Hero to the Bone!

After a few more moments of contemplation, the mother sighed before looking at her son with a nod. "Ok, Izuku." She had to fight back a smile when he cheered with a fist pump, while Temmie happily mewled even though she didn't understand what was happening. "But you need to promise to be responsible for it. No matter the type, quirks are a great responsibility." She reminded in a serious tone.

"I will mom." He easily agreed, which helped calm her a bit. "And besides, I won't do anything combat focused until I know how to use my quirk." He assured with a sincere look.

Hearing this, Inko sighed gratefully. "Ok, good." She smiled. "But if you ever have difficulty, just tell me and we can find a quirk doctor." She kindly reminded, not wanting her son to go through unnecessary difficulty.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, I will." The mother picked up Temmie who got bored from the lack of pets. "But if it's anything like your quirk, I'm sure I can get the hang of it in a snap." He chuckled as he raised his right hand to snap his fingers for emphasis during his statement.

"..." Inko said nothing, only staring at him blankly while Temmie eyed something with interest. The latter landing on the floor when she noted the woman had loosened her grip.

Seeing this, he looked at the two oddly. "What?" His gaze switched from his still mother to Temmie and followed her gaze. "What's the..." His words died as soon as he figured out what had them so shocked.

A bone.

A floating bone to be exact.

"..." Izuku just stared at the hovering object next to him, before a huge grin threatened to split his face. "Awesome!" He cheered as he began circling the bone. "I've never seen a quirk like this before." He racked his brain for anyone with similar powers, only to find none. "I wonder if I can control it?" He thought out loud before twirling his left finger.

Only for him to laugh in amazement when the bone spun in place. "So cool!" He cheered as Temmie sat beside him to eye the object in wonder. "And I didn't need to cover it in a green glow either." He noted before his eyes lit up as ideas came to him. "Does that mean I can make an infinite amount?" He paused as another theory formed in his head. "Can I make more stuff based on bones?" He gasped before jotting down ideas in his notebook, muttering about possible tools or weapons to make while his feline companion continued to watch.

Meanwhile, after rebooting and processing what just happened, Inko smiled as she watched the duo with fond exasperation and placed a hand on her cheek. "Honestly, you're just full of surprises." She giggled to herself as Izuku decided to play fetch with Temmie so she wouldn't get bored. The latter chased the floating bone while he diligently added more notes and muttering about theories of how his quirk worked.

Strangely, Izuku's quirk being more than simple telekinesis like hers is both a surprising and unsurprising development to the parent.

The older Midoriya watched their antics for a bit before heading to the kitchen to reheat their undoubtedly cold food. "Looks like things are going to become more interesting from here." Her smile widened at the thought as she listened to her son's happiness from the kitchen.

YEARS LATER-ALDERA JUNIOR HIGH

From his seat, Izuku stared out the window in thought, reminiscing on how the past few years have been the most interesting he's had while his homeroom teacher discussed stuff to his classmates before the day ended.

During his spare time, he would train his quirk and see what else he could do with it. The result was a versatile quirk that allowed him to surprise and even overpower enemies if given the right opportunity.

Not only that, it had its uses in rescue missions as well. But if there's one word that would be used to describe his quirk it would be: ''weird''.

Just by reminding himself of the details he had written down of his abilities still baffled him, despite being the wielder of such power.

MY NOTES!

Quirk: Energized Bones!

1. Description: This quirk allows me to literally energize my bones. Not only does it make my bones denser, but it also increases my strength, speed and reaction time. Although it gets painful or tiring if I push myself too much (got a pretty bad scolding after collapsing in the living room, pace yourself!).

2. Passive Sensory Field: Ever since my quirk awakened, I've noticed how more aware of my surroundings I've become. Not in the usual sense mind you, but more on the "sensing presence" kind of thing.

It wasn't obvious to me, at least not at first, but I'd notice people/things being near me without even looking (which would explain how good I was at avoiding Temmie during tag at the park, something I hope we can do again).

Anyway, it turns out this "sense" thing I have, can either be focused on or just left to do its thing while I do anything else. Allowing me to train this ability passively if I didn't have the time to train on it, making it easier to develop.

Also, I have no idea what the maximum range of this ability is, but as I grow and continue to train. I believe it will only grow stronger and have even better range over time!

{Other Abilities}

3. Psychokinesis: Though similar to mom's, it's easier to control without needing almost no effort to activate. Depending on the weight, I can lift the item off the ground. Though the more weight or resistance it offered the more power will be needed to move the object let alone lift it. (Side note: Still need to confirm if I can even make myself fly.)

[Update: Can't fly, good thing I wore a helmet and pads though!]

4. Glowing eyes: Apart from adding to my expressions, my eyes glow brighter depending on how much power I add to my quirk. And since I can brighten them at any time, I could probably use it to scare villains just like what the heroes do in the comics I read! [Side note: I wonder what else I can do with my eyes!]

5. Bone Based Weaponry: So I was right, I can make bone-based weapons (out of thin air no less!). And although simple in design, they do what they're made to do. Weapons like: Bone Club, Bone Staff, Bone Spear and a Bone Sword.

Or just bone projectiles that I make in the air to throw at bad guys.

6. Bone Materialization: As mentioned, I can make (or spawn?) bones from anywhere pretty quick.

Including almost any surface, though it's noticeably tougher when the surface is harder in terms of material. Maybe when I'm older and stronger it wouldn't be as hard, but as of the time of this entry, I need to add more power on tougher surfaces (thankfully dirt is easy to sprout stuff from, which makes me a bone farmer lol).

In terms of limits, I guess it's when I get tired. Because when I decided to test my limit and just spawn bones and add them to a growing pile, I didn't consume as much energy as I thought I would.

Maybe it's because I'm not putting much effort into it, but I've already made three big piles now and I haven't broken a sweat. I only needed to stop when mom came back, screamed, nearly fainted (again) and gave me a light scolding about not making our living room look like an Ossuary.

Thankfully I can remove (or despawn?) the bones I make just as fast.

7. Gaster Blasters: So...apparently, I can shoot lasers too. But considering the weirdness and nature of my quirk, it's not really that surprising.

I energize my bones. Therefore, it would make sense that I can use the energy in another way.

Now in terms of how I found this out, well to make a long story short. It was Halloween, so I thought it would be cool to add my quirk to our decorations. Mom was delighted at the idea and even encouraged it since it would help grow my creativity with my quirk.

Then I got an idea.

Since it was Halloween, the things broadcasted on our television were mostly about monsters and horror themed stuff. And one of the broadcasts was a movie about an undead dragon.

So I made a rough recreation of the dragon head, it wasn't exact, but it still looked vicious. And apart from the green glowing eyes, clean appearance and having the same size as Temmie at the time, it looked awesome!

Things were going great...until I accidentally fired the blaster trying to show it off to mom. And burned the chicken that we were supposed to have for dinner.

