The Call of the Void

Eventually, days turned into months, which then turned into years, and Izuku had grown comfortable with his bizarre Quirk, spending as much time as he could to analyze it, especially the ghostly being that was part of it. At first, he believed it was a new friend, but every time Izuku would try to make conversation with it, he would never get a response, either physically or verbally. It would only stare at a random area, only turning when Izuku was paying attention to something specific.

Although, there were times where the ghost would automatically do things or react whenever specific things were happening to Izuku, such as catching a glass of water that tipped over the edge of the table, or when Katsuki had tried to surprise him from behind one day and received a kick in return. (Now Katsuki wasn't scared of a lot of things, but whatever the hidden part of Deku's Quirk was, it frightened him. Which is why he never really antagonized him like the other extras.)

It was another session with Dr. Tsubasa, that it was concluded that Izuku's Quirk was technically summoning the ghost, but he could control it to use Life Giver, using its hands. At first, it looked like they were two separate Quirks (which was flat-out impossible), but it turns out the two could technically be considered a single Quirk, as one couldn't be used without the other.

When Izuku brought up that he could already make plants and animals without the use of his companion, Dr. Tsubasa became puzzled. He eventually suggested that perhaps since Izuku could control it, then he could actually use its limbs in place of his own, almost like he was wearing a suit of armor.

Aside from the ability to create life out of inanimate objects, the golden being was surprisingly strong, having the strength of several grown men, and could move very quickly, as Izuku had seen when it had caught a glass of water that fell and was just about to hit the floor and break.

When his mother asked him if he wanted to actually name his companion, Izuku already had the perfect name, deep within the recesses of his mind.

"I'll call him Gold Experience," he told her with finality.

---

"Hey Deku?" Katsuki asked, eyes fixated on the television screen in front of him. "You can make any animal you want, right?"

"Yeah," Izuku answered with an equal amount of concentration. "Why'd you ask?" The two of them were heavily focused on beating each other in a racing game, so several more seconds passed before Katsuki eventually spoke again.

"...You should be able to make people, right?" At that, Izuku sharply turned to look at him, which caused the car he was controlling to steer off course, giving the other boy a massive lead.

"...I don't know..." he replied awkwardly. "That's...that's really weird to ask, Kacchan."

Katsuki shrugged. "Okay, fair enough," he admitted. "But did you at least think about it?" Izuku said nothing, but that was all he needed to hear. An awkward silence formed between the two of them as they continued playing their video game until the race ended.

"Do you wanna go outside and try?" he offered when the game moved to the 'character select' screen.

"...Kinda, yeah," Izuku admitted. Katsuki stood up and went to turn the console and television off. A few moments later, the two were now standing in the backyard, where Katsuki passed the time making small sparks on his hands while he waited.

"Okay," Izuku muttered to himself. "Making a person shouldn't be too different from all the small animals...I think." Setting down the large ball he was holding on the ground, he summoned Gold Experience, who proceeded to rest its hands on it. A moment later, the familiar sound that played when Life Giver activated softly resonated from the ball, before shifting into what Izuku had envisioned.

"Deku?" Katsuki asked, looking up. At seeing Izuku still standing there, he walked over impatiently, wondering what was taking so long. "You done yet?" When he stopped beside him, he froze in horror at the sight displayed.

In front of Izuku's feet, lay a severed copy of Katsuki's own head.

"..."

And then it promptly blinked.

"WHAT THE FU-"

---

Mitsuki Bakugō watched the two boys fidgeting under her unimpressed stare. "So," she began, hands on her hips. "What did we learn today?" Izuku awkwardly raised a hand.

"Not to try to make any copies of people I already know because people will think we hurt them?" he offered weakly.

Mitsuki raised an eyebrow. "Okay," she said slowly. "Anything else?"

"And Deku can probably make organs and sell them to the black market," Katsuki chimed in, raising his own hand, causing his mother to sharply turn to him.

"Katsuki!"

"What?"

Izuku just looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean, Kacchan?" he asked him. The other boy just shrugged.

"Well," he began. "You can make any animal you want, right? Obviously, that includes the things that make them work. So you should be able to make just those parts." Izuku thought about what the other boy had said for a moment.

"Wait, you're right!" he exclaimed. Mitsuki sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Katsuki," she said exasperatedly. "You know that's insanely illegal. Not to mention that'll land Izuku in prison for up to ten years."

"All right, fair enough, that's a good point," the boy relented. "But what about healing?"

