely wouldn't have been right now.
"What's worse is that, because of this, my time as 'All Might' has been slowly fading away. By now, I can only maintain that form for about three hours a day before the strain gets to be too much."
Katsuki swallowed, his mouth feeling incredibly dry all of a sudden, and he tried not to think about All Might struggling just to keep up his appearance, let alone fighting crime like that.
"Why, uh-." He swallowed again. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
"I'm telling you because this injury, and my situation, are the reason I'm teaching at Yueii this year. I've come here to search for a successor, and not just for my legacy."
All Might took a deep breath. "And now for the second part of my secret. Young Bakugou, if you accept, I would choose you to receive my quirk."
Katsuki faltered yet again, blinking at the frail man, who looked like he'd just invited someone out to lunch, instead of dropping… whatever the hell that bombshell was.
"To receive your-. Does that-? Are you implying that you can just… give away your quirk?"
"I'd like to think of it more as passing it along, but to answer your question, yes. My quirk, One For All, can indeed be given to another. It was given to me, many years ago, and now it is time for me to pass it to someone else. It is my hope that you will be that someone."
Katsuki wasn't sure if he could handle anymore shocks today. To not only find out that All Might was apparently severely injured by a single villain, and now struggles to be a hero, but also that his quirk had supposedly been given to him, and that he could give it to someone else.
Amidst all the questions that raged in his mind—whowas it that gave All Might the quirk that put him at the pinnacle of heroics? If his quirk had been given to him, then what was his original quirk? What sort of villain could cause such an injury to the strongest man in the world?—the only one that he could make himself voice was-.
"Why me?"
"Why have I chosen you to be my successor?"
Katsuki managed a small nod.
"Well, for starters, you show a considerable amount of skill and potential. You even already match up to a few third years that I've seen in action. Based on your performance up until now alone, I'd feel confident in saying that you could very well become a top ten hero. But, just as important as that, if not moreso, is the conversation we've been having. Your goals in becoming a hero, and your motivation for reaching for them. I can tell that you will become a great hero, someone who will stand as a pillar for society."
Katsuki could barely even acknowledge the praise he was receiving. He was still struggling to wrap his head around what he was being offered.
"What about Iz-. What about Etsumi?" He asked. "Or Todoroki? The two of them are just as skilled as I am, better, in Etsumi's case. He's the strongest in our class."
"Todoroki still has yet to even fully realize his own power, if my understanding is correct. As skilled as he might be, he's hamstringing himself by ignoring half of his quirk. Granting him more power would only continue to hinder him. And that aside, I don't have the faintest idea what his motivations might be for becoming a hero. For all I know, he may only be pursuing heroics so as to follow in his father's footsteps. And as for Etsumi. He was the one who suggested that I talk to you." All Might said. "He and I met close to this time last year, and he deduced my quirk on his own. When I happened to bring up the subject of receiving my quirk, he steadfastly denied, but offered to help me look for someone suitable."
Katsuki wasn't sure how to feel about this. He knew that he should feel some degree of happiness or satisfaction that All Might, of all people, thought that he was worthy of something so important, but at the same time, was Katsuki truly worthy of such a thing?
He tried to counter those thoughts with the argument that, even if there might be people that were more deserving, All Might had made the decision to come to him. He'd chosen to reveal such a critical secret and offer such an amazing power to him. He wouldn't have done that if he weren't certain in his decision, right?"
Aside from trying to reassure himself, he also tried to distract himself from such thoughts by looking at the benefits of receiving such a quirk.
There were, of course, the upsides to gaining such a thing, that were hard to ignore. If it worked the way he thought it would, and he ended up receiving the strength, speed, and other physical boosts that All Might had, then he'd be able to do so much more as a hero. His quirk, and the work he'd put into it, already gave him somewhat significant offensive capabilities, but being able to move at close to the speed of sound and punch hard enough to change the weather would take things to another level entirely.
His fists clenched beneath the table. If he had that sort of power, he would be able to protect so much more than he ever could with his power alone. No villain would be able to stand up to him.