Ok, in my defense, I should've known better than to pretend that we had a "baby dragon" in our house considering that said dragon was infused with energy from my quirk.

Thankfully it wasn't large enough to cause major damage, apart from charcoaling our dinner and scorching the wall a bit (which I was tasked to help clean up, which was fair).

Needless to say, I got a bit of a scolding and we had to eat takeout that night. But I'd like to think this little incident was worth the discovery.

Now with that out of the way, back to the blasters. As mentioned, they all have glowing green eyes which grow brighter depending on the power I add or if I just want them to intimidate. They may not have brows but they can look pretty mean, plus they growl too which adds to the threat level!

The blasters can float around and be aimed at will. Making it both accurate and useful for various situations!

The range of the lasers depends on the size of the weapon, which goes from small to large (maybe I could go even bigger in the future).

And depending on how much power I add to the laser, I tire myself out if I'm not careful.

8. ''Shortcut'': Looks like I have one more trick up my sleeve.

I always thought that I was a sleepwalker because I would wake up on the living room couch from time to time. Or maybe I'd fallen asleep while playing with Tem and mom would just put me on the couch to sleep comfortably. Or maybe, my dreams were so immersive that I would wander around the apartment and somehow end up on the couch.

But it turns out, nope, it's not sleepwalking.

I can teleport.

...

...

...

My quirk is just full of surprises!

This move takes a toll on my stamina and energy, so I'd need to improve on this.

I can do it in a few quick bursts and for longer distances but I'd need more energy and concentration to make it work. And I found out that combining it with my Sensory Field, I can locate areas where no one can notice me appear. Making it great for escapes or for infiltration.

It's also great for surprise attacks, which is why I'd rather keep this little tidbit a secret whenever someone asks me details about my quirk.

And on that note, I'm pretty sure mom knows about it. Judging by the knowing looks she would give me whenever I would come back from random directions during our family time at the park or how often I would try to gently switch topics when I had the chance.

When I asked why she was giving me those looks she said: "Izuku, change is a natural part of life, it comes with time. But no matter how long or how much stronger you'll become. I trust that you won't let your quirk change who you are, because you'll always be my little hero."

If that doesn't motivate you to go out there and do some good, I don't know what will.

Don't worry mom. I won't let you, Temmie or anyone else down! I'll stay true to my beliefs and be a True Hero!

Blinking back into the present, Izuku chuckled at the amount of side notes his younger self added and the memories with them. He could have revised his info and made it cleaner but decided not to, keeping it as a reminder of where he started.

He also felt warmth and smiled fondly at his mother's words. True to his word he had stayed humble and made it a point to not let his power get to his head. He knew it was definitely one of a kind, extensive research proved that, but he's by no means invincible.

All the more reason to be careful.

Through these past few years Izuku decided not reveal to anyone that he manifested a quirk yet. Leaving his mother and Temmie to be the only ones to know.

Admittedly a part of him was tempted to show his quirk, but he quickly decided against it, seeing that it wasn't worth acting like those jerks who'd brazenly use their powers to show how great they are. Plus it was illegal to do so without a quirk license.

Of course, this meant being bullied under the guise that he was a ''quirkless individual" who could be easily picked on. But thankfully, his "shortcuts" made it easier to avoid the more physical acts of bullying, leaving him to just deal with the verbal insults instead which were easier to deal with.

Some would demand how he always got away from them, but every time they did, he'd just ignore them to find a good spot to teleport away. Frustrating them to the point where they just gave up hurting him altogether and just hurled words at him instead.

So as far as they're concerned, he's just a quirkless kid not worth chasing around (even Bakugou didn't chase him as much after a while).

And speaking of...

Bakugou smirked as he stood, creating small explosions from his palms. ''Hey! Don't lump me with these extras!" His statement caused an uproar from his classmates, but was silenced by his glare.

Izuku could only inwardly sigh at this, for a guy who showed himself as a future hero, he sure didn't act like one.

The uproar was silenced when the teacher noticed a form on his desk. ''Well, it appears you're not the only one going to UA." He pointed out in a slightly amused tone, causing all eyes to turn to Izuku.

And the following reactions afterwards are what you'd expect.

People laughed, gave him disapproving looks or just looked at him weirdly but didn't say more. "Impossible. You don't even have a quirk!" Someone said with a sneer while others agreed and said similar things.

As for Bakugou, well, it looked like he was about to send the entire place crumbling around them as he sat back down without breaking his glare. But the commotion died down when they noticed that the boy didn't even react.

Once quiet, Midoriya calmly spoke. ''It sounds crazy, but I'm still willing to give it a shot.'' He shrugged before lightly hardening his gaze. "But if you guys really think you can do better at being heroes, then prove it by acting like them." He urged with a serious tone. "In case you haven't noticed, heroes don't go around harassing people with no quirks." He pointed out coolly, taking them aback as he relaxed in his seat.

Not only was he known for being "quirkless", but he was also known for being a kid of a few words. He'd never speak to any of them unless it was necessary or it was a Yes/No type of question (though secretly he'd made exceptions to a few people who he thought were cool in his book), opting to just flat out ignore them.

But when he did speak, he always made sure it was straight to the point or something that would hit them to the core when they got on his nerves (which were rare, but only served to make his words more impactful).

And right now, he didn't disappoint as their reactions became mixed.

Some gave him a bored look before promptly ignoring him, others couldn't meet his gaze after that and suddenly found their desks or anything else interesting (even the homeroom teacher looked away with a conflicted look). While the rest looked offended or annoyed that someone with no quirk was judging them like he knew better.

As for Bakugou, well…he looked pissed but decided to just scoff and look out the window, whether or not he was pondering Izuku's words is anybody's guess.

Everyone was then startled when the bell rang, signaling the end of the class.

While everyone made their way out, without even looking, Izuku felt Bakugou coming his way. And based on how heavy his steps are, he doubted it was for a friendly chat. "Oh boy." He mentally sighed.

Not wasting any time, Izuku remained in his seat but subtly spawned a small bone outside their classroom window where no one could spot it and with a twitch of a finger from his right hand, the object tapped loudly against the window before he hastily despawned it.

The effect was immediate as Bakugou, along with everyone else who remained in the room, snapped to the window in surprise. Giving Izuku the opportunity to quietly stand while quickly glancing around the room to see if anyone was looking at him.

When he noted that nobody was watching him, he carefully got all his stuff before teleporting away, just in time for everyone to look at his now empty spot.

OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL GROUNDS

Izuku ended up in a nearby spot where he'd spotted students or teachers smoking when it was their break. Thankfully it's Friday, so he wouldn't have to worry about anyone being here.

And after feeling through his senses to confirm that he's alone, he nodded to himself before properly wearing his bag as he began to leave.