---

"Well class," the teacher began, picking up a stack of papers. "Since you're in your third year of junior high now, you'll want to start filling out your career choice packets." He paused for dramatic effect, before continuing. "But I'm sure you're all aiming for the hero course anyway!" At that, the entire class began cheering excitedly, accidentally activating their Quirks and violating several rules.

"Oi, teach!" yelled a voice. The class immediately grew silent and turned to see Katsuki leaning back in his chair. "Don't lump me and Deku in with these extras!"

"Oh, that's right, the two of you are going to be trying out at U.A., right, Bakugō-kun?" the teacher asked, smiling. His question surprised the class, causing them to start whispering about the two boys' decision in schooling.

"Wait, they're going for U.A.?"

"The number one hero school in Japan?"

"Almost no one gets in!"

Katsuki smirked and rested his elbow on his chair, turning to face his classmates. "Well, none of you extras could get in-" He ignored their protests as if he never heard them. "-but me and Deku here," he said, pointing to Izuku. "We aced the mock exams easily. And that's not mentioning our Quirks, too."

"Yeah, that's true, Bakugō and Midoriya won't have much trouble getting in."

"Wait, why Midoriya, though? Isn't his Quirk really weak?"

"He's actually got that weird ghost thing if I remember correctly."

While Izuku stayed silent from these comments, Katsuki had to answer for him. "And don't you forget it," he said with a cocky expression. "Deku might not be as powerful as me-"

"Gee, thanks, Kacchan," Izuku muttered.

"-but his Quirk is a hundred times better than whatever you extras could pull out of your collective asses. We're gonna be the best damned heroes you'll ever see!"

---

"Deku." Izuku looked up from packing his bag to see Katsuki walking towards him. "You know you've gotta stand up to those trash-talkers sooner or later." Izuku sighed in exasperation at the topic once again being brought up.

"Kacchan," he began. "You know I don't care about whatever they say." Katsuki glowered as he readjusted his backpack.

"Yeah, well you should," he replied. "You have a good Quirk. I know you have a good Quirk. So why shouldn't they? All you have to do is show them what your weird ghost can do and they'll shut up."

Izuku grinned. To an outsider, Katsuki may come off as extremely arrogant, but he knew that the other boy just felt that he had to be that way, in order to become a hero that could protect his friends and family. That was why every time someone voiced their doubts about his Quirk, Katsuki always felt the need to defend him, even if he didn't need it. "For a moment there it sounded like you cared." The other boy just snorted in response.

"Pfft, don't get ahead of yourself," he said. "Just gotta make sure my number two will be able to keep up." He turned around and started to walk away, before turning back around. "You wanna go get some ice cream and hit the arcade?"

Izuku shook his head. "No, thanks," he replied. "I think I'm just gonna go home."

Katsuki shrugged. "Well, your loss, then." he turned back around. "Catch you tomorrow, I guess."

Izuku, left back to his thoughts, put on his backpack and proceeded to walk out of the classroom, thinking about his friend's offer. 'And it doesn't really compare to gelato,' he thought, before suddenly pausing. 'Wait, gelato?' he asked himself. He liked sweets as much as the next guy, but he knew for a fact that he had never had Italian-style ice cream in his life. He wondered how he was familiar with the foreign word, before eventually shaking his head and continuing on his walk home.

"Oh ho, what's this?" Izuku turned around in the tunnel he was walking through to see a mass of sludge suddenly growing larger. "It's a disguise I can use..."

"Huh?" he began, before his eyes widened in fear. "What-" he tried to yell out, but the villain had already pounced on him, and could only feebly struggle as he tried to stay awake.

"Now, now," the villain said softly in a mock soothing voice. "That won't do at all. Just relax and hold still, and it'll all be over soon." Izuku was slowly starting to lose consciousness the longer he struggled to breath.

'Gold Experience!' Izuku thought, as he continued to struggle, despite the villain severely blocking his respiratory system. The villain laughed as he felt the boy's frantic movements start to slow down, a sign that he was starting to lose consciousness.

'Looks like he's already given up,' he thought, chuckling darkly. 'Well, now I can just - huh?'

"WRYYYAHHH!" shouted a voice only heard by Izuku, who was struggling to stay awake. The villain turned to where he was being repeatedly punched, but found no one there.

'Then what's hitting me?!'

Before long, the invisible figure let out one final punch, before ceasing its attack. In truth, however, it did little to nothing, as the sludge villain's form was...well, sludge, meaning the consecutive punches didn't do anything to hurt him.

But that didn't mean Gold Experience's attack didn't do anything. It just didn't do what Izuku needed it to.