"And if I were to accept, and you… and you passed your quirk on to me, what would happen to you?"
"My strength would begin to fade away, slowly, over time. As you become more accustomed to the power, my grip on it would begin to loosen. Eventually, I would become just a regular person."
"How long would it take?"
"If we're lucky, I would be able to hold on in some capacity until you graduate."
"So, not even three years."
"Such is the way of things." All Might said with a small smile. "The thought of having so little time left doesn't bother me. I've known for a while that I'm on borrowed time. Even if I didn't pass my quirk along, I wouldn't have much longer than three years before my time limit fades completely. We would just be in a worse-off situation because there wouldn't be a rising hero ready to take over."
The two of them went silent, and Katsuki was running through everything in his head. He weighed his options, and what each would mean if he chose it. Before long, he found that he'd reached a decision. Before he could open his mouth to speak though, All Might beat him to it.
"Now, before this conversation goes too much further, there is something else that you need to be told, something else you should know before you make the decision."
All Might took another deep breath. "The villain that I fought all those years ago, that gave me my injury, is still alive. I thought I had killed him that day, but recent events have made me realize that he's still alive, and that he is beginning to act again."
"What kind of villain could put up so much of a fight against you?" Katsuki asked. "Who is he?"
"His name is All For One, and he is a terrible and ancient villain. His quirk is one that lets him take the quirks of others, use them for himself, and give them away if he so chooses. He is almost as old as quirks themselves, and before our fight, he practically ran all of the Japanese underground. Each one of my predecessors fought against him, and each of them failed, and fell, until my fight with him. He may have grievously injured me, and he may have survived, but I dealt plenty of blows myself."
Katsuki chose to push past the revelation that there was a villain that could apparently steal quirks from people, and the thought of how terrible that would be in the wrong hands. Instead, he just backtracked to the fact that this villain, All For One, and All Might, or rather, the holders of his quirk, One For All, seemed to have some sort of vendetta against each other.
"So, you're telling me that if I accept your quirk, I would end up having to fight against him as well?"
All Might nodded. "The chances of that being the case are exceptionally high. I highly doubt that he would ever put a stop to his evil ways, and it is almost a fact of life that the two strongest forces on opposing sides will inevitably clash. More than that, though, is that he would target you for no other reason than to end One For All. As it stands, it is our… it is one of our greatest weapons against him."
Katsuki turned his gaze down towards the table, carefully considering All Might's words. The man was offering him what was probably the single strongest quirk on the planet. But if he accepted it, then it would come with the side-effect of having the greatest villain in history wanting him dead.
But then… it wasn't as if that wasn't already going to be the case. If All For One was really as terrible as All Might made him out to be, then he wouldn't ignore Katsuki simply because he didn't have One For All, especially not if Katsuki became a hero. One way or another, there was a good chance that they would clash anyway.
"If he's a villain," Katsuki started, slowly, "then, as a hero, I would end up fighting him eventually anyway."
He looked back up at All Might. "The only thing that would change by having your quirk would be that I'd have a better chance against him. I would have a better chance at defeating him."
All Might stared at him for a moment, wide-eyed, before a bright smile bloomed across his face, a paltry thing compared to the smile everyone knew, but that somehow felt more genuine.
"That is some excellent resolve, Young Bakugou! To learn of such a terrible threat, and not shy away in the slightest. I was already sure of it before, but now I'm only more certain, you'll truly end up being among the best."
He seemed to sober up for a moment. "Of course, you certainly don't have to make a decision right now, or even today. You can take as long as you need, I just wanted to speak with you, and present the option to-."
"Yes." Katsuki said, cutting off All Might's words.
He took a deep breath. "Yes. I accept."
"Excellent!" All Might said, exploding back into his muscular form, his trademark smile blooming across his face in full force as he stood up out of his chair. Reaching up to his head, he pulled a strand of hair loose, before offering it out to Katsuki.
"Now, eat this!"
Izuku's hand blurred as he wrote in his notebook, describing the details of 'All Sight' and how it combined with 'Appraisal.' He made a special note about how the combination led him to believe that other similarly precise sensory quirks would be able to work with 'Appraisal' as well.
