Izumi walked home with a skip in her step and her notebook and pencil in hand.

She couldn't remember a time that she had left school in such a good mood.

For the first time since she had been diagnosed as quirkless, there were people that actually seemed interested in being her friend! The whole Nagisa trying to pull a suicide bombing had admittedly been a little off-putting, but everything turned out okay, and the newly dubbed Koro-sensei even agreed to answer some of Izumi's endless questions after class. Plus, she managed to talk with him about quirk theory once he found out about how passionate she was about quirks and the science behind them. It was a topic that few others seemed to find interesting. They were either too concerned with their own quirks to truly care about studying others or they simply didn't understand the heavy and detailed science that Izumi loved to study. Most of the time, it was a little bit of both.

He even gave me some books for me to look over! Izumi thought giddily, thinking of the numerous books that were now weighing down her backpack and craving the knowledge that she'd hopefully obtain from them. She couldn't wait to finally get home so that she could just hole up in her room and not come back out until the next morning. (Plus, she really needed to hurry up and make sure that she returned the nameplate Koro-sensei had stolen back to its proper place in case her mother came back home that night.)

She was so distracted by her rare amount of bliss and happiness that she didn't even notice the manhole cover behind her begin to rattle as she walked through an underpass. Normally, it was something that she would have noticed right away after years of paranoia and having to tiptoe around both bullies and authority figures. She always did her best to remain unseen, so she always made sure to keep track of everyone and everything. It was easier that way.

She regretted losing that cautiousness, even if it was for only a moment.

"Well, what do we have here?" Izumi's head whipped around just as she was covered in a green sludge that began to suffocate her. "A medium sized disguise... how lucky..."

A villain?! Izumi's heart pounded as her eyes widened, cursing herself for her inattentiveness. She didn't have any time for laments though as she tried to grasp the situation around her. She was having a hard time moving around with how thick the sewage smelling gunk seemed to encase her, and she was having a hard time even thinking as that same gunk was shoved down her throat.

Is this really how I'm going to die? She wondered. How pathetic.

Was this her punishment for thinking that she might actually have a semblance of a decent school year for once? She'd been dealt enough good hands for the day, so the universe was collecting its payment?

No, she thought, the look in her eyes hardening as she gripped the pencil she was still holding in an even tighter hold. I refuse! I absolutely refuse to die like this! Think, Izumi, think! What can you tell about the villain's quirk? Where might physical attacks be effective? Wait- now that I think of it-

"Don't worry, kid," Izumi would have grit her teeth in frustration if she could as the villain continued to speak. "I'm just gonna borrow your body for a bit. It'll all be over- GAAH!" Izumi gasped for air and coughed up as much gunk as she could as the sludge villain finally dropped his hold on her. It had taken longer than she had hoped, but she had finally managed to get her arm loose enough to be able to stab the villain right in the eye. "You bitch! I'll get you for that!"

Izumi grinned. She may have been neglectful of her surroundings before, but she wouldn't and wasn't making the same mistake again. Where she didn't hear the sound of the rattling manhole before, she now heard the sound of someone making their way towards them before she could even see them. Friend or foe, they would prove to be a distraction for the villain, and that's what mattered to her right now.

She could do this. She'd lasted this long. She had no plans of dying any time soon.

She still found herself relieved when it was All Might that popped up out of the sewers.

"Have no fear!" He shouted his catchphrase that, at one point in time, would have had Izumi squealing in awe. "For I am here!" All Might reeled his arm back. "Texas..." Wait, is he holding a bag of groceries? "Smash!!"

Izumi fell to the ground from the sheer force of the wind pressure generated by All Might's punch added to her less than okay state of 'still recovering from nearly being suffocated to death.' She couldn't help but cough up a bit more sludge as she watched All Might chug two liters of cola before beginning to contain the villain that had been scattered and knocked out by the blow in them.

Is that safe...?

No, no it was not. (Please do not try this at home)

The hero placed the bottles in his pocket before finally approaching Izumi.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" He extended a hand to her which she hesitantly accepted, and he pulled her up to her feet, barely acknowledging that she was still coughing up sludge. Does he consider that as 'okay?'

In the past, she would have been an absolute mess and fangirling way too much. He had been her favorite hero as a child after all, but things change. Nowadays, Izumi preferred the subtleties of underground heroes. That's not to say that Izumi didn't like All Might anymore. She just didn't hero worship him like she had in the past.

"I must apologize for arriving so late!" He said with a slightly exaggerated pose. "I'm not always like this, I swear! 'Must've been off my game from being in a new city, perhaps? But I must thank you as well! With your help, I've managed to contain the villain in this bottle!"