As he arrived at the school entrance, along with several students who paid him no mind and simply discussed their plans amongst themselves, Izuku began thinking of the possible training and research he had to do now since he has more time to focus on them. Perhaps he should focus on expanding his shortcuts tomorrow? Or maybe search for a possible trainer with an emitter quirk. He'd also need to think of ways to creatively use his quirk and methods to-

*rumble*

They all stopped from the small rumble felt, before hearing the sounds of distant explosions and muffled screaming heard from within the school.

While the other students stared at the building in a mix of confusion and fear, Izuku casually continued moving when he concluded that it was just Bakugou cursing up a storm and angrily looking for him.

After chuckling at the mental image, he grinned. ''See ya Kacchan.'' He passed several perplexed students before being the first one to finally exit the school grounds.

On the way he reached a tunnel that would allow him to reach home faster. Said route was also not well known amongst his classmates, making it the perfect place to go without the risk of being bothered with harassment and lowered the risk of it reaching his home.

Suddenly his senses came to life and he found himself quickly teleporting behind whatever tried to sneak up on him. To his surprise, it appeared to be a villain completely made out of sludge.

Said villain leered after morphing his body to face the teen. ''You're pretty fast kid! I don't know how you got behind me, but I won't let you get out of my sight this time!" The large man gurgled out a laugh as Izuku went into a fighting stance. "With your ability, I could easily get away from him.'' He spat with anger before chuckling evilly before lunging at the teen.

Izuku quickly vanished in a blink and reappeared outside the tunnel to give him more room to move while the villain was surprised after landing on nothing before glaring at the teen. "Hold still you brat!" He yelled as he extended a large sludge hand.

"Hmmm, how about..." The teen hummed before casually stepping out of the way as the attack smacked against a wall behind him. "No." He casually remarked with a grin before quickly ducking as the limb returned to its user.

Angered by how lightly the teen is treating him and the current situation, the sludge villain gurgled in malice. "Think this is a game kid?" He enlarged his slimy hands and took aim. "I'll make you regre-" He was suddenly pelted by something, looking down he was stunned to see what had embedded into his slimy body. "Bones?" He noted in surprise before looking at the teen.

Izuku's eyes emanated a light glow to them as he remained standing with his hands in his pockets. "Huh, guess that answers that." He shrugged but remained subtly alert.

Recovering from his surprise, the villain laughed. "Pretty weird quirk you have there kid." The bones were suddenly sucked into the sludge body, making the teen's eyes narrow at the display. "But attacks like that..." He hunched over before shooting out the bones at the teen. "Won't do shit against me!"

Rather than dodging, Izuku calmly raised his right hand and stopped the bones before they could reach him. "Ok, so physical attacks are useless." He quickly despawned the bones, much to the villain's shock and growing annoyance. "Time to get creative." He concluded while staring at the villain with a calculative gaze.

"Is it finally sinking in yet?" The villain mocked. "Apart from All Might, tons of heroes couldn't beat me, no matter what quirk they had!" He bragged as he bared his large teeth. "And running isn't going to do you any good either." He chuckled. "Trust me, I'm a lot faster than I look." He grinned maliciously.

When no response came as the teen continued to stare at him in thought, the villain's grin died a bit before he scoffed. "Whatever, it doesn't matter." His growl echoed within the tunnel as he reared his head back. "You're finished either way!" He declared before spitting three sludge blasts.

Izuku's glowing eyes narrowed with focus as he leaned his body a bit left and right to avoid the first two shots before leaning back a bit to dodge the last one. He then followed it up with swiping his right hand forward, sending four bone projectiles at the villain.

Angered at his attack being dodged, the sludge villain enlarged his left hand and swiped away the projectiles before sending the large limb towards Izuku. The latter easily hopped to the left to avoid it. "You're mine!" He gurgled out a laugh.

Izuku raised an eyebrow before noting that the limb hadn't returned to the owner, urging him to look at it, just in time to see tendrils sprout out of the arm before shooting to grab him as the sludge hand remained firmly planted on a wall. "What a quirk!" The young hero grimaced as he focused on both dodging and keeping away from the tunnel.

As this went on, the villain was both impressed and annoyed at how well the teen was dodging his attacks. Until he let out a laugh and enlarged his free hand. "Can't dodge forever kid." He took aim with glee. "Take this!" He extended his right hand.

Dodging another tendril swipe, Izuku saw the incoming attack and sprouted a large bone underneath him to launch himself in the air. He watched as the sludge hand smacked against the bone pillar before he twisted himself and swiped his left hand towards the villain with a serious look.

Said villain was so stunned at the display that he didn't have time to recall his limbs before a bone projectile bounced off his right eye, causing him to recoil with his eyes closed. "SHIT!" He bellowed in pain as he recalled his limbs to hide his face within himself.

Landing with a huff, Izuku despawned the bones to analyze his surroundings. His gaze shifted between the damage caused from the fight to the villain growling in pain before focusing on the tunnel itself.

Suddenly, an idea came to him, allowing himself to smirk a bit as his eyes glowed.

After recovering from his pain, the villain reformed with a murderous expression. "Slippery bastard!" He gurgled before locking onto the teen, his anger growing at how calm the teen still looked. "When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna-" His advance was halted when Izuku thrusted his right hand forward. Causing the entrance to be suddenly blocked off by bones, effectively turning the tunnel into a cage.

Glancing back, the villain saw the same thing at the other end before facing the young hero again with an unimpressed look. "This again kid?" He chastised as the teen lowered his hand. "Haven't you been paying attention?" He laughed. "Stuff like this is pointless to me!"

And to prove his point, the villain simply phased through the bones and reformed outside the tunnel. "Why do you think heroes have a hard time containing me!" He added before growing in size, easily standing over nine feet. "And with the added space, all I need to do now is squash you flat!" He said with a tone of certain victory as he glared down at the teen.

Only for his moment to die down when the glow in Izuku's eyes grew while raising his left hand, his fingers in a snapping position. "What's with that look kid?" He didn't know why, but that grin suddenly looked more dangerous.

Wordlessly, the teen raised his free hand and pointed upwards, his grin unfaltering.

While minding his instinct to run all of a sudden, the villain thought that it could be a ruse for him to look away so the teen could escape. So he was about to call him out on it until-

*VRRRRRRRR*

Snapping up in surprise, the villain was stunned to see a hovering medium skull of a dragon. Glaring down on him, while growling as a green energy sphere grew in its mouth.

Now realizing the compromising position he's in, the now nervous villain slowly looked down at Izuku, who's grin widened at the display. "Get dunked on." He snapped his fingers with a flash of his eyes.

*ZWOOOOSSSSHHH*

The villain attempted to move only to let out a short-lived scream as the green beam smashed into him, ripping his form apart as it scattered him around the area before stopping to leave a sizzling scorch mark where he once stood.

After the attack, Izuku's eyes went back to normal as he powered down with a sigh. "Glad that's over with." He muttered with sweat on his brow as he looked up to the smoking blaster with a tired grin. "Couldn't exactly use you in the tunnel and risk it collapsing." The blaster let out one more growl and a puff of smoke before despawning. "At least this way, there'll be less damage to deal with." He chuckled before taking a seat on the ground to wipe his brow.