Normally, he would leave transcribing his analysis of his own quirks for when he was at home, leaving his normal analysis to keep him occupied during class, but he recently decided to forgo that extra bit of precaution.
Even if someone were to see what he was writing, or somehow get their hands on his notebook, which he wasn't about to allow, they wouldn't be able to make sense of anything. The amount of time that he'd put into developing a method of encryption was such that most people would call him obsessive for it. Rei certainly had.
For starters, he did all of his writing using the English alphabet. This was partly to reduce the number of people that would even be able to begin deciphering it, and partly because he'd been teaching himself English when he started writing his analysis, and thought that it would be good practice.
Then, he used a monoalphabetic cypher to scramble the English alphabet, shifting everything around in no set pattern. It was by no means unbreakable, but it was enough to give pause to anyone that attempted to read it. And the best part about it wasn't even that he randomly scrambled the letters, it was that the cypher changed every day. Each new day where he sat down to write out any analysis on his quirks, he would reshuffle the cypher. The chances that any two entries, across his entire collection of notebooks, used the same cypher were astronomically low. He could use a different combination every single day, and the sun would go supernova before he had to repeat any. On top of that, the cypher that each entry used wasn't written anywhere. The only place they existed was in his own memories. If anyone wanted to decipher his analysis, they would have to start from scratch with every single entry.
It was probably unnecessarily complex, but he had fun doing it.
Wrapping up the entry on 'All Sight,' he snapped the notebook shut. Picking it up, he slid it into his bag, under the pretext of storing it away. The moment it was out of sight though, he activated 'Hotbar' to ensure it was properly hidden. In return, he slid another notebook that was actually in his bag, one that went along with his 'Deku' analysis. He had a few requests that he would work on while he waited for class to start. He was at his desk, waiting for the rest of his classmates to arrive.
Almost as soon as he opened the notebook to its next empty page, Bakugou appeared in the doorway. He looked almost nauseated, like he'd eaten something distasteful for breakfast. He had a contemplative expression on his face as he moved to his desk.
So far, Bakugou had very rarely shown anything through his blank expression. The closest he got was when he happened to look a bit more focused than normal during a training exercise, or when he'd looked frustrated and defeated after the sports festival, where he'd revealed that he remembered Izuku. So, seeing him thrown off now was a bit unusual. It wasn't too hard to guess what the reason for that was though.
Excluding him being sick, or actually eating something bad for breakfast, the most likely possibility was that Yagi had chosen to speak with him. Seeing what All Might, the number one hero, had been reduced to would probably be enough to make most anyone feel a bit sick and confused.
Whatever the case, Bakugou seemed to be doing a decent enough job of pushing through it, as most everything was wiped from his expression before he even made it to his desk.
Soon enough, everyone had made it into the classroom, and Aizawa emerged from behind his podium, not even bothering to shed his sleeping bag.
"No special announcements for today." He started without preamble. "So I'll just remind you that your final exams are coming. I would suggest preparing yourselves sooner rather than later. Feel free to get started right now while you wait for your next class."
Without another word, he sank back to the ground, leaving the class to do as they pleased. The room was soon filled with the noise of shuffling papers and muted conversations as Izuku settled back in to return to his analysis work.
Just as he was getting into a rhythm though, he was interrupted by someone approaching him from the side. He pulled his notebook back, moving back himself just a bit, just in time to avoid Ashido flopping across his desk.
"…Is there a reason you're on my desk?" He asked, not impolitely.
"Etsumi, you gotta help me!" She whined. "I'm not ready for these exams at all!"
"You… You have a month to study for them."
"Still though! My grades aren't good to begin with, and I don't even know where to start!"
"So… What do you want me to do about that?"
"You're the class president, and you're like, the smartest person in our class! Can't you tutor me or something?"
Izuku blinked. "I mean, I suppose I could. But-."
"Oh! Me too!" Kaminari cut in, shouting from his desk. "Can you tutor me as well? Please? I could use some help as well."