"Ah- um- no problem, I g-guess?" Izumi frowned, rubbing at her chest unconfortably. Maybe she should pick up some antibiotics and maybe some tea? She wasn't sure, but inhaling all that sludge couldn't have been good for her lungs.

"Well, I should be off to deliver this villain to the authorities!" Wait, what? "When next we meet, it'll be through a TV screen!"

What?!

Did this man know nothing of standard procedures?

"Wait-" Izumi refocused herself as she stepped towards the hero that was crouched down in preparation to jump.

"I cannot!" All Might responded. "Pros battle with even time itself!"

"Just-" she took a few more steps.

"Now then, be sure to keep-" he leaped into the air. "Cheering me ooOooOon!"

Izumi fucked up.

She blanched. Well, she blanched as well as she could from where she was dangling from All Might's leg.

This... This was not what she had in mind for her afternoon...

If anything, she'd blame it on the trauma.

"Eh?" All Might finally seemed to notice her latched onto his leg. "What the! Let go!" He tried to shake her off, causing her to only grip on tighter. "There's such a thing as too enthusiastic!"

"If I... let g-go now... I'll die!"

"Oh. Right."

Thankfully, he stopped trying to shake her off and landed on a roof nearby where she plopped down on the ground immediately.

Is it worth mentioning that the roof was very high up? It feels like that should be worth mentioning.

"That was extremely reckless, young lady!" All Might scolded as Izumi tried to stand up on her now even shakier legs. "Honestly, I have no words! Or time for that matter!"

"Wait-!" Izumi tried to stop him once more.

"I will not!"

"Can someone who's quirkless become a hero?!" Wait... that wasn't what she had meant to ask. Still, though, it made the hero pause, and she couldn't deny that it was something that had been eating at her for years. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to actually be able to ask the number one hero himself. "I know it would be difficult and dangerous, but isn't that the case for everybody? I... I don't know why, but I... saving people and bringing smiles to their faces is all I've ever w-wanted... and, um, are you okay?"

Izumi blue screened at the sight of a steaming, deflated All Might.

"I am okay," he gave her a thumbs up only to have blood pour out of his mouth, causing Izumi to let out a squeaky 'eep!'

She rummaged through her pockets for a handkerchief and handed it to him hesitantly. "Um, h-here."

Well... at least she knew why he was in such a rush now.

"Ah, thank you..." he said, using the handkerchief to wipe some of the blood off his chin. "Since you've already seen this form, I suppose I should probably tell you, but whatever you do, you mustn't spread this information around." Izumi took a step back as he lifted his shirt to show a wound that was the likely cause for the hero's current state. "This is a wound a villain gave me five years ago." Five years ago? Izumi couldn't recall any fights major enough to cause such damage. "My respiratory system is in shambles, and my stomach was completely taken out. I've wasted away from constant surgeries and complications, and now I've been reduced to a mere three hours of heroics every day. I haven't told the public about my condition," obviously, "so I ask that respect my wishes and keep quiet about this 'The Symbol of Peace' who always rescues people with a smile must never succumb to the forces of evil."

"..."

This was why Izumi hated the idea of a 'Symbol of Peace.' At one point in time, the concept had comforted her. This was only until she realized that if he went crumbling away, so much of hero society would go right along with him. He was a pillar of hope, yes, but stability and support is never built on a single support alone.

In some ways, Izumi felt bad for All Might.

She wasn't sure she'd ever be able to handle that kind of pressure.

"The reason I laugh," All Might continued, "is to distract myself from the fear and pressure that dwells within me. A pro is always laying his or her life on the line." I already know that. "I just can't bring myself to tell you that you can do it without a quirk. So no, I don't think you can be a hero, but it you aspire to help people, there's always the police force. It's often thankless work but just as praise worthy. It's okay to dream, but you also need to be realistic."

With that, All Might inflated once more and jumped off to who knows where, leaving Izumi all on her own.

Realistic, huh?

Izumi felt numb.

Does he even know what 'realistic' for a quirkless person is? Izumi knew. Izumi knew all too well. She had read the statistics, looked over the articles, experienced the discrimination first hand. 'Realistic' is never being able to get a well paying job because people are quirkist assholes. 'Realistic' is expecting to be homeless sooner rather than later.

'Realistic' is taking her own life before she even reached the age of eighteen.

Izumi didn't care about what was 'realistic.'

It frustrated her though. All Might, the very same person who always says that anyone can be a hero, doesn't believe that she can be a hero simply because she doesn't have a quirk to fall back on. He didn't even bother to try and see if she had any other skill sets that might make up for it. He was just like everyone else; he wrote her off the moment he heard the word 'quirkless.'

Honestly, she wasn't sure what else she expected.

