10

3:07 PM, Wednesday

"-now that you'll all be graduating soon, it's time to decide what you're going to be doing in the future!"

Izuku tuned back in to see his teacher waving a set of papers in the air, droning on about something actually important for once. 

"The school you're going to apply for is a big decision...but I bet you're all going into heroics!" 

"Um, sensei, I kinda want to be a doctor-"

" Most of you are going into heroics!" 

Why was this man even a teacher, Izuku couldn't help but wonder.

The class cheered in response, proudly showing off their quirks. Hands turned to rock, hair extended up to the ceiling, fire blazed into the air and eyeballs jutted out of their sockets.

To Izuku, it was disappointing. He'd analyzed every uniquely fascinating quirk in this room months ago, including their uses and potential. It was painfully obvious that almost none of them put the work in to train their bodies and quirks, to push themselves to become a hero.

To Katsuki, well-

An explosive palm smashed through wood, crumpling his poor desk like paper. Katsuki stood up with a fierce scowl, his chair screeching back against the floor. 

"You weak-ass extras are batshit if you think you're getting into a hero course like me. Look at all of those little twig arms and pathetic quirks. None of you stand a fucking chance!" 

The room burst into loud protests.

"You don't believe me, huh?" Katsuki scoffed. "Then try it. Apply to U.A and see if any of you can even get close to me on the exam!"

Izuku replayed the scene in his memories as he walked home. 

Katsuki's small yet controlled burst of fire and force. His explosions were far better than the last time Izuku saw them- the blonde must be training hard. And that challenge- Katsuki had glared directly at Izuku as he said it, red eyes burning into green ones.

Was the blonde trying to see if their fight had been a fluke? Or did he see Izuku as a rival now? 

Izuku pondered over it as he took his usual shortcut, deftly curving through small alleys and roads on an unconventional yet efficient path. It was easy to navigate a city when you had every route practically downloaded into your brain.

He stepped into a small tunnel, immediately scrunching up his nose at the absolutely horrible smell. Izuku was, unfortunately, already quite familiar with the odor of garbage at this point but this was somehow even worse than that- like something had just died in a pit of raw sewa-

A huge mass of sickly brown-green lunged out of the shadows. Izuku dove to the side just in time to dodge the sudden attack, palms grazing the ground as he rolled to his feet.

He looked back to see...sludge take shape, growing and growing into something tall enough to reach the tunnel's ceiling. It had a writhing, oozing form that made Izuku automatically shrink back, and at the top of the creature was a murky face with grinning teeth and two floating, yellow eyes. 

Put simply, it was the most terrifying thing Izuku had ever seen.

"Holy shit."

It cackled maliciously, slimy tentacles slithering out of its skin. "That's not very nice, kid. Now, hold still so I can steal your body!"

Izuku did not hold still.

His favorite red sneakers pounded against the pavement as he turned and sprinted for the tunnel's exit, sunlight shining through the semicircle.

"Oi, oi, where're you going? I need ya kid!" 

In a blink, the villain was in front of Izuku once again, easily covering the exit with his huge size.

"W-Why do you need my body?" Izuku asked, proud of how firm his voice held. 

The slime cackled again. Izuku really hated that sound. "'Cause I need a disguise, dumbass. And your small skinsuit will do just fine!"

Izuku leaped back, disgusting tendrils just barely missing his face. Clumps of murky green continued to swing at him from every angle, slapping against the tunnel's walls as he dodged them.

A mutant or transformation quirk that caused the entire user's body to consist of this green sludge. But the villain was seeing and talking fine, meaning that every organ worked normally despite the quirk's effects. The slime could be manipulated to strike in a large variety of ways, this effectiveness only increasing in tight spaces. 

Izuku carefully watched the villain form every one of his strange arms and tentacles, predicting where the attack would strike before weaving to avoid it. It was a frantic blur of analysis and movement, fists sailing past him and whips grabbing at nothing but air.

"Stop dodging!" The villain demanded.

But dodging was all Izuku could do, even as he started to tire. He couldn't run away and he couldn't even fight back since physical attacks were useless against an enemy completely made of slime-

He spent a spare second glancing up at the villain's creepy, exposed eyes. Maybe not completely.