"I-."
Izuku could barely get a word out before a chorus of 'me too's and 'can you tutor me as well's sounded out through the room. Apparently most of his class wanted or needed help as well.
"I, uh." Now he was simply at a loss for words.
It wasn't a matter of ability. He supposed that if it came down to it, he could tutor them. He'd managed to teach Rei all the way through high school level material, and himself all the way through college. His doubt instead came from the fact that it was most of his classmates asking it of him at the same time. He'd never been in such a situation before, was this something that happened?
He glanced over at Ochako, hoping that doing so would give him some clue as to how he should proceed, only to find her with an excited smile on her face.
"Oh! That's a great idea!" She exclaimed. "We should invite them all over! We can have a big study session to make sure everyone's ready!"
Izuku closed his eyes. That hadn't helped at all.
He'd be lying if he said he really wanted to help them all out by tutoring them. But, at the same time, he also saw no real reason not to.
Letting out a sigh, Izuku resigned himself to the responsibility that he'd been handed.
"Alright, fine." He said, earning a sigh of relief from a few of his classmates and a cheer from a few others. "I suppose I can help. But if we're doing this at my apartment, then you'll have to wait at least a week. My sister is preparing for her own exams and doesn't need you all distracting her. If you can't wait that long, then find somewhere else for us to go."
His classmates looked around at each other, before turning back to him.
"That should work out." Ashido said.
"Alright then. Now, can I have my desk back?"
"Sure thing!" She said, getting to her feet and heading back to her desk. "Thanks Etsumi!"
Izuku ignored her, opening his notebook once more to hopefully get some work done.
The rest of the day passed by smoothly, until their heroics lesson of the day wrapped up and Yagi pulled Izuku aside to tell him about the meeting he'd had with Bakugou earlier in the day, confirming what Izuku had suspected. He also told Izuku what the result of that conversation had been, that Bakugou had accepted the quirk.
Which was why Izuku found himself in one of Yueii's training gyms after the day had ended, along with Bakugou and Yagi. Once his conversation with Yagi had concluded, Izuku took Ochako home, so that he wouldn't have to worry about inconveniencing her as he assisted with what was about to happen.
"Alright." Yagi said. "You received One For All this morning. By now it should've had time to acclimate to your body. Now, all that's left is to see if you're able to tap into it."
"Okay." Bakugou responded, nodding. He glanced over at where Izuku was coiled up. "But why is Etsumi here?"
"For the same reason that I was allowed to direct our class' training leading up to the sports festival." Izuku answered. "Because I'm certified to do this sort of thing. Also, because I made the offer to help once someone was found to receive the quirk."
"Speaking of," he continued, looking over at Yagi, "before we begin, I know you've said that Recovery Girl knows about One For All, but does Aizawa know?"
Yagi shook his head. "No. I've not told him."
"I figured as much. Though, if I were you, I would consider telling him, seeing as how one of his students has inherited something that will result in a drastic change to his abilities. Plus, it would mean one more person to oversee training, only this time with the added benefit of a quirk that could turn One For All off at any time."
"But that aside," he said, changing the subject, directing his attention towards Bakugou, "we need to determine whether or not you're able to access it just yet."
He looked back over at Yagi. "You have all the experience when it comes to One For All. How did you learn to use it?"
"Hmm. I might not be the best example. It always came naturally to me. The only thing I ever had to do was reach for it, and it was there."
Izuku sighed at the complete lack of insight from the man who had held the quirk for nearly fifty years.
"Right. From scratch, then." He said, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling. "Let's see… It's an energy-based quirk. How best to analogize it?"
Energy quirks, particularly energy quirks that allowed users to make direct use of the stockpile, were incredibly rare. Most energy quirks, like the two that Izuku had, merely served to supplement his stamina. The closest quirks he had to One For All in terms of how it functioned were his newest stockpiler and 'Soul Thief.' So, for the moment, he would use them as his guideline.