Feeling disheartened by the damper that had been put on her day, Izumi slinked towards the only door on the roof, praying to whatever higher force out there that it would be unlocked and that no one inside would question why she was there or call the police. Unfortunately, her streak of bad luck only seemed to continue as she tried and failed to turn the knob on the door.

It was hard trying to keep the tears from falling down her face.

In an attempt to distract herself from her growing sorrow, she walked over and began to scan for any possible fire escapes down the side of the building.

There were none.

That was okay. Izumi could handle this. This would hardly be the first time that she'd scaled down a building. Of course, it was the first time that she'd done so without any equipment or even done it during the daytime, and it was definitely the first time she had done so after having her dreams crushed by the number one hero.

But it would be okay.

C'est la vie and all that.

Izumi wasn't entirely sure she was using that phrase entirely correctly...

Taking a deep breath, she made sure her backpack, that she was surprised she hadn't lost yet with everything that had been going on, was secured to her back before swinging her legs over the side of the roof and attempting to find a decent foothold.

And so began her descent.

Luckily, Izumi's nighttime activities, which were totally legal by the way, proved helpful, and she was able to make it down to the alleyway below at a decent pace and only minimal scrapes on her already calloused hands. Nobody even questioned her as she made her way out of the filthy alleyway and onto the main street. (She was definitely going to need a shower when she got home.)

Unluckily, she had ended up even farther away from home than she had originally been. She'd be walking at least an extra thirty minutes or so.

She wasn't even five minutes into her walk before the sounds of all too familiar explosions began to resound throughout the area. You might be wondering how explosions can sound familiar. Well, when one handles a bully with both an explosive quirk and personality, you learn to tell exactly what kind of sound the explosion makes in order to keep track of where the bully was.

Come to think of it...

This area was awfully close to Aldera Junior High...

Her pace picked up as she made her way to where the sounds originated. Normally, she'd be trying to get as far away from the bully known as Bakugo Katsuki as possible, but Izumi knew that he would never use his quirk to such an extent in the public eye. He would never take the chance of ruining his 'perfect' record.

So what is...?

Izumi nearly tripped in realization as she continued to run.

She had forgotten to warn All Might that the bottled up sludge villain was on the verge of falling out of his pockets earlier. (Honestly, she shouldn't have needed to warn him, but still.)

It felt like forever before she finally made it to the origin of the explosions and felt a bit sick when she realized that her theory had been right.

In the middle of the street, past curious civilians and out-of-their-depth heroes, was the sludge villain wreaking havoc as he suffocated none other than Kacchan.

Izumi felt horrified.

Was this... because of her? Because she couldn't help but grab onto All Might's leg? Because she couldn't help but get distracted and ask a question that she already knew the answer to?

Fire had begun to envelop the streets despite Backdrafts best efforts to contain it. There were a few other heroes focusing on evacuating civilians from the line of fire, but none of them made an effort to go and rescue Bakugo, who was notably in the most danger. What spurred Izumi out of her self-deprecating thoughts was none other than an offhand comment from one of the many heroes on the scene.

"All we can do is wait for somebody to arrive with a better-suited quirk!"

'A better-suited quirk?' Izumi thought incredulously. Kacchan is suffocating. He's dying, and yet they're treating this like it's a hostage situation. Your quirks aren't ill-suited. Why can none of you realize this? Why can none of you-

Izumi felt the breath leave her lungs as she made eye contact with Bakugo, and without even realizing it, she was moving.

Right, Izumi thought, observing the situation and ignoring all the heroes that attempted to stop her as she ran in. His left eye is still messed up, so it's clear that did some damage. Otherthanthat,hismouthappearsvulnerable. Itwouldalsoprobablybepossibletodilutethesludgeifbackdraftweretousehisquirk,butwedon'treallyhavetimeforthat.Fornow,I'lljusthavetofallbackonwhatIknowwillworkandallowKacchansometimetobreathebecausehereallyisn'tlookingtoogreatrightnow,and-

With no warning she slid a few more pencils out of her pocket and threw them like they were throwing knives.

They all hit their intended marks.

"Son of a bitch! You shitty little-"

Izumi ignored the villain as she grabbed onto Bakugo and pulled with an unexpected amount of strength for someone of her size.

"Deku..." Well, it was nice to see that the spiky blonde haired boy still had enough strength to talk and remember her insulting nickname that she was honestly just hoping to forget. "...Why?!"

"Because your eyes looked like you were pleading for help, you idiot!" Oh gosh, had she just called Bakugo an idiot? Had adrenaline always been such a poor influence on her brain-to-mouth filter?

"Don't get in my way again, you fucking brat!"

Izumi's eyes steeled as she threw a still weak Bakugo over her shoulder and began to plan an escape route as the villain struggled to find them now that he was lacking his other eye, a pencil still firmly embedded in it.

