…Darkness.
Not the calm kind.
The kind that presses in from all sides, heavy and airless.
The bullet from Overhaul didn't hurt me.
That was wrong.
That was terrifying.
"…Izuku…"
"…Izuku."
Nana-san's voice echoed faintly, like it was traveling through water.
"Nana-san…?" I tried to answer, but my throat wouldn't work.
I couldn't see her.
No golden glow.
No familiar warmth.
Her presence was… thinning.
Breaking apart.
Like sand slipping through my fingers, no matter how tightly I tried to hold on.
"W-Wait—!"
"…I'm sorry…"
That was the last thing I heard from her.
And then—
Reality slammed back in.
Overhaul laughed.
A dry, mocking sound that crawled under my skin.
"So this is it?" he sneered. "Just a regular human."
My chest tightened.
I felt it then.
Nothing.
No surge.
No heat.
No lingering spark.
My quirk…
It's gone.
Not weakened.
Not dormant.
Gone.
Not even embers remained.
The realization hollowed me out from the inside.
But then I saw his face—
that smug smile—
and Eri's trembling body flashed through my mind.
Her scars.
Her fear.
Her cries.
No.
I couldn't let him laugh.
"You think I need a quirk to deal with you, bitch?"
I drove my head forward.
CRACK.
Teeth shattered. Blood sprayed.
He screamed.
"I can still deal with trash like you just fine!"
My fist smashed into his jaw.
The impact echoed wrong—wet, jagged.
His jaw twisted out of place as he collapsed.
I raised my arm again—
"STOP, MIDORIYA!"
Endeavor's grip crushed around my shoulder.
"If you keep going… he'll die."
My breath was ragged.
My hands were shaking.
…I stopped hitting him.
The world felt empty.
I turned away.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
I sat down near the broken remains of the building—twisted steel, shattered concrete, dust drifting in the air.
It felt fitting.
"…Overdrive."
I looked up.
Mirio stood there, hesitant.
"Yo, senpai…" I forced my voice up. "Is Eri okay?"
Eri clung to his leg, trembling.
"O-Onii-chan… because… of me…"
Her eyes filled with tears.
My heart twisted.
I knelt in front of her.
"Hey… don't cry."
I smiled.
It took effort.
"From now on… smile, okay? You look really good when you smile."
"B-But…"
"Don't worry." I stood up. "I'm still hella strong."
I grabbed a chunk of rubble and hurled it aside.
It skidded across the ground, cracking apart.
Mirio froze.
"…Didn't you lose your quirk?"
"Yeah." I shrugged. "Most definitely."
I looked down at my hands.
"But training doesn't disappear just because power does."
"…Are you really okay, Midoriya?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah."
I smiled wider.
"Never been better."
Mirio looked away.
His shoulders slumped.
Sad.
"…Izuku."
Bakugo's voice cracked.
I turned.
"You're… quirkless again…"
He wouldn't meet my eyes.
Shoto stood frozen beside him.
"Izuku… what are you talking about…?"
His voice trembled too.
"…Why are you guys crying?" I laughed weakly.
"You look ridiculous, Kacchan."
"Just when I thought…" Bakugo swallowed hard, "…we could finally stand side by side as heroes."
"…You taught me so much," Shoto said softly.
"I thought… we'd keep learning together. You're like a big brother to me."
"Not you too, Shoto…"
I stepped forward, placing a hand on both of their shoulders.
"Look at them, Eri," I said lightly.
"These two oniisans are just big softies."
I forced a grin.
"What happened, huh? I can still take both of you down in a minute."
Neither of them laughed.
Rain began to fall.
Slow at first.
Then heavier.
Washing blood from the ground.
Mixing with tears no one wanted to admit were falling.
The Next Day
The world refused to stay quiet.
News spread fast.
A fifteen-year-old boy captured Overhaul.
Saved a tortured child.
Lost his quirk in the process.
The story was everywhere.
Heroes talked.
UA whispered.
Villains listened.
One name echoed through every screen and conversation.
Izuku Midoriya.
Overdrive.
And for the first time since I was four—
I didn't know who I was supposed to be next.
---
With the League of Villains
The room was dim, lit only by flickering screens replaying the same footage over and over.
A boy standing amid rubble.
Bloodied.
Unbowed.
"…Izuku lost his quirk?" Rin said quietly, disbelief threading through his voice.
Another screen switched angles.
"Yeah," Twice replied. "It's everywhere now. How he fought. How he saved the girl. How the quirk-destroying bullets worked."
Rin clenched his jaw.
"…If Master hears about this…"
His thoughts trailed off.