Izuku hit the ground in a roll, muddy mass flying over his head, and unslung his backpack in a fluid movement. He pulled something out of the top pouch before swinging the bag with all of his might.

The villain easily brushed the yellow bag aside. "Heh, what was that supposed to-"

Izuku stabbed a pencil into his eye.

The slime cut himself off with a roar of pure pain, his molded form spasming at the lapse in concentration.

Izuku gritted his teeth, raising his other pencil-

A huge amount of sludge rose up like a tidal wave, slamming Izuku against the wall hard enough to knock the breath out of his lungs with a painful hiss. The pencil fell out of his hands and clattered to the floor as slime held him in a firm, unbreakable grip.

"I can't believe you fucking stabbed my eye, you little shit! Oh, I'm going to make this hurt ."

Izuku struggled uselessly at his bonds. He couldn't break free, he couldn't move, he couldn't do anything. Fuck, was this really it-

"It's fine now." An unmistakable voice boomed in Izuku's ears. 

The villain's remaining eye widened in fear.

"Why?"

A single punch was thrown faster than either of them could process, sweeping wind through the tunnel like a hurricane and splattering every single bit of slimy villain against the opposite wall.

"Because I am here."

Izuku landed on shaky knees, staring at the ground and panting hard. His heart pounded painfully against his chest, short breaths just not seeming to give him enough air-

A large, comforting hand landed on his shoulder, grounding him. "Breath steady now, Mi-young boy. In...and out. You're okay, you're safe."

Izuku leaned into the touch and listened, feeling the urge to vomit gradually recede until he could push himself to his feet to look up at his savior.

His eyes widened as he took in All Might himself, standing tall in his iconic red, blue, and yellow. In the hero's right hand was a bottle filled with slime- the villain already captured.

"Oh my god." Izuku breathed, taking a million mental screenshots. 

All Might was really here, in the flesh. This was the best day ever...well, besides the fact that he'd almost died two seconds ago. And that he still wanted to violently throw up his lunch. But this almost made it all worth it.

All Might chuckled. "Hello to you too, young boy! Are you feeling alright? That was quite the nasty encounter you just had!"

All Might was talking to Izuku. To Izuku! 

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Izuku stuttered into a respectful bow. "I just uh, dodged the slimy stuff for a w-while and that last hit knocked the w-wind out of me. Thank you so much for saving me, All Might-sama." 

Powerful blue eyes twinkled. "No need for all of that- I was simply doing my job!"

"O-Oh, okay. By the way, I know you're probably super b-busy and everything but before you go can I please have two autographs?" Izuku said hurriedly, flipping to an open page in his notebook. 

All Might raised a noble eyebrow. "Two?" 

Izuku nodded with his entire body, barely functioning. "Y-Yeah. O-One for me- I'm uh, Izuku- and another for Ochako. Oh, I totally need to show her this memory man I've never been so happy to have this quirk before-"

All Might signed both pages with a bright grin, clearly used to dying fans. "Here you go! Good luck, and I wish both you and your girlfriend success in your future endeavors!"

"Thank yo-huh?" Izuku's face blushed even redder than before. "Wait, no, we're not dating-"

Izuku could've sworn he saw All Might grin wider, for some reason.

"And now I must be off- criminals and cases await! Goodbye, young boy!" With that the Symbol of Peace dashed away in a blur, leaving his biggest fan to stare after him in awe.

7:34 PM, Wednesday

"Mom," Izuku said with all the seriousness he could muster. "I love you."

He took another bite of precious, heavenly goodness, savoring its blissful taste.

Inko rolled her eyes fondly. "You say that every time I make katsudon, sweetie."

"Well yeah, because it's always this good!"

Ochako nodded vehemently in agreement, her eyes bright and her own plate almost empty already. 

"Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you both something," Izuku remembered, swallowing down another mouthful. "I...kinda got attacked by a villain earlier."

Ochako's eyes widened.

"You what? " Inko exclaimed. "Are you okay, Izuku? What happened? When was this?"

"I'm not hurt at all, Mom, don't worry," Izuku reassured her with a wide grin(and forcefully shoved the first half of the memory away from his mind). "I actually got saved by a hero before anything happened- and you'll never guess who it was."

