Foundations

Toshinori nervously twiddled his thumbs as he sat, waiting for his surgery at Musutafu General Hospital. He had initially wanted to postpone the surgery so that he could think about Midoriya's offer. When he consulted Chiyo and Sorahiko on the matter, the former recommended he have it as soon as possible, while the latter suggested waiting a bit, because it was unknown if the new organs could handle One For All. In the end, Toshinori decided that it was worth the risk.

He really wanted to be able to breathe more again.

"Yagi-san?"

Toshinori stood up at the sound of his name. "Yes, that would be me."

The nurse who had called for him smiled. "Perfect! Now if you will just come with me, we'll get you all set up in a room." Wordlessly, the man followed her as they walked through the halls of the hospital, until he decided to speak up.

"To be honest," he began, trying to make conversation. "I thought this was too good to be true." The woman lightly laughed in response.

"Practically everyone thinks of that at first," she said. "But it's been years since Izuku-kun started donating here, and we haven't had any complications at all. It's because each organ is made using someone's DNA, which means there's no need for any medication, since the immune system immediately accepts it."

"I see," Toshinori replied. 'He truly is a remarkable young man.' Another minute passed where the two continued to walk in silence, until they reached a door. Opening it, the nurse led him into a room, telling him that it was where he would be staying after the surgery.

He repeated the words that Midoriya had spoken. "Punch...ghost?" The boy nodded and gestured to his side.

"This is Gold Experience," he stated. Before Toshinori could ask what a 'Gold Experience' was, he felt something poke his shoulder. Blinking, he realized that there was no way Midoriya could have been the one to do it, as his arm hadn't moved at all to reach towards him.

"Is Gold Experience an invisible companion of yours?" he asked tentatively.

"Not exactly," the boy replied. "For some reason, I'm the only one who's able to see him." Toshinori found that very odd, but chalked it up as an uncommon sort of quirk mutation. "I can summon and command him to do things, and through him, give objects life using Life Giver. Although," He started running around Toshinori at a surprising amount of speed, before stopping in front of him. "He doesn't seem to be sentient. He's basically like an extension of myself, for the most part."

Toshinori raised an eyebrow. "'For the most part?'"

"Well some things are autonomous with Gold Experience," Midoriya replied. "Like how he'll immediately try to block and counterattack if someone tries to sneak up on me. And since no one can see him-" He picked up a rock that began to float unsuspended in mid-air, almost like telekinesis. "That's why I call him a 'punch ghost.'"

"I see," Toshinori said, before pulling out his phone. "You plan on going to U.A., correct?" Midoriya nodded. "Well that settles it, then. Why don't we exchange contact information, and we can come up with a good day so I can start training you for the entrance exams?" He briefly cracked a smile at seeing the boy's expression. "And I suppose you'd want to bring young Bakugō along with you."

"Uh, yes, of course!" Midoriya replied excitedly, bringing out his own phone.

---

Toshinori slowly opened his eyes to see a figure beside him. When his vision cleared and his brain had caught up to speed, he recognized who it was that was sitting in the chair. "Midoriya-kun," he began. The boy woke up from having dozed off, and was now looking at Toshinori with anticipation.

"How are you feeling, Yagi-san?" the boy asked. Toshinori stayed silent for a moment, taking a brief moment to take a deep breath, but then took a much larger one when he realized that he could breathe more air in, feeling elated that he could do so.

"Better than I have in more than five years," he replied. "It's as if I was never injured in the first place." Izuku just chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well the organs having your DNA made up the most of it, so your body won't ever reject it," he explained. "And then I just had Gold Experience instantly heal the stitches, so you won't have to sit in the hospital for weeks. So uh, you should be good to go now."

Toshinori nodded. "I see," he said, noting the lack of life support equipment that he had previously needed when his lung and stomach had been removed during his final battle with All For One. And speaking of stomachs, he just felt his growl, causing him to softly chuckle. It was a sensation he had long since forgotten, but he welcomed it with open arms. He made a mental reminder to get some fast food on the way home. And a lot this time.

He draped his legs over the bed, before moving to stand up. "I'm going to try something now." Izuku's eyes widened as he realized what Toshinori was about to do.

"W-wait, Yagi-san, you only just got-" he said, trying to move to stop him, but Toshinori had already activated One For All, causing his skeletal body to inflate to that of his body as All Might, the physique that he used to have before his injury.

And then he waited.

One second became two, which then became three, and so on and so forth, as Toshinori anticipated the inevitable rupture of his new organs from One For All coursing through them, until he was sure that it wasn't the case, taking deep breaths the whole time.

He smiled at Izuku. "It seems that it worked, Midoriya-kun," he told him, before deflating and moving to envelop the boy in a hug. "Thank you," he said. "You don't know how much this means to me." Izuku just nodded silently, awkwardly patting Toshinori on the back.

"It's, uh, it's no problem, Yagi-san," he replied. Toshinori pulled back as he began to deflate back into his skeletal form, but he knew for a fact that it would only end up being temporary. Thanks to the young boy in front of him, he could remain a hero for even longer, until the time came for him to finally pass on One For All.