I don't even want to imagine what he'd do.
The room fell silent for a moment, broken only by the hum of electronics.
"…I wonder how Izuku's holding up," Rin continued, softer now.
"Losing the power you were born with isn't easy. Especially for someone like him."
He exhaled slowly.
"…This might be the perfect moment to recruit him. If he breaks… if he doubts himself…"
A pause.
"…It could please Master. Especially when that damn prison finally falls."
Across the room, Kurohane watched the screen intently.
Izuku's face—tired, soaked in rain, still standing.
I hope you recover, she thought.
I want to see you smiling again. Not broken. Not hollow.
Her lips curved faintly.
I want to devour you when you're at your best.
Tartarus
Deep underground, surrounded by reinforced steel and endless silence—
All For One frowned.
"…Yoichi… One For All…"
He reached out with senses honed over decades.
Nothing.
"…I can't feel you."
His awareness shifted.
Izuku.
There.
Alive.
Inko.
Also there.
"…Good," he murmured.
Then why—
"…One For All…"
It wasn't weakened.
It wasn't distant.
"It's gone," he whispered. "Completely."
A low chuckle echoed in the cell.
"So that's what happened."
He leaned back.
"Just one more year, Izuku."
"When I recover fully…"
His smile widened beneath the mask.
"I'll come back to our family."
"…After killing All Might."
Izuku at Home
The house felt smaller than usual.
Too quiet.
"Are you alright, Izuku…?" Mom asked softly.
"I heard… you lost your quirk…"
I didn't look at her when I answered.
"It's fine, Mom." I shrugged, forcing a casual tone.
"It's just a quirk. Not like I had it for a long time."
The words tasted bitter.
She didn't reply.
She just stood there, hands clenched around her apron, eyes lowered—like she was trying not to cry in front of me.
"…."
That silence hurt more than any scolding ever could.
I wanted to ask her.
About him.
About All For One.
About things that had been haunting me for years.
But then I remembered her collapsing before.
Her trembling hands.
The fear in her eyes.
I can't do that to her.
"I'm sorry, Izuku…" Mellissa said suddenly, wrapping her arms around me tightly.
"I know how much being a hero meant to you. I know how hard you worked for it…"
Her voice shook.
I gently pulled away.
"No, Mellissa. It's fine."
I forced a small smile.
"It's just a quirk."
I could see it in her eyes.
She didn't believe me.
That night, I made my decision.
I stopped answering calls.
Fuyumi.
Toru.
Even Mellissa.
I didn't want them tied to someone like me.
A quirkless guy with nothing left to offer.
I planned to send Mellissa back too.
I didn't want them waiting on me.
Hoping for me.
I turned toward my room—
The doorbell rang.
"YOUNG MIDORIYA!"
I froze.
"…All Might?"
Mellissa POV
Mellissa already knew what had happened.
She didn't need anyone to explain it.
The news had done that for her.
A boy standing in the rain.
Blood on his face.
A small girl clinging to him.
Quirk destroyed.
Overhaul captured.
Heroism beyond reason.
She had watched the footage more times than she wanted to admit.
So when Izuku stood in front of her earlier, smiling too easily, saying—
"It's just a quirk."
She knew something was wrong.
Now she sat alone in the guest room, phone resting on her thigh.
No replies.
Not to her messages.
Not to anyone's, from what she could tell.
"…So that's how you're doing this," she murmured.
Slowly.
Quietly.
By pretending nothing mattered.
She hadn't known him before I-Expo.
She didn't fall for some childhood legend or long history.
She fell for the boy she met after.
The one who analyzed everything.
Who worried about others before himself.
Who smiled awkwardly but sincerely.
Who risked his life without hesitation—not because he was strong, but because someone needed help.
That was the Izuku she cared about.
Not One For All.
Her fingers curled tightly into the bedsheet.
"…You're pushing us away," she whispered.
Not out of cruelty.
Out of fear.
Out of that same self-sacrificing instinct that made him run into danger.
He thinks he's protecting me.
The realization hurt more than anger ever could.
She stood and walked to the door of his room, stopping just short of knocking.
He didn't come out.
Didn't call for her.
Didn't ask her to stay.
Her chest tightened.
"…You really think I'd leave just because you lost your quirk?" she said softly, to the closed door.
She exhaled, steadying herself.
I will never give up on you, Izuku, she thought.
With Izuku and All might
I brought him to my room quietly.
We sat across from each other.
No words.
The silence stretched—heavy, unbearable.
"…You must be disappointed in me," I finally said, staring at the floor.
"I destroyed One For All… before passing it down."