He then eyed the scattered sludge and frowned. "Now what am I going to do with you?" Thankfully his quirk allowed him to sense that the villain is still alive, but knew it was only a matter of time before the villain eventually woke up, so he stood up with a grunt and began looking around the area for anything useful.

He didn't have to look very far because someone had littered and tossed away an empty juice bottle. "Hmmm, that'll do." He muttered in approval before pulling the item into his left hand. "The few cases where littering helped." He chuckled at the irony before heading to the nearest sludge puddle.

Once close, he was shocked at how much smaller it was than earlier. "Guess I evaporated some of it." He noted before aiming his left palm towards it. "Or maybe it'll only be bigger if he's awake." He covered the puddle in the glow of his quirk before guiding it into the bottle.

This went on for several minutes, Izuku would search for any visible puddle of sludge before gently guiding it into the bottle. All the while, he would mutter his observations of the villain's quirk.

Once done, he looked around the area once more. When he saw nothing, he tapped into his senses, only for it to lock onto the bottle in his hand (luckily the villain's inactivity had allowed him to cram the sludge into the medium bottle). "Guess that's all of it." He shrugged before relaxing in place, but made sure to keep an eye out since the sludge's inactivity made it harder to detect somehow.

And after a few more seconds of searching, he decided to firmly seal the bottle before eyeing the impromptu prison with a frown. "Your quirk is amazing." He complimented with a shake of his head. "Sucks that you're using it for villainy though." He added with disappointment before leaning against an undamaged part of a nearby wall. "Heck, I could have even helped you find ways to use it for good."

When no response came, Izuku shrugged, concluding that the villain must still be unconscious. "Oh well, hopefully you'll learn to be a better person in jail." He sat on the ground and leaned against the wall as he surveyed the area. "And from what I got from our conversation a while ago, I'm guessing that a hero is after you so it looks like we'll have to wait a while and see what happens." He calmly placed the bottle beside him before getting comfy with a yawn.

SHORTLY AFTER

*Rumble*

The vibration jolted the napping teen awake before he stood ready to fight while making sure to keep the bottle safe in his hands.

Only for his eyes to widen when he saw that the person who arrived was. ''A-ALL MIGHT!?'' Izuku practically screamed.

Said hero looked at the scene with confusion on his face. ''Strange…I could have sworn he ended up here…'' He began looking around cautiously when the gawking teen caught his attention.

Realizing he had his idol's attention, Izuku timidly approached while presenting the bottle to him. He was about to say something when All Might interrupted him ''My thanks young man, but I couldn't possibly take a break, a villain made it through here, so I advise you to head home now."

The hero was about to jump away until Izuku spoke. ''Actually, the bottle is the villain.''

Hearing this got All Might to look at him weirdly, so the teen clarified. ''What I meant to say is that I managed to beat the villain and secure him in this bottle." He chuckled. "He kind of clued me in that he was being chased by a hero, so I decided to wait and hand him over.'' He said in a sheepish tone while maintaining his cool. ''Just calm down, this is no time for fanboying!''

Meanwhile, All Might was definitely taken back by the fact that a young boy was able to defeat a villain and contain him no less! "That explains the damage here." He made a mental note to call people here to repair the area. But still, how was this possible? From what he can see, the boy looked far too young and ordinary to pull that off.

Plus, the villain he had just defeated was notorious for not only brutally possessing people. But for also being incredibly elusive and aggressive when encountered, so how did-

The Number One Hero's thoughts ceased when his expression went into a grimace for a second before he let out his signature laugh. "My thanks young man!" He gratefully took the bottle from the teen. "But next time, try to stay out of trouble and run to let the pros handle it." He secured the bottle in the pocket of his pants before standing tall. "You're still too young and villains are very unpredictable." He sagely advised while Izuku could only nod in response, still in awe at the man's presence.

And before the teen could say anything, All Might saluted him. "Thank you again and stay safe!" He stated before jumping away, his laugh echoing as he went, leaving the teen to gawk on the spot.

Once his mind rebooted, Izuku blinked. "I just met All Might." A grin that threatened to split his face formed. "And he saluted me as thanks!" His eyes literally lit up with joy. "I gotta go tell Mom and Tem about this!" He cheered before jogging to the tunnel.

But as he jogged, he couldn't help but think about what he noticed. "He seemed to be in a hurry." He slowed down a bit but quickly shook his head and tried to pick up the pace. "Of course he's in a hurry, he's got a ton of people to save!" He reassured himself before coming to a full stop, just short of the tunnel, his grin replaced with a small frown as he began to think about the encounter.

Izuku glanced back at where he spoke with All Might and thought back on their conversation. It looked like everything was normal; the hero stood tall, did his laugh, posed and gave him some advice. All the while wearing his signature smile.

But there was that moment when it looked All Might's expression changed. It was quick, but Izuku definitely noticed it but was too distracted to really pay attention to it.

"Now that I think about it..." His frown grew a bit as he replayed the scene in his head. "It kind of looked like he was in pain for a second." A bubble of worry formed within him at the possibility of All Might being hurt.

But that's ridiculous, how could a man so powerful and seemingly invincible be hurt? Izuku has seen more than enough videos to prove how powerful and durable The Symbol of Peace is. Hell, even the infamous villain Toxic Chainsaw got a few good hits on the hero but failed to really hurt him in the end.

He was about to leave until he hesitated again. Maybe it's just him being paranoid or maybe looking too deep into things. But something in his gut was telling him that there was something more to this, something bad.

And what kind of hero would that make him if he just ignored it.

So with this thought, Izuku shrugged with a sigh before fully turning around. "It could be nothing, but I wouldn't know until I find out." He muttered while walking back to where he spoke with All Might.

"Hmmm, let's see..." He rubbed his chin in thought as he went through his mental notes. "All Might can't fly, at least not for a long time, so he'll need to jump from high spots to get to places." A small grin formed on his face. "And he wouldn't want to add more power to his jumps, lest he causes damage every time he lands, so he'll need to limit his jumps to closer locations." His eyes glowed as he closed his eyes and concentrated on his sensory field. "Which means if I just focus, I should be able to find him, provided that he isn't out of my range." His grin faltered a bit from that last bit but he shook it off and focused.

And sure enough, among many that he sensed, he felt one stay in place before traveling to the very edge of his sensory field at a speed that no ordinary person should be able to do. "Bingo." He opened his eyes with a flash before teleporting away with a snap of his fingers.

Unfortunately, he had failed to notice a splotch of sludge that had laid still behind a lamp post.

Said sludge remained still for a moment before wiggling to form an eye that opened wearily. After blinking away the blurriness, it looked around for a bit before going wide as it remembered what happened.

And with renewed rage, it formed a glare upon noticing that he couldn't recall pieces of himself. His gaze then shifted to a nearby drain, lessening his anger a bit before he quickly slipped in.