"Alright, first things first." He finally said, looking back down at Bakugou. "You've been given a new quirk. That's basically the same as if you were to grow a completely new limb. You won't be able to control it at first. Before you can, you have to learn where the muscles are, and what mental switch you have to flip in order to make them listen to you. For an energy-based quirk, you should be able to feel something new inside of you. Most likely, this'll either present as a little bit of pressure in your muscles, something just waiting to be released, or as something in your chest, maybe a little bit of heat. Do you feel any of that?"
Bakugou's face drew up in concentration for a few long moments.
"I think… I think it's the second one. I don't know what it is, but it feels like there's… something… right about here."
He pointed to a spot right in the center of his torso, just below the sternum.
"It… almost feels like water. I don't think it's warm. I can't quite tell if it feels hot or cold, all I can feel is that it's big. It's almost like there's an ocean inside of me."
Izuku tilted his head at the analogy. There must be an astronomical amount of energy stockpiled within the quirk for it to feel like something of that magnitude, or at least for Bakugou to interpret it as such. Aside from that, the fact that he was able to come up with his own visualization for it at all meant that he would likely have an easier time of accessing it.
"Alright. Now we know that you do indeed have it, now it's just a matter of making use of it."
"Following along with the analogy that you came up with, that One For All is an ocean within you, can you reach out to it at all? Can you step into the water?"
Instead of answering, Bakugou closed his eyes, his eyebrows scrunching up even further as he focused. Several long minutes passed in silence as he tried to tap into the power, but at no point did Izuku see any frustration in his expression. The only thing there was focus and determination to succeed.
It took a while—Izuku could see that Yagi wanted to say something, but he was content to see what Bakugou would accomplish—but eventually he succeeded. Izuku could tell the instant it happened. Every inch of exposed skin suddenly took on a red tint, and Bakugou gasped. At the same time, out of nowhere, lightning exploded into existence around him, wreathing his body. It was orange in color and crackled across him in a cascade of light.
"Excellent work, Young Bakugou!" Yagi exclaimed. "Do you think you can move like that?"
Izuku's eyes went wide at the man's words.
"No!" He shouted. "Don't move! Not a single muscle!"
"Etsumi?" Yagi questioned. But Izuku ignored him as he rose from his spot, moving closer to where Bakugou still stood, lightning still arcing across him.
"Alright, now that you've taken hold of it, I want you to release it. Let go of it."
Thankfully, Bakugou didn't question him, simply closing his eyes once more. He let out a breath as the lightning slowly faded out of existence a moment later. As soon as it was all gone, he fell backwards onto the ground. Leaning back on his hands, with his head tilted up towards the ceiling, he panted like he had just run a marathon.
"Is everything alright, Etsumi?" Yagi asked.
"I believe so." He answered. "Bakugou. How're you feeling?"
"Thirsty." Came the reply, between breaths. "And sore. Like I just exercised every muscle in my body at the same time."
"Not exactly surprising." Izuku said, reaching into the bag at his hip and pulling a water bottle from a pocket in 'Hotbar,' before tossing it over to Bakugou. "If I'm correct in guessing at what I saw, what you just did was tap into everything available to you at the same time. You went to one hundred percent immediately, and your body wasn't prepared for that at all. Had you moved, the force behind even a small movement could very well have torn muscles and broken bones. You've only just gotten the quirk. Your body hasn't had much time to get used to it."
"However, you doing that was necessary. Now you ought to have a pretty good idea of what it feels like to activate it, right?"
Bakugou finished draining the water he'd been given, tossing the now-empty bottle aside. "I think so. I think I remember what it felt like."
"Good, because you're going to do it again. Only this time, instead of drawing on everything at once, I want you to try to pull on the smallest amount you possibly can. Do you think you can do that?"
Bakugou dry swallowed, his breathing back under control. "I think we're about to find out."
With that, he quickly rose to his feet, and closed his eyes once more. Unlike last time though, it wasn't even a minute before the lightning was back, albeit significantly less intense than it was before.
Izuku found himself smiling at the sheer potential that his old friend possessed. Bakugou held such a drive within himself that he took obtaining a new quirk—an exceptionally powerful quirk at that—in stride. The determination and focus that allowed him to become as strong as he had only further aided him as he tore through the process of deciphering One For All.