All Might didn't raise his voice.
He didn't sigh.
"No, Midoriya," he said gently.
"I heard what you did."
"You saved the girl."
He leaned forward.
"That's what matters most."
"…You are a true hero."
I blinked.
That wasn't what I expected.
I lost One For All.
The world was supposed to be doomed.
Shigaraki was still out there.
I thought he'd be angry.
"…I'm sorry, All Might," I whispered.
"I failed you."
"…Don't worry, Midoriya," he said firmly.
"We can still make it through this."
He stood up and pulled me into a hug.
"Even without a quirk… you're still my hero."
"You saved the girl, didn't you?"
"That alone qualifies you as my successor."
"Not One For All."
"You."
My chest cracked open.
Maybe these were the words I'd been waiting for.
I had grown used to power.
Used to saving people.
Used to believing that strength defined me.
When I lost it…
it felt like losing a part of myself.
That's why I cut them off. I stopped answering calls..
Fuyumi.
Toru.
Mellissa.
I thought I didn't deserve to live my life anymore.
Maybe… I just needed to hear this.
Maybe I could still move forward.
I cried.
For a long time.
Clutching All Might like a child who'd finally been told it was okay to break.
The door slid open.
"All Might… he's a kid," Shoto said quietly.
"…Didn't think you were like this," Bakugo added, eyes narrowed.
"You misunderstand, young man," All Might said quickly, stepping away.
"Who's the softie now, bitch?" Bakugo smirked, forcing a grin.
I laughed.
A real laugh.
Not forced.
Not hollow.
For the first time in a long while—
I felt like myself again.
At the Ramen Shop
After that, all four of us went to the nearest ramen shop.
The kind that smelled like broth even from outside.
Steam fogged the windows.
The night felt a little less heavy.
"It's on All Might," I said, forcing a grin.
"Eat your fill, guys."
"…Itadakimasu."
Bowls were set down one after another.
We ate.
And ate.
And somehow ate more.
All Might's wallet screamed in silent agony.
For a moment, it felt normal.
Like nothing had broken.
Like I hadn't lost anything at all.
Then—
"Oii, Deku."
Bakugo reached into his bag and tossed something onto the table.
"…I came to return it."
I froze.
"…My cape?"
"Yeah. Now take it."
I stared at the familiar fabric.
My fingers hesitated.
"…It belongs to a hero, Kacchan," I said quietly, eyes dropping.
"I'm just a run-of-the-mill guy without a quirk now."
The shop went silent.
No slurping.
No clinking bowls.
"…You idiot."
Bakugo grabbed the cape and hurled it straight at my face.
I barely caught it.
"How many people did you save, Deku?"
"…I don't know," I muttered.
"A lot… maybe since the Endeavor internship."
"Tch."
Bakugo leaned back, arms crossed.
"And how many times did One For All even work properly for you?"
I blinked.
"You broke bones from the start," he continued.
"How many bones did you shatter just to make it move?"
"And how many times did you break them again?"
"…What's your point?" I asked.
He clicked his tongue.
"…One For All isn't special."
The words hit hard.
"It's you."
He met my eyes.
"You're the one who kept breaking through your limits."
"You're the one who never quit."
"You're the one who kept charging forward even when you were quirkless."
His fists clenched slightly.
"…You've been my damn driving force since we were kids."
My chest tightened.
"And think about it," Bakugo went on.
"One For All isn't your strongest suit."
I frowned.
"It's your brain," he snapped.
"You think on your feet."
"You adapt."
"You're an underdog who clawed his way up from nothing."
"…Don't forget that."
Those words—
They lit something inside me.
Shoto and All Might began clapping quietly.
"…I didn't know you could talk like that, Bakugo."
All Might nodded proudly.
"Yes. You did very well, young man."
"Tch. Don't make it weird."
Shoto tilted his head.
"…By the way," he said casually,
"what's One For All? You keep mentioning it."
The table went still.
Looks like the secret would stay with four of us now.
And then—
It hit me.
Mirio-senpai.
He got his quirk back.
Thanks to Eri.
"…Kacchan," I said slowly, a spark igniting in my chest.
"…Thanks."
"Huh?"
"Thanks to you," I said, gripping the cape tighter,
"I just got an amazing idea."
All Might looked at me.
"…Young Midoriya?"
"One For All isn't gone," I said firmly.
"It can still come back."
Silence.
"I don't need a suit," I continued.
"I don't need to give up."
I smiled.
"I can still be a hero."
How did I forget?
Maybe because I was scared.
Maybe because it hurt too much to hope.
But One For All wasn't destroyed.
It could be recovered.