A new flesh suit would need to be found once he'd regain his strength and mass in the sewers. But after that, he'll have to find a way to make that brat pay!

ROOF OF A RANDOM BUILDING

After appearing in a green flash, Izuku began taking in his surroundings. "This is it." He went to a nearby railing, only to let out a low whistle when he realized how far from home he was. "Woah, guess my range is pretty good." He chuckled.

The sound of coughing reminded him of why he was here, turning around he saw a skinny man with blond hair staring at him in dread and surprise. But that wasn't the most shocking part, his clothes are eerily similar to the ones that All Might wore.

They stared at each other for what felt like hours when Izuku decided to break the silence. ''All….Might?'' He cautiously asked.

The man's eyes widened before he let out a defeated sigh. ''Yep, it's me.'' It looked like he was expecting some sort of reaction from the teen, perhaps a negative one.

But what he hadn't expected was the teen to remain silent before looking around the area to check if anyone else was listening. And after one more confirmation from his sensory field, Izuku looked back at him. ''I'm guessing there's an explanation to this?'' He received a nod as a response. "All right, you can choose to tell me or not, I'll be cool with it either way." He stated with a kind smile.

All Might for once in his life didn't know what to say. He felt touched at the care expressed from the young boy before him and was honestly shocked that he would be willing to keep his secret whether he revealed the truth or not.

But looking into the young boy's eyes, he could see understanding and care. "But...why?" He couldn't help but ask.

To this Izuku shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, this is definitely a surprise for me." He admitted before grinning. "But mom didn't raise a blackmailer and I'd rather not see people freaking out over this." He chuckled. "Besides, chaos is bad for naps." He jokingly added.

And despite the circumstances, All Might found himself chuckling inwardly at the joke. "You're an interesting one kid." The teen merely winked at him. "Most people would've freaked out or tried to use this chance to get special favors from me." Izuku looked disgusted at the possibility of blackmail and the hero couldn't blame him.

Silence then took over, as All Might debated on what to do. Seeing this, the student sat against the railing and patiently waited. Allowing the symbol to study him, from what he could see, the boy was kind and had a fire that reminded him of himself in his youth.

An unbreakable determination with the kindness and trust to match it.

A few more moments passed, before All Might nodded to himself. "Ok kid, let's talk." The teen beamed and was about to stand before being stopped by a hard look from the hero. "But you must swear to never tell anyone about our conversation."

It wasn't up for debate and Izuku knew that. "What conversation?" He responded with a shrug, earning a smirk from the hero before he gestured to the teen to take a seat across from him.

By the end of the explanation, Izuku could only stare with wide eyes.

The Symbol of Peace was severely wounded by a powerful villain and can't maintain his form for too long due to the severity of it. He knew there was more to it but he was too focused on everything making sense all of the sudden.

The short but meaningful interviews, the seemingly rushed fights, timely rescues and the rare sightings despite most heroes appearing everywhere. All of it was due to that wound and because of said injury, he couldn't eat solid food. Causing him to be skinny and for nobody to notice him in public when he wasn't being a hero.

''I am aware that what I'm saying is hard to believe, but it's the truth." The hero's words brought Izuku out of his thoughts. "I continue to fight crime because I cannot let the Symbol of Peace be daunted by evil." His expression remained serious. "A hero must be willing to risk their life in order to protect the innocent and the peace that comes with it.''

The teen felt a lump in his throat from the weight on those words. To continue your duty with that injury….it struck just how willing he was to risk everything to save others.

Seeing the boy taking in his words, All Might nodded. ''What is your name young man?''

Izuku turned to the hero who was giving him a kind smile, a gesture he gladly returned. ''It's-"

*Boom*

*Rumble*

After feeling the ground shake from a nearby explosion, both turned to see a thick pillar of smoke coming from a nearby section in the city.

All Might was about to rush down the stairs when he was stopped by Izuku who had a determined glow in his eyes. "What are you-?"

They suddenly found themselves in an alley nearby the chaos. All Might wanted to ask how the teen did that but decided to store it away for later as they focused on the situation at hand.

After going through the crowd that had formed to see the commotion. The duo made it to the front to feel dread for different reasons.

Not only is it the same sludge villain that's causing chaos, but a familiar head of blond hair is seen trapped within the mass of slime. "Bakugou!" Izuku screamed in worry before eyeing the villain in disbelief. "How did he escape!?" He harshly whispered before turning to All Might.

Only to be shocked when he saw that the man was staring at the bottle of sludge in his hand with a grim expression, leading the teen to one horrible conclusion. "I must have missed a piece of him!" He snapped to the rampaging villain, noting that the heroes couldn't get close because due to surrounding civilians they were trying to save and due to the fact that they didn't have the right quirks to fight the villain without risking Bakugou's life.

''Where's All Might?''

''Can't the other heroes do something!?''

"They can't! Not with the hostage there!"

Hearing the people's words, Izuku turned to the man in question. Only to feel his stomach drop when All Might looked at him with a pained expression as he held his side before shaking his head in frustration.

With this in mind, the teen looked back at the mass of slime with narrowed eyes. From what he can observe, the villain only needs a few moments without interruption before he can completely take over Bakugou's body.

And with The Symbol of Peace unable to help, it became increasingly clear on what he needed to do as his eyes glowed. Oblivious to how All Might paled upon realizing what that look meant and before the latter could reach out to him, he disappeared in a blink.

Meanwhile the sludge villain was having the time of his life as he attached tendrils on nearby debris behind him. "Take this!" He flung them at Pro Hero: Death Arms who managed to break them with a swing of his strong arms before they could reach the crowd.

After checking if the crowd is safe, the hero glared at the villain. "Damn! We don't have the right quirk for this!" He grunted as he hopped back to avoid being grabbed.

Seeing the heroes struggle to beat him, the villain guffawed. "This is almost too easy!" He sneered before stretching his face towards his hostage. "Hey kid-"

*Boom*

After reforming his face from the sudden explosion, the villain bared his teeth at Bakugou who glared hatefully at him as his wrist was pulled back in place. "You know, I had a pretty shitty day. Being chased around by All Might and being beaten by a brat just about your age." He laughed again. "But I think finding you made it all worth it in the end." He grinned maliciously. "Wouldn't you agree?"

The teen could only let out a muffled growl as his mouth remained covered in sludge. "I'm glad you feel the same." He ignored the thrashing blond to sneer at the heroes. "In fact, I'm pretty sure your quirk has been helping me cause more damage here."

Bakugou knew this, of course he did. Because every time the villain placed a vital part in front of his palms, he'd make sure to hit him with the biggest explosion he could manage. But the fucker would just reform without a care while his explosions caused more damage to the area.

Despite his position, he was able to shift his gaze to a nearby flaming building that was thankfully evacuated before it got worse. Because of the damage he'd inadvertently caused a while ago, he was forced to use more controlled explosions, which did even worse against the villain.