The plan, it seemed, was unnecessary, for just as she was about to take cover in the surrounding smoke and debris, All Might appeared.

Both middle schoolers were blown back as the man sent out one of his legendary Detroit Smashes after a barely audible statement about 'pros always putting their lives on the line' or something. Honestly, Izumi wasn't sure. The only thing she was sure about was that she really needed a nap. Or coffee.

Maybe both.

Izumi felt like her ears were ringing as cheers rang out through the street and rain began to fall along with bits and pieces of the sludge villain.

She was so tired.

She was tired as the villain was safely and properly handed over to the cops this time. (She wasn't bitter. Not at all.) She was tired as the heroes scolded her for her recklessness. She was tired as she was forced to listen to the heroes praise Kacchan and his quirk. She was tired when she finally was able to start making her way home only to be interrupted by Bakugo, who had nothing but insults and condescending comments for her. But most of all, she was tired when she was stopped by none other than the number one hero.

"I am here!"

"All Might?" Izumi murmured with furrowed brows as he came to a dramatic stop in front of her. As much as she wasn't really in the mood to see him again, she did feel a bit of concern when he deflated and spat up some blood. (She was starting to think that was fairly normal, though, so she decided not to comment on it.)

"Kid, I came here to thank you and to set the record straight... as well as to give you a suggestion..." Izumi's eyes widened in surprise at All Might's words. Had she done anything to warrant thanks? Also, a suggestion? "If you hadn't been there... if I hadn't heard your story... then I would have gotten dangerously close to not living by my own words and flashing nothing but fake muscle, so thank you!"

Well... she couldn't exactly deny what he said. She knew just how often heroes would refuse to put their life on the line when it really mattered, so she supposed it was nice that he at least seemed to realize that.

"You're the one that made me act and remember what it was to be a hero!" All Might continued with Izumi having a hard time believing that the number one hero actually seemed to be complimenting her. Now she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Out of all the pros there, it was only quirkless you that ran in to act and made a difference! There's something that's said about top heroes when they were still students... most of their stories are linked by the following line:

My body moved on its own before I could even think."

Izumi sniffled, trying to hold back her tears as All Might summed up exactly what had happened when she saw that glimmer of desperation in Bakugo's eyes.

"And you thought the same, didn't you?" All Might questioned, not really expecting an answer, but Izumi nodded anyway. "You, young lady, can become a hero."

Izumi couldn't help it.

She cried.

She thought of all of the people that had told her she would never amount to anything and never be able to come close to becoming a hero. She thought about the looks of pity she received from those that were generally kinder but still believed that those who are quirkless are fragile and unevolved.

And she thought of her mother, her once kind, warm-hearted mother, who cried and apologized when Izumi had asked if she could still be a hero.

It had taken nearly ten years, but somebody finally told her that she could be a hero.

"I believe that you're worthy to inherit my power."

...

Huh?

"It's just a suggestion for now, but listen up because your true test is just beginning! It's simply a matter of whether or not you'll try your damnedest to absorb my power!" Again, huh? "I'm talking about my quirk," he explained. "My quirk is generally written down as a generic strength quirk, and I do my best to avoid any questions about it in interviews. You see, it wouldn't do if the almighty 'Symbol of Peace' was not, in fact, a natural born hero. My quirk, you see, is not unlike the sacred torch of legend that passes from one bearer to the next."

"A quirk... that you can inherit and pass down...?" That... that shouldn't be possible. It goes against everything that's known about quirks as of yet. It's just unprecedented. And yet...

This wasn't the first time Izumi had heard of something similar.

A while back, she had stumbled upon whispers of a man, a man that could both steal and give away quirks as easily as snapping one's fingers. At first, Izumi has written it off as nothing more than a legend, a scary story about a boogeyman to scare your kids into behaving. It wasn't until she actually looked into it and found some truth to some of the rumors that she started to wonder if she had stumbled upon something that she should have stayed away from no matter the cost.

From everything that she had discovered, All for One was not someone to be messed with lightly.

"There's a lot that I keep close to my chest, but I don't tell lies," All Might said, seemingly not noticing Izumi's distraction or concern. "The power to transfer to power, and the name of that ability I've been entrusted with is none other than One for All."

Izumi paled.

One for All.

All for One.

There's absolutely no way they aren't related.

"I've admittedly been searching for a successor for ages, and now I've finally come across someone that I wouldn't mind giving it to," said All Might. "You, who, despite having no quirk and being a mere powerless fan of heroics," oi, who are you calling powerless? "You were the one who shined more than any of the other so-called heroes. So," All Might looked at her, already expecting the response that would surely come. "What do you say?"

.
.
.

"No."

******

4087 words excluding A/N

Finished - November 6, 2022

Bye~