But it seemed that was still several years off.

"I'd still love to train you for the entrance exams," he continued. "If you want me to, that is."

Izuku nodded fervently. "Of course!" he said excitedly "I'd love to!"

"Perfect," he replied. "Now, what say you meet me at Takoba Municipal Beach Park in, let's say, a few weeks? I'll text you the day and time."

---

"Tch." Katsuki looked around at the massive piles of garbage that littered the beach with what looked to be disdain, before looking back at Toshinori, eyeing him with suspicion. "So you're Deku's new trainer?" Toshinori raised an eyebrow as the boy addressed him.

"I am," he replied. "Midoriya-kun helped me out of a tight spot a few weeks ago, so I offered to help him train his body and his quirk for the U.A. entrance exams, and the offer goes to you as well, should you accept it." From what he heard about the boy from Izuku, there was a very low chance he would end up rejecting the chance to train, especially when the exams were less than a year away.

Katsuki grunted as he motioned Izuku to follow him to a spot several feet away. "You know," he said, meaning to be quiet, but Toshinori was still quite skilled enough to pick up the conversation, albeit just barely. "When you said someone offered to train us, I thought you meant a Pro or someone cool was gonna train us, not this stick-looking guy."

Okay, he didn't know whether or not he should feel insulted by that, but the boy didn't have to say it like that. Sure, Toshinori looked sickly in his...'unmuscled form'...but he didn't think he looked that bad.

It would seem the boy needed more convincing.

"On the contrary, young Bakugō," he interjected, forcing One For All to course through his body and causing both boys to slightly flinch at his booming voice. Turning around, the two stared at the hulking figure of his muscle form, surprising Izuku and shocking Katsuki. "I'd say I'm more than qualified to train you."

"What the..." Katsuki trailed off as he stared at the man, before turning to Izuku and lightly whacking him on the arm. "Did you know?"

"Yeah," he replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Then why the hell didn't you say All Might was gonna be training us?!"

"Well I didn't think he'd show you right away!"

"What do you mean you think he wouldn't show me?!"

Toshinori awkwardly watched the two argue back and forth for another minute, wondering if this was how their friendship functioned.

He raised a hand to his mouth. "Ahem." This caused the two boys to cease their arguing and remember that there was a third person with them, and that person being the number one hero. Izuku's reaction was considerably tame, due to his previous interactions with Toshinori, as he was now sheepishly looking at him. Katsuki's, however, tried to appear stoic as he crossed his arms, but he could see that the boy was radiating excitement.

"So what's your story, All Might?," the latter asked. "And why are you so skinny?"

Toshinori then briefly explained how he received his injury, and how there was a time limit on how long he could use his muscle form. "But thanks to young Midoriya and his wonderful ability to create organs, I can now use this form indefinitely." He then deflated.

"All right," Katsuki replied, before taking a look around him. "So I guess you want us to clean up this beach?"

Toshinori nodded. "Yes. By clearing everything out without the use of your Quirks, your bodies will grow in strength, as you will be pushing yourselves trying to carry very heavy pieces of discarded equipment. I originally wanted you to get it done by the entrance exams, but seeing as how there's two of you, you'll more than likely get it done within half that time. So I propose-" He brought out a sheet of paper, which then unfolded into several more, connected by pieces of tape. "-this! My Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan. Along with cleaning up the beach, I'll have you both regularly sparring and training your Quirks." He folded the papers back up. "Of course, I have no doubt that you could easily get into the hero course as you are now, but it never hurt to always strive to go beyond." He inflated into his muscle form once again to shout a brief "PLUS ULTRA!" before immediately deflating.

"Now," he continued, looking back at the two boys. "Let's get started, shall we?"

---

"Mista!" a boy wearing a black tank top shouted, running towards a man wearing red and blue. All of a sudden, a pink mass of flesh jumped up towards a small model airplane that had been shooting at it, crushing one of its wings and causing blood to squirt out of the boy's arm and mouth.

"Trish!" a voice shouted behind him. Izuku turned to see a man wearing a white suit shouting at a girl next to him. "Hurry! You need to get inside the closet and lock the door!" The girl turned around and began to quickly run towards the back of the plane, somehow causing the pink mass to cease its attack on the airplane, and was now quickly crawling towards her at an astonishing speed.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" the man in the suit shouted, as a strange white and blue being appeared in front him, and moved to shoot out its arm in a vain attempt to distract it, but the action went ignored, as the mass kept moving at a rapid pace that was quickly increasing.

"TRISH! HURRY AND CLOSE THE DOOR!" As she was about to reach for the door, the girl suddenly stopped as she noticed the pink blob quickly moving in her direction, and then suddenly leaping for her.

"I'M NOT FAST ENOUGH!"

"TRISH!"

"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"

---

Izuku's eyes shot open as the sound of his phone ringing blasted his ears. Groaning softly, he rolled over and reached for his desk to grab the offending device. Squinting at the caller's name, he accepted the call and placed the phone to his ear. "Hello?" he asked groggily.