Oh, what the two of them could've accomplished together had they not been separated…
"Alright." Izuku started once Bakugou opened his eyes. "Is that the lowest amount you can draw on?"
"I-. I think so." Bakugou answered, voice slightly strained.
"Does it hurt at all?"
"Not really. It's just-. It's just taking some focus to keep everything steady. It's like trying to tense your entire body at the same time, and-. And then keep it there. It keeps wanting to go stronger."
Izuku nodded. "Okay. That ought to become easier with practice. Ease of focus and control usually do. Now, do you think you can move like this?"
With a grimace, Bakugou slowly lifted a foot, leaning forward as he took a very controlled and deliberate step. His movements were jerky, like his leg kept wanting to move faster than it should and then he kept overcorrecting to stop it. Eventually though, he'd taken the step, which was quickly followed by another, and then another, again and again until he was walking the length of the gym. With every step, his movements became ever so slightly more fluid. Either his grasp on the quirk was growing that much stronger with each one, or the repetitive act of walking was being just that, repetitive and easy to do with little to no focus.
"It seems like you're starting to get the hang of it. Do you think you can start to increase the pace a bit?"
Bakugou didn't respond, but immediately complied, speeding up into a light jog. Once again, his movements seemed a bit unsteady as he tried to both cope with the boost to his abilities and keep the boost active and under control, but, once again, after a few minutes he seemed to be adjusting to the higher speed. He ran all the way to the opposite end of the gym before turning around to return. As he did, Izuku noticed him pick up the pace once more.
Izuku couldn't help himself. He found himself smiling again as Bakugou's innate skill and potential were made apparent by the speed at which he improved.
His smile faltered though, when he noticed the lightning surrounding Bakugou's legs surge mid-stride.
Immediately, Izuku was moving, flying through the air to intercept Bakugou, who'd unintentionally launched himself with a step that seemed to have been made much stronger than intended with an accidental slip of One For All. He caught Bakugou around the middle, landing back on the ground an instant later. By the time he set Bakugou down, the lightning had already faded away, leaving him with a pained expression.
"How badly did you hurt your leg?" Izuku asked, despite the fact that he was already checking with 'All Sight.'
"Not too bad, I think. I'm pretty sure my ankle's just sprained."
That lined up with what Izuku was seeing. He couldn't find any signs that the bones were damaged, though the muscles around the lower half of his leg seemed to be inflamed, especially at his ankle.
"That's probably enough for today, right Etsumi?" All Might asked, moving to kneel next to Bakugou.
"Agreed." Izuku responded, nodding. "You've already learned how to activate the quirk, limit the output, and have gotten a good start on functioning while its active. That's plenty of progress for one day."
Bakugou sighed, slumping a bit, before nodding in agreement. "What's next?"
"For now, you should pay Recovery Girl a visit so she can take a look at your ankle, and so she can give you a once-over to make sure that nothing else is injured. But as far as One For All, for the time being, all you need to worry about is being able to use it while moving around. Your goal should be to get to the point where you're able to keep it active all the time throughout the day, with next to no impact on what you do. This'll help you grow accustomed to keeping the quirk active, but also with regulating your strength and how you apply it to everyday items. If you can do that, then it won't be long before you're able to fight with it."
Bakugou nodded. "If how today went is any indication, then I'll get there in no time."
Izuku smirked. "I don't doubt it. I look forward to seeing that."
"I can handle taking him to Recovery Girl, Etsumi," Yagi said, buffing up into his muscular form, "if you wanted to head home."
Izuku shrugged. "Works for me."
"Good work today, Bakugou." Izuku said as he turned towards the door, sparing Bakugou another glance. "See you tomorrow."
With that, he set off towards the exit. As soon as he made it outside, barely a minute later, he was launching himself into the air. Aiming himself towards the city proper, he took off in the direction of the apartment, ready to relax at home before he went out as Oni for the night.
Well, first things first. He had a foster guardian application that he needed to send to Nezu