"Kamui Woods?" Ochako guessed, her concern fading a little at his excitement. "Backdraft? Eraserhead?"

"Even better." Izuku beamed at her, holding up his newly signed notebook for her to see. 

Ochako stared at it blankly. "...No way."

"Yep."

"There's no way -"

"Yep!"

"You met All Might," Inko said, stunned. "Wow, that's-that's incredible, Izuku. What was he like?"

"He's even more amazing in person!" Izuku beamed. "He took out the villain in just a punch, and he was so tall I had to tilt my head back just to see him. He's also really kind and-" 

-stayed there to help Izuku through the sudden, rising panic that set in as soon as the fight's adrenaline faded away and he was left with the realization that he'd almost just died, and that the memory was now permanently engraved in his mind.

Izuku definitely couldn't say that.

"-patiently wrote me two different autographs, even though he must be super busy and everything!" He quickly finished instead, forcing the memory away to focus on Ochako.

"Wait, two?"

Izuku handed over his notebook.

Ochako blinked slowly, taking it with eight fingers and carefully tearing out her autograph. All Might's note to her was written in huge text, bold letters nearly taking up an entire page.

I wish you luck in pursuing your dreams, Young Ochako! Go beyond your limits! Plus Ultra!

"You asked him to write one for me," Ochako whispered, dumbfounded.

"Well, yeah. Of course, I did-"

Ochako hugged him.

Hard.

" Thank you."

"Your welcome," Izuku smiled, though it quickly turned into a wince. "Okay, wow you're strong now I think my back just cracked-"

Ochako pulled back, brown hair tickling his face. "Sorry! I guess I don't know my strength anymore- oh my god, you're amazing this's literally the best gift ever I don't know how you even remembered me while talking to the actual Symbol of Peace Izuku-kun I can't ever give you something this good-"

Izuku laughed, warm. "Remembering stuff is my entire thing, y'know. Besides, I'd never forget you. You don't need to get me anythi-"

Brown eyes narrowed on him expectantly, clearly not taking that as an answer.

"Well," Izuku considered it. "I guess that if you ever, uh, meet Thirteen you could...get me an autograph from her?"

Ochako nodded, determined.

"Deal!"

4:02 PM, Thursday

In hindsight, it was obvious.

After drifting through another monotonous school day(and thankfully not getting attacked by a villain this time)Izuku went to meet up with Yagi and Ochako for training. He saw an unmistakable tall blonde figure and walked up, noting that Ochako was running late.

Izuku opened his mouth. "Hey, Yagi-"

Yagi turned to face him, powerful blue eyes widening slightly in recognition.

Oh. 

Toshinori Yagi was All Might.

A millisecond later, Izuku's mind screeched to a halt at its own conclusion. What? That didn't make any sense-

Despite Yagi's weak build, his reflexes were fast and his eyes sharp. He moved like he was used to having much higher mass-likely because he'd lost weight from his injury-but it barely left any openings.

"Well, uh, how do I put this," Yagi said. "All Might is exactly the same as you would imagine. He's bold, loud, and tries to make everyone feel safe. He's also very, very busy."

"You're telling me your ex is Sir Nighteye?" Izuku exclaimed, hands flying to his mouth. "Oh my god. I can't believe I know someone who's dated him."

A large, comforting hand fell on his shoulder. "Breath steady now, Mi-young boy. In...and out. You're okay, you're safe."

In hindsight, it was incredibly obvious- but that was exactly what made the fact so well hidden, wasn't it? No matter how many similarities you might passingly note between Yagi and All Might in appearance, the idea of someone not larger than life and lacking the sheer power and presence of the Symbol of Peace being All Might just seemed...impossible. 

But now that Izuku had the chance to actually meet both of them, to compare their bodies, speech patterns, and movements? 

"Young Midoriya is everything alright-"

"After all these years, I finally figured out what your quirk is, All Might-san," Izuku said quietly.

Yagi froze in place, leaving the empty beach silent save for the crashing waves.

"An emitter-like transformation ability that bulks you up while in use, so much so that you're almost a completely different person. It gives you seemingly limitless strength and speed, seeming to work similarly to stockpile quirks. As All Might, you can stop trains, create tornados with just a fist, catch bullets with your hands, and carry hundreds of people out of a burning building within a minute."

