Izuku's mood quickly changed to confusion.

"Inherit... All Might's...?"

"That's right, my boy," All Might said, cutting through his thoughts. "My quirk, One For All, can be passed down to another, as it has done for generations. I feel that you are worthy of taking this power."

All Might stared at Izuku while Izuku stared back, shocked.

"I-I-I...!"

Izuku lifted his hands. 'But why me? A mute like me would never be worthy of your power, All Might.'

All Might shook his head. "No, you are far worthy for One For All. Out of all the people in that crowd, that quirkless, mute you was the only one who moved. It's because of that that you're worthy. My boy, there is one thing almost every great hero has in common from their school years. Their bodies moved on their own."

Izuku listened to All Might with still teary eyes, taking in every word with a shaky breath.

"Your impulse to save others is so strong that you would risk your life for another. Because of that, you can be a great hero. Will you take my power, make it your own, and let me teach you?"

All Might's words still echoed around his head, but just enough that he could still think. All Izuku had ever wanted was to be told that he could be a hero, to be assured. His idol came to him and told him that, even offering his power in turn. It was much more than he'd ever wanted, but there was nothing he'd ever been so sure about either.

With a curt nod, he answered.

All Might laughed. "No hesitance! I like that!"

———————————————

As soon as Izuku had gotten home, his mom was immediately all over him, asking if he was okay and checking for injuries. When she finally assured herself that he was okay, she sent him to his room for some rest.

He wanted to tell his mom of All Might's power, but he had told Izuku not to tell anyone about what was going on. Even to his own mother.

"Maybe one day," He thought, "but not now."

Izuku crashed on his bed after his shower and waited as his mom made dinner. He stared up at the ceiling and though of the days to come.

All Might had told him that he would start training him the next day, and for some reason, he couldn't wait.

———————————————

They met up after school and All Might brought Izuku to a beach covered in old, rusty junk. When Izuku heard that he was supposed to clean it all up in under ten months, before the UA entrance exams, he felt like training.

"One For All is a great power, yes, but it could be very dangerous for an unprepared body. If I gave this power to you now, with those skinny limbs of yours, you'd probably explode," All Might explained.

Izuku flinched at the thought.

"That's why we need to build up your muscle, and to do that, you're gonna clean up this whole beach, got it?" All Might asked.

Izuku nodded in response.

"Good. I'll give you a schedule to help organize your training between your school and rest days. Gotta make sure you don't overwork yourself. Now let's get to it!"

———————————————

A few months had gone by in a blink of an eye and Izuku was still trying his best. Less than a fifth of the beach was cleaned up, and Izuku started doubting he would make it. There were only less than eight months left, and he barely had anything done.

Izuku made some adjustments to the schedule All Might had made for him. Worked hard, going to the beach at night and before school to get some extra work done.

The bags under his eyes were growing larger by each passing week. He hadn't been getting enough sleep. The most he had was four hours a day, which definitely wasn't a lot.

School was no extra help, either. He had to wake up a few hours after going to bed, homework to worry about, and Bakugou being... Bakugou.

As Izuku was taking more trash away on a weekend, All Might riding behind him on a Segway, his legs gave out and he crashed on the floor. All Might pulled up beside him, his thin body looming over him.

"Are you alright, Young Midoriya? Do you need a break?" All Might asked, looking at him concernedly.

Izuku struggled to get up, his arms shaking violently, before crashing again.

All Might sighed. "You've changed up the schedule I gave you, didn't you. I made that while thinking of your needs. It's great that you're doing so much, but it won't be worth it if you just end up hurting yourself."

Izuku shook his head, drawing All Might's attention as he shifted into a sitting position.

'No,' Izuku signed. 'I want to be stronger. I have to get stronger. I can't take the easy way to getting that. You told me that I could be a hero, which is all that I've ever wanted to hear, and you're even training me right now to get your power. I feel like I'm cheating life right now. Please, let me do this.'

All Might looked at Izuku and sighed again, before showing off his signature smile.

"I like the spirit, my boy!" He exclaimed as he grabbed Izuku by the shoulders and hoisted him up.

"All right, I get that you're trying really hard. I'll adjust that schedule for you a bit more, okay? Just don't push yourself too hard. You don't need to go so far."

Izuku played a small smile on his lips and picked up the trash he'd dropped.

———————————————

It was early morning on the day of the UA entrance exam, and Izuku was at the beach, drenched in sweat. He stood on the now white sand and looked out at his work. His ten months of cleaning the beach may have been painful and tiring, but in the end it was worth it.

The beach was now perfectly clean, not a piece of rusted metal in sight. The waters were visible, the soft, white sand revealed, and even a small port going from the beach a few meters into the water was discovered and cleaned up as well. The beach would probably be a good place for dates.

The sun was starting to rise on the horizon and Izuku managed to climbed to the top of what was left of the trash to witness the sunrise.

The bright light and orange orb on the horizon gave Izuku hope. Events flashed in his mind, replaying. The sludge villain incident, when he met All Might, when he ran towards Bakugo when he was taken hostage, when All Might told him that he could be a heart and offered his power, and all his ten months of training.

Izuku never felt more grateful, lucky, happy, and many other feelings including hope. Hope of reaching and fulfilling his dream. He pulled his head back and screamed, letting out all of his emotions.

With a heavy breath, his legs gave out and he fell off the pile and off the platform, hurling straight toward the ground meters below him before a familiar muscular figure caught him.

All Might let out a hearty laugh. "You even cleaned outside of where I told you to, Midoriya! Just in the nick of time as well."

Izuku grinned as All Might set him on the floor.

"Look," All Might took out his phone and showed him a picture of him ten months ago when they just started training.

"Look at you then compared to now, my boy. Do you see the difference?"

When Izuku started sweating earlier, he'd taken off his shirt and was now walking around drenched in sweat and half naked.

His muscles were clearly visible, his biceps and triceps bulged, his body was framed, he had a full on six pack, and, overall, he was ripped. Compared to him ten months ago, thin and scrawny, there was much improvement.

"My boy you are ready to take on One For All now," All Might said, plucking out a strand of his hair. "This quirk is passed on through genes, specifically through ingesting them, so..."

All Might waved the strand in front of Izuku's face.

"Eat this."