"Damnit all!" Bakugou increased his struggle. "Let go of me you slimy bastard!" He muffled out growls while letting out small explosions from his palms.

Seeing the display of defiance amused the villain. "Eager to use your quirk again?" He only got muffled curse words as a response. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to use it well against those pesky heroes." He chuckled darkly as Bakugou tensed at that.

A gleam appeared in the villain's eyes as an idea came to him. "In fact, why don't we do just that." He turned his face towards the crowd who all looked at him with varying expressions of fear and caution. "Congratulations to all of you!" Nobody liked the sound of this. "I'm in a pretty good mood so you all deserve a prize!" Everyone tensed as he lowered his face next to Bakugou before forming a sludge hand behind the teen to lift his face up by the hair to give everyone a good look at his angered expression. "A front row seat to how my possession works!" He laughed maliciously as the teen's eyes widened with angered horror.

While the crowd expressed their fear and disgust, Death Arms gritted his teeth and charged forward, fist ready. "I won't let you have your way!" He yelled as the villain merely shot two tendrils in front of the hero and merged it into a barrier of sludge to block his punch before easily pushing the man away.

Thankfully Death Arms was able to catch himself before he could crash into the crowd and glared at the villain. "This is really bad! The area's too small for Mt. Lady to help and Kamui's too busy helping the other heroes evacuate the civilians." He clenched his hands. "And my attacks aren't doing anything." His expression grew grim.

The villain took in everyone's dismay with sadistic glee. "Ah, this never gets old." He sighed before lazily looking at Bakugou who's explosions and struggles became more desperate. "But I think it's time for our little game to end." The teen suddenly went still as the surrounding sludge tightened its grip on him while the one on his mouth felt like it was about to enter him. "Don't worry, I'll make it as painless as-"

His left eye was struck hard, causing the villain to suddenly reel back with a yell that shocked everyone. "Shit not again!" He was dismayed with a grimace, not noticing that he had loosened his hold on Bakugou. Allowing the teen to move again and gasp for air as the gag was removed as well.

After letting out another cough, Bakugou was suddenly covered in a green glow. "What the hell?" He looked at himself in surprise before he was suddenly pulled free from the stunned villain and towards Death Arms.

Said hero reacted quickly and caught the teen in his arms. "Good job escaping kid-"

"I didn't do anything." Bakugou denied with a cough, surprising the hero. "My quirk can't even do that in the first place, so how did I...?" He trailed off as he now noticed a familiar teen in front of him. "Deku...you have a quirk?" He wore an expression of disbelief.

The bone user just glanced back at him with a grin and glowing eyes. "Always did." He casually admitted, stunning the teen.

He was about to say more until Death Arms interrupted. "Hey kid!" His call got both teens' attention. "Not that I don't appreciate the assistance, but now that the hostage is safe, I need you two to get back with the crowd." Among said crowd, All Might slipped nearby to listen. "It's still too dangerous, so leave and let us deal with him."

Izuku stared at him for a few seconds before shaking his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, but no." While Bakugou and All Might were shocked by his refusal, Death Arms was about to scold him before the teen interjected. "Three reasons. One, I defeated him earlier but got careless and let his main piece slip away. Making this mess my responsibility." Like All Might before, Death Arms and Bakugou paused at how truthful his words felt despite sounding impossible.

And despite being already told this, a part of the Symbol of Peace still couldn't believe it. "Two, from what I can deduce, your quirk can't even tickle him and the other heroes are either too focused on helping civilians or can't do much due to the environment. Leaving my quirk to be the only one left to hurt him." Death Arm grimaced and couldn't retort his accurate observation.

Seeing this, Izuku continued. "And finally, All Might is most likely saving people somewhere else as we speak so he's out (said man could only feel guilty for being covered for and being useless right now). And even if I did agree to stay back, it'll take a while for someone with the right quirk to come deal with this." His glowing eyes narrowed. "And by that point, the villain would have caused more damage and slipped away."

With all these points made, All Might and Death Arms couldn't help but agree with him. It'll take too long for the right help to arrive and from what they saw earlier, if the teen could really hurt the villain, then perhaps-

"Why?"

Hearing the voice, the trio paid attention to Bakugou who stared at Izuku like he was a different person. "Why save me?" He couldn't stop himself from asking. "After all that shit I put you through..." He left the last part unsaid as he remembered all the insults, threats and the attempts made to hurt the teen.

To this, Izuku stared at him for a bit before grinning. "Because it's the right thing to do." He turned back to the grimacing villain with a daring look. "Simple as that." He shrugged with no hesitation.

As Death Arms looked contemplative and Bakugou wore an expression of shock, All Might felt something stir within him from the teen's simple but powerful reasoning as he looked at him with a more observant expression. "Could he possibly be-"

"I had a feeling it was you again you brat!" The villain howled as he glared at the young hero, his left eye noticeably red from being struck hard. While All Might, Death Arms and Bakugou, the latter especially, were all shocked from the confirmation of the teen's earlier claims.

And despite being called out, Izuku just chuckled. "What can I say? It's a small world." He stepped away from the crowd, ignoring their pleas for him to stay back as he purposely placed the villain's focus on him. "But I'm surprised how far you went from our introduction spot." He admitted before giving the villain a curious look. "Do you travel faster when submerged or-?"

"SHUT UP!" The villain ordered, causing the civilians to jolt in fear, the heroes to tense while Izuku frowned. "I'm going to make you pay for what you did to me back there!" He gurgled before spitting three sludge projectiles, causing Death Arms to prepare for an interception.

Only for everyone to be shocked when Izuku easily stopped the projectiles before they could reach him with a glowing hand raised. "This isn't like last time dude; I have a better idea of how your quirk works now." He flung the sludge to the side, watching it harmlessly splash against the concrete. "So if I were you..." He shifted his glowing eyes at the villain. "I'd come quietly." He calmly warned.

Unfortunately, that statement appeared to be the last straw for the villain. "I'LL KILL YOU!'' He shot several tendrils from his body.

[BNHA OST - ''You Say Run'' - Plays]

The move disappointed Izuku more than anything. "Suit yourself." He sprouted a large bone beneath him, much to everyone's surprise (apart from the villain), and launched himself in the air as the tendrils pierced the bone structure.

"Hold still!" The villain howled as he pulled his tendrils free and shot it upwards. Izuku countered and quickly teleported away out of their trajectory and pushed both of his hands forward, sending a barrage of bones.

The villain saw this and hastily merged within himself to cover his face. "Not this time brat!" He gurgled as the bones harmlessly bounced off with every hard hit. And once it ended, he laughed as he began to unfold himself. "I've also learned from-GAAHHHH!" He suddenly let out a scream as something burned him from behind.