"Heh, it looks like he's finally given up," the villain said to himself, as he felt that Izuku's movements had slowed down to a stop. As he continued in his attempt to take over the boy's body, he felt something hit his back, and he turned around in annoyance to see who it was.

"Oh, shit," he said to no one in particular.

"It's okay now, young man," All Might boomed, though Izuku was barely able to comprehend the voice. "Why? Because I am here."

The villain had started panicking at the sight of All Might having finally caught up to him, and in his fear, tried to send out a punch. But it wasn't the sight of it being easily dodged that confused the villain. No, what confused him, was the sight of All Might slowly moving up to him, as he reared his fist back for a punch.

---

When All Might had woken him up some time later and proceeded to thank him for helping with the villain, Izuku couldn't believe what was happening. Last he remembered, he was fighting for his life from a villain, but there was nothing he could do, until the number one hero saved him. He thanked the man profusely for writing an autograph in his notebook when he was frantically looking for something for him to sign.

But Izuku, for the life of him, wasn't sure what made him latch on to All Might when he jumped away, but he knew he wasn't going to let go. Not at this altitude.

"Young man, I appreciate your enthusiasm as a fan," he yelled out. "But this is too much!"

Izuku continued to hold on for dear life as he and All Might soared through the sky. "If I let go, then I'll fall to my death!"

"...That's a good point," the hero conceded, before he looked back in front of him, and searched for a place to land. Once they landed on the top of a building, Izuku tried calming himself down from the adrenaline rush of the previous event. "Well it was nice meeting you, young man," All Might began, turning around to walk away. "But I really need to get going now." As he was about to jump away, a cloud of smoke instantly formed around him, and before long, it dissipated to reveal a skeletal and very gaunt man in place of the hero.

Izuku screamed at the sight.

The man grimaced at the noise, and when Izuku finally calmed down, began to explain that yes, he was All Might, and the muscular build he previously had was a different form that was similar to flexing a muscle. He then proceeded to explain the circumstances that had caused his injury, and of how he could only be a Pro Hero for only three hours a day. Once he finished, Izuku was left in shock at the fact that the number one hero wasn't as invincible as everyone made him out to be.

"By the way," the man - no, he was still All Might - said. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this. There's no telling what would happen if word got out about my injury. I know that villain activity would skyrocket for sure."

"O-of course!" Izuku promised. "But, I...I just have a question, All Might."

All Might stared at the boy for a few moments before he spoke. "All right, shoot," he replied.

Izuku nodded. "Since you're the number one hero and all, do...do you ever think about what would have happened if you became a villain?" At his quizzical expression, he explained why he had thought of it. "B-because you're so powerful and all..."

All Might sighed and looked up at the sky. "All the time, kid," he replied. "All the time. With power like mine, I couldn't just rule out the possibility of forcing everyone to fear me so they wouldn't commit crimes with their Quirks." He looked down and made a fist. "But after what I've seen and what I've been through, I knew that I had to do everything I could not to start using my Quirk for evil purposes. It's why I always wear a smile on my face when I'm in my muscle form, so that the people don't become scared of me." He looked back up at Izuku. "By the way, aren't you a bit young to be asking these types of questions?"

Izuku nervously laughed. "Well, it's just..." he began, scratching the back of his head. "It's just my friend, Bakugō Katsuki, has a Quirk called Explosion, and it's really powerful, so I was thinking how bad it would be if he turned into a villain. Not to mention all of the top heroes with their Quirks, too..."

"Ah," said All Might, as he nodded in understanding. "It helps to be wary at times when a lot of heroes could easily topple society as we know it. But you shouldn't be so pessimistic. It's why we have Quirk restrictions and hero programs - so that it doesn't come to that. It's also why there are still police officers - they may not have the influence hero agencies do, but they still do what they can to make a difference."

"I see," Izuku said, before bowing to the man. "Thank you, All Might."

"You're welcome," he replied. "It's very rare that I get to have these type of talks with someone who isn't a close friend or a colleague. Now if you don't mind," he started walking towards the stairs. "I'm gonna get going now. It was nice meeting you, uh, what's your name?"

"Midoriya Izuku, sir!" the boy replied.

All Might nodded. "It was nice meeting you, young Midoriya. I look forward to seeing you grow as a hero." He turned back around and started walking down the stairs, leaving Izuku to his thoughts, as he pondered what the hero had told him. After a few minutes, he came to a realization.

'Aw crap, I forgot to tell him I could heal him!'