"But without your quirk, all that muscle and power vanishes like smoke. Yagi can't do any of those things, though he can still throw a pretty strong punch. You're terribly injured and far more quietly thoughtful- so much so that anyone would doubt that your really...well, you. But you are still you. All Might is Toshinori Yagi, and Toshinori Yagi is All Might."

A long pause.

Yagi slowly straightened up to his full, impressive height, back cracking at the motion, and checked the surroundings for passersby. He found none.

He transformed and All Might was suddenly standing in front of Izuku, arms above his shoulders in his signature pose and muscles straining against Yagi's baggy clothing. 

Five seconds later the form dropped and he was Yagi once more.

The greatest hero chuckled, genuine. "You're completely correct, Young Midoriya. I honestly doubted I could hide this from you forever, with how amazingly observant you are. Do you wish to hear the details?"

Izuku nodded.

"My quirk is called One for All," Yagi began. "It's a strong stockpile quirk, as you said, that grants me pure power. But it is also a sacred torch- you see, One for All is a quirk born several generations ago, one that can be passed down from one wielder to the next."

Izuku's eyes widened. Quirks could be transferred to other people? He'd never even heard of anything like that before.

"Each wielder stockpiles their power and then empowers the next user- their successor. My abilities are the result of over a century of effort."

"But-" Izuku hesitated, eyes flicking to the hero's side.

"Go on. I know you want to ask, Young Midoriya."

"You're-you're All Might," Izuku murmured. "What villain was strong enough to hurt you this badly? And why have I never heard of them?"

Yagi sighed, pulling up his shirt a little to expose the scar running over his entire left side. It was shaped like someone had drilled straight through his chest, and Izuku held back a grimace at the sight.

"I fought a terrible, terrible evil five years ago," Yagi stated grimly. "He's still the most powerful villain I have ever faced. And in our final clash, he got me with this powerful parting blow. My power has been severely limited since."

That explained All Might's gradually declining patrol lengths. 

"W-Who was he?"

Yagi shook his head. "You need not know, Young Midoriya. I finished him off that same day."

His voice was a mix of venomous satisfaction and hollow recollection.

Izuku hated the idea of killing, but he understood that in desperate situations heroes had no choice but to use lethal force. But the very fact that someone had managed to push All Might that far was absolutely terrifying.

Yagi lifted his lips up in a smile, trying to lift the suddenly somber mood. "Well, you know my secret now- I don't need to bother running around so much to hide it from you, anymore!"

"That's certainly true." 

"I trust you with this knowledge, Young Midoriya. But remember that this is an important secret- don't go around telling people about my quirk. Seriously."

Izuku tilted his head. "I'm going to tell Ochako."

Yagi's eye twitched. "...Alright."

"And my mom."

"Young Midoriya-"

"Either I tell her your true identity, or you will," Izuku stated firmly. "She needs to know."

"Fine." Yagi relented with a sigh. "You're a lot meaner to me in this form, huh. Where'd all that precious hero worship go?"

"Honestly? It's probably still processing all of-" Izuku waved his hands to indicate the older man. "-you. This is a pretty big shock."

The Symbol of Peace smiled sadly. "That I'm not as strong as you thought I was?"

Izuku shook his head. 

"No. That you're just as human as the rest of us, Yagi-san."

Notes:

Have you ever gone back and actually rewatched the sludge villain scenes? That thing is fucking terrifying and nearly killed a middle-schooler in a dark tunnel. Izuku was nearly suffocated in canon- that's some messed-up stuff that's just brushed off by Izuku waking up to All Might and then the things that happen afterward.

It's a little weird to me that more people don't know about Yagi's identity. Or, at least that the people that live near him don't. He doesn't seem to be very stealthy with his transformations and always wears the same clothes(besides the hero costume, obviously.) And the looks could prompt questions. Though, if I lived in MHA's universe I guess I wouldn't figure it out either. All Might must be All Might, after all.

But of course, this Izuku, who's met both and has a photographic memory, would realize it anyway.

Next chapter we'll be at U.A! Well, probably. I don't actually know, that's just the goal...