Ignoring his smoking back, the villain turned around and saw Izuku casually standing a good distance away from with a small squadron of small Gaster Blasters hovering above him. "You're not the only one who's learned." The glow in his eyes grew as the blasters growled, the glow in their eyes intensifying as well. "You're going to jail for a long time." With his daring grin widening, he stretched his left palm forward, sending the blasters as they fired.

With gritted teeth, the villain morphed himself the best he could to dodge some lasers. "Damn you!" He screamed in anger as a few parts of him sizzled from the successful hits. "You won't get away with this!" He shot tendrils towards the teen as the blasters flew around him and fired.

"Feels like I already did." Izuku calmly retorted as he ran to avoid the tendrils rather than teleporting to save energy, purposefully angering the villain further. "This is good, as long as his focus is on me, I won't have to worry about the civilians." When it looked like he was about to put the crowd into the crossfire, he'd teleport just before the attacks could hit him before starting the chase all over again.

Meanwhile, said crowd (Bakugou and Death Arms among them) could only gape at the scene before them. How could this young boy, who isn't even an official hero, appear to have a better chance against a known killer who'd escaped captivity until now?

But with All Might, his focus is on other things. "He's doing more than just hurting him." His eyes widened. "He's drawing in the danger to keep the people safe." He felt a surge of inspiration as the young teen rerouted himself when it looked like the villain's attack was about to collide with a news crew. "To risk everything just because it simply feels like the right thing to do." Earlier fears died out as confidence and excitement blazed within him. "This boy..." A huge grin formed on his face. "Could he be the one I've been searching for?"

While being blasted on the back, the villain's frustrations grew when the teen somehow managed to avoid another sneak attack from behind. "How the hell does he do that?" He hissed before focusing on the blasters again with a glare. "I hate these fucking things!" He snarled as a quick swipe of tendrils managed to destroy two blasters.

He switched his focus to the teen again, but to his chagrin, the nuisance somehow managed to get away from him. "Where did-" A laser shot came dangerously close to hitting his right eye, causing him to emanate an aura of killer intent. "To hell with this!" He enlarged his arms and formed multiple tendrils around them. "LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" He roared as he began wildly swinging his arms around, angrily whipping the tendrils in a surprising burst of speed.

And despite being a wild and unfocused move, it proved to be effective as the blasters couldn't predict the attack's trajectory as well until eventually, they all ended up being shattered upon impact. Causing bone fragments and dust to scatter while the civilians could only wince or feel fear from the sounds/view of the blasters being destroyed.

After a few more powerful swings, the villain's rage died down a bit as exhaustion finally began to take over. "Finally." He huffed as he reduced the size of his arms and began looking for his prey.

*VRRRRRRR*

[Song Stops]

Snapping in the direction of the sound, the villain could feel his eyes widen as Izuku stood in front of the crowd with two medium Gaster Blasters hovering above him. Behind him, the citizens stared at the weapons in silent awe, having never seen anything like it before. Death Arms was on the same boat while Bakugou felt like he was dreaming but knew better. As for All Might, well, his smile grew a bit from now having a better idea of how the young man defeated the villain earlier.

Meanwhile said villain did what he could to ignore the sudden chill up his spine and put up a tough act. "This again brat?" He sneered. "Afraid of fighting me up close?" He taunted despite how tense he suddenly looked.

Unfortunately for him, Izuku didn't take the bait as he shrugged. "Dude, I'm young." He chuckled and brought his left hand up in a snapping position, the action making the villain tense further. "Not stupid." A green glow covered his hand as the blasters growled and formed energy spheres in their mouths, their eyes intensifying.

With the situation out of his hands now, the villain began looking for nearby drains for him to slip through. But to his chagrin, he couldn't find any, it would appear that his earlier fun either blocked them off or obscured them from view.

After cursing himself for his carelessness, he quickly morphed himself to face the other way. Only to stop when, to his growing horror, two more medium blasters had been waiting for him to try and escape.

The villain then suddenly found himself in a green spotlight, with a gulp he looked up and paled upon seeing a larger blaster glaring down on him and ready to fire.

Slowly looking back down, the fearful villain could only watch as the glow in Izuku's eyes grew despite the now noticeable sweat on him. "Checkmate again." His grin widened as he snapped his fingers with a flash of his eyes.

*ZWOOOOSSSHH*

At once the blasters fired and this time, the villain stood frozen in fear before being hit from all directions, evaporating and scattering pieces of him again while everyone else could only brace themselves from the shockwave of the hit and the light that came with it.

And as quickly as it happened, it ended with Izuku huffing in place as the glow in his eyes lowered while the blasters remained in their positions, growling smoke out of their mouths and nostrils. "That'll keep you out for a bit." He went on one knee as he despawned his weapons. "Man, I'm beat." He grimaced at how drenched his clothes felt.

The sound of cheering and applause got his attention, looking back curiously, he was shocked to see the people shouting their praise and thanks for his efforts. "Woah." He was stunned at the display for a moment before he gave them a tired thumbs up and grin that only increased their cheers.

"You there!"

With his grin gone he looked to the source and winced when he saw an upset Kamui Woods, a displeased Mt. Lady and an unreadable Death Arms approaching him. "Aaaannnd here comes trouble." He drawled out to himself before pointing to the area when they got close. "You guys might want to get all of his pieces. He may be out of it for a while, but trust me, you wouldn't want to take a chance and miss anything."

"We know." The teen tensed from Kamui's tone. "Don't worry, we'll be extra careful with the cleanup." As he said this, Death Arms spoke into his communicator to relay the message. "But don't think you can use that as an excuse for being reckless out there." He crossed his arms.

"I just wanted to help people." Izuku weakly retorted while shrinking a bit from the pro's stern gaze before looking off to the side with a frown. "Don't have to be such a stick in the mud about it." He added quietly to himself.

Unfortunately, he wasn't as quiet as he thought he was as Mt. Lady's expression cracked as she snickered to the side, Death Arms smirked a bit while the wood hero looked offended at the remark. "What did you say!?" The teen could only chuckle fearfully as the hero took a step forward. "I have half a mind to tell your parent-" A muscular arm stopped him, causing all of them to look in surprise.

"That's enough Kamui, I'm sure the kid gets it." Death Arms assured before looking down at the stunned teen. "Why don't you get checked by the paramedics and head home, it's getting late." He kindly advised.

Shaking off his surprise, Izuku slowly got up. "Y-Yeah, I will." He rubbed the back of his neck and gestured to the area. "But uh, you sure you guys don't need any help?" He doubted he had the strength to lift the bigger debris, but he's confident that he'd be able to at least help gather the sludge villain.

To this the strength hero waved him off. "It's fine, you've already done enough good here kid." He nudged his head towards the nearby medics who looked ready to treat the teen. "Now go on, leave the cleanup to us."

Izuku hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding. "Alright." The pro looked relieved that he agreed. "But make sure to look for every piece of him, the dude's slippery." He pointed out with caution.