"Oi, nerd," began Katsuki. "I'm on my - wait, did you just wake up?" he nearly shouted, causing Izuku to wince and hold the phone away from his ear. "The exams are today, Deku! How the hell did you forget that?!" Izuku immediately sat up at what he had just been told, and was starting to panic as he looked over at his calendar, which had a particular day circled multiple times, and an arrow labeled 'ENTRANCE EXAMS'.

Which were today.

"Look, I don't care," Katsuki continued. "I'll be there in five minutes, and you better be ready by then!" The boy then hung up, prompting Izuku to nearly jump out of his bed and made a mad dash towards the bathroom.

After hastily getting into his slightly-wrinkled school uniform and stuffing his running clothes in his backpack, the doorbell ringed, to which his mother answered the door.

"Oh, good morning, Katsuki!" Inko greeted, hugging him. The boy just grunted as he pulled back and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, auntie," he greeted in return. "Is Deku ready? 'Cuz I'm about to leave without him if he isn't."

"Yeah, I'm here, Kacchan!" Izuku called out, as he rushed to put his shoes on. Taking a quick look at the contents of his backpack, he was relieved that he had everything he needed. Quickly walking for the door, he briefly hugged his mother goodbye. "Love you, mom!"

Inko tightly hugged her son back. "Love you, too, sweetie." As she watched the two boys walk away, she cupped her hands to her mouth. "Good luck on the exams, you two!"

"Seriously," Katsuki began, when he and Izuku were almost at the apartment complex's gates. "How do you forget it was today?"

"I really don't know," Izuku admitted. "I guess I must've been really tired last night."

"We finished clearing the beach two weeks ago!"

"And we were sparring two nights ago!"

"Well it's not my fault you let Gold Experience do all the work for you half the time! Whatever, let's hope we can get to the station before it gets crowded."

---

"Hello, listeners!" a voice shouted from the stage. Izuku was awed to see that it was Present Mic manning the orientation for the practical exams.

'Wow...it's Present Mic, the Voice Hero!'

"Oi, be quiet," Katsuki quietly reprimanded. "You're being loud." Izuku then realized that he had said his thoughts out loud, so he sheepishly nodded at him and tried to keep quiet. Except his excitement at seeing Present Mic, coupled with his extreme habit of muttering when he was thinking seriously, caused the other students around him to stare.

Present Mic then continued to explain how because there were so many applicants, there needed to be more than one testing area, which could be found on the ticket they received in the mail when they registered. Izuku noted that he was in Battle Center B, while Katsuki was in Battle Center A.

"I guess they don't want friends helping each other out, huh?" Katsuki quietly remarked.

"Yeah..." Izuku replied. "It looks like we'll be in different areas."

"Excuse me!" a voice interjected. Izuku turned to see a boy had stood up and raised his hand. "I have something to say."

Present Mic gave a thumbs up towards the boy. "All right, go ahead!"

The boy cleared his throat as he flipped through his orientation booklet. "It says here that there are four villains that we must face in the practical, but you have only gone through three. If this is a mistake, then U.A. as the highest-esteemed hero school in the country should be ashamed of themselves. And you! With the curly hair!" Izuku briefly noted how the boy had glasses, before realizing that he was pointing in his general direction. Looking around to see exactly who he was pointing at, he realized it was him the boy was talking about, before pointing a finger to himself. "You have been incessantly muttering this entire time! If you are only here to mess about, then you should just leave!"

Izuku quickly covered his mouth in embarrassment. "...sorry..."

"And what the hell are you doing?" Katsuki yelled out a retort. "You're making even more noise by just yelling!" The boy with the glasses then turned his sights on him with a glare, to which Katsuki just sneered back, as if daring him to continue.

"Well you see," Present Mic finally said, intervening before the situation could get worse. "The fourth villain you've mentioned is worth zero villain points, meaning that there's no reason to take them down!"

"I see," the boy with the glasses said, before bowing and sitting back down. "Please excuse my interruption!"

"Thanks, Kacchan," Izuku whispered, when Present Mic continued the orientation.

Katsuki just rolled his eyes. "Again, I say, Deku," he whispered back. "You need to stand up for yourself."

Present Mic then continued the orientation, up to the end. With a brief explanation of the school motto and a cry of "PLUS ULTRA!", he bowed and left the stage, followed by the lights coming back on. All of the students were talking among themselves as they filed out of the auditorium, but both Izuku and Katsuki were both silent as they walked down the stairs. Izuku was trying to come up with a plan for how he would use Gold Experience to dispatch the mock villains and therefore gain points, while Katsuki was simply resigned to just 'blasting them all away', and was instead thinking of where to get food once the exams finished.

"Well, good luck, Kacchan!" Izuku spoke up, when it was time for them to part ways towards their respective testing grounds.

"You, too, Deku," Katsuki replied, as he returned the fist the boy had held up, and turned around to walk away.