Death Arms nodded with a serious frown. "We will." The teen nodded in satisfaction before walking away. "Oh, and kid?" The bone user stopped and looked back in confusion along with the other pros. "I look forward to seeing you become a pro out there." He stated with a big grin and a thumbs up.

While surprised from the praise and support, Izuku returned the grin with a nod before walking to the paramedics who immediately began leading him to a nearby stretcher to be checked on.

"What was that all about?" Mt. Lady couldn't help but voice out her curiosity, having never seen the normally serious hero act like that before, while Kamui stared at his fellow hero inquisitively.

To this the man could only shrug. "I don't know to be honest." His fellow heroes gave him curious looks. "But I felt like it was the right thing to do after what he'd just done." He added with a cryptic smile.

While Kamui remained unsure, Mt. Lady looked down in thought before sighing. "Well...as long as it's ok with you." She watched as sidekicks helped Pro Hero: Slugger gather the villain. "I mean, he did stick his neck out for the right thing so I guess we can let it pass." She then shifted her gaze to Izuku who's being checked over and praised for his bravery by the medics, much to his embarrassment but humbly waved it off. "He may have stolen the spotlight, but it's hard not to like him." She grinned towards Death Arms who smirked as he nodded in agreement.

The two then turned to the wood hero who stared at the teen in question before letting out a defeated sigh. "I suppose you're both right." He conceded before crossing his arms. "But it was still reckless of him." He couldn't help but add.

The titanic heroine couldn't help but laugh at his grumpy comment. "Oh come on, it's not like you would've acted differently in his shoes." At that, he couldn't meet her gaze, causing her to smirk as an idea came to her. "Geez, you really are a stick in the mud." She grinned; oh she is so going to keep that line from now on.

The speed that Kamui used to turn to her with such an appalled expression was enough to make her laugh. "Excuse me!?" His expression morphed into one of annoyance. "Don't think just because I gave him a free pass, that I'll let you have one." He exclaimed with a point that only made her snort. "Especially since you're still new in the heroic field." Death Arms quietly chuckled at the duo's antics and decided to leave them alone to help with the villain recovery efforts.

Off to the side, All Might watched as Izuku subtly observed the scene before him while also answering a few questions from the medical staff about his condition. Despite the clear exhaustion and laid-back appearance, the teen remained vigilant for anything despite the danger having already passed. Which only further cemented the man's decision as he nodded to himself with a smile before slipping away to help out with the cleanup.

But as this all happened, sitting on a stretcher as well, Bakugou stared at his classmate who chuckled along with two paramedics at something that he said. Completely ignoring the one medic treating him as he looked at his hands before clenching them with a hard frown.

AFTER THE FIGHT

After being provided some water, Izuku was given the all clear before he left the area. Of course, they had offered him a ride but he politely declined, knowing that he could always use a shortcut if it got too dark.

He tried to meet up with All Might before leaving, but the man was nowhere to be seen amongst the crowd. And since it was getting late, he decided to just leave since his mother would be worried sick. But not before grabbing his stuff, which he left on a nearby roof before he fought the villain.

"He must have gone home." The teen mused before grimacing as mental images of All Might's wound came to mind. "Not that I blame him." He subconsciously held his side. "If I had to keep it up with an injury like that I would've-"

"Wait!"

Stopping in place, Izuku turned to the voice in surprise. "Bakugou?"

Indeed, standing in place is the self-proclaimed 'Top Dog' of the school. Only this time, instead of an air of superiority around him, it was more an aura of uncertainty and reluctance as he stared at his feet. "Shouldn't you be heading home?" Izuku prodded while trying to figure out why the usually mean teen searched for him.

The blond looked like he was struggling to say something before looking up to him with a hard expression. "Deku...I..." He hesitated before looking away with an expression similar to self-disappointment and anger. "Damn it." He muttered with a growl.

Izuku stared at him for a moment, before smiling. "Tomorrow's Saturday dude." His sudden statement caused Bakugou to look back at him in confusion. "We'll have plenty of time to talk on Monday." He shrugged. "We've both had a long day so I suggest we take it easy over the weekend and clear our heads until then." He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, hoping to pass on the meaning of his offer. "Sound good?"

Bakugou just looked at him weirdly before realization dawned on him as he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds good." He quickly turned around before stopping to turn his head, still not meeting his gaze. "...thanks." He muttered as loudly as he could before walking away, missing how Izuku just stood there, stunned at what he believed to be the blond's first ever expression of gratitude, and a genuine one at that.

But after a moment, he rubbed the back of his head. "Well now...looks like someone got humbled." A kind smile formed on his face. "Nice of you starting to change for the better Kacchan." With his senses, he made sure Bakugou was far enough before glancing back at a nearby corner behind him. "You can come out now."

As soon as he said that, All Might (in his buff form) dashed out of the corner with his signature laugh. "As expected of a young man with your abilities." The teen snickered at his antics. "But I already knew that you noticed me!" The hero began flexing. ''Why? Because I'm All Mi-!'' In a puff of smoke, he changed to his normal form while coughing up blood, causing Izuku to wince.

After coughing a bit more, the man wiped away the blood on his mouth before facing the teen. ''Kid, I just wanted to say thank you for what you did today." The student was about to wave it off until he interrupted. "And wanted to give you an offer too.'' He added with a knowing smile.

''An offer from the Symbol of Peace?'' Izuku was stunned at the thought before quickly confirming with his senses that nobody is here to listen. "Look, I don't mean to sound rude but..." He hesitated as the man gave him a curious expression. "I know you're the Symbol of Peace and all, but I'm not in it for the reward if that makes sense." He admitted apologetically.

After hearing his reasoning, All Might suddenly looked even prouder as he pointed at him. "That right there." He stated. "Is one of many reasons why I'm offering this to you." His cryptic statement confused the teen further.

Seeing this, the man continued. "Despite being young and inexperienced, you willingly risked your life to fight a dangerous foe." He stood proud as he chuckled. "Twice mind you, and not because you wanted to prove something." He shook his head. "No, you did it simply because it's the right thing to do."

While Izuku stood stunned by his words, the man suddenly frowned in shame. "While I and the other heroes stood helpless, you jumped in, consequences be damned. " He smiled again as the teen felt his eyes misting. ''They say the best heroes have one thing in common: 'Their bodies moved on their own, without a moment of hesitation'.'' He said in a knowing tone.

He then pointed to the teen who felt a lump in his throat. ''You, young Midoriya are no exception to this. I can say without a doubt, that you will be great hero.'' All Might finished without a hint of doubt in his claim.

After wiping away his tears, Izuku gave the hero a big grin before closing his eyes to cherish this moment. For years his mother had said that he would be able to achieve his dream, but to hear it from the man that the world considered to be the greatest hero, made him feel like his dream is much closer than-

''Which is why…you will inherit my power!''

...

...

...

After slowly opening his eyes in surprise, the teen looked up to the hero who was eyeing him in amusement. ''…huh?'' He blurted out in befuddlement.